Night Embrace by Sherrilyn Kenyon
They rushed through a door and were almost run over by Zarek who was covered in blood and carrying Sunshine in his arms.
"What the hell?" Talon asked, terrified by the sight. "What happened to her?" Before Zarek could answer, the door was blown from its frame.
"Run!" Zarek shouted.
No one had a chance. A swarm of hideous winged demons flew into the room. Talon cursed. He'd never seen anything like them. They were the color of rust and screeched like banshees as they flew at them.
They had three barbed tails that they wielded like whips.
Acheron held his hands up and blasted them with electrical energy. They recoiled, but kept coming.
"Get Sunshine out of here," Acheron ordered.
They headed back to the stairs only to find Daimons coming up from below.
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Talon tossed two asrads, taking out four of the creatures, but it didn't even slow them down. "We're surrounded."
Acheron spoke in a language Talon couldn't understand. The demons paused and flew around as if dazed by his order.
"It won't hold the demons for long," Ash shouted, his voice barely discernible over the ethereal flapping of wings and claps of thunder.
Ash threw his hands up and the Daimons ran into what appeared to be an invisible barrier between them.
Talon led Zarek down the hallway, hoping to find another way out of the building.
He shoved open a door to a smaller room.
"I think she's dying." Zarek's voice sent an electric chill through him. "She's not dying."
"Talon, I think she's dying," he repeated.
The demons forgotten, Talon took her from Zarek's arms and laid her carefully on the floor.
Her face was so pale that it shook him.
"Sunshine?" he breathed, his heart pounding. "Baby, can you look at me?" She did, but instead of the vibrancy he was used to seeing, he saw pain and deep regret. "You're free, Talon," she whispered. "I made him break the curse."
"What?"
"She traded her soul to Camulus so that he would set you free." Zarek curled his lip at him. "I told her not to do it, that it was a trick. She didn't listen and as soon as she Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 419 of 460
agreed, the bastard blasted her."
Talon choked. "No!" he roared at both of them. "Sunshine, why?"
"He said he would kill you. I thought he would just take my soul, Talon. I didn't know he would do this. I didn't know he couldn't take possession of my soul without killing me first."
Talon tore the medallion from Sunshine's neck. "Damn you, Morrigan," he shouted, throwing it against the wall. "How could you forsake her too?"
She pressed her cold hand to his lips, "Shh, baby. Don't say that. It's my fault." "I told her there's always a catch. But she didn't ask the right questions."
Tears flowed down Talon's cheeks as he watched her struggle to breathe. Over and over in his mind he remembered every moment of their time together, both in this life and her previous one.
He saw Sunshine's bright, tender face the first time they had made love. Saw her wrestling for her easel with Beth.
Heard her singing "Puff the Magic Dragon" as she doodled.
He took her hands into his and kissed them, with their smell of paint, turpentine, and patchouli. Hands that created breathtaking works of art.
Hands that could tear him apart with a simple touch
"I'm not going to lose you again,"
he breathed. "Not like this." Zarek came forward. "What are you doing, Celt?"
"Get away from me."
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Talon placed his hands over her chest wound and closed his eyes. He forced himself to calm down, forced his emotions to leave him, and then he summoned his Dark-Hunter powers, and let them wash through him. His immortal strength flowed, surged. It swelled up and moved from his hands into her body.
His arms burned as he, in turn, absorbed her injury into his own chest.
Normally, it would hurt when he did this. Tonight, the pain was crippling because this wound wasn't a small injury.
It was mortal.
Gasping from the wrenching agony of his heart being pierced, Talon fell back, away from her. Sunshine lay still, waiting for the pain to return.
It didn't.
Afraid she was already dead, she reached up to touch her chest where Camulus's blast had struck her. There was no longer a wound there.
"Talon?" She sat up to see Zarek staring at him.
"Oh God, no!" she shrieked as she saw Talon lying on the floor, bleeding. She scrambled to his side and pulled him into her arms. "What have you done?"
"He took your injuries into his own body," Zarek explained. "Now, instead of you dying, he will."
"No, Talon, no! Please don't die," she begged.
"Shh," Talon said quietly. "It's okay."
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Ash came running through the door, took one look at them and cursed. "What happened?"
"The Celt absorbed her injuries." Zarek's voice was scarcely more than a whisper and filled with disbelief.
Something struck the door. Hard.
"Don't worry," Ash said. "I have a shield on the room. The gods can't pop in here until they breach it."
"Yeah, but at the rate they're going, they'll have the door knocked down any second,"
Zarek said. He pushed Ash toward Talon. "Go, get him out of here. I've got your backs."
"You sure?" Ash asked.
Zarek nodded.
"So help me, Slave," Dionysus snarled from the other side of the door. "I'll see you obliterated for this." Zarek laughed coldly. "Come get some."
Ash opened the door on the opposite side of the room.
Sunshine was terrified. She didn't know what was happening. She still couldn't believe Zarek had turned around and helped them. Nor could she think past the sight of Talon covered in blood.
Everything was happening so fast that she wanted to run away and hide. But she couldn't. Talon needed her to be strong for him and she refused to fail him.
