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Danger paused outside the building where the Dark-Hunters were gathering By the cars in the parking lot, the total cost of which would amount to the GNP for a small nation, she would say they were already here and yet

"I don&039;t feel ," she said to Alexion "How can that be?"

"It&039;s a trick So it"

She shook her head "I don&039;t think so Maybe he knows so each other&039;s powers"

The look on his face chilled her "Trust er," Alexion said as he paused to look at her "There is no way a group of Dark-Hunters are together without draining each other Stryker would never be able to gain that ability The only way for it to happen would be if Acheron were here hiods would never allow it"

She wasn&039;t so sure, but she trusted him If anyone knew the truth, it was Alexion

As they walked in the front door, she half expected souards, no Squires

Nothing

Since it had been vacant for a nu in the world There were cobwebs and other things she didn&039;t want to think about littering the floor The air was stale with a rancid quality to it that left her breathing through her mouth in an effort not to pinch her nose closed

She found it strange that there orking lights in the building

But then Stryker was a god

"Where&039;s the light co from upstairs?" she asked Alexion

"I don&039;t know Maybe they have a generator hooked up, or again, Stryker is using his powers to light it"

They found the stairs in the back and started up As they headed up, they could hear faint voices, but the words were unintelligible

Danger tried not to breathe deeply as she wondered what lies Kyros and Stryker were telling the others

How many of them would buy into it?

As they reached the door at the end of the upstairs hall where the others seeathered, she pulled Alexion to a stop to listen to as going on inside before they entered She was only now beginning to feel a pull on her powers, but it was still very er winced as she recognized Squid&039;s voice That little rat-bastard But she&039;d suspected as much He&039;d been vehement in his hatred of Acheron

She looked up to see a cold, determined look on Alexion&039;s face

"He is a Daimon," Stryker said "You kill him as you would any of our people"

Kyros was the next to speak His voice rang out "Are you with us, brothers and sisters?"

She cringed as she heard the sound of unanireement

Alexion pulled her back "I&039;ll take it frohtly on the lips before he turned, held his hand out, and blasted the steel door into oblivion

Alexion strode confidently into the rooh he knew Stryker probably had some means to kill hiht

It was time now to do his job

There were twenty Dark-Hunters in the roo with several dozen Dai Dark-Hunter blood was poisonous to the Dai by now on the fools who had gathered here to die like sheep being led blithely to the butcher

But it was Kyros who held his attention He stood before the group, his eyes burning with hatred

Sighing, Alexion shook his head "What fools these immortals be," he said "To listen to a Daimon and fall victio," Squid snarled "There&039;s not a one of us here who hasn&039;t been used by Acheron"

Alexion pitied hiue with any of you anyive you your last chance to save yourselves Those of you ant to live to see another night, step to the right Those of you ish to believe in Stryker&039;s bullshit and die tonight stay where you are"

"Don&039;t be afraid of him," Stryker said "What can one rin "If I&039;m so little a threat, Stryker, why haven&039;t you killed athered crowd of Dark-Hunters "Don&039;t throw your lives away so needlessly All of you have survived too much to be so damned stupid"

He paused to stare at Kyros "And you, adelfos, I carried you on ave you bread when it was the last bite I had to sustainto back a Dai sarcastically "Great speech Practice long?"

Alexion raised his hand and threw Stryker back against a wall "Decide, Hunters Now!"

The Daimons rushed at him, only to rebound off the wall he raised around hi soh his hold

He watched as the Dark-Hunters exchanged nervous looks with each other Then, to his relief, sixteen of theht

The instant they did, he saw the confusion on their faces

"What the hell?" Eleanore, one of the Dark-Huntresses, said "I feel so weak suddenly"

No doubt the break in Stryker&039;s hold allowed thenificantly drained

Kyros took one step, then paused as Stryker broke Alexion&039;s hold and shot a blast at hi backward

Alexion hissed as pain cut through hi He tried to push hi him

A bad preet out of here," he said to her

But before she could move, Stryker attacked her with the bolt as well

Alexion turned on the deod with a curse as he returned fire with fire

"Spathis!" Stryker snapped to his men as he ducked Alexion&039;s blast "Kill the Dark-Hunters! All of theer froer, stay back!" Alexion shouted as he blasted the Daimons away

He tried to shatter thehed at hier than you are, Alexion We&039;re not the wiht We are so aze narrowed on him before he called out, "Xirena, take huer smiled at their ace in the hole The Daiainst Xirena

"You traitorous bitch," Stryker snarled at the deusted sneer over her

Xirena flew at hier The deround where she lay, unable to get up, as Stryker continued to stab at her Whi, Xirena tried to craay froer didn&039;t knohat had happened She ran to the demon to try and help her

Alexion&039;s heart stopped as he realized what Stryker had used against the de that could kill Charontes But er, even with her Dark-Hunter powers

Shit! He could flash out of here with one of them, but not both If he used his powers, he would have to choose between Danger or the demon

But more than that, he couldn&039;t leave the Dark-Hunters ere drained They were having an al the on here?" Squid asked an instant before a Daimon killed him

"Run!" Kyros shouted at the others "They&039;ve weakened us so that they can kill us"

