Sins of the Night (30 page)

An eerie blue mist hissed in front of him. Two seconds later, it coalesced into a man who stood almost even in height to him. Only Savitar would dare enter his domain without an invitation … well, he and Artemis, but Artemis was a whole other nightmare.

Physically appearing around the age of thirty, Savitar stood before him with a wry grin and his arms crossed over his chest Dressed in a pair of white beach pants and a short-sleeved blue shirt that was worn over a white T-shirt, he looked nothing like what he really was. Nothing like a being who held the wisdom of the ages and enough power to give Ash a good run for his money. Then again, Savitar might actually be even more powerful.

There was only one way to know for sure, but Ash respected him too much to find out.

Lean and muscular, Savitar hadn't changed much since the day they'd first crossed paths—except for his wardrobe, but Ash's had changed a lot more.

Colorful tattoos covered Savitar's forearms. His wavy black hair hung just past his ears, and he wore it in a casual, easy style. His eyes were a vibrant shade of lavender. Those eyes were timeless, powerful, and even a little corrupt.

No, they were a lot corrupt.

Ash was never sure which side Savitar would fall on. Only Savitar knew that one and he didn't always share it.

“How's Simi?” Savitar asked.

Ash pulled a corner of his formesta back to show him Simi's tattoo. “Fine. She's resting now. I kept her out too late.”

“You shouldn't abuse your demon so. She needs her rest.”

Ash ignored his comment. They both knew he would never really abuse Simi.

Savitar walked around the room, his gaze seeking out every corner and crevice. “Very sterile place you have here.”

“I'm sure yours is a study in hedonism.”

Savitar laughed, then sobered. “You can't go to them, Atlantean. If you do you will kill Stryker.”

Ash closed his eyes, wishing he could see his own future as easily as Savitar did. But at least Savitar was willing to share his visions for once. “Are you sure?”

“As sure as I'm standing here.” Savitar flashed from before the throne to stand directly behind Ash's back. “Maybe I'm not there after all.”

Ash immediately turned around so that Savitar wasn't at his back—more than anyone, Savitar knew how much he hated for anyone to come up behind him. “Don't push me, Savitar,” he growled. I've long ceased being a neophyte.”

“No, you're not. But if you want to attack me, so be it. I can't interfere with your free will any more than you can interfere with theirs.”

Savitar held his hand up and spread out his fingers. Colors danced and swirled in vibrant patterns in the air around it. They danced around his fingers. “Everything in the universe is changing right now. Realigning. But then you know that. I know you can feel it.”

Ash ground his teeth as pain swept through him. He knew exactly why the universe was still shifting to accommodate what never should have happened. “I made a mistake.”

“Nick Gautier.”

Ash nodded. “I cursed him to die and I altered numerous other lives in the process. Lives of people I love.”

Savitar gave him a hard stare. “And now you know why I love no one. Why I never have and never will.” He lowered his voice. “Heed my words well, little brother. Love only destroys.”

Ash refused to believe it. He knew better. “Love saves.”

Savitar scoffed. “Love has destroyed you how many times now?”

Ash smiled bitterly at those memories. “That wasn't love. It was stupidity.”

“You still haven't learned your lesson, Atlantean. So long as you feel like a human and love, you are crippled. That is why, eleven thousand years later, the Greek bitch still has her claws into you. Scrape her off and seize your destiny.”

“No,” Ash said emphatically. “My compassion is what keeps me from doing something even more imbecilic. Without it … You don't want to live in the world that would exist if I ever seized my destiny.”

“Are you so sure?”

No, he wasn't. Savitar could be brutal and callous at times. “Love is always salvation.”

“Then you can keep it. I have better things to do than pace a room, debating what to do.” His form started to fade.

“Wait,” Ash said.

He reappeared. “Yes?”

Ash hesitated, but he needed to know. “How's Nick doing?”

