Damian's Assassin

Dusty felt cold inside.

"Talon wouldn't have Czerno's restraint," the Watcher added quietly. "As sick as Czerno is, he largely preys on other immortals."

"Talon would wipe out humans as fast as he could." Dusty stared hard at the wall. "Damian-- "

"I can't allow Damian to be here in the presence of a god-slayer. If he were to be here, the chain of events set to occur would change, and not for the better," the Watcher interjected. "You-- and Darian-- have to fix this."

"Fix this?" Dusty echoed, anger burning through him. "Darian is a disaster. He sends a human to the divine world, the Black God to some in-between place, and you think he can fix anything?"

"You have everything you need to make things right, Dusty, as long as you're willing to do what you must." The Watcher's grim words stopped his retort.

I'll see you soon, brother. He heard the soft voice again.

"Whatever it takes," the Watcher said, as if hearing the words, too. "Talon can't become the Black God. I've said too much. Sofi is safe. If Darian can't return her, I'll bring her back after the battle is over. The Black God will have to bring Bianca back; I can do nothing to undo what Darian did to them."

"Can you stabilize Darian?"

"You'll have to trust him."

"Fat chance," he retorted.

"You have no one else to help you, Dusty."

If Dusty's phone hadn't rung, he would've retorted sharply enough to piss off even the Watcher. He glanced down to see Speck's number on his screen. When he looked up, the Watcher was gone. Mumbling curses, he answered the phone.

"Um, boss, that Darian guy is trying to walk straight into the town."

Dusty's jaw clenched until he felt the muscles tick. He felt fury at the mention of Darian's name mixed with resignation. As pissed as he was, Darian was his brother. He'd sworn to Damian that he'd protect him. And if what the Watcher said was true, Darian would probably be the only one left standing at the end of the weekend.

Trust him. The Watcher's voice was soft in his mind.

Of all the coddling he'd accused Sofi and Bianca of doing, he'd been working hard to protect Darian from anything that might force him to grow into his powers.

"Let him go," Dusty said.

"Boss?"

"Just do it, Speck."