"What do you mean?" Wulf asked.
"He's one of the Daimons who refuse to kill innocent humans," Cassandra explained, "And who prey on criminals instead. After all, criminal souls are full of power fueled by anger and hatred. The only problem is their souls are corrupted, and if the Daimon isn't strong enough, their venom can overtake them and make the Daimon every bit as evil as they were."
The officer nodded. "It sounds like Jason fell victim to that. By the time you killed him, he was probably wanting to die. It's sheer torture when the souls begin to possess and control you. Or at least that's what I've been told." She sighed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to spend as much time as possible with my family."
Cassandra wished her well. With a nod, the officer left them and headed off after her son.
Wulf watched the woman leave, his eyes dark and sad. "So you weren't kidding me about the Daimons."
"Of course not."
Wulf thought about that. There was so much about them that the Dark-Hunters didn't know. It actually amazed him. She'd been right. Since Dark-Hunters spent so much time annihilating the Daimons, they should have a better understanding of them. Then again, maybe not. It was much easier to kill someone you didn't feel sorry for. Easier to think of things in terms of black and white.
Good and evil.
"Let's go see Phoebe," Cassandra said, taking his hand and leading him toward another corridor. "She told me I could drop in on her any time."
It didn't take long to reach her sister's apartment. Phoebe's side of the city was a lot busier than theirs. Wulf stood to the side, watching the Apollites walk hurriedly past them while Cassandra keyed in the code for Phoebe's lock.
Cassandra was doing her best to not think about the future. Or to think about the officer who was spending her last night with her family. Just as she would do one day all too soon with Wulf.
How she needed to push him away. To keep him at bay so that her death wouldn't hurt him too much. She focused instead on the fact that she still had one of her sisters with her. The door slid open.
Cassandra started into the room, then froze. Phoebe was on her couch on top of Urian. Their bare skin was set off to perfection by the dull light of candles that had been set around the room. Cassandra gasped to find them in flagrante delicto. Phoebe jerked up, her mouth coated in blood.
Mortified, Cassandra stepped back and closed the door. "Oh, that was really bad timing."
"What?" Wulf asked as he turned toward her.
Grateful he hadn't seen them and gone berserk over the way most Apollites fed, Cassandra grabbed his hand. "I think I'll talk to her later."
Wulf didn't budge easily. "What happened?"
Cassandra didn't want to share her experience with a Dark-Hunter who would judge her sister harshly for feeding. The apartment door opened.
"Cassie?" Phoebe was now wearing a thick blue bathrobe. Her face and mouth were clean, but her hair was completely disheveled. "Is something wrong?"
"Nothing that can't wait," Cassandra hastened to assure her. "You go finish and I'll talk to you later."
Her face flushing, Phoebe went back inside.
Wulf burst out laughing. "Let me guess. Urian in there with her?"
Cassandra's face flamed even more than her sister's. He laughed harder.
"It's not funny, Wulf," she snapped at him. "How would you feel if someone barged in on us?"
"I'd have to kill them."
"Well, there you go. I'm sure Urian feels the same way. Now let's go back so I don't have to think about the fact that the image of them naked together will give me nightmares for months."
As they headed down the corridor, a little girl came running up to Wulf. She craned her neck to look up at him accusingly. "Are you really going to kill my baby sister tonight because she didn't wash behind her ears?"
Both of them were aghast at her question. "Excuse me?" Wulf asked.
"My mommy says Dark-Hunters kill little boys and girls when they don't behave. I don't want you to kill Alycia. She's not bad, she just doesn't like to get her ears wet."
Wulf knelt down in front of the little girl and brushed her hair back from her face. "Little one, I'm not going to hurt your sister or anyone else here. I promise."
"Dacia!" a man snapped as he rushed forward. "I told you never to talk to anyone with dark hair." He scooped his daughter up and ran off with her as if terrified that Wulf really would kill her.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you people that we don't hurt Apollites! " Wulf shouted after them.
"Sheez," he said under his breath. "And all this time, I thought Christopher was the only person I terrorized."
A passing man answered his words by spitting on Wulf's shoes.
"Hey!" Cassandra snapped, going after the man. "There's no need to be rude."