Acheron

Preening with satisfaction, Artemis flashed herself to New Orleans where the little slut was teaching a class. Aggravated at having to wait, she stood in the hallway until it was over.

Tory was heartsick as she dismissed her students. She hadn't seen or heard from Ash in days and the fact that he'd left her in sole possession of his prized backpack made her wonder if something bad hadn't happened to him.

Putting her books into her own backpack, she pulled it off the table and headed for the door. But before she reached it, a tall gorgeous redhead stepped inside. Dressed in an expensively tailored white suit and Prada shoes, she was stunning.

Tory wanted to rip every strand of hair out of her head.

'Why are you here, Artemis?' she asked coldly.

Artemis curled her lip as if she hated to be around Tory even more than Tory hated being around her.

Nah, it wasn't possible.

'Acheron needs you, human. He's hurt and he can't come.'

Tory scowled. 'Why would you come to get me?'

'He wants you. Believe me, there's no other reason I'd be here.'

Still suspicious, Tory gripped the strap of her backpack. 'Are you lying to me?'

Artemis made an ancient Greek gesture of loyalty and truth. 'I swear to you, he's in ultimate suffering and he needs you. Are you really so selfish that you won't help him?'

She was selfish? Tory would have laughed if she hadn't been so worried about him. 'Take me to him, then.'

Artemis flashed her out of her classroom and into what appeared to be an ancient Greek temple. The room was surrounded by columns and above her head was an amazing hunt scene stamped into gold. It was exquisite.

'Where am I?'

'Olympus.' Artemis led her into a bathing room that had an ancient styled bathing pond. She didn't stop until she reached a door on the other side of it. As she lifted her hand, the door lightened to transparency.

Tory gasped as she saw Ash lying naked on the floor. His black hair was matted, his breathing shallow. His skin was marbled blue again and two black horns jutted out from his head. His lean muscles were starkly outlined by the dual blue skin tone. His hands ended in long black claws and when he saw them looking at him, he bared a pair of sharp fangs in their direction.

Pushing himself up, he kept one arm around his stomach as if he were about to be ill. He took one step and collapsed on the floor again in obvious pain. He roared a bellow of frustration and agony.

'He's disgusting in his god form, isn't he?'

Tory raked the goddess with a repugnant stare. 'He's never disgusting. What's wrong with him?'

'He needs to eat. This is what always happens to him if he ever goes too long between feedings.'

'Why haven't you fed him then?'

A slow, evil smile curved Artemis's lips. 'Sweetie, why do you think you're here?' She reached out and opened the door.

The next thing Tory knew, Artemis had shoved her inside the room and shut the door, locking her in with Ash. 'Bon Appetit.'

Tory turned to the door, trying to open it. But it was hopeless. There was no latch or key or anything on this side. All she could do was see Artemis's gloating face.

Oh if she ever had three minutes alone with her… It would be a death match worthy of pay-per-view.

With no other choice, Tory approached Ash slowly. Warily. Could he even tell if it was her? By the way he was acting, she didn't think so. 'Baby?'

He looked up at her with blood red eyes that held no semblance of understanding. They were feral and cold. The eyes of a predator.

With a speed she couldn't even see with her naked eye, Ash was off the floor. He grabbed her by the throat, threw her down on the ground and sank his fangs deep into her neck.

Ash's head buzzed and his shoulder ached as he finally slaked some of the hunger that had been tearing at him for days. The blood was so good. So warm and satisfying. He licked and sucked, drinking it in until he was normal again.

But as he returned to himself, his anger mounted that she'd let him go so long without nourishment. Even though he hadn't been able to speak, he remembered her watching him through the door.

'You'll eat when you please me…' She knew what those words did to him and he was tired of her abuse.

'Artemis, you…' His words trailed off as he pulled away from her throat and realized it wasn't Artemis he was holding.

It was Tory and she was extremely pale from the blood loss.

Horror filled him. Her neck was savagely torn from his teeth, her brown eyes half-hooded as she struggled to breathe. No! His soul screamed out. How could he have hurt her?

How could he be so far gone that he hadn't even realized it was Tory he tasted?

Because Artemis had kept him without food for too long. And then she'd thrown a human in with him, knowing a human couldn't survive his feeding.

'Oh gods,' he breathed, choking. 'Stay with me, baby. I'll get you help.'

She coughed as she reached up to touch his lips that were covered in her blood from his feeding. He saw the fear in her eyes and the pain that he'd caused her. The guilt was more than he could bear.

'Soteria?' he whispered her name like a prayer. 'Akribos?'

She expelled one last breath before her eyes glazed over and her hand fell limply to the ground where it landed palm up.

Unimaginable grief tore through him as he realized he'd just killed her. Throwing his head back, Ash bellowed from the weight of guilt and pain that assaulted him.

He would never have hurt her. Never!

Then he saw Artemis at the door, safely tucked on the other side of it, watching. The satisfaction in her eyes made him want to gouge them out.

He carefully laid Tory down before he charged at the door, determined to get to the bitch who'd taken everything from him. Again. 'Why!' he roared.

She narrowed her eyes in pitiless fury. 'You know why.' Then the door darkened and left him alone with the body of the only woman he'd ever really loved.

The woman he'd just killed. And in this room where his powers were negated, he couldn't heal her or bring her back. Tory was dead and he'd killed her. Throwing his head back, he roared with pain.

Tory was wandering through a thick, oppressive fog. She felt lost and disoriented. The last thing she remembered was seeing Ash. Seeing the look of horror and fear on his beautiful face while her neck throbbed in pain.

Now there was no pain. There was nothing. No light. No sound. No smell.

The deprivation was terrifying.

'Ash?' she called, trying to get her bearings.

'He's not here, little one.'

She turned at the thickly accented, kind voice behind her to find Apollymi standing there in the darkness. 'What are you doing here?'

Apollymi held her hand out to her. 'I stole your soul the moment you died and brought it to Kalosis, but I can't keep it unless you allow me to. I wouldn't allow it if I were you. Souls are too precious to squander and yours in particular has great value to me.'

'I don't understand.' She put her hand into Apollymi's and the moment their skin touched, she had total clarity of everything that Apollymi knew about her and Acheron-more than that, she saw the memories of Ash and how he died. Of Artemis turning her back on him and leaving him while he reached out for her to help him.

How could she have done such a thing?

Tears welled up in her eyes and then when she saw her own death and the satisfied look on Artemis's face as Ash cried out, she wanted blood.