We got Zarek back to Spawn's house almost an hour later- he outright refused to be carried, so the walk back to the car took forever. My sister had dissapeared almost as soon as I spotted her, saying nothing and hitting no one else, and I was honestly relieved; I didn't know what I would have done with two unconscious Dark-Hunters, if she'd decided to hit Spawn, and if she hit me I probably would have just died. I wasn't really ready to do that just yet.
"This would have worked better if you'd let Spawn carry you," I told Zarek as he limped hardheadedly to the house. He ignored me and continued to walk up to the front steps, and I was on his heels.
"And if I refused to carry him?" Spawn inquired. I gave him a dark, don't go there kind of a look and he shut up. Smart boy.
"Unlock the door," Grunted Zarek, sounding pained. I hastened to obey and when the door swung open, I saw a light in the kitchen. I tensed at the sound of foot steps before remembering that Jen had shown up a few hours earlier, and as Zarek colapsed against the bottom stairs she entered the foyer.
Jen was just as I remembered her-long, lean body that was now clad in a light blue sweater and blue jeans, her cornsilk blond hair falling around her angel's features. Her skin was blemish free and smooth, and she had inquisitive aquamarine eyes that flashed with surprise when she knelt beside Zarek's unconscious form.
Brushing a hand over his brow, she frowned at me. "What happened to him? And why were you hunting Daimons with them?"
"I just-I ran into them," I lied. She raised a delicate light brown brow.
"Both of them?" She asked, a smile playing on pink lips. I twisted a column of my own dark brown hair around my finger as I shrugged.
"I called Spawn to help me when Zarek got attacked. He offered to let him stay here while he recoups- someone burned down his cabin this morning. I'm staying here, too, so...yeah." I trailed off, shrugging again, sort of feeling a little inferior under her scrutinizing blue gaze. She pushed her hair back and frowned, still looking at me strangely. I raised my eyebrows. "What?"
"Nothing," She said slowly. "There's food in the kitchen."
"Food?" I inquired stupidly.
"Hunters need to eat after they go on their patrols," She said again in the same slow voice, her Ivory-Might-Be-Crazy voice. Believe me, that voice had been used before, and in many a context. "They eat three meals a day, like humans, and usually their squires take care of that for them." She crossed her arms and frowned at me again.
"Oh." I looked down again, to where she was tending the burn wound in Zarek's chest. "Uh, Spawn, you should go eat."
Nodding, he walked into the kitchen, giving me a worried backwards glance. I nodded back and gave him what I hoped looked like an encouraging smile, and he nodded again faintly, looking to the part of the kitchen that was out of Jen's line of vision. I glanced back at Jen and then silently slipped past her.
He pulled me into the shadows and I stifled a gasp of what might have been surprise. Physical affection around a fellow Suire-and a gung-ho rule junkie at that- was sort of a really stupid idea. He pulled me close and kissed me anyway, holding me close. I rested my head on his chest when I pulled away again.
If there's anything you don't want to say in front of the Squire, just think it, alright? He thought.
I nodded. Alright, but I'm a Squire too, you know. And by the way, she has a name.
He cracked a smile at that. Yes, she does, and no, you're not- you're a goddess.
I glared at him and shook my head. Don't say that. I'm just Ivory. Ivory the Squire.
Right. He raised a brow. I mean, it's not like you offered to fix my wounds with magical goddess-y powers or anything.
I continued to glare and he winked at me, brushing my hair back from my eyes and leaning down to kiss me quickly again. He pulled away half a second before Jen walked into the room, giving us both a smile. It was an innocent smile, not the kind of smile she'd give us if she had caught us kissing.
"There's soup on the stove," She said sweetly, and he nodded while I dashed for the meal. I stopped short when I caught her irritated look, my hand outstretched for the soup.
"What?"
"That's for Spawn, Ivory, not for you." She sighed and then glanced over at Spawn as if embarassed on my behalf. "He's the one who's been hunting all night."
"Ivory was out there, too, and she probably fought just as many as I did." His voice had become low and protective, and his eyes were narrowed. She had her head turned to me, so I shook mine frantically, trying desperately to make him drop the macho protective act. He glanced back at me and then relaxed, though his eyes stayed cold. "Humans eat too, you know."
"I know," She said, blinking back her own surprise.
"Y'know, I'm not so hungry after all..." I trailed off, pushing my hair back out of my eyes. "I think I might go get some sleep..."
Both nodded, though only Spawn looked worried as he watched me. You okay?
Fine. Just had a long day, that's all.
You sure?
Absolutely. I managed a light smile. Go get something to eat, I'll be upstairs if you need me. You know where to find me if you can get away from your new Squire.
"Alright," He said aloud, smiling only faintly. "Good night, Ivory."
