AN: Yeah so this is my first real fanfic that I've written. I've wanted to write a Dark-hunter based fic for a while, but it took me a while to come up with a motivation for my story. Anyway please R&R and I'll try to have another chapter up in the next week. also I'll probably end up posting this story on AFF as well.

The Dark-hunter series and all related stuff belongs to Sherrilyn Kenyon.

January 6, 2006

"We were told that you got something from the lawyer yesterday." The shrill female voice cut across the room to the twin girls sitting on the stairs. "Why didn't we see them?"

"We wanted to look through tem first." One of the girls replied.

"Plus they were addressed to us." The second said in a harsher tone. "What business is it of yours what we receive in the mail?"

"Don't take that tone with us." Growled the man sitting on the floor next to the older woman. "This is our house, and our rules. We have every right to look at you mail."

"Yes." The woman glared at the girls. "Now where are the letters anyway?"

"Upstairs in my room." On of the girls said.

"Get them and bring them down." The woman ordered.

The shorter of the two girls got up and walked up the stairs. She returned a few minutes later with two thick white envelopes addressed to the girls.

While her sister was gone, the other twin glanced at their stepsister, who was sitting on the couch next to the stairs, and saw the smug look on the woman's face. Figures the bitch would rat to mommy, the girl thought. Was it too much to ask for a little privacy?

When her sister came back down the stairs, Sarah leaned to the side to let the other girl pass by and give the letters to their dictatorial dad and step mom. Both girls sat on the stairs, again, while the adults looked through the letters that had come two days previously from their grandfather's lawyer.

Disgust radiated from the adults as they tore through the papers, barely reading any of them. Their step mom looked at the girls, pinning them with a nasty glare.

"Where are the checks the letter says were attached?" the woman looked from the papers to her stepdaughters.

"We cashed them." Sarah responded, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Why?" Their father growled. "You realize that you got gypped, right?"

Jessie glared at her father. "Because it was my right to do so."

The girls' father glared at them before pointing at the floor between him and their step mom. "Over here right now."

The girls reluctantly walked over to the spot their father had indicated. They knew what was coming. Whenever Jessie and Sarah did something their dad and step mom didn't like or didn't do what was asked of them, the girls got a beating. Usually the beatings didn't come until after there was no one else in the house.

This time it was different and both girls knew it as their father slowly got to his feet. He stood over the twins as he growled at them. "Your right? This is my house, you have only the rights that I allow you to have."

He raised his right fist and punched Sarah in the side. "Now tell me whose idea it was to go behind my back and pull this stunt."

The girls glared at him, they knew that they'd get beat no matter what they said. They'd been through this situation before, even if it was a different topic, and had a silent agreement to share the punishment.

Their father raised his left fist in a silent threat. When no answer came, he struck a mirrored blow to Jessie's side. "Answer me."

"What's it matter what we tell you, dad?" Jessie rasped, holding her bruised ribs. "You'll still beat us anyway."

SMACK!

Jessie looked up at her father from under her eyebrows and grinned. He had yet to learn that they'd learned to deal with their beatings. A slap wasn't going to do anything.

"You're just pissed that we stashed away the money you were planning on buying weed with, dumbass." Sarah spat, knowing that the insult would anger her father further and draw his attention away from her sister for a moment.

TWACK!

The blow caught Sarah from behind, causing her to groan, as her step mom added her two cents to the mix. "You don't talk to your father that way, you little brat."

Before the girls could blink, blows began raining down on them from all sides as the adults let their tempers get the better of them. Sarah could already tell this beating was going to be worse then any of the others they'd experienced over the years. They had to be really pissed to lose their tempers after only two taunts.

"You two hit like girls." Jessie said through gritted teeth as she wiped blood from her lip during a lull in the blows.

"We've wrestled freshman that hit harder than you do." Sarah spat out a glob of bloody spit on to the carpet. "Maybe you two should get off your asses more often and exercise."

A new voice and more blows rained on them, bringing the two girls to their knees, as their step sister joined in the 'fun'. The blows rained on their backs, sides, arms, and legs for several minutes before the adults stepped back to catch their breath.

"You're not touching our money, assholes." Jessie spat glaring up at their father.

"You think you're so smart, huh?" their stepsister spat. "You two are ungrateful brats. My mom has given you everything and you spit in her face every time." She moved to kick Sarah in the side, but was stopped by the girls' father.

"You will give me that money, or you'll suffer the consequences." He grabbed Jessie by her hair and pulled her head up to emphasize his threat.

"We won't be able to do anything with it for at least week, so you can shove your consequences up your fat ass." Jessie spat back as she shook her head around to free her from his grasp.

Sarah lunged at her father as he brought his arm back to slap her sister, but was held back by the other two adults. She watched as her father beat her sister until the younger girl was no longer moving. Minutes passed as the blows rained on her sister's body.

"STOP!!" Sarah yelled. "Can't you see she's not even fighting back?" She struggled against the hold her stepfamily had on her arms.

Lost in the haze of the beating Jessie, her father rounded on her with his bloodied fists raised. "You will learn your place and to respect me, girl."

Unable to escape, Sarah weathered the assault. As her vision began to darken, she got the undeniable feeling that her sister had preceded her in death. Angered by the uncalled for violence from her father, Sarah's soul cried to the heavens as it passed from her body.

Up on Olympus, a dual cry for vengeance reached Artemis' ears. The force of the cries were enough to bring the redheaded goddess to her feet. Individually the soul cries wouldn't have gained her attention, but together they were enough to summon the goddess before two battered young women.

"Your cries for vengeance have summoned me. I can give you that vengeance, if you give your soul to me in service in my army." She looked down at the two crying women. "What say you?"

The more battered of the two looked at the goddess with pure hatred in her eyes. "I didn't think it'd work, but it's true apparently." The woman looked down at her mirror image. "For the chance to take a few monsters out of this world, I will serve you, goddess." The woman spat out the title with distaste. "But never dilute yourself with the thought that I shall ever like you. My only loyalty belongs to my sister." She nudged the other woman gently.

The other woman raised her head. "I to will pledge my service, but my loyalty only belongs with my sister as well. If you'll allow it, we'd like to be able to fight along side one another."

Artemis looked at the identical women with a thoughtful look on her face. She never made twin dark-hunters before. "I shall think on it." Without preamble, she touched each girl on the shoulder and they fell to the ground.

The twins turned to watch the tall black haired man walk up to them as they stood outside the wreckage of their father's home. They both felt the powerful pull of the man and knew who he was instantly. Even though they'd met Artemis, they still couldn't believe that their favorite book series was real.

The man stopped a few feet from the women and lifted the dark sunglasses off his face. His swirling silver eyes confirmed their suspicions as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Hello, I am Acheron Parthenopaus."