Acheron Parthenopaeus paused as he entered Kateri's bedroom. While her home was modest, the interior was filled with warmth.

Like his own house in New Orleans.

A smile curled his lips as he thought about his wife and son. He couldn't wait to get them back home and have all of this nastiness put aside.

If it didn't kill them all.

His mother would be thrilled to hear his doubt. But he didn't want to think about her right now. He had to find Kateri's time stone and get it to her. Time was running out and the gates were so thin, they were translucent.

"Damn, there's a lot of rocks in here," he muttered as he saw them all around the room. There were even more in boxes in her garage and a huge pile on her covered back porch. He'd never seen anything like it.

The woman was obsessed.

"It's been a long time, Acheron."

He froze at the sound of a voice he hadn't heard in centuries. Turning, he saw the shade of the extremely wise medicine woman he'd met on a previous doomsday avoidance mission. "Ixkib. How have you been?"

"Not as well as I would have liked, but I'm glad to have your help, old friend."

"Glad I'm still here to do it."

She laughed. And by that, he knew it wasn't the real Ixkib. Though she looked like her, she didn't have the same laugh. Dread filled him. "Who are you?"

"You know me."

Acheron searched his mind, but he couldn't tell who it was. "No, I don't."

But as soon as those words left his lips, he realized how wrong he was. He did know her.... "Tiva." The goddess of unraveled time. While her twin brother oversaw time itself and kept it in order, Tiva lived to destroy lives.

Zev was the one they called Time.

Tiva was Untime.

She clicked her tongue at him. "Always brilliant. Thank you for leading me here, by the way. I appreciate it. I would never have found this place without you." She moved to go through one of the boxes.

Ash pulled her away. "I can't let you do that."

She sneered. "You can't stop me."

"Oh yes, I can." Ash felt his body start to glow as his god powers surged. "You want to try me?"

* * *

Kateri was still worried sick about Ren. Though he said he was fine and they were both back in normal clothes, she had her doubts. Something didn't feel right.

Now that he was resting in his bed, she'd snuck away for a cup of coffee. She sat at the kitchen table with Cabeza, who'd returned a little while ago to let them know that Sasha was being tended to and would make a full recovery.

Kateri hung up the phone to smile at Cabeza. "Sunshine said that they're all fine and that Rain is driving her up the wall. She wants us to hurry so she can go home before she kills him."

Cabeza laughed.

Sobering, Kateri raked her hand through her hair. "I still don't understand why all of this has fallen to me. I get that Sunny isn't completely American Indian because of her mother, but-"

"Your grandmother was a very special woman," Cabeza said, interrupting her train of thought. "Back before records were kept, a fierce battle was fought between our peoples. Ahau Kin was our god of the underworld and time, and we're exceptionally lucky we didn't meet him while we were down in Xibalba. Of course, Ren might have enjoyed his blood more. Why risk it? Anyway, you do know who he is, don't you? He's almost always shown at the center of our calendars."

"The god with the jaguar face. Ren already covered this with me, and said that Ahau Kin was the father of the Anikutani."

He inclined his head to her. "When the other tribes went after Ren's people, their hatred and attack so angered Ahau Kin that he cursed them and divided them for all time. His intent was to send mankind out of this existence and to banish them to the realm of the underworld so that he'd never have to see them again...."

His words made her mind flash to one event in particular. It was in a dark, small village where fires burned all around. Ahau Kin was walking through the center of the village, making sure there were no survivors.

All of a sudden, he saw a young woman holding her neighbor's baby, trying to protect it.

He went to kill them, but rather than cower, she stood her ground.

"What you're doing is wrong!" she shouted fearlessly. "You are supposed to be better than us, but you're not, are you? My father always said that being an asshole to others doesn't make you feel better, and it if does, then I really do feel sorry for you. How awful to hold all the power in the universe and to not have any better means of coping."

Her words stunned him. Here she was, a puny human, and she dared confront him. Not with weapons.

With words.

That courage and wisdom in one so young and pure touched a foreign part of him. It made him admire her, and for that reason, he couldn't bring himself to kill her. Instead, he took her as his human bride and she gave him a hundred sons and thirty daughters. For the first time in the history of the universe, Ahau Kin was truly happy. But due to his actions against the mainlanders, he'd caused a rift in the cosmos.

An imbalance of darkness brought on by his hatred.

That evil swept into this world, devouring everything it touched. Worse, it went for his human family.

To save the children he loved so dearly from being killed, Ahau Kin drove that darkness back, he banished it past the crossroads in the sky where the tree of life forms a bridge between this world and the dark one. Ahau Kin put it there so that it couldn't harm his family.

But the darkness was strong and it wouldn't stay there. He knew it the moment he sealed the gate.

"Every year from that day forward, whenever the winter solstice sun crosses the sky archer, it causes the heart of the sky to open." It was her grandmother's voice Kateri heard now, telling her this story.

"And from that doorway, all that darkness and all the evil it entails is able to climb down the sacred tree and return to earth to wreak havoc and come for the children of Ahau Kin."