"'Night." I nodded to him. "Night, Jen."
She nodded coldly and turned back to talk to Spawn, and he listened politely as he got his food, glancing back at me as I climbed the stairs. Out of her line of vision, I blew him a kiss and smiled faintly. He smiled back, nodding, and then turned back to the Squire to answer whatever question she'd asked him.
I made my way to the bedroom I'd been sharing with Nikitas, opening the door slowly as to not wake him if he was sleeping. I glanced about the room to see if he was asleep, and then I grabbed my clothing and toiletries before setting out to find a bathroom.
Several doors and a few minutes later, I found the luxurious and well-furnished bathroom, which had a claw-footed white bathtub and was pained a sky blue. The medicine cabinet, I noticed, had nothing on its shelves spare a toothbrush, tooth paste, bandages and ibuprofen. I silently put my toiletries on the shelf and retrieved a towel before turning to draw a bath, waiting on the side of the tub while the water filled the tub.
I locked the door and tested the water before slipping into the bath. I sighed deeply and closed my eyes as the water burned my skin, and I kept my eyes closed as I submerged my face in the hot water.
I hummed silently under my breath as I considered the water and my evil sister's power over fire. It would be really freakin' cool if I had the same power over water.
I concentrated on the water and held up my hands as if to command it with my mind, trying to control the liquid the same way I'd controled teleportation earlier. I laughed at the fact that I looked like a moron and gave up.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, letting my hair fan out around my shoulders. Today had been a psychotic mess. Tomorrow might be worse.
Zarek had lost his cabin- and it had beeen my fault. Jen was here, and watching me like a hawk. Nikitas' mother was in the back of my head, and I was still sort of suspicious about her intentions. Nikitas had come back to life because of his mother's murder-a murder I'd committed. Ebony was gunning for me and was willing to kill anyone to get to me.
Jesus. Life was just unicorns and rainbows, wasn't it?
I was not going to worry about that now. This was my time. I was going to have five minutes of calm and quiet before being shoved head-first back into the chaos.
I continued to hum under my breath as I washed my hair, willing my mind to become empty of all of the stressful crap in my life. Calm like a river. A roaring, white-water rafting river, maybe, but a river nontheless. That was pretty much the best I could do at the moment-oh, well.
I traced the edge of the bath tub and then rested my cheek against its cool side, brushing my hair out of my face again and closing my eyes. God, I was so exhausted. I could fall asleep right here and...
And then the door opened. I sank down into the water and watched with wide eyes as someone entered the room.
I was surpised to see Zarek up and about, but then again, he was a Hunter. They tended to heal faster than the average human.
He glanced around and then looked into the mirror. I thought he might have been having a strange, self-loving moment, until I realized that he was checking out the scar that she burn had left on his chest. Zarek poked it and winced, and I snorted.
The hunter wheeled around, and when he saw that I was in the bath he turned away with a shout. "Make yourself known next time!" He shouted.
"Hopefully there's not going to be a next time," I retorted. He covered his eyes.
"I don't think there will be, because I think I might be blind." I stuck my tongue out at him and he shuddered quietly. I considered throwing the bar of soap at him, but he'd probably catch it with his stupid telekinesis and send it right back to me. So I sunk deeper into the water and crossed my arms over my chest.
"You know, you should, like, leave. I think you should leave. Go get some sleep or something. Or just, you know, leave."
"Why did you save me?" He asked suddenly. I frowned at him, and he continued. "I mean, when that bitch attacked me. You could have just left me there and saved yourself and your boyfriend, but you stayed. Why?"
I shrugged and the motion sent ripples through the water. "I don't leave friends behind, I guess."
"We're not friends. I don't have any friends."
"Notice the fact that I didn't leave you behind."
He was silent, but after a moment, he spoke again. His voice was quiet and a bit uncertain. "I'll just let you get back to your bath. See you later."
"Okay. And Zarek?" He turned and I made sure I was decent before I spoke again. "I am really glad you're alright."
Zarek didn't respond as he turned around again and shut the door, leaving me in the quiet.
After nearly falling asleep several times, I finished my bath and then dressed again, leaving the bathroom as I had found it and making my way back towards my room. I slipped silently down the hall like a phantom until someone brushed up against me. I turned with a gasp and was relieved to see Jen.
"Hey," I said with a smile. Her eyes were cold.
"You are very unprofessional," She snapped. I froze.
"What?"
"You're not even this Dark-Hunter's Squire. Why are you here?"
"I don't know," I said drolly, crossing my arms. "Maybe because my Dark-Hunters house burned at my psycho sister's hands?"
"And whose fault is that?"
"Hers," I snapped back. Right when I thought I might snap and throw her down the stairs, another door at the end of the hall opened and out walked Spawn, who stopped short and frowned at us, He had been in the process of pulling on his jacket, and I saw one of the handguns in his pocket.
