Damian's Assassin

"Sofi did. She's discovered quite a few annoying little powers of her own while you were gone."

Damian smiled, pleased. He'd known how powerful his little Oracle could be. If he had anything to do with it, he wouldn't let her leave his side again. And he was going to be a father. His smile turned to another chuckle. As dark as the war was quickly becoming, he had hope in his adopted brothers, his little Oracle, and his child.

*****

A team of Guardians lined one road on the small country cemetery while a team of vamps lined the opposite road. Two figures stood between the two lines in front of a headstone.

"Your brother-in-law's the Black God," Damian said with a snort.

Dusty glanced up at the sky, where the clouds had gone from black to slate. The rain had stopped, and the landscape around the graveyard was dotted with reflective pools. He met the White God's golden gaze. Damian's silver-white hair was braided down his back, his thick body causing him to sink two inches into the mud.

"Kinda fucked up."

"What's fucked up is the fact none of us can use our power," Dusty replied. "And Jule's stuck overseas."

"Whatever the Watcher did to keep us there is preventing me from going back," Damian said with a frown. "Hate those little bastards."

Dusty didn't say what they both knew, that Darian's attempt to save the world broke something they didn't know how to fix. None of the Guardians, save Damian and Darian, had their immortal powers, though the Naturals seemed unaffected. Worse, the vamps and Black God seemed unaffected as well. The battle over humanity was about to get even more brutal.

"What's worse is they want to use our backyard as their warzone. Thank the gods they picked a fool like Talon," Damian continued.

Both their gazes returned to the two figures talking quietly in front of their father's grave.

Poor Jonny. Dusty didn't think he had an ounce of sympathy in him, but he couldn't help wishing he could spare Bianca's brother the hell that came with being the Black God. Jonny's penance for betraying his sister would last an eternity.

"Shit happens," Damian stated softly, reading his thoughts. "We got a war to fight and women waiting for us. Darian won't stop talking about Bianca's cookies."

"Darian's grounded 'til further notice. When he finishes clean-up in Ohio, he's been instructed to count the stalks of wheat in the field outside Speck's farmhouse and not return until he's done," Dusty growled. "Cookies are absolutely forbidden."

"Good thing Bianca sent him off this morning with a bag full."