Page 75 of Protector Unmatched

Behind them, she heard footsteps. She looked over her shoulder and saw Aiden approach. “I think what Pearce is trying to say is that we’re not entirely certain how sophisticated the demons have become. A lot of their methods are antiquated, downright medieval. But as they turn more humans into demons, they may well have acquired followers who have the same skills as we.”

“What do you mean by turn? You mean like a vampire turns a human?” Daphne asked, her chest suddenly tightening with fear.

“Don’t scare her, Aiden,” Pearce said.

“She should be warned,” Aiden replied.

There seemed to be a silent battle between the two men, then Pearce gave a tight nod and turned back to the monitor.

“It’s not a bite or blood that turns a human into a demon. Nothing like with a vampire,” Aiden started. “It’s an action. A deed.”

“I don’t understand,” Daphne said.

“If a human performs an evil act for the demons or in their name, it turns that human into a demon, green eyes, green blood, and all. It’s irreversible. Once a demon, always a demon. There’s no redemption.”

“But why would somebody do that for the demons? I mean, they’re evil creatures…”

“They’re also very persuasive when they want to be. And they promise humans those things they want most, be that power, love, money, you name it, they’ll figure out what you want most, and they’ll use it against you. They’ll trick you into performing an evil deed if they have to. Anything to strengthen their ranks. And once a human is seduced, it’s hard to convince them otherwise. The temptation will always be there, and one day, they’ll give in to it and turn demon.”

Daphne swallowed the knot that had formed in her chest. “My brother, did he do this for the demons? Was he seduced?”

Pearce swiveled in his chair. “Now see what you’ve done. Damn it, Aiden!” He put his hand on Daphne’s. “Your brother is okay. What he did was despicable, but he didn’t it for the demons, nor does his act rise to the level of evil that’s necessary to turn a person into a demon. And both conditions have to be satisfied for that to happen.”

Daphne sighed in relief. “Thank God. And he’s better now, right?”

She looked toward Enya, who nodded. “He’s healing fine. We’re just keeping him at the safe house until we can be sure this is all over.”

“Got it!” Pearce announced.

Daphne turned back to him and stared at the screen. It showed the listing of the dagger at one of the classier online auction sites. Sold was written at the spot where the list price would have been during the time the auction was live.

The other Stealth Guardians gathered around the monitor. Their utterances confirmed that they recognized the dagger. It was the real thing.

“Now what?” Hamish asked. “Do we know who won the auction?”

Pearce pointed to an avatar. “Indy890.”

“That’s not a lot to go by,” Hamish commented.

“It’s enough,” Daphne said, and exchanged a smirk with Pearce, who was clearly having the same idea, “when you can hack into the auction site’s back office.” She winked at Pearce. “Loser pays beer and pizza.”

“Get your wallet out,” Pearce said, and started typing away on his computer.

“Geeks,” Logan said behind them, though his words carried no malice, rather amusement.

“Don’t knock ’em,” Enya said. “These two geeks might actually save the world without a bloody battle for a change.”

“I’m in,” Pearce announced.

Daphne glanced at his screen, not at all jealous that he’d beat her to it. After all, he was older and had had more practice. She abandoned her attempt and watched him search for the transaction on the auction site’s server.

“Got it.” He pointed to a file on the screen. “Sold to Indy890 three days ago.” He clicked on the link to see the entire transaction. “Shipped via next-day air to… an address in Miami.”

“Check the tracking info,” Daphne said. “Make sure it arrived. That carrier often has delays even if you pay for next-day air.”

“Good thinking,” Pearce said, and clicked on the tracking link. Another window popped up. Pearce scrolled through it. “There. It arrived two days ago and was handed directly to the resident.”

“Who’s the new owner?” Enya asked.