Blood dripped in a steady rhythm, keeping in sync with the pounding going on behind her eyes. The last man lay dead at her feet, and now her family could rest in peace.2
Yet there would be no rest for her. Looking like something out of the final scenes of Carrie, the woman glanced to the side as a figure appeared. He was tall, gorgeous and had the lethal aura of someone that had killed far too many in his existence. 3
“Tria,” he said, his voice surprisingly deep, and with the hint of some hard to place exotic accent that added a lilt to the tree-ah pronunciation of her name. Even though it was the middle of the night, his eyes were shielded by dark sunglasses, which added to his sinister/angelic appearance. “Come with me.”4
She didn’t know who he was, although some part of her mind was telling her that this was the man the woman had mentioned. No, not woman, she corrected herself… goddess. Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, to be more precise. After her death, Tria had been approached by a beautiful redhead who offered her the choice of revenge, or continued death. With the memories still too fresh in her mind, she chose revenge. 5
Tria had nothing left to live for, not that she would ever consider herself alive past this point. Those that lay dead at her feet had taken her life; and for that, they paid the ultimate price.6
Inhaling deeply, she wiped blood soaked hands on an equally bloody shirt, then turned to the stranger. “Let’s go.”7
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Present Day
8Tria Cavanaugh watched the action in the alley below, smiling slightly as the four blonds approached the two women and backed them into a corner. Inhaling the fear that was emanating from the soon to be victims, Tria stood from her sitting position halfway up the fire escape, then vaulted over the railing, falling the five stories to the ground. Landing in a crouch, she stood and stalked to the nearest blonde who had his attention still on the women. 9
Not even breaking stride, Tria pulled a knife from a sheath on her side, and plunged it into the chest of the man as she walked by him. He exploded in a cloud of golden dust, the small chuffing sound making the other three turn to look. 10
“Daimons,” Tria said in a pleasant voice. She looked past them to the women that had been cornered. “Time to leave. And I do mean now.” The women ran away without complaint, leaving the three Daimons.11
“Dark-Hunter,” one of the Daimons said.12
“Huntress,” Tria corrected him. “A female Hunter is referred to as a Huntress.” She paused with a smile. “Or, as I like to call it, the last person you’ll see before I dust your ass.”13
“Big talk for one against three.”14
Flinging her hand out, she smiled as a knife pierced the black spot on another Daimon’s chest. “One against two,” she said as the knife fell to the ground. She took a step back as the remaining Daimons attacked together, and spun quickly, the long black jacket she wore trailing along behind her.15
Catching one in the back with her foot, she pivoted and landed an elbow to the second, knocking them both to the ground. Continuing around, she grabbed a knife from her belt, and stabbed down, getting one of the Daimons in the shoulder. He yelled in agony as she jumped on him, landing for a brief second on his stomach with high heeled boots, then spring off.16
The other Daimon was to his feet for a whole second before he exploded in a puff of dust from a thrown knife. The remaining Daimon was still on the ground, panting in agony as Tria turned, and gave her a menacing glare. 17
An unimpressed face stared back at him, and then a cruel smile crossed her lips. “I love the smell of Daimon dust in the morning,” she said with a sigh.18
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~19
The light had just turned green when a woman ran through the intersection, causing Tria to slam on the brakes in her car. Shaking her head in annoyance, she placed her foot back on the gas pedal, pausing as she caught the unmistakable feeling that Daimons were nearby. 20
Pulling over to the curb, she got out of her blood red Roadster 3.2 Turbo, and headed for the alley where the woman that had run out in front of her had come from. All she had time for was one quick kill before she had to head back home to beat sunrise.21
The two blonde men and two blonde women coming towards her brought a smile to her, and she palmed a knife in each hand as she continued walking. The four were staring at her, then stopped when she stepped out of the shadows so they could see her clearer.22
“We’ve got no quarrel with you, Dark-Hunter,” one of them said.23
Tria sighed. “See, here’s my problem. If I let you live, then that means you’re going to kill humans. If that happens, then my boss is going to have a serious freak out.” She looked at them sincerely. “Have you ever seen Ash Parthenopaeus freak out? It’s not pretty.”24
Two of the Daimons turned and started running in the direction they had come from. Pointing at the other end of the alley, Tria called upon her specific powers that she had been granted upon becoming a Dark-Huntress. The Daimons stopped as fire flickered to life, and quickly filled the end of the alley, blocking their way. 25
