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Chapter Quote:
"Choose well or die. I don't care which. Just don't get blood on my coat."
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Chapter 30

Kyrian

It took a good week for my wounds to heal enough that Acheron allowed me out of my house. Much to my chagrin, he agreed with Kiara about not letting me go after that demon. My assignments were in the areas where there hadn't been much Daimon activity.

It was boring, to put it mildly. The only thing that happened was helping a group of drunk girls home. They tried to get me to go inside with them. I politely refused. That had been on the first night. It was only five nights later when Acheron called to ask me to go to the French Quarter to a new nightclub called Inferno. I'd heard of it. It was famous for being designed after hell with cracking brown floors that had neon red and orange light between them to make it look like lava.

Upon entering the club, my senses were immediately assaulted by the harsh lighting, the too-loud music, and the strong stench of alcohol. I didn't understand how anyone could stand being in there for an extended length of time.

I wasn't sure what Acheron wanted me to look for. He hadn't told me. But he most likely wanted me here to make sure that any Daimons who entered knew this place was protected by us Dark-Hunters. Knowing this was going to be a long night, I took up residence in an empty booth in the back that was as far away from the hubbub as possible, but still gave me a good vantage point of everything going on. I ordered drink after drink after drink, something to help me pass the time. Besides, it would've looked suspicious had I not been drinking anything.

But after hours of nothing but bad dancing and a serious amount of PDA, I pulled out my phone to call my boss. I would have too if I hadn't caught a whiff of a familiar, intoxicating perfume. I glanced up from my phone to find Kiara running past my table with a guy who was most definitely not human. He pinned her up against the wall and crashed his lips onto hers; one of his hands gripped her waist, the other was reaching for a knife in his back pocket. A growl erupted from my throat at the sight. Within the blink of an eye, I was next to them, ripping him away from her.

"What the-" Kiara began, her eyes landing on me. "Kyrian, what the hell?!"

The guy tried to stab me with his silver knife, aiming straight for my heart; but I clamped my hand around his wrist, twisted it around, and made him stab himself in his chest with his own weapon. Like all Daimons, he disappeared in a cloud of dust.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Kiara demanded. "You just killed my lead!"

"Your lead was about to stab you with his knife!" I snapped.

"You think I didn't know that? I knew exactly what I was doing."

"So you were going to let him stab you?"

"No! I- you know what, it doesn't matter. What I need to do now is to find a new lead on the demon because you just killed the one I had." Turning on her heel, Kiara stormed out the back door of the club into the alley. Although most likely a stupid idea, I followed her.

"Wait," I said.

"What for?" she demanded, facing me. "I have things to do."

"I know you do," I replied, walking up to her, maybe standing too close to her, but I could hear her heart pounding in her chest, her blood pulsing through her veins. My instinct told me it wasn't because of the fight.

"Then what is so important that you need to talk to me about? The last time we had a one-on-one conversation, you made it very clear what was on your mind."

"I want to apologize for my behavior last week. I was in pain and took it out on you. For that, I'm sorry."

Kiara appeared taken aback. "Did Ash put you up to this?"

"No. Why would he? Unless it has to do with monsters, Ash doesn't care what I do."

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but she said, "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go. I-"

Suddenly she grabbed my arms and yanked me to the side. Kiara let out an agonizing scream as we hit the ground. My eyes immediately adjusted to the situation at hand. My ex was writhing in pain on the ground, her arm blackened and smoldering; meanwhile, a demon I recognized all too well was stalking us, preparing to blow another jet of deadly fire. I flung one of my knives at it, forcing the demon to dodge and lose focus for a brief moment. The reprieve allowed me to stand up and assess my enemy. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kiara struggling to get up, a sword in her uninjured hand.

"I guess I don't need a new lead," Kiara grunted, lifting her weapon. Though she was pale, the fire in her eyes was still there. She was still ready to fight.

"What's the course of action you want to take?" I inquired. "This is your demon. This is your call."

"Oh now you listen to me," she retorted.

"I made you lose your lead. I owe you this one."

"Damn right you do." Kiara chucked a shuriken in its direction, but the demon easily avoided it. However, that brief moment left the monster defenseless, and my colleague took advantage of the situation. Darting to the right of it, she slashed her sword at its hip. The demon let out a screech that nearly deafened me. It lashed its tail out at us. Kiara jumped over while I ducked, rolling over to her. The demon faced us once again, spewing fire. I grabbed Kiara and pulled us down and behind a dumpster. Even protected, I could feel the heat from the fire that was well above us.

"So how did you defeat it last time?" I grunted, pushing myself up.

"In a way that I can't use this time. The Marchosias remembers the tactics its opponent uses in battle and learns every way to counteract. Even though I fought it a very long time ago, it will remember every little thing I did. No, this time, keep its attention on us until backup arrives."

"What backup?" I hissed, chasing after her as she went to face the demon again. All of a sudden, two black shadows leaped down from the rooftops, driving their swords into the back of the demon. Between the blur of blue hair and flash of silver claws, I immediately recognized who had come to our aid.

