"Then why does he look like you? Is he a relative?"
"I'm not going to play Twenty Questions with you, Talon. He's not your concern. He's mine."
"Will you at least explain to me how in the future I can tell you two apart?"
Acheron removed his sunglasses. "Our eyes. I'm the only human ever born with eyes like these. He won't have them and he won't remove his sunglasses for fear of revealing himself."
"Why is this guy after you?"
"He wants me dead."
"Why?"
Acheron stepped away from him. "Your orders are simple. Take her back to the swamp. I don't know how much of the drug they gave her, but I'm sure she'll still be feeling it when she wakes up. Trust me, when she does, she's going to put a really big smile on your face."
"Trust you," Talon repeated. "Funny how you keep saying that when you never trust anyone with even the most basic facts about yourself. Why is that, Ash?"
As expected, Ash didn't answer. And in that instant, Talon realized how Sunshine must feel when dealing with him.
It was a wonder she tolerated him at all.
"Hey Ash," Vane called from downstairs. "There's something down here you need to see."
Talon picked Sunshine up and carried her downstairs. Ash followed behind them.
Vane and Fang were in a small room off the main one. On the far wall someone had painted an eerie Greek symbol of three women and a flock of doves. Three notes were taped to it-one above each woman's head.
Talon saw that one was for him, one for Sunshine, and one for Ash.
Crossing the room, Acheron pulled the letters down, opened the one addressed to Talon and read it out loud. " 'You didn't listen to me, Celt. I warned you to keep her in your swamp where she would be safe.
" 'I'll bet it's now tearing you up that you don't know when, where, and how I'm going to kill her. But rest assured, I am going to kill her.' "
He opened Sunshine's next and read it out loud as well. " 'Talon, are you reading Sunshine's letters? What? Don't you trust your girlfriend?
" 'Don't worry. She hasn't been unfaithful to you. At least not yet, though it was hard. We had to tie her down to keep her from screwing every one of us.' "
Talon bellowed with rage. "So help me, I'm going to find that son of a bitch and rip his heart out."
Furious, Ash opened the last one, but this time he didn't read it out loud.
The note was addressed to him. The handwriting was different.
I know you, little brother. I know all you've done. I know how you live.
Most of all, I know the lies you tell yourself so that you can sleep.
Tell me, what would your Dark-Hunters think of you if they ever learned the truth about you?
Keep them out of my way or I'll see them all dead.
And you I'll be seeing on Mardi Gras.
Ash balled the note up in his fist and disintegrated it with his thoughts. Impotent rage rushed through him, setting fire to his blood. If Styxx wanted a war, then he'd better gather a whole lot more Daimons.
Styxx had no idea what he was playing against.
"What did that one say?" Talon asked.