Night Embrace

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

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  Night Embrace

  Dark Hunter Series - Book 04

  Sherrilyn Kenyon

  Prologue

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  A.D. 558, GLIONNAN

  The roaring village fires burned high into the night, licking at the dark sky like serpents twining through black velvet. Smoke wafted through the misty darkness, pungent with the scent of death and vengeance.

  The sight and smell should bring joy to Talon. It didn't.

  Nothing would ever bring joy to him again. Nothing.

  The bitter agony that welled inside him was crippling. Debilitating. It was more than even he could bear and that thought was almost enough to make him laugh Or curse. Aye, he cursed from the excruciating weight of his pain.

  One by one, he had lost every human being on earth who had ever meant anything to him. All of them.

  At age seven, he'd been orphaned and left the heavy responsibility of caring for his baby sister. With nowhere to go and unable to provide for the infant himself, he had returned to the clan that had once been led by his mother.

  A clan that had banished both his parents before his birth. His uncle had been in his first year as king when Talon had forced his way into his hall. The king had grudgingly accepted him and Ceara, but his clan never had.

  Not until Talon had forced them to.

  They might not have respected his parentage, but Talon had made them respect his sword arm and temper. Respect his willingness to maim or slay any and all who insulted him.

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  By the time he'd entered manhood, no one dared to mock his birth or impugn his mother's memory or honor. He had risen through the ranks of warriors and learned all he could about weapons, fighting, and leadership.

  In the end, he had been unanimously voted his uncle's successor by the very people who had once mocked him. As the heir, Talon had stood by his uncle's right side, protecting him relentlessly until an enemy ambush had caught them off guard.

  Wounded and in physical agony, Talon had held his uncle in his arms while Idiag died from his injuries.

  "Guard my wife and Ceara, boy," his uncle had whispered before his death. "Don't make me regret taking you in."

  Talon had promised. But only a few months after that, he'd found his aunt raped and murdered by their enemies. Her body desecrated and left for the animals to prey upon.

  Less than a full year later, he'd cradled his precious wife, Nynia, to his chest as she, too, drew her last breath and left him all alone, forever bereft of her gentle, soothing touch.

  She had been his world. His heart. His soul. Without her, he had no longer wished to live.

  His spirit as broken as his heart, he had placed their stillborn son into her lifeless arms and buried the two of them together by the loch where he and Nynia had played as children.

  Then, he'd done as he had been taught by his mother and uncle. He had survived to lead his clan. Laying aside his grief as best he could, he had lived only for the clan's welfare.

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  As a chieftain, he had spilled enough blood to fill the raging sea and had taken countless wounds on his own flesh for his people. He had led his clan to glory against all the mainlanders and northern clans who had sought to conquer them. With most of his family dead, he had given his clan everything he had. His loyalty. His love.

  He had even offered them his own life to protect them from the gods. And in one heartbeat, his clansmen had taken the last thing on this earth he had loved. Ceara. His cherished little sister whom he had sworn to his mother, father, and uncle he would protect at any cost. Ceara with her golden hair and laughing amber eyes. So young. So kind and giving.

  To satisfy one man's selfish ambition, his clan had slain her before his eyes while he lay tied down, unable to stop them. She'd died calling out for him to help her. Her horrified screams still rang in his ears. After her execution, the clan had turned on him and ended his life as well. But Talon's death had brought no relief to him. He had felt only guilt.

  Guilt and a need to right the wrongs done to his family.

  That vengeful need had transcended everything, even death itself.

  "May the gods damn you all!" Talon roared at the burning village.

  "The gods don't damn us, we damn ourselves by our words and deeds."

  Talon turned sharply at the voice behind him to see a man clothed all in black. Cresting the small rise, this man was unlike any he'd seen before. The night wind swirled around the figure, billowing out his finely woven cloak as he walked with a large, twisted warrior's staff held in his left hand. The dark, ancient oak wood was carved with symbols, the top decorated with feathers fastened by a leather cord.

  Moonlight danced upon hair that was an unearthly jet-black which the man wore in three long braids. His silvery, shimmering eyes seemed to swirl like phantom mists. Those glowing eyes were eerie and haunting.

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  Standing to the height of a giant, Talon had never before had to look up at anyone and yet this stranger seemed the size of a mountain. It wasn't until the man drew nearer that Talon realized he was only a few inches taller and not as ancient as he'd first seemed.

  Indeed, his face was that of a perfect youth who stood on the precious threshold between adolescence and maturity.

  Until one looked closer. There in the stranger's eyes lay the wisdom of the ages. This was no lad, but a warrior who had battled hard and seen much.

  "Who are you?" Talon asked.

  "I am Acheron Parthenopaeus," he said in a strange accent that spoke Talon's native Celtic tongue flawlessly. "I was sent by Artemis to train you for your new life."

  Talon had been told by the Greek goddess to expect this man who had roamed the earth since time immemorial. "And what will you teach me, Sorcerer?"

  "I will teach you to slay the Daimons who prey upon hapless humans. I will teach you how to hide during the day so that the rays of the sun don't kill you. I will show you how to speak without revealing your fangs to the humans, and all else you need to know to survive."

