THE DANCE OF THE DRAGON

Prologue

BC 2567, Crete

Her fury was unmatched. Sure, she’s been mad before, but noting like this. She walked threw
the quiet tents of her old camp. The camp were she’d spent the last three years. Learning,
training and fighting under the guise of a boy. This place had been her refuge for a terrible life
under her evil father and his friends. An escape from her father’s beating and treating her like
a common slave, made to fill his every need. She had watched him slowly kill her mother,
forcing her to kill herself and then turning to her, but her father had stopped her. She had
wished he hadn’t. Beating and using of both her younger and older brother had left her
scarred, forever wounded even though the physical bleeding had stopped. But when she
turned fifteen she escaped. She wasn’t sure how she had managed to keep going that first
night, to put enough distance between her and her father so that he could never touch her
again. But she did. She was free. Until she chopped off her hair, bound her breasts flat and
joined the army. They were so in need of troops, they didn’t even question her. At first, she
was weaker then the other boys. But she grew stronger and stronger until they looked up to
her. And feared her. She out smarted them all, could beat them all with a blade, could shoot
farther then them with her bow. She learned battle tactics and strategies until she felt she
could learn no more. Yet she did. All under her Captain. The captain that caught her bathing
and found out her secret. Yet he did not tell. Instead they fell in love, or at least she had. He
told her that he did, but it was all a lie. But when she was wounded, protecting her captain and
the general, she was found out. And sentenced with treason. She remember she walked
through the quiet camp kneeling on the ground in front her lover, his sword raised to chop her
head the look in his eyes. There was no remorse there and she knew that he had never loved
her. Her rage had been notorious then, but now she got so mad, she cursed him and his
children a thousand times over until the his blade had ended her life. She was sure she had
died, yet here she was, marching back from killing her captain. Her lover, his own sword in
her hand, his blood on the blade. She could hear the cries and shouts of the men she use to
fight along side as they found their captain dead. She smiled a wicked smile, on that made
even the bravest men cower. They would never suspect her, after all she was dead. The dead
didn’t come back and kill people. Until now. Suddenly there was a man in front of her. He
had long raven hair and swirling silver eyes like no other. There was no doubt it. He was a
god. She fell to her knees, face turned away from his.

“Thank you, Lord Hades for allowing me to walk among the living once again to seek my
revenge.”

“It was not Hades who allows you your revenge. But Artemis.”

“Artemis?” She stood up. “What is a man doing delivering messages from the virgin goddess?
Unless of course, you are a girl with VERY masculine looks, then I pity you with all my
soul.” His mouth hardened into a firm line.

“I do not deliver messages for anyone. I am Acheron Parthenopaeus, a man who leads an
army that was created by Artemis. You have been giving a second chance by Artemis.” Her
eyes narrowed.

“The gods do not let people seek vengeance with out a fee. What does Artemis require of
me?”

“To learn to fight the Daimons that plague this earth, feeding on helpless humans. You will be
the first woman among us. Does that bother you?” She smiled that wicked smile again. “I
have been the only girl among men for the last three years. It doesn’t bother me one bit.”

Chapter 1

Mya walked down the empty street. It was past nine, so not many people were out in this
neighbor hood. It was residential, full of families and kids. Most Dark-Hunters wouldn’t even
bother looking here. But after 4000 plus years, she knew Daimons inside out and backwards.
She watched her feet as she walked, keeping her face down. It may look like she wasn’t
paying attention to where she was going, but her ears and nose were alert, listening and
smelling for signs of trouble. She thought it was going to be another slow night, like the last
week. Mya haven’t had a good fight in months now and she was starting to get restless. Not
even running could help her. The wind shifted and the scent of a Daimon blew towards her. It
was close. She looked up to see a mother/daughter pair get pulled into an alley. Without
hesitation, Mya ran after them. She found a Daimon walking towards them with a hungry look
in his eyes, his gun pointed at them. Of course he had a gun. They all had guns now.

“Hey man, what ya doin’?” He turned and pointed the gun at her. “Jeez, what is it with you
guys and guns? I remember the old days when you losers actually knew how to fight. We
would get down and dirty and have a good ole’ time.” Mya sighed and shook her head.
“Depressing really.” She spoke quickly, making lots of hand moves to distract him from the
fact that she was slowly moving in front of the humans. The moron waved his gun at her.

“I’ll shoot you.” She stopped since she was now right in front of the pair.

“Did you NOT just hear a word I just said? You wanna shoot me, fine. I don’t care. Have a
effin’ party!” So he shot her. They idiot had crappy aim and hit her right side. Mya barley
even flinched.

“That’s it!” She leapt at him and punched him right in the face. He fell to his knees and shot
her three more times. It hurt, hell she was getting shot! But the pain didn’t bother her. Not
anymore. She had learned how to block it out long ago. She snarled at him and pulled out a
dagger. Mya charged him, but the coward turned and ran in the darkness. With her excellent
night vision, she could make out his outline. She threw the knife and could tell by the smell it
had hit it’s mark. She put her hands on her hips and smiled in triumph.

