DH 05 Kiss Of The Night (26 page)

The Apol ites led him inside with Phoebe while Kat came back for them.

“What’s going on?” Cassandra asked.

Kat let out a tired breath. “They’re taking Wulf into custody to make sure he doesn’t hurt any of them. Come on, they have a doctor inside waiting for you.”

Cassandra hesitated as she looked in the direction where they had vanished. “Do you real y trust them?”

“I don’t know. Do you?”

She thought about that and wasn’t exactly sure of the answer. “I trust Phoebe. I think.” Kat laughed at that.

Cassandra scooted out of the truck and let Kat lead her and Chris into the cave where Wulf had been taken.

Phoebe met them just inside. “Don’t be afraid, Cassie. We al know how important you and your baby are.

No one here wil hurt either of you. I swear it.”

Cassandra could only hope her sister meant that. “Who are
we
?”

“This is an Apol ite community,” Phoebe said as she led them deep into the cave. “One of the older ones in North America.”

“But why are you helping me now?” Cassandra asked. “It’s not like you haven’t known I’ve been hunted al these years.”

Phoebe looked pained by the question. “I knew you lived and I was hoping you would carry on our line. I was afraid to tel you I was stil existing for fear of how you would take it. I thought it would be easier this way.”

“Then why change now?”

“Because an Apol ite named Spawn cal ed a few days ago and explained what was going on. Once I talked to Urian and knew what his father had planned, I realized I couldn’t leave you alone anymore. We are sisters, Cassandra, and your baby has to live.”

At the back of the cave, Phoebe placed her hand against one of the stones where a spring release opened an elevator door.

Chris gave an overexaggerated gape. “Holy Hand Grenade, Batman, it’s a bat cave.” Cassandra cast him a drol look.

“Oh, come on,” Chris said, “someone other than me has to see the humor in this?” He looked around at their three unamused faces. “Guess not.”

Cassandra entered the elevator first. “What about the men I saw outside? Who are they?” Phoebe entered next. “They are our ruling council. Nothing can be done here without their direct approval.” Kat and Chris joined them. The door to the elevator closed.

“Are there any Daimons here?” Chris asked as Phoebe pressed a button to start the elevator on its downward path.

“The only Daimon in this community is me,” Phoebe said sheepishly. “They al ow me to live here because they owe Urian for his help. So long as I don’t draw attention to myself or their existence, I’m al owed to stay.”

As the elevator continued downward, Cassandra didn’t know what to expect from the Apol ite colony. Or her sister. Long ago, she would have trusted Phoebe without hesitation, but that was a Phoebe who wouldn’t have been able to take someone else’s life to sustain her own.

This new Phoebe scared her.

Cassandra’s ears popped, letting her know they were traveling far beneath the mountain.

When the doors opened, she felt like she had just stepped into some science fiction movie.

Everything was fashioned like a futuristic city. Made of steel and concrete, the wal s were painted with bril iant murals depicting sunshine and beauty.

Her group stepped out into a central area that was probably the size of a footbal field. There were openings al around that showed more corridors leading to other areas.

There were al kinds of shops in this main area, except for food vendors—a service the Apol ites would have no need of since they lived off each other’s blood.

“The city is named Elysia,” Phoebe explained as she led them past a handful of Apol ites who had paused to stare at them. “Most of the Apol ites here live their entire lives below ground. They’ve no desire to go topside and see the humans and their violence. Nor do they wish to see their kin hunted and slaughtered.”

“I take exception to that,” Chris said. “I’m not violent. At least I don’t suck on other people.”

“Keep your voice down,” Phoebe warned. “Humans have never been kind to my people. They have hunted and persecuted us even more than the Dark-Hunters. Here you are a minority and if you threaten any of my people, they just might kil you without bothering to find out whether or not you’re violent.” Chris clamped his mouth shut.

Cassandra saw the sneers and glares they col ected as Phoebe led them toward a hal way on the left.

“What do they do with the Apol ites who turn Daimon?” Chris asked as soon as they were away from the other Apol ites.

“No Daimons are tolerated here since they require a steady diet of human souls. If an Apol ite decides to go Daimon, they are al owed to leave, but they can never return here. Ever.”

“Yet you live here,” Kat said. “Why?”

“I told you, Urian protects them. He was the one who showed them how to build this place.”

