Jess struggled to get the wolf-man to the safety of his Bronco. As soon as he could, Jess left.
Zarek put the helmet on Astrid's head. "Looks like it's just you and me, princess. No doubt you're going to wish I'd left you here with the Daimon."
Astrid hesitated at the anger and hatred she heard in Zarek's tone of voice. "I trust you, Zarek."
"Then you're a fool."
He took her arm and led her away so she couldn't hear Spawn and Thanatos.
Roughly, he helped her onto a snowmachine.
She expected him to lead her away from the sound of fighting. Instead, they headed toward it.
She covered her face instinctively as something crashed close to them.
"Get on," Zarek snapped. "Hurry."
She felt the seat dip, then they were rushing away from all the noise. Astrid's heart pounded as she waited for something else to happen.
After what seemed like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, Zarek stopped the snowmachine.
Again she felt motion on the seat as someone got off. Since Zarek's arms were still around her, she assumed it must be Spawn.
"Thanks," Spawn said. "I never expected Zarek of Moesia to come to my rescue."
"Ditto, Spawn. Since when do Daimons fight their own kind?"
Spawn's voice dripped with venom. "I was never a Daimon, Roman."
"And I was never a fucking Roman."
Spawn gave a short, bitter laugh. "Truce, then?"
She felt Zarek shift behind her.
"Truce." Zarek seemed to turn around and look in the direction they had come from. "You have any idea what that thing after me is?"
"Think Terminator. The only difference is that he has the sanction of Artemis."
"What do you mean?"
"My people have a legend of the Dayslayer. It says that Artemis chose one of our own to be her personal guard. More beloved than any of her people, the Dayslayer has no known vulnerability. Once he's unleashed, his goal is to destroy Dark-Hunters."
"So you're telling me he's the Bogeyman?"
"You doubt me?"
"No. Not after what I've seen."
She heard Spawn let out a long breath. "I heard that Artemis had called out a blood hunt for you. I figured it would be Acheron who killed you."
"Yeah, well, trust me, I'm not executed yet. It'll take more than that thing to expire me." Zarek paused. "Just out of curiosity, what are all of you doing up here anyway? Did Acheron call for a reunion and not invite me?"
"Bjorn came because he was chasing a group of Daimons. I came because I felt the Summoning."
"The Summoning?" Astrid asked. In all honesty, she knew very little about the Apollites and Daimons. That was the domain of Apollo and Artemis.
"It's like a homing beacon," Spawn explained, "and it's irresistible to anyone with Apollite blood. I can feel Thanatos even now calling out to me. I think the only reason I can resist it is because I'm a Dark-Hunter. If I weren't... Let's just say you're in for one hell of a scary time."