To save his children and those they protect, Ahau Kin plucked a piece of the sun from the sky and locked it inside a special stone. Whenever the stars were to align with the solstice and the gate was to weaken and allow them to leave their prison, the Ixkib-the soul jaguar who was a direct daughter from Ahau Kin's wife-was to use the stone to drive that darkness back into the sky and seal it shut, thereby resetting the calendar until the next alignment. But should his children exist no more, then the world of man will cease....

Kateri was the last of that direct line. Her mother had been designated as the Ixkib. And the darkness knew it. It'd come for her and killed her.

Just as it killed her grandmother. Her home invader had never been caught because it had been a demon who took her life.

The only reason Kateri had survived was because her father and stepfather had been sent to keep her safe and had hidden her from the evil that wanted her dead. But for their care, she would have died as a child....

Bullshit. She didn't want to believe it. But she knew the truth now.

It was why she'd never studied Mayan history. Her father had put that dislike into her to keep her away from anything that might alert her enemies to her whereabouts.

And her grandmother, knowing that one day the time stone would be hers, had taught her to love and collect rocks and minerals. Their combined strength kept the time stone shielded and off the grid of those who would have destroyed it.

In her mind, Kateri saw the stone that she needed perfectly clearly. How stupid of her to not have known it immediately.

Her grandmother had always referred to it as the Eye of the Sun, saying that it was the single most powerful stone she had in her collection. The same color orange as the official Cherokee flag that bore seven stars-one for each clan of the Cherokee nation, and the same number as the Pleiades stars-along with the one solitary black star in the upper corner that signified those who'd died tragically on the Trail of Tears ... the same darkness that they were to always guard against.

For that matter, even their peace flag held the Yonegwa constellation-seven red stars against a field of white....

And it was a stone that was only found in Mexico. All Mexican fire opals were rare, but seldom did they show the play of color that was common to the more familiar "black" and white opals found in the rest of the world.

As a child, Kateri used to believe that her grandmother's opal winked at her. That it was trying to tell her a secret.

Now she knew what its secret was.

Her grandmother's opal had actually come from the sun. Ironic really, given the fact that it was set into a necklace that had always reminded Kateri of a Mayan-styled sun from one of their glyphs....

Unbelievable.

She frowned at Cabeza. "What do I have to do with it?"

"On a cave wall that only a Guardian can see, there will be a mural of a thunderbird and hummingbird. You'll have to take the Kinichi-the sun's eye-and place it into one of their mouths ... whichever one has a spot of the thunderbird so that it can carry the eye into the heavens and drive the darkness back. Once done, the stone will be returned for your safekeeping."

"And this mural is located where?"

"The Valley of Fire."

Which was why they'd brought her to Las Vegas. The Valley of Fire was where her father had gone to rest after his battle with Ren. In the heart of the Valley was a cavern that was critical, as it formed an intersection between all the gates of this world and the realms no one wanted opened.

Honestly, she didn't want to believe in any of this.

But every time she had that thought, she heard her grandmother's voice. "You don't have to believe in something for it to be real."

God love her grandmother for that one single truth.

She looked up at Cabeza. "Have you ever felt so overwhelmed by responsibility that all you wanted to do was curl up in your bed and become a vegetable?"

"Si, but I was in the midst of battle at the time and couldn't dwell on that wish." He lifted his coffee mug in a silent salute. "Just like you, bonita. No time to dwell."

She nodded. "Can I ask you something?"

"I put the seat down. I swear it."

She laughed at his unexpected comment. "Seriously, why do you speak Spanish when you're actually Mayan?"

"Because when I speak my native language no one, other than Acheron and a small handful of other Dark-Hunters, can converse with me in it. And I learned Spanish long before I learned English. I spent two thousand years in Spain, Basque, and Portugal before I was allowed to come back to my homeland."

"Wow," she breathed. "That's incredible."

"I don't know about incredible. Long, si. Definitely ... It was hard to get used to at first. Things over there were very different from what I was used to here. It was a solid month before I could even secure my pants properly. Led to some rather embarrassing moments, especially when I'd have to explain to others why the Daimons got away and my pants were at my ankles. Unfortunately, we didn't have Google back then to look it up. Hard, hard times."

She laughed again. Once Cabeza lowered the thirty-foot-thick walls around himself, he was quite entertaining. "Since you're so talkative ... why do they call you Cabeza? I have to know."

He gave her a sardonic grin. "I always tell people it's from the heads I collected in battle."

"But that's not the truth, is it?"

He shook his head. A deep, dark sadness came over him. For several seconds, he didn't speak. "When I was a boy ... ten, my older brother was killed by Chacu's father. It was a bad time in Tikal back then. The Snake Kingdom was always attacking us. In one such attack, they went after a group of children and wounded several. My older brother stayed behind to draw their fire so that the boys could get away. They made it back, but the price of that safety was my brother's life. Barely fifteen, he didn't last long against an entire band of seasoned warriors. Those bastards took my brother's head and would play ball games with it. When my mother found out, it broke her heart all over again. She say it was like having him murdered every time they did it. She says she would never be able to sleep so long as they dishonored him so. I couldn't stand to see her so miserable so I snuck over to their capital city and found my brother's head, then I brought it home to my mother so that she could sleep again."

