Damian's Oracle

Forgive me, brother.

"I know, Dusty," he admitted in a thick voice. "I think I've always known."

"No, Damian, you couldn't have known how twisted she was. No one could."

"Even someone who reads minds?" he demanded with a bitter laugh.

"Did you ever read hers?"

"No. It was Darian's rule-if you trust someone, don't do it. She is … was the last of my family."

If he had, how many thousands of lives would have been saved? How good was a Defender of Humanity who purposely looked away from something that led to so many deaths?

"Darian's death is not your fault," Dusty said in a hushed tone.

Damian closed his eyes. Dusty knelt beside him, resting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing.

"Trust me," he whispered. "We're in this together."

The words were familiar, the same words he'd spoken to Dusty thousands of years ago, when he'd discovered the youth who was not yet a man on a slave trader's block, bloodied and weeping for the family he'd just lost. He met Dusty's pale blue eyes and saw his pain reflected in Dusty's tight face.

"These Oracles are dangerous," Dusty said with a faint smile. "I forgot that part about them."

"Darian's finally dead to me," Damian said hoarsely. "Tonight, I lose him forever."

"You've still got me and Jule," Dusty reminded him. "And a terrified little Oracle who's sobbing her eyes out right now."

"I fucked that up."

"She's resilient to make it this far. She'll be okay," Dusty said. "As for the traitors, I'm offering up my skill set, if you need it."

"You can have the others. I'll deal with Claire."

"Are you sure?" Dusty asked.

"I should have done this long ago, brother. No one else will die because of me."

Dusty's phone dinged, and he retrieved it. "Jule's asking if you're okay."

"Tell him we identified his Europe issue," Damian said and picked himself up, grateful for Dusty's presence. "Have the four rounded up. Let them sweat for a day, then do whatever you want with the three."

"Interrogation? Execution?"

"Both."

Dusty nodded and strode out. He'd not had to work too hard for confessions in the past thousand years, not after word of his cold, methodological skills leaked to the Guardians. Dusty was a one-man Internal Affairs department. The Guardians knew that betrayal would be confronted by Dusty, and even those loyal to Damian feared him appearing unexpectedly at their door.

Damian knew him well enough to know all the tales weren't true. His reputation alone was enough to make most men weep when confronted. But this time, he suspected Dusty would live up to his legend.