Styxx (Dark-Hunter 22)

Urian grinned at him. "You can always ask."

Every demon and Daimon was frozen into place by their sudden appearance in the middle of their hall. It probably wasn't often that dinner was delivered in such a high-handed manner.

Styxx cut a sideways glance to Urian. "What are they waiting for?"

Urian winked at him. "Armageddon."

Styxx narrowed his eyes on Stryker. He was the only Daimon who dyed his hair black. Even in height with Styxx, Stryker looked enough like Apollo that Styxx really wanted to punch him for it.

Stryker glared at his son with an expression that was best defined as pained hatred. "You dare to stand with my enemy?"

"Against you, Father, I'd stand with Mickey Mouse."

Styxx had no idea who this Mickey was, but it was obvious from Stryker's expression Mickey was a lowly person.

Stryker curled his lip. "You worthless son of a bitch. You should have never been anything more than a cum stain."

Urian scoffed. "I could definitely say the same thing about you. It would have saved the world and all of us a lot of misery now, wouldn't it?"

Styxx and Urian braced themselves to fight as the Daimons started forward, but they were thrown back by some unseen force.

Not sure what had happened, Styxx turned to Stryker and growled. "Enough of the family reunion bullshit. Where is Soteria?"

Out of nowhere, Apollymi appeared a few feet from him. There was no doubt about her identity. Her features were the same ones Styxx saw every time he looked in a mirror. And those swirling silver eyes haunted his nightmares.

This was the selfish whore who had killed his precious Bethany.

It took everything Styxx had not to attack her.

Think of Soteria ... She's innocent and wherever she is, she's terrified. Don't leave her to suffer.

Get her out first then beat the shit out of Apollymi.

That was his mission, and soldiers always followed orders. Even when they stunk to Mount Olympus.

Apollymi indicated a door behind him with an imperious jerk of her chin. "She's over there." Then Apollymi crossed the short distance to embrace him.

Styxx's breathing turned ragged at her touch. He clenched his fists tight to keep from lashing out at her and shoving her across the room. Something that would let everyone know he wasn't Acheron.

"At last, m'gios." Atlantean for my son. "You've come to set me free." She placed a kiss on his cheek and then whispered in his ear. "For my son's sake, you better embrace me, Greek whoreson. If I can touch something as vile and repugnant as you, you can touch divinity."

His lips quivered with fury as he forced himself to hug her close even though he wanted to spit in her face. What kind of pathetic dog am I that I embrace my son's and wife's killer for a man who hates me?

And still he did it.

Nodding to her, Styxx stepped back before he gave in to his need for vengeance.

He turned the angry sneer he wanted to give Apollymi to Stryker then headed for the door.

Before Styxx reached it, a tall, thin woman with brown hair and very pretty features came running out of the room. She wore a black jacket that was much too large for her and clutched it over her shirt, which had been torn open for only one thing Styxx could think of. His rage mounted even more.

All of a sudden, she threw herself into his arms and held him close. Too startled by the unexpected action, he gaped and she kissed the hell out of him. It took everything he had not to shove her away, but if he did, they'd know he wasn't his brother.

She stiffened and pulled back slowly to stare up at him suspiciously.

Swallowing hard, Styxx glanced past her to see an older Nick Gautier approaching them. Only now Nick had eyes that matched Acheron's and Apollymi's, and a bow-and-arrow mark on his left cheek that made it look like Artemis had bitch-slapped him when she marked him.

What all did I miss in captivity?

His eyes dark with rage and madness, Nick ran at Styxx as if he intended to kill him. But before he could reach him, Urian grabbed Nick and shoved him back into the room where they'd been.

Styxx pulled Tory in after them. He drew up short as he saw a woman's dead body on the floor.

"We have to go," Urian said to Styxx and Soteria. Then he looked at Nick. "And you need to come with us."

Nick curled his lip in obvious hatred. "I'm not going anywhere with him. I'd rather be dead."

Nice ... someone who hated Acheron as much as he did. What the hell did he do to you, kid? It must have been bad because Nick had loved Acheron dearly the last time they met.

But then so had Styxx once upon a time.

Urian forced Nick to look down at the woman's body. "I'm going to make the wildly founded assumption that Satara's dead by your hand and not Tory's."

Gripping Nick's chin, Urian forced him to meet his gaze. "Now, stay with me on this, Cajun. My father slit my throat and murdered my wife because he thought I'd betrayed him by getting married. Before that, he loved me more than his life and I was his last surviving child. His second-in-command. Now what do you think he's going to do to you once he sees her body? I can assure you, it won't be a fun-filled trip to Chuck E. Cheese. For all their animosity toward each other, Satara is his sister and she's served him well over the centuries. If you really want to stay here and have some fun with Stryker, I won't stop you. But I really wouldn't recommend it."

That seemed to get through to Nick. Sanity returned to his eyes. "Fine. I'll go with you."

While they argued, Styxx cracked open the door to check on their restless enemies. "Urian," he said between clenched teeth. "I think they're catching on."

"Catching on to what?" Nick asked.

Tory rolled her eyes at Nick. "That this isn't Ash."

The words had barely left her lips before they faded out of the room.

* * *

Zolan, Stryker's third-in-command and the leader of his personal Illuminati attack force, cleared his throat in the silent room. "Um ... boss, I don't mean this disrespectfully, but why are we still here? I mean, if Acheron has come to free Apollymi shouldn't there be an explosion or something?"

The Daimons and demons looked around as if waiting for an opening to the outer world to appear or for Apollymi to burst into song and dance, or for something else unnatural to happen.

Meanwhile, Apollymi just stood there completely stoic, appearing almost angelic and sweet, as she watched Stryker closely.

His second-in-command, Davyn, scratched the back of his neck nervously. "I agree, kyrios," he said to Stryker, using the Atlantean term for lord. "It doesn't feel like the end of the world."

Stryker turned a cold sneer to Apollymi. "No, it doesn't, does it?"

Apollymi arched a taunting brow. "How does the song go, 'it's the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine'?"

In that moment, Stryker knew exactly what had happened. Launching himself from his throne, he ran to the room just as Urian, Tory, Nick, and what had to be Ash's twin brother Styxx vanished.

His anger over the obvious trick mounted until he saw Satara lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Fear washed away his rage as he ran to her to find her dead. Her eyes were glazed and her skin tinged with blue.

His heart shattered as he pulled her into his arms and held her close, fighting against the tears of grief and pain. "You stupid psychotic bitch," he growled against Satara's cold cheek. "What have you done now?"

Apollymi stood in the doorway, aching for Strykerius as he rocked his dead sister in his arms, reminding her of the day she'd found her son's body left dumped on the cliffs of Didymos. Sympathy and a newfound respect for Stryker tore through her.

The fact that he could love someone as broken as Satara had been said much for him. Yes, he could be cold-blooded, but he wasn't heartless. Closing her eyes, she remembered him the day they'd first met. Stryker had been young and bitter over his father's curse.

"I gave up everything I ever cared about for him and this is how he repays my loyalty? I'm to die in agony in only six years? My young children are now banished from the sun and are cursed to drink blood from each other instead of eating food, and to die in pain at only twenty-seven? For what? For the death of a Greek whore killed by soldiers I've never even seen? Where's the justice in that?"

Understanding his agony and wanting to exact her own revenge on Apollo, Apollymi had pulled Stryker into her ranks and taught him how to circumvent his father's curse by absorbing human souls into his body to elongate his life. She'd given him and his children shelter in a realm where the humans couldn't harm them and where there was no danger of his children accidentally dying by sunlight. Then she'd allowed him to convert others and bring them here to live.