Zarek curled his lip. Had he been able to afford the drain to his powers, he would have slugged Jess for that.
Instead, all he could do was whirl around to face Thanatos who was stalking him relentlessly.
"What's the matter, Zarek? You afraid to die?"
He snorted as he pushed Astrid toward Jess. "Dying's easy. It's living that's hard."
Thanatos paused as if the words caught him off guard.
It gave Zarek just what he needed. Pulling the Daimon dagger from its concealed sheath inside his boot, he rushed forward and embedded it in Thanatos's chest where a stain that looked like an ink blot should have been. Normally the strike would release the human souls trapped inside a Daimon's body. The force of their exit was usually enough to blow the Daimon apart, causing instant decomposition.
This time, it didn't work.
Thanatos pulled the dagger out and reached for him. "I'm not a Daimon, Dark-Hunter. Don't you remember? I was an Apollite until I met you."
Zarek frowned.
Thanatos grabbed him by his collar and held him tight. "Do you remember my wife you killed? My village you destroyed?"
Memories flashed through his mind. Zarek saw nothing but his own village.
No, wait. He remembered something...
A flash of an invincible Daimon, but not the man he faced.
This one had red, glowing eyes.
No, that had been someone else.
His thoughts turned to New Orleans.
To...
Why couldn't he remember?
He recalled Sunshine Runningwolf in the warehouse room with him as he told Dionysus and Camulus to shove their orders up their sphincter, and then the next thing he remembered was leaving Acheron on the crowded street.
A flash of lightning went through his head.
He saw something...
Was it Acheron?
Was it himself he saw?
Zarek struggled to put the memories straight.
Ah, screw it. The only memory he needed was this one.
He kneed Thanatos in the groin.
The Daimon doubled over.
"Dead or alive, the balls still hurt when kicked, huh?"
The Daimon hissed and cursed in response.
Zarek slammed his combined fists down across Thanatos's back. "If anyone has any suggestion on how to kill this guy, I'm open to it."