Clenching her fists, she settled down and pinned him with a killing glare. "I will try to speak so that you can understand me. I am the Greek goddess Artemis."
"I don't believe in gods and goddesses."
"Well, you should, because this one has a deal for you that I think will interest you."
Now, that made his ears perk up. "Deal how?"
She closed the distance between them so that she could whisper in his ear. "I heard what you said when you were dying at the feet of your best friend. Your soul screamed out for vengeance so loudly that it summoned me here to intercept you from your final destination."
He locked gazes with her. "You can send me back to kill Bart?"
"Yes, I can."
Rapid joy tore through him at the mere prospect. For that, she could insult him all day. "At what price?"
"You named it when you were dying."
"My soul."
She inclined her head to him before she patted him on the cheek. "That's the going rate for vengeance around here. But don't fret. There are other perks to being soulless. If you agree, I'll give you twenty-four hours to do whatever you wish to the one who betrayed you. No consequences for you whatsoever."
That he could sink his teeth into. His blackened soul had never been much use to him anyhow.
Artemis smiled. "You will have immortality and all the wealth you could ever imagine."
"I can imagine a lot."
"And still it won't fill even a corner of what you'll be given."
When something sounds too good ...
He ran his thumb across his bottom lip as he eyed her suspiciously. "What's the mouseprint?"
She laughed evilly. "You are intelligent, after all. Good. It makes the job easier."
"Job?"
"Hmmm. You will serve in my army of Dark-Hunters."
He scowled. "Dark what?"
"Hunters," she repeated. "They are immortal warriors, foot-selected by me."
"Foot selected?" What was she talking about?
"Whatever the term is," she snapped irritably. "They are my soldiers who protect the humans against the Daimons who prey on them."
Technically, they were speaking the same language, but dang ... Hard to follow a woman who used so many words he'd never heard before. "What's a Daimon?"
She set her hands on her hips as she paced in front of him. "In short, my brother Apollo's mess. Centuries ago, he created a race called Apollites." She paused to look at Jess. "Arrogant of him, no? He thought man was weak and that he could do better." Then she returned to her pacing. "Anyway, he set them loose on mankind, and the Apollites turned on him and killed his favorite human concubine and my nephew. Not really wise. Why they thought Apollo wouldn't figure out who killed them is beyond me. So much for improvements, no?"
She rolled her eyes. "Apollites ... ridiculous. At any rate, they are now cursed by him, and the only way they can live for more than twenty-seven years is to kill humans and steal their souls-we have an Atlantean whore goddess to thank for that little benediction to them." She flung her hand up in a gesture of supreme agitation. "Don't even get me started on how badly I'd like to kill her."
Artemis dropped her hand and faced him. "Anyway, that's where you come in, if you've been paying attention. You sell your soul to me, and you will spend eternity seeking and destroying the Daimons-the name given to the Apollites who feast on humanity. Are you out?"
"You mean in?"
"Whatever. Yes."