He'd never known anything or anyone like her, but then, she was a nymph after all. Wholly unlike anyone else in all the universe.
He still couldn't believe the way he felt about her.
How was she able to soothe the pain in him that he had thought would never cease.
Strange how she took his thoughts away from the past. Away from everything.
No wonder Talon had been willing to die for Sunshine.
It made total sense to him now.
But Zarek didn't want to die for Astrid. He wanted to live for her. He wanted to spend the rest of his immortality by her side.
He couldn't.
Looking up at the mountains around him, he thought of Olympus. Astrid's home.
Mortals couldn't live there and gods didn't live on earth.
It was hopeless between them.
And he was pragmatic enough to know it. There was no starry-eyed side of him to think for one minute anything could unite them. Any optimism he'd ever felt had been kicked out of him before he was old enough to shave.
Still, he couldn't stop the part of him that ached with loss. The part of him that screamed out soul deep for Astrid to stay with him.
"Damn you, Fates. Damn all of you."
But then, they had. Long, long ago.
He heard the rumble of a snowmachine's engine approaching.
Zarek didn't move until it drew near and stopped. He sat sideways on his seat with his legs stretched out before him, his ankles crossed. His arms folded over his chest, he waited patiently for the rider to dismount.
Thanatos pulled his helmet off and eyed him as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You really are here."
Zarek inclined his head and offered the creature a cold, sinister smirk. "Hair of the dog, baby. Sooner or later, we all dance with the devil. Tonight, it's your turn."
Thanatos narrowed his eyes. "You are an arrogant bastard."
Zarek dropped his cigarette to the ground and crushed it out underneath his boot heel. He laughed bitterly as he pushed himself away from his snowmachine.
"No, not an arrogant bastard. I'm nothing but a piece of shit who touched a star." He pulled both Glocks out from his shoulder holsters. "Now I'm the son of a bitch who's going to put you out of your misery."
Zarek opened fire.
He didn't expect it to work and he was right.
It did nothing more than make Thanatos stumble back. And make Zarek feel a little better.
He ejected the clips into the snow, reloaded and fired again.
Thanatos laughed. "You can't kill me with a gun."
"I know, but it's fun as hell just shooting you." And with any luck, it might weaken Thanatos enough to where Zarek could stand some chance of killing him.
It was all he had.
When he'd spent his last round, he threw his weapons at Thanatos and followed it up with two grenades.