Kateri placed her hand over her heart as tears filled her eyes. "How awful for you. I'm so sorry."

Cabeza shrugged. "Bad for me, si. For my mother, much worse. I lost my brother. She lost her son ... Much, much worse." He cleared his throat. "My uncle, he was a bit loco. So he started calling me Head as a way of celebrating my bravery and loyalty. To remind me and others that the most honorable thing in life is not to live it selfishly, but to take risks for those we love. He used to say being a man is not about killing or taking. It's not about proving your worth or seducing women. It's when you are willing to give up your life rather than watch your family cry or be degraded."

"He was right."

"He was, indeed, and so to this day, in honor of him, I still go by it."

"And you definitely do honor to it and to your family."

He looked away, but not before she saw the shame that darkened his gaze. She started to ask him to explain it. Then thought better of it. Whatever was in the past hurt him deeply. And she was grateful that her powers didn't show it to her. Because if it could make a man who, at age ten, went into an enemy city to bring back his brother's head ... it had to be bad.

And some memories were too awful to share.

"I think I'll go check on Ren."

He inclined his head to her, but didn't speak.

Kateri hesitated at the door and turned back to watch Cabeza. He pulled the ring from his pinkie and stroked it while lost in thought. As he did so, she had an image of a beautiful woman. Tiny and sweet. Kateri had no idea who the woman was, but she left him to his memories as she headed down the hallway to Ren's room.

He lay sleeping still. Worried about him, she sat down on the bed and felt his brow to see if he had a fever. The moment she touched him, he opened his eyes, which were still blue, then frowned.

"How did I get here?"

"Don't you remember?"

Ren searched his mind for an answer. He saw Windseer and then ... nothing. "We were under attack. That's the last thing I recall."

"You have no memory of attacking a god and drinking his blood?"

He winced at that. "Tell me I didn't."

She nodded.

Cursing himself, he felt sick. That was the thing about drinking preternatural blood. The aftertaste was lethal and the indigestion vicious. "Which god?"

"Crap ... what did Cabeza call him? He's the one married to the suicide goddess."

Oh, this was bad. "Chamer?"

"That was it."

Ren ground his teeth. "Well at least I won't be stuttering for a long while."

She widened her eyes. "Drinking blood affects your stuttering?"

"Yeah, it's totally screwed up, right?"

"It's definitely something."

"So how did we get back here?" he asked again, returning to his primary question.

"You freaked the god out so badly, he banned us from his underworld and threw us out. Good job, there. Who knew that was all you had to do to get free?"

Ren ignored her sarcasm as his thoughts churned. Grizzly must have possessed him and made him do that. His gut tightened with the fear that she'd seen it all. "Was I..."

"Possessed? If you have to ask..."

He was possessed and she had seen every bit of it. Damn. Then, he froze as he remembered Kateri holding him. Somehow she had reached through the demon to pull him out.

Just like her father.

Well, not just like her father. The Guardian had beat the hell out of Ren to do it. Literally. He much preferred Kateri's way. Though to be honest, he was glad her father hadn't attempted that. Her father hugging him like a lover grossed him out even more than drinking god blood.

No wonder he felt hungover.

Which he shouldn't feel if he was a Dark-Hunter. "What color are my eyes?"

"Still blue."

Double damn.

"By the way, you are sex on a stick or more apropos sex in a can when you wear demon armor." She sucked her breath in sharply between her teeth. "Ooo baby. Nice."

He vaguely recalled summoning it. "I got the ability to summon it from my nurse. But the armor itself was a gift from my mother."

"Really?"

He nodded. "After I died, Artemis showed up with it and told me that I could access it with the demon powers."

"Nice gift."

"I would have rather had my mother."

"I know, baby." She laid herself down by his side and placed her hand over his heart.

Ren closed his eyes as her scent hit him all over again. Between that and her touch, his body went instantly hard. But worse than that were the feelings inside him. Feelings that wanted to stay with her like this forever.

Feelings that went wild as her breath fell against his nipple while she drew circles over his chest.

"You're killing me, Kateri."

She lifted herself up to look down at him. "I wasn't trying to kill you, sweetie."

But as his gaze fell to the gap in her shirt that clearly showed her breasts, he was sure this was terminal.

Her smile turned seductive as she slowly kissed her way down his body. His senses reeled. Why couldn't he have found her when he'd been human? His life would have been radically different had they met then.

But she hadn't been born. Not until centuries later ...

Oh, gah, I'm a dirty old man. One who was old enough to be her great-grandfather times a million.

That thought scattered as she took him into her mouth. Groaning from the ecstasy of her tongue caressing him, he cupped her cheek in his hand and stroked her jaw with his thumb. She was so beautiful. So perfect.

