No Mercy (11 page)

            Without thinking about his noble station or the expense of his clothes, he'd picked the boy up and quieted him, then carried him home to his mother. Ioel's chiton had been covered with little muddy handprints.

            He'd laughed at the sight of them.
"It'll wash. Better I be a little dirty than a child be hurt. Clothes can be replaced. Children should always be cherished."

            That memory stabbed her hard through her heart.
Why did you have to die?

            Even after all these centuries she was angry at him for having died on her and leaving her alone in the world. But she knew wherever he was, he was watching over their daughter for her.

            Just like he'd promised.

           
Focus, Sam.
She had much more important things to think about than a past she couldn't change. Like why she was suddenly a Daimon magnet.

            Were they planning on singling out each Dark-Hunter and taking them to Kalosis one on one to torture and kill them?

            Or something worse?

            Dev cocked his head as if he was listening to a sound only he could hear. When he looked back at her, he was scowling. "Nick Gautier is downstairs too."

            "Nick?" He was the one she'd been moved into New Orleans to guard. Even though he was a Dark-Hunter, he was transitioning into something Acheron wouldn't elaborate on. All they'd been told was that Nick had to be guarded until he learned how to corral his powers. If they allowed the darker elements to get near him, it would corrupt him and they'd have something a lot more dangerous than the Daimons to worry about.

            And no way to stop it.

            Sam shook her head. "What's he doing here?"

            "Don't know. He just head-popped me"--a Were-Hunter slang term that meant Nick had contacted him telepathically--"and said he needs to see you. You want him to come up here or you want to go down?"

            Nick's telepathic power made her raise an eyebrow. When Acheron had briefed her on Nick's abilities, that one had been missing. Made her wonder if Acheron knew everything about him or if Nick's powers were growing even faster than their fearless leader knew. Or if it was another case of Acheron withholding pertinent information. "Gautier has telepathy?"

            "Either that or I'm hallucinating. I'd hate to think I'm wasting a perfectly good hallucination on Nick Gautier, especially where you're involved."

            Sam gave a short laugh at Dev's inability to take anything seriously. "Send him up."

            The words had barely left her lips before Nick appeared in front of her. Sam didn't know why but something about the Cajun set her nerves on edge. Even though he'd never been anything but cordial to her, it was like he had a core of evil. Something about him made her nervous. Wary.

            Not scared, just tense.

           
He's not right....

            Tall and sinfully gorgeous, Nick was dressed all in black. The one thing that differentiated him from the rest of the Dark-Hunter crew was that where they usually had their bow-and-arrow marks hidden, his was right on his cheek and neck in a way that suggested Artemis had bitch-slapped him when she'd brought him over.

            For the merest nanosecond, Sam could swear she saw his eyes flash red before he let out a short, sinister laugh.

            "You're so screwed."

            Sam glanced to Dev before she gave Nick a flat, emotionless stare. "How so?"

            "You can't stay here," Nick said darkly. "The Daimons know where you are and they're gearing up for total war."

            Dev scoffed. "Tell us something we don't know."

            Nick shot a look at Dev that said he thought the bear was an idiot. "You really have no idea. You have kids here and Savitar isn't on your side right now. Stryker knows that and he's planning to take advantage of it."

            Dev was less than convinced. "And how do you know what Stryker has planned?"

            Nick didn't answer. "Look, you two can stay here and argue, or you can trust me."

            Dev hesitated. Part of him still thought of Nick as the same snarky little kid who grew up downstairs hustling pool in their back room and watching over his mom when she'd worked as a waitress for his family.

            But that Nick had vanished the night his mom had been murdered by a Daimon and Nick had killed himself in order to become a Dark-Hunter to get revenge on her killer. The boy hadn't been the same since.

            More than that, Nick had powers that the average Dark-Hunter didn't. Freaky powers. Every animal instinct in him could feel it resonate. Those powers were extreme and intense. Even worse, they were malevolent and cold.

            Corruptive. They came from something a lot darker than the goddess Artemis.

            And today...

            Dev picked up on something else inside him. Something about Nick was even more wrong than it'd been....

            A shiver went down his spine.

            Because of that, Dev gave him no quarter. Until he knew whose side Nick was on, he assumed him an enemy regardless of where he'd stood with them in the past. One thing he'd learned the hard way, people turned on each other. "We've shown we can handle anything thrown at us. I think she'll be all right here."

            Nick scoffed. "You evaced your children last time. Got them out of the line of fire. They're back. You ready to put them in harm's way?"