“Damn I’m good.” Mya suddenly remembered the two humans behind her. She turned to face
them. The mother had her arms wrapped tightly around her daughter and they were both
shaking. They cowered on the ground by the wall. She knelt down in front of them and gave a
gentle smile.

“It’s OK, your all right now.”

“W-W-What did he want?” The mother stammered. Your soul, She thought to herself, but she
couldn’t tell her that.

“Nothing. He’s gone and will never bother you again.” Though several of his kin might. Again
she kept that to herself. She could tell from the look in their eyes they were scared of her too,
even though she had saved them. She don’t blame them though. Hell, I would be scared of
me! Mya was 6’2” with midnight black eyes. Her hair a dirty golden blonde with tips as black
as her eyes. She was wearing all black, including her favorite leather trench with now had
several bullet holes in it.

“You’re bleeding.” Said the little girl, pointing to her side. Her shirt was wet with blood and
she could feel myself getting tired.

“It’s all right. Through and through. Doesn’t even hurt.” Mya gave her one of nicest smiles
trying her hardest not to scare the crap out her. I took a step back as they stood. The mother
smiled.

“Thank you.” She nodded.

“Just doing my job.”

“Will we see you again?” Mya paused. She knew that she could never see them again. It
would be best if they forgot about her. If she ever did see them, it would be saving them.

“I hope not.” It took the woman a moment to understand then she nodded.

“Oh right good bye.” Mya nodded again and thrust her hands into her pockets as they walked
away. Once they were out of sight, Mya snapped her fingers and she was home.

Chapter 2

“Luuuccy, I’m hoooome!” Mya shouted, shutting the door behind her.

“Welcome home Ricky!” Said Al, her squire as she came bounding around the corner, her
dark red hair flying. She was smiling but that smile soon faded when she saw her bullet holes.
She sighed and shook her head.

“You’ve been shot.”

“Of course I was shot! All those damned Daimons have guns now and they think that if they
shoot us full of holes, we won’t hurt them.”

“Sit.” Al commanded, waving to the couch. Mya sat down while she went to get the “Hole
Kit” which was their nickname for the first aid supplies, since it was only using for fixing
bullet holes. She took off her coat to examine if she could repair the damage. It only had two
holes, so maybe it could be saved. Al returned, carries her supplies.

“Take off your shirt.”

“Wow Al….so pushy! I didn’t know you where into this sort of thing, but whatever you
say…” She gave her an annoyed look.

“Haha, hilarious Mya. But what about the ‘No touching your squire’ rule?”

“Ash wouldn’t punish me. He likes me too much.”

“Artemis might.” Al said. Artemis and Mya hated each other and Al knew it. She dabbed
alcohol into one of her wounds. Her muscles tighten in surprise and pain.

“Wow, the big bad Dark-Hunter, scared to nothing, flinches at Alcohol.” Mya gave a look,
but Al just smiled. Al had been her squire for over 10 years since she was 17. It was a
personal record for me. Most barely lasted two. The only other one that lasted longer was in
1500 BC and that one was cut short. Most got fed up with Mya’s crazy habits and constant
wounds. She felt Al shove the clamp into one of her wounds, searching for the bullet. She
grabbed it and yanked it out. She twitched and ignored the pain.

“I’ve got an idea. How ‘bout we get a REALLY big magnet and hold it to my bullet holes.
The bullets would just come flying out. Would make your life so much easier.” Another bullet
was out. Two to go.

“Might hurt like hell though.” Mya shrugged.

“Band-aid theory.” One more.

“Band-aid theory?”

“Yeah, take all the pain at once instead of little pain over a period of time. Like ripping off a
band-aid.”

“Done.” With one last tug, Al yanked the last one out painfully.

“Damn girl, could you be a little gentler?”

“You don’t pay me to be gentle. You pay me to keep you from looking like Swiss cheese.”

************

Once Al had banged her wounds, she put her under shirt back on and headed down into her
basement room. The little half windows had been boarded up to prevent any sun light from
coming in. Candles lined the walls. The room was only half the basement. The other half
contained a very large TV, surrounded by racks of movies from over the ages. Mya kicked off
her cargo pants, but leaving her bike shorts on. She could feel the tiredness come over me as
she fell into bed. Mya was asleep in moments.

When she finally awoke, it was three in the afternoon. Mya groaned and rolled over onto her
back. She snapped her fingers and all the candles in the room lit. She had been able to control
fire and teleport since she first became a Dark-Hunter. Mya had over 4500 years to perfect
them. Fire obeyed her every command. She could go anywhere she wanted. Out of all the
places she’d never lived, New York was her favorite. Great nightclubs, a rich history and
plenty of dark alleys to do her business. Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t
eaten in a while. She grabbed her cell phone and called Al.

