Dark Side of the Moon (Dark-Hunter 9)

Savitar tilted his head. "Dorian and others, take a break." Before they could speak or move, they vanished.

Susan widened her eyes at the way Savitar seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted with people regardless of their will.

"Don't worry," Savitar said to her as if he knew her thoughts. "I won't send you off without warning. Just stand there and be awed by my beauty. It's the safest mode around me."

Yeah..."Can I ask-"

"You're not ready for that answer," he said, cutting her off. "The only person who needs to know what I am already knows. That would be me. I like to keep the rest of the world guessing."

All things considered, she strangely liked this enigmatic man, even if he did have a titanic ego and frightening powers.

"But back to Ravyn." He placed a heavily tattooed arm over Ravyn's shoulders and hugged him like an affectionate brother. "You're going to do me a favor."

"I am?"

"Yes." Savitar stepped away to clap him on the back. "I have a small matter that I need you to help me with."

"You need my help?"

"Astonishing, isn't it?"

"You could say that." Ravyn exchanged a puzzled look with her as she wondered what a man like this could possibly want with Ravyn. "So what is this favor?"

"I have a friend who has a friend who needs to be trained."

"Trained for what?"

"To be a Dark-Hunter."

Ravyn was stunned by his words. For the first time in centuries, he was beginning to wonder about Savitar's mental capacity. "I can't train another Dark-Hunter. We weaken each other's powers."

"Normally, this would be true, but this particular Dark-Hunter is a little different from the others."

Now that made him nervous. Different wasn't necessarily a good thing, especially in this work. "Different how?"

"In many ways. He was entrusted to me, but I've found that training someone to fight just isn't my forte." Savitar screwed up his face. "It actually dawned on me that I don't fight. I just kill whatever annoys me, and it's over. Not to mention the kid is seriously cramping my style... which seriously annoys the hell out of me, and if I kill him, it'll just open a whole can of worms I don't want to deal with. Oh, and he's taken to complaining daily about how he wants to start training, wah, wah, wah." He sighed. "I just can't be bothered with it. Too many waves to surf... know what I mean?"

Not really. "Uh-huh, and who is this kid?"

Savitar snapped his fingers.

Susan gaped as a good-looking man in his mid-to late twenties appeared next to her. Standing a good six foot four, he had dark brown hair and black eyes, but what held her attention most was the double bow and arrow Dark-Hunter mark that covered his neck and part of his extremely unhappy face.

"What the hell is this, Savitar?" the man demanded.

"You wanted to be trained, Nick. Meet your new trainer. Ravyn Kontis, this is Nick Gautier."

Ravyn gaped at the name that was meaningless to Susan.

"Nick Gautier? The New Orleans Squire who went missing?"

Savitar gave him a droll look. "He's obviously not missing. Open your eyes, man. He's standing right in front of you."

Ravyn scowled. "No offense, Savitar, but this is a really bad time. I'm kind of in the middle of a situation here."

"Yeah, I know. You're basically screwed. But Nick can actually help you with this matter. Not to mention the fact that you're missing a Dark-Hunter. He can be the replacement. "

"Can I ask one question?"

Savitar gave a heavy sigh. "I know you, Ravyn. I've known you for centuries, and Nick is a special member of this world. There's no one else I would trust to train him."

Ravyn wanted to protest, but one thing he knew about Savitar was that he didn't like to be questioned. As he said, he tended to kill things that annoyed him, and questions definitely annoyed him.

Savitar moved to stand beside Nick. "You've been entertaining, Gautier. At least most of the time. And you play a mean-ass game of pool. Before I leave you, I have two quick things I want you to keep in mind. One, stay away from the Charonte demons. They're really bad for you."

Nick didn't appear amused by his words of advice. "And the second?"

A wave of energy peaked in the room as Savitar's face lost all humor. "Is the life you seek to take worth the one you could one day create?"

Nick scowled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll learn." There was something in Savitar's eyes that looked like regret as he clapped Nick on the back. "Remember, Nick, there are only two people in the universe I care for... and you're not one of them."

"Damn," Ravyn said, with a hint of humor. "Savitar, that's cold."

Savitar took that in stride. "No one has ever accused me of being anything else. For good reason, I might add."

Ravyn nodded. That was certainly true. He glanced to Susan, who seemed to be completely subdued by Savitar's presence. "Before you go, can I ask one last question?"

"You can ask."

"Do you know where Acheron is?"

Savitar answered without hesitation. "Yes."

He waited for Savitar to continue. When he didn't, Ravyn prompted him, "And where would that be?"

"He's tied up at the moment."

"Tied up how?"

"Double-knotted to a bedpost, not that it's any of your business. That boy was always too trusting for his own good. You'd think by now he'd know better. But no. He's got to be stupid. Personally, I'd tie the bitch up, muzzle her, and ride her around the room with spurs on, but no one ever asks my opinion, do they? No. What do I know? I'm only omniscient."

Was any of that supposed to make sense? Before Ravyn could ask anything more, Savitar vanished.

He stood there with Nick standing between him and Susan. The air around Nick was rife with anger and agitation. It was obvious the man wanted to be anywhere but here.