            Now that went over him like an acid wash. "Are you threatening our cubs?"

            Nick's entire expression and stance was unreadable. "I'm trying to save all of you."

            Dev wanted to believe him. He did. But something wasn't right and he couldn't put his finger on it. "Look--"

            Nick's look turned thunderous and dark. "Why don't you take the hint, Bear, and leave?"

            Dev stiffened. "You don't talk to me like that, boy. Not ever."

            Sam pulled Dev away from Nick as something weird flashed through her mind. She saw Nick surrounded by Daimons. Saw...

            It was gone before she could really get a fix on it. Crap. She hated whenever her powers did that.

            Nick narrowed his gaze on her. "We should leave before anyone here gets hurt."

            Suddenly, Sam realized what was wrong. Nick was here by himself. Alone. "Who's watching you right now?"

            "Excuse me?"

            "You heard me, Nick. Who has watch duty on you?"

            He scoffed. "No one has watch duty over me. I told Acheron that. All of you are wasting your time. But what ever." He looked past her to where Dev watched them with a stern grimace. "If you don't want to leave. That's fine." His expression turned cold. "Stay. Get killed. No sweat off my balls. I was only doing this as a favor to Acheron anyway."

            Sam screwed her face up in distaste. While the attitude was vintage Gautier, he wasn't normally quite so crass.

            He dragged his thumb down the side of his face before he sneered, "They're all yours.

            She scowled at his Greek that meant to eat until you were stuffed.

            No sooner had Nick spoken those words than a bolt-hole opened in the center of the room and a dozen Daimons came out of it.

Chapter 9

            Sam cursed as she used her telekinetic powers to open the bedroom door and shove Dev through it so that she could face the Daimons.

            With a bellow of rage, Dev kicked the door open and charged back to the fight.

            Throwing her hand up to get more punch behind her mental powers, she tossed him out again and this time put the bed in front of the door to keep him out.

            Dev stood in the empty hallway, gaping. What the hell? He tried to go back into his room, but couldn't. He heard things breaking and people cursing, but he was effectively locked out.

            Anger ripped through him. "Ah no you di'in't."

            His powers surging, he used them to teleport into the room where Sam was surrounded by Daimons. He manifested two KA-BARs and went after the Daimons with everything he had.

            Sam turned as she felt a new presence in the room. Expecting it to be another Daimon, she froze at the sight of Dev taking out two Daimons with one powerful blow. Her heart hammered and in that one instant she felt her Dark-Hunter powers wane as old memories ripped through her and left her brutalized.

            It wasn't Dev she saw now. It was Ioel.

            The firelight had flickered against his dark skin and hair as Ioel had gently pushed her toward their daughter's room. "Take Ree and get to safety."

            She'd stubbornly refused. "Not without you."

            He'd placed his hand on her stomach where their baby was kicking and kissed her on the lips while the attacking Daimons broke into their home. "Go, Samia. Now. Think of our children, not the battle."

           
Amazons never retreat. They don't fall back.

           
They fight.

            The sound of splintering wood echoed through the house as the Daimons broke in, shouting in victory.

            "Mommy!"

            Her daughter's terrified scream had pulled her away from her husband and she'd run to her daughter's room with everything she had. But her advanced pregnancy had left her winded and unstable on her feet. Trembling, she'd pulled her frightened daughter into her arms and held her close as her anger sizzled inside her. She wanted blood for this.

            The sound of furniture breaking and clashing steel rang in her ears as she looked about for an escape.

            There wasn't one.

            She had to get her baby to safety....

            Sam started for the hall, but was stopped by a flash in the fire-lit room.

            And then she'd seen it. That one sword stroke that had pierced Ioel's chest and left him staggering back. Blood poured over him as the Daimons moved to take his soul.

            Her own scream had lodged in her throat while she clung to her daughter and felt the life of her unborn baby in her stomach. In this condition, she wasn't strong enough to carry her daughter through the hall--not if she was to outrun the Daimons.

            She rushed back into her daughter's room. "Under the bed, Ree. Now." She'd set her daughter down on the floor and watched her scamper to hide. "Not a sound, baby, what ever you do."

            Sam had barely grabbed the lamp from the table before the Daimons stormed the room. She'd flung the oil and fire at the first one who reached her. Lunging at him, she'd grabbed his sword and whirled, stabbing the one right behind him. But her distended belly had unbalanced a move she'd made a thousand times in battle.