“There’s only one way out of here,” Tria told them. “So, let’s get this over so I can get home.”26
As one unit, the Daimons attacked, with two immediately being stabbed by the knives she had in her palms. Hissing in pain, Tria felt something stab into her side, and tried to pull back as the feeling was repeated three more times. The pain was nothing compared to what she was used to, but she couldn’t maneuver while one Daimon was busy stabbing her.27
Bringing her knee up, she caught the remaining female Daimon in the stomach, and then brought down her head to smack it against her. The Daimon staggered back, the knife in her hand falling to the ground. 28
The remaining male Daimon punched Tria in the chest, making her take a step back. She grabbed his arm as he swung again, and pulled him towards her at the same time she brought another knife up to meet him. 29
With only one adversary left, Tria spun, ready, and looked for her. Spotting the Daimon vaulting over the flames that were still burning, Tria sighed, then held her hand out. The flames immediately died. Ignoring the ache in her side, she headed back to her car.30
Getting in, she checked the time, swore at how late it was, and decided to find out just how fast her sweet lil’ Roadster could actually do.31
~~~~~~~~~~32
Trinity Wells paced from one end of the driveway to the other, looking back and forth along the stretch of road that ran in front of her. Sunrise was mere minutes away, and her Huntress was yet to return home. As Tria’s squire, Trinity was responsible for her well-being, and really wished that Tria wouldn’t push things to the limit. She liked to return as close to dawn as she could, but had never cut it this close before. 33
Trinity grabbed at her cell phone as it rang. “Tria?” she said when she answered. “Where are you? Do you need a pick up?”34
“I need you to get your ass out of the driveway,” Tria said as the unmistakable sounds of an engine being pushed to its limits sounded in the background, and also over the small hill in the distance. “I know you’re probably pacing, and I’m not even going to slow down until I’m in the garage, so move it… and open the garage door for me.”35
Trinity could hear the car coming closer, and sighed in relief as headlights crested the hill. Her relief faded as the first rays of sun also started peeking over the same hill. Turning, she hit the small button on the security gate that would raise the garage door, then ran to the side as the car got closer. 36
Thankful for her heavily tinted windows, Tria took her foot off the gas pedal long enough to hover over the brake as she shifted gears. Hopefully timing it right, she spun the wheel, shifting again as she stepped on the brake pedal. The car swung dangerously, the straightened as she touched the gas again, and sped to the garage, before tires squealed in protest of stopping.37
Trinity watched, hoping that the car would stop in time, and that she wouldn’t be pulling Tria out of yet another wrecked car. The Huntress tended to hit the back of the garage rather often. Slightly surprised at the absence of crunching metal, Trinity ran back to the gate, pushed the buttons for both the gate and garage doors to close, then trotted towards the buildings.38
“You’re pushing it close,” Trinity said as she entered through the heavily shade side door. “The sun’s already peeking over the horizon, and you’re just coming in?”39
Tria stared at her as she got out of the car. “What? You going to ground me?” she commented dryly. Scoffing, she went to the door for the main house and entered. Taking off her jacket, she held it out to her squire. “Needs repair.”40
“What’s wrong with the jacket this time?”41
Tria held it up and poked her finger through one of the holes. “It’s holy, Trinity.”42
Trinity groaned in fake pain. “Holy Trinity… good one, Tria. Never heard anything even remotely similar to that before.”43
Tria laughed at the sarcasm in her squire’s voice. “Just drop it off at the dry cleaners to be fixed, okay?” She started for the door that lead to the basement stairs. “And maybe pick up some chocolate when you come back.”44
“Too much chocolate isn’t good for you.”45
Tria gave her an arched look. “Us dead folk don’t really care.” She turned back for the door. “And none of that bitter dark-chocolate crap.”46
Trinity watched as her boss closed the door behind her, then grabbed the jacket from the back of the chair and held it up. “Aw, geeze,” she sighed as she saw the blood by one of the holes.47
~~~~~~~~~~~~~48
The bedroom was large and dark. Just the way she preferred it. Taking up the whole basement, it consisted of a king size bed with a pure white overstuffed comforter complete with four pillows. A large burgundy chair sat in the corner by a bookcase full of magazines and books, while a large flat screen television hung on the wall opposite it. Below the TV was another bookcase, this one filled to overflowing with DVD movies. In the far corner of her room, a computer desk stood with her link to the outside world and other Dark-Hunters during the daylight hours.
