Prologue

The only sound was that constant drip-drip off in the distance somewhere. It echoed all around me in that cliche fashion they always show in the movies. The damsel in distress held captive in the dungeon, waiting for her knight in shining armor to ride to the rescue. Only this wasn’t a movie, there would be no knight to the rescue. Oh, yeah, and the damsel had gotten the shit kicked out of her. My eyes felt swollen and blood was dribbling from my nose. At least it wasn’t the steady stream that had been pouring all over the place ten minutes ago. I pulled against the rope that was cutting wickedly into my wrists. They were still tight as hell and they weren’t getting any looser. They had me. The bastards had me, and it was my own fault. If they killed me, I would deserve it. I couldn’t move a damned inch, they had me tied up so tight. I was helpless. Helpless, if you’ve never been in the position, sucks. Helpless pisses me off. Sometimes I think that I’d rather die than to be helpless. But they wouldn’t kill me, and that was what kept the metallic taste of fear sharp on my tongue.

Footsteps echoed all around the little cell they had me in. I knew who it was before I could see him. I knew, too, that he could walk with the silence and stalking grace of a lion. He wanted me to hear him coming. He wanted to see me flinch. Fuck what he wanted, I stayed still and listened to the sound of his footsteps grow nearer and nearer. And all the time my blood grew colder and colder.

“Hello, Persephone,” he said in that silken voice, just barely tinged with an indeterminable accent, possibly, even probably, Greek, but there wasn‘t enough of it left to really tell. “I wish I could say that you look as lovely as ever, but it appears that you gave my men some trouble.”

I let loose then with an eloquent stream of curses in English, and in my native languages. He merely chuckled softly. “Such language, Oraios. Your vocabulary seems to have expanded in that area since we last met.”

I wanted nothing more than to kill the bastard. The traitor. I refused to even look at him. I didn‘t have to, to know the sardonic expression that rested on his darkly handsome features.

“Forgive me my rough invitation, but I thought you might refuse should I try the normal route. And I was correct, wasn’t I? Or you would have come willingly when my men approached you.” His long-suffering sigh grated my nerves. “They showed me the arsenal they removed from your person, Persephone. Always armed to the teeth, aren’t you? But, it’s no longer the dark ages, child. They use guns now, you’d have done well to have updated your style.”

“Yeah,” I said, my voice hoarse. “I could use a gun about now.”

He chuckled again. “No, Trayo.” This time I did glance up to see a hulking figure move forward. I recognized him as one of the bastards that grabbed me. “I think she’s had quite enough misuse just about now. It is my wish that she recover quickly. Had she been human, she would be dead already.” There was the merest note of censure in his voice as he said that last. Not much, but enough that I knew he didn’t want me dead. That perhaps his boys had been just a bit harder on me than he had anticipated. Asshole.

“If she’d been human, I can’t believe she’d have been so much trouble. Three of my men are dead and one’s critically injured. Whatever she had on that blade is killing him,” he paused to glare at me. “Slowly.” I would have smiled if my face hadn‘t stiffened on me. Did I mention that I‘d gotten a beating? “What was so important about this one? She doesn’t look like much-”

“Maybe not now, with her face all swollen and bruised, my friend. But she isn’t really trying, either. When she wants, she can shine like the sun.”

“Spiro, what the hell is she, though? When you said ‘not human,’ I thought vampire or lycanthrope or something like that. But she doesn’t have that kind of strength, and she didn’t transform into anything...”

“And yet she gave you so much trouble that she killed three of your men, and critically wounded another,” Spiro said, shrewdly.

“It was the craziest thing I’d ever seen,” Trayo said, a note of awe in his voice. “Two of the guys turned on each other. Out of the blue, never had a single problem with either of them before. They weren’t enemies, and they weren’t friends. They didn’t give a damn about each other. But the next thing I knew, bam, they’re drawing their weapons, on each other. I knew it had something to do with the girl, but I still don’t see what.”

“She is an exceedingly rare creature, Trayo. Her mother was a nymph, but instead of a human father, he was a muse.”

“A muse? I don’t get it. They’re just models-”

“Not a human muse, fool. The race. A human couldn’t even come close to channeling the kind of inspiration that a real muse can. They are all but extinct now. Only a few of the greatest, richest artists have them. But in ancient times, there were many. The most common inspired various forms of art, but there were others. Some inspired war, for example. Others inspired invention, or change, or industry. The art muses are supposed to be the only ones are left now, and even they are rare.”

“So, she’s a one of a kind?” Friend Trayo let his greedy little eyes rake up and down my length.

“Most likely. Since it became popular to hunt nymph centuries ago, they are rare also. Humans are beasts, aren’t they, Persephone? They covet and fear and kill. Why do you try so hard to protect them?”

“They aren’t cattle, Spiro. Most vampires try to live alongside them now. Even the lycanthropes are coming round. You were human once, why do you hate them so much?”

He pressed his lips tightly together and stared at me angrily. “That was a very long time ago. They are beasts. Blood is the only thing I wish from them, and the occasional hired help,” he gave Trayo a small nod before turning his full attention on him. “Do you understand just what is so rare about her? I don’t want you losing your patience and damaging her. All nymphs are female, most copulate with human males and their offspring are always female and always nymph. Muses can be male or female, but their offspring are always muses. She is the product of both and has the full powers of both, she is not to be underestimated. She could be very valuable, and I intend to exploit that in every possible way. Give her the injection now and bring her to her rooms. A maid will attend her there.”

I didn’t get a chance to tell him to go fuck himself; Trayo was silent and quick. There was a quick bee sting sensation and then nothing. No fading even, just blackness. I never even felt my eyelids slide shut.