And the sight of her on him ...

How can I let her go?

But he knew he couldn't keep her. Not as a demon. Not as Grizzly's slave. Somehow he was going to have to find the courage to walk away from her and continue to live eternity without her.

Just the thought of it felt like a punch in the gut. For the first time in his life, he could see himself growing old with someone. Having a family ...

When he'd been mortal, those things had been vague and undefined. But now they were crystal-clear and he could see her face.

Grizzly had found a whole new level of hell to relegate him to.

Kateri hesitated as she felt Ren tense. Afraid she'd hurt him, she pulled back to see the hottest expression on his face. It was feral and hungry. He pulled her up to lie over his body so that he could give her the most incredible kiss of her life. His fangs brushed her lips as he buried his hands in her hair and fisted them without hurting. It was as if he was trying to consume her. That kiss left her breathless and weak.

Rolling her over, he used his powers to strip her naked. His muscles bunched and tightened around her while he teased her ear with his tongue until she saw stars. His hands seemed to be everywhere at once, stroking and delving, heightening her pleasure until she couldn't think straight.

He lifted himself to stare down at her an instant before he filled her.

She cried out at how good he felt deep inside her body. Biting his lip, he thrust himself against her hips, driving himself in even deeper. No one had ever made love to her like this. Like she was the air he needed to survive.

Ren pressed his cheek against hers and held her as tight as he could. He never wanted to let her go. He never wanted to leave her arms.

For the first time in his life, he fully understood what it meant to belong to someone else. Body and soul. There was nothing he wouldn't do for her. He would crawl naked over broken glass in the lowest pit of hell just to make her smile.

And when she came in his arms, crying out his name, he found a level of heaven he'd never known existed. One he knew he'd never have again.

Damn you, Fates.

And damn him for being such a fucking idiot that he'd screwed up his life so badly.

Clenching his eyes shut, he joined her release and shuddered against her. She ran her hands over his back as she buried her lips against his neck and tormented him with light, sweet kisses.

"Are you all right, Ren?"

No. Once he walked out of her life, he'd never be all right again.

But he couldn't tell her that.

"Fine. You?"

"Worried about you. There's something I can feel, but I don't know what it is."

"It's called nerves."

She snorted. "I know what those feel like. They came out to play with all their friends the entire week before I had to defend my dissertation."

He didn't respond to her attempt to make her laugh as he reluctantly slid out of her and rolled onto his back. She snuggled up against him and sighed contentedly.

So this was what normal felt like....

He'd never experienced it before. How could any man have something this precious and crave anything more?

Kateri watched the emotions play across his face, wishing she could identify them. The only thing she knew for sure was that something bothered him.

A lot.

"So..." She stretched that one word out. "If we survive all this, what will happen to us?"

"You'll go back to teaching and-"

"No, I don't mean us as in you and me. I mean us."

Ren winced at the wave of pain that gutted him. He'd never been an "us" before. Never had someone who wanted to put him in her future.

It was something he craved so badly ... so desperately, he could taste it.

If I still had my soul, I'd sell it to keep you....

And if wishes were Porsches, they'd all ride free and in style. He swallowed against the pain in his heart. Here in this one moment when he wanted nothing to spoil it, he was going to have to shatter the only heart that had ever loved him.

I am a bastard.

"There is no us, Kateri. There can never be an us."

Kateri held her breath as those words kicked her in the teeth. What? You had to know this. Why are you so surprised?

He was an immortal warrior. She was a geologist. Other than hot sex, what did they really have in common?

Not a damn thing.

He tilted her head so that she could look at him. "Are you all right?"

Refusing to let him see the depth to which she'd been hurt, she nodded. "Fine. I'm a big girl, Ren. I'm not one of those doe-eyed romantics who expects a ring just because we slept together. At least I wasn't your one-night stand." She got up and headed for the bathroom.

Ren ground his teeth at the pain he'd seen in her eyes. You're the only woman I have ever loved. She was the only woman he would ever love.

But love wasn't for mongrel creatures like him. And it shouldn't be. He'd destroyed too many lives. He didn't deserve happiness after he'd taken it from so many others. He didn't even deserve to have had what little she'd given him.

Draping his arm over his eyes, he tried to banish his emotions and thoughts. Instead, he went back to when he'd been a teenager with Coyote.

"Did you hear? Choo Co La Tah is getting married."

Ren had frowned at his brother. "Already?"

Coyote nodded. "Her parents arranged it with his. I heard she's beautiful. Not as beautiful as my bride will be, I'm sure, but I'm happy for him."

"I would th-th-think there are-are-are-are more important th-th-things than just looks."

Coyote burst out laughing. "Don't th-th-think, Makah'Alay. It's embarrassing. What could be more important than her looks?"

He always hated whenever Coyote did that. It was bad enough when it came from others, but it stung worse when it was his own brother. Unwilling to be mocked further, he shrugged.