On the other side of the room, by her bed, were two doors. One was loaded down with her equipment; knives, swords, throwing stars, guns, and other handy things, while the other door led to a safety passage that came out in the hills behind her house. Most Dark-Hunters had an escape route or two from their house in case they needed to get out during daylight. 49
Stripping off her black jeans and silk shirt, Tria made her way past the computer desk, and through the door that lead to the bathroom. She glanced at the Jacuzzi bathtub, then deciding to go for a shower instead, went to the glass doors on the other side of the toilet to start the water.50
Stepping in to the large hexagonal shaped shower, she sighed in appreciation as water came at her from all directions courtesy of the five showerheads. Hissing as the water slammed against the knife wounds she had received, she reached out and batted the showerhead on that side down before arching her body so she could see the cuts. 51
Four neat little gashes rested just below the bottom rib, the skin around them already puckering as they healed. Ignoring the cuts, she continued to clean, then stood under the spray until the water started to chill. Turning off the flow, she opened the door, grabbed a large fluffy burgundy towel and wrapped it around her. 52
Running a brush through her long hair, she divided it and started braiding so it wouldn’t be a rat’s nest of a mess when she woke up. Up until about five years previous, her hair had been short and dyed black. Then, movies started cropping up with women in tight black outfits, long jacket and short black hair. Not wanting to look like a ‘wannabe’, Tria let her naturally blond hair grow long, dyed it milk chocolate brown, and loaded it with silver and black streaks. 53
With the braiding finally done, she slung the towel over the shower rack and headed back to her room. Picking up her clothes from the floor, she put them through the laundry shoot for her squire, then grabbed a nightdress from the large dresser by the equipment closet. Her room was completed by the addition of a small kitchen near the computer. Rather, it was a shelf unit with a small fridge, coffee maker and microwave. 54
Dressed for bed, and too tried to watch one of her movies, Tria slipped in under the silk sheets, and tried to get comfortable… a feat that was difficult because the wounds on her side were quickly healing, and pulling each time she moved. Finally finding a comfort zone, she stared into the darkness and hoped for a peaceful day’s sleep. 55
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~56
Acheron Parthenopaeus sighed in ultimate contentment as he lazed in his bed. Usually by now, he would be up, dressed and checking through his voice messages. But today was no ordinary day. Today marked the first day of his coveted ‘Artemis Free time’…two glorious months free from any contact whatsoever with the woman who was the bane of his existence. Of course he had to give her two weeks of sexual servitude per year for the respite, but he found it a small price to pay to be rid of her from his mind and personal life for sixty wonderful days. 57
Because of a not so bright suggestion on his part, Artemis had broken up the fourteen days into two days on alternate months, with two months containing three days. He had spent the past two days with her, and would spend two days with her immediately following his vacation, but he didn’t care. He was well fed from his weekend with her, free from interference, and treated himself to a rare lazing around in bed.58
From down the hall, he could hear the light sounds of Simi’s music being played, and he smiled. Simi loved the two month period even more than he did, and was in the middle of planning a large party. Ash wasn’t sure who she would invite, since the only beings in Katoteros were him, Simi, her sister Xirena, Alexion, who could best be described as Ash’s right-hand man, and Danger, Alexion’s lover. For Ash, that was too many beings already in his home. He was a man who liked things ordered, and nice and quiet. Then again, having Simi around tended to put a large dent in the quiet.59