“Why?” Kat pressed.

Phoebe stopped and turned to give Kat a measuring stare. “In spite of what you might think of him, Katra, my husband is a good man. He only wants what’s best for his people.” Phoebe’s gaze went to Cassandra.

“Urian was the first child to ever be born a cursed Apol ite.” Cassandra gasped at the news. “That would make him—”

“Over eleven thousand years old,” Phoebe said, finishing her sentence for her. “Yes. Most of the warriors who travel with him are that old. They go back to the very beginning of our history.” Chris whistled low. “How is that possible?”

“The Destroyer protects them,” Kat answered. “Just as the Dark-Hunters serve Artemis, the true Spathis serve her.” Kat sighed as if the conflict pained her. “Artemis and Apol ymi have been at war since day one.

The Destroyer is in captivity because Artemis tricked her into it and she spends al her time plotting Artemis’s torture and death. If she ever gets out, Apol ymi wil destroy her.” Cassandra frowned. “Why does the Destroyer hate Artemis?”

“Love. Why else?” Kat said simply. “Love, hatred, and revenge are the most powerful emotions on earth.

Apol ymi wants revenge on Artemis for kil ing the one thing she loved most in the universe.”

“And that is?”

“I would never betray either one by saying it.”

“Would you write it down?” Chris asked.

Kat rol ed her eyes.

Cassandra and Phoebe shook their heads.

“Oh, yeah, like the two of you weren’t thinking the same thing,” Chris said.

Phoebe motioned them to fol ow her again. She led them down a corridor that was lined with doors.

“These are apartments. You wil be given a large unit with four bedrooms. Mine is down a separate hal way. I would have liked to have had you closer, but this was the only one available that was big enough to accommodate al of you and I didn’t think it wise to break up your number.” Cassandra wished she were closer to Phoebe too. She had a lot of catching up to do with her sister. “Is Wulf already there?”

“No,” Phoebe said, averting her gaze. “He was taken to a holding cel .” Cassandra was aghast, then angry. “Excuse me?”

“He’s our enemy, Cassie. What would you expect us to do?”

“I expect you to release him. Now.”

“I can’t.”

Cassandra stopped dead in her tracks. “Then show me the door out of here.” Phoebe’s face mirrored her disbelief. “What?”

“You heard me. I wil not stay here unless he’s welcome. He has risked his life for me. His home was destroyed because of me and I wil not live comfortably while the father of my baby is treated like a convict.” Someone behind them started clapping.

Cassandra turned to see a man who dwarfed her. Standing somewhere near seven feet in height, he was gorgeous. Blond and slender, he appeared to be around her age.

“Nice speech, princess. It changes nothing.”

Cassandra narrowed her gaze on him. “Then how about a good ass-kicking?” He actual y laughed. “You’re pregnant.”

“Not that pregnant.” She shot one of the daggers from her wrist at the man. It embedded in the wal just past his head.

His face lost al humor.

“The next one goes into your heart.”

“Cassie, stop!” Phoebe commanded, grabbing her arm.

Cassandra shrugged off her hold. “No. I’ve spent the whole of my adulthood putting any Daimon or Apol ite who made the mistake of coming after me out of his misery. If you think for one minute Kat and I can’t tear down this place to free Wulf, then you need to think again.”

“And if you die?” the man asked.

“Then we al lose.”

He gazed at her thoughtful y. “You’re bluffing.”

Cassandra exchanged a determined look with Kat.

“You know I’m always itching for a good fight.” Kat pul ed her fighting staff out of her coat pocket and extended it.

The man’s nostrils flared as he saw them preparing to engage him. “This is how you repay my kindness for sheltering you?”

“No,” Cassandra said with a calmness she didn’t feel. “This is how I repay the man who protects me. I won’t see Wulf kept like this after al he’s done.”

She expected the man to fight, instead he stepped back and bowed his head respectful y toward her.

“She does have the courage of a Spathi.”

“I told you so,” Phoebe said, her face shining with pride.

The man offered them a slight smile. “Go inside with Phoebe, princess, and I wil have your Dark-Hunter brought to you.”

Cassandra eyed him suspiciously, not sure if she should trust him or not. “Promise?”

“Yes.”

Stil skeptical, Cassandra looked at her sister. “Can I put any faith in that?”

