Stryker went for Nick, but Ash caught him and the two of them went to the ground, slugging. Urian stabbed a demon between the eyes before he turned and ducked the fangs of a Daimon.
Tory stumbled back, looking for a weapon of some kind.
A demon launched itself at her. She tried to kick him back, but he didn't even flinch. Just as he would have reached her, Julian was there with a sword. He severed the demon's head with one well-placed swing.
Balancing the blade of his ancient Greek sword on his shoulder, he turned to face her. 'Can you handle a sword?'
'Yes.'
'Kyrian!' Julian shouted to the other tall blond man on their team. 'Give me a sword.'
Kyrian tossed what appeared to be only a hilt. In one fluid move, Julian caught it and pressed a button on the cross hilt. The blade shot out to just under three feet in length. He handed it over to her. 'Daimons have to be stabbed through their hearts. Demons between their eyes and if you cut the heads off any of us, we all die.'
'How do I tell the difference?'
'Most of the Daimons are blond and they explode into dust when you pierce their hearts. Hit the heart and if that doesn't work, try the eyes. If you stab someone who whimpers, then hits the ground, you attacked a good guy. Just FYI.'
She inclined her head. 'Thanks for the tutorial.'
He laughed before he put his battle face on and went back to the fight.
Tory swung the blade around her body, getting a feel for the balance. Out of nowhere a female Daimon came at her and manifested a staff. She swung it at Tory's head.
Parrying the blow with her sword, Tory pulled the blade back and went on the offensive. The woman met her stroke for stroke and she made every blow count. The ferocity of it rattled all the way to Tory's bones.
She hated to admit it, but the Daimon was actually winning. With a feral growl, she tried to shove the Daimon back.
Suddenly, Nick was there. He swung the Daimon away from her and into another one. 'No one hurts a human on my watch,' he snarled before he stabbed the Daimon through the heart. As Julian had noted, the Daimon screamed, then turned into a golden powder.
Nick moved away from Tory before she could thank him.
Another flash of light heralded an even larger group of demons and Daimons.
Tory stepped back, her jaw dropping. They were so outnumbered…
The guys on her team were brilliant fighters, but they were being overrun by the sheer number of enemies. 'This is bad…'
Ash froze as he saw one of the Daimons sink his fangs deep into Vane's arm at the same time more demons joined them.
He couldn't let his friends be hurt. Closing his eyes, he summoned his staff from Katoteros. He'd just tightened his hand around it when he felt someone stumble into him.
He opened his eyes to see Styxx there with an Atlantean dagger stuck completely through his stomach. Stryker cursed as he jerked it free, then went for Ash again.
Ash caught the Daimon overlord with the blunt end of his staff and shoved him back. 'Flee or die,' he growled.
'Fuck you.'
Narrowing his gaze on Stryker, Ash shoved him back, then slammed the staff to the pavement. A wave of raw, unfettered power shot out from it to the demons and Daimons around him. Every one of them turned to dust.
Except for Stryker. He hovered above the ground in his dragon form, snarling and flapping. Bellowing, Stryker spewed fire.
Ash lifted his arm, barely in time to keep it from burning him. He shot another god bolt at Stryker who dodged it.
'This isn't over, Acheron. Next time you won't be able to use your powers.' With another blast of fire, Stryker vanished.
Vane shook his bleeding arm in an obvious effort to alleviate the pain of the Daimon's bite. 'Why were we fighting if you had that kind of power?'
In unison, every ex-Dark-Hunter and Nick said, 'Just because you can doesn't mean you should.'
'And sometimes things have to go wrong in order to go right,' Wulf said. When the other guys looked confused by his solo outburst, he added, 'I guess I'm the only one he ever said that one to.'
Fury made a strange wolf-like noise. 'I still don't see why we were fighting when you could have just kicked their asses without us.'
'Because I believe in giving everyone a fighting chance… until they piss me off.' Ash cast Vane a quick stoic glance. 'Bringing in reinforcements was Stryker's mistake.'
'And be glad it wasn't yours,' Fury said with a nervous laugh to Vane. 'I know I'm thrilled it wasn't mine.' The wolf looked around at the Daimon and demon remains, or rather what little of it there was. 'Acheron. When it absolutely, positively must be destroyed overnight.'
Ash knelt by Styxx's side to inspect the damage done. He wasn't overly worried since Styxx couldn't die unless he did. But that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell. The dagger Stryker had held would have killed him had Styxx not stopped the attack.
His brother, who had wanted to die as much as he had, had saved his life.
He could barely even fathom that.
Styxx met his gaze levelly, even though he was shaking from the pain of his wound. 'You know, brother, you're never supposed to close your eyes in battle.'
Ash laughed at his ill-placed humor. 'I wasn't the one training to be a general.'
Styxx glanced around at the men surrounding them. 'Perhaps. But you do a much better job of leading than I ever did. I definitely think Father trained the wrong one of us.'
That was the kindest thing Styxx had ever said to him. Ash didn't speak as he placed his hand over Styxx's wound.
Styxx's gaze didn't leave his. But when Ash sealed the wound closed, Styxx let out an expletive about Ash's 'kind' touch that would have made Stryker proud.
'Am I dead yet?' Styxx asked sarcastically.
'Not yet. You still have a few years left to seriously piss me off.'
Styxx smiled. 'I look forward to it.'
For once, so did Ash. 'You did a good job for me. Thank you.'
'Yeah well, next time you need someone to descend into a Daimon sanctuary, pick one of your other assholes to do it. I don't have the powers of a god when they come at me and it puts me at a definite disadvantage.'
Still, he'd thrown himself in front of Ash to protect him… It went a long way in allowing him to put the past to rest and to accept his brother. Grinning, Ash helped Styxx to his feet.
Talon scratched his head as he watched them. 'Hey T-Rex? Remind me next time I want to get smartass with you that it's a really stupid move on my part.'
Wulf gaped. 'Oh no you don't, you wuss. You told me the next time you saw Ash you were going to ask him if he'd seen the movie
Talon made a cut-off gesture at Wulf. 'Do you mind not getting me fried tonight? I'd like to use some of my body parts later if you know what I mean and since you're married with a brood of kids I know that you do.'
Ash looked at Tory and any semblance of agitation he might have felt evaporated. She was safe and that was all that mattered to him.
He looked around at the group who'd come to help him and marveled at it. 'Thank you, guys.'
Kyrian offered him his hand. 'Anytime you need us, Acheron, we're here for you.'
And one by one, they shook his hand and made a like declaration.
Until he got to Talon. 'One day, you've got to tell me how you did that stick thing. That could come in handy not only with Daimons, but stray alligators and annoying neighbors.'
Ash laughed. 'One day I might.'
At least until Nick walked past him and shoved his shoulder into Ash's. It was such a juvenile thing to do. Ash glared at him as he stalked away, into the darkness. 'For the record, Nick, I loved Cherise too.'
