Kyros entered his house, his hands still shaking. He couldn't believe what he'd seen tonight. What he'd heard. Marco had been slain.
And Ias was alive.
Ias had been alive for all these centuries.
Rage and grief battled relief and happiness. He was so confused by his emotions that he didn't know what to feel or think. Part of him wanted to embrace his old friend.
As men, they had been closer than mere brothers. There was a special bond that came from entrusting your life to another man's hands, a bond that came from him entrusting you with his. It was communal and unbreakable. They had shared that.
How many times had they fought together? Starved on the long marches to and from battle? When one had fallen from wounds, the other had stood over him and battled the attackers off until the fight ended. Then the one standing had rendered medical aid to the other.
Back to back, they had fought countless times, keeping one another safe.
He owed Ias more than could ever be repaid by coin or by deed. It was that part of himself that was ecstatic that Ias was alive.
But the other part of him was so betrayed, so hurt. How could Ias have survived and not told him?
How?
Why hadn't Acheron ever mentioned it? He more than any other knew just how much Ias's death had torn him apart. In the beginning, the loss of Ias had been more than he could bear. He'd felt so responsible. If he had told Ias about his wife, then his friend wouldn't have made the tragic mistake of thinking she loved him. But he'd known that knowledge would have destroyed Ias, who loved Liora more than anything else.
Even his own life had been forfeit because he'd kept silent. He'd died protecting Ias from Lycantes, who'd been Liora's lover, the first time Lycantes had gone for Ias.
Why didn't I ever tell him?
For centuries he had carried that guilt and second-guessing on his shoulders like Atlas. There had been very few nights over the last nine thousand years when remorse hadn't gnawed at him.
Every time a Dark-Hunter had talked about the possibility of going free, of having a lover drop the medallion that contained their soul before it was returned to them, he'd remembered his friend.
More than that, Ias had been the one who had given all the Dark-Hunters their out clause. Without Ias, Artemis or Acheron or whoever had come up with it wouldn't have permitted them to regain their souls or go free. Ever.
But in spite of it all, Kyros knew one thing, Ias wouldn't lie to him. It wasn't in his friend to do such a thing. His friend had never been anything but honorable:
But was this Ias the same one who had been mortal?
"What are you doing?"
Kyros looked to see Stryker standing just inside the doorway of his office where he was headed. With a nonchalance he didn't feel, Kyros pushed past him and sat behind his carved mahogany desk in a burgundy leather chair. "I'm contemplating."
"Contemplating what?"
He pinned the Daimon with a murderous glare. "Did you know the destroyer was once my best friend?"
Stryker paused as those words hit him like cast stones. Now there was something he hadn't seen coming. He'd always wondered where the Alexion had come from.
But let's face it, Acheron wasn't really into sharing any kind of information with him, especially nothing Stryker might be able to use against him. That was the shame about enemies. They were ever tight-lipped.
But his mind whirled with this newfound knowledge. So the Alexion had once been human... And he had known Kyros...
Good. He could work with this.
"You must be feeling very betrayed right now," Stryker said in a calculatedly sympathetic voice. "Did he say anything to you?"
"He said he came to save me from following you"
Stryker kept his face blank. He had to play this carefully if he were going to pull it back from the fire that was waiting to engulf it and ruin all his plans.
"Interesting."
So, the Alexion wanted to save Stryker's pawn from death. This could be extremely beneficial. The Alexion would think twice before he damned his friend to Shadedom and it would give Stryker a pawn to use against him. Surely the Alexion wouldn't kill the very man he'd come to save.
Oh, yeah, this was very good news indeed. "You do know he's lying to you, correct?"
Kyros shook his head as he leaned back in his chair. "I don't think so."
"Don't you?" Stryker asked as he moved forward to push aside the black leather pencil cup. He sat on a corner of the desk. "Use your head, Kyros. He claims to be your friend, but where has he been all these centuries?"
"He said he couldn't make contact."
"Couldn't or wouldn't?"
Kyros's eyes narrowed on him. "Just say what you're going to say, Stryker. I'm in no mood for your bullshit right now."
"Fine," he said, leaning forward to meet Kyros's gaze levelly. "What I have to say is this. If he really is your friend, where has he been all this time while you've been languishing in the backwoods of hell? How many times have you requested Acheron move you from Mississippi into an urban area where there is something going on other than a keg party? And how many times has your request gone unanswered?"
Kyros looked away from him. "Ash had his reasons."
The poor pathetic little fool. He had no idea what he was dealing with when it came to either Acheron or himself.
"Did he?" Stryker asked. "Or was it your friend who refused your request? Think about it, Kyros. Acheron is a busy man who doesn't have time to oversee all the thousands of Dark-Hunters out there that he has created to destroy us. Who would he defer to in such matters? Hmm?"
