Devil May Cry (Dark-Hunter 11)

So that was what had bothered him. Sin had asked for her help. It was something she was sure he didn't do often. Heck, from what she'd seen, this could very well be the first time in his life he'd done it. "I wish. Sorry."

He cursed.

"But..." she said, hoping to cheer him, "my grandmother has the sfora. It might be able to locate him."

Sin frowned. "Sfora?"

"It's like a crystal ball. You ask it to show you things and it does. Usually."

There was no missing the relief in those gold eyes. "Would you try for me... please."

The way he added that word said that "please" might be a first for him, too. She had to admit, she liked this side of him. She could actually be friends with this man. "Yes."

Sin offered her a smile he didn't feel. All he could think of was Zakar out there alone. Of him suffering the gods only knew what at the hands of his enemies.

Who knew how long they'd had him. The very thought made Sin's stomach queasy.

How had his brother been captured?

Was Zakar even alive? But as soon as that thought went through Sin, he knew the answer. Of course Zakar was alive. The gallu lived for torture and bloodshed. To have an ancient god under their thumbs would be the bonus round of all time.

Damn them. Sin could barely breathe from the anger that thought ignited.

When Artemis had dumped him in the desert, Zakar had been the one to find him and restore his health. When no one else would come near, Zakar had nourished him back to health and taken him to safety.

And how had he repaid his brother?

He'd let the gallu take him.

Sin deserved to die for the betrayal. If only he could make it up to Zakar, but he knew better. Nothing could make up for torture and pain.

Disgusted with himself, he left the elevator as soon as the doors opened and returned to his penthouse. He leaned the cane against the bar and set the box down before he raked his hands through his hair. He wanted to scream out in frustration.

"Don't worry, Sin. We'll get them." Kat placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

He didn't know how that one touch could soothe him, but somehow it did. More than that, it sent an electric charge through his body that heated him instantly.

And even though his body reacted hungrily to her presence, his intelligence wasn't fooled. In spite of her kindness, there was only one reason for her to be with him right now. "Your mother sent you in to kill me last night, didn't she?"

Kat was shocked by his unexpected question. How had he figured that out? "Excuse me?"

He turned to level a menacing stare at her. "Don't lie to me, Kat. Artemis wants you to kill me. Admit it."

There was no need for dishonesty. Sin had been lied to enough and she wasn't about to continue that trend. "Yeah. She did."

He gave a bitter laugh before he pulled a dagger out of its hidden sheath at his waist.

She held her breath, expecting him to come for her, but he didn't. Instead, he handed it to her.

"If that's your intent then. Go for it. I'm not going to sit around, waiting for your attack when my back is turned. Be a man about it and let's get the fighting over with."

She didn't know why, but she was strangely amused by his demand that she man up and face him. It still didn't change the fact that she had no intention of killing him now.

Kat placed the dagger down on the bar. "I am not my mother, Sin. She doesn't control me."

That seemed to pacify him. At least for a few seconds. "And when I go to kill her? Where will you stand? At my back or in my way?"

She offered him a slight smile. "I don't think you will go after her."

His look was harsh and deadly. "You're going to bet her life on it?"

"Yes. Because you know her death would rupture the fabric of the earth and, unlike her, you're not that selfish." Any time a major god was killed, their powers were released back into the universe. If no one absorbed the powers, they could easily detonate like a nuclear bomb. Especially when the dying god was born of the sun or moon. Those gods had to be protected more than any other.

And since Artemis had absorbed Sin's powers on top of her own, it made her destruction twice as dangerous as that of any other god.

Sin's gaze narrowed. "Maybe I'll absorb her powers and replace her as she did me."

Kat still wasn't buying what he was trying to sell her. "If you knew how to do that, then you'd have done it before now."

Glancing away, he shook his head. "You trust way too easily."

"And you trust not at all."

His face grim, he moved away from her. "You're damned right."

Okay, she'd learned a trigger for the ex-god. Don't even tease about trust. He had issues there.

Wanting to restore the comradery they had almost found before it had veered off the road and careened down the hill where it exploded into flames, she sought to change the subject. "So are you going to show me how to fight those things so that the next time Kessar darkens your door I can make him limp and bleed?" Her words almost got a smile out of him.

Almost.

"What about the sfora and finding my brother?"

"Hold that thought a second." Kat closed her eyes and let her thoughts drift. She saw her grandmother in her garden and though she wasn't weeping, Kat could feel Apollymi's sadness. Her grandmother wasn't up to receiving visitors just yet and that meant even her alone. She was still angry over Sin's last visit and aching over what had happened to Acheron.

Opening her eyes, Kat gave Sin a pointed stare. "Can we wait a bit? I don't think Grandma wants to see you or me just yet. Give her a little more time... another hour or two, and hopefully this time when we go she won't try to feed you to her demons. Is that okay?"

"Not really. But since I know better than to rush an angry goddess, I'll strive for an ounce of patience."

This was true. "Besides," she added. "We have Simi coming and I think it best we be here when she arrives."

"Yeah," he said with a low laugh. "I definitely don't want a hungry Charonte around my workers and clientele."

It was true. Simi could be a bit ferocious when left on her own. "So are we up for the training?"

He looked at her clothes. "We'll need to get you something else to wear. I don't think that's going to work for training."

Well, it worked for fighting, but she wasn't going to point that out and risk alienating him when she really needed to know how to kill those things that made her skin crawl.

Kat snapped her fingers and her jeans and shirt turned into black workout pants and a black tank top, complete with tennis shoes. "This work?"