“Hey, send me down something to eat, could ya?”

“I’ll send down the pancakes I made this morning.”

“Thanks.” With that she closed her phone. She grabbed her black Mac Book off the floor next
to her and opened it up. Her iChat opened up to find no one was on. Mya sighed and checked
her email before she heard the familiar sounds of the dumb waiter. Mya moved her computer
to the side to open the door in the wall. She pulled out her pancakes dripping with syrup and
bacon. She wrote a quick note to Al telling her she was the best and pushed the up button.

When Mya had her house built back around the 1920s, she had put in a dumb waiter for this
very reason. So that her squire wouldn’t have to come down the stairs to bring her things that
she couldn’t get during the day. Even after many of her renovations, it had stayed in, although
it had become electronic instead of a pulley.

She checked the sun set time which was 4:59. She leaned back and started to eat. She turned
on her stereo system and The Rolling Stones came pouring out. Mya smiled and ate her
pancakes.

Once she was finished, she got up and danced around, singing to Shine a Light, one her
favorite Rolling Stone songs. She picked out her clothes to be worn later. She headed into her
bathroom and took off her clothes for a shower. She inspected her wounds in the full length
mirror, happy to find that they were about half way healed. She smiled and gave a silent
thanks to D’Atyle, her Dream-Hunter for doing such a good job.

She got in the shower, getting all of the blood and grime of her from last night. She got out,
dried off and put on a clean strapless undershirt and her bike shorts. She glanced at her clock.
5:05. She could go out. She grabbed her regular clothes and headed up stairs. She put her
clothes on the couch.

“I’m going for a run, I’ll see you later!” Mya said before heading out her back door and into
the woods. She sighed and closed her eyes. She simply let her body fall away. She back
arched and black fur grew all over her body. Her face became more pointed and a tail grew
out of base of her spine. Within moments, she was her other self. She was a panther. She leapt
off the porch and into the woods.

When Mya first became a Dark-Hunter, she couldn’t transform. It came later, during
Artemis’s war with Bast. Mya had once been a favorite of Artemis, the only female, strong as
her male counterparts. Bast knew this, so in revenge, Bast cursed Mya to transform into a
panther, making her no better then a Were-hunter to Artemis.

At first, she had tried to fight it, but the need became too great. Once Mya had given in, there
was no going back. Transforming had become second nature and it gave her an outlet for her
sometimes insane feelings. It calmed her like fighting did, though it wasn’t working as well
lately. Needless to say, Artemis forever hated her after that. But Mya didn’t care. She had
stopped caring a long time ago.

The forest floor was hard under her paws and the air was cold. She smelled a squirrel, strange
for such cold weather. She stopped running and dropped into a hunting crouch. She moved
silently towards it, her whole body tensed. Once she was in range, she pounced, trapping it

under her paws. It squirmed under her paws and then she let it go. It darted away up a tree.
Mya didn’t want the meat, only the hunt. The hunt was what she loved. She ran farther in to
the forest that surrounded her house. She had built her house here for a reason. Somewhat
close to the city, but secluded and alone in the woods for her own comfort and plenty of
woods for running. It was amazing.

Mya soon reached her favorite tree and leapt up from the ground into it’s braches. She was at
the top in moments. The cold winter air blew over her face, blowing her fur back. This was it.
This was perfect. She wanted nothing in her life to change, although a small corner of her
brain knew that was impossible. Things always changed, no matter how much you didn’t
want them too. For better or for worst

Chapter 3

Mya’s run had left her satisfied, but eager to go out on the streets for some real action. She
had gone back into the house to out on her clothes and weapons. She then teleported herself to
Central Park. The air was cool, it blew back her blonde locks and she walked.

She wandered down 5th Ave, hands in her extra coat pockets. She turned left onto East 54th
and down to one of her favorite clubs, the Branch. Mya got there right after it opened at ten.
She grabbed a drink at the bar, senses alert for any Daimons. After 2 hours, 4 Coronas, and13
guys trying to hit on her, she left. She wandered down Park Ave another hour or so.

Mya mentally groaned in frustration when she reached Union Square Park with not even a
whiff of Daimon. Figuring it was going to be another slow night, she jumped up to Harlem
just for the hell of it.

The streets were quiet since not many people out at 2 AM. But then suddenly, she found
exactly what she was looking for. The scent of many Daimons hit her nose and she quickly
found them. They were in the middle of an alley.

She could here the shouts and calls of the Daimons, taunting and laughing and the shouts of
their intended victim. When it was just them, the acted all tough and strong. But when she
showed up, they ran off as fast as there cursed legs could carry them.

Mya decided to make things a little more interesting. When no one was looking, she jumped
over to the other side of the alley. It was blocked by a high wall, but that wasn’t about to stop
her. With ease, she jumped and swung herself over the wall on one hand; landing with almost
no sound. A wicked grin spread over her face. There was a good amount of them, at least 4.

