Katie's Hellion

"Prestige. You move to the head of the immortals' hierarchy. Immunity to Death, children with magical powers --"

"Children?"

" --protection from enemies, a really comfortable lifestyle, and some mates even are able to tap into their immortals' talents."

Eternity. Children.

She couldn't have one day without some sort of surprise or other? As if sensing her distress, Daniela poured her another two shots of brandy.

"Where are we?" Katie asked.

"In the Caribbean on an undeclared island."

"Undeclared?"

"Protected by magic. No one knows we're here, except those seeking refuge."

"Is refuge…free?"

"Always. We sell our liquors and also are the beneficiaries of various immortals. The Ancient Andre, who became dead-dead recently, left us his fortune, as have many others before him."

"I met him. He seemed like a good man. Ancient. Whatever."

"He was the glue that bound the Council That Was Seven. Seven brothers with one common immortal father and seven separate mothers. Their father fought the Dark One and left his children to carry the torch. Only, the siblings couldn't ever get along. It was said two of them turned on the others, aligned with evil, and only Andre had the power to kill any of the others. He was their elder, the peacemaker, and the executioner. He sentenced both brothers to Hell for eternity."

"Sasha and Rhyn," Katie said quietly, touching her throat again. "What did they do?"

"They turned on their brothers and against humans and the order of good. Massacred millions. The human race barely survived. The legends are thick in every culture, from floods to plagues to volcanoes and the ground rising up to swallow people, to the influence of men who slaughtered whole nations for entertainment."

"They did all that?"

"According to the legend. Sasha was the first to align with the Dark One, and Rhyn…"

"Rhyn what?"

"They say he went mad when the woman he'd chosen as his mate chose Kris instead. She died at Rhyn's hands. The legends don't say what happened, but after Rhyn killed the woman, he tried to kill Kris. Andre stopped him, and Death made him disappear."

"How awful," Katie breathed. "Does that mean your theory about mates is wrong, if they fought over one woman?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to know. Maybe she was an Ancient's mate, too."

Rhyn was a mass murderer, a creature who had tried to wipe out the human race.