Savitar shrugged nonchalantly. “He's away from all he has ever known. He's scared and grieving. I think it's safe to say he has had better days.”

Ash didn't want to think about that. It was all his fault that Nick was dead and suffering. And it was why he'd sent the Cajun to Savitar for training. The Cajun needed compassion right now that Ash wasn't sure he could give him.

“Thank you for training him.”

“There's no need to thank me, Atlantean. One day, I'll ask you for a favor.”

“And I will return it.”

“I know.” Suddenly the stoic veil dropped from Savitar's face. “I don't mean this to be patronizing, Acheron, but I am proud of what you have become. You have learned much and used it wisely, unlike some people I know…”

Ash nodded. Savitar had his own demons that he hid. But then everyone did.

“I hope you find peace, my brother,” he said to Savitar.

Savitar scoffed. “Peace walks hand in hand with a quiet conscience.”

“Then we're both seriously screwed.”

Savitar laughed. “Yes, we are.”

Ash fell silent for a minute as thoughts and scenarios played through his mind. “Question?”

“Answer?”

He gave Savitar an irritated grimace. There were times when Savitar enjoyed provoking him. “Would killing Stryker be such a bad thing?”

“Only you can answer that.”

“I hate it when you play prophet with me. But I suppose I deserve it.”

Savitar shrugged. “All of us answer to someone.”

Those words surprised Ash. He found it hard to believe that Savitar would allow anyone to have any power over him. “And who holds your chain?”

“If I told you that, you'd know too much about me.”

“You already know too much about me.”

Savitar didn't comment on that. “Life is what
we
make it,” he said slowly. “You don't need me to tell you what would happen if you killed Stryker. You know that answer.” He moved to stand to Ash's side. “You let your emotions control you in New Orleans and what happened?”

Complete and utter disaster.

Ash bit his tongue to keep from asking if Alexion would survive the coming battle with Stryker. If the answer was no, then there was no way he could not interfere.

I have to stay out of this.

“Don't worry, Atlantean,” Savitar said quietly. “The one thing I can assure you … through your own actions, you will be saved.”

“And Alexion?”

“Through his, he will be damned. But then you already knew that.”

Chapter 21

Alexion spent the next two days getting used to Xirena being a part of him, and popping off his body at inopportune moments because his blood was racing and his blood pressure was elevated. It seemed his demon couldn't tell the physical difference between when he was in danger and when he was “in” Danger.

To which Xirena often commented, “Naked human sex, ew!”

That was okay with him since the idea of naked demon sex was equally repugnant to him.

Meanwhile he continued to grapple with fears about Danger's future. Part of him wanted the voice back in his head that had warned him originally to watch over her. Who had it been and where had she gone?

How could he get her back?

Damn. There were never voices in his head when he needed them.

And tonight was the night. He would deliver his ultimatum to the Dark-Hunters and then he would channel Acheron's powers.

In the past, he'd always been ready to return home. This time, he wasn't. The thought of leaving Danger brought a pain to his chest the likes of which he'd never known before.

“I can't do this.”

And yet what choice did he have? He couldn't live in this body. His time was so finite as to be ridiculous. There was no choice here. He couldn't stay.

It was over.

He looked up as Danger entered the room. Dressed in a pair of black jeans with a long-sleeved black shirt, she looked good enough to eat.

She crossed the room to stand in front of him. And the kiss she gave him set his entire body on fire. “When do you leave?”

He looked away as his heart sank, unable to face her with the truth. “Tonight. Once judgment is rendered, I'll be taken back.”

He returned to her gaze to see sadness flash in her dark eyes a moment before she hid it. “If I don't get a chance to say it later, I'm glad you came here. And I'm really sorry I stabbed you … twice.”

He smiled at her words, but his chest tightened as pain overwhelmed him. He was going to miss her more than he would have ever thought possible.

