Acheron rolled his shoulders as he leaned over the railing to watch the pit boss as he made his way through the crowd. The ache that had settled firmly between the muscles there had been nagging at him all day and nothing he did would make it go away. The blonde Daimon pit boss was easy to view, especially since he was head and shoulders taller than the humans around him. It unnerved Ash just a little that Sin employed Damien as his go-to guy in the casino. Daimons usually weren't very trustworthy, especially around so many humans. However, once he'd spent five minutes with the man he'd known that Sin's assessment of him was dead on.
They'd spent the day beefing up the supernatural security in the casino and now they were testing the new systems. Sin had asked for some help after the gallu attacks and the potential disaster of the Dimme escaping. He really cared for the people that visited his hotel and he wanted nothing to harm them that he could possibly control. Ash watched as Damien triggered the panic button under the nearest craps table and the walls shimmered and then exposed hundreds of mirrors that would repel any gallu in the building. Ash glanced across the room to Sin who was nodding his head as the mirrors revealed themselves. They had put mirrors on the main doors of the building when it was built but after the attack that caused a gallu to be inside the building Sin was more cautious than ever.
Ash grinned at the Sumerian as he strode towards the tower in the center of the casino, he had been more than happy to help beef up the security, especially since it would also be protecting his daughter and grandchild. "Looks good. Did you see anything wonky?"
"No but you were the one looking for 'wonky'. I just want it to match the décor."
Ash was about to comment further when his cell phone blared over the noise in the casino. He scowled at the hateful device but flipped it open anyway as he started striding towards a place that was not only more private but quieter as well. He could hear perfectly well over the noise but he didn't want his conversation to be overheard because he thought that it might have to do with the rash of odd monster attacks.
"…and then Ravyn reported a kraken sighting off the coast as well. Man, something is seriously freaky out here. Any ideas?"
"Not at the moment, just keep your ears open. I'm looking into some strange things that some of the other Hunters have seen. I'll let you know if there's anything you can do."
"Okay, well don't take too long. Daimons I can handle, these prehistoric thingies are weirding me out. I don't want my pretty ass to get eaten you know?"
"I seriously doubt a Kraken would even want to eat your ass Otto. And they aren't prehistoric."
"Yeah, whatever. It's older than dirt and has teeth the size of a Mack truck." He paused for a moment as if he were forming words, "Hey Boss? Say hi to the little woman for me, will you?"
Ash chuckled at the Squire's request, "Will do." He flipped the phone closed again and glared at the small silver device as if it would show him the answers to the questions that were spinning about his head like a cyclone. He concentrated a moment and tried to see the answers that should be so plain to him but once again all he saw was fog and shadows. It was time for him to go for the throat and solve this issue before it spiraled out of control. Curling his lip up a little as he let out a deep growl he flashed himself off to Neratiti.
OoOoOo
"Keep your shorts on, I'm coming!" Savitar shouted as he strode down the long hallway from his quarters. He'd been right in the middle of something when Ash had appeared in the meeting hall and started screeching his name. The Cthonian rolled his eyes and raked his hand through his black hair as he entered the huge circular room, "What?" He stopped short in the doorway when he saw and felt the amount of anger flowing out of his friend. "Whoa…what's happening?"
"That's what I want to know," Ash growled. "I've got an influx of monsters and beasties I just can't explain. They're popping up all over the damn place and my Hunters are getting their asses handed to them. This has got to stop and I want to know who to beat the shit out of to make it happen. So talk."
Savitar looked critically at the other man and felt the waves of hostility and fury wash over him. He knew that if Ash didn't calm down, and fast, that he would completely lose control of that anger and if that happened, the entire world would suffer. "Okay, calm down. What kind of monsters are we talking here?"
"Everything! At first it was a minotaur and a kraken in Rio, then there's been…let's see," Ash said as he ticked off the reported attacks on his fingers, "A sphinx in Cairo, harpies in Cannes, a herd of centaur rampaging in California, a pack of chimaera in Siberia, a Cyclops in New York city, and a lamia outside of Beijing."
"Huh, well other than the sphinx, they are all Greek critters so I'd say that one of the Special Olympics kids is behind it."
Ash huffed and rolled his eyes, "Yeah I thought that too but then a roc showed up over Sydney and freaking Tiamat buzzed London. It looked like godsdamned Reign of Fire out there. So who the hell is behind this?"
Savitar started pacing back and forth chewing his lower lips as he processed the information that Ash had given him. After a few minutes he whirled towards the other man with a look on his face that was very nearly humor. "Oh, you're not gonna like this."
Ash waited for the other being to say what was on his mind but Savitar just stood there looking smug, "Spit it out…"
"Think about it Ash, Greek monsters mixed with Mesopotamian and Egyptian. Who do you think could control them?"
"Zeus comes to mind."
"Yeah, but probably not the Mesopotamian ones. Think some more. It'll come to you."
Ash did just that, pacing back and forth opposite Savitar. He knew the answer, he just didn't want to admit it because that would mean that even the last vestige of caring he had for her would have to be given up. "Damn it Artie, why?" he growled.
"You're going to have to ask her that one brother. Sorry." Savitar stood watching the other god as he paced and he could feel the pain that swelled in the other man's heart when the truth of the matter came to rest there. For some unknown reason Acheron still harbored some sort of caring for the goddess that had made his life miserable for thousands of years.
Ash's jaw clenched painfully as he tried to hold back the heartache and fury that was threatening to overwhelm him. He looked up at Savitar for any sort of assistance the other god could offer but Savitar could only shrug, this was Ash's fight, not his. Ash nodded once, cursed a long string of invectives in Atlantean and flashed himself out of the room.
