The Dream-Hunter (Dark-Hunter 10)

CHAPTER 18

WITH HIS HANDS CUFFED BEHIND HIS BACK, ARIK DIDN'T flinch or struggle as M'Adoc hauled him into the sanctity of the triumvirate's hall. He'd never been inside this place before, not even in dreams. It was the sacred domain of the triumvirate who zealously guarded it from all the rest of their kin.

No one knew why, but Arik had to give the guys credit. It was an opulent palace made of glass and gold that they'd constructed here. It was fit for a dream god and even Zeus would be at home... The council room where they were was decadently comfortable with padded chairs and even a laptop computer that was so out of place as to be funny... if Arik wasn't about to die.

M'Ordant was seated before it, and as they came in he looked up with an unguarded expression that showed both confusion and shock-two emotions he shouldn't have. "Damn, M'Adoc, how did you manage this one?"

M'Adoc shoved Arik against the solid glass table, the corner of which bit into his hip bone and bruised him. He had to grind his teeth to keep from lashing out at M'Adoc. But Arik had given his word and so long as the god kept his and didn't harm Megeara, Arik would submit even though it went against every part of his genetic makeup to do so.

M'Adoc shrugged as he moved to stand beside Arik. "He surrendered willingly. In exchange for our keeping his human safe."

There was no missing the stunned look on M'Ordant's face.

"Was there no fight?"

Arik turned his head slightly as he heard D'Alerian's deep voice from behind him. He couldn't see him, but he could feel D'Alerian's presence. Of the three of them, his had an unmistakable aura. He wasn't the most powerful, but his presence could be felt all the way to the marrow of someone's bones.

"He knew better than to fight me," M'Adoc said in a sinister tone.

"Get over yourself, M'Adoc," Arik snarled. "You had nothing to do with this. There was no need in my staying in the human realm any longer since all you did was hurt Megeara by telling her of my bargain with Hades." She would never forgive him, and that hurt even more than a thousand beatings. Strange how originally the thought of her death had meant nothing to him. Now he grieved over every tear and doubly over the ones he caused her. "Just take me to Hades and end it."

M'Adoc took him by the arm. His lips were twisted as he raked Arik with a sneer. "Oh no, Arikos. I don't think so. See, I hand you over to Hades and he's going to start questioning how it is you have so many emotions that you're willing to surrender yourself to save a simple human's soul."

"Because Hades made him human," D'Alerian answered in a dry, stoic tone. "There won't be any questions over it. It would only stand to reason."

M'Adoc turned on him with a hiss. "Are you willing to take that chance?"

D'Alerian's jaw flexed. "There's no chance involved, Adarian. He is human, by Hades' command, and he acted as a human. The god would expect no less."

Arik frowned as D'Alerian used M'Adoc's real name, Adarian. As part of their punishment and to push them away from the idea that they were individuals of any merit, many of the original Oneroi had been stripped of their names and given new ones to designate their roles. D' meant that D'Alerian was normally assigned to watch over immortals such as the Dark-Hunters. V designated a human helper-as an Oneroi, Arik's name had been V'Arik or V'Arikos, which he now hated since it sounded like a vein condition. And the M' was reserved for those who policed them all. There were many who called D'Alerian M'Alerian. But for reasons no one understood, D'Alerian continued to use the name they'd given him before he'd risen to the ruling ranks.

M'Ordant closed his laptop as he faced them. "He's right. We should hand him over to Hades. We don't want to cross the god of the dead. He's a nasty bugger."

M'Adoc scoffed at them. "And when Hades kills Arik and his immortal soul is stripped bare while Hades tortures him in Tartarus, don't you think King Badass is going to discover the fact that little Arikos can feel something other than pain without having a human host to sponsor those emotions?"

A rivulet of shock went through him. What was M'Adoc saying? Arik froze as he began to suspect that the emotions he'd thought were residuals left from Megeara's might have been his own after all. "What's going on?"

"Shut up, Arik," M'Ordant snapped angrily.

M'Adoc glared at his brothers. "We can't take a chance of them learning the truth. Ever." His gaze bored into D'Alerian. "Of everyone in this room, Neco, you have the most to lose. Don't let your compassion for him stop you from doing what needs to be done."

Pain flickered across D'Alerian's face before he gave a subtle nod.

There wouldn't be any mercy given to Arik, not that he had expected any. Honestly, his welfare didn't matter. "I don't care what happens to me," Arik said to M'Adoc. "Just remember you promised to take care of Megeara."

One corner of M'Adoc's lips twisted up into a mocking smile. "Oh, don't worry. I fully intend to take care of her. Immediately."

D'Alerian scowled. "I don't like that tone, adelphos ."

M'Adoc cast a belittling smirk at him. "No one gives a damn what you like, Neco. She's a liability to us.

She knows the location of Atlantis and she knows we exist. Would you have me leave a threat like that out there?"

He was going back to kill her. Arik knew it with every ounce of his being.

"You swore to me, you lying bastard." Arik turned on M'Adoc, intending to fight, but as soon as he neared him, he felt something hot and solid pierce his stomach. Pain tore through him.

Arik staggered back and looked down to see a long, bloodied dagger in M'Adoc's hand. He couldn't believe it as his knees weakened from the agony of his wound.

M'Adoc moved toward Arik with a merciless glint in his eyes. He buried a fist in his hair as his empty, cold gaze burned into Arik's. "Sweet dreams, Arik," M'Adoc said an instant before he stabbed him again and everything went dark.

GEARY WAS NUMB AS THEY RETURNED TO THE DOCKS. Over and over she kept going through everything with Arik. But deep inside, she knew Kat was right. Arik had loved her. In spite of everything or maybe because of everything, they'd fallen in love with each other, and she'd just thrown him to the wolves.

She should have trusted in him. Arik wouldn't hurt her, she knew that. He might have had bad intentions in the beginning, but he wasn't like that now. Why hadn't she given him the benefit of the doubt?

"What am I going to do, Kat?" she asked as they tied the lines.

Kat sighed. "There's nothing to do. He's gone."

Geary straightened up to stare at the taller woman. "I can't accept that. I can't."

But Kat was immune to her pleading look. "You're going to have to."

"Why?" Geary asked.