As soon as the door crashed open, the female occupants of the house screamed and ran for cover while the men rushed him.

Zarek used his telekinesis to pin them to the walls.

"Don't even try it," he snarled at them. "I'm in no mood to deal with you. I'm here for Thanatos."

"He's not here," one of the men said.

"I figured as much. But then, I also figure you can get word to him. Can you?"

"No." "He's going to kill us," a child's voice cried out from the rear of the house.

The fear in the child's tone calmed him, but only a bit.

Zarek released the Apollites he had pinned. "Tell Thanatos that if he wants me, I'll be waiting for him outside of town in Bear's Hollow. If he's not there in an hour, I'm coming back here and cleaning out the Daimons I can feel."

He turned and walked out the door.

Zarek paused a short distance away from them.

They bolted the door behind him and whispered among themselves until they had decided who should go fetch Thanatos.

Satisfied they would deliver his message, Zarek smirked and headed toward his snowmachine.

Getting on, he drove to the rendezvous and sat back to wait.

He pulled out Spawn's cell phone and called Jess.

The Cowboy answered on the third ring. "Hey, Eskimo, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Listen, I left Astrid at my cabin."

"You did what? Are you-"

"Yes, I am insane, but they're safe where they are. I want you to wait for about three hours and then go get her. That should give me enough time."

"Enough time for what?"

"Don't worry about it. Enter my cabin and tell Astrid who you are. She'll be coming out of hiding with another woman. Be kind to the little one, she belongs to Ash."

"What little one?"

"You'll see."

"In three hours?" Jess repeated.

"Yeah."

Jess paused for a few seconds. "What about you, Eskimo?"

"What about me?"

"You're not doing something stupid, are you?"

"No. I'm doing something smart." Zarek hung up.

He tossed the phone into his backpack and pulled out his cigarettes and lighter. He lit up a cigarette while he waited and sat in the frigid cold missing his coat.

But as he thought of the coat, his thoughts turned to Astrid and he warmed up considerably.

How he wished he could have made love to her one more time.

Felt her skin on his. Her breath on his face. Her hands running over his flesh.

He'd never known anything or anyone like her, but then, she was a nymph after all. Wholly unlike anyone else in all the universe.

He still couldn't believe the way he felt about her.

How was she able to soothe the pain in him that he had thought would never cease.

Strange how she took his thoughts away from the past. Away from everything.

No wonder Talon had been willing to die for Sunshine.

It made total sense to him now.

But Zarek didn't want to die for Astrid. He wanted to live for her. He wanted to spend the rest of his immortality by her side.

He couldn't.

Looking up at the mountains around him, he thought ofOlympus . Astrid's home.

Mortals couldn't live there and gods didn't live on earth.

It was hopeless between them.

And he was pragmatic enough to know it. There was no starry-eyed side of him to think for one minute anything could unite them. Any optimism he'd ever felt had been kicked out of him before he was old enough to shave.

Still, he couldn't stop the part of him that ached with loss. The part of him that screamed out soul deep for Astrid to stay with him.

"Damn you, Fates. Damn all of you."

But then, they had. Long, long ago.

He heard the rumble of a snowmachine's engine approaching.

Zarek didn't move until it drew near and stopped. He sat sideways on his seat with his legs stretched out before him, his ankles crossed. His arms folded over his chest, he waited patiently for the rider to dismount.

Thanatos pulled his helmet off and eyed him as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "You really are here." Zarek inclined his head and offered the creature a cold, sinister smirk. "Hair of the dog, baby. Sooner or later, we all dance with the devil. Tonight, it's your turn."

Thanatos narrowed his eyes. "You are an arrogant bastard."

Zarek dropped his cigarette to the ground and crushed it out underneath his boot heel. He laughed bitterly as he pushed himself away from his snowmachine.

"No, not an arrogant bastard. I'm nothing but a piece of shit who touched a star."

He pulled both Glocks out from his shoulder holsters. "Now I'm the son of a bitch who's going to put you out of your misery."

Zarek opened fire.

He didn't expect it to work and he was right.

It did nothing more than make Thanatos stumble back. And make Zarek feel a little better.

He ejected the clips into the snow, reloaded and fired again.

Thanatos laughed. "You can't kill me with a gun."

"I know, but it's fun as hell just shooting you." And with any luck, it might weaken Thanatos enough to where Zarek could stand some chance of killing him.

It was all he had.

When he'd spent his last round, he threw his weapons at Thanatos and followed it up with two grenades.

None of it worked.

It barely made Thanatos pause.

Growling, Zarek rushed him.

They fell to the ground fighting. Zarek kicked and punched with everything he had.

Thanatos was getting bloodier, but then, so was he.

"You can't kill me, Dark-Hunter."

"If you bleed, you can die."

Thanatos shook his head. "That's only a myth humans tell each other to feel better."

Zarek kicked him back and unsheathed his retractable sword. He pressed the button in the hilt, extending it out to its full five-foot length. "Dark-Hunters are myths too but if you cut our heads off, we die. What about you? Can you reattach your head?"

He saw panic flicker in the Daimon's eyes.

"I didn't think so." Zarek arced the blade up.

Thanatos ducked and twirled away from him. He pulled a large, ornamental dagger from his belt.

Zarek's sword skills were a bit rusty, but as they fought, his memory came back to him.

Oh, yeah, he remembered well how to skewer things.

He cut Thanatos across the chest. The Daimon hissed and stumbled back.

"You look afraid, Thanatos."

He curled his lips. "I fear nothing, least of all you."

Thanatos attacked him before he could pull back. He caught Zarek's sword arm and twisted it. Zarek hissed as pain sliced through him.

But that was nothing compared to the stab wound Thanatos delivered to his left arm.

He cursed.

His arm numb, Zarek couldn't hold on to the sword.

Thanatos knocked him to the ground.

He put his knee on Zarek's spine and pulled his hair until his neck was exposed.

Zarek tried to buck him off, but there was nothing he could do except wait for Thanatos to cut his head off.

The dagger's blade cut into his neck.

Zarek held his breath, afraid to move lest he help the blade slice his throat.

Just as the blade cut into his neck, a blast of light flared across the snow, hitting Thanatos and knocking him back.

Zarek collapsed facedown in the snow.

"No, no, no," Simi said as she appeared in human form beside Zarek. "Akrisaid you can't kill Zarek. Bad Thanatos."

His body aching beyond belief, Zarek rolled over onto his back as Thanatos rose to his feet.

"What the hell are you?" Thanatos asked. "Never you mind," she said, kneeling beside Zarek. She touched the cut on his brow and looked at his bleeding arm and neck. "Oh, no, you hurt bad, Dark-Hunter.

Simi very sorry. We thought you'd come back but then Astrid got worried and made me come seek you. You don't look very good, though. You were much more attractive earlier."

Thanatos stalked toward them.

Zarek forced himself up and helped her to her feet. "Simi, go before you get hurt."

She snorted like a horse. "He can't hurt me. No one can."

Thanatos attacked with the dagger.

"See, watch." Simi turned around and let Thanatos stab her in the chest.

He sank the dagger in up to the hilt, then jerked it free.