Arugh! Damn it! She mentally cursed at the smell. Rotten things were everywhere and reeking
havoc with her nose. If she hadn’t been so attune to Daimon’s scent, she might have missed
them all together. But when she got closer, something surprised her, which was hard to do.
She assed the situation quickly with her eyes. A boy, barley in adult hood, was on the ground,
bleeding from several wounds. The four Daimons stood around him. But what was most
shocking was the dust that surrounded them all. There had been more Daimons and someone
had killed them not to long ago. It couldn’t have been the boy! She moved on to face the
bigger problem. The boy was hurt and was nearly unconscious. The smell of fear rolled of
him, almost covering the alley’s rotting smell.

Mya moved forward, drawing a dagger into one of chests of the closest Daimon. With a cry,
he was noting but dust. The last three wheeled to stare at her.

“Now boys, didn’t your mommy teach you not to play with your food before you eat it?” Mya
mocked. This was the point where they would either fight or run away in terror and she would
be forced to chase them. One pulled out a dagger. She nearly jumped for joy. She ran forward,
flashing her fangs. She went for his heart, but he parried her and went for the riposte. She
darted away, smiling and laughing.

“Yes! Finally!” The fight she had been waiting for! The others gathered around her, their
daggers drawn. She knew that she couldn’t win with just her daggers, so she reached behind
her and pulled out her weapon that hadn’t been used in weeks.

Her staff. Designed by her and made my Kell, who was basically the blacksmith of the Dark-
Hunters. When closed, it looked like it was a foot and a half stick. But when she pressed the
hidden button on the side, blades slide out of either end, each another 2 feet.

She expertly swung the staff, slicing off of one of the hands of the Daimon, he screamed as
his hand fell to the ground. It was no fun killing if there was no pain beforehand. She was
almost surprised that they hadn’t run off yet. She swung the staff around her shouldered and
thrust into another’s heart and it was nothing but dust.

She swung it down on the last Daimon’s shoulder. He started to run, clutching his bleeding
shoulder. Mya whipped out another dagger and threw it. He was dead before he got ten feet.

She sighed and retracted her staff. She slid it back to its holster on her back. She moved over
to the fallen boy and knelt by him. He was covered in grime from the alley and his own blood.
He was barely conscious. His breathes were uneven and raspy. He whispered something.

“Kate…”

“Come on, we need to get you to a hospital.” She went to reach for her cell phone, but he
grabbed her arm.

“No…” With that he slips unconscious. Kate… Who the hell is Kate? She shrugged it off as
him being delirious.

“Brother?” Said a tiny voice behind her. She wheeled around to see a young girl crawl out
from behind a dumpster. She couldn’t been older then 10. Mya could smell her fear but also
something else. It took her a second to place it for she haven’t smelled it in a while. Holy
crap. They were Were-Hunters.

“Shh, it’s OK. I won’t hurt you.”

“You killed those men.” I nodded slowly and gave a weak smile.

“Yeah I did.”

“They tried to get me, but my brother stopped them. They hurt him.”

“Yeah and he did a good job. But we have to go now. I need to take him somewhere that we
can help him.” She nodded.

“Help him.”

“I will. Come here.” She hesitated, fear in her eyes. “Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you.” Mya
smiled at her. She came running over and wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her
face into my jacket.

“Get on my back.” She slid around and hooked her little ankles in front of me.

Carefully, she picked up the boy. He was lighter then she thought he would be. Mya took a
deep breath and jumped them home.

****************************************************

“Al!” Mya yelled, kicking the door closed behind me.

“I’ll be there in a minute!”

“No, now Al!”

“What couldn’t wait for me to finish washing my hands? Did you get shot again?” Al rounded
the corner from the kitchen, dish cloth in her hands. But when she saw her, her hands flew to
her mouth and the cloth dropped to the ground. She turned and ran to get the first aid kit. Mya
knelt down and let the girl get off her. She laid him down on the coffee table carefully. Al
returned and knelt down beside him.

“Help me get his shirt off.” Al reached for scissors, but Mya just ripped it. It was already
shredded.

He had a long knife wound extending from his right shoulder to the left side of his chest.
Bruises covered his body and one eye was swollen shut. Smaller cuts and gashes scared his
chest and face. He no doubt had internal injuries

It was good he was a Were-Hunter or he’d be dead. She got a bucket of and a clean cloth to
get all the alley grime off him. Al expertly sutured up the long wound to keep his blood from
going everywhere. When they were done, they sat back tired and their hands covered in
blood.

“How is this kid still alive?” Al said, breathing deep.

“He’s a Were-Hunter.” Her jaw dropped.

“Seriously?!” Mya nodded.

“Him and his little-” She wheeled around looking the little girl. She smiled when she found
her sleeping in a chair, curled up into a tiny ball.

