Sunset to Sunrise (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7.5)(5)

Now that was almost tempting. Arys would never trust me though he would likely come after me if I gave him reason to. That wouldn’t be hard. All I’d have to do is take another run at Alexa. Maybe get her alone and backed into a corner. Arys would be livid.

I chuckled to myself at the thought. Oh yes, it was very tempting. It would be too easy. And yet? Something kept me from jumping at this opportunity.

Instead of giving a direct response, I answered with another question. “When do you plan to do this?”

“Sometime after he’s back in town. We figured it would be best to take advantage of him being away to put it all into place.”

Overall I didn’t believe Scar’s rebel crew posed much threat to Arys. Of course, all it took was that one slip up, that one mistake in judgment. I wasn’t fool enough to assume it would work. But if it did? I couldn’t bring myself to entertain that line of thinking. It was too dangerous. I wanted it too badly.

The fact that they knew Arys had just left town meant they were watching very closely. Surely he had to know this.

I imagined what it would do to Alexa if something happened to Arys. They were bonded. She would feel his death. Maybe even die herself, leaving her turned and alone, without him. As much as I loathed him, I wasn’t sure I could ever do that to her.

A dark cloud formed, raining down the harsh truths of reality. Hurting anyone Alexa loved would break her heart. I had meant what I said the night I told her I would find a way to make her so crazy she would stake me. But were there limits on how far I was willing to go?

“So, are you with us?” Scar asked, smiling as if certain he had me. “We would be happy to have you.”

“Yeah, I’m with you. But if you breathe a word of this to anyone, not only will I deny it, I’ll hunt you down and take you apart piece by piece.”

* * * *

“Kill them all.” Shya’s opinion came as no surprise. “Useless, good for nothing whelps. Find out who they are, each and every one of them.”

I sat on the pristine white sofa in Shya’s ridiculously white modern house. After dumping the body from my room into the river, I’d gone straight to the demon. I wanted to know more about the claims that Arys was putting pressure on the local vampire community.

“They believe Arys is a threat. Is he killing for you?” There was no casual way to ask this question. I met the demon’s inky red eyes, unflinching. He was a supreme * that I hated almost as much as I hated Arys. But I’d learned how to deal with him. He no longer intimidated me.

Shya sat perched on the arm of the couch. Dressed to kill, as always, in a pricey suit, he maintained a perfectly groomed appearance. His black wings were absent. It was all fake of course. He was a demon. The Japanese human form he wore was all illusion. I had no desire to see his real face. This one conveyed his evil just fine.

His snake-like pupils dilated as he stared at me. He appeared to be contemplating something.

“Arys doesn’t do anything for anyone. If he’s killed, it’s entirely his choice.” Vague and elusive. A typical Shya response. “I may have mentioned a few vampires to him who were exhibiting signs of potential trouble. Whatever he did with that information was out of my hands.”

So Arys was up to something. Evidently Shya was as well. I nodded, knowing when it was worth pursuing a matter further with Shya and when it wasn’t. In most cases, it wasn’t.

“Why do you look so troubled, Kale? Is it because Alexa is gone?” The demon smirked. “Don’t fret. I’ve instructed Falon to keep an eye on her.”

“I’m not troubled. Just concerned. If Arys is doing things here without her knowledge, that won’t go over well when she finds out.”

“And just how will she find out?” Shya challenged. “You would never tell her something that is no business of yours, would you?”

After several centuries of dealing with the bastard demon, I had learned to shrug off his thinly veiled threats. He seemed to think that I still owed him, all these years later.

My past was decorated with ugly memories. Most of which were created by the vile thing who made me what I am. She had been a sick, twisted monster, all too willing to pass on her sadistic madness. Making a deal with the demon had been my best chance at the time. It was because of Shya that I had escaped her. I couldn’t even bring myself to speak her name.

Nothing bound me to the demon now. My debt to him had been paid several times over. We had settled into a working partnership that suited us both. Our supernatural secrets must be kept. I had no desire to have the masses of humankind learn that we walk among them. So I was happy to hunt those that threatened to expose us.

That merely scratched the surface of what I did for Shya, though I had much preferred it when Veryl had been the middleman. Since his death, things had changed. And not for the better.

Sunrise was coming. I got up to leave, ignoring Shya when he followed along behind me. It was because of him that Alexa and I were at such odds these days. Not only had he forced her to take a demon mark for me, but he was also the one who issued the kill order that resulted in the time I spent in the FPA prison.

“Let me know when you’ve dealt with them,” Shya said. “I want it made clear that any creature who tries to harm either Arys or Alexa will be promptly destroyed.”

I turned at the door to find him standing in the foyer, arms crossed and black wings flared. He was imposing without having to say a word. Surely he knew he was loathed by many. He just didn’t give a damn. We were all going to do what he wanted anyway.