Sherrilyn Kenyon: Fear The Darkness

His own. To hell with the rest of them. But he didn't want her to know that. Not yet anyway.

She toyed with his hair. "Stryker has given you the means for vengeance. The only question is, are you man enough to take it?"

He curled his lip at her. "I'm not a man, Satara. I'm an immortal with god powers."

She inclined her head to him. "And as long as you don't forget that, Acheron is yours."

Nick glanced back at the restaurant and the truth pierced him hard. He would have gladly sacrificed Kyrian and his family to have his mother back. Friendship was one thing. Family was another. Though Kyrian had been like a brother to him, he wasn't blood. Nick had been willing to sell his soul for vengeance and he still was.

"Be true to us, Nick, and we can give you what you want most."

Nick sneered at her. "You don't know what I want."

"Yes, I do. You want revenge and you want your mother back."

"I can get my own revenge."

"True, and we can give you your mom."

What the hell was she talking about now? The bitch was crazy. "Don't be stupid. My mother's dead. There's no way back from that."

"Isn't there? You're here and yet you were once dead." She snapped her fingers. An instant later, a tall dark-haired man appeared beside them. At six foot four, Nick wasn't used to many men who made him crane his neck, but this one did. And by the luminescent blue eyes, Nick knew exactly who and what this man was.

A Dream-Hunter.

Gods of sleep, they were sent from Olympus to help and protect dreamers. And through a pact with Acheron, many of them were sent to aid Dark-Hunters. To help them heal, especially when they were asleep, so that they could continue to protect mankind from the evil that preyed on them.

This wasn't the first Dream-Hunter to approach him. He'd sent M'Adoc away as soon as the god had offered to help Nick forget the pain of his mother's death. He didn't want to forget his mother or what had happened.

Nick jerked his chin toward the newcomer. "I don't need his help."

"Of course you don't, Nicky. But Kratos can do the one thing even Acheron can't do."

"And that is?"

"Bring a soul out of its eternal rest and return it to the land of the living."

Nick wasn't stupid enough to buy what she was selling. "At what price?"

"An act of loyalty to us. You bring Kyrian's child Marissa down to Kalosis, and we will return your mother to this world."

Still he was skeptical. "You can't do that."

Satara gave him a smug smile. "Kratos. A demonstration, please."

Before Nick could move, the Dream-Hunter touched him. His grip seared Nick's skin, making it burn and crawl as images tore through him. He saw his mother in a garden surrounded by roses. Her shoulder-length blond hair was glistening in the light while she laughed at a group of children who were playing around her.

A tear slid down his cheek as he saw her kind face again. "Mom," he whispered.

She cocked her head as if she could hear him. "My Nicky," she breathed. "I miss you."

"I can take you into the Underworld," the Dream-Hunter said. "But it won't be easy." He released Nick and the image of his mother instantly vanished.

Nick struggled to breathe. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"I have no emotions. I only do as I'm told. Betrayal is for those who have something to gain."

It was true. The Dream-Hunters had been cursed by Zeus to feel nothing.

Satara smiled at him. "It's too soon, Nick. I know. You go home now and rest. When you're ready to have your mother back, bring Marissa to us."

Nick nodded before he turned back and did what she said.

Satara narrowed her eyes as Nick vanished from sight. He was being rather willful, but they could still control him. He needed their blood to live and so long as they had him tied down, there was nothing he could do to escape.

At least nothing that didn't involve him begging Acheron for help and that was the last thing Nick would do.

"Do you really want me to bring his mother out of the Underworld?" Kratos asked. "That will require a massive amount of cooperation from Hades."

She scoffed at him. "Of course not. We get Marissa and both he and his mother can roast in their hell for all I care. But you are another matter. I want you in his dreams, every night, working on him. He has enough anger to feed you well, my Skotos. Play on that anger. Build it higher until he will be willing to do anything to free his mother and kill Acheron."

She saw the hesitation in Kratos's eyes.

She curled her lip. "Oh, don't tell me you're going to be a wuss too. I'm sick to death of weak men around me."

He grabbed her and shoved her against the wall. "I'm not a wuss, Satara. You'd do well to remember that."

She tsked at him. "For a god with no emotions, you seem rather testy."

He released her. "I'm siphoning off you and your hatred. Even in this realm, it's pungent."

"Leave my hatred alone. I don't want it diminished. Remember, Dream-Hunter, I'm a god too. Fuck with me and I'll bring down the wrath of Zeus on you."

"You're only a demigod and a servant at that."

"But dear old Grandpa Zeus will take an audience with me and then he'll take your head. Are you willing to chance that?"

He took a step back and gave her a look that let her know she should be on guard while sleeping in the future.

"Just do your part, Kratos, and I'll do mine. The Oneroi don't monitor the dreams of Daimons. You help me keep Nick turned against Acheron, and I will give you a playground unimagined by your brethren."

Kratos swallowed at her promise. Three weeks ago, he'd been one of the Oneroi. A servant of the gods who protected humans and immortals while they slept. Then Satara had summoned him in her dreams and had turned him Skoti. She'd seduced him with her body and made him crave emotions like a drug. Now he couldn't stand the emptiness of his existence. He only wanted to feel and he was willing to do anything to keep his newfound emotions.

She was right. His kind didn't prey on Daimons, and if they were half as enticing as she, then he would have a banquet at his fingertips.

And all he had to do was feed the Dark-Hunter's anger and grief. Simple.

"It's a deal, Satara. You give me what I need and I'll give you what you want."

She smiled. What she wanted was simple. Nick Gautier's loyalty and the baby Marissa. With those two things, she could bring down both the Greek and the Atlantean pantheons.

Then she would be a god and she would make Apollymi look weak.

And Nick, Acheron, and Kratos would be her eternal slaves.