"Ow!" Kat blinked open her eyes to find Kytara standing over her while she lay in bed beside Sin. "What the...?"
"Wake up your boyfriend. I'm going to get the one in the other room before Kessar tears him apart." Kytara vanished.
Yawning, Kat rolled over and did what Kytara had told her. Sin came awake, ready to fight.
"Whoa," Kat said, ducking his grip. "It's me. Kat."
It took him a second to focus on her face and to realize he was awake. "Where's Kessar?"
"Not here. He's only in our dreams." She scooted toward the edge of the bed. "Kytara just woke me, then headed out toward your brother. Let's go see if she can explain all this."
They left the bedroom to find Kytara in the main room, which was so dark, they could barely see. Sin turned on a small lamp on the bar that cast a dull yellow glow around them.
The Dream-Huntress was kneeling on the floor beside Zakar, staring at him while he continued to sleep.
Sin went to wake him, but Kytara grabbed his arm to stop him. Her eyes were vibrant and blue in the low light. "He's not what you think."
"He's my brother."
"Yes," she breathed as she met his gaze, "but ask yourself why they let him live."
"To torture him."
Kytara shook her head. "To ruin him, Sin. He's no longer a god of dreams. He's become one of them."
Sin shook his head in denial. "He fought against them. I saw it for myself."
Kat stepped forward, agreeing completely with Sin. There was no way Zakar could be on the side of the gallu after all he'd gone through. Not after all Kessar and his minions had done to him. It wasn't possible.
But her friend knew something... had seen something that had her panicked. Kytara was hiding a truth she didn't think Sin could handle.
Kat knelt on the floor next to Kytara. "He told us he'd been fractured. What did he mean?"
Kytara sat back on her feet before she rose to tower over Kat.
"They have infected him and he can't control it. He's as likely to kill you as he is them."
Kat rose immediately as those words haunted her. Surely not...
By Sin's face, she could tell he refused to believe it. "Kat fixed his injuries."
"On the outside. It's what's inside him that's deadly. He now has the same blood hunger they have."
"No. He battled Asag and survived. It gave him immunity to the gallu."
"It gave him resistance, not immunity. They have been feeding on him for centuries with no letup. The gallu is inside him and it's trying to gnaw its way out even as we speak. He is a danger to all of us. Why do you think they had him tied down? He has their strength, the powers of a god, and the demon inside him that will kill anything without remorse."
Kat was sick at the news. It wasn't fair for Zakar to have suffered so much only to die now that he was free. "There has to be something we can do."
"Kill him," Kytara said simply.
"I can't." Sin's voice broke with the weight of his emotions. "He's my brother." His eyes betrayed the agony inside him. "My twin."
Kytara was merciless as she approached him. "Then he will kill you when he awakens." She met Kat's gaze. "You have no idea what you're up against. I've been in the dreams of every kind of evil. But these..." She visibly shivered. "They make Stryker look like a pussycat. And now they're in your dreams. You're going to need an army to guard your rest."
"What army?" Kat asked.
"A strong one."