Sins of the Night (Dark-Hunter 7)

Chapter 16

Stryker smiled snidely. "I thought you might be missing your soul, Alexion. Of course, I don't have your original one. However, after a little search I did find you a substitute." His pitying tone was belied by the gleam of satisfaction in his swirling silver eyes. "Poor thing. She's a bit whiny and you'll find her extremely weak and helpless. She'll probably last no more than a day or two before she dies completely."

Stryker held the dagger out to Alexion that he'd used to stab him originally. "You know the rules. You're the only one other than a Charonte who can end your life. So be the good guy you claim you are. Give up the ghost. If you don't kill yourself to save her soul, you'll have to stand by and listen to her die. Imagine the poor little human, gone forever from this world. Her soul forever lost. Surely you're not that callous, are you?"

Danger saw the horror she felt mirrored on Kyros's face. But it didn't last long before he recovered his stoicism.

How could they do such a thing to him? Alexion didn't deserve this. Damn both of them for it!

Rage clouded her sight an instant before she ran at Stryker. "Vous encule!"

He lashed out to hit her. Danger ducked the blow, then spun low to swipe his feet out from under him. She launched herself on top of him, pulling out her dagger as she went.

Just as she would have buried it in his chest, Kyros pulled her back.

She sank her fangs into Kyros's arm. He let go, cursing. Immediately, she went for Stryker who vanished.

"You coward!" she screamed. "Come back here and get the ass-kicking you deserve!"

But he didn't return.

The three of them were alone now.

She turned on Kyros with a snarl. "Why did you stop me?"

"You can't kill him, Danger. No Dark-Hunter can."

"Bullshit. If he bleeds, he can die."

"He doesn't bleed, Danger," Kyros said. "He's a god."

"And you're a complete and utter asshole." She shoved him back, wanting to tear him limb from limb, "Ias came here to save you and look what you've done to him. I hope you sleep well tonight, but then people like you always do."

His face turned to stone. "You don't know anything about me."

"You're right. I don't. All I know is what Ias has told me and he's been living under the delusion that you were some kind of hero and friend. God save me from such delusions."

Shaking from the force of her anger, she sheathed her dagger, then left him to see to Alexion. He was covered in sweat as he leaned against the wall.

Her heart ached for him and for the pain he must be in. His skin was pale and clammy. He looked so lost and hurt. So tortured. She'd never seen anyone in so much pain.

"C'mon, sweetie," she whispered. "I'll get you out of here."

To her amazement, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and leaned his weight against her. Danger staggered ever so slightly. It was a good thing that as a Dark-Hunter she was stronger than the average male. Even so, he was heavy and solid.

Kyros said absolutely nothing as they left his house. Not that she expected him to. He'd chosen his side already and she hoped he lived to regret what he'd done to a man who had come here to save him.

"No offense," she said as she staggered down the steps with Alexion, "Your taste in friends rivals my own. Now you know why I don't have any that I trust at my back."

Alexion didn't speak as she helped him into her car. His head was filled with the sound of a woman screaming for help. For direction. It echoed through him violently, making him nauseated and dizzy. He could barely focus his eyes. If only the woman inside him would stop screaming for just a few minutes so that he could think straight again.

He'd never felt anything like this before.

No wonder Acheron got so many headaches. How did he manage to cope?

Alexion only had one voice to contend with. Acheron had millions.

"It'll be okay, Alexion."

He felt Danger's hand on his hot face. That she was helping him... It went through him like a bullet, shattering something deep inside. No one had ever helped him like this. Not even Acheron. Of course he had never been ill like this since he'd died.

As a man, he'd only had his wife to care for him, and she'd had no use for him whenever he was ill. Having taken care of her ill parents for years before their deaths, Liora had only sought to escape him whenever he needed her.

And though Kyros would render aid in battle, he wasn't tender with it which was probably a good thing.

Yet Danger didn't shy away. She was kind and soothing. And in this moment that meant everything to him.

Danger didn't know what to do to ease Alexion's pain. She raced back to Tupelo as fast as she could, trying to think of something, anything, that might help end this.

Unfortunately, she couldn't think of anything other than finding Stryker and beating him senseless.

She pulled into her garage and quickly got out and ran to Alexion's side of the car. He looked even worse now than he had when they'd left Kyros's house.

She brushed the damp blond hair back from his forehead and wiped the sweat off his brow.

"C'mon, sweetie, we need to get you in the house."

He nodded before he pushed himself out of the car, then doubled over as if in severe pain.

She hissed in sympathetic pain for him. "I know you hurt, sweetie, but please don't hurl on my new Manolo Blahnik boots, okay? Give me a little warning first."

His groan turned into a pain-filled half-laugh that was very short-lived. He leaned against her heavily and together they made their way into her house. But it wasn't easy. He seemed unbalanced and kept staggering as they went.

They met Keller in the kitchen who was busy making what appeared to be a vat of chili. He looked at them with a stern frown. "What happened?"

"Long story," she said as she started for the hallway. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought I told you to stay home."

"Yeah, I know, but I just stopped by and there was this really hot woman watching QVC. I didn't know you had friends like that who weren't Dark-Hunters."

If it wasn't the middle of an emergency, she'd have corrected him.

"Why are you making chili?"

"Xirena was hungry. She wanted something spicy."

Alexion hissed as she accidentally bumped him into the wall. "Sorry," she said.

He didn't answer.

Keller followed them through the house, up to the guest room, where she laid Alexion down on the bed.

"He doesn't look good. He gonna puke or something?"

"I hope not." But she moved the small plastic trash can over to the bed just in case.

Keller was totally bemused. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's hearing a voice in his head."

"Is this like the one that I never listen to because it's usually telling me that getting naked with women I don't know is a bad thing?"

Danger snorted at him in disgust. "TMI, Keller. I don't want to know that much about your depraved private life."

He took her words in stride. "In that case, I have a hot babe waiting for me."

"Do yourself a favor, Keller," she called after him as he left, "and don't get too close to her."

He paused in the doorway. "Why?"

"She's not human."

"Yeah, well, neither are you and I'm around you all the time."

"No, Keller," she said, stressing the words, "she's seriously not human. Never was, never will be."

He frowned at that.

"Just keep her fed and happy," Alexion said from between clenched teeth, "and make sure you both keep your clothes on and that she doesn't leave the house."

Keller nodded, then left.

Danger turned back to Alexion who was squirming from pain. "Can I get you anything?"

"I need to be still and quiet."

She didn't think pointing out that he was being far from still would be good at this moment.