He cupped her face in his hands as the agony of that day washed through him anew. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you. What I did to us. There hasn't been a day in my life when I haven't wished that I could go back and right that wrong."
"You didn't do it, Talon. You did what you thought was right." Sunshine held him close to her, trying to soothe his guilt and pain. "Surely there is some way to beat Camulus's curse. Isn't there?"
"No," he said. "You have no idea how powerful he is."
She pulled back to look at him. "But have you ever tried to appease him or talk to him about it?"
Before he could respond, her door crashed open.
Sunshine gasped, then scooted off Talon's lap. Her heart pounded as she saw a man coming slowly through her doorway, walking as if he had all the time in the world.
He wasn't nearly as tall as Talon, probably no more than six feet. He had long black hair that fell freely around his face and he was dressed in a pair of black leather jeans, a gray henley, and a black V-neck sweater.
He was startlingly handsome, but at the same time there was a dark, sinister aura around him. One that said he delighted in making other people suffer.
Talon got up, ready for battle.
The stranger gave a cocky, arrogant smile. "Hope you don't mind the intrusion, but my ears were burning. Naturally, I just had to come and see what the two of you were talking about."
Without being told, she knew this was Camulus.
Talon let out a curse, then the next thing she knew, two daggers came out from under Talon's coat on her coffee table and flew into Talon's hands.
He sprung the release with his thumb, ejecting the blades into a circle of three blades, then crouched into a menacing stance that said he was ready to engage the god.
"Wait!" she said, hoping to avert a fight that could cost Talon his life. She looked at Camulus. "Why are you here?"
Camulus laughed evilly. Coldly. "I'm here strictly to torture Speirr by killing you. Why else would I bother coming?"
Horrified, she stepped back.
So much for negotiating with this man. He was evil incarnate.
Talon leapt across the couch, straight for the god's throat.
Camulus pulled a sword out of thin air. "Oh Speirr, how I have missed you. No one ever fought like you."
Sunshine's eyes widened as they engaged each other. She'd never seen anything like it in her life. Forget Hollywood. It had nothing on the two of them. They fought with malice and with consummate skill.
Talon deflected Camulus's sword with the srads, then ducked the next swing. While the god prepared his next attack, Talon swung about and caught him on the arm with one dagger.
The god hissed as his blood flowed from the wound.
"I won't let you take her," Talon said from between clenched teeth. "I'll kill you first."
Camulus attacked even harder than before. Faster.
Talon met him stroke for stroke. Lethal assault for lethal assault.
"You never could learn your place, Speirr. You never knew when you should just lay down the sword and play nice."
Talon caught his sword between two blades. "I don't play nice with enemies. I execute them." He head-butted Camulus, who staggered back.
The god shook his head. "You've improved."
"I've had fifteen hundred years to perfect my skills."
As Talon lunged, six more men came through the door.