Probably no more than twenty or twenty-one, he was absolutely beautiful ... almost angelic. Except for that aura of lethal authority that bled out of every molecule he possessed. Yeah, this was a man used to riding herd and having to cow warriors like Cabeza, Sundown, and Ren.
And she couldn't take her gaze away from his spooky eyes. They literally swirled with a hazy silver color ... and they were filled with the promise of death.
Swathed completely in black, he had his hands tucked into the pockets of a long leather coat. He pulled one hand out and reached for her.
She instinctively took a step back.
Luckily, he had a sense of humor about that. "I'm not going to hurt you, Dr. Avani. I promise. I only bite when given an invitation to do so."
And he had manners too....
Freaky.
He opened his huge hand to show her her grandmother's necklace.
Stunned, she gaped at him.... Granted, she had to crane her neck to do so. "How did you know where to find it?"
"I have my evil ways."
Yeah, I bet you do. She took it out of his hand and for the first time really saw it for what it was. The thick gold chain was forged in such a way that it was much lighter than it appeared. But it was the fire inside the stone that was truly exceptional. As a kid, she'd had no idea whatsoever how rare a stone this was.
As a geologist she knew there were probably only a handful of stones ever created that came close to this perfection. Most fire opals were opaque like a regular gemstone. In spite of the name they bore because of their typical orange or red color, fire opals seldom showed the play of color other opals were known for. And in all her studies, she'd never seen one with the color play this one had. It really did look like it was a piece of the sun.
"Thank you," she breathed.
He inclined his head to her. "By the way, my wife had no idea what the writing on the seal was, she-"
"Your wife?" Kateri hated interrupting him, but he didn't look old enough ...
Yeah, duh, what was she thinking with this group? He was an Atlantean ... older than dirt and dirt's great-grandfather.
Acheron took her interruption in stride. "Dr. Soteria Kafieri Parthenopaeus."
The way he said that, it melted like chocolate on your tongue. It rolled so fluidly and with his accent ...
Wow. His wife probably made him read everything out loud, including cans and cereal boxes, just to hear the cadence of it.
The downside was that his accent was so thick that at first she had no idea what he'd said, until it suddenly clicked. "Dr. Par ... Par ... Parthen ... Par ... yeah. Ancient Greek scholar. Fluent in many dead languages. Fernando e-mailed her a photo of the stone."
Acheron laughed, then nodded. "The real reason I fell in love with my wife. She can not only pronounce my last name without stumbling over it, she can actually spell it."
The men all laughed but Kateri felt awful.
"It's okay, Dr. Avani," he said good naturedly. "My first name isn't much easier, it's why I usually go by Ash. It's harder to trip over and it doesn't take me an hour to write it out."
Thank goodness the man had a sense of humor about it.
"Did she recognize the language?" she asked, trying to divert the conversation to something less embarrassing.
"Lemurian."
That was the last thing she'd expected to hear. "Shut the front door! Really?" she breathed, then shook her head. "No. It can't be. Biogeographists debunked that myth a long time ago."
He grinned at her, showing off a little bit of fang. "Yeah, well, they don't know everything, do they?"
Very true. Case in point, she stood in front of a giant from Atlantis who was flanked by a cowboy, Mayan prince who had carried off a lycanthrope, ancient Greek vampire, and a real Keetoowah whose mother was a Greek goddess. Yeah....
"Guess not," she said, returning his smile.
"Did you have any trouble getting the stone?" Ren asked.
Ash hesitated. "Define 'trouble.'"
Ren cursed. "What happened?"
"Tiva. Our little time bitch broke out early and she was hellbent on using the stone to lock down her brother. Luckily, I was more hellbent on keeping her away from it. I'm thinking when the first gate was breached."
Ren and Cabeza paled. "When did the first gate go down?"
"While you were in Mayan hell. We've had our hands full on this side. May the gods have mercy if another gate opens. And since you're most likely not aware of how much faster time travels on this side ... tonight at midnight. Reset the 'damn' calendar 'cause I don't want to spend eternity cleaning up your mess." He looked over at Urian. "And you'll have to sit it out."
"Why?"
"You're related to a Greek god. You hit the Valley and you'll be real sorry for the last few minutes you're alive."
Urian pointed to Ren. "He's a cousin."
"Who is also Keetoowah. They'll let him in. He's an exception."
"Well, that sucks. What if I wanted to go sightseeing?"
"I'd suggest an online tour." Ash met Ren's gaze. "As a heads-up, I waited to bring the kinichi, as it is a beacon to all kinds of paranormal creatures who want to control time." He turned to face Kateri. "Your grandmother was one powerful woman to keep that under wraps. I am very impressed."
"Thank you. She was exceptional."
Ash stepped back. "And on that note, I'm off to help hold the gates."
Just as he started to leave, another light flashed in the room.
Cursing, Ren grabbed Kateri and pulled her behind him. His eyes turned vivid red as his armor reappeared. His hands exploding into fireballs, as he faced what must be another demon.
Ash, Urian, and Cabeza, however, didn't react to this new presence at all. Except for Ash who reached out to lower Ren's arm. "Stand down."
"He's a demon. High level."
Ash gave him a bland stare. "Yeah, well, his highest level is functioning as a perpetual pain in my ass." He turned his attention to the newcomer. "What do you want, Nick?"
Kateri wasn't sure what to make of this man. At least six foot four, he had a bow-and-arrow mark on his left cheek that was identical to the one Ren had on his hip. But even with that mark, he was incredibly handsome.
"I was asked to come here."
"By whom?"
"Artemis."