“I have no desire to spend eternity in Hell because of my mother’s need for revenge,” he coldly said, taking a few steps toward me.

I ran a shaking hand through my hair, pushing it away from my eyes. “How do you know that is your destination?”

“It is the destination of all demons,” he simply said. He stopped when he was a couple feet away from me, his eyes on the ground.

“Maybe. Maybe not. I’ve not seen any proof to sway me one way or the other.”

“Have you known any demons?”

I could only smile weakly at my companion. There was nothing I could say that would help him. I hadn’t had any personal encounters with the bori. My experiences in this lifetime had been limited to battling the naturi, which had always been more than enough for me.

“They’re evil,” he continued when I remained silent.

“Most probably are,” I conceded, rubbing my hands together to brush off some dirt. “But every creature that slinks across this earth is given a choice. You’ve chosen not to be evil. You’re also part human. That has to throw something into your favor.”

Danaus slowly lifted his gaze, staring deep into my violet eyes, searching for something. He wanted to believe me. He truly wanted to grab onto the lifeline I was tossing him as he struggled out in the dark abyss, but he was also fighting centuries of religious theory and conditioning. He wasn’t about to toss aside his faith so easily because it eased his mind and conscience.

“I’m not asking you to believe everything I’ve said. Just think about it. These ideas you’ve clung to are man-made ideas. They’re narrow-minded and flawed. Earlier tonight we were discussing the Great Awakening. Mankind’s concepts of God and redemption didn’t take our kind into consideration,” I said, threading a lock of hair that had come loose behind my left ear. “If you survive this nightmare, go talk to Ryan. I have a feeling you’re willing to believe him a little more than me.”

“You’ve lived longer. How could he know more?” he countered.

I didn’t trust Ryan, but the white-haired warlock was a potential source of information. He represented a starting point for Danaus. And if I survived this mess as well, I hoped to do a little digging around myself. “Ryan’s spent his life studying the other races and religions. I’ve picked up what I can along the way. A lot of it is myth and rumor. You sift through it as best you can and keep an open mind.”

“And then what?”

“Nothing,” I said with a shrug. I rose to my feet in my boneless manner. “You keep moving. Let’s go.”

I stepped around him and strolled down the aisle in my usual breezy, happy-go-lucky way, but my mind was churning. A bori. Well, a half bori sort of. That was not something I had expected. I had thought maybe he was a strange half warlock, half lycan mix that couldn’t shift. No, Danaus was a half bori that had the ability to control me. It was enough to send shivers down my back, but somehow I had to bury my terror deep inside my chest. Of course, if I had lost it in front of my dark companion, Danaus would have been out the door.

“Mira…” he slowly called, sounding hesitant.

“Yeah, I know. It’s a deep, dark Danaus secret,” I said, spinning around so I could look at him as he walked up the aisle behind me.

“So you can read my mind now?”

“Not quite. It’s the type of thing I would request. Beside, it’s not like I want you bragging to your little cult about your nifty new Mira marionette.”

“It seems we’re on equal ground,” he said, extending his hand to me.

“Always have been,” I replied, slipping my hand into his. I was surprised that I didn’t hesitate to take his strong hand in mine after the last three times we had touched. There was no rush of power pushing to enter my body this time, no thoughts that didn’t belong to me. Just his usual warmth washing over my skin, soaking in and heating me like the sun. Despite what he was and the heritage that haunted him, Danaus still had a choice and still had his honor.

Standing in the silence of the church holding his hand, a dark thought flitted through my brain before I could stop it. Had I promised to protect something more dangerous to my kind than the entire naturi horde? Wasn’t death better than an eternity of slavery? For a reason I had yet to understand, the Coven had struck a pact with the naturi, offering up some type of protection. I’d brought Danaus into the center of our civilization, a creature that was part bori and a vampire hunter. Despite my best intentions, had I betrayed my kind in the same way?

“Of course, you realize that this conversation won’t stop me from hunting vampires,” he coldly said, releasing my hand.

I forced myself to laugh as I turned to leave the church. “I wouldn’t dream of stopping you,” I replied, pushing open the heavy wood door. “I just want you to think about why.” There was no forcing Danaus to do anything he didn’t believe in. However, with enough time and knowledge, I believed he would choose to stop hunting nightwalkers.

We casually strolled back through the weed-infested main campo. Looking out across the Lagoon toward the glow of Murano and Burano, I could sense the other nightwalkers going about the usual nightly activities. They were hunting and feeding and laughing. Despite their dead bodies, they were as alive as the humans that surrounded them. I couldn’t believe we were evil. Or more specifically, that I was evil. Would I still be mourning the loss of my angel if I was evil? Would I still cherish my sweet Calla and the life I once had if I was evil? In the gathering darkness with Danaus at my side, those questions were all I had left to cling to.

ELEVEN

A slow hiss slipped between my clenched teeth as I paused at the edge of the grassy courtyard. Jabari was playing a game. First, he demanded I come to Venice, where I was almost guaranteed to discover the Coven’s plot with the naturi, and now this. We were no longer alone. My focus had been so completely locked on Danaus and our conversation that I didn’t notice Nicolai until he stood watching us from the second floor window of a vacant building.

He was early. I hadn’t expected Jabari to send his assassin at least until after the next sacrifice. Of course, this meant that the Ancient had broken his promise that he wouldn’t send one of the court flunkies to see to my demise. But I knew Jabari’s goal wasn’t to kill me there. I was too old and experienced to be taken out by a lycanthrope. He wanted something else. Nicolai was simply a pawn that had been moved into play. Unfortunately, I wasn’t the opponent Jabari was playing against; I was just another one of his game pieces. What was I supposed to accomplish in fighting Nicolai? Did Jabari expect me to kill the werewolf? Was he more important than I knew? I wanted to scream. Second-guessing myself and trying to predict Jabari’s next move was going to get me killed.

Standing in the deep shadow thrown down by the building the werewolf occupied, I shoved my hand into my pocket and withdrew the silver ring that held the key to the boat. The little slip of metal jingled before I closed my fingers around it. “Take the boat back to the hotel,” I murmured, not looking over at Danaus as he came to stand beside me.

“How will you get back?” he inquired, not yet reaching for the key.

“I’ll swim.” I extended my left hand and turned it over, waiting for him to put his open hand beneath mine so he could catch the key, but the hunter refused to budge.

“What’s going on?” Tension tightened his words into hard little syllables that could barely squeeze past his clenched teeth. Before I had a chance to murmur Nothing, a wave of power swept away from his body and washed over the tiny island. I didn’t know if he could sense werewolves as well as he could nightwalkers, but I was going to find out in a couple of seconds. There were only a couple dozen humans on the whole island, all of them older in age. Probably born on the island and determined to die there like so many of their ancestors.