Page 8 of Dream Warrior (Dark-Hunter 16)
Delphine manifested a sword to attack the Skotos nearest her.
The Skotos laughed. "Wanna play, little girl?"
She lunged at him, showing him exactly how lethal she was. And it removed the smile instantly from his face. Say what he could, she was deadly accurate and had practiced the whole of her existence to battle the demons who preyed on humans as they slept.
There were very few Oneroi more accomplished than she.
Phobos was fighting two more, trying to protect the remaining portals. While they could technically do their job without them, it wasn't nearly as easy. Nor as effective. The portals needed to be saved.
Just as Delphine was about to run her opponent through, someone grabbed her from behind. A rough hand clutched her throat, paralyzing her entire body.
There was nothing there but a deep, black mist. The aura of evil was tangible. It was Noir.
And she was in his clutches. Something cold caressed her cheek an instant before he twisted her head and the darkness invaded every part of her.
Azura walked a small circle around Jericho asshe smiled proudly.
He closed his eyes, letting the power from the Source fill him again. It had been so long...
Too long.
He was whole once again, and it felt incredible. How he'd missed this. The sights and smells of his powers. The feeling of it coursing through him like living fire. Flexing his hand, he watched as his fingers turned into metallic claws that were razor-sharp. Gone were the words his mother had burned into his flesh, and in their place his tattoos glowed brightly in the dim light.
No one would ever control him again. He was back and he was furious. Ferocious.
And he was ready for revenge.
Azura cupped his cheek in her hand. "Would you like me to repair your face and eye?"
"No," he growled. He wanted the reminder of what being weak had cost him. He would never make that mistake again.
"Very well. You are completely restored to your god-hood. Do us proud."
He intended to.
She stepped back so that he could see himself in the mirrored wall. Gone was the grimy human who had to beg for jobs and satisfy himself with scraps of food and ragged clothes, all the while waiting for Zeus's assassins to slaughter him at night.
His hair was no longer black. It was once again the pure white of the gods and it contrasted sharply with his black clothes.
Azura handed him a sword and whip. "Not the ones you were used to, but I think you'll find them to your liking."
He felt the life blood of the universe in the blade. It hummed like a living being. "What is this?"
"It was forged from the pit of the Source. The very essence of the universe is inside it. That blade will cut through anything. More to the point, it will cut through anyone."
He ran his finger along the edge, appreciating the sharpness of it. Hissing, he saw the bead of blood that welled up. Blood that quickly evaporated as his body healed itself.
Like that of a god.
More to the point, the blade absorbed his blood as if it were feeding on it.
"You will have to feed the sword regularly," Azura explained, dragging one nail down the blade. "The sword requires fresh blood to thrive. With it, you can kill Zeus and absorb his powers." She paused and met his gaze with one as hungry as his soul that begged for justice. "You could be king of the Olympian gods.... Imagine, Cratus. All of them prostrate to you."
He curled his lip at her words. "Cratus is dead," he said in a guttural tone. "My name is Jericho."
She laughed. "I could think of no better name for you. Cursed and reduced to ashes. And like the mighty Phoenix, you're rising out of the destruction of your past to rain fury down on those who cursed you."
And he would relish bathing in their blood. The sword in his hand would never go hungry so long as he wielded it.
Azura stepped back. "For now, you will command my army of Skoti. We want to neutralize Olympus and use their gods of sleep to attack the ones we need to control."
"Consider it done." He was more than willing to throw Zeus and his crew to the wolves. They deserved it and more for all their cruelty.
A flash of light almost blinded him. Raising one arm to shield his eye, he frowned as the black mist formed into the only being he knew to be more evil than Azura.
Noir.
Tall and dark with black hair and eyes, Noir exuded supreme merciless power. Even Jericho had to admit he was handsome in a way only the gods were. But this was one of the first beings created.
Or more likely in Noir's case, the first being spawned.
Dressed in ornate burgundy armor, Noir wore a dark red cloak that was trimmed in gold. Noir's cold gaze narrowed on Jericho until it went from him to Azura.
"Congratulations, little sister."
"I told you I could convince him to our side."
Noir inclined his head to her. "And I've scored another haul from the other side."
"Really?"
"See for yourself." He spread his hand to show her in his palm a dark hole where a group of Oneroi were lying in utter misery.
Jericho expected the sight to make him supremely happy. But as he looked at their torture and damaged bodies, an unwanted wave of sympathy went through him.