"Uh, should I leave?" He asked me innocently. I glared at my once-best friend.
"No. I was just going back to my room." I sighed wearily and looked at him. "Where are you going, anyway?"
"Going to do my job," He said shortly, glancing over at Jen, whose face had become cold and distant. "What I'm supposed to do." He gave me a meaningful look and I quirked an eyebrow.
Not like you sound bitter or anything, but... I gave him a meaningful look of my own. He shrugged and slipped past us to walk down the stairs, ignoring my comment. I rolled my eyes at his bitchiness.
I heard that.
Good! I snapped. I couldn't see his facial expression, but I heard his laugh. I grit my teeth and glared at Jen.
"Am I being formally charged with anything?" I hissed. She shook her head and looked a little bored. "Good. Then I'm going to leave. Have a nice night, Jennifer."
Ivy, please try to play nice with her. That's all I meant, okay?
Fine. Yeah. Whatever.
Ivy...
I'll play nice. Just be careful, alright?
Alright. See you later.
I heard the front door slam at the same time I shut the door to my bedroom. I made sure that Nikitas was still asleep and snoring before I changed into my pajamas and kicked away my towel, colapsing onto the bed. Jesus. Another damned day, and another coming tomorrow. I took a deep breath and willed myself to sleep. Sleep, act like nothing's bothering you...
Yeah, right. That was going to work.
What was it that Ebony had said to me earlier? I couldn't recall. Something about being weak? Maybe I was. This was my weakest time, and I wasn't really up to fighting right now. Maybe she'd bust through the wall and zap me with a ray gun.
And maybe I'd be okay with that. I mean, she'd won anyway. The Daimons were going to keep killing and she was going to get more and more brainwashed recruits each time that they did.
I shook my head. "I'm not going to die," I whispered softly. "I'm going to live. Not die."
I gave into exhaustion, the words still echoing in my brain, and as my eyes closed, I thought that I could almost believe them.
It was my own memory that I found myself falling into, falling into a light powdery blanket of snow. I couldn't feel the surface of it, though-it was just soft, not cold. I looked up to see a wooded area that surrounded me, and I frowned. This wasn't Alaska, this looked like the top of a mountain somewhere. I could see all of the mountains around me and the last remaining rays of sunlight leaving the land.
The sun had set and the colors around me were fading and slowly the woods were reverting into a mysterious nighttime state. I was on edge-until I saw a six-year old me run past, towards an icolated little cabin on the horizon. I gasped as the memory came back to me. My parents used to take us on vacation to this little ski town outside of Denver. None of my siblings had understood, nor had I, but we'd gone faithfully every winter, from the day after we were released from school up until the day before we returned to class. We'd continued to do so until mom's death, and I had not returned since then.
This had been my sixth winter, and my sixth trip to Phantis, which was the name of the little main-street-and-a-few-rental-cabins town. I had explored the woods by day with my older brothers, forging forts and stockpiling snowballs, and spent the nights hearing stories told around the fire with hot chocolate balanced on my little knee. Norman Rockwell, right? Right.
Rising quickly and not bothering to dust the snow off of my clothing, I followed the six-year-old me down the hill, through the forested area below, to a small clearing. I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to find. Maybe a body. Maybe millions in gold dabloons.
Instead of either of these things, which would have actually both been really cool to find, I found a small, modest brown cabin that seemed to be falling apart and sagging under the weight of the snow. I frowned at it-in all of my memories of Phantis, never had this sad old cabin appeared. What was it doing here now? Had it always been here, or was this just something that my sister had put into my dreams to throw me off?
Nevertheless, I followed the little me as she stomped through the fresh snow towards it, and it was then that I realized that in this dream, I couldn't see me. If that makes any sense. So when I approached the window and peered inside, my mother and the Daimon couldn't see me.
I gasped and jumped back. It couldn't be right-that wasn't my mother. She must have an evil twin, too. It wasn't her-my saintly mother would never cavort with an evil soul-sucking demon. I closed my eyes to try and clear my mind of the picture, but instead I found myself inside of the cabin. I heard my mother's voice and then covered my face with my hands, closing my eyes and shaking my head.
This went against everything I could have ever believed in. My mother didn't socialize with Daimons. She couldn't.
She's a godess, they can do whatever they want... My brow knit in a glare and I told the sensible part of my brain to shut up. I looked up when my mother began to speak, her voice sharper and colder than I'd ever heard it.
"You shouldn't have had me come here. My husband is suspicious already, and if he returns and I am absent, it will only confirm his suspicions."
"You had to come here. I need answers." The tall, handsome demon-thing raked his hands through his hair, a nervous habit that I actually shared with him.
