Dream Warrior (Dark-Hunter #17)(30)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

"What are you doing here?"

He turned at the sound of Jared’s voice, surprised to see him in New Orleans. It’d been the first time he’d seen the Sephiroth since they left Kalosis.

"We’re waiting on Ash," Delphine answered. "What are you doing here?"

Jared indicated a couple over his shoulder. "Demon-sitting."

Delphine frowned as she saw a Charonte female with long black hair dressed as a human goth in a short skirt, corset and striped leggings, with another demon dressed as a steampunk. The female would almost pass for human except for the small pair of red horns on top of her head.

Like the Charonte, the male demon’s hair was black-a mop of dreads with a pair of goggles buried deep in them. He had a small goatee and black finger-less gloves that jutted out from the sleeves of his oversized coat. But the most peculiar thing was a pink bunny strapped to one hip by his belt and a mutated teddy bear strapped to the other.

Yeah, they were odd-looking, no doubt.

And they were eating double-scoop ice cream and window shopping like two college students who didn’t have a care in the world. At least until the male got a dab of ice cream on his nose. Laughing, the female wiped it off. then licked her fingers.

"Do I want to know?" Delphine asked.

"Not really. But as long as they’re not eating the tourists or natives, it’s a good thing and I’m not complaining." Jared inclined his head to the street behind them. "There’s Ash."

Delphine turned to see him striding alone down the dark street with a black leather backpack slung over his shoulder. His long black coat billowed out from his black jeans and "Raised by Bats" T-shirt to show off his burgundy Doc Martens. Yes, Delphine was in love with her husband and considered him the best-looking man in the universe, but there was something about Ash that made a woman take note.

Ash pulled a pocket watch out to check the time as he joined them.

"What are we doing here?" Jericho asked.

Ash tucked the watch back into his pocket. "We’re waiting."

That didn’t seem to appease Jericho. "For?"

A liquid-silver Jaguar XKR came flying up the street to make a sharp turn. It slammed on the brakes and skidded into a parking space behind a black truck on the side of the street a few feet in front of them.

Now that was impressive. It landed in a perfect position, just inches off the truck’s bumper. The only way Delphine could have duplicated that would have been to use her powers.

As if on cue, the door opened. A tall, insanely handsome dark-haired man with jet-black eyes rolled out of the car into the street. But that wasn’t what made her take notice of him. It was the double bow and arrow mark on his cheek.

That was the sign of a Dark-Hunter.

And as the man joined them, Delphine felt the power and the hatred that was ingrained in him. Rarely had she felt its equal. This man… held some of the rawest abilities she’d ever come across.

He cast a barely tolerant glare at Acheron before he gave Jared a nasty once-over.

"Why am I here, Rex?" His voice thick with a Cajun drawl, he rolled the last word out like a barbed insult.

Ignoring it, Acheron scowled at the car. "Damn, boy, how lazy are you? Why didn’t you walk? We’re only a few blocks from your house."

He rolled his shoulders in a casual, yet irritating, shrug. "I like my car."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Jericho. Delphine. I thought you might want to meet the ass**le you’re helping to protect. Nick Gautier, this is Jericho and his wife, Delphine."

Jericho choked in surprise. "This is the Malachai?"

Ash grinned wickedly. "In all his pain in the ass glory."

Nick glowered at Ash. "Are we through now, Dad? Can I go play with my friends if I promise to be a good boy? I’ll even try and make it home by curfew."

Ash laughed evilly. "Oh, absolutely, son. In fact, here come your new playmates now."

Delphine turned as a deep-throated Hayabusa roared down the street with a sound that was all power and speed. It parked just in front of the truck, blocking it in, followed by a Lamborghini Muercielago, and another Gixxer Hayabusa parked in front of it.

Delphine crossed her arms over her chest as the helmets came off to show one incredibly sexy woman with insanely curly brown hair. Granted, Delphine wasn’t attracted to other women, but she had to admit the woman was absolutely stunning. Her biker outfit only accentuated her long, slender limbs, and she had a walk that said she’d kick the ass of anyone dumb enough to cross her path in the wrong direction.

