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leaning closer for a better look at
    what he was doing. "They're gods. Normal human
    medicine doesn't work on them."
    "Then why are we operating?"
    "Because he's bleeding and unconscious . . .
    I've never seen a Dream-Hunter bleed before,
    especially not like this. But I figure if he
    bleeds, he could bleed out and die."
    On one hand that made sense, but on another . .
    . "Gods can't die, right?"
    "Sure they can. It just takes a lot and usually
    an immortal weapon of some kind, which I'm going
    to lay odds was in the hands of Kaiaphas when he
    attacked." He glanced up at her with a pointed
    stare. "Demons don't usually attack a god or
    anyone else unless they think they're going to
    kill them. It tends to piss off the target who
    then looks up ways to torture and kill the demon.
    Then it just gets messy as they go at each other.
    As a rule, the demon usually loses, especially
    when it's a god who's been angered, so demons tend
    59
    to be a bit more circumspect than the usual
    predator. When they strike it's usually quick and
    fatal."
    Simone let out a tired breath at the simple
    truth of that statement. She looked down at Xypher
    as he lay in a deceptively peaceful repose. His
    body was honed and lethal. A perfect specimen of
    male beauty.
    Asleep like this, he looked like an angel, but
    then given his acerbic personality she could just
    imagine the list of people who might want him
    dead.
    Including herself.
    But to the point of calling out a demon to
    destroy him? That was harsh.
    Poor Xypher.
    She didn't speak any more while Carson cleaned,
    cauterized, and then stitched Xypher closed. By
    the time they were finished, Xypher was still
    unconscious, but sweating profusely.
    She put her hand to his whiskered cheek that
    was firm and, just as she suspected, feverish.
    Feeling for him, she went to the sink to wash
    up and then wet a cloth with cold water.
    Hope fully this would help. She took the cloth to
    him and laid it across his brow and was struck
    again by his good looks. He really was an
    incredibly handsome man.
    All she really knew about him was that he was a
    jerk . . . and that he'd twice saved her life.
    She looked up at Carson who was in the washroom
    as she remembered the term Xypher had used to
    describe himself. "What exactly are Skotos?"
    Carson dried his hands on a small hand towel
    before he walked back over to her. "Where did you
    hear that term?"
    She held her hand out to Xypher. "He told me
    that's what he was."
    60
    Carson nodded. "In ancient Greece, they had
    sleep gods. Centuries ago, one of them thought it
    would be funny to play in the dreams of Zeus. The
    big guy didn't have a sense of humor about it so
    he ordered everyone possessing even a drop of
    their blood to either killed or stripped of all
    emotions." She remembered Julian pointing out that
    he was surprised that Xypher still had his
    emotions. "That was harsh."
    "Yeah, well, Zeus isn't exactly known for his
    compassion." There was a note in his voice that
    said he had his own axe to grind with the god
    king.
    Carson indicated Xypher with a tilt of his
    head. "After Zeus's curse, the Oneroi, or dream
    gods, were relegated to monitoring human sleep,
    and it was quickly discovered that while they were
    in a dream state, Zeus's ban didn't work. They
    could feel again. Terrified of being punished, the
    dream gods started policing themselves and making
    sure that they kept a check on their brethren.
    Even so, some of them started craving to emotions
    to the extent that they lost control of their
    appetite for it. Before long, they became
    dangerous to themselves and others."
    "Like an addiction . . ."
    "Exactly." He set the towel aside. "The dream
    gods who lose control and begin craving emotions
    are called Skoti or Skotos in the singular."
    Personally, she liked the idea of it being toe
    jam better. But at least now she understood what
    he really was. "Xypher also said he was dead."
    "Well, the theory goes that if the Skoti become
    too addicted,