Page 26 of Dream Warrior (Dark-Hunter 16)
CHAPTER 9
Jericho was descending into hell. Well, more like an Atlantean hell realm called Kalosis, but still. . . why argue tit for tat?
Hell was hell, no matter the pantheon.
Delphine had stayed behind with Phobos, after much argument. But Acheron had agreed that the fewer people asking, the better chance they would have.
Stryker and his wife. Zephyra, would respect a single emissary. Two or more, they might consider lunch.
Tory led Jericho down a black marble hallway holding a light stick over her head. It reflected off the walls with an eerie luminescence that would be haunting if he were human. As it was, he found their distorted images fascinating.
They were heading toward Stryker's reception hall.
Since Acheron couldn't come here without starting the apocalypse, Tory had volunteered to guide Jericho and make the introductions. Apparently part of Acheron's duties as Harbinger was to release his mother from her prison... which happened to be the realm they were in.
If Acheron so much as made a tiny appearance here, his mother would go free and destroy the world, so he could never see her.
Would have been tragic if Jericho were capable of feeling sympathy for someone else. He could appreciate it, but frankly, he didn't care.
Tory smiled at him. "It's really noble of you to risk so much for the Oneroi."
Jericho snorted. "I don't give two shits about the Oneroi. My plan was to fight against them with Noir, but he decided it would be easier to sic the gallu on me and control me that way. He declared this war, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let the gallu attack me in my sleep. I've spent enough of my life with other people in control of me. I won't spend one more moment that way. Noir wants a fight, I'm going to give him one. And I will not lose."
Tory let out a slow breath. "I forgot you're the son of Styx and Pallas."
He inclined his head to her. "Yeah, and I'm full of both their venom. Don't start no shit, won't be no shit. My goal is to get the Oneroi and Skoti back on their feet, and then take out the gallu as quickly as possible. After that, it's open season on the Olympians."
"Does that include Delphine?"
He saw red at the mention of her name. Delphine was something he had no intention of discussing with anyone. "She's none of your business."
Tory gave him a placating look. "Sorry. I wasn't trying to offend or pry. I was just pointing out that you seem to care for her."
Yeah, but the problem was he didn't understand why. One touch, one whisper and he was undone by her.
Why Delphine, when no one else had ever made him feel like this? What was it about her that cut through his anger and made him feel. . .
Warm.
Human.
Whole.
In all these centuries, he'd never felt like he did whenever she touched him. She held more power in a single caress than any entity he'd ever known.
She alone had the power to bring him to his knees.
Unwilling to think about it, he changed the subject. "How is it you're able to come and go from this realm?" It seemed odd that Stryker would tolerate her here.
"My mother-in-law gave me total freedom to visit her whenever the urge strikes me, especially since Ash can't come. While Stryker might want to bind me in chains and feed me to his Daimons, he wouldn't dare. Apollymi can be a little hard to defeat."
"And yet Apollymi tolerates you?"
She smiled. "She hates humans, but adores her son. There's nothing she wouldn't do for Acheron."
"Except leave the humans alone."
"Well, there is that." She walked down the glistening hallway with one hand on the wall. "I know it doesn't make sense. But she declared war on the humans and refuses to back off. However, Ash and anyone he loves is supposed to be immune from the Daimons she controls."
There was a note in her voice that set off Jericho's alarms. "Supposed to be?"
Her expression turned dark and sad, letting him know that she felt deeply for all involved. "Nick's mother was very close to Ash. She died from a Daimon attack a few years ago, which is why Ash and Nick are now at war with each other. Nick blames Ash for it and won't let it go. It's very sad, really, and breaks my heart to see them fight. But I'm told they're getting better, which concerns me. If what they have now is better, I'd hate to see worse." She drew up short as a blond woman cut off their path.
Petite and lithe, and dressed in a black leather catsuit and corset, the woman narrowed a vicious glare at them. "What are you doing here snooping around, Tory?"
Instead of reacting to the woman's angry tone, Tory cocked her head. "I didn't think I was snooping. It didn't feel like a snoop. I have snooped before and can honestly say this isn't it."
The woman glared at her.
"Relax, Medea," she said in a calm, even tone. "We've come to see your mother."
She narrowed her eyes. "Your funeral."
Tory smiled good-naturedly. "It's always so good to see you, too. You're just such a ray of happy sunshine, I so look forward to all our interactions."
