Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter 4)

"Oh, come on," Chris said, "someone other than me has to see the humor in this?" He looked around at their three unamused faces. "Guess not."

Cassandra entered the elevator first. "What about the men I saw outside? Who are they?"

Phoebe entered next. "They are our ruling council. Nothing can be done here without their direct approval."

Kat and Chris joined them. The door to the elevator closed.

"Are there any Daimons here?" Chris asked as Phoebe pressed a button to start the elevator on its downward path.

"The only Daimon in this community is me," Phoebe said sheepishly. "They allow me to live here because they owe Urian for his help. So long as I don't draw attention to myself or their existence, I'm allowed to stay."

As the elevator continued downward, Cassandra didn't know what to expect from the Apollite colony. Or her sister. Long ago, she would have trusted Phoebe without hesitation, but that was a Phoebe who wouldn't have been able to take someone else's life to sustain her own.

This new Phoebe scared her.

Cassandra's ears popped, letting her know they were traveling far beneath the mountain.

When the doors opened, she felt like she had just stepped into some science fiction movie.

Everything was fashioned like a futuristic city. Made of steel and concrete, the walls were painted with brilliant murals depicting sunshine and beauty.

Her group stepped out into a central area that was probably the size of a football field. There were openings all around that showed more corridors leading to other areas.

There were all kinds of shops in this main area, except for food vendors-a service the Apollites would have no need of since they lived off each other's blood.

"The city is named Elysia," Phoebe explained as she led them past a handful of Apollites who had paused to stare at them. "Most of the Apollites here live their entire lives below ground. They've no desire to go topside and see the humans and their violence. Nor do they wish to see their kin hunted and slaughtered."

"I take exception to that," Chris said. "I'm not violent. At least I don't suck on other people."

"Keep your voice down," Phoebe warned. "Humans have never been kind to my people. They have hunted and persecuted us even more than the Dark-Hunters. Here you are a minority and if you threaten any of my people, they just might kill you without bothering to find out whether or not you're violent."

Chris clamped his mouth shut.

Cassandra saw the sneers and glares they collected as Phoebe led them toward a hallway on the left.

"What do they do with the Apollites who turn Daimon?" Chris asked as soon as they were away from the other Apollites.

"No Daimons are tolerated here since they require a steady diet of human souls. If an Apollite decides to go Daimon, they are allowed to leave, but they can never return here. Ever."

"Yet you live here," Kat said. "Why?"

"I told you, Urian protects them. He was the one who showed them how to build this place."

"Why?" Kat pressed.

Phoebe stopped and turned to give Kat a measuring stare. "In spite of what you might think of him, Katra, my husband is a good man. He only wants what's best for his people." Phoebe's gaze went to Cassandra. "Urian was the first child to ever be born a cursed Apollite."

Cassandra gasped at the news. "That would make him-"

"Over eleven thousand years old," Phoebe said, finishing her sentence for her. "Yes. Most of the warriors who travel with him are that old. They go back to the very beginning of our history."

Chris whistled low. "How is that possible?"

"The Destroyer protects them," Kat answered. "Just as the Dark-Hunters serve Artemis, the true Spathis serve her." Kat sighed as if the conflict pained her. "Artemis and Apollymi have been at war since day one. The Destroyer is in captivity because Artemis tricked her into it and she spends all her time plotting Artemis's torture and death. If she ever gets out, Apollymi will destroy her."

Cassandra frowned. "Why does the Destroyer hate Artemis?"

"Love. Why else?" Kat said simply. "Love, hatred, and revenge are the most powerful emotions on earth. Apollymi wants revenge on Artemis for killing the one thing she loved most in the universe."

"And that is?"

"I would never betray either one by saying it."

"Would you write it down?" Chris asked.

Kat rolled her eyes.

Cassandra and Phoebe shook their heads.

"Oh, yeah, like the two of you weren't thinking the same thing," Chris said.

Phoebe motioned them to follow her again. She led them down a corridor that was lined with doors. "These are apartments. You will be given a large unit with four bedrooms. Mine is down a separate hallway. I would have liked to have had you closer, but this was the only one available that was big enough to accommodate all of you and I didn't think it wise to break up your number."

Cassandra wished she were closer to Phoebe too. She had a lot of catching up to do with her sister. "Is Wulf already there?"

"No," Phoebe said, averting her gaze. "He was taken to a holding cell."

Cassandra was aghast, then angry. "Excuse me?"

"He's our enemy, Cassie. What would you expect us to do?"

"I expect you to release him. Now."

"I can't."

Cassandra stopped dead in her tracks. "Then show me the door out of here."

Phoebe's face mirrored her disbelief. "What?"

"You heard me. I will not stay here unless he's welcome. He has risked his life for me. His home was destroyed because of me and I will not live comfortably while the father of my baby is treated like a convict."

Someone behind them started clapping.

Cassandra turned to see a man who dwarfed her. Standing somewhere near seven feet in height, he was gorgeous. Blond and slender, he appeared to be around her age.

"Nice speech, princess. It changes nothing."

Cassandra narrowed her gaze on him. "Then how about a good ass-kicking?"

He actually laughed. "You're pregnant."

"Not that pregnant." She shot one of the daggers from her wrist at the man. It embedded in the wall just past his head.

His face lost all humor.

"The next one goes into your heart."

"Cassie, stop!" Phoebe commanded, grabbing her arm.

Cassandra shrugged off her hold. "No. I've spent the whole of my adulthood putting any Daimon or Apollite who made the mistake of coming after me out of his misery. If you think for one minute Kat and I can't tear down this place to free Wulf, then you need to think again."

"And if you die?" the man asked.

"Then we all lose."