And right now he wanted to drive his foot straight up Stryker's sphincter. "Why didn't you tell me Nick Gautier was the Malachai?"
Stryker let out a long-suffering sigh as he cupped his head in his hands and leaned back in his padded black leather chair. "What is it with all of you pansies that that one word sends you to me with your tail tucked between your legs whining about how you pissed your pants because you saw him? Yes, he's the Malachai, so la di fucking da what?"
Lazaros moved to blast him.
Stryker caught the blast and sent it back to him tenfold with a counterblast so powerful it pinned the demon to the wall above his marble fireplace. He squeezed the power down, letting the demon squirm in agony. "Gautier isn't the only one with talents. You'd do well to remember that I, too, have the powers of a god. And I'm really not afraid to use them."
Lazaros bellowed in rage.
"Oh shut up." Stryker used his powers to muzzle him.
At least as much as he could. The demon still grunted and growled like a caged animal.
Stryker let out a frustrated breath as he lowered the demon to the floor. "I sent you to Gautier because I knew he'd be easy to manipulate right now. His powers are growing, but still nothing compared to ours. If you weren't such an idiot, you'd have been able to possess him like I wanted and turn the others against him."
He needed Nick on the run.
But that was the backup plan in case his primary one failed. Which it better not do.
And right now, he wanted Samia.
He glared at Lazaros. "If I release you, can you be an adult demon for five seconds?"
Lazaros returned the glare with an angry scowl.
"Didn't think so, but I'm going to remove your gag anyway, 'cause that's just the kind of guy I am. Don't make me regret it. If you do, I won't gag you next time. I'll decapitate you."
Lazaros took a step forward, then wisely checked his stupidity. "You're such an asshole!"
"Goes with the whole King of the Badasses. Kind of hard to lead an army of the damned if I'm the King of Nice."
Lazaros glowered at him.
"Oh, stop wasting my time with those pathetic looks. And speaking of, what cheesy excuse do I get for why Samia isn't with you this time?"
"I was attacked on the street by something I've never seen before."
Stryker scoffed. "They're called mosquitoes. I know they're rather large in New Orleans but--"
"Stop with the sarcasm. It was a demon mixed with the powers of a Dark-Hunter and a Daimon. What kind of Frankenmonster have you created?"
Stryker froze as that rang a very unfond bell. A bell that had managed to fall off the grid for quite a few years. Nice to know it'd finally resurfaced. "Cael?"
"Yeah. That's what the other woman called him."
"Sonofa..." Stryker paced his office as his mind whirled with the new information. Cael's wife, Amaranda, had been an Apollite in Seattle. He still wasn't sure how a clan of Apollites had come to not only house, but protect a Dark-Hunter, yet they had. A few years ago an attack on them had left Cael and his bride being converted to Daimons.
No one had heard anything from them since.
Why were they here? Why now? Had they discovered his trick with the demon blood? Or was something else keeping them alive? He couldn't imagine a Dark-Hunter taking a human life even for pure survival reasons....
Perhaps the demon essence Lazaros had sensed inside them was the same trick he and his army were now using to empower their Daimon existence. What would that blood do to a Dark-Hunter?
It was a most intriguing possibility.
"Did he say anything to you?" Stryker asked him.
"Basically he told me to die quietly. Kind of like you."
Stryker grimaced at the fear he heard in Lazaros's tone. This couldn't be good. Not for them. He refused to believe it was a coincidence. He didn't believe in those.
Everything happened for a reason. Everything. Which made him wonder if Cael had known Stryker would send Lazaros for Samia. Or was Cael one of her protectors too?
He narrowed his speculative gaze on the demon. "Did you tell them anything?"
By the look on Lazaros's face it was obvious the demon wanted to leave his guts on the floor. Too bad he lacked the skills or the courage to try. Stryker was always up for a good fight. "Of course not."
"Good." He didn't have to kill the bastard after all. "Now be an obedient little demon. Go away and let me think."
Lazaros stepped toward the door, then stopped. "I'm not done with her, Stryker. She killed my family and now that you've freed me, I won't rest until I hold her heart in my fist."
That was why Stryker had descended into his granduncle Hades's domain. Once he'd investigated Samia's past, he'd uncovered the origins of her sister's pact and the demon she'd made it with. Stupid Samia had assumed it was Daimons who'd killed her husband and child.