            She'd stumbled back and they'd fallen on her in such a number that she'd been unable to fight them off.

            The last thing she'd seen before she died had been her own sister's face at the back of the Daimons.

            "There's one more brat to kill. What ever you do, don't let her live. She has to be here somewhere. Find her and make sure she can't inherit anything except a burial."

            Brutal, impotent rage and betrayal had ripped her asunder. Even now Sam could hear the scream of it as it radiated inside her. So fierce. So terrible, it had summoned the goddess Artemis to her side. And before the Daimons had had a chance to capture her soul, Sam had sold it.

            But it'd come too late to save her daughter....

            The piercing agony of that ripped her apart now and it left her dizzy as she watched Dev fighting to protect her.

            No! Never again!

            Throwing her head back, she let loose with a fierce battle cry before she laid into the Daimons.

            Dev paused as he heard the sound a banshee made when it buried a loved one. Haunting and piercing, that baleful screech went down his spine like a shredder. In the blink of an eye, Sam sprung forward, slashing and tearing through the Daimons with a power and skill that was unrivaled. Never in his life had he seen anything like it.

            Never.

           
Damn, woman...

            And he'd pissed her off? What the hell had he been thinking?

            More Daimons came through the bolt-hole to attack. Dev caught the one going for Sam's back and expired him where he stood. Still they kept coming.

            Just when he was sure both he and Sam would go down, the bed against the door went skittering sideways. He grabbed Sam and leapt over it an instant before the door was splintered.

            Ethon and Chi, along with Fang, came running in to help with the fight.

            With his arm around Sam, Dev tried to guide her into the hallway where she wouldn't be in the thick of it. But she was having none of that.

            She turned around to fight.

            He tightened his grip on her and forced her to move through the door.

            "What are you doing?" She looked up at him.

            Dev gasped as he saw her green eyes. By that, he knew she'd lost her Dark-Hunter powers. They could kill her. "Getting you out of harm's way."

            "I run from no one."

            "We're not running," he said as one of the Daimons broke the window and spilled daylight all over his room. "We're regrouping to fight another day."

            Sam wanted to choke him as he tossed her over his shoulder and headed for the stairs. If she still had her powers, she would have, but without them she was relegated to holding on like some pathetic little girl--something that set her temper on fire even more.

            One second they were in Peltier House, the next they were inside a strange warehouse-looking place that she'd never seen before. Unlit neon signs that formed an intricate pattern were hung all over the walls. To her left was an industrial bar that was well stocked with alcohol. A large mirror, also wrapped in unlit neon, was behind it. It appeared to be another club, only it wasn't open. And there was no one here. Not even a whisper of a sound.

            Dev set her down.

            Sam immediately slapped at his hands. "Get away from me! I'm so mad at you I could claw out your eyes!"

            He stepped back to give her a peeved glare. "You're welcome."

            "For what? Pissing me off?"

            "I saved your life."

            She scoffed at that. "No. You didn't. You pulled me out of a fight I needed to finish. Gah! I can't believe you left Chi and Ethon there while carrying me off like some helpless child. How dare you!"

            Dev took a deep breath to calm himself before he escalated this fight to nuclear proportions. One of them needed to have a calm head until he figured out what was going on. Something during the fight had triggered a profound and unexpected consequence for Sam. The one thing he knew about Dark-Hunters was that they only lost their powers whenever they confronted a memory from the event that had caused them to sell their souls.

            Sam was hurting and all he wanted was to help her. Her uncharacteristic screech had told him that. No one made that sound unless they were torn completely up.

            "I saw them going for the windows and knew I had to pull you out of daylight before they shattered them. Which they did. Had I not grabbed you when I did, you'd have been killed or at least severely burned." Even with her Dark-Hunter powers drained, she still wouldn't have been able to stand in daylight.

            She made a sound of profound aggravation as she surveyed the concrete floor and light blue, riveted metal walls around them. "Where are we anyway? Hell?"

            He flashed a charming grin at her. "It's much cooler than that. Club Charonte."

            "Which is what?"

            He didn't answer. Instead he pulled his phone out and made a call.

            Crossing her arms over her chest, Sam glared at him.

            Dev recklessly ignored her seething fury at him as Ethon picked up the phone. He wanted to make sure his family was all right before they carried this conversation any further. At least Ethon answered--that in and of itself was a good sign that Sanctuary was still standing. "Hey, what happened when we left?"