"Ask your questions, then." My mother took a seat in an old chair, and I looked around the dark, dank room. It was less furnished that Zarek's cabin had been- a chair and a small table were in its center, and there was a small bed with old greying sheets across it near where my escence rested. Overall, the place was just as depressing on the inside as it was on the outside.
"You lied to me."
"No, I did not-I told you that you could ask your questions." My mother's voice was cool and rational and she folded her hands in her lap, looking regal and very haughty. The Daimon took to pacing the floor, cutting her glares every so often as he walked to and fro.
"You said that you lost the baby. You said that it was better that way- you were married and I was almost twenty-seven. You told me that you wanted nothing from me. But now that I've seen that child..." He pointed to her accusingly. "That girl of yours is mine, isn't she? Don't lie to me, Helen. I know it is. Though you've disguised it mostly, given her the ability to walk in daylight with your powers and hidden her fangs and lust for blood, she is half Appolite. I know it." He raked his hands through his hair again. My mother was silent.
"She is not. My Ivory is not half Appolite, she is as human as her father."
"I am her father!" He roared, throwing his hands up. "It is so obvious! That little girl is practically my mirror image, and I bet that any Appolite who meets her will know what she is! She is the bastard child of a fallen goddess and an Appolite. She is mine!"
I was watching them with my mouth agape. They were talking about me. Being the child of an Appolite. Who was now a Daimon. My father. It couldn't be, never. No, he wasn't my father. He was crazy.
"Yes," My mother said wearily. "I brought her here, every year, to make her known to your people, your family-but never really to you. Still, she needs the protection of the stronger half of her family. She is half Appolite. She needs her people if she is to survive."
"What about your younger daughter?"
My mother frowned. "It is my daughter's true sister who was born again into this life to be with her sister- I never truly birthed her. She is not yours. Nor are my sons. After Ivory was concieved, I became merely a human carrying a goddess' child. I am such now, and thus are my other children."
"Ivory was born after them, though," He noted. She shrugged.
"It was her soul that I was trying for," She told him. "It had to be re-awoken by the blood and soul of one of the Sun God's damned children. That was why it was not to be my husband's."
"You used me," He accused. She shrugged again.
"And of it, both of our lines are continued and my sister stays imprisoned," She reasoned in a bored tone.
"She is my child, but she is raised by another, thousands of miles from me," He snapped bitterly. "Why should I protect her? I should kill her and take her soul as payment for your deceit."
"I thought Daimons who killed their own were frowned upon in Appolite culture," She said in the same irritated tone. His eyes narrowed.
"You owe me," He reminded her. She shrugged again.
"She's your child," She reminded him in turn. She stood and placed a hand on his bicep. "Could you honestly kill your own child?"
At this precise moment, the door opened with a tiny groan and the Little Six Year Old Me peered into the imposing darkness with wide, scared grey eyes. In my invisible state I mouthed the words no no no no... as my eyes grew wider and my hands flew to my mouth.
The Daimon-I just realized, I don't even know my father's name, how sad is that?- turned to my mother with an evil kind of a smile, his eyes narrowing as he looked back to the little me.
"Yes," He told her, his voice a deep, ferral growl, and then he lunged for me.
At least Little Me had enough sense to jump away with a scream, but he grabbed for my ankles and I screamed again, trying desperately to kick him away. My mother ran at him and pried him up off the floor, pushing him against the wall and holding him there with surprising strength.
"Run!" She screamed. Little Me didn't look back, and she didn't look forward. As I commonly do when really scared and running, she closed her eyes and powered forward through the snow with speed that would have put Olympic runners to shame. By the time I reached the front of the cabin Little Me was a small blot on the horizon, making her way back to her parent's- wait, no, that wasn't right anymore, it was her mother and step-father's- cabin.
To my horror, right behind her was the evil Daimon-demon-monster that had claimed to be her father, but who was apparently A-Okay with ripping her to shreds and taking her soul in a blind vendetta against her mother. My life, my lovely, lovely life.
He bellowed something that I couldn't comprehend over the wind, which was now screaming almost as loud as Little Me was. I bit down on my knuckles to keep from screaming, too.
My mother turned with wide, blank eyes, haunted by sadness, and I realized that she could see me. I didn't know what to say, so I remaned silent, my own eyes accusitory.
"I'm so sorry," She whispered, choking on a sob. "Oh, Gods, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any harm in bringing you here. I promise."
I felt nothing and still said nothing, but in my silent state I realized the truth. My mother, do-gooder-of-the-decade, always looking out for her family's interests, had fucked up. She had made a mistake and because of it, I might have died. It was not my fault, it was hers.
She'd made a mistake in having me, too. She shouldn't have involved herself with an Appolite to begin with. She could have just held onto my soul and, y'know, not damned me to die at 27.
