Stryker cursed. He truly hated those things. They disgusted him even more than the humans did.
One day, he would destroy both races.
"What do we do now?" Trates asked.
"Fetch Xirena."
Trates laughed nervously at the command. "Xirena? Why? She's the fiercest of the Charontes. She barely takes direction from Apollymi, never mind one of us. I don't think anyone can control her."
Stryker smiled slowly. "I know. That's why I want her. She won't be afraid of a mere servant. She'll come back with his heart for me and she won't care what Apollymi thinks."
Well, the trip to Kyros's house was a complete wash. He wasn't home and his Squire didn't want to let them in until Kyros returned. Danger sighed as they stood on the wraparound porch of Kyros's blue and white antebellum mansion.
Aberdeen was quiet tonight, with a little breeze whispering around them through the large oaks that flanked the white wooden steps. The old Mississippi town had a very special charm to it that was indicative of a town lost in a time warp. Even the downtown area, where the sidewalks were covered with a metal awning, harkened back several decades.
Danger was particularly fond of the small Catholic church, which had a distinctly old world feel to it. She really loved this town. It was a hidden historical jewel that most people didn't even know existed.
Alexion looked strangely out of place with his urban-chic of a black turtle neck-which was no longer torn from the dagger toss-his black wool slacks, and white cashmere coat. He honestly looked as if he'd just stepped off a runway in Milan. He was so incredibly masculine... so much so that he was downright edible.
What was it about him? If he could bottle that sexual attraction, he'd be richer than Bill Gates.
You've got much more important things to think about than what he'd look like naked.
True, but there was something about him that just made her want to take a bite out of him and it was starting to really irritate her. She wanted herself focused and detached-her normal state of functionality.
"What do we do now?" she asked, trying to distract herself. "Wait here for him?"
"No, it could be hours before he returns. I think we should patrol. If the Daimons are in league with Kyros, then they'll be hunting and feeding tonight. Where's the closest population center for them to draw from?"
Danger thought about it for a minute. Tupelo was really spread out, and though there were a few clubs that the Daimons would occasionally stalk, there really wasn't much Daimon activity in her neck of the woods. Not like there was in other areas of Mississippi, such as the coast, Tunica, and various college towns-which was why there were six Dark-Hunters in the Golden Triangle area of Mississippi where Kyros was stationed.
"There are two colleges they hit a lot. The W, which is the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, and MSU in Starkville."
"How far away are they?"
"Not very. Columbus is about half an hour. Starkville another fifteen, twenty minutes from there."
He nodded as if he were considering the information. "Which school is larger?"
She gave him a teasing look. "I thought you had a mystical orb that could tell you these things?"
He narrowed his eyes at her, letting her know he didn't find her ribbing humorous.
"Lighten up," she said with a smile. "Starkville. It has over fifteen thousand students in residence. The Daimons love to party there with the co-eds. Kyros, Squid, and Rafael are assigned to it. Tyrell, Marco, and Ephani are in Columbus."
Alexion indicated the car with a tilt of his head. "Then that's probably where we should start. With any luck, Kyros might be there tonight." He headed down the steps.
Danger followed him, trying not to notice the fact that he had a killer walk. In more ways than one. It was predatorial and deadly. The kind of walk that women would stop to stare at and admire.
When he went to the passenger side of the car to get in, she gave him a puzzled stare. "What, no hocus-pocus this time? You're not going to get in and start driving away?"
"I don't know the way."
She was rather stunned he admitted that. It made him seem almost human. He'd been so larger than life up until now that she assumed he could do just about anything. "You knew how to get here without my help."
"I cheated. There were signs along the road, and once we were in Aberdeen, it wasn't hard to find this house since it's right off the main stretch. I recognized the outside of it from the sfora. But I didn't see any road signs for Columbus or Starkville."
Danger laughed. She liked a man who was honest... and relatively normal. "Okay. OnStar is here and you're covered. Get in."