“Al put her in one of the guestrooms. I’m going to put him on the couch.” She nodded. She
picked up the tiny girl and held her close to her chest and walked down the hall. Mya’s heart
went out to Al. She knew Al wanted a family, a child. But having a relationship while being a
squire was hard, since she couldn’t explain what she did.

Mya sighed and picked up the young boy and put him the couch which would be more
comfortable. She mentally called upon D’Atyle.

Help this boy heal, D’Atyle. Help him live and take away his fear and pain. D’Atyle had been
her Dream-Hunter since she became a Dark-Hunter all those years ago. She owed him her
sanity. She brushed the boy’s hair off his face. Already he was looking better. Mya smiled
down at him.

“Sleep peacefully, young one for who knows what tomorrow will bring.”

Chapter 4

To me reader- I am so sorry for taking so long to get this up. I have no soul, my friends tell
me this a lot. I’m going to put the next one up after this, so that way you’ll have to make up
for lost time. I am truly sorry.

Mya awoke to the sounds of crashing, banging and shouting. She sat straight up in bed, her
hair flying around her face.

Last night after making sure Al was OK, she had grabbed some food and headed down stairs.
She had played some friends online before going to bed at 4, only to be awaken now at 5:30
PM.

Mya hoped it was dark out or she would be Dark-Hunter, extra crispy. She heard more
banging and shouting. She jumped out of bed and flew up the stairs.

Mya burst into her living room to find several things.

One, the sun had gone down, so she was safe. Two, the kid was awake.

Very awake and brandishing what appeared to be her broken table leg. Three, the kid was
almost healed, most of little cuts and bruises were gone and his eyes was almost normal. Four,
he was holding the leg at Al, who had her arms raised in defense. And finally, how gorgeous
the kid was. He looked 18, the same age as she had been when she died. He had brown hair
that swooped down over his eyes that were creamy brown to match. His chest was heavily
muscled and was beautiful tan. A feeling stirred in her lower stomach that she didn’t
recognize. This feeling stopped her in her tracks as she stared at Al and him, his face twisted
into one of anger with a hint of fear. Mya quickly recovered and took her stance, legs spread
and arms crossed and she tried to look as deadly as possible in her short black flannel shorts
and tight black tank top as she could.

“What the hell do you think your doing?” He spun around to now brandish the leg at her.

“Stay away from me!” He made a move with the leg.

“You wanna stab me? Go ahead. Try.” She tapped her chest then put her hands on her hips,
leaving her open. His dark brown eyes burned into hers and she raised her eyes brows. He ran
and tried to stab her in the heart.

Mya’s hands flashed up, and grabbed the leg. She yanked it form his hands and threw it into
the wall. It lodged itself into the plaster. She heard Al groan. He stared at her, fear dominating
his face and scent.

“I don’t really appreciate you threatening the people who saved your ass.”

“You did this?” He said, gesturing to his dressed wounds.

“Well she did.” Mya pointed at Al. He looked behind him at the tiny woman who he had just
threaded to kill. He plopped down in a chair, head in hands.

“I’m sorry, but…Can you blame me? Who knows, you might be in league with the people
that probably killed my sister.” She could here the pain and anger in his voice. It had a slight
tremor, like he was about to cry.

“She’s not dead.”

“What?” He raised his head and the look in his eyes nearly sent her heart to pieces. The look
of hope was strong and his wish for his sister to be alive was so great that he didn’t even
consider the possibility that they were lying to him to cause him more pain. He didn’t even
contemplate the thought that they could be screwing with him, since he had no reason not to
believe them. Mya remembered when she was like that- and how much pain it had caused her.

And is if on cue, a little voice came out from the hallway.

“Ray?” He wheeled around to look at the little girl.

“Kate,” He breathed and his face lit up like the fourth of July. It made her happy to him that
happy and that disturbed her. That the emotion of a stranger meant something to her when she
had spent a great deal of time and energy to not connect with people. Trying to distance
herself from them as much as possible.

He jumped up and ran over her and scooped Kate up. He pressed her his chest and spun her
around.

“I can’t breathe.” She squeaked. He released her, but held her in his arms, a huge smile
plastered on his face.

“Oh I thought you were dead!”

“No, the pretty blonde lady saved me.” Kate looked over at Mya and yelled; “Hi blonde
lady!” She waved franticly at her, giggling.

Mya waved back, and found a small smile creeping across her lips. He smiled and look back
at his sister. Al and Mya gave each other a smile, knowing that they had done a good thing.

Then, two loud stomach growls broke the silence. The brother and sister blushed. Al laughed.

“I’ll make dinner.”

“Can I help?” Kate asked. Her brother nodded and put down. Mya sat down on the couch and
stared at the broken table. She felt him sit down her to her.

“Do I want to know what happened to the table?” She asked him, turning to look at him. He
gave a small smile.

“Not really.”

“Soo…Your name is Ray?”

“Rayne actually. Rayne Parry. That’s just that Kate’s nickname for me.”