Oh, god... I was going to die in 5 years. Almost 4.
I shook my head at her, my lip curling in disgust, and then I willed myself away from her.
I found myself near Little Me again, and I was struck once more how different I'd looked as a child. My hair was long and almost as light as the snow, my cheeks thinner and my eyes paler than they were now. Honestly, before I dyed my hair, I really did have an Appolite's appearence. I had been dyeing it for so long, I didn't really consider blond to be its natural color. I looked more like my parents this way, too, so I would have never really suspected...
Anyways. Little Me had fallen to the ground and was struggling to get up again, her hands falling through the new snow as she continued to struggle. The Daimon was close now, reaching to grab her shoulder and lift her.
"NO!" I screamed, knowing no one could hear me. Damn being an invisible ghost-thing, an innocent bystander in my own memories. I knew I wasn't going to die or aything, since obviously I was alive almost sixteen years later, but it was still pretty scary watching myself get attacked by a Daimon.
The knife came out of nowhere. One minute, the Daimon was holding Little Me aloft by my throat, slowly choking the life out of me, and the next, he had dropped Little Me and was clutching his throat, shrieking like a banshee.
My mother strode over slowly and pulled the knife out of his deep wound, wiping his blood off the common kitchen knife's surface onto the front of her jeans. She raised the knife as if to kill him and his hand flew up to stop her. "Wait."
"You tried to kill my daughter, you bastard," She sneered. "I'm not waiting for anything."
"You can't kill me," He laughed. "You had my child. There's no way you'd ever have the strength to kill me. What will you tell the girl, when she grows up and realizes who her father really is? What you did to him?"
"She won't find out," My mother promised severely. "She'll never know what a bastard weakling her father really is. Get out of here, you scum, before I come to my senses and kill you like I should."
He scrambled to his feet and glanced back down at Little Me again. She'd given into the abbyss of unconsciousness and lay in a heap on the ground, her arms outstetched and her mouth ajar. Like this, she looked like she was just asleep in the snow, not knocked out and half-dead.
"I'm glad I won't know her," He kept his distance but motioned to Little Me absentmindedly. "Children just complicate things."
Without looking back at his family, the Daimon walked into the woods and dissapeared. My mother collected me up into her arms and walked back in the direction of the cabin that we were sharing with my-well, at the time I didn't know it, but now I would have to refer to them as this- half-siblings and step-father.
Oh, Gods, my father was a Daimon. My mother had let him go instead of killing him like she was supposed to. Along witht that, I was a half Appolite. I was going to just wither away and die someday, maybe leaving behind a family and a life that I wouldn't actually want taken from me.
Good gods, what was I going to tell Spawn?
The next dream that followed after my mother's deception faded was not a memory of mine. As a matter of fact, it occoured some time before I was born. The day of Spawn's death, to be precise.
This wasn't a land I recognized, either. It was a hillside pocketed with caves, grazzy green holling hills punctured by deep black caverns under a flawless blue sky. The sun was hot and bright above, radiating upon the lush landscape.
Where was Spawn from, again? And what time? I couldn't remember now. Somewhere near the Greecian coast, maybe.
I heard raised voices from within one of the caves, and a scream, bloodcurdling and shrill. I jumped and then remembered my own screams after being attacked, thinking that maybe I could interact with the characters in this dream and that perhaps I could help. I tried to find the person in need- and then I saw her.
But only for a second, before she was dragged fully out into the sunlight and burned to death in a matter of seconds.
My hands flew to my mouth to block a scream. Oh, god, this was what I'd read about on the web-site. Died trying to save his wife and children from burning to death at the hands of humans.
His wife...
His kids...
Dead. Little piles of ashes on the ground, just like that poor little Appolite who'd just been roasted. Oh, god. No way I could be jealous of that.
I heard another shriek, this one farther, and the two humans, bulky, blundering and stupid, also ran towards its source. There was another skirmish between an Appolite and two humans, but this was different than the poor girl who'd died alone. This young woman had another Appolite, a man, trying to defend her against the human's attack.
That young man was Spawn.
It was strange, he looked exactly as he did today, but his hair was longer and pulled back from his face in a ponytail, and his eyes were as deep and blue as the sea. He had a sword in one hand and another hand on the arm of the woman, who was being dragged towards the sunlight by the men.
"You will not take her!" He snarled at one of the humans.
From the ground, another human screamed, "They are unnatural! Spawns of the devil! Destroy them all!"
The two humans abandoned Spawn and his wife, going deeper into the darkness, and he pulled her close to him, holding onto her. For a second, it looked okay.
Until one of the humans returned to the cave's enterance with a small boy held under his arm, a little boy who looked so much like his father. The boy was bleeding profusely from a head injury and lay limp in the large human's beefy arms as the blood spilled on his white blond hair.
