Chapter 8


The three of them entered the backdoor of Club Runningwolf to find Talon pacing the floor like an angry lion. The Dark-Hunter was covered in blood and Laine gasped when she saw his back. The man was riddled with bullets, and he must have been in tremendous pain, but he seemed to barely notice as he paced the room.

"Jesus Christ," she breathed and wanted to run forward to help him, but knew that Talon wouldn't appreciate her aid.

"Are you all right?" Ash asked.

"I'm sore, but well enough to hunt and plenty able to kill." The Dark-Hunter's normally handsome face was twisted into a snarl. Laine's brows furrowed. How could he and Sunshine have already established such a deep relationship?

"I thought your powers included healing," Nick said.

"They do," Talon said, wincing. "But I heal by absorbing pain and injuries into my own body. It's kind of hard to do that when I'm the one who's hurt."

"Nick," Ash said. "Go get Talon more clothes, now." The man immediately left.

Talon growled at Laine. "What the hell are you doing here? The sun's almost setting. Shouldn't you be with Zarek right now?"

Laine opened her mouth to protest, but Ash silenced her with a hand. "Laine's going to come with us to do whatever we're going to do. With Camulus behind this, we're going to need everyone we can get." The girl wanted to ask who the hell Camulus was and inform him that Squires were not allowed on hunts, but she decided to keep her mouth shut. If he was the god Ash was talking about, she didn't know what Ash needed her for at all.

"Talon, you can't go out there covered in blood with dozens of bullet holes riddling your flesh. I think people might get a little suspicious and wonder how it is you can stand upright and not be, say, dead. The last think I need is for another Dark-Hunter to make the evening news." Ash was clenching his teeth as he spoke, and Laine felt like she could cut the tension in the air with a knife.

"I told you, T-Rex. I'm heading out as soon as that sun sets. Thirteen minutes and counting."

"Turn around and face the wall." Talon did, and Ash laid his hand on the Celt's back. Laine watched wide-eyed as the bullets worked their way out of the Dark-Hunter's back and his skin healed over the wounds.

She gasped at Ash's powers. She had known he was powerful, but this was something else.

Suddenly, Talon's cell phone rang, making her jump. He picked up, his face still twisted into an ugly sneer. His face grew even blacker when he heard who was on the other line. "Damn you, Camulus. Damn you!" Laine clenched her fists. If Sunshine was hurt, she would—"Where is she?"

Suddenly, the Celt's expression changed. "Baby, are you okay?" His voice cracked, and the girl saw the pain and anguish on his face. Was it possible that he was in love with Sunshine? Talon, of all people? Panic flashed through his eyes again, and he gripped the phone harder, "Sunshine! Sunshine, are you there?"

Snapping the phone shut, he gave a heart-wrenching scream and punched the wall. Then, he headed for the door, even though the sun was still up. Laine immediately blocked his path. She saw the fury flash into his eyes and his hand jerk. He was going to hurt her if she didn't move, but she knew as well as Acheron that if Talon went out there like this, he would be good as dead. Never had she seen this Dark-Hunter be anything but cool and calm. This was a man she did not know.

"Talon!" Ash shouted before Talon could strike Laine. "Get a friggin' grip. If you go out there like this, you're dead."

"What the hell do you know about it?"

Normally, Laine would have put an arm on Talon's shoulder, but now, she was afraid to touch him. Instead, she continued to stand in front of the door. "Talon, Sunshine is my friend, and I don't want her to die either. But if you don't think, she's going to." She took a deep breath as Talon turned his hate-filled eyes to her. "You're doing just what they want. You're about to run headlong into the last minutes of daylight. Don't let them do that to you."

Talon's fists began to clench and unclench as he took a deep breath. Laine could see that deep down, he knew that she and Ash were right, but his emotions were getting the best of him. "All right. I'm mostly calm."

Ash stepped forward and nodded at Laine, who let out a deep breath. "Good. Because I don't want you to be mostly dead. We'll wait on Nick to return with your clothes and then we'll go get her."

The other Dark-Hunter stepped away from the door and began to pace again. "Commerce Street. That's where she is. Isn't that almost right where that woman was murdered?"

It was the first time in a long time that Laine had seen Acheron look puzzled. "What woman?"

"The one you called me over to see."

Ash continued to look blank.

"You know. The woman you said you thought might have been murdered by Zarek." Laine raised her head. Talon had told her about this over the phone, but why was it that Acheron couldn't remember this? Talon saw Laine eyeball him and Ash, and nodded in her direction. "Laine, you remember. I called you and told you about it."