Medea sneered at her. "You should be glad you helped save my life. It's the only reason you're alive right now."
Tory snorted. "And my living has nothing to do with the fact that you'd be toast if you touched me. right?"
The glare Medea cast at her should have been lethal.
Jericho didn't speak as they followed Medea into an empty office. Decorated in dark golds and burgundy, it was obviously designed to intimidate. Not that it worked on him. There wasn't much that intimidated him.
Or more to the point, there was nothing that intimidated him.
Medea paused in the doorway. "Wait here. I'll get her." She shut the door and locked it, which seemed ridiculous given the fact that they could pop out of here at any minute. But far be it from him to point out the obvious.
As soon as they were alone, he faced Tory. "I take it Zephyra is her mother?"
She nodded.
"You think we stand a chance with this?"
Tory shrugged as she looked around. "We won't know until we talk to her. I think she might, and I use that word with all applicable optimism, help us."
"Help you do what?"
Tory snapped around to see Zephyra, who had flashed herself into the room behind Stryker's desk. Tory frowned intently at the demonness. "You're looking rather tan for a nocturnal creature."
Zephyra ignored her.
Almost identical in looks to Medea, she was unbelievably beautiful with lush curves that were heightened by her tight black dress. "Have you a point to this visit? Or should I just kill you now and start a war?" She looked past Tory to Jericho. "And I really resent your bringing a god into my domain."
Jericho winked at her, which only seemed to make her angrier.
Unable to see his gesture, Tory smiled. "You know I wouldn't do it without a really good reason."
"And that is?"
"We need Jared."
Zephyra laughed incredulously, then sobered so fast he wondered if he hadn't hallucinated the laugh. "You're wasting my time. Get out."
Damn, she was a surly bitch. It made him wonder how Stryker tolerated her.
"Oh, come on," Tory said, "it's not like you're using him for anything. Really, what is he doing right now?"
"One thing he's not doing is pissing me off, which is more than I can say for you."
"Children," Jericho said, stepping forward. "Let's try this again. We have a gallu problem. Led by Noir and Azura, they are planning to convert Oneroi and Skoti into gallu so they can attack unfettered in our dreams. When that happens, no one is going to be safe. No one," he reiterated coldly. "And by that I mean you. Since the gallu are just as likely to eat a Daimon as they are a human, you might want to think about it."
Zephyra narrowed her gaze threateningly. "And people in hell want ice water. Something they're a lot more likely to get than you are my Jared."
Jericho clenched his teeth to control the urge he had to shake the stubborn woman. "We're up against Noir and Azura. Have you any idea how bloody this is going to get?"
Zephyra didn't speak.
"What do you want in exchange for him?" Tory tried.
"There's nothing you have."
Suddenly a loud crash sounded from outside the room. Zephyra went rushing past them to throw open the door that was opposite of the one they'd come in through.
Jericho's eyes widened as he saw a Daimon in the center of a large hall. Only he wasn't a Daimon any longer. He had the milky eyes and skin tone of an infected gallu victim. The other Daimons were backing off, giving him space. He would lunge, and they would run. That was the beauty of the gallu-not only could they turn people into zombies, their zombies could make more zombies.
If they were ever loose, they could kill everyone in no time.
Jericho looked at Zephyra. "You were saying?"
She exposed her fangs at him and hissed. "You brought him here?"
"Hell. no. From what I understand, the gallu have a score to settle with you guys on their own."
"You have no idea." She grabbed a sword from the wall and headed after the Daimon.
Jericho was extremely impressed as she rushed into the fray. The Daimon-gallu went for her. She ducked his arms, spun and in one clean stroke severed his head from his body. Without stopping her flow, she held the sword out to another Daimon. "Clean that up, Davyn, and tell Stryker we have a problem."
"I noticed."
Jericho's attention went to the extremely tall, dark-haired man who joined them. From the commanding air and deadly aura, he would guess him to be Stryker.
Stryker looked down at the corpse on the floor and sighed angrily. "What are the damn gallu doing now?"
Jericho answered before Zephyra had a chance. "They're uniting with the Oneroi and Skoti to attack us in our sleep."
Stryker cursed foully. "I should have killed the gallu when I had the chance."
Zephyra gave him a knowing smile. "Oh, baby, think of the mistake that would have been."
"What mistake?" Tory asked.
Zephyra crossed her arms over her chest. "I think we need to corral the gallu. What exactly did you have in mind with Jared?"