  Talon laughed bitterly as blinding pain swept through him once more. He ached and he hurt so much that he could scarcely breathe. All he wanted was peace. His family. And they were gone.

  Without them, he no longer wished to survive at all. Nay, he couldn't live with this weight in his heart. He looked to Acheron. "Tell me, Sorcerer, is there any spell you have that can take this agony from me?"

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  Acheron gave him a hard stare. "Aye, Celt. I can show you how to bury that pain so deep inside you that it will prick you no more. But be warned that nothing is ever given freely and nothing lasts forever. One day something will come along to make you feel again, and with it, it will bring the pain of the ages upon you. All you have hidden will come out and it could destroy not only you, but anyone near you."

  Talon ignored that last part. All he wanted for now was one day when his heart wasn't broken. One moment free of his torment. He was willing to pay any cost for it.

  "Are you sure I will feel nothing?"

  Acheron nodded. "I can teach it to you only if you listen."

  "Then teach me well, Sorcerer. Teach me well."

  Chapter 1

  PRESENT DAY, NEW ORLEANS

  "You know, Talon, killing a soul-sucking Daimon without a good fight is like sex without foreplay. A total waste of time and completely un

  satis
fying."

  Talon granted at Wulf's words while he sat at a corner table at the Cafe Du Monde, waiting for his waitress to return with his black chicory coffee and beignets. He had an ancient Saxon coin in his left hand that he rolled between his fingers as he scanned the dark street in front of him and watched the tourists and locals drift by.

  Having banished most of his emotions fifteen hundred years ago, there were only three things Talon allowed himself to enjoy anymore: loose women, hot chicory coffee, and phone calls with Wulf.

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  In that order.

  Though to be fair, there were times when Wulf's friendship did mean more to him than a cup of coffee. Tonight, however, wasn't one of them. He'd awakened just after dusk to find himself pathetically low on caffeine, and though the theory went that immortals couldn't have addictions, he wouldn't wager on it.

  He'd barely taken time to pull on a pair of pants and his leather jacket before he came seeking the goddess Caffeina. The cold New Orleans night was uncommonly calm.

  There weren't even many tourists on the street, which was unusual this close to Mardi Gras. Still, it was prime Daimon season in New Orleans. Soon the vampires would be stalking the tourists and preying on them like an open banquet.

  For the moment, though, Talon was glad it was quiet, since it allowed him to deal with Wulf's crisis and feed the one craving that wouldn't wait.

  "Spoken like a true Norseman," Talon said into his cell phone. "What you need, my brother, is a mead hall filled with serving wenches and Vikings ready to battle their way into Valhalla."

  "Tell me about it," Wulf agreed. "I miss the good old days when Daimons were warriors and combat trained. The ones I found tonight knew nothing about fighting, and I'm sick of the whole 'my gun will solve all' mentality."

  "You get shot again?"

  "Four times. I swear

  I wish I could get a Daimon up here like Desiderius. I'd love a good down-and-dirty fight for once."

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  "Careful what you wish for, you just might get it."

  "Yeah, I know. But damn. Just once, can't they stop running from us and learn to fight like their ancestors did? I miss the way things used to be."

  Talon adjusted his black Ray-Ban Predator sunglasses as he watched a group of women walk past on the street nearby. Now there was one challenge he could sink his fangs into

  Under his closed lips, he ran his tongue over his long left canine tooth while he watched a beautiful blond woman dressed in blue. She had a slow, seductive walk that could make even a fifteen-hundred-year-old man feel underage. He so wanted a piece of that.

  Damn Mardi Gras.

  If not for the season, he'd be hanging up on Wulf and running after her to fulfill his first comfort. Duty. How it reeked. Sighing, he turned his thoughts back to their conversation.

  "I tell you, what I miss most are the Talpinas."

  "What are those?"

  Talon cast a wistful look at the women who were quickly drifting out of his line of sight.

  "That's right, they were before your time. Back in the better part of the Dark Ages, we used to have a clan of Squires whose sole purpose was to take care of our carnal needs."

  Talon sucked his breath in appreciatively as he remembered the Talpinas and the comfort they had once provided to him and his Dark-Hunter brethren. "Man, they were great. They knew what we were and they were more than happy to bed us. Hell, the Squires even trained them how to pleasure you."

  "What happened to them?"

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  "About a hundred or so years before you were born, a Dark-Hunter made the mistake of falling in love with his Talpina. Unfortunately for the rest of us, she didn't pass Artemis's test. Artemis was so angry, she stepped in and banished the Talpinas from us, and implemented the oh so wonderful you're-only-supposed-to-sleep-with-them-once rule.

  As further backlash, Acheron came up with the never-touch-your-Squire law. I tell you, you haven't lived until you've tried to find a decent one-night stand in seventh-century Britain."

  Wulf snorted. "That's never been my problem."

  "Yeah, I know. I envy you that. While the rest of us have to pull ourselves back from our lovers lest we betray our existence, you get to cut loose without fear."

  "Believe me, Talon, it's not all it's cracked up to be. You live alone by choice. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to have no one remember you five minutes after you leave them?"