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As she started away from Zarek, he called out to her. "Hey, Sunshine?"
She looked back at him.
"Thanks for the bowl." Then he turned around to wait for the gods to break through Ash's barrier and the door.
Amazed by his actions, Sunshine ran to help Ash carry Talon down the hallway and into the last room on the left.
Ash laid him carefully on the floor, then used his powers to seal the room.
Sunshine's hand shook as she knelt beside Talon. He was pale and trembling. His entire body was coated with sweat and blood. "Hold on, baby," she whispered, not sure if he could even hear her now.
"He's immortal, right?" she asked Ash. "He'll be fine."
Ash shook his head. "His heart is pierced. When it stops beating, he'll die. Again." His face grim, Ash looked up at the ceiling. "Artemis!" he shouted. "Get your ass here, right now." A flash of light almost blinded Sunshine as the goddess appeared beside her.
Artemis gave Acheron a furious glare. "What is your problem?"
"I need Talon's soul. Now."
She laughed incredulously at him. "Excuse me, Acheron, but you haven't paid the price for it"
"Dammit, Artie, he's dying. I don't have time to negotiate."
She shrugged. "Then heal him."
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"I can't and you know it. It's a mortal god-bolt wound. I'm not allowed to interfere with that." Sunshine felt an electric ripple flow through the room.
Rage darkened her sight as she stared at the selfish goddess. Sunshine started to lunge at her, but Ash caught her and pulled her back.
"Give it to me,now." Acheron's deep voice sounded like thunder. "Do it and I'll give you a week of total submission."
A calculating gleam darkened Artemis's eyes. "Give me two." Sunshine saw the fury and resignation on Ash's face. "Done." Artemis held her hand out and a large maroon stone appeared in her palm. When Ash went to take it, Artemis pulled it out of his reach.
"You will come to me at dawn."
"I will, I swear it."
Artemis smiled in satisfaction, then handed the stone to Ash. Ash returned to Talon.
Then, he met Sunshine's gaze. "Sunshine, you're going to have to take this into your hand and hold it over the brand mark until his soul is released back into his body."
She reached for it, but Talon caught her wrist. She hadn't even known he was still conscious until she felt his weakened grip on her arm.
"She can't, Ash."
"Talon!" she said, angered that he was stopping her. "What are you doing?"
"No, Sunshine," Talon whispered, his voice strained. "If you take that, it will scar your hand. It could leave you unable to draw or paint ever again."
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Her greatest fear.
She looked into Talon's pain-filled eyes.
Her greatest love.
There was no contest.
She grabbed the stone from Ash's hand, then cried out as it seared her flesh.
"Watch Talon's eyes." She heard Ash's voice inside her head. "And for Zeus's sake, please don't let go of his soul. Focus
" She did and the pain lessened, but still she could feel the fire of the stone searing her hand.
Time stood still as she stared into Talon's jet-black eyes. Memories of this life and of their former one merged in her mind. She flashed back to her own death, to Talon holding her close.
She leaned down and kissed him. "I'm with you, love."
Talon took his last breath and relaxed. Her own heart stopped beating as raw terror consumed her.
Please, please, let this work!
Ash placed her hand over Talon's bow-and-arrow brand mark. Slowly, the heat faded and the stone turned dull in color.
Still, her hand burned.
When it was completely cold, she dropped the stone and waited. Talon didn't move.
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He didn't breathe.
He lay there, completely still and unresponsive to her.
"Talon?" she asked, her entire body shaking with the fear that he was gone.
Just when she was sure he was dead, he drew a deep breath and opened his eyes.
Sunshine let out a joyful cry as she saw his amber eyes. She hugged him close as the door behind them flew open.
The Daimons, the demons, and the two gods spilled into the room. There was no sign of Zarek
anywhere. She only hoped they hadn't killed him.
Talon jumped up and put himself between Sunshine and the others.
Ash rose to his feet, ready to fight.
"It's midnight," Dionysus said with a laugh. "Let the show begin."
The demons moved aside and out of their midst appeared Acheron's "twin."
"Hello, Acheron," Styxx said in a tone that was neither kind nor welcoming. "It's been a while, hasn't it? Eleven thousand years or so?"
Talon held his breath. He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
He had suspected as much, but now the reality of it came crashing down on him. Ash had had a twin brother all this time.
Why had he hidden it? And how could Styxx still be alive and not be a Dark-Hunter too?
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It didn't make sense.
Styxx approached Acheron.
"Stand down, Styxx," Ash said sternly. "I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to. I won't let you release her."
Styxx met Talon's gaze and laughed. "It's like some bad soap opera, isn't it? Good twin, bad twin."
His furious gaze returned to Acheron. "But then, we're not really twins, are we, Acheron? We just happened to have shared the same womb for a while."
Styxx moved to stand behind Ash who tensed noticeably. It wasn't like Ash to allow anyone to do that to him and yet he appeared to be frozen by some unseen force.
Styxx was so close to him that barely a hand separated them. They didn't touch.
Styxx leaned forward to speak in a low tone near Ash's ear. "Shall we tell him who the good one is, Acheron? Should I tell him which of us lived his life with dignity? Which of us was respected by the Greeks and Atlanteans and who was laughed at?"