“I’m Mya and the little red head is Al.” He nodded.

“Sorry ‘bout trying to kill you and all that.” She shrugged.

“It’s cool. People try to kill me on a daily basis, so its kinda normal.” Rayne started at her in
surprise at my calm tone.

“God, what are you, a cop?” She smiled.

“Kinda, if you chose to look at that way. I’m a Dark-Hunter.” His eyes widen even more.
Most Were-Hunters had heard of Dark-Hunters, but had dismissed them as myth. It was no
wonder that Rayne was surprised that she was a Dark-Hunter since she looked so young. Mya
turned to look at him.

“Seriously?”

“Yup. I’m a Dark-Hunter and you’re a Were-Hunter.” He looked down.

“Yeah, how did you know?” Mya tapped her nose.

“This nose misses nothing.” She paused for a moment. “What is your Patria?” He looked
down.

“Drakos.” She stared at him. Mya knew for a fact that wasn’t many Draki left.

“What happened to your Patria? Why aren’t they making sure you and Kate are safe?”

“We don’t have one. My mom was a Arcadian and mated with a Katigaria. Her Patria kicked
her out when she mated with him. She had me then Kate. They were killed three months ago.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” She knew it was hard to kill two Were-Hunters, let alone two adults. Mya
knew what it was like to lose a parent and judging from his tone, he had seen them die. That
made everything worst. “I’ve got a friend who can maybe get you into an Arcadian patria.
They can protect you.” He looked up.

“Really?” She nodded. “OK.”

“I’ll call him and you go get some food.” Rayne nodded and got up and started to walk away.
She got up as well and headed for the back door. He stopped and turned.

“Mya?” She turned. “Thanks.” She smiled before heading out on to the back porch. She
snapped her fingers and her cell phone appeared in her hand. She pressed speed dial two and
the other person picked up on the second ring. She spoke quickly, giving her instructions to
the person on the other line before hanging up.

Mya jumped and transformed, stretching her long legs. She ran to her favorite clearing. She
jumped, transforming again right in front of Acheron Parthenopaeus. The tall Atlantean
scoffed at her appearance.

“Nice PJs.” He said coolly, trying to suppress his laughter.

“Oh bite me, Ash.” Mya crossed her arms and paced.

“You going to tell me why I’m here and why you had me bring these clothes?” He held up a
plastic bag full of clothing.

“I have two Were-Hunters in my house. Drakos.” She stopped to stare at Ash. He stood at
6’8”, 6 inches taller then her. His hair was raven today, but shone blue when the moonlight hit
it. He wore a long black leather trench, a torn Rolling Stones tee-shirt and leather pants, a
typical outfit for Ash. His eyes were obscured by his dark wrap around sunglasses, but she
knew the look they would be giving her. She had known Acheron a long time and they had
always been close since she was probably the only woman in the world that hadn’t hit
puberty, that didn’t want to get in his pants. Mya had been put off sex a long time ago.

“What-How?” She could hear the confusion in his voice. Confusion was not something Ash
experienced a lot and it annoyed him when he did.

“They were attacked by Daimons and the brother was hurt. He had been protecting his little
sister and killed a few of them. So I brought them home and Al and I stitched him up. The
clothes are for him.”

“Drakos…” Ash breathed. “What happened to their Patria?”

“There parents were exiled because there Arcadian mother mated with a Katigaria. They were
killed a few months ago.”

“How olds the brother?”

“Looks about eighteen, but since he’s a Were-Hunter, I have no idea.”

“The probably around 50 or so. What about the sister?”

“Hasn’t hit puberty yet. Couldn’t be older then ten.” Ash stared at the ground. His eye brows
disappeared under his glasses in thought.

“I’ll try and hunt down his mother’s Patria and see if they’ll take them.”

“What happens if they won’t? We can’t out them back out on the streets to get attacked by
Daimons again!” Mya cried. She couldn’t believe that she was getting attached to them. She
had barely known them for 48 hours. Ash nodded.

“We won’t. Don’t go out tonight. I’ll go find the mother’s Patria and see what I can do.” She
nodded.

“Thanks Ash.” With that, he was gone. She picked up the clothes and walked back to the
house. She opened the back door with a bang.

“I come bearing clothing!” She shouted. She picked out a black tee shirt and threw it at Rayne
as he came out of the kitchen. A part of her was sad that he was covering up his nice chest. He
had a great body. She shook her head. She hadn’t had thoughts like that in a long time.

“Where did you get these clothes?” He asked as he pulled the shirt over his head.

“A friend.” Al knew from her tone who Mya was talking about. She came over and leaned
against the wall with me.

They watched the brother and sister talk. Kate was so much more different then her brother.
She had light blonde hair and pale blue eyes, matching her light skin. It contrasted so sharply
with Rayne’s tan body and brown hair and eyes. It was strange seeing them together, but it
was oblivious from there looks that they were related. Same strong, yet delicate features and
the same smile. Rayne was very good looking and Kate would someday be too. There was no
such thing as a ugly Were-Hunter.

