"
She offered him a trembling smile. "Why are you here, Zarek?
"
He brushed the tears from her cheeks. "I'm here to collect my rose, if she'll come home with me.
"
"Don't even go there," Atty cried. "Astrid, please don't tell me you're going to listen to that drivel?
"
"He's a man, baby sister," Lacy chimed in. "If his lips are moving, he's lying.
"
"Why don't the three of you stay out of this?" Acheron said.
Atty stiffened. "Excuse me? We're the Fates and—
"
A sideways glare from Acheron cut her off midstream.
"Why don't we leave them alone?" Atty said to her sisters. The three of them hurried off while Acheron watched Zarek and Astrid with his arms folded over his chest.
Zarek still hadn't taken his gaze off Astrid. "You going to be a voyeur, Ash?
"
"Depends. You going to give me something to look at?
"
"If you keep standing there, I am." He looked over his shoulder then.
Acheron inclined his head to him and turned around to leave. As he did so, the breeze caught a portion of his shirt and blew it back, showing a flash of one shoulder.
Zarek started at the red welts it revealed. Welts he knew from experience came from a whip.
"Wait!" Astrid said, stopping Acheron. "What about Zarek's soul?
"
Acheron stiffened ever so slightly before he called out, "Artemis?
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"
She shimmered in beside him.
"What?" she snarled back.
He nodded toward them. "Astrid wants Zarek's soul.
"
"Oh, like I care, and what ishe doing here anyway?" She narrowed her eyes at Astrid. "You should know better than to bring him here.
"
Ash cleared his throat. "I brought Zarek here.
"
"Oh." Artemis calmed instantly. "Why did you do that?
"
"Because they belong together." He smiled ironically. "It's fated.
"
Artemis rolled her eyes. "Don't even go there.
"
Astrid came to her feet. "I want Zarek's soul, Artemis. Return it to him.
"
"I don't have it.
"
They were all stunned by her words.
"What do you mean you don't have it?" Acheron asked, his tone sharp and angry. "Don't tell me you lost it.
"
"Of course not." She looked over at Zarek and Astrid, and if Zarek didn't know better, he'd say she looked embarrassed. "I never really took it.
"
All three of them stared at her in disbelief.
"Come again?" Ash asked.
Artemis curled her lip as she looked at Zarek. "I couldn't take it. That would have involved my touching him and he was disgusting back then." She shuddered. "There was no way I would have put my hand on him. He smelled."
Open-mouthed, Acheron looked at Zarek. "You lucky bastard." Then he turned back to Artemis. "If you didn't touch him, how has he been an immortal Dark-Hunter all this time?"
Artemis gave him a haughty sneer. "You don't know everything after all, now do you, Acheron?
"
He took a step toward her and she squeaked, putting more distance between them.
"I injected him with ichor," she said quickly.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Zarek was stunned. Ichor was a mineral found in the blood of the gods that was said to make them immortal.
"What about his Dark-Hunter powers?" Acheron asked.
"Those I gave to him separately, along with the fangs and such so that you wouldn't realize he wasn't like the others.
"
Acheron gave her a tired, repugnant stare. "Oh, I know I'm going to hate the answer for this one. But I have to know. What about the sunshine, Artemis? Since he has his soul my guess is he was never banished from daylight, was he?"
The look on her face confirmed it.
"You bitch!" Zarek snarled, rushing toward her.
To his surprise, it was Acheron who stopped him from reaching her.
"Let me go. I want to rip her throat out!
"
Astrid pulled him back. "Leave her alone, Zarek. She has her own problems.
"
Zarek hissed at Artemis, baring his fangs.
Fangs that instantly vanished.
Zarek ran his tongue over his human teeth.
"A gift," Acheron said.
Zarek calmed a degree and then even more when he realized Astrid had her arms wrapped around his waist. Her front was tight against his back so that he could feel her breasts against his spine.
Closing his eyes, he savored the feel of her.
"You are free of Artemis, Zarek," Astrid said in his ear. "You've been judged innocent and you're immortal. Tell me, what do you want to do with the rest of eternity?
"
"I want to go lie on the beach someplace warm.
"
Astrid's heart caught at his words. She'd foolishly thought he would say something about her.
"I see.
"
"But most of all," he said, turning in her arms to face her, "I want to piss off everyone.
"