Stryker didn't give him time to answer. He didn't want Kyros to formulate a logical argument before he planted doubts in his mind. "His right hand, that's who. The one he trusts above all others to carry out his orders."
He tsked. "Hell, the Alexion even has the ability to command part of my brother's powers. There are some of us who believe that your friend, the Alexion, even shares the blood of Acheron. So you know it's your so-called friend who has been responsible for your assignments. He was the one who didn't think you deserved to be around more people. And even if he wasn't the one making the decision, surely such a friend would have the ability to sway Acheron's mind and intervene to save you long before now. Wouldn't he?"
He saw the uncertainty in Kyros's eyes and forced himself not to smile in victory.
"They're both playing you, Kyros. Think about it. This is just another mind fuck. They're off laughing at you right now. This instant. Both of them. The Alexion is here to kill you all, not save you. If he'd really wanted to save you, he would have given you a decent assignment in a thriving city long ago. But he didn't, did he?"
Stryker tried to look sympathetic. "Trust me, there won't be a single Dark-Hunter left alive in this area once he returns to Acheron unless you kill the Alexion first."
Stryker slid off the desk, moving closer to him. "Already you've seen his work. Wasn't Marco where I told you he would be?"
"Yes."
Good, his Daimons had done what they were supposed to. "Was he not killed how I told you?"
"Yes."
"And was the Alexion not there?"
Kyros nodded. "Everything you've told me has come to pass."
"Then who is lying to you?"
His answer was automatic. "They are."
"Yes," Stryker said, finally smiling. "They're lying and so what are we going to do about it?"
Kyros gave him a hard, sinister glare. "Kill him."
Danger watched Alexion as he sat at the small round table looking completely defeated. For a man who claimed to have no emotions whatsoever, he was definitely showing them now.
At his insistence that they not return to her house where they could be found again by the demon (or for all they knew, the demon might still be waiting for them), they'd rented a hotel room.
To be honest, Danger was a little nervous about staying here. She didn't like feeling this exposed. If the maid were to open the door during the day and let sunlight in...
Alexion, according to his own admission, wouldn't explode into dust, but she would. And no offense, being roasted wasn't something she wanted to experience unless it involved one of her friends telling embarrassing stories about her.
But Alexion had assured her that he wouldn't let any harm befall her.
I suppose this is the test then.
If she survived the day, he was honest. If she didn't... she would be seriously pissed.
And dead.
In the meantime, it was just the two of them in the small hotel room. And to be honest, Alexion looked weary and beat by what had happened with Kyros. The poor man had been so upset that he hadn't even touched his dinner.
"He'll come around," she said as she pulled her boots and socks off.
He looked up at her. "I wish I had your faith."
"Then have faith in Acheron. That's what you keep telling me to do. Would he have sent you here to fail?"
"Yes," he said, his voice tired and yet strangely determined.
His answer surprised her. "No he wouldn't. That would be cruel."
"Yes," he insisted. "He would have. As Acheron would say, sometimes you have to fail in order to succeed. Whether we want it or not, there is an order in the universe. It's hard to understand and many, many times it's hard to swallow, but it's there and our choices are our own. Failure is part of life and no one can succeed every time they try something."
She huffed at that. "Well, that sucks."
He nodded in agreement. "But failure is the price of having free will."
"Maybe we would be better off without it then."
He gave a short laugh. "That's what Acheron thinks most of the time. He really hates free will, but he will never interfere with it."
"How could he?"
Alexion grew quiet again.
She could sense his restlessness and yet he sat there perfectly still. She'd eaten twice during the night. He hadn't. He'd only said that he wasn't hungry. But then given the fact that he couldn't really taste food, she could understand that.
"Are you going to come to bed?"
He let out a long breath before he answered. "I'll sleep later."
"Alexion..."
"I'm fine, Danger. Really."
No he wasn't. She didn't need a sfora to see that.
Feeling for him, she went to stand beside his chair. "You're not really fine."
He looked up at her. Those green eyes of his were haunting in their beauty and pain. "No, I'm not."
His confession caught her off guard.
"You know," he said quietly, "I'm the one who monitors Acheron's e-mail account. I'm there in Katoteros when his cell phone starts ringing off the hook from all of you wanting to talk to him, day and night. There are times when it makes him completely insane. But I envy him the chaos. The 'human' contact. I think it's why he never verbally complains about it around me. He knows how much I would kill for it."
Her heart ached for him and for the lost sadness she saw in the depths of those glowing green eyes.
"My life is so endless," he said, his voice carrying the full weight of his misery. "The only contact I have outside of Acheron and Simi is with other Shades. The ones who are damned scream at me to help them because they know I'm one of the few beings who can hear them. The ones who live on the Isle of Padesios aren't interested in making friends with me. They avoid me every time I go near them."
"The Isle of what?"
