Unleash the Night (35 page)

Akra:
The Atlantean term for “lady and master.”

Akri:
The Atlantean term for “lord and master.”

Akribos:
Greek endearment meaning “dear” or “precious.”

Alastor:
A demon who sometimes works with the Were-Hunters to cause mischief. Conjured in
Night Play
by Vane's mother, Bryani, to bring Bride back in time to Dark Age Britain.

Alexander, Grace:
A down-to-earth psychologist, Grace has the fortune (or misfortune) to count psychic Selena Laurens as a best friend. She is the wife of Julian Alexander and heroine of
Fantasy Lover.
And yes, both she and her husband are immortal.

Alexander, Julian:
An ancient Greek general who trained and fought alongside Kyrian of Thrace (and was originally his commanding officer). He is a demigod who was cursed by his half-brother Priapus to become a sex slave. Julian is now the husband of Grace Alexander and a professor of classics at Loyola and Tulane. He is an Oracle, and the hero of
Fantasy Lover.

Alexion:
Atlantean word meaning “defender.”

Ambrosia and Nectar:
Food and drink of the gods. Consuming them will make a mortal into an immortal demigod.

Anaimikos Daimon:
A Daimon who feeds only from another Daimon in order to drain him.

Apollites:
Apollites are a race created by the Greek god Apollo. More beautiful and stronger than mankind, they were blessed with psychic abilities. Apollo loved his people and wanted them to replace mankind. They were sent to Atlantis where they intermarried with the Atlantean natives. Until the day that the Apollite/Atlantean queen, in a rage of jealousy, sent her people to kill Apollo's Greek human mistress and his son. In retaliation, Apollo cursed his people threefold:

1. Because they made it appear that an animal had killed his beloved, they would have to feed off each other's blood in order to live. They were given fangs and the eyes of a predator.

2. They could never again walk in his daylight realm.

3. On their twenty-seventh birthday (the age his mistress was murdered), they would all disintegrate slowly and painfully over a twenty-four-hour period until they were dust. (See also
Daimons.
)

Today many of them blend seamlessly into the human world while others live in segregated communes.

Apollymi:
An Atlantean goddess known as “the Great Destroyer.” Protects and uses the Spathi Daimons and keeps an elite group of around thirty Illuminati as her guards, in addition to Charonte demons and ceredons. She is Archon's wife and Apostolos's mother. For centuries, she has been trapped in Kalosis where she can see the human world and other gods, but not affect them. However, she can still control the Charontes.

Apostolos:
The son of Apollymi. He is the Harbinger who will bring about the end of the world.

Arcadians:
See
Were-Hunters.

Archon:
Atlantean counterpart to Zeus. He is the son of Chaos, who first established order throughout the universe his father had created. Mate of Apollymi. Also called Kosmetas, which means “orderer.” He is the one who ordered the death of Apostolos and who trapped Apollymi in Kalosis.

Aristo/Aristi:
A rare breed of Arcadian with the ability to wield magic effortlessly. They are the most powerful of their kind. Aristi are considered gods in the Arcadian realm and are guarded zealously by patria who would gladly die for them.

Artemis:
The redheaded, passionate Greek goddess of the hunt, and creator of the Dark-Hunters. She has twin obsessions with Acheron Parthenopaeus and her own comfort.

Astrid:
Astrid is the daughter of Themis, and the sister of the Three Fates. She is a Justice Nymph, an immortal impartial judge who is sent down to earth to rule on possible rogue Dark-Hunters. Olympian justice states that once accused, the defendant must prove himself worthy of mercy. Since the gods only accuse with good cause, Astrid has only been called in to judge guilty Dark-Hunters, and she is beginning to give up hope that there are any innocents. She is the heroine of
Dance with the Devil
and married to Zarek of Moesia.

Atlantis:
An ancient island nation with an advanced culture and its own pantheon of gods. It sank into the Aegean Sea eleven thousand years ago.

Atropos:
Oldest of the Three Fates, responsible for cutting the threads of lives. Daughter of Themis and sister to Astrid. Also known as Atty.

 

Blood Rite Squires:
The Squires called out to hunt rogue Dark-Hunters or to execute humans/Squires who betray their world. They are all marked with a spiderweb tattoo on their hands.

Blue Blood Squires:
Squires who come from a family with many generations of Squires.

