Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter #5)(27)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

Phoebe raked an angry glare over her. "Don’t you dare take that tone with me! Not after Urian and I have risked everything for you. For all I know, right now, they’re back there killing him."

The tremor in her sister’s voice brought Cassandra back to her senses and calmed her down. "I’m sorry, Phoebe. Kat. I’m just scared."

Kat helped her to her feet, but instead of going back to her seat, Cassandra headed to Wulf’s chair. He slowed the boat only enough so that she could sit safely in his lap.

At least there she felt sheltered. Secure. She trusted him implicitly.

"You’ll be okay, Cassandra," he said against her hair, over the roar of the boat.

She snuggled closer to him and inhaled his warm, masculine scent. Cassandra held tight as he sped them into a future that terrified her.

Dawn was coming. Cassandra could, feel it as she rode silently in the custom-built, heavily modified Land Rover next to Wulf. She was immune to the rays, but she knew Wulf and her sister weren’t. Chris was asleep in the back seat, sitting between Kat and Phoebe with his head on Kat’s shoulder, while Kat looked out the window nervously.

They had left the boat behind well over an hour ago and were now in a multiterrain Land Rover racing for a destination Phoebe wouldn’t name. She just gave them directions.

"How much longer?" Cassandra asked.

"Not much farther." The uncertain apprehension in Phoebe’s voice belied her words.

Cassandra took Wulf’s hand into hers. He squeezed her fingers reassuringly, but didn’t speak.

"Will we make it before sunrise?" she asked her sister.

"It’s going to be close." Then under her breath, Phoebe mumbled the words, "Real close."

Cassandra watched Wulf as he drove. He had his sunglasses on to help with the glare from the snow, but the night was so dark, she wasn’t sure how he saw at all. His whiskered jaw was set and rigid. Even though he didn’t say anything, she noted the way he kept glancing at the clock on the dashboard.

She offered a prayer that they made it to their destination before the sun killed him.

Forcing her fear away before it overwhelmed her, she looked down at their joined hands. Her hand was covered by her black knit gloves. His bare fingers were long and manly. The hands of a protective warrior.

Who would ever have thought that she would find a friend and lover born to a race that was the sworn enemy of her own?

And yet here she sat, knowing he was the only thing that could save and protect her baby. Knowing he would willingly die to protect her child. Her heart ached with that knowledge and with the nervousness she felt as the sky lightened.

He couldn’t die. Surely the Fates wouldn’t be so cruel.

Cassandra let go of his hand long enough to pull her glove off, then took his hand again into hers. She needed that physical connection to him.

He glanced at her and offered her an encouraging smile.

"Turn right there," Phoebe said, leaning forward between them to point at a small trail where there was no road.

Wulf didn’t question it. There wasn’t time. Instead, he turned as she indicated.

He was an idiot for trusting her, he knew that. But there wasn’t any choice. Besides, Phoebe hadn’t betrayed them yet.

Even if she did, he would make sure she paid for it. Along with anyone else who dared to come after Cassandra.

They crashed through the woods, the armor plating of the SUV making it relatively easy to plow through smaller trees and travel over the snow, ice, and debris. Wulf cut the lights off so that he could see better as the Land Rover bounced over the uneven terrain.

Chris came awake with a curse. "Is Stryker back?"

"No," Kat told him. "We had to leave the road."

Wulf slowed a bit so as not to throw one of the tank tracks that had replaced the SUV’s tires. They were a lot sturdier in this climate, but were still a far cry from being infallible, and the last thing he needed was to be stranded out in the open with daylight so close.

Just as the sun was appearing over the mountain, he broke through the trees and came to a cave.

There were three Apollites standing outside of it. Waiting.

Cassandra hissed and released his hand.

"It’s okay," Phoebe said as she opened her door and sprang from the truck.

Wulf hesitated as he watched Phoebe run to the men and point back at them.

"Well," he breathed, watching the sun starting to creep over the peaks. "It’s a moment of truth. We can’t run from them now."

"I’m with you to the end," Kat breathed from the back seat.

Chris nodded. "Me too."

"Stay here," Wulf said to Cassandra and Chris before he slid out, his hand on the hilt of his sword.

Kat got out with him.

Chris leaned forward so that his head was almost even with hers. "Are those what I think they are?"

"Yes," Cassandra said, holding her breath. "Those are Apollites and they don’t look happy to see us."

The Apollites eyed Kat and Wulf suspiciously. The hatred between them was even more fierce than when Urian had faced Wulf in Wulf’s boathouse.

It made Cassandra’s blood run cold.

Phoebe motioned to the cresting sun and said something to the men. Still they didn’t move.

Until Wulf looked over his shoulder at Cassandra. His gaze met hers and he gave her a subtle nod.

His face unreadable, he handed over all his weapons.

Cassandra’s heart pounded. Would they kill him?

She knew he would never have handed his weapons over to his enemies. He would have fought to the bitter end. But for her he had surrendered himself.

The Apollites led him inside with Phoebe while Kat came back for them.

"What’s going on?" Cassandra asked.

Kat let out a tired breath. "They’re taking Wulf into custody to make sure he doesn’t hurt any of them. Come on, they have a doctor inside waiting for you."

Cassandra hesitated as she looked in the direction where they had vanished. "Do you really trust them?"

"I don’t know. Do you?"

She thought about that and wasn’t exactly sure of the answer. "I trust Phoebe. I think."

Kat laughed at that.

Cassandra scooted out of the truck and let Kat lead her and Chris into the cave where Wulf had been taken.

Phoebe met them just inside. "Don’t be afraid, Cassie. We all know how important you and your baby are. No one here will hurt either of you. I swear it."

Cassandra could only hope her sister meant that. "Who are we?"