"Iadis!" His mother screamed, tears spilling down her cheeks. She tried to run to her son, and one of the humans grabbed onto her arm.
"Get the girl!" He barked. Spawn's wife looked horrified.
"God, no, please- Spare my daughter... Lucien, please my darling, save Iadis and Leito, leave me but keep them safe-please, oh..." Her voice came in short gasps and tears continued to roll down her fair cheeks. Her hazel eyes were rimmed with red from her crying and her golden hair was mussed from being crushed against the large human's chest.
Spawn turned on the human holding his son and buried the sword deep in the man's chest. Choking, the human dropped the boy and Spawn caught him before he hit the rocky ground. The human convulsed and twitched as his friend released the woman. She turned, and tried to run, but hit the barrier of another human, this one larger than the others. There was a small blond child tucked under his arm, a girl of maybe six or seven, who was stirring feebly and also bleeding from her forehead.
Spawn's wife cried out softly, and fell against the ground before him, begging on her knees for the life of her only daughter. I watched all of this and felt bile rise in my throat, and had to close my eyes when he released the child and dragged his mother out towards the sunlight. She screamed inhumanly and clawed at him to be set free, and Spawn shouted something. I opened my eyes to find him confronting the human man who was trying to kill his wife.
"Let her go. Take me in her place. Kill me, but leave my wife and children." It sickened me to see him having to beg for the lives of his family members, but I knew that he spoke from his heart. I had known it since this morning, when he'd talked about his wife and the happy life they'd led before the human interference.
The human paused. "If we kill you, you want us to let them live?" He spoke in a questioning, almost confused tone. His accent was harsh and unfamiliar.
"Yes. Please. They mean the world to me and they live without sin. We are but a simple, loving family, and I can't bear the thought of them harmed. I want your word as a gentleman that if I die willingly, you will leave my family in peace and leave this place." His voice was as though he was speaking through his grit teeth, and the human pursed his lips as though considering the Appolite's offer.
"You are going to die anyway," The man told him. "You are six and twenty, are you not?"
"I had considered becoming what you should truly be hunting," Spawn admitted. "But without Penelope, even my afterlife would mean nothing."
I froze at what he'd just admitted. Spawn had thought about becoming a Daimon- becoming a soulless, evil killed bent on destroying human life and souls. He was now damned to kill them for eternity. Talk about irony.
"If we kill you," The man promised, "We will let them go." There was murmur from the remaining men in the space, and the leader turned around to snap at them, "Bind his legs and arms so that he cannot escape."
"Lucien," Penelope begged. "Do not do this. There are better ways. You musn't die."
"Penelope, please. Let me die knowing that I am doing the right thing in sacrificing myself for those I love. Be silent, my love."
"I am with child," She said quietly, looking to the ground. "If it is a boy, I shall name him for his brave father. The one who left him an orphan to save him."
Spawn looked up with wide eyes to his wife. "Oh, Penelope..." Tears were flowing from his eyes now, smearing the blood that was drying on his cheeks.
"Do not speak," She whispered. "We will find each other in Katoteros, my darling."
He nodded, and as he did Penelope was pushed back so that the ropes could be tied to his hands and feet, and then he was laid upon his back facing the opening of the cave.
"We will keep our promise," The man said, standing close to speak to Spawn. Then he looked to the other human men. "Let them go."
I had to look away when Penelope and her two almost-dead children were pushed out of the cave and into the blinding sunlight. I heard the screams of both her and her husband and watched as the sword was run through him. I closed my eyes when the blood splattered across the wall and the screaming stopped. I was sobbing now, sobbing like a child.
I cried for ten minutes, shaking my head and keeping my eyes sealed shut as the humans gathered their weapons and left.
When the last few humans had gone, laughing and talking amongst themselves like a victorious sports team, a beautiful woman in a shimmering light gown appeared before the Appolite's mangles body. Her hair was lush, wavy and red, and her eyes were large green orbs in a perfect face. This must have been Artemis, the gauridan and creator of the Hunters and sister of the god who'd created their enemies.
She curled her lip. "Yuck. Blood." She sighed and leaned down to touch the hunter's right shoulder, leaving a burning hot brand upon it in the shape of a double bow and arrow.
He awoke with a gasp and then an angered roar when he realized his betrayal. It sort of scared me, to tell the truth. "Penelope!" He snarled. "Where is she? Have you hurt her?"
"No," Artemis said in a bored tone. "She's dead."
"You have hurt her!" He struggled against the binding that the humans had left him in when they'd left his body here.
"Uh, no," She said, putting her hands on her hips and snapping her fingers. The bloodied ropes fell away from his wrists and ankles, and the sword by his body dissapeared. "I didn't do anything to your Appolite. She was killed by the humans of a neighboring village."
