Page 31 of One Silent Night (Dark-Hunter 15)
Stryker hesitated. "For Medea." He placed his hand over theirs.
Tory gave a light laugh. "What a freaky alliance this is. So what do we do now?"
Ash didn't hesitate with his answer. "You stay here."
She growled at him. "Acheron-"
"No arguments, Sota. I swear, it'll be fine."
"We've had this macho discussion before, and you normally lose."
It was true, he did have a hard time saying no to her, but for all that, she was more than reasonable, which was why he loved her. "And I know you're fully capable of holding your own. The gods know, I'm not strong enough to stand against you for long, but in this, I need a clear head which means I need you out of harm's way."
"Fine. But anything goes wrong and I'm coming in."
"Nothing's going to go wrong."
She looked at Nick and then Stryker before she returned her gaze to him. "You are such an optimist. My Spidey-sense is tingling all over the place."
He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "That's from eating the ice cream. Relax."
Danger snorted. "Relax. Trust me. It'll be all right. Isn't that how I ended up dead?"
Ash grimaced at the reminder. "Stop feeding her anxiety."
Simi perked up at his comment. "Anxiety. The Simi's never eaten that before." She looked at Danger. "Is that tasty?"
"Not really."
"Oh. Maybe we should put barbecue sauce on it. Everything's better with barbecue."
Ash shook his head. "And on that note, we're going to plan our strategy."
Tory moved to his side. "That I can do."
Yes, she could. Taking her hand, Ash led her and the others to Savitar's office where they could outline their attack and share what each knew about War and his weaknesses.
KER TSKED AS SHE WATCHED THE MEN AND ONE woman adjourn to a paneled room where they sat plotting War's demise. "How quaint. The mice are herding together in an effort to take us down."
War laughed at Ker. "I expected no less. But they underestimate us. By morning, they'll all be dead, and with the blood of the Malachai, we'll be able to revive our brethren. While mankind prepares for their Christmas Day, we're going to celebrate with a feast of their souls. At midnight, the veil between the worlds is thin and Nick is going to open up a new era. Let the bloodbath begin."
Ker smiled brightly. "I can't wait."
ASH CHECKED THE BLADES IN HIS BOOTS TO make sure they were working. He turned his head as he felt someone enter the room to his left. It was Urian.
"You're helping my father?" It was more an accusation than a question.
Ash made sure to keep all emotion out of his voice. "We have to stop War."
"Stryker murdered my wife," Urian snarled.
"I know."
Urian shook his head as his eyes flared with anger. "How could you help something like him?"
Ash had had enough with both the accusations and the self-pity. There was a lot more at stake here that just hurt feelings and past betrayals. "You helped him for centuries. Need I remind you of how many lives you took under his command? Lives who were related to you-you killed Phoebe's mother and her sister."
He flinched at the truth. "I loved my wife. I never meant to hurt her."
No, but it didn't change the fact that he had. Repeatedly. Urian had taken from his wife the very people she loved more than anything. It was hypocritical of him to hold that same action against his father. For too many centuries, Urian and his brothers had been a tool that Stryker had used more than effectively.
But times changed.
And it was time the man learned about Medea. "By the way, you have a sister."
Urian tensed. "What?"
Ash met his gaze levelly and kept his expression completely stoic. "It's the life of your sister we're going to protect. Not your father's."
He shook his head in denial. "My sister died eleven thousand years ago."
"Medea is a half-sister."
That wiped the disbelief from his face and returned anger to his cold eyes. "And I should care, why?"
Ash held his hands up in surrender. "You're right. You shouldn't care at all. She's nothing to you which is why I haven't invited you to join us." Ash started past him.
Urian pulled him to a stop. His eyes were harsh and biting. They accused him even more than Urian's words had. "How would you feel if my father had killed Tory?"
Ash answered honestly and without hesitation, "I would feel soulless. Lost and hurt beyond repair."
Urian looked away. "Then you understand me. And why I want him dead."
Ash pulled Urian's hand off his arm. "He knows that too. But have you ever considered that he might regret what he did to you?"
"My father? Get real. The bastard has never regretted a single thing in his entire life."
Even as corrupt as Stryker was, Ash had a hard time believing that. "We all have regrets, Urian. Nothing that lives is immune from that nasty emotion."
"So what? You want me to go kiss and make up?"
"Hardly. But I want you to set aside your own hurt and anger to see clearly for a minute. This isn't about you and your father anymore than it's about me and Nick hating each other over something we can't change. This is about saving the lives of a million innocent people. People like Phoebe who don't deserve to be hunted and killed. If I can stand at the side of my enemies for the greater good, so can you."
Urian scoffed. "Well, I guess I'm just not as special as you are."
"No one knows their true mettle until it's been tested. This is yours. Whether you pass or fail is entirely up to you. I can't tell you what to do, but I know where I'll be tonight . . ." He hesitated before he asked the most important question: "So what do you choose?"
"Gory death."
Ash shook his head. "You stubborn bastards. Take it from someone who knows firsthand, there's a lot to be said for forgiveness. Grudges seldom hurt anyone except the one bearing them."
"And there's a lot to be said for knocking enemies upside their heads and cracking their skulls open."
Ash felt a tic start in his jaw over the man's obdurate nature. "To everything there is a season, and tonight ours is to stand together or lose everything. I'm not fighting for Stryker or to save your sister. I'm fighting to protect the ones I love. The ones who will suffer most if War isn't stopped . . . children like Eric and-"
"I get it," he snapped at the mention of his nephew.
"Do you?"
Urian's gaze hardened. "I will be there, but once our enemies are put down-"
"We fight each other. Understood."
Urian nodded. He took a step back, then paused before he stepped even closer to Ash. "I want the honest truth about something. Could you really fight with someone who did as much damage to you as my father has done to me?"
Ash met his gaze without blinking. "I subjugated myself to the goddess who drugged me to the point I couldn't protect my sister and nephew the night they were brutally slaughtered, and they were the only two people in the universe who'd ever given two shits about me. Later that same day, she stood back and let her twin brother butcher me on the floor like an animal, yet within hours after that I sold myself to her to protect mankind. For the sake of the Dark-Hunters, I subjected myself to her cruel whims for eleven thousand years. So, yeah, Urian, I think I could manage to suck it up for an hour to protect the rest of the world."
Urian let out a slow breath. "You know you're the only man alive I'd ever follow after what I've been through. You're also the only one I respect."
"And you're one of the extremely few I trust."
Urian held his hand up to him. "Brothers?"
"Brothers to the end," Ash said, taking his hand and clutching it tight. "Now before we get all girly and cry, get your ass upstairs and prepare for what's coming."
STRYKER STEPPED BACK AS HE ADJUSTED THE brace on his left arm. It wasn't often he wore the titanum-laced armor, but since they were about to be up against the gods only knew what, he wanted to be prepared.
He left his room to find Zephyra in his office, staring into the sfora as she tried to locate Medea. It wasn't working. Wherever War was keeping her was off limits to them.
"I'll bring her back. I swear it."