He closed his eyes, ignored the music, and tried to get some more sleep, but ten thousand years of habit nibbled away at the contentment he was feeling. All too soon, his usual need to be doing something prompted him to finally get out of bed and start his day. Not that that in itself was a bad thing. With Artemis blocked from him, he could actually do some things that he couldn’t do while she was busy harping at him in his thoughts. 60
Two months out of the year, he checked in on a few of the female Dark-Hunters. Even though he could check in on them any time he wanted, the ensuing jealousy from Artemis made it far more hassle than it was worth. Telephone calls and internet chats were fine, but sometimes he needed to check things out for himself and see what was going on. Besides, it was nice being around the Huntresses, since they knew he was forbidden, and he didn’t have to worry about having to fight off their advances.61
After coming off an Artemis weekend, it would be especially nice to be around a woman whose main intent wasn’t groping his crotch or jumping his bones. Not that human females didn’t do that anyway. He was coveted and loved by all women, a little curse he picked up by being born a god to a human woman. 62
Since the child of Apollymi was destined to bring about the end of the world, it was deemed that he be killed. To protect her child, Apollymi took him from her body and place him in the womb of Queen Aara of Didymous. Upon his birth, King Acarion, his ‘father’ thought him possessed because of his silver eyes, and ordered him killed. The priestesses who attended prevented the death, and named him Acheron after the river of woe. His twin brother, Styxx, was born human, and everything that should have been lavished upon the first son fell to him, while Ash was used and abused. 63
When he grew into teen-hood, his good looks blossomed and that, along with his exotic silver eyes made him irresistible to women. They all wanted him, and his seemingly natural ability to please a woman. At one time he used that to his full advantage, needing something to take the pain and loneliness away that his family had dealt him. He had found people that wanted him for more than a whipping post, and before he knew it, he was nothing more than an incredibly good-looking, highly talented male prostitute, using his body for gain. 64
But, eventually, it gets stale when people want you for your body only, and soon he grew to even detest people touching him. When it all came down to it, they were using him the same way everyone else in his life had used him, but somehow those scars were harder to come to grips with than the ones his father would dole out with a whip. Even now, he hated having people touch him, and only put up with Artemis because he needed to.65
“Maybe, baby, I’ll have you…” Ash laughed in annoyance as the song filtered from Simi’s room. Even though he was in a great mood, that song definitely didn’t fit his mood at all. Ash walked across his room and sat in the chair in front of the computer. With his thoughts, he logged on to the dark-hunter.com web site, went to the ultra-secure area and checked a few messages and board posts. One topic on the Squire’s board in particular caught his attention, and he opened the post to read. 66
She came in late, again. Now, as her squire, I should be worried, right? But noooo. What do I get? I get told to move my ass out of the way, and then handed a bloody jacket to be cleaned. And let’s not forget the chocolate order. It sucks that DH’s can’t get fat, ‘cause damn it, she eats a ton of the stuff. Well, at least she didn’t run the car into the back of the garage again.
Ash laughed to himself. Trinity Wells liked to bitch about her Huntress, but deep down he knew she would die for Tria. Besides, she was actually the first squire to last longer than a year with the sometimes volatile Huntress, and Ash had to admire that in someone.
“Tria,” he said slowly, his natural accent giving a small lilt to her name. He hadn’t dropped in on her in nearly twenty-five years, and decided to make that his first stop. Although she was a lot younger than most of the other Hunters, having only been one for thirty years, she had suffered more in her death than a few of them combined.