"Those bastards, I-" Spanw stood and then frowned. "Pardon me, my lady."
She shrugged, looking very bored indeed. "I own you now," She said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Wait until sunlight fades, because it'll kill you, and then go out and get your vengence for whatever it was your silly humans did." She waved her hand like an irritated Miss America. "After that, Acheron will find you, give you the companion, and teach you whatever it is he teaches his Hunters."
"Hunters?" Echoed Spawn, his eyes huge. "As in the Dark Hunters?"
"That's what I said, isn't it, Lucien?" He growled low in his throat and narrowed his eyes.
"I am not Lucien anymore. That part of me died with my Penelope. I am what those humans called me- the spawn of the devil."
"So you're what, now, the devil? That name's taken."
"I am not the devil," He said, his now black-eyes glowing with determination. "I am Spawn. And I will never be betrayed again."
"That's nice," She said with another hand wave. "Wait until dark, get your vengence, find Acheron. That's all I care about."
"Will I know this man, Acheron, when I see him?" He asked her. "I have not seen him before in my life- is there anything distinguishing about him, my lady?"
"You'll know him-" She turned to him with a mysterious smile and she batted her eyelashes. "He's what you've been running from your whole life...Lucien."
And with that, the red-headed goddess dissapeared.
Spawn closed his eyes and I knew that he was thinking about his beautiful wife and their perfect children. She'd been pregnant again, and now she was dead. He was going to get revenge for what he'd lost. Who he'd lost.
And he was going to make those humans pay. One way or another.
His thoughts came into my mind, unbidden and full of rage. They were ominous and I didn't like the sound of them, not one bit.
I awoke again with a gasp, sitting bolt upright in my bed. I searched in the darkness for Nikitas, and when I found him I held him close. If there was any truth in what I'd dreamed, and I had no reason to doubt my visions, he was not the Appolite in this picture-I was.
What was strange was that I could not cry on my own behalf now. Even though I had come to the realization that I was probably not going to live past my 27th birthday, I wasn't feeling too bad for myself. It was all making sense now.
No, who I felt terrible for was Spawn. Spawn, who had lost his life so early and lost everything that he had ever known or loved. His children and his wife had been wrongfully ripped away from him and killed, and there was nothing he could have done about it. And I was pretty sure he thought he'd done it to them by laying his life down and believing the humans would keep their promise.
I shivered as I remembered how his wife had been brutally slain by the humans, how they'd run the sword through him once his family had been killed. His horror at realizing what he'd become by selling his soul.
I curled up with one of the pillows, letting go of Nikitas and closing my eyes again. I needed to sleep; I had to. But-
The front door closed quietly, but with my new freakin' sweet hearing I heard it as though my bedroom door'd been shut. Sitting up slowly, I made sure not to disturb Nikitas as I slipped on my shoes and started for the door, shutting it even more quietly than the front door had been shut.
The house was silent, and I supposed it was close to dawn now. It was probably Spawn returning again- would I be able to face him now, knowing the pain he kept hidden?
I would have to try.
"Ivory?" Yes, it was him, I knew now. I took a deep breath and called out quietly,
"Yeah, it's me."
"Are you alright?"
"Just woke up. I'll be okay once I have my coffee."
He laughed quietly at this and I continued down the stairs. He was in the kitchen, and the pot of soup that Jen had made was still on the stove. I felt a little victorious in and of the fact that none of it was gone. Jen couldn't cook. Muahaha.
He turned around to smile at me, hands in his jeans pockets as he leaned against the counter. Dear gods, the man was gorgeous. "Pleasent dreams?"
I froze and then watched him for a moment, before rushing forward into his arms, breaking down and needing to be close to him. He was startled for a second but pulled me close again after the initial confusion. My tears fell onto his black tee shirt and soon my cheek was damp.
"I take that as a 'no', then?" I was silent for a moment, resting my head against his chest, feeling his strong arms holding me close. He tried again, his voice soft and soothing, as though coaxing a child into talking about nightmares. "Ivy, can you talk to me about it?"
"I know what happened that day," I said finally, through a wall of tears. I couldn't bear to look him in the eye, but in his silence I heard confusion. "The day you died. I know about- about Iadis, and Lieto, and...and about Penelope..."
"How?" His voice was cold and sharp now, and I flinched slightly.
"I dreamt it," I admitted quietly.
"Could you have just been having a dream?"
"You laid your life down for them," I told him quickly. "Offered your life in sacrifice for theirs. Your wife leaned close to you when you were tied down and said that she'd meet you in Katoteros. She was going to have a baby, and if it was a boy she was going to name him after his brave father-you." It was his turn to fall silent. When he spoke agian, his voice was that of a parent chastising a child caught doing something bad.