Coyote sighed. "Can you imagine having a beautiful woman in your bed every night who belonged to you? One you could screw all night long for as many hours as you wanted, and she couldn't say no because she was your wife? Oh, sorry. I keep forgetting you're still a virgin. We really need to take care of that. You want to try the brothel again?"

Horrified, Ren shook his head. The last time he'd made that mistake, the prostitute had turned him away. We don't serve retards here. Take him somewhere else.

For weeks after that, he'd had to endure comments from Coyote about how no one knew whores were picky, and how awful when you were so pathetic you couldn't buy a bargain-priced whore for an hour.

Coyote had slapped him on the back. "Poor Makah'Alay. But have faith, brother. I'm sure there's a whore out there who'll have you one day."

Ren sighed. In over eleven thousand years he'd only found two women who would sleep with him. One had been an immortal slut who had stolen his humanity.

The other was a lady who had given him her heart.

Wanting to ease whatever pain he'd given her, he got up and went to the bathroom. Her sobs while she showered stopped him dead. They kicked him so hard that for a minute he couldn't breathe.

Unable to stand it, he went to the shower and pulled the curtain aside. She gasped, then cried harder.

Ren took her into his arms and held her tight. "I love you, Kateri," he whispered. "You're the only one in this world that I have ever really loved. I would sell a kidney to shoe your feet and I'd sell my soul, if I still had one, to make you smile."

Kateri trembled as she heard the sincerity in his voice. He meant that. "Then why did you say-"

"Because I can't be with you. Once we reset the calendar, I have to go back to what I was ... and so do you."

"Why? Sundown was a Dark-Hunter. Talon, too. Now they're married. Why can't that be us?"

Because they were luckier than he was. And they hadn't sold their freedom to buy back their wives' lives.

"Please don't cry, Kateri. I can't stand to see you sad."

"I'm sorry." Stepping back, she pulled him into the shower with her. "I love you, too, you know."

He savored the sound of sincere words he'd never thought to hear. They were even more beautiful when spoken from the heart.

Sniffing back her tears, she soaped her cloth, then used it to bathe him. "Were your eyes always blue?" she asked as she lightly fingered the bow-and-arrow tattoo on his left hip.

He nodded. "They thought for the longest time that I was blind. It took me years to make them understand that I could see perfectly."

"I take it they're from your mother."

"Yeah, and my father hated them. He said it was just like looking at her all over again and that they made his skin crawl with revulsion. Sometimes he'd just walk by and slap me for having them."

"How awful!"

He shrugged. "Believe it or not, you get used to it. You know you're going to get slapped for something so you don't even react when it comes. Besides, the slaps didn't hurt all that much. I preferred those to being lashed by his tongue."

She couldn't imagine being hit over something she'd been born with. Something she couldn't help.

Something so beautiful and unusual.

"You know, Ren, I think you're the most fascinating person alive."

She could plant corn in the furrows his frown created on his forehead, they were so deep.

"Why?"

If there hadn't been so much doubt and confusion in that one single word, she'd have laughed. But he really, truly didn't see it.

"You're born of two entirely different ancient cultures. Your mother was a goddess, Ren. An actual Greek goddess who loved you so much, she sent another goddess to watch over you. You said you understood Apollymi. While your mother didn't try to destroy the world over you, you were her world. She loved you so much that the worst punishment Zeus could give her was to cast her into the sky as a comet so that she would never see the baby she loved so much. And yes, your father was definitely a dick, but he was also the chief of a tribe of legendary fighters. You were one of those warriors that our people still talk about in hushed and reverent tones. You led an army ... okay, it was an evil army, but you led an army of demons-you have demon blood and powers. And you fought my father for a year and a day. Gracious, Ren, you're the most fascinating man I've ever met. You draw power from three different cultures. How many people can do that? Seriously? That's impressive. You're impressive."

Those words made his heart race.

No, not the words. The passion behind them. She meant every one of them. They weren't spoken out of flattery because she wanted something from him. She meant every word she spoke.

"I love how you see the world, Kateri." Most of all, he loved how she saw him.

As she soaped his chest, she paused at the necklace. "Where did this come from? You didn't have it earlier."

Ren hesitated. He didn't want to lie to her, but he damn sure couldn't tell her the truth. "It came with the armor."

"Oh. It's very cute."

"Thanks," he said drily. "That was so the look I was going for."

She laughed at his sarcasm. "Sorry. It looks all hot and manly on you."

If she only knew ...

He could never remove it, and with it, Grizzly could summon him anywhere. Anytime.

So long as you wear it, Kateri's safe. That thought was the only thing that made his slavery bearable.

"Hey, Ren?" Sundown called from the hallway. "You in there?"

"Yeah."

"Have you seen Kateri lately?"

He gave her a lopsided grin. "Um ... yeah."

"Where is she?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but wasn't sure what to say. He didn't want to embarrass her. Most likely, she didn't want them to know she was sleeping with him.

But before he could think up an answer, she called out to Jess. "I'm in the shower with Ren."

"Oh dear lord, I am so sorry. I most certainly did not mean to disturb either one of you. As you were. This can definitely wait for later. Y'all take your time. Whatever you need. We'll ... uh ... hold down the fort. And I am so out of the hallway."