"That backup," Kiara replied with a grin.

The Marchosias let out a scream before erupting into a rancid, sulfurous powder, making me cough a little. Acheron and Zarek walked through the monster dust cloud, their faces twisting into expressions that told me that as badass as they were, even they found the smell foul.

"Kiara, what happened to your arm?" Zarek demanded. His eyes proceeded to rest on me. "Did you cause this to happen?

Before I could snap back, Kiara interrupted by saying, "No, he didn't. In fact, he probably saved my life at some point during that battle before you two came. Thanks for coming so fast by the way."

"I'm always here for you, mea regina."

"Still can't fathom how a Roman became a guard for a Greek princess," Ash mused. "Let alone such a devoted one."

"Me neither, but I'm forever grateful. Okay, I'm heading back to my house. I have some things to take care of, and I know Killian and Amanda are going to be worried. Let's go, Zarek." Before she left, Kiara faced me and said, "Thank you for your help tonight."

"Any time."

Zarek and Kiara went one way. Ash and I went the other. I made sure we were out of earshot before asking, "So how did you know where to find us?"

"Kiara managed to send a text to us mid-fight. We were nearby and came to help," Acheron explained, turning a corner.

"Why was that demon here? Why is it going after people Kiara supposedly cares about?"

"Because someone bad found out she knows who the Malachai is. If she has control of the Malachai, then there are few, if any battles, she won't be able to win. He who has control of the Malachai is one of the most powerful beings in existence. Many people want that power. Very few will use it for good. She refuses to tell anyone who this person is. Someone wants to get it out of her, and they know how."

"Does Kiara have any idea who this person is?"

"No, but she won't rest until she does. All right, you get home. The sun is coming up soon. You're on the main streets tomorrow."

"Acheron, one more thing: who are Killian and Amanda?"

My boss stared at me for a moment, silently deciding his answer. Finally, he settled for, "It's best you hear it from her."
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Two weeks later...

Julian

I was sitting in my living room, minding my own business, watching cartoons with my wife and children, when a loud knock came from the front door. Wondering who was visiting at nine o'clock at night, I got up quietly from the couch, peering through the peephole in the door. To my relief, it was just Kyrian.

"Hey, what's up?" I asked, moving aside so he could come in. He stepped foot into the foyer but didn't move farther than that.

"Kiara got a lead on who's been after everyone. She's going after them and is assembling a team. Would you like to help?" Kyrian asked seriously.

"Of course I do."

"Great. Gather anything you need. If you need weapons, I have some in my car, and Kiara has an armory in house."

"Yeah, hold on. Let me go tell Grace." I hurried into the living room, explaining to my wife the situation. Although she gave me permission to go, I could sense she was reluctant to do so. I couldn't blame her considering I wasn't a badass immortal like my best friend. I was still badass, just not immortal, just to make that clear...

"All right, I'm ready," I said, walking back to Kyrian, grabbing my sword from the coat closet. The two of us went outside. I got into Kyrian's car and waited until the car was driving down the main road before asking, "Does Kiara know we're coming?"

"Acheron said she knew. I'm surprised she's okay with this, to be honest, but I'm not going to question it," he answered, turning down her street. I'd forgotten how close I lived to both her and Kyrian, also forgetting they lived on the same street. We pulled up in front of her house. I recognized Nick's car, Zarek's, and Ash's. There were a couple other cars that I didn't recognize, but I figured it was more allies.

"You ready?" Kyrian queried, staring at her house.

"I am. Are you?"

"A definite no. Come on." We got out of the car, striding up to her front door. Kyrian rang the doorbell. It wasn't long before Kiara answered. Her brow furrowed when she saw us.

"Julian. Mr. Hunter. What are you two doing here?" She asked.

"We came to help you with the battle," I answered.

"How did you-" Kiara began but was interrupted by a man that looked startlingly like Kyrian.

"Mom, who is it?" the man inquired, coming to stand behind her.

"Mom?" Kyrian and I repeated simultaneously, each of us unable to hide our complete and utter shock.

Ignoring our reactions, Kiara said, "Honey, this is Julian Alexander and Kyrian Hunter. Julian is a former Greek from our time turned mortal, and Mr. Hunter was Prince of Thrace. He's a Dark-Hunter." Turning to us she added, "Julian, Mr. Hunter, this is my son, Killian Dark."

"I've heard much about you. It's an honor to meet such fearsome warriors," Killian greeted, shaking our hands. I couldn't help but notice that his gaze lingered on Kyrian. My friend seemed to notice it too, but that was because he could barely take his eyes off of Killian.

"Honey, would you go tell your father who's here?" Kiara requested.

"Of course... will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine. I'll be back in soon." Killian hesitated for a moment before reluctantly going to do what Kiara said, and leaving me and Kyrian still staring at her. I tried to think of something to say, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was, "Mom?"
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Sorry it took so long to update! Hope you enjoyed :)