"What did she say?"
He didn't answer her question. Not exactly anyway. "She said Agrotera is one of the Greek names for Artemis. It means 'strength' or 'wild hunter.' Did you know that?"
"Sort of." A drop of hope welled inside her. If that were true, maybe the gods hadn't abandoned her family after all. Maybe there was some hope for her and for her future. "Do you two think Artemis sent Kat to protect me?"
His grip tightened on the steering wheel. "I don't know what to think at this point. I was told by Artemis's mouth-piece that you are the key to the end of the world and that I had to protect you and-"
"What do you mean, 'key to the end of the world'?" she asked, interrupting him.
He looked as surprised as she felt. "You mean you don't know that?"
Okay, so it was obvious Dark-Hunters could get high and delusional.
"No. In fact, I'm thinking right now that one, if not both of us, needs to put down the crack pipe and start this night over."
Wulf gave a light laugh at her comment. "If it wasn't for the fact I can't get high, I might agree with that."
Cassandra's mind raced. Was there any truth to what he had just said? "Well, if you're right and I'm key to the world's destruction, then if I were you I'd be making out a will."
"Why?"
"Because in less than eight months, I turn twenty-seven."
Wulf heard the catch in her voice as she spoke those words and he more than understood the doom she was facing. "You said you were only half-Apollite."
"Yeah, but I've never known a half-Apollite to survive the curse, have you?"
He shook his head. "Only the Were-Hunters seem immune to the Apollite curse."
Cassandra sat silently, watching the traffic out the window while she contemplated what had happened tonight.
"Wait," she said as she remembered the Daimons coming into her apartment. "How did that guy get into my house? I thought Daimons were forbidden to enter your home without an invitation."
Wulf's answer was far from comforting. "Loophole."
"Excuse me?" she asked, arching both brows. "What do you mean, 'loophole'?"
He turned off the expressway onto an exit ramp. "Got to love those gods. The same loophole that allows Daimons to enter malls and public areas allows them to enter condos and apartments."
"How so?"
"Malls, apartments, and such are owned by one entity. When that person or company allows their building to openly serve for multiple groups of people, they essentially put out a cosmic welcome mat to everything, including Daimons."
Oh, this was un-friggin-believable! She blinked in shock. "Now you tell me this? Why didn't someone tell me this before? I thought I was safe all this time."
"Your bodyguard should have known better. If she really is tied to Artemis."
"Then maybe she's not. You know, she could just be a normal person."
"Yeah, one who holds her arms out and scares off Spathi Daimons?"
He had a point there. Sort of. "She said she didn't know why they ran."
"And later she left you there alone to face them..."
Cassandra rubbed her hand over her eyes as she caught his implication. Could Kat be working with the Daimons? Did Artemis want her dead or alive?
"Oh, God, I can't trust anyone, can I?" Cassandra breathed tiredly.