After unzipping her jacket to show off her blood-red tank top, she put on a pair of opaque Versace sunglasses.

The other bike was ridden by a man with short black hair and a thin beard trimmed in sharp angles that reminded Delphine of Tony Stark’s in Iron Man. Bulging with muscles, he had a swagger that said he took no shit from anyone over anything. A small row of hoops ran up his left ear and his arms were covered with colorful tattoos.

The Lamborghini was driven by a lethal-looking man with long, straight blond hair that he wore scraped back into a ponytail. Much leaner than the brunette, he still had an aura that said he was willing to take out anyone he viewed as an enemy.

Delphine had been around warriors and gods all of her life, but never had she seen anything to equal the badass attitudes of this group.

They joined rank like a pack of feral lions ready to patrol the jungle. No, not patrol. . .

Conquer.

Ash introduced them as they joined their small group. "Guys, meet Samia, the fiercest Amazon warrior in her tribe."

The woman inclined her head to them.

"The huge mountain is Blade. He was the most bloodthirsty warlord in Mercia."

Blade didn’t acknowledge them in the least. He looked more like he was sizing them up for body bags.

Ash indicated the tall blond. "Ethon is from ancient Athens. He single-handedly fought off an entire Spartan brigade. For a thousand years after he died, his name was the equivalent to the bogeyman in ancient Sparta."

Ethon flashed a charming smile. "All in a good day’s work. So who am I here to kill now?"

"Down, boy. I have other plans for you."

Ethon curled his lip as if he were in pain. "Damn it, Acheron. Don’t tell me you’ve finally released me from hell to not kill something. That’s just wrong."

Ash patted him on the arm. "Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll get your chance to maim and slay soon." He jerked his chin toward another man headed their way.

Delphine turned and sucked her breath in sharply at the latest warrior to join them. A bit shorter than the others, he was Asian and every bit as devastating and lethal.

"Raden," Ash said as he joined them. "A trained Shinobi who never quite learned how to come down from a blood high."

"Why should I? Blood always tastes best when it’s warm."

Delphine arched her brow at that. By his tone and the way he licked his fangs, she didn’t think he was joking.

Ash ignored his comment. "Tafari, Roman, Cabeza and Kalidas will be joining us later."

"Roman," Samia spat. "Are you out of your mind?"

Ash went cold and cast a look at her that was even deadlier than the assembled crew. "You will play nice and stay back from him or so help me, Sam… you won’t like the repercussion."

"Fucking Roman scum."

Nick let out a bored sigh as he rolled his eyes. "You know, I’m having a freaky deja vu here. And honestly, I’m unimpressed. Should I know these-"

"Don’t say it, Nick," Ash said sharply, cutting off his next insult. "In the land of badass, you’ve just been trumped. If Dark-Hunters had inmates, these would be they. Known as the Dogs of War because that’s what they thrive on, they’re cold-blooded and intolerant." He clapped Nick on the back. "Congratulations, bud, these are your new protectors. And unlike the other Dark-Hunters, they don’t drain each other’s powers."

Nick scowled. "How can that be?"

Blade grabbed Ethon and head-butted him. Normally when one Dark-Hunter assaulted another, they felt the blow ten times worse than the person they delivered it to. But Blade showed no signs of it. "Pain is my best friend."

Ethon slugged him hard in response. His own nose exploded with blood, but the look on his face said he really didn’t care how much he hurt himself. He brushed the blood aside while Blade did the same.

Ash sighed as he shook his head. "It’s not that their powers don’t drain. It’s that they’re so powerful to begin with that it’s not really noticeable the way it is with others. And as you’ve just seen, they have a deep masochistic streak much like Zarek."

Nick was aghast. "You’re turning seven-"

"Eight," Ash corrected.

Nick cursed foully. "Eight of these loose on New Orleans? Are you out of your mind? How are you going to control them?"

Ash shrugged nonchalantly. "That’s why I have Jericho, Jared and Zarek."

