Ash had also given him the name of an Apollite Dark-Hunter named Spawn who might be able to help them with what Cassandra needed for her pregnancy. Wulf had called every night to leave a message at Spawn's house, but Spawn had yet to respond.
Nor had he been able to reach Acheron again. His phone rang. Cassandra watched as Wulf pulled his phone out of his pocket and answered it. She knew he was worried and not just about her and Chris. His best friend, Talon, had vanished and none of the Dark-Hunters had had any contact with him in weeks.
Even more concerning, Acheron had also gone MIA. Wulf kept telling her it was a bad omen, even though Kat told them not to worry about it. Apparently Acheron was rather famous for having times when no one could reach him.
Kat had assured them that Artemis would never allow anyone to hurt Acheron. If he had been harmed, they would all know it. Cassandra sat on the floor with Chris and Kat, playing Life. They had tried to play Trivial Pursuit earlier only to learn that a Dark-Hunter and an immortal handmaiden to a goddess had a decidedly unfair advantage over Cassandra and Chris.
In Life, the only thing that mattered was luck. "Well, I'll be damned," Wulf said a few minutes later after he hung up the phone and rejoined the game.
"Something happen?" Cassandra asked as she moved her piece.
"Talon got his soul back."
"No friggin' way," Chris blurted out, sitting back on the floor in shock. "How'd he do that?"
Wulf's face was impassive, but Cassandra had grown to know him well enough to see the tenseness of his features. He was happy for his friend, but she could tell he was also a bit envious. Not that she blamed him.
"He met an artist and they fell in love," Wulf said as he sat back down beside her and adjusted his play money. "On Mardi Gras, she got his soul back and freed him."
Chris made a disgusted noise at Wulf's announcement. "Oh man, that sucks. Now he's going to have to join Kyrian on the geriatric patrol."
"Chris!" Cassandra gasped with an inappropriate laugh. "That's a horrible thing to say."
"Yeah but it's true. I can't imagine trading immortality for a woman. No offense, ladies, but something ain't right with that."
Wulf kept his attention on the game board. "Talon didn't trade his immortality. Unlike Kyrian, he got to keep his."
"Oh," Chris said. "That's cool then. Good for him. Man, must be nice to have your cake and eat it, huh?"
Chris's face flushed as he looked back and forth between them and realized what he'd just said. "I mean—"
"It's okay, Chris," Wulf said charitably. But his eyes betrayed the hurt he felt. Kat took her turn. Cassandra reached over and laced her fingers with Wulf's. "I didn't know Dark-Hunters could go free."
"It's rare," Wulf said, tightening his grip on her hand. "At least it was up until this last year. Talon and Kyrian make two we know."
"Three," Kat added as she moved her piece on the board. "Three?" Wulf asked. He looked shocked.
Kat nodded. "Three Dark-Hunters have been freed. I heard the other handmaidens talking about it last night when I went to check in with Artemis."
"I thought you didn't get a chance to talk to her," Cassandra said, remembering what Kat had told them after her return last night.
"Oh, I didn't. She has the big Do Not Disturb sign on her temple door. There are definite times when no one but Apollo dares to barge into her domain. But I did hear the other Icons gossiping about it. Apparently, Artemis wasn't real happy over the matter."
"Hmm…" Cassandra said as she thought about that.
"Who else was freed?" Wulf asked.
"Zarek of Moesia."
Wulf's jaw went slack as Chris looked at Kat as if she'd sprouted a new head. Chris snorted. "Now I know you're full of it, Kat. Zarek is marked for death. There's no way."
Kat looked over at him. "Yeah, well, he didn't die and ended up going free instead. Artemis has threatened everyone's head if she loses another Hunter."
Those words weren't comforting to Cassandra. She could only imagine how much less so they were for Wulf.
"I never thought I'd see the day when they would set Zarek free," Wulf said under his breath. "He's so psychotic they've had him under exile for almost as long as I've been a Dark-Hunter."
Cassandra took a deep breath at that. It didn't seem right that someone like this Zarek could be free while Wulf was cursed the way he was.
"I wonder what Nick'll be doing for a Dark-Hunter now that Talon's free," Chris said as he grabbed the canister of Pringles from Kat. "I can't imagine he'd ever serve Valerius."
"No doubt," Wulf said. He explained to Cassandra that Valerius was the grandson of the man who had ruined Kyrian's family and crucified the Greek general. Since Nick was Kyrian's former Squire and a personal friend, Nick would never serve the man whose family had done that to Kyrian. Wulf, Kat, and Chris continued to discuss the Dark-Hunters, while Cassandra thought over what she'd learned tonight.
"Could I free you?" Cassandra asked Wulf.
A strange look darkened his eyes. "No. Unlike the other Dark-Hunters, I don't have an out-clause."
"Why?"
Wulf let out a tired breath as he spun the wheel for his turn. "I was tricked into serving Artemis. Everyone else volunteered."