Dante looked down at the baby with a knitted brow. "Simi?"
The baby smiled.
Dante let out a low whistle and stepped back. "Damn, Ash, I wish you would warn me when you're planning on bringing your demon here. Do I need to warn the guys the feeding machine has come visiting?"
"No," Ash said, swinging the baby lightly. "She's only here to munch Daimons."
"Where is everyone?" Wulf asked.
Dante glanced to the wall to his right. "I caught wind of what was going down tonight so we closed the place."
Wulf followed his line of vision and saw the pelt of a panther mounted there. He recognized the hide by the streak of red in it. "Your brother?"
Fury darkening his eyes, Dante shrugged. "The bastard was working with the Daimons. Feeding them information about us and you."
"Man," Talon breathed. "That's cold to kill your own blood."
Dante turned on him with a feral sneer that more than betrayed the fact that Dante wasn't human. "My brother betrayed me and our people. If I were as cold as I'd like to be, his hide would be on the floor so everyone could walk on him. Unfortunately, my other brothers were a little disturbed by that so we compromised with the wall."
"Understood," Ash said. "Where's the rest of the pack?"
"In the back. We're staying out of it. We don't like to kill our own."
Zarek snorted at that. "Unless it's your brother."
Dante approached Zarek and the two of them had a mutual sneer-off. "Law of the jungle. The betrayee gets to eat the betrayer."
Zarek gave him a droll stare. "Law of my jungle. Kill them all and let Hades sort them out."
Dante actually laughed at that. "I like this one, Ash. He understands us."
"Gee, Z," Ash said jokingly. "I think you may have found a new friend after all. That should make Astrid happy."
Zarek flipped him off.
Ash ignored it. "All right, game faces, guys."
Dante went to guard the front door while Ash removed his baby from the carrier and handed her to Wulf who was a bit hesitant to touch the little girl demon.
She eyed him speculatively, then smiled. "The Simi won't bite you if you don't drop her."
"I will try not to drop you then."
She flashed her fangs at him, then settled back in his arms, the perfect image of a relaxed infant.
"Should we hide?" Julian asked. "Take them by surprise?"
"We can't," Ash said. "Stryker isn't a normal Daimon."
"More like Desiderius?" Kyrian asked.
"Worse. In fact, my best advice to all of you"-Ash directed a warning glare at Zarek-"is to let me handle Stryker. I'm the only one of us he can't kill."
"And why is that, Acheron?" Zarek asked. "Oh, wait, I know this. Fairbanks will hit one hundred and ten Celsius in January before you answer that."
Ash folded his arms over his chest. "Then why ask it?"
"Just to piss you off." Zarek moved across the floor. "When are they supposed to get here, anyway?"
The air above the dance floor shimmered and hissed.
Zarek's face broke into a wide grin. "Oh, goodie. Let the bloodbath commence."
Kyrian pulled his sword out and extended the blade while Talon pulled his circular srad into his hand. Julian unsheathed his Greek sword.
Zarek and Ash didn't make a move for their weapons.
Neither did Wulf. His goal was to protect Simi, Erik, and Cassandra.
The bolt-hole flashed a second before Stryker came through it. A full legion of Daimons came out with him, including Urian.
Urian's face was completely stoic as he met Wulf's gaze. It was hard to believe this was the man who had married Wulf to Cassandra. There was nothing on his face or in his eyes that indicated Urian knew him. Kat was right, the man was one hell of an actor.
"How nice," Stryker said with an evil laugh. "You brought dinner for my men. If only everyone could be so considerate."
Several of the Daimons laughed.
So did Zarek. "You know, I almost like this guy, Acheron. Pity we have to kill him."
Stryker slid a sideways glare to Zarek before his gaze went to Acheron. The two of them stared at each other without a word or emotion.
But Wulf saw the momentary confusion on Urian's face as he noticed Acheron.
"Father?"
"It's all right, Urian. I know all about the Atlantean. Don't I, Acheron?"
"No. You just think you do, Strykerius. I, on the other hand, know your every flaw, right down to the one that enables you to believe in the Destroyer while she toys with you."
"You lie."
"Perhaps. But perhaps not."
Oh, yeah, no one could play the game of vagueness better than Acheron. He was a master at saying nothing and making people doubt the very air they breathed.
Finally, Stryker turned to Wulf. His gaze dropped to the baby Wulf held. He cocked his head and smiled.
"How sweet. You went to so much trouble, didn't you? All of you did. I should feel flattered."
A bad feeling went through Wulf. Something wasn't right about this.
Did the Daimon know Simi wasn't his?
Stryker moved to stand next to Urian. He draped an arm over his son's shoulders and kissed him on the cheek.
Urian scowled at the action and grew rigid.
"Children are the very thing we live for, aren't they?" Stryker asked. "They bring us joy. Sometimes they bring us pain."
Urian frowned even more as his father played with the leather laces holding Urian's blond braid.
"Of course, you'll never understand the pain I mean, Wulf. Your son won't live long enough to betray you."
Before anyone could move, Stryker slashed Urian's throat with his hand that wasn't human anymore. It was the shape of a dragon's claw.
He shoved Urian away from him. Urian fell to the floor gasping, holding his hands against his neck to stanch the blood flow while his father faced the Dark-Hunters.
"You didn't really think I was stupid enough to fall for this trick, did you?" His gaze bored into Wulf and when he spoke, it wasn't Stryker's voice he heard... it was the voice of Cassandra's father. "I knew you would never bring me the baby. I just needed to get the guardians away from Elysia for a while."
Wulf cursed at his words as he moved to attack.
Stryker vanished into a black cloud of smoke while the Daimons attacked.
"Ak'ritah tah!" Acheron shouted.
The portal opened.
One of the Daimons laughed. "We don't have to go through-" Before he could finish the sentence, the Daimon was violently sucked through the opening.
The others quickly followed.
Ash ran across the floor to where Urian lay in a pool of blood. "Sh," Ash breathed, covering Urian's hands with his own.
Urian's eyes were filled with tears as he stared up at Acheron.
"Breathe easy and shallow," Acheron said, his tone soothing and deep.
Wulf and the others watched in stunned silence as Ash healed the Daimon.
"Why?" Urian asked.
"I'll explain later." Acheron stood up and lifted the hem of his shirt until his lean, well-defined stomach was exposed. "Simi, return to me."
The baby shot out of Wulf's hands immediately. She turned from an infant into a tiny dragon, then laid herself over Acheron's skin until she became a tattoo over his left ribs.
"I always wondered how your tattoo moved," Kyrian said.
Ash didn't speak. Instead, he raised his hands.
One second they were in the Inferno, the next, they were in the middle of Elysia.
More than hell had broken loose since Wulf and Kat had left earlier. Unending screams rent the air. There were scattered bodies of Apollite men, women, and children everywhere. Apparently, they didn't disintegrate like Daimons did unless they died on their birthdays.
Dread and fear tore through Wulf.
"Phoebe!" Urian cried, running for his apartment.
Wulf didn't bother to call out. No one could hear above the screams. So he ran as fast as he could toward his wife and son.
Several Daimons tried to stop him. His gaze glazed by fury, Wulf cut through them.
No one would get between him and his family.