more worried than before. “You sure? It’s not like you to miss class for anything.”
“Yeah,” she said, offering her a smile. “Just go grab the laptop and let’s see what we can find out about Dark-Hunters.”
Kat arched a brow at that. “Why?”
In al the years Cassandra had been chased by her mother’s people, she had only confided the truth of her world to two bodyguards.
One who had died when Cassandra was only thirteen, in a fight that had almost kil ed her.
The other had been Kat, who had taken the truth a lot easier than the first bodyguard. Kat had merely looked at her, blinked, and said, “Cool. Can I kil them and not go to prison?” Since then, Cassandra had never kept anything secret from Kat. Her friend and bodyguard knew as much about the Apol ites and their customs as Cassandra did.
Which wasn’t much. Apol ites had a nasty habit of not letting anyone know they existed.
Stil , it had been such a relief to find someone who didn’t think she was insane or delusional. But then in the course of the last five years, Kat had seen enough Daimons and Apol ites come after them to know the truth of it.
Over the last few months as Cassandra neared the end of her life, the Daimon attacks had backed off enough so that she had a smal semblance of normality. But Cassandra wasn’t foolish enough to think that she was safe. She would never be safe.
Not until the day she died.
“I think we met a Dark-Hunter last night.”
Kat frowned. “When?”
“At the club.”
“When?” she repeated.
Cassandra hesitated to tel her. Several details were stil sketchy even to her, and until she remembered more of them, she didn’t want to worry Kat.
“I saw him in the crowd.”
“Then how do you know he was a Dark-Hunter? I thought you told me they were fables.”
“I don’t real y know. He could have just been some weird guy with dark hair and fangs, but if I’m right and he’s here in town, I want to know because he might be able to tel me whether or not I’m about to drop dead in eight months.”
“Okay, points wel taken. But you know, he could have also been one of the fake Goth vamps who hang at the Inferno.” Kat went to her bedroom to retrieve the laptop and set it up on the kitchen table while Cassandra finished eating.
As soon as it was ready, Cassandra signed online and headed to Katoteros.com. It was an online community that she had found a little over a year ago where Apol ites could talk to each other. On the public side, it looked like a Greek-history site, but there were password-protected areas.
There was nothing on the site about Dark-Hunters. So she and Kat spent some time trying to hack into the private areas, which proved to be even more impossible than breaking into the government’s servers.
What was it about preternatural beings that they didn’t want others to discover their whereabouts?
Okay, so she understood the need for secrecy. Stil , it was a major pain in the ass for a woman who needed some answers.
The closest thing she could find for help was an “Ask the Oracle” link. Clicking it, Cassandra typed in a simple e-mail. “Are Dark-Hunters real?”
After that, she did a search for Dark-Hunters and came up with bubkes. It was as if they didn’t exist anywhere.
Before she signed off, her e-mail came back from the Oracle with only two words for a response.
Are you?
“Maybe they are just legends,” Kat said again.
“Maybe.” But legends didn’t kiss women the way Wulf had kissed her, nor did they find their way into her dreams.
Two hours later, Cassandra decided to utilize her last resort… her father.
Kat drove her to her father’s high-rise office in downtown St. Paul. Al things considered, the late-morning traffic was light and Kat only managed to give her one smal heart attack with her dodge-car style of driving.
No matter the time of day or how bad the traffic congestion, Kat always drove as if the Daimons were after them.
Kat whisked the
“Yeah,” she said, offering her a smile. “Just go grab the laptop and let’s see what we can find out about Dark-Hunters.”
Kat arched a brow at that. “Why?”
In al the years Cassandra had been chased by her mother’s people, she had only confided the truth of her world to two bodyguards.
One who had died when Cassandra was only thirteen, in a fight that had almost kil ed her.
The other had been Kat, who had taken the truth a lot easier than the first bodyguard. Kat had merely looked at her, blinked, and said, “Cool. Can I kil them and not go to prison?” Since then, Cassandra had never kept anything secret from Kat. Her friend and bodyguard knew as much about the Apol ites and their customs as Cassandra did.
Which wasn’t much. Apol ites had a nasty habit of not letting anyone know they existed.
Stil , it had been such a relief to find someone who didn’t think she was insane or delusional. But then in the course of the last five years, Kat had seen enough Daimons and Apol ites come after them to know the truth of it.
Over the last few months as Cassandra neared the end of her life, the Daimon attacks had backed off enough so that she had a smal semblance of normality. But Cassandra wasn’t foolish enough to think that she was safe. She would never be safe.
Not until the day she died.
“I think we met a Dark-Hunter last night.”
Kat frowned. “When?”
“At the club.”
“When?” she repeated.
Cassandra hesitated to tel her. Several details were stil sketchy even to her, and until she remembered more of them, she didn’t want to worry Kat.
“I saw him in the crowd.”
“Then how do you know he was a Dark-Hunter? I thought you told me they were fables.”
“I don’t real y know. He could have just been some weird guy with dark hair and fangs, but if I’m right and he’s here in town, I want to know because he might be able to tel me whether or not I’m about to drop dead in eight months.”
“Okay, points wel taken. But you know, he could have also been one of the fake Goth vamps who hang at the Inferno.” Kat went to her bedroom to retrieve the laptop and set it up on the kitchen table while Cassandra finished eating.
As soon as it was ready, Cassandra signed online and headed to Katoteros.com. It was an online community that she had found a little over a year ago where Apol ites could talk to each other. On the public side, it looked like a Greek-history site, but there were password-protected areas.
There was nothing on the site about Dark-Hunters. So she and Kat spent some time trying to hack into the private areas, which proved to be even more impossible than breaking into the government’s servers.
What was it about preternatural beings that they didn’t want others to discover their whereabouts?
Okay, so she understood the need for secrecy. Stil , it was a major pain in the ass for a woman who needed some answers.
The closest thing she could find for help was an “Ask the Oracle” link. Clicking it, Cassandra typed in a simple e-mail. “Are Dark-Hunters real?”
After that, she did a search for Dark-Hunters and came up with bubkes. It was as if they didn’t exist anywhere.
Before she signed off, her e-mail came back from the Oracle with only two words for a response.
Are you?
“Maybe they are just legends,” Kat said again.
“Maybe.” But legends didn’t kiss women the way Wulf had kissed her, nor did they find their way into her dreams.
Two hours later, Cassandra decided to utilize her last resort… her father.
Kat drove her to her father’s high-rise office in downtown St. Paul. Al things considered, the late-morning traffic was light and Kat only managed to give her one smal heart attack with her dodge-car style of driving.
No matter the time of day or how bad the traffic congestion, Kat always drove as if the Daimons were after them.
Kat whisked the
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