Untouchable Darkness (The Dark Ones Saga, #2)(24)

Another door slammed.

I winced.

“Trouble in paradise?” Alex joked as he waltzed lazily out of the kitchen. His smirk was undeniably irritating. If he wasn’t family I’d probably attack him or at least freeze his ass for being such a pain in mine.

“No,” I lied. “He’s human. They get grumpy when they don’t sleep.”

“Uh-huh.” Ethan nodded. “You sure that’s what you want to go with? He’s tired?”

Genesis walked into the hallway and stifled a yawn. “Who’s slamming doors?”

“Cassius,” Alex said helpfully. “I’m just going to come out and say it, he was uncontrollable when he was actually able to control his emotions and could choose not to feel. Now that he’s human? He’s a danger not only to himself, but the rest of us.”

“How cute.” Mason chuckled. “The Siren’s afraid.” He winked. “Don’t worry, the dog will protect you.”

Alex flipped him off. “When has a Siren ever needed protection?”

I held up my hands. “Guys, like I said, he’s fine, just tired. We were at his house and—”

“Whoa!” Mason froze in place, gaping at me. Then he shook his head as if coming to his senses. “Back up. He has a house?”

I swallowed. “Of course! Where else would he hang out?”

“Funerals, prisons, Antarctica.” Alex sighed and examined his fingernails, “Take your pick.”

“It was nice,” I said defensively.

All movement in the hallway stopped.

Ethan was the first to speak. “Did you… hurt him?”

“Oh, good grief.” I pressed my fingers against my temples. “No, I didn’t hurt him, everything’s fine. I’m fine, Cassius is fine, the whole world is fine.”

“Fine.” Alex grinned.

My temper surged as I thought of freezing one of his fingers off.

“Ouch!” Alex stumbled back against the wall then held up his hand. “What the hell was that? It felt like someone was sawing off my finger!”

I shrugged.

His eyes narrowed. “He’s been teaching you tricks, damn him.”

“Maybe.” I pushed past him. “Maybe not.”

“Stephanie,” Ethan called out. “Wait.”

I paused in the doorway. “What?”

There they went again with the shifty eyes and uncertain posture.

I growled. “Just tell me.”

“The numbers don’t match.”

“What numbers?”

“Demon.” Ethan shoved his hands in his pockets. “According to our reports from last month they’ve added another sixty to their ranks.”

“Sixty!” I blurted. “But that’s insane! They have to keep their numbers under three hundred! If they added sixty—”

Ethan held up his hand. “It makes no sense. I know. They’re claiming that they’ve been the victims of a Vampire attack leaving them with no choice but to… create.”

My blood chilled. “That’s illegal not to mention stupid, they can’t just create more of themselves. Not without the help of Angel blood.”

I hadn’t been alive back when Pompeii was destroyed but I knew the toll it took on all of them to this day. Ethan had said Cassius refused to talk to anyone for weeks. I knew there was more to the story. One of Cassius’s closest friends had been killed soon after the city was destroyed, but nobody talked about it.

Immortal blood should never be in the hands of the Demons. Because to create a Demon—you had to give up your soul. And most souls didn’t go willingly.

“Right.” Ethan sighed. “But with this whole Cassius scenario we can’t really send him in there to settle things down.”

Guilt crept over Ethan’s face. Cassius truly was the only one who could control the Demons, and if they went against him, he simply destroyed them with a snap of his fingers.

“Crap,” I mumbled searching Ethan’s eyes. “You want to send me.”

“But you aren’t ready.” Genesis said softly.

At least she was on my side.

“We discussed this.” Mason crossed his arms. “I can take care of it.”

“Like hell,” Alex spat. “If any of us go we’re just putting ourselves in a situation that we may not be able to get out of without Cassius’s help.”

I licked my lips. “Maybe I can talk to him…”

“Oh?” Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “And how’s that been going for you?”

Another door slammed upstairs. What the heck was he doing? Just opening and slamming doors because he could?

“Stephanie,” Ethan reached for my hands. “We need you… and for some reason he still won’t explain, Cassius needs you too.”

I hung my head.

Shame filled me to the core.

I was going to kill him.

That was the future I had seen.

I just didn’t understand it, no way was I na?ve enough to believe that it was the only future ahead of us. Futures changed, just like the wind. I refused to concentrate on one so fleeting and meaningless. I loved Cassius, I would never hurt him—ever.

It would take ultimate betrayal.