Sherrilyn Kenyon - Fear The Darkness

Nick didn't want to forgive Ash. Not after all that had happened, but in spite of his anger, he felt his heart softening at the knowledge that Ash had been here—that he hadn't abandoned the city. "Why are you calling me Ambrosius?"

"Because that is what you are now. Immortal." She touched the bite mark on his neck. "My Nicky has gone. Buried by emotions so great they mock the depth of the ocean. Can you tell me if my boy will ever come home again?"

Nick wanted to curse at her. He wanted to shout, but in the end he felt like a lost child who only craved his mother's touch. A deep-seated sob escaped, and before he could stop it, he did what he hadn't done since the night he'd found his mother dead.

He cried. All he wanted was for the unrelenting pain inside him to stop. He wanted time to go back to the way it'd been before when his mother had been alive and Ash had been his friend.

But how could it? So much had changed…

Menyara pulled him into her arms and held him close. She didn't speak. But her touch soothed him even more than words could.

She pressed her lips to the top of his head and gave a light kiss. "You were a good boy, Ambrosius. Cherise still believes in you and so do I. She say for you to let go of your anger. Be happy again."

He pulled back with a curse at her words that reminded him of something his mother would say. "How can I let everything go while my mother is dead?"

"How can you not?" she insisted. "It was your mother's time to leave this world. She is happier now that she can watch over you and—"

"Don't say that to me," he said from between clenched teeth. "I hate it when people say that shit. She's not happier. How could she be?"

Menyara shook her head. "Then go from this place and don't taint her peace with your hatred. It doesn't belong here. Your mother deserves better than that from you."

He opened his mouth to speak.

"I don't want to hear it and neither does your poor mother, God rest her soul. You go on now and get out of here. Don't come back until you get your head on straight and think of someone other than yourself. You hear me?"

Nick narrowed his eyes. He'd argue with her, but he knew her better than that. There was no talking to Menyara when she was in a mood like this.

Disgusted with the whole thing, he turned and left with no real destination in mind. He merely slinked off toward Conti. The streets were eerily familiar and at the same time they were so empty. This time of year, there should have been tons of tourists about. Shopkeepers should have been hosing off the balconies and streets.

Instead there were orange barrels and construction sites all around. The sound of jackhammers had replaced that of morning jazz and beeping horns. Pain infiltrated every particle of his body...

Until he crossed over to Acme Oyster House on Iberville. God, how many times had he eaten here? How many laughs and beers had he shared with his mother and friends?

It looked the same, only fresher from reconstruction. He stood beside the window, watching the waiters take orders and people chat, until his gaze fell to the table near the back.

His heart stopped beating. It was Kyrian Hunter and his wife with their daughter Marissa and a baby boy Nick had never seen before. They were laughing and chatting with other people Nick had called friends, Vane and Bride, Julian and Grace. But what absolutely floored him was the fact they were at a table with Valerius and Tabitha. Since Tabitha was the twin sister of Amanda, that wasn't the shocker.

Valerius was what stunned him.

A mortal enemy of Julian and Kyrian, Valerius's family had tricked and killed Kyrian—then destroyed the people and country the two of them had fought and died to protect. For centuries, they had nursed bitter hatred toward each other.

And now Kyrian was handing his son over to a man he'd once sworn to decapitate...

How had this happened?

"Nick?"

He jerked at the quiet whisper from behind him. It was Stryker's half-sister, Satara. Tall and dazzling, she was the epitome of feminine beauty and grace.

He stepped back so that the others couldn't see him on the street. "What are you doing here?"

"I felt a strange sensation coming from you and I wanted to see what caused it."

He hated that sharing blood with her allowed her to feel his emotions. It was irritating to have someone read him. "Nothing. Go home, Satara."

She tilted her head as if looking to see Kyrian and the others inside. "It's interesting, isn't it? Why Acheron brought them back to life after they'd died, but refused to do the same for your beloved mother. I wonder why he chose them over her."

"I don't need you to poke that scab."

"True. I'm sure it's still raw."

She had no idea.

"But," she said, stepping close enough to whisper in his ear. "Why should they be here, living happily while your mother is dead?"

"Don't start with me, Satara. That man and his family are all I have left."

She cocked her head. "Are they? What do you think they'll say when they find out you're a Daimon Dark-Hunter? That through you Stryker can see and hear all they do?"

He started away from her, but she pulled him to a stop. Her long nails bit into his forearm.

"The old Voodoo bitch told you that Acheron helped here in New Orleans after the hurricane, but did she tell you who his mother is?"

Nick froze at her words. "Ash has a mother? Alive?"

She smiled. "Ooo, another secret he kept from you, huh? So much for being best friends. Makes you wonder what other things you don't know, doesn't it?"

Yes, it did. He snatched his arm from her grasp. "Who is his mother?"

"The Atlantean goddess, Apollymi. But she's better known to the immortal world as the Great Destroyer."

"Destroyer?"

"Yes. For no other reason than she was having a bad hair day, she has unleashed unrelenting storms against civilizations for centuries, and she was highly upset that night when Desiderius played havoc here in New Orleans."

Nick couldn't breathe as he recalled that night. Desiderius had been Stryker's agent, and he had been the one who had killed his mother.

She leaned in to him to whisper again, "She's also the mother of my brother Stryker. You know him. Leader of the Spathi Daimons. Who do you think pulls my brother's leash? Who do you think controls Stryker's army?"

Nick felt rage swell up inside him at all the truths Ash had kept from him and the others. "Ash's mother is the leader of the Daimons?"

"Yes, she is. Now you know why Ash keeps so many secrets. How would it look to all of you to know his beloved mother is the one who controls your enemies? That's why he hasn't told any of you about the Spathi Daimons such as Desiderius. Why Ash will always stay out of such conflicts. He's not the big bad. His mother is. Face it. Ash has been lying to all of you from the very beginning. Artemis doesn't control him. He controls her. She lives in complete fear of him."

Nick remembered the night he'd killed himself in front of Artemis. Satara was right. The goddess had been terrified of Acheron and his reaction to Nick's death. That alone had caused her to reanimate him. Even against the rules.

Still, he couldn't get Menyara's words out of his mind. "Menyara has never been wrong about anyone."

"Menyara has never met a god who can alter someone's thoughts and perceptions. Think about it, Nick. How many times have the Were-Hunters tampered with someone's mind to make them forget they saw something preternatural?"

More times than he could count. "But Ash has always refrained from doing that."

"That's what he says. Yet how often do people preach one thing, then do another?"

Again, she was right.

She leaned against him and rubbed his biceps. "You are blessed with the truth. Nothing in the Dark-Hunter world is what it seems. Acheron has duped everyone... but you. The question is, are you going to let him continue to get away with hurting people for his mother or are you going to stop him? How many more people must die because Acheron is a cruel sadistic bastard? It's him or us, Nick. Whose side are you on?"