"Why were you delving in my subconscious, Ivy?"
"I-it wasn't my fault!" I cried, pushing myself away from his embrace. "I don't control my dreams!"
"Uh huh," He said, sounding quite convinced indeed. I looked up at him through my tears. I couldn't tell him what else I'd seen, no; he'd never accept me after he knew about...
"About what?"
I froze for a second, before stammering, "N-nothing,", raking my hands through my hair. I shuddered with disgusting, thinking about who'd given me this habit.
"You can tell me anything, Ivory. I won't judge you." His eyes were pleading and very serious. I sighed, shaking my head.
"I don't want to say. You'll hate me."
"Nothing you ever say could make me hate you," He told me seriously, and I looked away with a sigh.
"I'm an Appolite," I told him. There was a moment of deafening silence while he watched me with wide eyes, and then he laughed, shaking his head.
"For a minute there," He said, still laughing, "You had me going."
"But I am!"
"Ivory," He said, looking a little bit miffed, "Cut it out. Seriously, that's not funny."
"It's true!" I cried. "My father was an Appolite from Denver, and when I was born my mom dulled my fangs and took away my inability to be in the sun!" I pulled down my hair to show my roots. "Look! Blond!"
He was silent for a moment and then he replied quietly, "I'm sorry."
"I-"
He captured my lips and for a brief moment, I could forget it all. I could forget what I saw and just live in this moment, here in his arms. I mean, I'd be okay with that. No problem, no complaints about the arrangment.
But of course, a glass fell off the counter and shattered, and I heard a low curse. I opened my eyes and jumped back, thinking Jen and seeing Zarek. He looked away and sort of acted like he hadn't caught us making out. Again.
I smiled to Spawn and then pulled his arms off of me, walking back in Zarek's direction. "How's your war wound?"
"Fine," He grunted, looking away. I pointed to the stove.
"There's food, if you want it. The other Squire made it. It's probably not poison." My humor was misplaced, though, because he looked at the meal as though it really were poisoned. I frowned. "Joking, Z. It was just a joke." He turned his murderous look to me before walking back into the living room, and I exhaled deeply, looking down and closing my eyes, deeply irritated. "Or, like, you could ignore me. That's cool, too."
I spied the broken glass and began to gather it, careful not to to cut my fingers on it. Spawn sat beside me with his hands on his drawn-up knees as he leaned agains the counter, watching me and appearing almost bored.
"Not bored," He countered. "Just confused."
"About what?" I continued to find the little shards of glass.
He motioned to me. "This. All of this."
"Me?"
"How can you be an Appolite?" He asked suddenly. "How do you know?"
"I looked like my father," I admitted, shuddering, "But I look more like my mother now that my hair is dark."
"And she took your fangs, the need for blood-everything?" I nodded. "Wasn't she human in this incarnation?"
"Up until I was born, she was a goddess," I told him. "But I think her powers were passed onto me when I was born." I slit my finger on a piece of glass and cursed, shaking it and putting the shard of glass back into the remains of the cup.
He moved to stand, beginning, "Here, I'll get you a bandag-", but before he could finish his sentace the cut dried up and healed. I smirked and waved my hand around, giving him jazz hands.
"Magical," I said with a mocking grin. He rolled his eyes and sat beside me.
"You," He said with a laugh, "Are a dork."
"Mmhm," I said, grinning up to him and laying my head on his chest. He sighed deeply and laid his head down on the counter, and he leaned down to kiss me again, but before our lips could touch Zarek stuuck his head around the corner of the room, motioning for us to seperate. Spawn jumped to his feet immedeately, and offered me a hand to pull me up. He let go of my hand just as Jen strode into the room in her frog pajama bottoms and tank top, rubbing her eyes blearily.
"You," She said eventually, still yawning, "Should go upstairs. It's close to daylight."
"Me?"
"No," She snapped, leveling me with a glare, "Spawn. And Zarek, too."
"You can't tell me what to do," Zarek called from the other room. I looked in the living room to find him smoking a cigarette on the couch, and I smirked at the look of irritation on Jen's fine features. She glared in at him.
"No, but it is the responsibility of the squire to look out for the well being of his or her allotted Dark-Hunter." She crossed her arms and glared at me. "As such, you should probably be looking for a place for you and Zarek."
"And what about you?" I snapped back, putting my hands on my hips. "What are you going to be doing?"
"I am staying here," She told me.
I returned her glare. "You don't belong here."
"Yes," She said, "I do. I've been re-assigned."
"You're taking Zarek?" I inquired dreamily, looking starry eyed and smiling brightly. She glowered at me again, before turning around to Spawn and giving him a smile. It was too much like a smile I might have given him, if you know what I mean, and I continued to glare at her.
"No," She said, almost to him. "I'm Spawn's Squire now."