Acheron (Dark-Hunter #15)(93)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Balancing the blade of his ancient Greek sword on his shoulder, he turned to face her. "Can you handle a sword?"

"Yes."

"Kyrian!" Julian shouted to the other tall blond man on their team. "Give me a sword."

Kyrian tossed what appeared to be only a hilt. In one fluid move, Julian caught it and pressed a button on the cross hilt. The blade shot out to just under three feet in length. He handed it over to her. "Daimons have to be stabbed through their hearts. Demons between their eyes and if you cut the heads off any of us, we all die."

"How do I tell the difference?"

"Most of the Daimons are blond and they explode into dust when you pierce their hearts. Hit the heart and if that doesn’t work, try the eyes. If you stab someone who whimpers, then hits the ground, you attacked a good guy. Just FYI."

She inclined her head. "Thanks for the tutorial."

He laughed before he put his battle face on and went back to the fight.

Tory swung the blade around her body, getting a feel for the balance. Out of nowhere a female Daimon came at her and manifested a staff. She swung it at Tory’s head.

Parrying the blow with her sword, Tory pulled the blade back and went on the offensive. The woman met her stroke for stroke and she made every blow count. The ferocity of it rattled all the way to Tory’s bones.

She hated to admit it, but the Daimon was actually winning. With a feral growl, she tried to shove the Daimon back.

Suddenly, Nick was there. He swung the Daimon away from her and into another one. "No one hurts a human on my watch," he snarled before he stabbed the Daimon through the heart. As Julian had noted, the Daimon screamed, then turned into a golden powder.

Nick moved away from Tory before she could thank him.

Another flash of light heralded an even larger group of demons and Daimons.

Tory stepped back, her jaw dropping. They were so outnumbered . . .

The guys on her team were brilliant fighters, but they were being overrun by the sheer number of enemies. "This is bad . . ."

Ash froze as he saw one of the Daimons sink his fangs deep into Vane’s arm at the same time more demons joined them.

He couldn’t let his friends be hurt. Closing his eyes, he summoned his staff from Katoteros. He’d just tightened his hand around it when he felt someone stumble into him.

He opened his eyes to see Styxx there with an Atlantean dagger stuck completely through his stomach. Stryker cursed as he jerked it free, then went for Ash again.

Ash caught the Daimon overlord with the blunt end of his staff and shoved him back. "Flee or die," he growled.

"Fuck you."

Narrowing his gaze on Stryker, Ash shoved him back, then slammed the staff to the pavement. A wave of raw, unfettered power shot out from it to the demons and Daimons around him. Every one of them turned to dust.

Except for Stryker. He hovered above the ground in his dragon form, snarling and flapping. Bellowing, Stryker spewed fire.

Ash lifted his arm, barely in time to keep it from burning him. He shot another god bolt at Stryker who dodged it.

"This isn’t over, Acheron. Next time you won’t be able to use your powers." With another blast of fire, Stryker vanished.

Vane shook his bleeding arm in an obvious effort to alleviate the pain of the Daimon’s bite. "Why were we fighting if you had that kind of power?"

In unison, every ex-Dark-Hunter and Nick said, "Just because you can doesn’t mean you should."

"And sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right," Wulf said. When the other guys looked confused by his solo outburst, he added, "I guess I’m the only one he ever said that one to."

Fury made a strange wolf-like noise. "I still don’t see why we were fighting when you could have just kicked their asses without us."

"Because I believe in giving everyone a fighting chance . . . until they piss me off." Ash cast Vane a quick stoic glance. "Bringing in reinforcements was Stryker’s mistake."

"And be glad it wasn’t yours," Fury said with a nervous laugh to Vane. "I know I’m thrilled it wasn’t mine." The wolf looked around at the Daimon and demon remains, or rather what little of it there was. "Acheron. When it absolutely, positively must be destroyed overnight."

