Acheron

'Well, we could cut off their heads or expose them to daylight, but since that damages their body beyond repair, it rather defeats the purpose.'

'You're not funny.'

Neither was he. She didn't want to release them from her service. Most of all, she didn't want to release him.

'You have to drain their Dark-Hunter powers,' she told him. 'Make their immortal bodies vulnerable to attack, then stop their hearts from beating. Only then do they die in a manner that will enable them to return to life.'

'Fine, I can do that.'

'Actually, you can't.'

'What do you mean?'

She fought the urge to smile. Here was where she had him.

'There are a few laws you need to know about souls, Acheron. One is the owner must freely give it up. Since I own their souls…'

Acheron cursed. 'I will have to barter with you for every soul.'

She nodded.

He looked less than pleased by the knowledge. But he would come around in time. Yes, he would definitely come around…

'What else?' he asked.

Now for her one rule that would bind him to her forever. 'Only a true, pure heart can release the soul back into a body. The one who returns the soul must be the one person who loves them above all others. A person they love and trust in return.'

'Why?'

'Because the soul needs something to motivate it to movement, otherwise it stays where it is. I use vengeance to motivate the soul into my possession. Only an equal and as powerful an emotion will motivate the soul back into its body. Since I can choose that emotion, I choose it to be love. The most beautiful and noble of all emotions. The only one worth returning for.'

Acheron stared at the marble floor as her words whispered around him.

Love.

Trust.

Such simple words to say. Such powerful words to feel. He envied those who knew their true meaning. He'd never really known either one. Betrayal, pain, degradation, suspicion, hatred. That was his existence. That was all he'd ever been shown.

Part of him wanted to turn about and leave Artemis forever.

'Return my beloved to me. Please, I will do anything to have him home…' Liora's words rang in his head. He could hear her tears even now. Feel her pain.

Feel the pain of Ias as he thought of his children and wife. His worry over their welfare.

Acheron had never known that kind of unselfish love. Neither before nor after his death.

'Give me Ias's soul.'

Artemis arched a brow. 'Are you willing to pay the price I ask for it, and to the terms for their release?'

His heart shrank at her words. He remembered the youth he'd been long ago.

Everything has a price, Acheron. Nothing ever comes to anyone for free. His uncle had taught him well the price of survival.

Acheron had paid dearly for everything he'd ever had or wanted. Food. Shelter. Clothes. Paid with flesh and blood.

Some things never changed. Once a whore, always a whore.

'Yes,' he said, his throat tight. 'I agree. I'll pay.'

Artemis smiled. 'Don't look so unhappy, Acheron. I promise you, you'll enjoy it.'

His stomach tightened even more. He'd heard those words before, too.

It was dusk when Acheron returned to the cave.

He wasn't alone as he walked up the small rise. He led two men and four horses.

'What is all this?' Callabrax asked.

'These are to be the shieldbearers for you and Kyros. They've come to show you both to the villas where you'll live. They will see to anything you need and I will come by later to finish our training.'

A twinge of fear darkened Ias's eyes. 'What of me?'

'You're coming with me.'

Acheron waited until the other two had mounted their horses and left before he turned back to Ias. 'Are you ready to go home?'

Ias looked surprised. 'But you said-'

'I was wrong. You can go back.'

'What of my oath to Artemis?'

'It's been taken care of.'

Ias embraced him like a brother.

Acheron cringed at the contact, especially since it aggravated the deep welts on his back where Artemis had beaten him in exchange for Ias's soul-at least that was the lie she told herself. But he knew the truth. She beat him to punish him for the fact that she loved him.

And those marks were nothing compared to the even deeper welts that resided in his soul.

He'd always hated anyone to touch him.

Gently, he pushed Ias away. 'Come, let us see you home.'

Acheron flashed them back to Ias's small farm where his wife had just sent their two children to bed.

Her beautiful face paled as she saw them by her hearth.

'Ias?' She blinked. 'They told me this morning that you were dead.'

Ias shook his head, his eyes bright. 'Nay, my love. I'm here. I've come home to you.'

Acheron took a deep breath as Ias rushed to her and hugged her close. It went a long way in ebbing the pain of his back.

'There's still a couple of things, Ias,' Acheron said quietly.

Ias pulled back with a frown.

'Your wife will have to release your soul back into your body.'

Liora scowled. 'What?'

Ias kissed her hand. 'I swore myself to serve Artemis, but she's going to let me go so that I can come back to you.'

She looked baffled by his words.

Ias looked at Acheron. 'What must we do?'

Acheron hesitated, but there was no way to avoid telling him what had to be done. 'You'll have to die again.'

He paled a bit. 'Are you sure?'

Acheron nodded, then handed his dagger to Liora. 'You'll have to stab him through his heart.'

She looked horrified and appalled by his suggestion. 'What?'

'It's the only way.'

'It's murder. I'll be hanged.'

'No, I swear it.'

'Do it, Liora,' Ias urged. 'I want to be with you again.'

Her face skeptical, she took the dagger in her hand and tried to press it into his chest.

It didn't work. All the blade did was prick the skin.

Acheron grimaced as he remembered what Artemis had said about Dark-Hunter powers. An average human wouldn't be able to hurt a Dark-Hunter with a dagger.

But he could.

Taking the dagger from Liora, he drove it straight through Ias's heart. Ias stumbled back, panting.

'Don't panic,' Acheron said, laying him down on the floor before his hearth. 'I've got you.'

Acheron reached up and pulled Liora down by his side. He took the stone medallion that contained Ias's soul