"They're both playing you, Kyros. Think about it. This is just another mind fuck. They're off laughing at you right now. This instant. Both of them. The Alexion is here to kill you all, not save you. If he'd really wanted to save you, he would have given you a decent assignment in a thriving city long ago. But he didn't, did he?"
Stryker tried to look sympathetic. "Trust me, there won't be a single Dark-Hunter left alive in this area once he returns to Acheron unless you kill the Alexion first."
Stryker slid off the desk, moving closer to him. "Already you've seen his work. Wasn't Marco where I told you he would be?"
"Yes."
Good, his Daimons had done what they were supposed to. "Was he not killed how I told you?"
"Yes."
"And was the Alexion not there?"
Kyros nodded. "Everything you've told me has come to pass."
"Then who is lying to you?"
His answer was automatic. "They are."
"Yes," Stryker said, finally smiling. "They're lying and so what are we going to do about it?"
Kyros gave him a hard, sinister glare. "Kill him."
Danger watched Alexion as he sat at the small round table looking completely defeated. For a man who claimed to have no emotions whatsoever, he was definitely showing them now.
At his insistence that they not return to her house where they could be found again by the demon (or for all they knew, the demon might still be waiting for them), they'd rented a hotel room.
To be honest, Danger was a little nervous about staying here. She didn't like feeling this exposed. If the maid were to open the door during the day and let sunlight in...
Alexion, according to his own admission, wouldn't explode into dust, but she would. And no offense, being roasted wasn't something she wanted to experience unless it involved one of her friends telling embarrassing stories about her.
But Alexion had assured her that he wouldn't let any harm befall her.
I suppose this is the test then.
If she survived the day, he was honest. If she didn't... she would be seriously pissed.
And dead.
In the meantime, it was just the two of them in the small hotel room. And to be honest, Alexion looked weary and beat by what had happened with Kyros. The poor man had been so upset that he hadn't even touched his dinner.
"He'll come around," she said as she pulled her boots and socks off.
He looked up at her. "I wish I had your faith."
"Then have faith in Acheron. That's what you keep telling me to do. Would he have sent you here to fail?"
"Yes," he said, his voice tired and yet strangely determined.
His answer surprised her. "No he wouldn't. That would be cruel."
"Yes," he insisted. "He would have. As Acheron would say, sometimes you have to fail in order to succeed. Whether we want it or not, there is an order in the universe. It's hard to understand and many, many times it's hard to swallow, but it's there and our choices are our own. Failure is part of life and no one can succeed every time they try something."
She huffed at that. "Well, that sucks."
He nodded in agreement. "But failure is the price of having free will."
"Maybe we would be better off without it then."