Jared stepped back, too, as he calmed. His skin immediately returned to its human appearance. "So when I kill him, you die, too. Are you out of your freakin' mind? Why would you do that?"
"Because I thought he was human and I owed his mother that promise."
"And now you know the truth. You are a Chthonian, charged with maintaining the balance of the universe. The Malachai must die."
Ash shook his head. "The order of the universe is for him to live so long as you do."
Jared laughed. "You don't get it, do you? I want to die, Acheron. If I kill him, I will go with him." He shoved Ash back, then disappeared.
Ash cursed as he realized he had no way to track him. Damn.
"Jared!" he snarled, shooting his voice out into the ether so that the Sephiroth would hear it. "You don't get it. If I die, the world dies with me. You can't kill Nick Gautier."
Jared didn't respond. Ash let out an aggravated breath. Jared was right, Ash was charged with keeping the order of the universe. And no one was going to stop him from carrying out his duties.
"Savitar?" he whispered, summoning him.
Savitar appeared as an apparition beside him. "What, grom?"
"You knew about Nick, didn't you?"
Savitar averted his gaze, affirming Ash's suspicion.
"Why didn't you tell me?" Ash asked.
"I won't tamper with fate. You know that. But, yeah, when you asked me to train Nick and I saw him for the first time, I knew what he was. It's why I didn't train him. Had I started, it would have unlocked his powers. His shield was solid so long as he wasn't struck by those of us who draw our powers from the Source."
Ash frowned at the news. "Then why didn't his powers unlock the night I fought him?"
"I don't know. Probably had something to do with the fact that your powers are mixed. Or it could be something as simple as you two were close friends, and even though you fought, you wouldn't have really killed him. Even at your angriest, you were never a real threat to him. He didn't need his powers to protect himself from you."
"And yet I'm the reason he died."
"No, Nick is the reason he died. He pulled the trigger."
How simple Savitar made it sound, but it didn't change the one single truth of that night. "Because I cursed him to it."
Savitar gave him a droll stare. "Be glad I'm not physically there or I'd slap you upside the head. You know how free will works, so stop the whining and get off the cross. Someone needs the wood."
Ash wasn't amused and he wasn't a martyr crying over inconsequential crap. There was no denying that he'd been the one to set all of this into motion. But past regrets weren't solving the current problem. "How do I stop Jared?"
"You can't. Only his master can rein him in."
"And if she won't?"
"We're all screwed."
STRYKER HATED HOW MUCH HE LOVED SEEING Zephyra's belongings mixed in with his. Her hairbrush, her lotions. Her perfume. He picked the latter up so that he could smell it.
"What are you doing?"
He put the small glass container down immediately. "Nothing."
"It wasn't nothing. You were mooning over my things, weren't you?"
He arched one brow at her choice of words. " 'Mooning'? What kind of archaic term is that?"
She returned his stare with one of her own. "You're not going to distract me that easily. You were pining for me just now."
He took a step toward her and eyed her suspiciously, yet she showed no emotion whatsoever. If only he could train his men to be this effective . . . "Is that what you want me to say? You already know how much I missed you."
She narrowed her eyes. "But I want to hear you say it."
"Why?"
She leaned against him and gave him a glance that was part malice, part joy, and part teasing. "Because I want to see how much my absence has tortured you."
He started to leave, but he couldn't make his body obey him. He couldn't. Instead, he found the one simple truth leaving his lips. "I've missed you."
Zephyra wanted to slap him for those words. She wanted to beat him until the hurt inside her stopped aching. But she knew the truth. There wasn't enough abuse in the world to erase the damage he'd wrought. "Do you think that fixes anything?"
"It fixes nothing." His tone was brittle. "But while you stand there, hating me, think of it from my point of view. I'm the one who fucked up, and that's the reality and knowledge I've had to live with every single day of my life. You were my one true heart. My other half and I walked out on you. Have you any idea how much that knowledge has eaten at me?"
She sank her hand in his hair and wrenched it until he grimaced. Unable to cope with all the tangled emotions roiling through her, she jerked him close and kissed him fiercely. Stryker breathed her in as her tongue danced with his and he tasted her fully. In all his life, she was the only thing that he'd ever really craved. Needing to be as close to her as possible, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to the bed.
She only broke from his kiss long enough to pull his shirt over his head. Unable to bear another second without her, he used his powers to strip their clothes off completely.