No Mercy (Dark-Hunter 18)

Dev laughed as he turned to face the demon who'd flashed in behind them. "Nice seeing you too, Xedrix. Always a pleasure."

"Yeah, for you. Never for me."

Sam had to force herself not to gape at the spectacle in front of her.

With swirling blue skin and black hair, Xedrix dwarfed Dev's height. Something that wasn't easy to do. Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, Xedrix had a pair of oversized wings that twitched behind him. Whether it was from a need to attack or fly or strictly from irritation, she wasn't sure. But there was no missing the malice in his glowing eyes.

The strangest thing, though, was that even with a small pair of horns jutting out of his head and his short black hair that was tousled from sleep, the demon was incredibly beautiful and very masculine. There was just something about him that made you want to reach out and touch him.

Weird.

Xedrix narrowed his stare on her. "Why you bring a Dark-Hunter here, Bear? You know how we feel about them and they're not even on the menu, which double sucks for us."

"We have Daimons after us."

That got Xedrix to widen his eyes. Several of the demons dropped from the ceiling. They twisted in midair so that they landed gracefully on their feet around Xedrix.

Their happy expressions were almost comical. "Dinner!" The tallest one started licking his lips in eager expectation as he high-fived one of the other demons.

The shortest one shook his head. "No. Snack time. Unless there's a bunch of them. Let's hope there is."

"Need some sauce," the orange demon said to the other two. He shoved at the short red one. "Ceres, grab a bottle. Extra hot."

Xedrix held his hand up to silence them. "We're not lucky enough for home delivery, guys. Trust me. They won't come here."

The demons around him actually pouted.

Ceres didn't seem to buy his argument. "One of them might be stupid. Daimons not real bright. They could come here. Maybe we could lure them in with a tourist or two?"

The tall one brightened. "We could tie some Dark-Hunters outside as bait."

They all seemed to like that thought.

Except Xedrix, who rolled his eyes. "They're not that dumb. Believe me and you tie a Dark-Hunter outside, Acheron will go Atlantean on us and the last thing we want is to be sent home to mama. Or do you guys really want to go back into slavery under the Destroyer's not-so-delicate fist?"

"Fine," Ceres said petulantly, his wings drooping. "Should have known it was too good to be true." He sighed.

The demons shot back to their places in the rafters, but not before they muttered a few choice insults for Dev getting their hopes up.

Sam looked at them as they wrapped their wings around themselves and seemed to cocoon into the ceiling. That was interesting...Odd, but intriguing.

Xedrix stood with his hands on his hips. "Why you here, Bear?"

"The Daimons want Sam. I don't know why--"

"Duh." Xedrix gestured at her. "She's their mortal enemy. Of course they want her. In pieces, I'm sure."

Dev shook his head. "That's just it. They don't want her dead. They've tried twice now to kidnap--"

"You both realize that I'm right here and I don't need either of you talking about me like I'm mentally defective, right? I can speak for myself."

At least Dev had the decency to look sheepish. "Sorry, Sam. We know. I'm just trying to get Xedrix on our side." He looked back at the demon. "They want her alive. Do you have any idea why?"

"'Cause she'd be tastier that way?"

Sam ignored the demon and scowled at Dev. "Why are you asking him that? He's not a Daimon."

Dev gave her a droll stare. "He used to live with Stryker and serve Stryker's mistress in hell so he might have some indication why they're after you."

Xedrix made a rude sound. "They're not exactly my favorite people and I have no idea why they'd be after her. Bad luck?"

"Xed..."

"Don't growl at me, Bear. It's early and I haven't eaten yet." He passed a pointed look at both of them as if sizing them for his pot.

Dev let out a deep sigh. "What ever they want her for, you have to figure it's not good. For any of us. I need someplace safe to keep her until night."

Xedrix pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. "The door's that way."

"Show her to a guest room."

Xedrix flashed his fangs at the soft, gentle voice.

Sam looked past him to see a tiny, ethereal woman. Her features were pale and absolutely stunning. Her blond hair seemed to glow and her eyes...white and vibrant, they were truly eerie.

Xedrix didn't appear all that happy to see her either. "Kerryna...you should still be asleep."

She approached him slowly and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder before she rose on her tiptoes to lovingly kiss his cheek. "My fierce protector. Don't worry. I'm fine." She held her hand out to Sam. "I'm Xedrix's mate, Kerryna."

"Sam." She looked down at Kerryna's peace offering and cringed. Even though her powers were down, she still didn't want to chance pulling something out of the demon's past. "Sorry I can't touch you. Not to be offensive. My powers won't allow that."

Kerryna dropped her arm. "Understood and no offense taken."

Xedrix pulled Kerryna's hand in his and held it against his heart as he glared at Sam and Dev. "You bring war to my family and I will eat both your hearts...without sauce."

The way he said that, Sam had a feeling it meant something.

Dev inclined his head to Xedrix. "Got it."

Sam hesitated as she had a memory flash in her mind from the night Dev's parents had died. It was brief, gone in an instant, but clear. She frowned at Xedrix. "You fought with us when the wolves attacked Sanctuary. But you were human then." Which was why she hadn't recognized him. His features had been similar, but the differences without the marbled blue skin were marked.

In one heartbeat, Xedrix turned from a demon into a handsome human with black hair and no wings that she remembered from the battle. "Not human. I just looked like one. Kind of hard to walk around the streets in my real form. Halloween notwithstanding. It tends to freak out the humans and I don't want to deal with their crap."

"Unless you barbecue them," Ceres called down from the ceiling. "Then humans are quite tasty."

Xedrix looked up at him. "So are Charontes who don't mind their own business."

Ceres covered himself completely with his wings.

Xedrix returned his attention to Sam and Dev. "And if I kill the humans, I violate the treaty that allows us to stay here and we all get sent back to Daimon hell to serve the biggest bitch-goddess you ever met." He started for the stairs that were set off in the far corner of the bar. "Now follow me."