“What did Ash say?” Al asked quietly.

“He was going to try and find the mother’s patria. See if them will take them.”

“And if they don’t?” Mya didn’t answer. Kate laughed at something Rayne said and Mya
smiled at the twinkling bell laughter. Al gave me one last look before clapping her hands and
moving out into the room.

“OK guys, dinner!” Al headed into the kitchen to bring out the food. There was several steaks
marinated in teriyaki sauce. Al had put Mya’s off to the side, since it was VERY
undercooked. Al put the other steaks in the center, along with the pasta and pear.

“The two to the left are the rarer ones-” Al didn’t even finish her sentence before the two
steaks were gone. Mya smiled as she scooped pasta into her plate.

“Kids after my own heart.” She said as she cut into her steak, reveling the undercooked
center.

Rayne’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw Mya’s steak and how undercooked
it was.

“Your going to salmonella if you eat meat that undercooked.”

“Kid, I’m immortal. I don’t get diseases.” She cut off a piece and popped it into her mouth.
She smiled and cut another piece. Rayne wanted to smack himself in the forehead. Of course
she didn’t get sick, she was a Dark-Hunter, although she didn’t look like one.

“Why do you keep calling me kid? I don’t look that much older then you.” It was true. She
didn’t look old. She look eighteen, her young, but old at the same time. But her eyes…There
were full of wisdom like that he had ever seen.

“When become Dark-Hunters, we stay the age we were. Actually, compare me to how old
you are and you haven’t even been conceived yet.” Rayne stared at Mya. How old was she?
She gave him a wicked smile before turning to her meat once more.

They sat for several hours, talking and eating. Al was an amazing cook. Al had been Mya’s
square for over ten years. The two knew each other so well. They talking into the night, until
the point were Kate fell asleep in her chair.

“I got her.” Al scooped Kate up before Rayne could. That left me alone with Mya. She leaned
back in her chair and took a drink of her beer. She cocked her head to the side and stared at
Rayne.

Rayne squirmed in his seat under her powerful gaze. After a few minutes, he got fed up.

“What are you staring at?” She shifted and tilted her head to the other side and sighed.

“I’m good at reading people. I was trying to figure you out.”

“Get any where?”

“Not really. Most I ready knew from before.”

“Like what?” She smiled wickedly again.

“That for me to know and you to figure out.” Mya glance at the clock hanging on the wall and
stood up.

“You any good at Halo? Cause I got an Xbox and a whole night with nothing to do but beat
your sorry ass.” Rayne smiled at her challenge. He thought he was going to like it here.

Chapter 5

Acheron walked the streets of a small vermont skiing town. It hadn’t taken him long to find
the drakos patria. There weren’t that many left. One quick call to Saivtar and he found himself
in Vermont, up to his calves in snow. He could easily see what the dragons saw in this place.
It was beautiful and the mountains were perfect for dragons. On top of that, Vermont nights
were pitch black, ideal for flying. He could see the mountains in front of him. Maybe he could
go snowboarding after. He hadn’t done that in a while. He could even teach Tori to ski. He
smiled at the thought of Tori trying to balance on her skis. It would be funny to watch.

Ash walked towards a tavern on the corner of the street. He pushed open the door to find a
room filled with people who had just come off the mountain. Skis and snowboards were
staked against one wall. A man behind the bar glanced up as Ash walked in. The man’s jaw
got stern as he strode out form behind the bar. He was sure that this guy could tell Acheron
wasn’t human.

“What business do you have here?” Ash could hear they guy’s thoughts. He was wondering
what Acheron was and if he was going to harm his bar.

“Are you the leader of the drakos patria here?”

The man paused. He was curious about what this stranger knew that he was a were-hunter, but
since the man realized that it would be good to answer. The were didn’t want to get on his bad
side. Ash mentally smiled. Good move, he thought.

“Yes. I’m Christos makurabi. This is my place and who are you and what do you want?” He
tried to look as big as possible but he was five inches shorter that Ash’s six foot eight.

“I am Acheron Partheonopus.”

“Acheron? As in leader of the dark-hunters?” Ash nodded.

“May I speak to you alone?” Christos nodded gruffly and lead Ash into a back room. He
stopped in front of the the storeroom and took a defensive pose. Christos knew that he
couldn’t take Acheron in a fight but a least he could give his family a chance to get out.
Christos trusted this hunk of a man as far as he could throw him, which was about two inches.

“What do you want?”

“Was there a female drakos in your patria that mated a katigaria?” His face went cold.

“My daughter.”

Crap, Ash thought. That was going to complicate things.

“Then I’m sorry to tell you that she died a few months ago.” The look on Christos face was
horrible. Acheron could hear his sadness and anguish in his mind. But within a moment he
had regained his composer and stared back at Ash. He looked composed, but his thoughts
were a mess.