“You can. Shanus is our Supreme Councilor. He never lies.”

“Phoebe,” Cassandra said sincerely, “look at me.”

She did.

“Tel me the truth. Are we safe here?”

“Yes, I swear it by everything I hold dear—even Urian’s life. You are here because Stryker wil never think to look in an Apol ite commune for you. Every one of us here knows that if your baby dies, so does the world.

And our lives, such as they are, are stil precious to us. Twenty-seven years to the people here is better than none at al .”

Cassandra took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay.”

Phoebe opened the door behind her while Shanus excused himself and left them to explore their new home.

Cassandra stepped into an extremely nice living room. Probably four to five hundred square feet, it had everything a regular human home might have. A stuffed sofa and love seat, entertainment center complete with television, stereo, and DVD player.

“Does that stuff work?” Chris asked as he walked over to examine it.

“Yes,” Phoebe said. “We have relays and uplinks that can bring the human world down to us.” Kat opened the doors to the bedrooms and bathroom that were off the main living area. “Where’s the kitchen?”

“We don’t have kitchens,” Phoebe explained. “But the councilors are working on getting a microwave and refrigerator brought in for you. Along with groceries. There should be something here very soon for al of you to eat.”

Phoebe showed them a smal dark green box on an end table. “If you need anything, the intercom is here.

Just press the button and one of the operators wil help you. If you want to buzz me, just tel them you want Urian’s wife and they’l know which Phoebe to put you through to.” A knock sounded on the door.

Phoebe went to open it while Cassandra stood back with Kat and Chris. “What do you guys think?”

“It seems okay,” Chris said. “I’m not picking up any evil vibes, what about you two?” Kat shrugged. “I agree with Chris. But there’s stil a part of me that doesn’t trust them. No offense, Cass, but Apol ites aren’t known for being honest.”

“Tel me about it.”

“Cassandra?”

She turned to see a woman her age with Phoebe. The woman’s blond hair was arranged in a bun and she wore a light pastel sweater with a pair of jeans.

“I’m Dr. Lakis,” she said, extending her hand to Cassandra. “If you don’t mind, I would like to examine you and see how the baby is doing.”

Wulf sat in the cel wondering how the hel he had gotten himself into this. They could be kil ing Cassandra for al he knew and he had docilely al owed them to take him.

“I should have fought.”

Cursing, he paced the smal cel where they had incarcerated him. It was dim and dank, with only a bed and toilet inside. He’d never been inside a human jail, but from what he’d seen in movies and on TV, the Apol ites had modeled this one after them.

He heard footsteps outside.

“I’m here for the Dark-Hunter.”

“We were told he’s to stay.”

“The heiress wants him and she won’t remain under our protection unless we release him.” Wulf smiled at those precious words. Leave it to Cassandra. Then again, she was extremely stubborn when it came to getting her way.

It was one of the things he loved most about her.

Wulf’s heart stopped as that thought went through him. There were a lot of things about her that he liked.

Things he was going to miss…

“Are you mad?” the guard outside continued to argue. “He’l kil al of us.”

“He’s not al owed to kil Apol ites, you know that. No Dark-Hunter can kil us until we go Daimon.”

“Are you wil ing to bet your life on that?”

“No,” Wulf said loudly so that they could hear him outside. “He’s wil ing to bet yours on it. Now let me out of here so that I can make sure Cassandra hasn’t been hurt.” The door opened slowly to reveal a man who was surprisingly tal er than him. It wasn’t often Wulf met such a person.

“So you do protect her,” the man said quietly.

“Yes.”

The Apol ite gave him a strange look. “You love her.” It was a statement, not a question.

“I barely know her.”

The man gave a half-smile at that. “Time has no meaning to the heart.” He held his hand out to Wulf who shook it reluctantly. “My name is Shanus and I’m glad to know you wil do anything to keep her safe. Good.

Now, come, she’s waiting for you.”

Cassandra was lying on the bed while a nurse prepared her blood transfusion. It was a good thing too.

She’d been weak before tonight, but the added excitement of Stryker’s attack had taken a lot out of her.

The doctor handed her a T-shirt to put on instead of the sweater so that they could hook her up to the machine. At first, they had balked at her refusing to drink blood. Apparently, Apol ites weren’t squeamish, but Cassandra had enough human in her to not want to do that.