Thanatos caught him, and flipped him to the ground. He ripped open Bjorn's shirt to expose the bow-and-arrow mark of Artemis on Bjorn's shoulder.
Thanatos stabbed Bjorn's brand with an ornate gold dagger.
Bjorn disintegrated like a Daimon.
None of them moved.
Jess could barely breathe as rage suffused him. That had been way too easy for the Daimon. Up until now, the Dark-Hunters had been told that they could only die three ways. Total dismemberment, sunlight, or beheading.
Apparently, Acheron had left out one crucial, and extremely quick, way to die.
This wasn't good, and right now he was pissed that no one had warned them.
But that would have to wait. There were innocent people here and if he fought Thanatos in the presence of Syra, they would both be fighting with their hands tied behind their backs, while Thanatos would be fighting full strength.
"You want Zarek?" Jess asked.
Thanatos rose slowly to his feet. "That's why I'm here."
Jess was shaken by what he'd seen, and though he hadn't known Bjorn long, the man had seemed decent enough. It was a damn shame to lose a comrade, especially to Thanatos.
He'd grieve later; right now he wanted to make sure the Squires survived.
Jess slid his gaze to Syra and sent a mental projection to her. "Save the Squires. I'm taking Asshole for a run."
Aloud, he said, "Then follow me and bring all you've got. Zarek's going to enjoy slaying you."
Jess ran for his Bronco.
Zarek still lay naked in the surf, cradling Astrid against him. He couldn't count how many times they had made love in the last few hours. It had been so many times that he wondered idly if he'd be sore when he woke up.
Surely no one could be this acrobatic, even in dreams, and not have some physical damage to show for it.
He was exhausted from their lovemaking and yet he felt a peace the likes of which he'd never known.
Was this what other people felt?
Astrid leaned up. "When was the last time you had cotton candy?"
He frowned at her unexpected question. "What's cotton candy?"
She gaped in shock. "You don't even know what cotton candy is?"
He shook his head.
Smiling, she stood up and pulled him to his feet. "We're going to the boardwalk."
Okay, she really had lost her mind. "There's not a boardwalk."
"Oh, yes there is, just on the other side of those rocks."
Zarek looked over to see a pier that hadn't been there earlier.
How weird that it had popped into his dream at her bidding and not his. He eyed her suspiciously. "Are you a Dream-Hunter Skotos pretending to be Astrid?"
"No," she said, smiling. "I'm not trying to take anything from you, Zarek. I'm only trying to give you a pleasant memory."
"Why?"