Ren felt terrible as he heard Sundown's footsteps retreating. "I'm sorry, Kateri. I didn't mean to embarrass you."

She arched a brow at his statement as she sank her hand down to cup him. "You didn't embarrass me, sweetie. I don't care if he knows. We can shout it from the rooftop if you want."

That was something he'd never get used to.

She took her time bathing him and was very thorough as she did so. By the time they were finished, there was no hot water left and it was pitch dark outside. He hated to get dressed and leave her, but the end of the world respected no one.

Toweling his hair dry, he went into the living room to find that Urian, Sundown, and Cabeza had been joined by Acheron. But it took him a second to recognize their fearless leader with his short hair.

Now there was something terrifying. "What happened to you? You get into a losing argument with a pair of scissors?"

Acheron rolled his eyes. "Damn, all of you are going to make this hard on me until it grows back. I swear. What's more important? Armageddon or my haircut?"

* * *

Kateri paused in the hallway as she heard that deep, rumbling voice that spoke in an accent the likes of which she'd never heard before. So this was the mysterious Acheron who led the Dark-Hunters.

The son of a goddess who'd almost ended the world over what had been done to him.

Curious, she stepped into the living room and froze. She wasn't sure what she'd expected to find, but it certainly wasn't ... this.

Yeah, okay, Lord King Badass had just entered the building. Her jaw went slack as she skimmed the ridiculous height of the latest man to join their party. Just shy of seven feet, he had short black hair framing a face that appeared to have been flawlessly chiseled from granite. He held an aura so dark and powerful that it made the hair on the back of her neck and arms rise.

Out of all the scary things in the room, he definitely put the others to shame, and that was not an easy thing to do.

Pinning her with a gaze that left her completely immobile, Acheron strode forward with the most predacious walk she'd ever seen. Something not easy to carry off when you considered the fact that he was physically very pretty and surprisingly young.

Probably no more than twenty or twenty-one, he was absolutely beautiful ... almost angelic. Except for that aura of lethal authority that bled out of every molecule he possessed. Yeah, this was a man used to riding herd and having to cow warriors like Cabeza, Sundown, and Ren.

And she couldn't take her gaze away from his spooky eyes. They literally swirled with a hazy silver color ... and they were filled with the promise of death.

Swathed completely in black, he had his hands tucked into the pockets of a long leather coat. He pulled one hand out and reached for her.

She instinctively took a step back.

Luckily, he had a sense of humor about that. "I'm not going to hurt you, Dr. Avani. I promise. I only bite when given an invitation to do so."

And he had manners too....

Freaky.

He opened his huge hand to show her her grandmother's necklace.

Stunned, she gaped at him.... Granted, she had to crane her neck to do so. "How did you know where to find it?"

"I have my evil ways."

Yeah, I bet you do. She took it out of his hand and for the first time really saw it for what it was. The thick gold chain was forged in such a way that it was much lighter than it appeared. But it was the fire inside the stone that was truly exceptional. As a kid, she'd had no idea whatsoever how rare a stone this was.

As a geologist she knew there were probably only a handful of stones ever created that came close to this perfection. Most fire opals were opaque like a regular gemstone. In spite of the name they bore because of their typical orange or red color, fire opals seldom showed the play of color other opals were known for. And in all her studies, she'd never seen one with the color play this one had. It really did look like it was a piece of the sun.

"Thank you," she breathed.

He inclined his head to her. "By the way, my wife had no idea what the writing on the seal was, she-"

"Your wife?" Kateri hated interrupting him, but he didn't look old enough ...

Yeah, duh, what was she thinking with this group? He was an Atlantean ... older than dirt and dirt's great-grandfather.

Acheron took her interruption in stride. "Dr. Soteria Kafieri Parthenopaeus."

The way he said that, it melted like chocolate on your tongue. It rolled so fluidly and with his accent ...

Wow. His wife probably made him read everything out loud, including cans and cereal boxes, just to hear the cadence of it.

The downside was that his accent was so thick that at first she had no idea what he'd said, until it suddenly clicked. "Dr. Par ... Par ... Parthen ... Par ... yeah. Ancient Greek scholar. Fluent in many dead languages. Fernando e-mailed her a photo of the stone."

Acheron laughed, then nodded. "The real reason I fell in love with my wife. She can not only pronounce my last name without stumbling over it, she can actually spell it."

The men all laughed but Kateri felt awful.

"It's okay, Dr. Avani," he said good naturedly. "My first name isn't much easier, it's why I usually go by Ash. It's harder to trip over and it doesn't take me an hour to write it out."

Thank goodness the man had a sense of humor about it.

"Did she recognize the language?" she asked, trying to divert the conversation to something less embarrassing.

"Lemurian."

That was the last thing she'd expected to hear. "Shut the front door! Really?" she breathed, then shook her head. "No. It can't be. Biogeographists debunked that myth a long time ago."