Standing, he manifested clothes on his body, and headed for the door to let Simi know that he would be leaving at dusk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The ringing of the alarm clock went unnoticed as the bed’s occupant tossed and turned in an uneasy sleep. More often than not, being hurt brought up the memories of her death for Tria, and this time was no exception.
In 1978, she had been a happily married woman, with three boys under the age of eight, and a fourth child on the way. Her husband worked in a factory, providing for his growing family. They were the picture-perfect family. Then, her brother moved in with them, ‘just for a month’ he told them, until he got his feet under him and a job.
Unfortunately for Tria, the job her brother found ended up costing her the lives of her family and herself. Her brother, Dean, started dealing drugs; cutting in to the territory of some rather well established and heavily armed gangs. Threats were made against Dean, and rather intense men would drop by the house at all hours. One night, Dean came back bloody and completely high. He told his sister that he thought he killed someone in a deal, and that she had to hide him. People were after him, and wanted him dead.
Tria’s husband kicked him out of his house, and told him to never come back. Dean didn’t, but those he pissed off did. At one in the morning, February 20, 1978, four men broke into the house, and demanded to know where Dean was. They didn’t believe that he wasn’t there, and wanted to wait for him to return. When her husband asked them to leave, they shot him in front of his wife and children.
With the intruders being high, and the drug of choice probably angel dust, things quickly spiraled out of hand. Grabbed before she could get her children out of the house, Tria was restrained while the men looked through the house. The sounds of her boys yelling in pain made her sick to her stomach and all her screaming for them to leave earned her was a knife to the stomach.
Falling to the floor in agony, she landed by the dead body of her beloved husband. The men, hallucinating and having delusional ideas from the drugs, set upon her. Repeatedly raped through the evening by all four, and by foreign objects, Tria screamed until her voice gave out, begging for them to leave her alone because she was four months pregnant. She screamed for her children, her dread and panic growing when they didn’t respond. Praying that all they did was tie her childen up, but somehow knowing that they didn’t, she cursed the men.
Since her family lived at the end of a long lane, her neighbours never heard her screams as they continued, and before it was over, she had been tortured and raped by the men who laughed as they employed knives, razors and her own curling iron. By the end, she was silent, staring at nothing while she begged in her mind for death and for vengeance.
Suddenly, there was absolute silence, that in itself far more frightening than the laughter and taunts that had accompanied the men as they forced themselves into her. Opening her eyes, she realized she was lying on her stomach on her floor, covered in blood. With only the strength to move her head, she turned and blinked as she saw a woman’s feet in golden sandals. Following the legs up, she went past the flowing white dress to settle her gaze on a beautiful face framed by long red hair.
“I have an offer for you,” the woman had said.
Tria’s eyes flew open and she bolted up in her bed. Quickly getting out, she ran to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before throwing up the contents of her stomach. Her body shook as she crouched in front of the toilet, and continued to shake as she reached out to flush. Forcing herself to her feet, she went to the sink, started the water and cupped some to her mouth to rinse. Splashing her face, she put her arms on the counter for support while she continued to shake.
When she was awake, she could stop the memories, but while asleep, they had full reign of her. Dreaming about that night always made her sick to her stomach, and would most likely put her in a foul mood for the rest of the evening. Sighing, she pushed herself from the counter and walked back to the bedroom to get dressed. From experience, she knew the dream would be repeated a few more times, and although she hated having a Dream-Hunter in her mind, she hated the dream more, and decided to let D’Alerian know that she would be needing him for the next time she went to sleep.
Turning off the still ringing alarm clock as she walked by, she went to the closet, grabbed a pair of black jeans, and slipped them on, then reached for a shirt, going for black lace. More often than not, the unspoken uniform of Dark-Hunters was basic black, and she saw no reason to change. Besides, it made it easier for her to blend into the background while hunting Daimons.
