The demons watched him closely, but neither moved nor spoke while his mother sat as if lost in thought. Her windows were open, looking out onto a garden where only black flowers grew, in memory of his dead brother. The Destroyer's other son had perished untold centuries ago and to this day she mourned his death. Just as she rejoiced in Stryker's continued life.
Her long white-blond hair fell around her in waves of perfection. Even though she was older than time, Apollymi had the face of a beautiful young woman in her mid-twenties. Her black gauzy gown blended into the black of her couch, making it hard to see where one ended and the other began.
She was motionless as she stared outside, holding a black satin pillow in her lap. "They are trying to liberate me."
He paused at her words."Who?"
"Those stupid Greeks. They think I will side with them in gratitude." She laughed bitterly.
Stryker smiled wryly at the very thought. His mother hated the Greek pantheon zealously. "Will they succeed?"
"No. The Elekti will stop them. As he always does." She turned her head to look at him. Her pale, pale eyes had no color. Ice glittered on her eyelashes and her translucent skin was iridescent, giving her a delicate, fragile appearance. But there was nothing fragile about the Destroyer.
She was as her name declared, destruction. She had consigned every member of her family to the death realm from where they would never return. Her power was absolute and it was only through betrayal that she had ended up imprisoned here in Kalosis, where she could see the human world, but not participate in it. Stryker and his fellow Daimons could use the bolt-holes to come and go out of this realm, but she could not.
Not until the seal of Atlantis was broken, and Stryker had no idea how to do it. Apollymi had never disclosed that to him. "Why did you not kill the heiress?" she asked.
"The Abadonna opened the portal."
Again his mother was so still as to not appear real. After several seconds, she laughed. The sound was soft and gentle, ringing through the air like music.
"Good one, Artemis," she said out loud. "You're learning. But it won't save you or that scabby brother you protect." She pushed herself up from her couch, put the pillow down, and walked over to Stryker. "Were you hurt, m'gios?"
He always felt a rush of warmth whenever she referred to him as her son. "No."
Xedrix moved to whisper into the Destroyer's ear.
"No," she said out loud. "The Abadonna is not to be touched. She has torn loyalties and I will not take advantage of her kind nature, unlike some goddesses I can name. She is innocent in this and I will not have her punished for it."
The Destroyer drummed two fingers on her chin. "The question is, what is that bitch Artemis planning?"
She closed her eyes. "Katra," she breathed, calling out to the Abadonna.
After a few seconds, Apollymi let out a disgusted noise. "She refuses to answer… Fine," she said in a voice Stryker knew could transcend this realm and be heard by Katra. "Protect Artemis and Apollo's heiress if you must. But know you can't stop me. No one can."
She turned back to Stryker. "We will have to separate Katra from the heiress."
"How? If the Abadonna continues to open the portal, we are powerless. You know we must step through it whenever it opens."
The Destroyer laughed again. "Life is a chess game, Strykerius, haven't you learned that yet? Whenever you move to protect the pawns, you leave your queen open to attack."
"Meaning?"
"The Abadonna can't be everywhere at once. If you can't get to the heiress, then attack something else the Abadonna cares for."
He smiled at that. "I was so hoping you would say that."
Chapter 6
Cassandra was so angry that she didn't know what to do. Actually, she did. But that involved having Wulf tied up in a room and her having a very large broom in her hands to beat him with. Or better yet, a stick with thorns!
Unfortunately, it would take more than her and Kat to tie up the obnoxious oaf. As Kat drove her back to her apartment, she fought against screaming and railing at the imbecile who had all the compassion of a leek pea. She hadn't realized just how much she had opened herself up to the Wulf of her dreams. How much of herself she had given to him. She had never been the kind of woman to trust anyone, least of all a man. Yet she had welcomed him into her heart and body.
How much more— She paused her silent tirade as her thoughts shifted. Wait…He remembered their dreams too. He had accused her of trying to—
"Why didn't I think of that while we were at the club?" Cassandra asked out loud.
"Think of what?"
She looked over at Kat, whose face was illuminated by the light of the dashboard. "Do you remember what Wulf said in the bar? He remembered me from his dreams and I remember him from mine. Do you think our dreams could be real?"
"Wulf was at the bar?" Kat asked as she frowned at Cassandra. "The Dark-Hunter you've been dreaming about was there tonight? When?"
"Didn't you see him?" Cassandra countered. "He came right up to us after the fight and yelled at me for being an Apollite."
"The only person who came right up to us was the Daimon."