“How?”

“She and her mate were killed a few months ago by daimons.”

“Daimons?! A lowly soul-sucker killed her?”

“That’s what her son said.” Christos froze, a look of shock spread over his face.

“A son?” He breathed.

“And a daughter. She’s only eight and he’s about 50.”

“They had children?”

“Yes. They are areidian like your daughter. That’s why I’m here. They need a home. They
were atacked by daimons last night and one of my dark-hunters saved them. They are with her
now. But they cannot stay there forever. They are your grandchildren.”

“No.” He moved past Acheron and out into the bar. He had realized what Ash had come here
for.

“They are young and need to be protected-”

“I’m not having two freak hybrids in my patria.”

“Think about it-” Christos wheeled around to face down Ash

“Get out of my bar.” He snarled. Ash glared at him from behind his sunglasses. He was
unbelievable. He would not accept his two children who had nowhere to go. But Ash could
tell from Christos’s thoughts that there was no changing his mind. Ash glanced around.
Everyone in the room was staring at him. He strode out of the bar into the snow. He didn’t
feel like snowboarding anymore.

****

Rayne laughed at a joke Mya had just said. He hadn’t known the firey Dark-Hunter long, but
he had liked her a lot. She was funny, smart and sarcastic. She talked a lot, but yet never told
any personal facts about herself. At first, this has struck him as odd, but then again when you
had lived as long as Mya had, you learned a few tricks. She obiously had things in her past,
that’s probably how you became a Dark-Hunter in the first place. Maybe he would ask her
one day. Rayne looked up from his excellent meat loaf and nearly fell out of his chair in
surprise. Rayne sat facing the living room and standing next to the broken coffee table was a
giant with blue hair with black tips and wrap around sunglasses. Mya, who saw his reaction,
turned around, ready for a fight. But instead of jumping up and attacking the stranger, she
smiled and stood up.

“Hey look we match!” She ran a hand thorugh her hair, talking about their tips. Rsyne turned
to Al who was sitting next to him.

“Hey Al.” The giant said with a raise of his hand.

“Hi Ash. How’s Tori?”

“She’s good, she’s in Macy’s currently. I’m going to pick her up when I’m done here.” The
man stared at Rayne for a moment, but Rayne couldn’t see his expression because of his
sunglasses. The man, Ash, turned and started to talk to Mya in a hushed voice.

“You know him?” Rayne asked Al. She nodded though a mouthful of meat.

“Yeah. That’s Acheron Partheonopaus, the leader of the Dark-Hunters. He and Mya have
been friends for-well, for almost forever.”

Leader of the Dark-Hunters, Rayne thought. Both Mya and Ash kept glancing his way the
whole time they were talking. He tried to listen to what they were saying, but they were
speaking in a language he didn’t understand. He sighed and leaned back, wondering what they
were talking about.

“Well?” Mya asked in Minoan, her native language.

“I found them.” Ash paused. Mya had known Ash a long time and he could tell something
was up.

“Tell me Ash.”

“I found the patria. Their grandfather is the leader. He said he didn’t wan the two freak
hybrids in his patria.”

“And there his daughters children?” Ash nodded.

“He didn’t know about them.”

“Did you tell them that they were almost killed?”

“Yes. He didn’t care.” Mya gritted her teeth and squeezed her hands, imaging they were
around the Were’s neck.

“Urgh! The ignorant, cold-hearted, son of a whore, the squimish little girl, the slf-centered
bastard who has no fucking soul-”

“He is all those things and more, but that’s becide the point.” Mya sighed.

“The point is where are these kids going to go?”

“They have to stay here, at least for a little while.”

“But I have duties! How am I going to take care of two Were kids and be a Dark-Hunter?”

“Train the boy. He’s strong, he’ll be good. That way he can protect his sister.”

Until then?”

“They stay here. It’s the only solution I can think of.” Mya sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“What about hunting?” She prayed that Ash wouldnt tell her to stay in 24/7. She would go
nuts.

“Go out a few days a week and do your job. But keep these kids safe,” Ash’s eyes darted to
the kids. “Daimons want these kids and that means we can’t have that.” Mya crossed her arms
and looked down.

“Ok. Go get Tori. I’ll up date you in a few days.” Ash nodded.

“Call me if anything happens.” Mya nodded.

“Bye Al.” Ash waved his hand at the squire.

“See you Ash.” And then he was gone. Mya laughed as Rayne jumped as Ash teleported
away.

“You friends with him?” Mya nodded.

“As much as Ash could be friends.”

Rayne lookes puzzled, but didn’t say a word.

“Well, guess what kiddies? You get to stay here.”

“We’re staying here? For how long?” Rayne asked.

“Until I teach you how to fight.” Rayne looked down right shocked.

“You’re going to teach me to fight?”

“Yep. Be ready when I wake you up tomorrow, kid, you’re getting your first fenncing lesson.”