            "The cowardly bastards vacated right after you did. Chi and I tried to take as many down as we could, but we had to exit the range of that seriously annoying yellow ball in the sky that was dancing all over your room. You know, Bear, you should have smaller windows. Fang went after them, but they vanished back into their hole and he withdrew to protect the family in case they returned to another area for vengeance's sake. Anyway, the fanged brigade is probably tracking you guys right now, so watch your back."

            Like Dev cared? "Bring it if they dare, which I doubt." Either way, his family was clear and that made him deliriously happy. His evil plan had worked and the Daimons had withdrawn--at least for the moment.

            "Don't be so cocky, Bear. They were open for business." The humor vanished out of his tone. "Is Samia all right? They didn't hurt her, did they?" There was a note of concern in Ethon's voice that seemed deeper than just one Dark-Hunter worried about another one.

            Dev couldn't put his finger on it, but it made the bear in him sit up with suspicion as to why Ethon would feel so deeply about a colleague. "She's fine. I got her out of there before they toasted her any. What about you guys? Any of my family get hurt?"

            "Fang's fine. As for us, nothing that won't heal." Then Ethon changed the subject. "So where are you now?"

            "Club Charonte."

            Ethon gave a short laugh. "Nice. Very nice. I highly commend your choice." The Charontes were the mortal enemies of the Daimons and the Daimons wouldn't dare come near this place. At least not right away. The one thing about a Charonte, they were perpetually hungry and lived to eat things that wouldn't get them arrested.

            Daimons were one of the things they could lavishly feast on with immunity.

            Ethon sobered before he spoke again. "Are you sure Sam's safe there?"

            "Oh yeah. But I might not be in a few minutes. She looks like she's about to gouge out my eyes and beat my ass until I'm a quivering bear mat."

            "Poor you."

            "Tell me about it. I don't envy me right now."

            Ethon spoke to Fang in a muffled tone that suggested he had his hand cupped over the receiver. "It's not important. I'll be all right." Then he returned to Dev. "We'll get over there to you as soon as we can."

            "Sounds good. By the way...what happened with Gautier?"

            "Nick? What's he got to do with anything?"

            What's he got to do with it? The little bastard would be lucky to live next time Dev ran into him. "He's the one who summoned the Daimons."

            "Nick?" Ethon repeated.

            "Nick." Dev snapped the syllable. He was getting tired of the Spartan's obtuseness.

            "Nick?"

            "Ethon. Stop."

            "Sorry, man. I just can't wrap my mind around that. He hates the Daimons with a passion to rival your Charonte buds. Trust me. You say that word and the man flips. I had to pull him off the ceiling just a few days ago when the subject came up. I can't imagine him summoning them unless it's to kill one."

            "Yeah, well, I know what I saw. Nick was in league with them."

            Ethon let out a low whistle. "I'll notify Acheron then and we'll get to you immediately. Just in case."

            Dev glanced to Sam, who was still eyeballing him like she wanted to carve off some vital piece of his anatomy. The weird thing was, she was strangely attractive with that fire in her eyes and it turned him on.

           
I am so messed up.

            "You guys be careful moving in daylight. See you soon." Dev hung up his phone.

            Sam gestured around the room. "You brought me to an empty club? Why?"

            Dev turned her stiff body to the left and pointed up toward the steel rafters where two dozen demons were hanging like vampire bats. The rest would be sleeping in contorted positions in the upstairs rooms. He had no idea why the Charonte slept like that, but they did.

            Sam's jaw went slack as she saw the demons, whose flesh was a bicolor swirl of reds, oranges, and blues. Their yellow, white, and red eyes glowed from the ceiling as they silently watched them as if trying to decide if they were friend or foe. She knew they were demons, but had no idea what classification or pantheon they belonged to. "What are those?"

            "Charontes," Dev said in her ear. "Ever been around them?"

            "No."

            His breath tickled her ear and even though she couldn't see him, she had the distinct impression he was grinning at her. "They're not exactly sociable and not particularly fond of me."

            That made her curious about his choosing this place. "Then why are we here?"

            "'Cause I'm betting Dev has some shit he wants to drag me into and you can friggin' forget it, Bear." There was no missing the venom in that deep masculine tone. "I'm done with you
and
your sister and don't even mention that worthless Wolf's name to me 'cause I'm not your bitch and I ain't leaving here. Stick a fork in me, Bear, 'cause I repeat, I am done. D to the O and you know the rest so get the hell out of my club before I feed you to my boys."