Or rather his demise.
Mike had been offered a fortune to kill him, and since the moment they had left New Orleans about twelve hours ago, Zarek had been waiting for the middle-aged Squire to either open the sealed windows and expose him to the deadly sunlight or to jettison his compartment and drop him over something that was guaranteed to take the immortality right out of him.
Instead, Mike was dicking around with him and had yet to pull the switch. Not that Zarek cared. He had a few more tricks to teach the Squire if Mike tried anything.
"Nah," Mike said as the chopper dipped without warning sharply to the left again and slammed Zarek into the wall of his compartment. He was beginning to suspect the pilot kept doing that just for shits and giggles.
The helicopter tilted again while Zarek braced himself for it.
"I thought about it, real hard, but you know I figure frying this bastard is way too good for him. I'd rather leave him to the Blood Rite Squires and let them take him out slow and painfully. Personally, I'd like to hear the psycho-dick scream for mercy, especially after what he did to those poor, innocent cops.
"
The muscle in Zarek's jaw started to tic in time to his rapid, angry heartbeat as he listened. Yeah, those cops had been real innocent, all right. If Zarek had been mortal, the beating they gave him would have either killed him or he'd be lying in a coma right now.
The voice spoke over the radio again. "I heard from the Oracles that Artemis will pay double to the Squire who kills him. You put that on top of what Dionysus was going to pay you for killing him and I personally think you're a fool to pass on it."
"No doubt, but I have enough money to pacify me. Besides, I'm the one who's had to tolerate the dick's attitude and sneers. He thinks he's such a badass. I want to see them take him down a notch before they cut his head off."
Zarek rolled his eyes at Mike's words. He didn't give a rat's ass what the man thought of him.
He'd learned a long time ago that there was no use in trying to reach out to people.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) All it did was get him slapped.
He tucked his MP3 player back into his black duffel bag and grimaced as his knee connected roughly against the wall. Gods, get him out of this tight, cramped place. It felt like being in a sarcophagus.
"I'm surprised the Council didn't activate Nick's Blood Rite status for this hunt," the other voice said.
"Since he spent the last week with Zarek, I would think he would be a natural for it.
"
Mike snorted. "They tried, but Gautier refused.
"
"Why?
"
"I have no idea. You know how Gautier is. He doesn't take orders very well. Makes me wonder why they ever initiated him into Squirehood to begin with. I can't imagine any Dark-Hunter other than Acheron or Kyrian who could put up with his mouth.
"
"Yeah, he is a smart-ass. And speaking of, my Dark-Hunter is paging me so I better go to work. You be careful with Zarek and stay out of his way.
"
"Don't worry. I'm going to dump him out and leave him for the others to track down, then get my butt out ofAlaska faster than you can say 'Rumpelstiltskin.'
"
The radio clicked off.
Zarek sat perfectly still in the darkness and listened to Mike breathing in the cockpit.
So, the prick had changed his mind about killing him.
Well, bully that. The Squire had finally grown a ball, and half a brain. At some point during the last few hours Mike must have decided that suicide wasn't the answer.
For that, Zarek would let him live.
But he would make him suffer for the privilege.
And may the gods help the rest who were coming for him. On the frozen ground that made upAlaska 's interior, Zarek was invincible. Unlike the other Dark-Hunters and Squires, he'd had nine hundred years of arctic survival training. Nine hundred years of just him and the uncharted wilderness.
Sure, Acheron had visited every decade or so just to make certain he was still alive, but no one else had ever come calling.
And people wondered why he was insane.
Create PDF files without this message by purchasing novaPDF printer (http://www.novapdf.com) Up until about ten years ago, he'd had no contact whatsoever with the outside world during the long summer months that forced him to live inside his remote cabin.
No phone, no computer, no television.
Nothing but the quiet solitude of rereading the same stack of books over and over again until he had them memorized. Waiting in eager anticipation for the nights to grow long enough for him to be able to travel from his rural cabin intoFairbanks while the businesses were still open and he could interact with people.