The only thing she wore that was different from most was the jacket. Most Hunters went with black leather, while she preferred mohair. It was still black, but breathed in the summer, which made life a lot more comfortable on those muggy nights. Kenneth Cole™ three and a half inch knee high black leather boots completed her look. Unbraiding her hair, she ran her fingers through it, then headed out of her room ready to face another night of kicking Daimon tush.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ash walked through the city’s streets, watching the people around him from behind dark sunglasses. As usual, most women gave him lingering looks, which he ignored. He had called Tria, only to be told by Trinity that she had already left for the evening. Ash had already located the Huntress’ blood red Roadster in a parking garage a few blocks from where he now was, and decided to walk to where he thought she might be.
He knew it was ‘Goth Night’ at a popular downtown nightclub, and it was one night that Daimons liked because they could wander around, flash their fangs, and literally have women flock to them. Not that their normal good looks didn’t attract them, but the addition of the fangs pulled in more.
Ash was about a block away when he saw a woman leaning against a wall, with a man talking to her. Suddenly, the man grabbed the woman’s arm, and she responded by slamming him against the wall by his neck.
Ash sighed. The woman had long brown hair that was the shade of milk chocolate, and loaded with black and silver streaks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 67
Goth Night. The one time where having fangs was an advantage, and most people stayed the hell away from you. Tria loved Goth Night.68
Usually.69
This one though, seemed to have brought out more than it’s fair share of weirdos and creeps. And the place was packed. Since her death, Tria hated being unnecessarily touched, and had to stop herself form cringing when the occasional person accidentally brushed against her. One person, however, walked in front of her three or four times, maneuvering so his body brushed against hers as she stood leaning against the bar.70
Finally, he stopped in front of her, giving her a creepy looking once over, and smiled, showing obviously fake and cheesy looking fangs. 71
“I bet you’re a freaky one in bed,” he said as he practically leered at her.72
Tria gave the man a bored look, then turned away. She tensed as he moved closer, running a hand over her hip. Although she could kill him with one well-placed hit, she knew it would be more trouble than it was worth. Acheron Parthenopaeus tended to get extremely pissed off when Dark-Hunters killed humans.73
“Come on, baby,” the man whispered. “Why don’t you come back to my place and wrap those long legs around me.”74
“Go away,” Tria said with forced patience. She pushed herself off from the bar and walked for the door. There’s always one asshole that ruins the night, she thought as she stepped out in to the warm evening air. The dinner theatre across the street was just getting out, and she leaned against the wall to watch for any Daimons exiting both the bar and the theatre.75
“What’s your rush?”76
Sighing in annoyance, she glanced to the voice, snarling at the man who had followed her outside. “Look, bud,” she said. “I’m not interested, all right?”77
“You’re a lesbian,” he said. “Right? Well, that doesn’t matter to me, baby. We can pick up another one and I can watch.” 78
Tria rolled her eyes as she tried to ignore him. “I’m not a lesbian,” she said. “And I want you to leave.”79
“Or maybe you’re a hooker,” he spat.80
“Yeah, that’s it,” she replied. “And you can’t afford me, so blow.”81
“Look, bitch,” he said as he grabbed her by the arm. “Don’t mouth-“82
Moving so fast that he didn’t have time to blink, Tria pivoted, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him against the wall.83
“Listen the hell up,” she hissed. “You ever touch me again, and I’ll tear your fucking heart out and make you eat it before you die. Got me?!” 84
He nodded quickly. “Get off me, you bitch.”85
Tria pulled him from the wall, and slammed him against it again. Arms grabbed at her from behind, gently pulling her back. She lost her grip on the man and he fell to the ground as she transferred her hand to the arm holding her, and tried to get loose.86
“Tria! It’s me, Ash.”87
