Chapter 17: The Request and the Invitation

Lyon stared at me for a moment before lowering his shirt again. "Why would I ever do that?"

"Why?" I poked him in the chest, making him wince. "Because I turned on you again Lyon. After the first time I asked you to kill me if it ever happens again."

He grabbed my wrist and glared at me. "You didn't ask me you ordered me!" With a huff he released me. "And I never said I would do it."

"Lyon I could have killed you. You really think I could keep going knowing I killed my best friend?"

"But you didn't. You didn't kill me last time and you didn't kill me this time. We know how hellflower affects you now and Kari has been working on some way to make you immune. It's not like you went on a rampage, Saph. This," he tapped his chest, "was just from you fighting against me when I held you down for Kari. You slipped out of my grasp and tried to shove me away. Unfortunately, you're a little sharp in your other form."

His attempt at lightening the mood got a small smile from me. "And Kari? Did I hurt her?"

"She has a small scratch on her arm while we were wrestling you down but you wouldn't know it with the way she's been working behind that bar."

"And Jayde? Zierra? Did they see anything?"

He shook his head. "I sent Shade ahead of me and he brought Kari to the window. We managed to get you into your room before they saw anything though they did stand outside your door for hours. Jayde actually fell asleep out there, Zierra carried him to his room. Shade hasn't really left his side since you got back, he's quite attached to the kid," he held up his hand as I opened my mouth. "And before you ask, yes, I did get a room set up for your girlfriend."

"Not my girlfriend," I grumbled.

"Could have fooled me," he smirked and playfully shoved me in the chest. "Now are you done feeling sorry for yourself? Because I, for one, have several questions about what in the hells went down that night."

"Excuse me for being concerned for your safety," I rolled my eyes, "but yes, I am done for now."

"Good! Now we need to discuss what Ceil is planning and why he needs you for it. He can't really be making daemon hybrids with humans can he?"

"Theoretically it's possible," I stood and locked my door before changing into my daemon form. Lyon smiled, this form had never bothered him, in fact he always though it was amazing to see. "Except they wouldn't look like this."

"Your wings look like hell," he teased, "but that aside how would it even be possible."

"You know how Soulless need to possess a body to gain control over it?" He nodded. "Despite the fact that we are so different Soulless are still considered daemons because of their infernal lineage. Mortals hatred and greed and wrath create them but they still come from the seven hells. When a Soulless possess someone it basically turns them into a hybrid."

"But you were born, not made, and you can't posses people," he paused and eyed me suspiciously. "You can't possess people right?"

I shook my head. "No. That ability is reserved for Soulless and various specters. Unlike lesser daemons, greater daemons like me and Vivian have a physical form. We were made for a purpose and not from the negative emotions of mortals. But just because we can't possess someone doesn't mean our blood won't have an effect on mortals."

"I've touched your blood before and I was fine. You run a bit hotter than humans but aside from that I didn't notice anything."

"Simply touching it wouldn't do anything. A long time ago, like before Viv and I were born, humans used to hunt us down and drain us of our blood then they would ingest it," Lyon made a gagging noise. "It didn't turn them into hybrids exactly, but it did grant them a fraction of our strength and speed. Unfortunately, it also granted them with our temper and there was war and bloodshed everywhere. Eventually it was outlawed, not just because of the side effects it had but because greater daemons were becoming so hard to find. They had hunted so many of us and those who were still alive learned to blend into human society."

"Yeah well, take it from a human, we're a despicable race. If greater daemon blood didn't change them into hybrids though, how will Ceil manage it?"

I shrugged. "Science has come a long way the last few hundred years and who knows how long he's been studying daemons. Could be an alchemical thing or some medical procedure or a combination of the two."

"That's unpleasant," he shuddered. "Still doesn't explain why he needs you. I mean, I know you're stronger than your sister but, as much as I hate saying it, she isn't exactly weak."

I paced for a moment, the tips of my wings just barely sweeping the floor. "No, she isn't, but she is wild."

"Wild?"

"Yes. Wild. Feral. She's unpredictable and has no where near the control over her abilities and her anger that I have. She always says she can't stand her human form because she hates looking like a human, and I'm sure that's part of it, but really she can't maintain the level of calm and control that's needed to keep it up. If he experimented with her blood then his subjects would be even more wild than her."

"He needs someone with control over their abilities so he can transfer that to his subjects," Lyon ran his hands down his face and huffed in exasperation. "Gods this man is really going to make our lives harder."

"Which is exactly why we have to get rid of him," I spun on my heel to stop my pacing, changing back mid turn.

"Yeah" he stood and stretched, "but not right now. Until we have a solid plan on how to deal with him we should continue like things are normal. Which includes getting ready for the spring festival and," he reached into his pocket and produced an envelope, "this."

I hesitantly took the envelope and recognized the silver cursive immediately. "Gods be damned is it really that time again?"

He nodded and bowed with a flourish. "Sir Soren Silver's annual spring spectacular."

I threw my head back and groaned. "Why does he invite us every year?"

"He thinks if he does that we won't kill him."

"We have no reason to kill him! He's a noble, sure, but he's one of the incredibly few in this country that isn't corrupt. He pays his workers fair, he donates to the Slums, he isn't in Deilos's back pocket, and he isn't power hungry. We already looked into him three years ago and all we found was a mistress in Irit that him and his wife both share."

"I hear they bought her a lovely home this year," Lyon was trying very hard to suppress laughter.

"Good for them. Remind me why we go again?"

"Because it's rude to decline an invitation and he has free food and booze. Plus," he tapped the envelope, "we aren't just guests this year. He's hiring us as security."

"He's what?"

"Apparently someone in the town council doesn't like the charity work Sir Silver has been doing lately and he has received some death threats. He figures that the best way to keep him and his wife safe is to have us on guard, amongst his regular security of course."

I finally opened the envelope and found that Lyon was not joking. Silver wanted us as backup security in case something went wrong. We were to attend and act as guests but keep an eye out for anything that could weed out who his death threats were coming from. We would be paid a thousand crowns for our service plus an additional five hundred should we actually weed out his enemy.

"That money would be good for the spring festival," I mumbled.

"Oh come on! Silver isn't that bad."

"He's not a bad person, no," I agreed. "He's just a bit..." I trailed off, trying to find the right word.

"Eccentric?" Lyon suggested. I nodded and he laughed as he headed for the door. "True but if the money wasn't enough of an incentive for you then perhaps the fact that he also invited a certain green eyed elven princess would be?"

He strolled out of my room with a wink, leaving me standing in my room with a mixture of emotions.

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