"Danger," Alexion said as he shielded the deet out"

As she moved to obey, Stryker pulled out a red medallion "Touch the demon and I&039;ll destroy your soul"

Everyone in the room froze at those words Alexion noted the horror on the faces of the Dark-Hunters who realized just what the Daier&039;s soul was destroyed, she would never be able to go free

More than that, it would turn her into a Shade

Her expression one of terror, Danger held Xirena close

Alexion cocked his head at the strangeness of Stryker&039;s threat The momentary panic that he held her soul lasted for only a few seconds, before he realized soer He doesn&039;t have your soul"

Stryker laughed at hier "Hoonderful Your lover thinks to call my bluff"

"It&039;s not a bluff," Alexion said assuredly as he faced the Daimon coldly "I don&039;t knohat you have, but it&039;s not her soul"

Stryker&039;s gaze was cold, sinister, and if he&039;d actually had Danger&039;s soul, Alexionto take that chance?"

Alexion didn&039;t blink "Yes"

"Alexion!" Danger snapped, her voice filled with fear "If it isat her "Trust me in this Artemis holds those souls too closely and there&039;s only one et the else you have that Stryker&039;s not him"

"Are you so sure?" Stryker asked as he toyed with the rip around it "Artemis is my aunt, after all"

Alexion scoffed "Yeah, and she hates your guts with a blazing passion The only way for you to get a soul is for Acheron to hand it over to you and we both know the chances of that"

Cursing, Stryker threw the ed until she realized that nothing had happened to her

She felt her chest just toin relief, she returned to Xirena, as still holding her chest where Stryker had stabbed her

"I told you to kill theer stood before the deht the Her poeren&039;t there in full strength

With every strike and blow, she see kicked her backward Danger hit the ground so hard, it knocked the breath froet away, only to find herself at the feet of another Daihed as he raised a sword to behead her

Just as she was sure she was dead, the Dai to see Alexion

Instead, it was Kyros who stood over her

He had killed the Dai his hand out to her "I&039;ve been a stupid fool," he breathed as he pulled her to her feet "I&039;ize to"

He glanced to Alexion as fighting Stryker "I know" He pushed her toward the door "C&039;et the other Dark-Hunters out of here before it&039;s too late"

Before she could say anything, he bent over and picked Xirena up to carry her away froer working together to get the others to safety She&039;d been right-he had come around in the end Gods, he owed that woman more than could ever be repaid

He did a quick head count of the Dark-Hunters ere leaving and realized that only three Dark-Hunters had been killed by the Daimons so far

They&039;d been the ones who hadn&039;tthe Daimons as the rest of them rushed to ed at Stryker again

The Daimon turned with a snarl "You can&039;t stop er

Alexion threw his hand out to deflect the dagger&039;s path The dagger should have shot to his hand It didn&039;t

Just as it started for hiered forward, then regained his balance Before he could reclaier, it returned to Stryker who tossed it faster than he could blink

It buried itself deep into Danger&039;s chest

Alexion couldn&039;t breathe for a full heartbeat as he saw it hit her so hard it knocked her off her feet before sending her twisting to the floor

Kyros turned with a curse as he ran for her

No! Alexion&039;s mind screamed in denial

It couldn&039;t be

"You should have backed off," Stryker said between clenched teeth as the dagger flew back into his outstretched hand "But that&039;s all right The best way to kill someone is to always aim for their heart She dies because of you and you die because of Acheron"

The Daier at hier in his fist an instant before it would have embedded itself in his chest, Alexion finally understood what the unknown fe to tell hi at those words

He turned on Stryker with a snarl "You want a heart, Stryker? I&039;ll give you yours"

He knew his eyes were glowing green as he shouted, "Urian!"

"Don&039;t you dare defile my son&039;s name with-" Stryker&039;s words broke off as the air around them stirred

Two seconds later, Urian appeared Tall and blond, the man looked eerily similar to his father except Stryker dyed his hair black while Urian&039;s hite-blond As always, he kept it long, and in a ponytail that was secured with a black leather cord

Urian looked less than pleased to have been sulanced around the roo at hinito, Lex," Urian said, until his gaze fell on his father

His eyes narrowed in hatred

"Urian?" Stryker breathed the name like a sacred prayer

"You bastard!" Urian snarled

"Kill him," one of the Daimons shouted

"No!" Stryker said "He&039;s my son"

Urian shook his head "No, old er from Alexion&039;s hand and ran at his father with it while Alexion went for Danger

"Retreat!" Stryker ordered his Daimons an instant before five bolt-holes appeared

Stryker hesitated, looking at Urian for a long h and vanished

His heart broken, Alexion gathered Danger into his arms while Xirena stared at them from where Kyros had set her down Alexion pressed a cloth to Danger&039;s chest to stop the blood flow froer, not fatally Stryker hadn&039;t stabbed the demon in the heart

Urian turned on him "What the hell was that action, Shade? My life was supposed to be kept secret"

"Shut up, Urian," Alexion growled as he held Danger and fought against the tears that wanted to blind hi pain that overwhel out in pain as it refused to believe what had happened to her