Kiss of the Night (Dark-Hunter 4)

"Six."

She popped him on the side. "Stop that. This is serious."

Urian widened his eyes and tried to focus his gaze on her hand. "Three... I think."

Kat shook her head. "We'll be back."

Cassandra watched in awe as Kat flashed them out of the room.

"Now why didn't she do that when we were being chased by Stryker?" Chris asked.

"She's taking him to Kalosis, Chris," Phoebe answered. "I doubt any of you want to go into a realm ruled by nothing but Spathi Daimons and one really pissed-off ancient goddess who is bent on destroying the entire world."

"You know," Chris said. "I really like it here. Not to mention, I can now look at Kat's hand." He picked up her cards and cursed. "I should have known she wasn't bluffing."

Cassandra watched her sister closely. In spite of the worry on her face, Phoebe looked a lot better than she had before. Her cheeks were pink, her skin bright.

"I'm so sorry I interrupted you two," Cassandra said, her face growing instantly warm again.

"Please don't be. I mean, don't make it a habit, mind you, but if you hadn't come in, I might have killed him. He has a bad tendency to not tell me when I've taken too much blood. It scares me sometimes."

Wulf crossed his arms over his chest. "So Daimons can die from blood loss?"

"Only when it's being sucked out of them," Cassandra answered.

Phoebe gave him an arch stare. "Are you planning on using that against us?"

Wulf shook his head. "I'd rather die myself than suck on another man's neck. That's disgusting. Besides, didn't you tell me that's how Apollites can be changed into Daimons? It begs the question that since Dark-Hunters have no souls, could they be made Daimon too?"

"Yeah, but DH blood is poisonous to the Daimons," Chris said as he shuffled his deck of cards. "Isn't the point of that so that no Daimon can feed off or convert you guys?"

"Perhaps..." Phoebe said. "But then disembodied souls can possess a Dark-Hunter, and since Uri and I share souls, it makes you wonder if perhaps a Daimon and Dark-Hunter could share one too."

"Let's hope we never find that one out," Wulf said as he moved to sit on the couch in front of Chris.

Phoebe turned back toward Cassandra. "So what did you want when you came to see me?"

"I've been putting together a memory box for the baby. Notes and pictures from me. Little mementos to tell him about our people and family, and I was wondering if you would mind putting something in there from you."

"Why do you need something like that when we'll be more than happy to tell him anything he wants to know?"

Cassandra hesitated, not wanting to hurt her sister's feelings. "He can't grow up here, Phe. He'll have to be with Wulf in the human world."

Her sister's eyes snapped fire. "Why can't he grow up here?" Phoebe insisted. "We can protect him just as well as Wulf. Probably more so."

Wulf glanced up as Chris dealt him a hand of cards. "What if he's even more human than Cassandra is? Would he be safe here?"

The indecision on Phoebe's face said it all.

No, he wouldn't be. They had seen enough of Wulf's treatment tonight to verify that. Apollites were no more tolerant of humans than humans were of Apollites.

At least they didn't tie each other to stakes anymore and set fire to them.

At least not often.

Wulf looked meaningfully at Phoebe. "I can protect him and his children a lot easier than you can. I think the temptation of having a human soul here would be way too much for some of your people to handle. Especially given how much they hate Dark-Hunters. What a coup. Kill my son, get a human soul, and take revenge on the very thing all of you despise most."

Phoebe nodded. "I suppose you're right." She took Cassandra's hand. "Yes, I would like to add some things to the box for him."

While Wulf and Chris played cards, Cassandra went to the bedroom and retrieved the large silver-inlaid box that Kat had brought with them from the house, along with paper and pens.

She and Phoebe wrote letters to the baby. After a while, Phoebe left her alone to run a quick errand.

Cassandra sat alone in her room, flipping through the pages of notes and letters she had made for her son. How she wished she could see him grow. She would give anything to glimpse her son as a grown man.

Maybe Wulf could contact a Were-Hunter and have one take her forward in time. Just for a quick glance. Just to let her see what she would miss.

But then that might be even worse. Besides, pregnant women couldn't travel through the time portals.

"I hope you look like your father," she said, rubbing her stomach gently as she imagined the little baby inside her. She could easily see him with dark, wavy hair like Wulf's. He'd be tall, hopefully muscular.

And he would be forced to grow up without a mother's love. Just as Wulf would be forced to watch her die...

A sob caught in her throat as she reached for another piece of paper. She wrote quickly, holding back her tears, telling her son just how much she did love him. Letting him know that even though she wasn't with him physically, she would be with him spiritually.

Somehow she would find a way to watch over him. Always.

She finished the letter, placed it in the box, then took it to the living room where the guys were still playing cards. She was afraid to be alone. Her thoughts had a nasty way of torturing her whenever she was by herself.

Chris and Wulf were champions at keeping her mind off the future. At making her smile even when she didn't feel like it.

Chris had just dealt Cassandra into their game when Phoebe returned with a book.

"What's this?" she asked as Phoebe added it to the box on the couch next to her.

"It's a book of Apollite fairy tales," Phoebe said. "Remember the one Mom used to read to us when we were kids? Donita sells them in her shop so I went just now and bought one for the baby."

Suspicious, Wulf picked the book up and flipped through it with a frown. "Hey, Chris," he said, handing it to his Squire. "You read Greek, right?"