"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."