He grinned at her, showing off a little bit of fang. "Yeah, well, they don't know everything, do they?"

Very true. Case in point, she stood in front of a giant from Atlantis who was flanked by a cowboy, Mayan prince who had carried off a lycanthrope, ancient Greek vampire, and a real Keetoowah whose mother was a Greek goddess. Yeah....

"Guess not," she said, returning his smile.

"Did you have any trouble getting the stone?" Ren asked.

Ash hesitated. "Define 'trouble.'"

Ren cursed. "What happened?"

"Tiva. Our little time bitch broke out early and she was hellbent on using the stone to lock down her brother. Luckily, I was more hellbent on keeping her away from it. I'm thinking when the first gate was breached."

Ren and Cabeza paled. "When did the first gate go down?"

"While you were in Mayan hell. We've had our hands full on this side. May the gods have mercy if another gate opens. And since you're most likely not aware of how much faster time travels on this side ... tonight at midnight. Reset the 'damn' calendar 'cause I don't want to spend eternity cleaning up your mess." He looked over at Urian. "And you'll have to sit it out."

"Why?"

"You're related to a Greek god. You hit the Valley and you'll be real sorry for the last few minutes you're alive."

Urian pointed to Ren. "He's a cousin."

"Who is also Keetoowah. They'll let him in. He's an exception."

"Well, that sucks. What if I wanted to go sightseeing?"

"I'd suggest an online tour." Ash met Ren's gaze. "As a heads-up, I waited to bring the kinichi, as it is a beacon to all kinds of paranormal creatures who want to control time." He turned to face Kateri. "Your grandmother was one powerful woman to keep that under wraps. I am very impressed."

"Thank you. She was exceptional."

Ash stepped back. "And on that note, I'm off to help hold the gates."

Just as he started to leave, another light flashed in the room.

Cursing, Ren grabbed Kateri and pulled her behind him. His eyes turned vivid red as his armor reappeared. His hands exploding into fireballs, as he faced what must be another demon.

Ash, Urian, and Cabeza, however, didn't react to this new presence at all. Except for Ash who reached out to lower Ren's arm. "Stand down."

"He's a demon. High level."

Ash gave him a bland stare. "Yeah, well, his highest level is functioning as a perpetual pain in my ass." He turned his attention to the newcomer. "What do you want, Nick?"

Kateri wasn't sure what to make of this man. At least six foot four, he had a bow-and-arrow mark on his left cheek that was identical to the one Ren had on his hip. But even with that mark, he was incredibly handsome.

"I was asked to come here."

"By whom?"

"Artemis."

Ren exchanged a bemused frown with Kateri. "Why would she ask that of you?"

A wry, evil smile curled his lips. "I am a messenger, after all. It's what I was created to do."

The way he said that shivers over her. And in that moment, she flashed to Nick's real form. His skin should be black and red, with glowing eyes and gold armor. In his true body, he was a winged demon. One of the highest level. He was evil in its purest, rawest form.

And she didn't trust him even the slightest bit.

Ash shifted his weight to one foot and assumed a total power stance that said, boy, don't make me kick your ass all the way to the state line. 'Cause I will. And no, you won't enjoy it. "You still haven't answered my question. What are you doing here? And to stop the semantics game ... what missions or message did Artie put you on?"

"I'm to protect Artemis's blood and make sure the gates stay sealed tonight."

Acheron appeared stunned by those words. "Really?" His tone dripped with sarcasm. "I would think you'd have a vested interest in seeing them opened."

Nick snorted. "You don't know me as well as you think you do."

Acheron swept his gaze over them. "Guys? Will you give us the room, please?"

One by one, they filed out.

Ash didn't speak until he was alone with Nick and he was sure none of the others could hear their discussion. "Cut the shit, boy. I know what you want, and why you want it, and you can't have it."

Nick rolled his eyes. "I'm tired of fighting with you, Ash. I know what you think of me and I really don't care. But let me tell you a few things you don't know about me, Lord Omniscient to most. You've asked why I'm with Artemis. It's the one place I can go where Stryker can't see through my eyes. Well ... he could see, if he wanted, but since the sight of his aunt sickens him, he withdraws from me the minute I enter her temple. And I finally have a modicum of peace."

Damn. Nick did have it bad if dealing with Artemis's tantrums and moods was his idea of serenity. Ash almost felt bad for the Cajun. "There are ways of blocking him."

"No, there's not. Not the way your mother has him trained. Thanks for that, by the way. You could have slaughtered Stryker and you passed."

Ash shrugged. "I could have slaughtered you, too."

"Can't tell you how much I appreciate that kindness."

Ash took a step toward him. "Nick-"

"Don't Nick me. You have no right. You brought back Amanda and Kyrian. You left my mother dead."

Ash winced at a truth that burned him as much as it burned Nick. "I know. But I couldn't bring her back, Nick. Not really."

"Because she didn't want to be here anymore. I know. She was sick of her God-awful life and happy to be dead. You felt sorry for her and so you left her dead to keep her from suffering. Thanks for the consideration. I deeply appreciate it, cher."

