Zarek paused as a group of college students stumbled past, laughing and teasing each other. He watched them curiously.
They turned a corner and vanished.
He looked around at the drunken tourists and locals who were screaming and cheering. It was almost one a.m. now and still the city was alive and vibrant even though the crowd was being told to disperse.
"When do I go back?" Zarek asked, dreading the answer.
"Tomorrow. Nick'll be by to pick you up about two. He'll have a tinted van that can get you out to the airstrip without exposing you to daylight."
Zarek closed his eyes and winced as he thought about returning to Alaska. A few weeks more and spring would arrive.
He'd be housebound again.
A flash to his left caught his attention. Three seconds later, a Daimon came running through the crowd. The Daimon flashed his fangs and snarled at Zarek as if he had no idea who or what he was facing.
Zarek smiled evilly, anticipating what he was about to do.
"What are you?" the Daimon asked when he failed to scare or intimidate him.
Zarek quirked his lips. "Oh please, let me give you the job description. Me, Dark-Hunter. You, Daimon. I hit, you bleed. I kill, you die."
"Not this time." The Daimon attacked.
Acting on instinct, Zarek caught him in the throat and used his claw to kill him.
The Daimon evaporated as Valerius came running up through the crowd.
The Roman was breathing hard and had obviously been chasing after the Daimon for some distance. Valerius looked at Ash and inclined his head, then he glanced to Zarek and froze.
Zarek met his shocked gaze without flinching. As per Ash's orders, he had shaved his goatee off.
Recognition darkened Valerius's eyes as he stood there without blinking.
Zarek gave him a wry smile. "Surprise," he said quietly. "Bet you didn't see that one coming."
Without another word, he headed off into the crowd, leaving Valerius and Acheron to their own ends.
Valerius
NEW ORLEANS AT DAWN
Brothers. The word hung in Valerius's heart as he stared at the marble bust in his foyer. It was the face of his father.
It was the face of his brother.
Zarek.
Pain racked him as he stood there trying to reconcile the past with the present. Why had he never seen the resemblance?
But he knew. He'd never really looked at Zarek before tonight.
A pathetic lowborn slave, Zarek had been so far beneath his notice that he had barely glanced at the boy.
There had only been one time in their lives when he had truly seen him.
He couldn't remember now what Zarek had been beaten for. For that matter, he couldn't even remember which of his brothers had committed the deed that had caused Zarek's punishment. It could just as well have been his misdeed as that of one of the others.
He only remembered that it was the first time he had recognized Zarek as a person.