  Wulf expelled a long, tired breath. "Christopher's mother has come over here three times in the last week alone just so she can meet the person he works for. I've known her for what? Thirty years? And let's not forget that time sixteen years ago when I came home and she called the cops on me because she thought I had broken into my own house."

  Talon grimaced at the pain in Wulf's voice. It reminded him why he no longer allowed himself to feel anything except physical pleasure. Emotions served no purpose in life and he was much better off without them.

  "I'm sorry, little brother," he said to Wulf. "At least you have us, and your Squire, who can remember you."

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  "Yeah, I know. Thank the gods for modern technology. Otherwise I'd go insane."

  Talon shifted in his fold-up chair. "Not to change the subject, but did you see who Artemis relocated to New Orleans to take Kyrian's place?"

  "I heard it was Valerius," Wulf said in disbelief. "What was Artemis thinking?"

  "I have no idea."

  "Does Kyrian know?" Wulf asked.

  "For an obvious reason, Acheron and I decided not to tell him that the grandson and spitting image of the man who crucified him and destroyed his family was being moved into the city just down the street from his house. Unfortunately, though, I'm sure he'll find out sooner or later."

  "Man, human or not, Kyrian will kill him if they ever cross paths--not something you need to cope with this time of year."

  "Tell me about it."

  "So, who got Mardi Gras duty this year?" Wulf asked.

  Talon dropped the coin in his hand as he thought about the ancient Greco-Roman slave who would be temporarily moved into the city tomorrow to help combat the Daimon explosion that occurred every year at this time. Zarek was a known Feeder who preyed on human blood. He was unstable at best, psychotic at worst. No one trusted him.

  And it was just Talon's luck to have Zarek here, especially since he'd been hoping for a Dark-Huntress to come visit. It might drain his powers to be in the presence of another Dark-Hunter, but he would still rather have an attractive woman to look at than deal with Zarek's psychosis.

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  Besides, for what he had in mind, he and a Huntress didn't need their Dark-Hunter powers anyway

  "They're importing Zarek."

  Wulf cursed. "I didn't think Acheron would ever let him leave Alaska."

  "Yeah, I know, but word came from Artemis herself that she wanted him here. Looks like we're having a psycho reunion this week

  Oh wait, it's Mardi Gras. Duh."

  Wulf laughed again. At last the waitress brought his coffee and a small plate of three beignets that were heavily covered with powdered sugar. Talon sighed appreciatively.

  "Coffee arrived?" Wulf asked.

  "Oh, yeah."

  Talon took a whiff of his coffee, set it aside, and reached for a beignet. He'd barely touched the pastry when he saw something across the street, on the right side of Jackson Square down the Pedestrian Mall. "Ah, man."

  "What?"

  "Friggin' Fabio alert."

  "Hey, you're not too far from the mark either, blondie."

  "Bite me, Viking."

  Peeved by the timing, Talon watched the group of four Daimons stalking t
he night. Tall and golden blonde Daimons who possessed the godlike beauty of their race. They strutted around like punkish peacocks, drunk on their own power as they scoped out Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 12 of 460

  tourists to kill.

  By nature, Daimons were cowards. They only stood their ground and fought against Dark-Hunters when they were in groups and only then as a last resort. Because they were so much stronger than humans, they preyed openly on them, but let a Dark-Hunter near them and they ran for cover.

  There had been a time once when it wasn't like that. But the younger generations were more careful than their ancestors. They weren't as well trained or as resourceful.

  However, they were ten times cockier.

  Talon narrowed his eyes. "You know, if I were a negative person, I would be seriously annoyed right now."

  "You sound annoyed to me."

  "No, this isn't annoyed. This is mild perturbance. Besides, you should see these guys."

  Talon dropped his Celtic accent as he invented a conversation for the Daimons. He raised his voice to an unnaturally high level. "Hey, Gorgeous George, I think I smell a Dark-Hunter."

  "Oh no, Dick," he said, dropping his voice two octaves, "don't be a dick. There's no Dark-Hunter here." Talon returned to his falsetto. "I dunno

  "

  "Wait," Talon said, again in the deep voice. "I smell tourist. Tourist with big strong

  soul."

  "Would you stop?"

  "Talk about inkblots," Talon said, using the derogatory term Dark-Hunters had for Daimons. It stemmed from the strange black mark that all Daimons developed on then-chests when they crossed over from being simple Apollites to human slayers. "Damn, all Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 13 of 460

  I wanted was a drink of coffee and one little beignet."

  Talon glanced wistfully at his drink as he debated what should take priority. "Coffee Daimons

  Coffee

  Daimons

  "

  "I think in this case the Daimons better win."

  "Yeah, but it's chicory coffee."

  Wulf clucked his tongue. "Talon wanting to be toasted by Acheron for failure to protect humans."

  "I know," he said with a disgusted sigh. "Let me go expire them. Talk to you later."

  Talon stood up, zipped his phone into the pocket of his motorcycle jacket, and stared longingly at his beignets. Oh, the Daimons would pay for this. Taking a quick drink of coffee that scalded his tongue, he skirted through the tables and made his way toward the vampires, who were stalking toward the Presbytere building.