Ash heard the anguish underneath those words and it scorched him. At one time, he and Nick had been best friends.

No, they'd been closer than that. He considered Nick his brother, and he hated to see Nick in this much pain. "Your mother loved you. You were her life."

"Apparently not. But I've accepted that."

"Then why do you want the time stone?"

Faster than Ash could react, which said a lot about Nick's skills, Nick grabbed him into a headlock.

Ash started to fight until he realized what Nick was doing. While Ash could see into the future, he could never see the lives of anyone who'd become close to him.

But Nick was able to use his powers to show him what Nick was going to become.

And it was terrifying. Through Nick's eyes, Ash saw Nick's true demon form and the army he led against the world. Gone was the fun-loving boy who used to tease Ash. The one who had wormed his stupid way into Ash's heart, and taught him a lot about human life and normality. Damn, how he missed their friendship.

"My mother is the only thing that kept me human, Acheron," Nick growled into his ear while he continued to share his bloody and brutal destiny with him. "Every single day I live without her, I lose more of my humanity. There's nothing that anchors me now. Do you understand?" He released him.

Ash struggled to breathe as the images began fading. "I thought you hated me."

"I hate every fucking body. Don't you understand? I can't help it. Welcome to the club. Now let's light the sign that we're open for business." He raked a sneer over Ash's body. "Newsflash, Atlantean-you're really nothing special to me. Hatred is who and what I am now. It rules me entirely. Menyara has tried everything, as has Artemis. Nothing works. Without an anchor, I can't stop the metamorphosis." He gestured toward the door the others had left by. "You're afraid of the gates? I pick my teeth with the bones of better evil than anything those gates guard. When I become the Malachai, there is nothing that can stop me."

"The Sephiroth."

Nick shook his head. "I've seen me kill him. Jared is weakened by his past and guilt, and by the weight of a conscience I am losing day by day. When I no longer have mine and he still has his?" He shrugged. "You don't want to know how easy he dies. Remember, he's like my mother. He wants to die. He's long done with this world and everything on it. He even tried to kill me so that he'd be released."

Ash swallowed as he remembered the past. Nick was right. Jared wouldn't put up a fight, and without that ...

Nick would destroy everything.

While Ash was considered a final fate god, he wasn't the only one. Almost all pantheons had at least one god of fate. They all basically balanced each other out. But Nick wasn't a god. While Nick's predecessors had been created from the same primal source of power that fueled the gods, Nick's species had been created as a servant for Ash's mother.

To end the world.

Ash was the only person who walked among humanity who knew the real origins and role of Nick's demonic race. Back before time itself, there had been six gods who sprang from the primal source. Three who clung to good and three who craved evil. Three gods of creation and three of utter destruction.

After they'd fought the Primus Bellum that almost destroyed the earth and all humanity, those gods had slept for a long time. Until Nick's premature ascension to his Malachai powers. Then two of the dark ones had awakened. Noir and Azura.

They were scouring the earth in search of their missing half-sister, Braith, while never knowing that Braith sat imprisoned in the Atlantean hell realm. That she had given birth to a son ...

"I can help you, Nick."

"Yeah ... then bring my mother back."

To those who didn't know better, that sounded like a whiny child. But that wasn't what Nick was saying and Ash knew it. Nick was a creature of destruction. While his powers were virtually infinite, they were not without some limitation.

The Malachai-the nuclear bomb for evil-was a tool of annihilation. He couldn't create or restore life. He could only take it.

Nick couldn't walk through time, not without a tool such as the time stone. Nor could he identify a god until he was either sent to kill it or it revealed itself to him. Nick could tell it was paranormal, but not what degree. However, once identified as a god, Nick had all the power he needed to kill it and take its powers.

And Artemis had sent Nick in to guard the Ixkib....

He would laugh if it wasn't so typical of her. How could the twin sister of Apollo-a god of prophecy-suck so badly at seeing the future?

"I can't get your mother back now, but if you can trust me again..."

Nick let out a sinister, bone-chilling laugh. "Trust? My father trusted and what did it get him?"

Ash shook his head. "Trust had nothing to do with it. Your father died because he sired another Malachai. Had you not been born, he would still live."

"I still won't trust you."

"Fine, just stop trying to kill me."

Nick sighed, and for a second, he was again the smart-mouthed Cajun kid Ash had welcomed as a friend. "I can't promise that either, boy ... have you not been listening to me? I'm speaking English here. I can't stop my true nature. It's like asking the moon not to rise or the ocean to quit making waves." He spat each word out separately. "My nature is death. You're alive. That sheer fact, regardless of any other, makes me want to kick your ass and kill you. This is why I need help, and I can't go to a therapist. I just might eat them and I don't like the taste of human...." Ash didn't even want to know how Nick knew he didn't like the taste of human. "At least Artemis has a fighting chance if I go bad on her."

"We will get through this."

"You better be right, Ash. 'Cause if you're not..."

Ash's mother would finally win and the world of man would lose everything.