With his arms crossed over his chest, Urian frowned at Ash while Ash sat on his throne in Katateros and played his shiny black Warlock guitar.
A few feet away from them, Simi lay on her stomach, watching QVC as she devoured a tub of barbecue-flavored popcorn. Dressed in black tights and a short plaid skirt with a pink-and-black peasant top and corset, she had her feathered wings draped around her and her tail kept drifting over to poke at her sister during the commercial breaks.
Because apparently annoying your sibling wasn’t just something humans did.
Ignoring the demons, Urian moved to where Alexion stood off to the side, with the same exact expression on his face that Urian had. The one that said Ash was the supervillain who’d been dropped in a vat of acid and they were waiting for his anti-hero powers to manifest and destroy the world.
’Cause face it, for thousands of years, Alexion had been the only person Ash had allowed in his home besides Simi. Of course, that had been out of profound guilt since Alexion had been one of the first Dark-Hunters Artemis created. And when Ash had tried to make Alexion human again to return him to his family, Ash had royally fucked it up.
To spare Alexion an eternity of extreme pain and torture, the best Acheron could do for him was an eternity spent in a quasi-ghost existence by using his own blood to bind Alexion here.
Too bad Savitar hadn’t explained those powers to Ash sooner. It would have saved both of them a lot of grief.
But at least Alexion wasn’t in constant pain and misery. And now he had Danger here for company.
Yet that wasn’t what Urian found disturbing.
Oh no … Not by a long shot.
In all the centuries he had lived, the most terrifying thing ever was the fact that the leader of the Dark-Hunters—the head badass, son of the Destroyer, was sitting there playing …
“ ‘Push’?” By Matchbox Twenty? Seriously?
Urian stared aghast at Alexion. “What’s the deal with the bossman?”
Alexion shrugged. “I don’t know. He came in last night with a book, went to his room to read, I suppose, and then he came out here this morning and has been playing … those songs ever since.”
Urian was stunned. Those songs were ballads, which Acheron never played.
Godsmack, Sex Pistols, T.S.O.L., Judas Priest, but not …
“Is that …” Urian physically cringed before he spat out the name, “Julio Iglesias?”
“Enrique.”
Urian grimaced in horror. Both at the fact that Acheron was playing it and that Alexion knew it. “I didn’t even know he knew any mellow shit. Dear gods … is he ill?” Was the world coming to an end?
’Cause if it was, he had some stuff he needed to pack and e-mails and Internet history to delete.
“I don’t know. In nine thousand years, I’ve never seen him like this before.”
Urian shuddered. “I’m beginning to get scared. This has to be a sign of the apocalypse. If he breaks out into Air Supply, I say we sneak up on him, drag him outside, and beat the holy shit out of him.”
Alexion snorted. “I’ll let you and the demons do that. I personally like my semiliving state too much to jeopardize it.”
Ash looked up and pierced them both with a malevolent glare. “Don’t you two girls have something better to do, like pick toe lint?”
Urian gave him a taunting grin. “Not really.”
Ash growled a low warning, and just as he appeared ready to tear into them, his phone rang. Leaning his head back, he sighed in frustration.
Urian smirked at Alexion. “Five dollars it’s Artemis.”
Alexei checked his watch. “This time of day, it’s a Hunter. You’re on.”
Urian frowned as they watched him closely. “Well, he’s not getting pissed, so it’s definitely not Aunt Artie.”
“Yeah, and the tic hasn’t started in his jaw, so I don’t think it’s a Hunter … what the hell?”
Acheron ignored them. “What time?”
They both exchanged an exaggerated gape at his unorthodox question.
“Say what?” Urian asked.
“I’ll be there.” Acheron hung up, started to slide the phone into his pocket, and then pulled it out again and dialed it. “I just realized I don’t have your address.”
Now, Urian really was floored. He turned back to Alexion. “Oh yeah, total Armageddon coming. We better duck and cover.”
“I shall see you later then.” Acheron hung up and glared at both of them. “Mind your own business.” Then he vanished.
Alexion let out a nervous laugh. “You know, I would say that Acheron has a girlfriend, but that makes my sphincter clinch.”
“Hey, anything’s possible.”
He laughed nervously. “No, Urian. It’s not. And this definitely isn’t. Trust me. No one wants Acheron dating.”
Maybe, but if Acheron was happy, then maybe he could reconcile him with Styxx and get Acheron to stop paying attention long enough for him to kill his father. Because a morose Ash was a focused Ash. If Urian had learned anything over the last few years, it was that he couldn’t get anything past that bastard. Acheron seemed to be everywhere.
And he watched Urian like a hawk.
But love made men and gods stupid.
It was what had gotten Urian’s entire race cursed. If Ash had a girlfriend, then Urian had a chance for vengeance.