Ash knelt by Styxx’s side to inspect the damage done. He wasn’t overly worried since Styxx couldn’t die unless he did. But that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt like hell. The dagger Stryker had held would have killed him had Styxx not stopped the attack.

His brother, who had wanted to die as much as he had, had saved his life.

He could barely even fathom that.

Styxx met his gaze levelly, even though he was shaking from the pain of his wound. "You know, brother, you’re never supposed to close your eyes in battle."

Ash laughed at his ill-placed humor. "I wasn’t the one training to be a general."

Styxx glanced around at the men surrounding them. "Perhaps. But you do a much better job of leading than I ever did. I definitely think Father trained the wrong one of us."

That was the kindest thing Styxx had ever said to him. Ash didn’t speak as he placed his hand over Styxx’s wound.

Styxx’s gaze didn’t leave his. But when Ash sealed the wound closed, Styxx let out an expletive about Ash’s "kind" touch that would have made Stryker proud.

"Am I dead yet?" Styxx asked sarcastically.

"Not yet. You still have a few years left to seriously piss me off."

Styxx smiled. "I look forward to it."

For once, so did Ash. "You did a good job for me. Thank you."

"Yeah well, next time you need someone to descend into a Daimon sanctuary, pick one of your other ass**les to do it. I don’t have the powers of a god when they come at me and it puts me at a definite disadvantage."

Still, he’d thrown himself in front of Ash to protect him . . . It went a long way in allowing him to put the past to rest and to accept his brother. Grinning, Ash helped Styxx to his feet.

Talon scratched his head as he watched them. "Hey T-Rex? Remind me next time I want to get smartass with you that it’s a really stupid move on my part."

Wulf gaped. "Oh no you don’t, you wuss. You told me the next time you saw Ash you were going to ask him if he’d seen the movie 10,000 BC and if it’d made him homesick."

Talon made a cut-off gesture at Wulf. "Do you mind not getting me fried tonight? I’d like to use some of my body parts later if you know what I mean and since you’re married with a brood of kids I know that you do."

Ash looked at Tory and any semblance of agitation he might have felt evaporated. She was safe and that was all that mattered to him.

He looked around at the group who’d come to help him and marveled at it. "Thank you, guys."

Kyrian offered him his hand. "Anytime you need us, Acheron, we’re here for you."

And one by one, they shook his hand and made a like declaration.

Until he got to Talon. "One day, you’ve got to tell me how you did that stick thing. That could come in handy not only with Daimons, but stray alligators and annoying neighbors."

Ash laughed. "One day I might."

At least until Nick walked past him and shoved his shoulder into Ash’s. It was such a juvenile thing to do. Ash glared at him as he stalked away, into the darkness. "For the record, Nick, I loved Cherise too."

Nick flipped him off and kept walking.

Zarek was the last man to leave. He sauntered over and cocked his head. His gaze went to Tory before he returned it to Ash and spoke to him in Greek. "You know, it’s amazing to me the wounds we can carry for eternity. But what has fascinated me most these last few years is how the right person can heal them. I remember a wise man once said to me that everyone deserves to be loved. Even you."

Ash snorted at the advice he’d given to Zarek after the man had almost let his wife go. "And as I recall, you told me to shut up."

Zarek shrugged, taking it in stride. "I’m an ass**le. I admit it. I’ve been going to weekly Assholes Anonymous meetings, but it takes a long time to undo a few thousand years of habit. And to think you have even more years to undo than me."

"So how’s Bob doing?" Ash asked, changing the subject to Zarek’s young son. "Has Astrid won the battle yet?"

"On calling him Menoeceus? Hell no. I still say it’s too close to Menopause for my taste and there’s not even a good nickname for it. Can you imagine being stuck with that name at school? Call me ridiculous, but I’d like the kid to grow up without a stigma."

Ash laughed at a tirade Zarek had delivered on more than one occasion. Yet his wife Astrid completely ignored it and continued to call the poor child Menoeceus while his father called him Bob.