He sighed. "It's a region in Katoteros where Acheron allows the Shades a facsimile of paradise. Their existence, like mine, is limited, but they don't suffer. Not like the others do. Although I think the knowledge that they can never again be human is punishment enough. I think that's why they hate me so. I at least have some semblance of a corporeal form. They don't and they never will again."
"Why doesn't Ash give it to them?"
"Same reason he doesn't send me to earth unless he has to. It's cruel to be so close to being human and know that you're not. That you'll never be again. It just brings it all home."
The anguish he suffered tore through her. He looked lost, alone. She understood both feelings. She'd felt them a lot over the last two hundred years. She could only imagine how much worse it would be to experience it over nine thousand years.
She laid her hand against his whiskered cheek. The stubble teased her palm, sending a chill up her arm.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply as if he were savoring the scent of her skin. The feel of her touch.
His loneliness touched an inner, foreign part of her. It touched the part of her that was like him. Eternally alone.
Her heart pounding, she tilted her head down to taste his lips.
Alexion was stunned by her kiss. He wished that he could really taste her. Really know the full sensation of her breath mingling with his as her tongue spiked through his mouth.
His body roared to life, wanting to feel her naked against him. He deepened his kiss a moment before he pulled back to look up at her. "Don't do this to me, Danger. It's cruel when you know how long I've been without a woman."
Her staccato breaths fell against his cheek a moment before she pulled her shirt off over her head.
His heart stilled at the sight of her black lace bra that left very little of her breasts covered. Her pink nipples were taut, just begging for his mouth.
It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
Danger knew she shouldn't be doing this and yet she couldn't stop herself. Like him, it had been too long since she'd last had sex. But more than that, she felt an odd connection with him. Right or wrong, she wanted this moment. In a weird way, she needed it as much as he did.
Taking his hand into hers, she led it to her breast.
He sucked his breath in sharply before he dipped his fingers beneath the lace to touch her. His skin was rough, but his touch was gentle as he lightly kneaded her breast.
She rose up ever so slightly to kiss him feverishly as she began frantically unbuttoning his shirt. Every inch of flesh she exposed was perfect. There wasn't a scar or blemish anywhere on his ruggedly masculine body. The only mark he bore was a strange tattoo on his left shoulder of a yellow sun that was pierced by three white lightning bolts. She touched it lightly, wondering at what appeared to be a series of letters in the middle. It was an alphabet she'd never seen before.
"What is this?" she asked as she traced it.
"Just a tattoo," he said, his voice ragged. "It was on me when I woke up in this form."
Dismissing it, she untucked his shirt, then pushed it and his coat off his shoulders.
He pulled his hand away from her breast to let her undress him.
Alexion actually shivered at her harried speed. It had been far too long since he'd last tasted desire like this. Danger literally crawled into his lap as she returned to hungrily kiss his lips.
He growled at the ferocity of that kiss, at the way his body hardened, wanting a taste of her. Her breath mingled with his as she ran her warm hands over his naked back. He reached around her to unfasten her bra. The black lace fell free, allowing her small breasts to tease his bare chest.
His head spun at the sensation of her hard nipples against his flesh. He'd never wanted any woman more than he wanted her right then.
She left his lips to trail her mouth over to his ear. He swore he saw stars as her tongue stroked the sensitive flesh there. Unable to stand it, he stood up, cupping her to him.
She wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her toward the bed. He needed this woman more than he needed to live. He didn't know why it was so important that he have her. But it was, and if anyone had tried to stop them right then, he'd have hurt them badly.
He hurriedly jerked the covers off before laying her down on the sheets. His heart hammering, he unzipped her pants, wanting to see the full, unadorned beauty of her body.
Danger groaned as Alexion sank his hand beneath her panties to touch her where she was on fire for him. Hissing, she arched her back and spread her legs so that he could ease the bittersweet ache that craved his touch. While his hand pleasured her, he pulled back slightly to look down at her face.
His eyes were dark from his passion and filled with wonderment. They flared a strange shade of green an instant before he pulled her pants and panties free of her body and tossed them to the floor. Before she could move, he returned to place himself between her spread thighs. His hot breath scorched her upper leg as his hand returned to torment her.
She couldn't think straight as he pulled his hand away and replaced it with his mouth. Danger cried out in ecstasy. She sank her hand deep into the golden strands of his hair. He took his time pleasing her. No man had ever made her feel so desired, so needed as he did and she didn't understand it.
Thoughts and feelings swirled through her mind as his tongue pleasured her with deep, probing licks. And when she came, she swore she saw stars.
Alexion closed his eyes as he felt her shuddering. There was nothing he'd ever enjoyed more than teasing a woman's body, watching her enjoy the feel of him. And Danger was the sweetest woman he'd ever known. He laid his head against her thigh while his body still throbbed from the want of her.