Bolt-holes:
Portals between Kalosis and the human world, often used by Spathi Daimons to escape Dark-Hunters. Also known as laminas.

Brady, William Jessup:
See
Sundown.

 

Callabrax:
Spartan or actually Dorean (the ancient precursers of the Spartans) Dark-Hunter. One of the first three Dark-Hunters created by Artemis, along with Kyros and Ias.

Callyx:
An Apollite who seeks vengeance against Zarek for his wife's death in
Dance with the Devil.
The most recent incarnation of Thanatos.

Camulus:
A Gaulish god of war, forced into retirement. Wants to reclaim his godhood.

Carvaletti, Otto:
Half Italian mafia, half Blue Blood Squire, with a Ph.D. in film from Princeton. He has a black spiderweb tattoo over the back of his knuckles. Now assigned to Valerius in New Orleans, where he often pretends to be a stupid, loudly dressed lout to annoy his boss.

Ceredon:
A creature with the head of a dog, the body of a dragon, and the tail of a scorpion. Several of them protect Apollymi.

Charonte demon:
An ancient type of demon that the Atlantean gods managed to tame. Fearsome, powerful, all but unstoppable, they can bond to gods, Hunters, or humans as companions. Once bonded, they can rest in the form of a tattoo on their bonded's body. Charontes are all appetite—they love to shop, kill, and eat everything. They are very easy to annoy and very dangerous when angry. Simi is Acheron's bonded Charonte, and like a daughter to him.

Clotho:
One of the Three Fates who is in charge of spinning the threads of lives. Daughter of Themis and sister of Atropos, Lachesis, and Astrid. Also known as Cloie.

Corbin:
Born an ancient Greek queen, Corbin was married and widowed young. She fought to keep her husband's throne as her own, and was a beloved queen. Her reign was uncontested until her brother-in-law made a pact with a barbarian tribe to sack the city and burn it to the ground. She died trying to save her servants and their children.

Cronus:
Greek god of time.

Cult of Pollux:
Apollites who take an oath to die exactly as Apollo cursed them to die—to neither commit suicide nor turn Daimon.

 

Daimons:
Daimons are Apollites who refuse to die at age twenty-seven. They have to steal human souls to artificially elongate their life span. However, once a human soul is taken it begins to die, leaving Daimons always looking for their next victims. So long as they have a living human soul within them, they can continue to live indefinitely. Any Apollite who takes a human soul into his or her body is classified a Daimon.

D'Alerian:
Oneroi Dream-Hunter, son of Morpheus, he is a healer and helper to the Dark-Hunters. D'Alerian is a straight man who never met a rule he didn't love. He keeps a constant vigil over the Dark-Hunters and is quick to step in with aid whenever one of them needs it. He and Acheron are close friends.

Danger:
A Dark-Huntress who died during the French Revolution. She is the heroine in
Sins of the Night.

Dark-Hunters:
Dark-Hunters are immortal warriors created from those who died wrongfully. Whenever such a person dies, the soul screams out for vengeance. The strongest and angriest of the screams echo through the halls of Olympus. Whenever one reaches Artemis, she considers offering a deal to the one who screamed:
     
Give her your soul, agree to fight the Daimons who are trying to kill and enslave mankind, and she will make you immortal.
      Once the bargain is struck, the new Dark-Hunter is branded with Artemis's double bow-and-arrow logo and allowed an Act of Vengeance. He or she trains with Acheron Parthenopaeus, the enigmatic leader of the Dark-Hunters, and is assigned a location on earth. The Dark-Hunter then spends the rest of eternity fighting Daimons and other evil. Like the Daimons they kill, they have fangs, light-sensitive eyes, and a prohibition against going out in the daylight. The only things that can kill a Dark-Hunter are sunlight, beheading, or total dismemberment. Those who have read
Dance with the Devil
also know that piercing the bow-and-arrow mark can kill them as well. It's something Acheron keeps from them since he doesn't want them to panic and concentrate on it while they're fighting. To do so would give that knowledge to the Daimons who would have a very easy way to kill them.
      Artemis pays them well for their services, and provides them with human helpers. (See
Squires.
)
      The only way for a Dark-Hunter to become free of Artemis is to find the one true soul who loves him or her enough to pass Artemis's test. That person must take the medallion that contains the Dark-Hunter's soul and hold it to the bow-and-arrow mark on the Dark-Hunter's body until the soul returns. The medallion is lava-hot and will scar the hand. If the person can't maintain his or her grip and the medallion is dropped, the soul is released into nothing. This traps the Dark-Hunter into a painful existence as a Shade. If, on the other hand, the lover succeeds, the Dark-Hunter is once again a mortal with a soul, restarting life at the age they were when they first died.