“Danger—”

“Don't,” she said, placing her finger over his lips to stop him from speaking. “I know what you're thinking. I can see it in your eyes. I'll miss you too, but let's not make this any harder on either one of us, okay?”

She was so strong that it never ceased to amaze him. There were times when he thought she might even be stronger than he was. “Okay.”

She took a deep breath as she dropped her hand to his shoulder. “You know, we might still be able to reach Kyros and save him.”

“I'm not counting on that one.”

“But you might,” she said with a hope he'd long stopped feeling. “Let's not give up on him yet. People can sometimes surprise you.”

He frowned at her insistence. “Why is it so important to you that we give him another shot?”

Her dark gaze scorched him. “Because if not for Kyros, I wouldn't have met you. And as wonderful as you are, I keep thinking that he would have to be too, otherwise you wouldn't have believed in him in the first place.”

Alexion had to give her credit, she made a convincing argument. How could any man in his right mind find fault with that?

Even more, he didn't want to hurt or disappoint her. For her, he would do anything.

“All right, I'll try.”

*   *   *

Kyros paced his dark office, which was lit only by candles, as thoughts drifted through his mind. It was three hours and ticking. The great showdown was coming.

And it was unavoidable.

Every time he thought about it, the hairs on the back of his neck rose in warning. Something wasn't right about tonight and it wasn't just that Ias was here.

There was something else. Something he couldn't see but he could feel it with every fiber of his being. Tonight was going to be unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

“You need anything before I leave?” his Squire, Rob, asked.

Kyros turned to see the young man in the doorway. The man was only five feet seven and dressed in a T-shirt and jeans. By his appearance, the dark-haired boy didn't look any older than Kyros, but at twenty-nine, he was just a baby compared to the centuries that marked Kyros's time on this earth.

“No. You can go on.”

In case things went bad, he didn't want his Squire anywhere near this area. At his behest, Rob was heading to Nashville to visit his family.

Rob nodded. “Okay, I'll see you next week.”

“I hope so,” Kyros breathed as the boy left. He was about to make a betrayal tonight that would most likely get him killed. But he'd known what he was doing from the beginning.

At least he hoped he had.

*   *   *

Danger lay naked in bed, wrapped in Alexion's arms. She had her head resting on his chest while he played with her hair. Time was slipping away for them. Speeding by so fast that it left her bereft and dizzy.

She wanted to scream for it to stop. She wanted to hold on to Alexion through this night and through the next day and every day that followed after it.

But it wasn't meant to be.

I won't cry. I won't.

It wouldn't be fair to him or to her. But inside she was sobbing uncontrollably. She was torn to pieces. How could she get through this night?

How could she say good-bye to the best thing she'd ever found?

How did people leave their loved ones behind?

But she knew. She'd been forced against her will to leave hers so many times in the past that it made her wonder how she had ever allowed herself to care for someone else.

Then again, not loving a man like Alexion would be an impossibility.

She heard the grandfather clock down the hall striking ten o'clock.

“We have to go,” Alexion said, his voice deep and husky.

“I know.”

Reluctantly, she pulled away and forced herself to concentrate on anything and everything other than Alexion.

Neither of them spoke as they showered and dressed.

What was there to say? Even worse, she was afraid one of them would say something to set off her tears. It was much easier to keep herself together if she were silent.

She couldn't even tell him that she wouldn't forget him. And that hurt most of all.

“I don't want to forget…”

She didn't realize she'd spoken aloud until Alexion gathered her into his arms. “It's better if you do. I couldn't leave you if I knew you were in pain because of me. The only thing that makes this bearable to me is knowing that tomorrow your life will be back to normal.”

A tear fled past her control. “I'm sorry,” she said, brushing it quickly away. But it was too late. That one tear started an avalanche of sobbing.

Her mind and heart shattered at the thought of the days to come, when she would never even know he existed. She'd no longer know his touch … his scent …

God, how she loved the smell of his skin. The caress of his hand on her face. The feel of his body under and over hers …