Laine bit her lip. "I remember. But I also remember telling you that if Ash really thought one of the Dark-Hunters murdered someone, that Dark-Hunter wouldn't be around anymore."

Talon shook his head in frustration and turned to Acheron. "You called me, and while I was with you, Zarek had his little party with the police. I know it was you. There's not another man on this earth your height who looks like you."

Ash looked as if he had seen a ghost as a look of realization came over his face.

"Ash, what's going—"

But before Laine could finish her sentence, Ash interrupted her. "There's something I need to do. Laine, you're going to go to Vane and Fang's den. We're going to need their help. Bring them to Sunshine's loft. Tell them they owe me."

"Wait, what?" But before Laine could say more, the room before her grew blurry, and suddenly, she saw nothing but white.

* * * *

Laine landed in a swamp on her back. As she scrambled, to her feet, she heard snarling, and was just in time to see a gray wolf running straight for her. It leaped up, ready to attack, and it was only just in time that she fell to the ground and summoned a mental shield around her. The wolf bounced off with a yip, and rolled over, a little perturbed, but unhurt.

The growling continued. She looked up to see the gray wolf suddenly change into Fang, and she got to her feet again, only to see Vane standing protectively over a large, female wolf. He saw who she was, and she thought she saw his shoulders relax a little. "It is unwise to surprise the Katagaria."

"Sorry," she said, still breathless. She was going to kill Ash after this. Who the hell did he think he was, throwing her into a den of wolves like that? "I didn't mean to. I'm here on behalf of Acheron." She looked around, and saw that she was alone with the three wolves.

Fang glared at her, but Vane made a cutting motion with his hands. "It's alright, adelfos. Watch over Anya." The older wolf made sure that Fang was with the female wolf before stalking over to Laine. "Come with me."

He led her into the woods, away from the den, and Laine realized that if his pack had known she was here, she probably would not be alive right now. "Ash should have called me," Vane said, and Laine gulped at his words.

"Apparently, this couldn't wait," Laine sighed. "Look, Ash wants your help. He sent me here."

Vane turned to her and glared. "Ash I can trust. I don't know about you. What are you?"

Laine blew out her breath, and couldn't help but notice that he had said "what" and not "who." It was as if he could sense that she was not entirely human. "I'm a Squire," she said calmly. "Ash says that you owe him, and that if you help him with this, he'll consider your debt repaid."

The wolf snarled and seemed to ignore the end of her sentence. "I know about our debt to Ash, and I know that it'll be repaid if we help him. I asked what you were." He turned his full glare onto her, and staring into his green eyes, she couldn't help but look away and gulp. It was probably the same look that he gave to his enemies before he slaughtered them.

"I'm a quarter Apollite," she said, staring straight in front of her.

Vane sniffed again. "And your powers?"

Laine bit her lip, her heart racing. "Look, who cares? We don't have time to chat. This is really urgent! We need to get to Club Runningwolf now!" She knew she sounded like a petulant two-year-old, and Vane didn't move. "Please."

The look disappeared from his face, and he nodded once. "What does Acheron need us for?"

"It's a long story, and I'm not sure what's going on," she said slowly. "Apparently, someone is pretending to be Ash, and it's working." She paused. "And my friend, Sunshine, has been kidnapped by some god that is out to get revenge on a Dark-Hunter. They came when the sun was up and used halogen lights on said Dark-Hunter." The wolf looked confused. "Anyway, I think Acheron wants you and Fang to act as some muscle that they won't see coming."

As she finished explaining, the other wolf stalked up to them, his eyes narrow as he stared at her. He had also heard her last few sentences. Then, when he approached, he unabashedly put his nose about an inch from her hair and sniffed. Laine wanted to raise an eyebrow, but Fang's very presence scared the living shit out of her.

"You're not all human," he said, his voice steely and low.

Laine gulped, and would have turned to run had Vane not put a hand out to intercede his brother. "She is part Apollite, and hence, our cousin." Fang's look softened a little as he backed up, allowing the woman to breathe. Slowly, he nodded to her.

Vane continued to speak. "Acheron sent her." He turned to her. "Where are we going and what are we doing?"

Laine smiled. "Club Runningwolf. To kick some serious Daimon ass."

Fang whooped, and Laine almost jumped. "Finally! Some action."

Vane just looked apologetic as he put his hands on both of their shoulders and teleported them out of the swamp.