"This is an Apollite community," Phoebe said as she led them deep into the cave. "One of the older ones in North America."

"But why are you helping me now?" Cassandra asked. "It’s not like you haven’t known I’ve been hunted all these years."

Phoebe looked pained by the question. "I knew you lived and I was hoping you would carry on our line. I was afraid to tell you I was still existing for fear of how you would take it. I thought it would be easier this way."

"Then why change now?"

"Because an Apollite named Spawn called a few days ago and explained what was going on. Once I talked to Urian and knew what his father had planned, I realized I couldn’t leave you alone anymore. We are sisters, Cassandra, and your baby has to live."

At the back of the cave, Phoebe placed her hand against one of the stones where a spring release opened an elevator door.

Chris gave an overexaggerated gape. "Holy Hand Grenade, Batman, it’s a bat cave."

Cassandra cast him a droll look.

"Oh, come on," Chris said, "someone other than me has to see the humor in this?" He looked around at their three unamused faces. "Guess not."

Cassandra entered the elevator first. "What about the men I saw outside? Who are they?"

Phoebe entered next. "They are our ruling council. Nothing can be done here without their direct approval."

Kat and Chris joined them. The door to the elevator closed.

"Are there any Daimons here?" Chris asked as Phoebe pressed a button to start the elevator on its downward path.

"The only Daimon in this community is me," Phoebe said sheepishly. "They allow me to live here because they owe Urian for his help. So long as I don’t draw attention to myself or their existence, I’m allowed to stay."

As the elevator continued downward, Cassandra didn’t know what to expect from the Apollite colony. Or her sister. Long ago, she would have trusted Phoebe without hesitation, but that was a Phoebe who wouldn’t have been able to take someone else’s life to sustain her own.

This new Phoebe scared her.

Cassandra’s ears popped, letting her know they were traveling far beneath the mountain.

When the doors opened, she felt like she had just stepped into some science fiction movie.

Everything was fashioned like a futuristic city. Made of steel and concrete, the walls were painted with brilliant murals depicting sunshine and beauty.

Her group stepped out into a central area that was probably the size of a football field. There were openings all around that showed more corridors leading to other areas.

There were all kinds of shops in this main area, except for food vendors-a service the Apollites would have no need of since they lived off each other’s blood.

"The city is named Elysia," Phoebe explained as she led them past a handful of Apollites who had paused to stare at them. "Most of the Apollites here live their entire lives below ground. They’ve no desire to go topside and see the humans and their violence. Nor do they wish to see their kin hunted and slaughtered."

"I take exception to that," Chris said. "I’m not violent. At least I don’t suck on other people."

"Keep your voice down," Phoebe warned. "Humans have never been kind to my people. They have hunted and persecuted us even more than the Dark-Hunters. Here you are a minority and if you threaten any of my people, they just might kill you without bothering to find out whether or not you’re violent."

Chris clamped his mouth shut.

Cassandra saw the sneers and glares they collected as Phoebe led them toward a hallway on the left.

"What do they do with the Apollites who turn Daimon?" Chris asked as soon as they were away from the other Apollites.

"No Daimons are tolerated here since they require a steady diet of human souls. If an Apollite decides to go Daimon, they are allowed to leave, but they can never return here. Ever."

"Yet you live here," Kat said. "Why?"

"I told you, Urian protects them. He was the one who showed them how to build this place."

"Why?" Kat pressed.

Phoebe stopped and turned to give Kat a measuring stare. "In spite of what you might think of him, Katra, my husband is a good man. He only wants what’s best for his people." Phoebe’s gaze went to Cassandra. "Urian was the first child to ever be born a cursed Apollite."

Cassandra gasped at the news. "That would make him-"

"Over eleven thousand years old," Phoebe said, finishing her sentence for her. "Yes. Most of the warriors who travel with him are that old. They go back to the very beginning of our history."

Chris whistled low. "How is that possible?"

"The Destroyer protects them," Kat answered. "Just as the Dark-Hunters serve Artemis, the true Spathis serve her." Kat sighed as if the conflict pained her. "Artemis and Apollymi have been at war since day one. The Destroyer is in captivity because Artemis tricked her into it and she spends all her time plotting Artemis’s torture and death. If she ever gets out, Apollymi will destroy her."

Cassandra frowned. "Why does the Destroyer hate Artemis?"

"Love. Why else?" Kat said simply. "Love, hatred, and revenge are the most powerful emotions on earth. Apollymi wants revenge on Artemis for killing the one thing she loved most in the universe."

"And that is?"

"I would never betray either one by saying it."

"Would you write it down?" Chris asked.

Kat rolled her eyes.

Cassandra and Phoebe shook their heads.

"Oh, yeah, like the two of you weren’t thinking the same thing," Chris said.

Phoebe motioned them to follow her again. She led them down a corridor that was lined with doors. "These are apartments. You will be given a large unit with four bedrooms. Mine is down a separate hallway. I would have liked to have had you closer, but this was the only one available that was big enough to accommodate all of you and I didn’t think it wise to break up your number."

Cassandra wished she were closer to Phoebe too. She had a lot of catching up to do with her sister. "Is Wulf already there?"

"No," Phoebe said, averting her gaze. "He was taken to a holding cell."

Cassandra was aghast, then angry. "Excuse me?"

"He’s our enemy, Cassie. What would you expect us to do?"

"I expect you to release him. Now."

"I can’t."

Cassandra stopped dead in her tracks. "Then show me the door out of here."

Phoebe’s face mirrored her disbelief. "What?"

"You heard me. I will not stay here unless he’s welcome. He has risked his life for me. His home was destroyed because of me and I will not live comfortably while the father of my baby is treated like a convict."