Valerius dropped his swords and swung out with his arms, releasing the grappling hooks and cords that were attached to his wrists. The hooks went straight into the chest of the tallest Daimon and the one he was fighting.
Unlike most Daimons, they didn't disintegrate instantly. They stared at him with hollow eyes before they burst apart.
But while he was distracted by them, another Daimon retrieved his sword and cut him across his back. Valerius hissed in pain before he turned and elbowed the Daimon in the face.
The woman was back on her feet. She killed two more
Valerius wasn't sure what had happened to the others; in truth, he was having a bit of trouble moving because of the vicious pain of his back.
"Die, Daimon snot!" the woman snarled at him an instant before she, too, stabbed him straight in the chest.
She pulled the dagger out instantly.
Valerius hissed and staggered back as pain ripped through his heart. He clutched at his chest, unable to think past the agony of it.
Tabitha bit her lip in terror as she saw the man recoil and not explode into dust.
"Oh, shit," she breathed, rushing to his side. "Please tell me you're some screwed-up Dark-Hunter and that I didn't just kill an accountant or lawyer."
The man hit the street hard.
Tabitha rolled him over onto his back and checked his breathing. His eyes were partially opened, but he wasn't speaking. He held his jaw clamped firmly shut as he groaned deep in his throat.
Terrified, she still wasn't sure who she had mistakenly stabbed. Her heart hammering, she pulled up his turtle-neck to see the nasty-looking stab wound in the center of his chest.
And then she saw what she had hoped for...
He had a bow and arrow brand above his right hipbone.
"Oh, thank God," she breathed as relief poured through her. He was in fact a Dark-Hunter and not some unfortunate human.
She grabbed her phone and called Acheron to let him know one of his men had been hurt, but he didn't answer.
So she started dialing her sister Amanda until her common sense returned. There were only four Dark-Hunters in this city. Ash who led them. Janice whom she had met earlier. The former pirate captain, Jean-Luc. And...
Valerius Magnus.
He was the only Dark-Hunter in New Orleans she didn't know personally. And he was the mortal enemy of her brother-in-law.
She hit the cancel button on her phone. Kyrian would kill this man in a heartbeat and bring the wrath of Artemis down fully upon his head. In return, the goddess would kill Kyrian for it and that was the last thing Tabitha wanted. Her sister would die if anything happened to her husband.
Come to think of it, if half of what Kyrian said about this man and his family was true, she should just leave him here and let him die.
But then Ash would never forgive her if she did that to one of his men. Besides she couldn't leave him here, not even she was that heartless. Like it or not, he had saved her life and she was honor-bound to return the favor.
Wincing, she realized she was going to have to get him to safety. And he was just a little too large for her to handle on her own. She dialed her phone again and waited for an answer that came in a slick, Cajun drawl.
"Hey, Nick, it's Tabitha Devereaux. I'm in the old courtyard off Royal Street with a man down and I need help. Any chance you want to be my knight in shining armor tonight and lend a hand to a damsel in distress?"
Nick Gautier's smooth laugh rippled in her ear. "Why, cher, you know I live for such moments. I'll be right there."
"Thanks," she said before she gave him precise directions and hung up.
A New Orleans native like herself, Nick had been an acquaintance of hers for years since the two of them frequented many of the same restaurants and clubs. Not to mention, Nick had brought a few of his girlfriends in to browse some of the racier outfits that Tabitha sold in her adult boutique, Pandora's Box.
A charming rogue, Nick was about as handsome as any man she'd ever seen. He had dark brown hair that tended to stay in a pair of eyes that were so blue and seductive they really should be illegal.
And when it came to his smile...