Why?
He couldn't imagine. The gods knew they'd never had mercy where he was concerned. More times than not, they'd laughed as they killed him. But as he scanned the prisoners, one in particular caught his eye.
Without thinking, he took a step forward.
Azura snapped her attention to him. "You see something you like?"
Jericho turned away from the woman whose face he couldn't even make out. He didn't know why she'd called out to him. It was another stupid move on his part. "No."
"Then I'll have one of my servants show you to your new accommodations. I think you'll find them much more to your taste than the hovel you were living in." Azura snapped her fingers and a young girl around the age of sixteen appeared.
At least that's what she looked like at first. But her tanned skin held an iridescent quality to it that reminded him of a dragon's eye.
She was a beautiful demon.
"Follow me, my lord," she said quietly.
He did and was amazed at the opulence of the golden palace that Azura and Noir called home. Unlike the Olympians, they lived in the darkest pit of the earth's core. Yet it was far from dark or gloomy.
"How long have you been here?"
She glanced back over her shoulder. "I was born here, my lord."
"And how old are you?"
"A little over two thousand years." She opened a black door with gold hardware.
Jericho let out an appreciative breath at the sight of his new room. Lush and rich, it beckoned him inside. Stepping past the demon, it was all he could do not to run to the bed and throw himself across it. It'd been so long since he'd slept in a bed that he couldn't even remember the sensation.
The girl closed the door and moved to the fireplace. Throwing a burst of flames out of her hand, she started the fire. Then she turned toward him with a calculating gleam in her dark eyes. "Is there anything else I can do for you, my lord?"
He understood her meaning immediately and had no intention of going there. At least not with a demon and not right now. "No."
She looked relieved. "If you should change your mind, call my name. Rielle. I will come immediately."
"Thank you."
She appeared baffled by his thanks before she vanished.
Alone, Jericho set his sword down on the dresser. He moved around the room, running his hand over the finely polished wood of the bedposts. This reminded him of his bed on Olympus. Of the time before recorded history when he'd been respected and feared.
He was back.
And he was pissed. May the Source take pity on those who'd caused his mood.
Because at the end of the day, he would have none for them.
"What are you doing ? " Noir asked gruffly.
Azura paused as she had her servant lay the body of the Olympian bitch on the table before her. "Did you not see the way he looked at her?"
Noir shrugged. "She's attractive. It's to be expected."
"Yes, but we need to keep our new tool happy. The last thing we want is to have him turn on us. Without your Malachai, we will need him when we attack the Source." She dragged her hand over the woman's unconscious body, appreciating her slight stature. "She is a beauty, isn't she?"
"If you like pale, pasty women. Personally, I prefer ones with more color."
Azura smiled as he pulled her close and ran his tongue along her throat. Chills erupted over her skin. Even though they called themselves brother and sister, there was nothing that united them in blood except their mutual quest for power and hunger for death. In that, they were family.
Reality was a different story.
"Not now, lover. I want to present her to Cratus."
"Dump her into his room, then. Or kill her. Either way works for me."
Azura conjured a containment collar for the woman's powers. The last thing they needed was to have her loose in their home. Not that she could do that much. It was merely the principle of the matter.
As soon as she had the Olympian's powers restrained, she undid the woman's pale hair so that it would cascade over her shoulders. "Yes, very pretty."
Satisfied, Azura teleported to Cratus's room. He was looking out the window as if trying to find an enemy of some sort. The moment she popped in, he swung about as if ready to fight.
She had to suppress the urge to- mock him for something that was actually admirable. He was intelligent to not trust them. Most people, to their extreme detriment, did. The fact that he alone suspected treachery said much for why he was a valuable ally.
"No need to be so jumpy."
His face was absolute stone. "What are you doing here?"
"I've brought you a gift."
Jericho scowled at her, wondering what game she played-and he knew she was playing something. Her entire demeanor warned him that she was about to make him even angrier. And he wasn't jumpy. It was just that he knew the treachery that lived in the hearts of all creatures. It was all he expected of them.
No one could be trusted.
Actually, that wasn't true. They could be trusted to screw over the people around them when it served their purposes. That he would bank on.
"Gift?"
Her smile was wicked and it was colder than ice. "Bon appetit, precious," Azura said as she snapped her fingers. The sound was still ringing in his ears when a small form materialized at his feet.
Jericho gasped at the sight of the tiny woman...
One who was completely naked.
