Susan walked out first, but as she approached Savitar, the hair on the back of her neck rose. There was something so powerful and scary about him that it actually made her want to run for the door. The very air around him crackled with some kind of unholy energy. It was like standing next to a thrumming nuclear generator... that could explode and destroy you and the entire city at any second.
"Savitar," Ravyn said in a surprisingly friendly tone, extending his hand out to him. "It's been a while."
"Yes, it has." He shook Ravyn's hand, then turned to look at Dorian and his family. "No offense, Dorian. Oh, what the hell, take all the offense you want, it's not like I give a shit." He looked back at Ravyn. "I miss the days before you crossed over to the dark side. Back when you sat on the Omegrion, Rave. You were actually highly entertaining. Dorian, on the other hand, has a major stick up his ass."
"Glad to know I had some purpose."
A strange light darkened Savitar's eyes. "You have more than you've ever dreamed of. "
Ravyn stiffened. "What do you mean?"
Savitar tilted his head. "Dorian and others, take a break." Before they could speak or move, they vanished.
Susan widened her eyes at the way Savitar seemed to be able to do whatever he wanted with people regardless of their will.
"Don't worry," Savitar said to her as if he knew her thoughts. "I won't send you off without warning. Just stand there and be awed by my beauty. It's the safest mode around me."
Yeah..."Can I ask-"
"You're not ready for that answer," he said, cutting her off. "The only person who needs to know what I am already knows. That would be me. I like to keep the rest of the world guessing."
All things considered, she strangely liked this enigmatic man, even if he did have a titanic ego and frightening powers.
"But back to Ravyn." He placed a heavily tattooed arm over Ravyn's shoulders and hugged him like an affectionate brother. "You're going to do me a favor."
"I am?"
"Yes." Savitar stepped away to clap him on the back. "I have a small matter that I need you to help me with."
"You need my help?"
"Astonishing, isn't it?"
"You could say that." Ravyn exchanged a puzzled look with her as she wondered what a man like this could possibly want with Ravyn. "So what is this favor?"
"I have a friend who has a friend who needs to be trained."
"Trained for what?"
"To be a Dark-Hunter."
Ravyn was stunned by his words. For the first time in centuries, he was beginning to wonder about Savitar's mental capacity. "I can't train another Dark-Hunter. We weaken each other's powers."
"Normally, this would be true, but this particular Dark-Hunter is a little different from the others."
Now that made him nervous. Different wasn't necessarily a good thing, especially in this work. "Different how?"
"In many ways. He was entrusted to me, but I've found that training someone to fight just isn't my forte." Savitar screwed up his face. "It actually dawned on me that I don't fight. I just kill whatever annoys me, and it's over. Not to mention the kid is seriously cramping my style... which seriously annoys the hell out of me, and if I kill him, it'll just open a whole can of worms I don't want to deal with. Oh, and he's taken to complaining daily about how he wants to start training, wah, wah, wah." He sighed. "I just can't be bothered with it. Too many waves to surf... know what I mean?"
Not really. "Uh-huh, and who is this kid?"
Savitar snapped his fingers.
Susan gaped as a good-looking man in his mid-to late twenties appeared next to her. Standing a good six foot four, he had dark brown hair and black eyes, but what held her attention most was the double bow and arrow Dark-Hunter mark that covered his neck and part of his extremely unhappy face.
"What the hell is this, Savitar?" the man demanded.
"You wanted to be trained, Nick. Meet your new trainer. Ravyn Kontis, this is Nick Gautier."