Zarek shook his head. "But I tell you this, there’s nothing better than looking at a kid and seeing you mixed in with the one person you know you can trust to never screw you over. And I owe you for that, Acheron. Every time I look at them, I never forget what I owe you." He stepped away and switched to English, not knowing that Tory understood Greek as well as he did. "You two take care. And for the sake of the gods, stay out of trouble. At least until it warms up. You know how much I hate being in cold places." He vanished instantly.

Ash sent his staff back to Katoteros as Tory walked over to him. He repaired her shirt.

She tried to peer over his back. "How are you feeling?"

"Right now I could fly." He held his hand out for her.

The instant she took it, he teleported them back to his small flat on Pirate’s Alley.

She looked around with an arched brow. "Wow, you weren’t kidding. This place is itty-bitty."

He shrugged his backpack off his shoulder. "I don’t need much."

"You know, me either. But there is one thing I need."

"And that is?"

The heated, sincere look in her eyes scorched him. "You."

He savored that word and the surge of love that went through his heart. But in the end, he knew the truth. "I can’t stay with you, Tory. There can never be an us."

"Why not?"

Was she insane? Had she wiped the whole event they’d just lived through out of her mind? "You saw what I deal with on a daily basis. My enemies aren’t human and I have a lot more than just Stryker to deal with, and while Nick might have set you free tonight, he might not tomorrow. Not to mention the large redheaded problem. I can’t put you in that kind of danger. Ever."

"And if I disagree?"

"I won’t let you. I’m a god, Tory. If I have to, I’ll erase myself from your memories."

"You ever monkey with my brain and I swear, Acheron, you will be hurt."

And now that he thought about it, she was probably just like Nick-too flippin’ stubborn for his powers to work on her. "Be reasonable, Tory. My life is very complicated and it’s dangerous."

Tory wanted to cry over his obstinacy. "Everyone deserves love, Acheron," she said, repeating Zarek’s words. "Look me in the eye and tell me you really want me to leave. Tell me you never want to see me again."

Ash swallowed as his emotions roiled through him. He didn’t want her to go. He wanted to hold her and keep her by his side for the rest of his unnatural life.

But so long as she was human, she made him vulnerable. And as long as he had enemies determined to hurt him, he couldn’t allow her near him. "I want you to leave, Tory."

"Yeah, well, people in hell want ice water. Now take your clothes off and let me see to your back. It has to be killing you right now."

"So you’re going to completely disregard me?"

"Not completely. I hear what you’re saying and I respect the fact that I was outgunned and outfought tonight-that those demon things came in and snatched me up from where I was sitting. I’m not a stupid woman, but that being said, I don’t give up when I set my sights on something either. I love you, Acheron, and I intend to stand by your side even when you’re trying to push me away."

Ash closed his eyes as he savored every word out of her mouth. "I don’t know how to love someone, Tory. I don’t."

"The crowd of people I saw who were willing to lay down their lives for you says you’re full of more manure than a cow pasture, buddy."

"Artemis isn’t going to let us live in peace. You do understand that?"

"I understand that I told you to take your clothes off and you’re just standing here arguing with me. Give in to me, Ash. Trust me, it’s easier that way."

Holding his hands up in surrender, he used his powers to remove his shirt.

Tory sucked her breath in as she saw the reopened wounds that lacerated his back. "How can you stand it?"

The blank look he gave her tore through her. "I’m used to it."

"Get in bed. That back needs to be tended and you need to rest."

"Yes, ma’am." Ash headed the short distance to his bedroom while Tory went to the kitchen. He paused in the doorway to watch her. Oblivious to him, she pulled a bowl out and ran water in it.

A wave of desire hit him so hard that it literally took his breath away. If he didn’t hurt so badly, he wouldn’t be going to bed alone. But the pain his back was infinitely more demanding than the one in his groin.