But he didn't want this to end. For some reason, he wanted to take his time just feeling her skin against his. There was something about her that reached deep inside him and somehow made him live again.
It didn't make sense, but he could feel when he was with her. For the first time in centuries, he did have emotions in a human state. She made him feel even when he didn't want to.
Her black eyes were searing as she sat up slowly, like a hungry lioness. She crouched on the bed in what had to be the sexiest pose he'd ever beheld.
"What are you..."
He didn't get a chance to finish his question before she had him flat on his back, pulling at his pants. Alexion didn't argue as she freed him. He almost choked as she cupped him in her hand. It'd been so long since anyone had touched him like this...
Danger paused at the look on Alexion's face. She'd never known anyone to be so pleased by something so small as a lover's touch. That alone told her just how truly lonely he was. It was almost a crime to have a man like this locked away by himself.
He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her deeply, lovingly. She could tell just how much this meant to him. How much he needed to feel her.
It did something to her. Made her feel a tenderness for him that she wouldn't have thought possible.
He lifted her up then and set her down on him. Danger bit her lip at his fullness inside her. She leaned forward on her hands, which she had braced against his chest, as she rode him slow and easy.
Alexion arched his back to drive himself even deeper into her warm, wet heat. He took one of her hands into his and kissed the palm. She was so precious to him. The feel of her, the heat of her skin. He placed her open palm to his cheek, reveling in the softness, the scent of her flesh.
He wanted to devour her with a savageness that astounded him. Her lithe body slid sensuously against his, setting fire to every inch of him.
He threw his head back as he came in a fierce wave of pleasure.
Danger's eyes actually teared up at the sight of Alexion's climax. It was as if he were being torn asunder by it. And when his gaze met hers, she melted.
He cupped her face in his hands, then gently pulled her forward for one of the sweetest, tenderest kisses she had ever experienced. He didn't speak, but then he didn't have to. The gratitude and admiration on his face said it all.
Danger smiled at him as she slid slowly down his body. She lay in the bed with the scent of Alexion strong in her head. She loved the intimacy of having his naked body wrapped around hers. Her head was resting on his biceps while his breath tickled her neck.
"Thank you, Danger," he whispered softly.
She rolled over slightly so that she could see him in the early morning light. She hadn't spent a full night with a man since she'd been human. It was so odd to be with one now.
And there was a an easy peacefulness to Alexion that hadn't been there before.
"You're welcome," she said, taking his hand in hers and lifting it so that she could lightly nip his fingers. "I have to say you were incredible."
"Yeah, well, they don't let me out much."
She laughed at that as she traced his hard nipple. "I think I'm glad about that."
He kissed her gently, then urged her back down on the mattress. "You should get a good day's sleep."
She wrinkled her nose at that. "It's kind of hard. I haven't slept away from my home in centuries. I'm not sure about that daylight that's starting to spill through the curtains either. It's making me a little nervous."
He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled close. "I won't let it hurt you."
Warmth spread through her. "It's a nice thought, but even with your powers, I somehow think Apollo might win."
The room went pitch-black. There was no sign of a single ray of sunshine now. "Sleep in peace, Danger. I won't let anything hurt you. I promise."
And that was the kindest thing anyone had ever done for her. Her eyes tearing from the strange tenderness that flooded her, she moved her head to kiss his arm, then snuggled down to rest.
She fell asleep with the sensation of his hand gently stroking her hair while he whispered softly to her in a language she didn't understand.
Alexion felt her relax. A slow smile curved his lips as he remembered the way she'd made love to him.
She'd been superb. His lips were still raw from her fanged kisses and he wouldn't have it any other way. But with that feeling of total satiation came the knowledge that what they had at this moment was so fleeting-it was nothing more than a mere blink.
He would remember her forever and she would forget him completely once he left here.
That was Acheron's mandate. No Dark-Hunter could ever remember they had seen him. Those who were saved always had their memories purged.
Her life would go on without him. That had never bothered him before, but today...
Today he wanted more.
Wanting more is the root of all evil. The concept has ruined more lives than it has ever made.
If it wasn't for the fact that he knew it was an echo of Acheron's words, he would almost swear his boss was in his head again.
"Where are you, Ash?" he whispered. "I could really use your guidance right now."
But it was futile. There was nothing Acheron could tell him that he wanted to hear and he knew it. He was without an out clause. He was without a body or a soul. Literally, he had nothing to offer her. Ever.
He had nothing to offer any woman.
Everything has a price. Nothing is ever free. His price for not being damned was eternity spent alone.
At least I have this moment.
For that he was grateful and he would not regret it. He wouldn't.
Alexion tensed as he felt that odd prickling sensation of the sfora again.
"If that's you, Stryker, then do your worst."
If he didn't know better, he'd swear that he heard a voice in his head sneer the words, "I intend to."