Dark-Hunter Code:
Honor Artemis. Drink no blood. Harm no human or Apollite. Never touch your Squire. Speak with no family, no friends who knew you before you died. Let no Daimon escape alive. Never speak of what you are. You walk alone. Keep your bow mark hidden.

Dark-Hunter.com:
An online community of Dark-Hunters and Squires disguised as a fiction and role-play Web site.

Dayslayer:
Apollite myth of a Daimon/Apollite who can walk in daylight. (See
Thanatos.
)

Desiderius:
Dangerous demigod Spathi Daimon with a grudge against the Devereaux family. Appears in
Seize the Night
and
Night Pleasures.
Can control minds and throw bolts of lightning.

Devereaux:
A close-knit family of sisters with a lot of magical talent. Daughters include Esmerelda (Essie); Yasmina (Mina); Petra; Ekaterina (Trina); Karma; Tiyana (Tia)—a voodoo princess; Selena (Lane)—a psychic; Tabitha (Tabby)—a human Vampire-Hunter; and Amanda—an accountant. (See also
Devereaux, Tabitha; Hunter, Amanda;
and
Laurens, Bill and Selena.
)

Devereaux, Tabitha:
A member of the Devereaux family who hunts Daimons. Owns Pandora's Box, an adult shop on Bourbon Street. Has the ability to sense others' emotions, a quick temper, and an unmatched vibrancy. Twin sister to Amanda Hunter and wife of Valerius Magnus.

Dionysus:
Greek god of wine and excess—now amuses himself as a corporate raider. Usually appears as a tall man with short brown hair and a neat goatee. Appears in
Night Embrace.
Not a very good driver …

Divine, Marla:
Drag queen friend of Tabitha Devereaux. Loves to steal men's coats. Was once escorted in a drag pageant by a very uptight Dark-Hunter.

Dorean Squires:
Dorean Squires don't serve a particular Dark-Hunter, but rather serve the whole group. These Squires set up businesses that fulfill the more bizarre needs of the Dark-Hunters such as making specialized weapons or cars. They are also bankers and lawyers who know all about the Dark-Hunter world and who help keep up the appearance of normality.

Doulos:
A human servant of Apollites and Daimons.

Dream-Hunters:
Dream-Hunters are the children of the Greek gods of sleep. Some of them are born of human mothers, but most are born of the Greek goddess Mist.
      Dream-Hunters are also known as Oneroi. Long ago, one of the Oneroi played a trick on the Greek god Zeus. In anger, the god cursed all of their kind to have no emotion whatsoever. Now the only time they can feel anything is when they are in a human's dreams.
      Because this is seductive, Oneroi may only visit dreams; they may never participate and never revisit the same human.
      There are also a few Dream-Hunters who prefer to stay out of dreams, except to police their own brethren. All Dream-Hunters take a prefix to their name so that everyone will know their role:
      M' are the enforcers, they work like a police force and are the leaders.
      V' are the ones who help humans who are having trouble sleeping or who have nightmares.
      D' are the ones who help the gods and immortals. One of these is almost always sent in to aid newly created Dark-Hunters. Since the Dark-Hunters usually come from horrible pasts, they tend to be plagued with nightmares. Their designated Dream-Hunter will usually watch over them throughout their entire DH existence.
      The Dream-Hunter world is complex, but not hard to understand. The main thing to remember is that they are born gods or half-gods. They can be either male or female, and for the most part, they leave the human realm alone and are found only in your wildest dreams as lovers or demons.
      Sometimes a Dream-Hunter will become enamored of a dreamer. Sometimes they even instigate the dreams and alter them to enhance their borrowed emotions. When this happens, they are termed Skoti. Oneroi are charged with seeking them out to punish them for their actions.
      However, many of the Skoti go unchecked and uncaught. They inhabit our dreams as incubi and succubi.