Styxx reached his hand around Ash's neck and placed it in the exact spot where Ash's scar often resided.
He pulled Ash back against him so that he could whisper in Ash's ear in a language Talon couldn't understand.
Ash panted as if in the throes of a nightmare.
His eyes were haunted and glazed, his breathing ragged. Still he didn't move to break Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 427 of 460
Styxx's hold.
Talon watched, unsure of what he should do. Surely Ash could handle this. He'd never known of anything Ash couldn't handle.
"That's it, Acheron," Styxx said in English, between clenched teeth. "Remember the past. Remember what you were. I want you to relive it all. Relive every foul thing you ever did. Every tear you made my parents weep for you. Every moment I had to look at you and feel ashamed that you bore my face."
Talon watched as tears filled Ash's eyes and he trembled. He didn't know what secrets Ash hid, but they must be hideous to affect him like this.
Personally, he didn't care what Ash had done in his past. For fifteen hundred years, he had never known Ash to be anything but caring and decent.
Secrets or not, the two of them were friends. "Let him go," Talon ordered.
Styxx cocked his head, but he refused to release Ash. He tightened his grip on Ash's throat. "Do you remember when Estes died, Acheron? The way my father and I found you? I have never been able to forget it. Every time I have ever thought of you, it's the image I have. You're repulsive. Disgusting."
"Kill him," Dionysus ordered, "and open the portal."
Styxx didn't seem to hear him, his attention was fixed on Ash.
Camulus started toward them with a dagger. Talon rushed him and they fought for the weapon.
The demons attacked as Styxx continued to taunt and insult Ash.
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"Kill him, Styxx," Dionysus ordered again. "Or we'll miss the portal."
Styxx pulled a dagger out from underneath his coat. His fight with Camulus forgotten, Talon tried to reach them. But he couldn't make it.
Styxx raised his hand and sent the dagger straight into Ash's heart. He buried it all the way to its hilt.
Ash gasped and arched his back as if something had possessed him. The dagger shot through the air, bouncing off a wall above Dionysus's head. Light poured out of the wound, then seared it closed.
In the next instant a shock wave went through the room, knocking everyone off their feet. Styxx was hurled to a far corner while the gods were pinned to the ground.
Acheron rose from the floor, to hover spread-eagled several inches above it.
Unable to stand upright against the unseen force, Talon crawled to Sunshine and held her close so that he could protect her from whatever was happening.
No one could stand. Not even the gods.
Lightning bolts shot through Acheron's body, blowing out the windows and the lights.
Electrical energy snapped and hissed all around. Acheron laid his head back as bolts of light pierced his eyes and mouth. They seemed to shoot through him and then out, into the room, emitting bright flashes of light.
The Daimons and the demons exploded
A winged dragon seemed to come out from under Acheron's sleeve and wrap itself around him as if it were protecting him.
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Or perhaps devouring him.
In all his life, Talon had never seen anything like this.
"What the hell is that?" Camulus asked. "Styxx, what did you do?" "Nothing. Is this from the portal opening?"
"No," Dionysus said. "This is something else entirely. Something no one told me about."
He looked up at the ceiling and shouted, "Artemis!"
Artemis appeared and was immediately pinned to the floor with the rest of them. Talon tightened his grip on Sunshine, who clutched him fiercely as she trembled against him.
Artemis took one look at Acheron and her face went flush with anger. "Who's the idiot who pissed off Acheron?" she demanded.
The two gods pointed to Styxx.
"You fools!" she snarled. "What were you thinking?"
"We needed to kill an Atlantean to raise the Destroyer," Dionysus said. "Acheron's the only one left."
"Oh, you are so stupid!" Artemis snapped. "I knew your plan had to be a bad one. You can't just kill him with a dagger. In case you haven't noticed, he's not human. Where was your brain?"
Dionysus curled his lips at her. "How was I to know your pet was a god-killer? What kind of idiot ties herself down to one of his kind?"
"Well, gee, what was I supposed to do?" Artemis shot back. "Hook up with Mr. All-powerful God-killer or get myself a Mardi Gras float and hang out with him?" She Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 430 of 460
pointed to Camulus, who looked extremely offended by her comment. "You're such a moron," she said to her brother. "No wonder you're the patron god of drunken frat boys."
"Excuse me," Talon snapped at them. "Could you gods focus for a sec? We have a bit of a situation here."
"Oh, shut up," Dionysus snapped. "I knew I should have backed up when I ran you over."
Talon's jaw went slack. "That was you who hit me with the float?" "Yes."
"Damn, boy," Camulus said to Dionysus. "You've fallen a long way down. Yesterday Greek god
today incompetent float driver. Sheez, and I hooked up with you? What was I thinking? Artemis is right, what kind of idiot picks a float to mow a guy down so that he can go home with his dead wife? You're lucky you didn't kill him then and blow the entire plan."
"Hey, have you ever tried to drive one of those things? It's not exactly easy. Besides, he's a Dark-Hunter. I knew it wouldn't kill him. I just needed something that would hurt him enough to make her take him home. Need I remind you that it did work?"