"I want my daddy! Take me home, Astrid. I need to go home now."
"I can't, Simi. That power is taken from me until I deliver a verdict to my mother."
"I wantakri ," she wailed again. "I don't want to die without him. I'm scared. Please, please take me home. I just want my daddy."
Zarek looked up as a shadow fell over them.
It was a face he hadn't seen since the day he'd become a Dark-Hunter.
Artemis.
Her long auburn hair curled around her lithe, beautiful body. She wore a long, white dress and her green eyes glittered ominously in the dim light of the tunnel.
He held his breath, half-expecting her to kill him. No Dark-Hunter was ever allowed to be in the presence of a god.
Simi saw her and let out a terrible shriek. "Not her! The heifer goddess is going to kill me!"
"Shut up," Artemis snapped. "Believe me, I'd love to see you dead but if you die, I'll never hear the end of it."
Artemis picked her up in spite of her struggles.
She looked at Astrid and Zarek. "Have you judged him yet?"
Before Astrid could answer, the trapdoor behind them burst open.
Zarek cursed as he saw Thanatos coming through it.
He turned to order Artemis to take Astrid with Simi, but she'd already vanished.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) He, alone, had to protect her.
Damn Artemis for this!
"Run!" he shouted at Astrid. He urged her toward the trapdoor that led into his cabin.
"What's happening?
"
"Thanatos is here so unless you've got some god power that can kill him, run!
"
"Where's Artemis?
"
"She vaporized.
"
Astrid gave a disgusted look, then did as he said.
As Zarek helped her up, Thanatos reached them.
Zarek kicked him back.
"You're not going to escape me, Dark-Hunter. But then, it's not really you I'm after.
"
His blood running cold at those words, Zarek glanced down to see Thanatos's gaze locked on Astrid.
Thanatos licked his lips. "Vengeance is a dish best served cold.
"
Once Astrid was clear of the basement, Zarek dropped back down the ladder and began to pummel Thanatos. "We're in Alaska, dickhead. Here everything is cold.
"
Zarek slammed him back into the wall, then made a dash for the trapdoor.
Once he was in the cabin, he shut and locked the trapdoor. Zarek slid the wood-burning stove over it, then reached inside to remove the mink and her kits. The mother bit the crap out of him, but he didn't flinch.
As gently as he could, he put them in his backpack and rushed from the cabin.
Astrid was just outside his door.
"Zarek, is that you?"
He kissed her.
"That better be you."
He snorted at that.
With no time to waste, he raced over to Thanatos's snowmachine and ripped a hose from it. He led Astrid to his vehicle. "You have to get out of here, princess. My powers can't contain him for long.
"
"I can't see to drive this thing.
"
Zarek stared at her, memorizing her face. Memorizing the way she looked up under the moonlight that was spilling through the clouds.
She was beautiful, his star.
Unlike any in all the universe.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) He heard Thanatos breaking free.
Then he did something he had never done before. It was a power Ash had shown him centuries before, but one he'd never had a use for.
Tonight he did.
He kissed her passionately.
Astrid felt the warmth of Zarek's lips. As his tongue danced with hers, her eyes started to burn.
She pulled back from him, hissing, only to realize that she could see everything around her.
Her heart stopped.
Zarek stood in front of her, his eyes the pale, pale blue hers were whenever she lost her vision. His lips were swollen and bruised, one of his eyes was black and blue.
Dried blood was crusted around his nose and ear. His clothes were also torn and bloodied.
He had been beaten to a pulp and had never uttered a word to her about it.
She choked as she saw the blood that was still pouring down his arm from where Thanatos had stabbed him.
He handed her his backpack, then fumbled with the snowmachine until he had it started.
"Go, Astrid. Fairbanks is straight that way." He pointed down a pathway through the woods. "Don't stop until you get there.
"
"What about you?
"
"Don't worry about me.
"
"Zarek!" she snapped. "I won't leave you here to die.
"
He offered her a sad smile as he cupped her face in his hands. "It's okay, princess. I don't mind dying for you.
"
He kissed her lightly on the lips.
Thanatos burst through the cabin door.
"Get on the snowmachine, Zarek. Now!
"
He shook his head. "It's better this way, Astrid. If I'm dead he won't have a reason to hurt you.
"