Nick sputtered. "Psycho-ass? You’re bringing Psycho-ass back?"

"That’s Mister Psycho-ass to you, punk," Zarek said as he materialized behind Nick and put a hostile hand on his neck. He squeezed it hard enough to wring a groan out of Nick. "Now who’s babysitting who?"

Jericho snorted. "Looks like I’ll be the one babysitting you all."

Delphine laughed at his dire tone. "It’s okay, sweetie. I make a mean Band-aid."

EPILOGUE

Knob Creek, Tennessee

Delphine was extremely nervous as they walked up the small set of stairs that led to a log cabin on top of a huge mountain, out in the middle of nowhere. It was cold and snowy, but the scenery was breathtaking.

Even so, it couldn’t calm her down. "Maybe we should have called first."

Jericho made a sound of chiding deep in his throat. "You can’t be serious. This is all you’ve talked about for the last two weeks."

"Yeah, but how do I introduce myself? What if she doesn’t remember me?"

He rolled his eyes. "You’re her daughter, Delphine. Believe me, that’s not something she’s going to forget."

Maybe, but she was the daughter her mother had thought dead. Maybe she’d pushed her out of her mind completely and gone on with her life. "What if-"

He picked her up and carried her.

"Jericho!" she snapped, afraid he’d slip on the snow and stones and hurt them both. "Put me down. I don’t want to meet her like this."

He gave her a stern look before he obliged and set her down just in front of the red wood door.

Delphine was still trying to get used to her emotions, which were completely out of whack over this. She was scared and happy. Apprehensive and nervous.

None of it felt good.

But Jericho was right. Once she’d acclimated herself to the reality that she had a mother who was alive, she’d been obsessed with meeting her.

Yet now that she was here… it wasn’t as easy as she’d thought it would be.

"I’m right here, baby," Jericho said softly, placing a steady hand on her shoulder to comfort her. "Knock on the door."

"Okay." She took a deep, long breath.

Clenching her fists, she stared at the door, which was somehow intimidating in a not-intimidating kind of way. She’d fought gods and demons, Daimons and gallu. So why was this so damned hard?

Just knock. . .

Her hand trembled as she lifted it and knocked timidly. Turning to Jericho, she shrugged. "Well, guess they’re not home. I’ll try again later."

She started for the stairs only to have Jericho catch her and drag her back to the door. With a stem glower, he reached around her and pounded on the wood so hard it rattled the hinges.

"I hate you," she hissed.

"You love me," he said with a tender smile. "Even when I piss you off."

She was just about to correct him when she heard the sound of someone unlocking the door. Her heart pounded furiously in fear and expectation.

Jericho turned her around at the same time the door opened to show her a woman who was almost identical in looks to her, except for her black hair and vivid blue eyes.

Dressed in a winter white sweater and jeans, her mother stared at her as if she were a ghost. Her breathing intensified. "Is this a sick prank?"

Her gaze went from Delphine to Jericho, and then it narrowed in hatred. She screeched in outrage. "You bastard! Haven’t you done enough to me!"

Delphine caught her as she lunged at Jericho. "Mom?"

Her mother fought her until that one syllable registered in her mind past her fury. Tears filled her blue eyes as she stepped back to look at Delphine again. "Iole?" she breathed in disbelief. "Is it really you? Can it be?"

Delphine sobbed as she nodded. "It’s me, Mom. Cratus didn’t kill me like Zeus ordered. He hid me away to protect me."

Leta pulled her into a hug so tight that she could barely breathe, but Delphine didn’t care.

This was her mother. Her real mother. She was alive and here… and she remembered her.

It was such a silly thing, and yet up until now she had honestly been afraid of her mother rejecting her. Of her having forgotten her.

"I loved you so much," Leta sobbed, stroking her hair. "I’ve hated all of them for so long. . . Never a day has passed that I didn’t think about and wonder what you would have been like had you lived." She kissed Delphine’s hair, then her cheek. Shaking her head, she cupped her face and stared at her with pride shining deep in her blue eyes. "Look at you! You have your father’s beautiful eyes and you’re so grown."