She laughed deep in her throat as she tapped him on the chin. "Oh, Brother, you constantly underestimate me." Leaning back, she snapped her fingers, and an instant later a Dark-Hunter was standing between them.
Stryker actually gaped at the sight. Satara had been right after all.
It was Acheron's friend from New Orleans. The one Desiderius had caused to kill himself. "Gautier..."
Nick looked around as if confused. "Where am I?"
Satara licked her lips as she leaned against him and rested her arm on his shoulder. "I told you, sugar. This is where you can get what you need to kill Acheron. And this is the man who can do it."
He narrowed his eyes on Stryker, but lucky for Stryker, Gautier didn't know him by sight and it was obvious Satara hadn't given his name to the man.
Good for her. She was a clever girl.
"He's a Daimon," Nick sneered.
Dub . . . Stryker masked his Daimon's aura. "Not entirely, Dark-Hunter. Not entirely. I'm also the son of a god."
He saw the confusion on Nick's face now that he could no longer sense him as a Daimon. "How can you mask your essence?"
"I told you. I'm the son of a god, and I can share those powers with you. If you're willing."
Suspicion darkened his eyes. "At what price?"
"Submission to me. You have to agree to abide by my rules. Same as Artemis required of you... only with a twist. "
"Yes," Satara said. "You'll actually get your Act of Vengeance with us. Unlike Artemis, we won't deny you."
Nick's eyes gleamed at the prospect. "Is that all I have to do?"
"Not quite," Stryker said honestly. "Once I convert you over so that you can share my powers, you'll be required to drink from me in order to live. If you go too long without feeding, you will die."
Nick was silent as he considered that. The idea of drinking blood disgusted him. The idea of drinking it from a man...
He shivered in revulsion.
But you could kill Acheron.
That idea thrilled him. Ash had taken everything from him. Or if not taken, he'd allowed it to be taken by others. And Nick wanted revenge. A vengeance Artemis had refused him when she'd taken his soul. But for Ash, he would still be alive. More than that, his beloved mother would be alive. New Orleans would still be intact. Rage darkened his vision.
"Is it a deal?" the Daimon asked.
"Yes," Nick said before he could chicken out. "Give me what I need to kill him."
Stryker stood up slowly as he savored this victory. Now here was something Acheron wouldn't see coming. Because he loved Nick, Nick's future was shielded from him. He'd never know this man was going to betray him.
Not until it was too late and the death blow was upon him.
Thrilled, Stryker unbuttoned his shirt so that his neck was exposed. He sat down on the corner of the desk so that Nick would have an easier time reaching him. Though Dark-Hunter blood had been made poisonous to Daimons, Daimon blood wasn't poisonous to Dark-Hunters. The fact that Dark-Hunters could drain emotions and powers from others was why they were banned from drinking blood. Nick was about to learn one of many secrets Acheron kept from his Hunters.
"Whenever you're ready, Dark-Hunter."
Nick stared at the Daimon's neck and the vein that throbbed there. If he did this, there was no way back for him. None.
And then he saw his mother's gentle face. Saw her sitting in her favorite chair, dead in their house on Bourbon Street.
Ash needed to pay for the people he'd allowed to die. The people he hadn't brought back to life.
His breathing ragged, he took a step closer and sank his fangs into the Daimon's neck.