She calmed slightly but still pulled at his arm. No one was allowed to touch her, not even Acheron Parthenopaeus, even though he was the only person in the entire world that she trusted. 88
“Let me go, Ash.”89
Ash immediately removed his arms from around her, and took a step back when she spun to face him. “What happened?”90
“I asked him not to touch me,” she said. “And he didn’t listen.”91
“Tria.”92
She glared at the warning that was in his voice. “What?” she snapped. “Oh, come on, Ash. Do you honestly think I beat the hell out of him just for that?”93
“You tell me.”94
“I asked, he didn’t listen, so I asked again, and he kept on touching me.” Sniffing in indignation, she folded her arms over her chest. “So, I left… ask anyone in the bar. I got out here, and he followed, grabbed me, and…I kicked his ass.”95
“Okay.” Ash looked down as the man on the ground started to move. He used some of his own power to heal the man, and glared as the person slowly sat up. 96
The man looked at Tria, and glared. “You bitch.”97
“Dude,” Ash said slowly, “I think you owe my friend an apology.”98
The man’s eyes flicked to Ash, and widened in surprise at his size. He got to his feet, muttered something that could have passed as an apology, then slunk away.99
Ash looked at her. She returned his gaze calmly, but underneath he could sense annoyance at him for stepping in and stopping. Reaching into a pocket on his coat, he pulled something out and handed it to her. 100
Tria shook her head in humor as she took the chocolate bar from his hand. “Thanks,” she said. “What brings you here?”101
“Just doing some random visits,” he said.102
“Oh.” She studied his ripped t-shirt, black leather pants, biker boots, long black leather jacket and fingerless gloves, she transferred her gaze to the club behind them. “Thought you might be here to be crowned Goth King.” 103
Ash arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re funny. No, really, I mean it.” He sighed. “Let’s walk and talk.”104
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~105
Tria ran her hands over her face as they waited for the pedestrian walk light. “Yeah, it’s been strange here lately. It’s like.. I don’t know…like the Daimons have gotten braver.”106
“Any gallu sightings?”107
“Who?”108
Ash stopped and looked at her. “Gallu,” he repeated. “The ones in the high priority e-mail that I sent out a few months ago.” He frowned as she just stared at him. “You do read your e-mail, don’t you?”109
“Gallu,” Tria said slowly. “Sumerian demons originally created to destroy Atlantean controlled Charonte demons.”110
“Yes.” Ash started walking again. “Any spotted?”111
Tria shook her head. “I find the concept of gallu’s hard to believe, and that’s saying a lot. Explain it to me in a way that I won’t think you’ve gone completely crazy,” she said, then pointed to a coffee shop. “And buy me a coffee while you’re doing it.”112
“You’ve got a caffeine addiction,” Ash said. 113
“Little something I picked up from Talon,” she said, wrinkling her nose as she entered the café. Talon, a former New Orleans Dark-Hunter was a devout worshipper of Chicory, Goddess of Caffeine.114
After Tria got her coffee, they settled in a booth. “Start talking, boss,” she said. 115
Ash shook his head slightly, then began. “Here’s the short version, so pay attention. Gallus have double rows of fangs, so right there, they’re nasty bastards. They have no real morals, and will attack anyone. The poison in their bite infects people and turns them in to a demon as well. Cauterizing wounds in time will burn the poison out. So, if you’re bitten, use that power of yours and start burning.116
”The only real way to stop a gallu is to behead it, then cremating the bodies, which stops then from coming back to life. If someone is infected, and it’s not caught, then they’ll turn, and then infect more. Nothing scares them, and they’ll kill just for the fun of it.”117
Tria stared at him. “I was kind of hoping that e-mail was your sick sense of humor on overdrive,” she finally said. 118
“I wish it was, but these guys make Daimons look like pansy-asses.”119
Adding your comment:
I loved the part about him questioning if she's a lesbian, and her answer 
I learned something new!
The typos... sigh.. darn thing keeps reverting to single space when I edit, so I needed to find them all and do a massive edit.. and thanks to you, I think I have them all (neighbour.. Canadian spelling 
)
