Page 15 of Legacy of Chaos

“It’s your maid of honor gift.” Dawn smiled sadly. “She asked me to keep it so you wouldn’t see it.”

Cyan’s legs buckled, and she collapsed back onto the sofa. “Damn.”

Dawn sank into the chair next to her and placed a comforting hand on Cyan’s knee. “How are you doing? Is there anything I can do?”

Sure, there was. “You can destroy The Aegis and StryTech for me,” she muttered as she peered into the bag.

Dawn snorted. “I’d love to.”

Surprised, Cyan looked up at her friend. “Really? I mean, The Aegis, yeah. Filthy demon-slaying scumbags. But StryTech? Isn’t Stryke your cousin?”

“Sabre is my cousin. Stryke is Sabre’s cousin, though. I can’t stand him. Stryke, not Sabre.” She shifted in her seat, settling in a little. “He’s always been a pompous jackass. And his demon-detection software has made my life hell. I wanted to work in human hospitals all my life, but because of him, I can’t.”

As much as Cyan wanted to jump aboard Dawn’s Stryke-hating train, she wasn’t sure how Stryke was connected to her friend’s career limitations. “Why not?”

Dawn idly plucked at a frayed thread on the armrest that used to give Shan fits. “The DeTecht scanners pick up my Soulshredder genetics, and pretty much every hospital on the planet has installed them. Hell, I can hardly go anywhere. Jessica and I tried to go to a movie last weekend, and I couldn’t get in because the theater had a demon detector at the front door.”

“Oh, damn. That sucks.”

Dawn crossed her legs, her jeans whispering softly against the chair. “I’ve begged Stryke to develop something to disguise my DNA, but he refuses. Says he can’t risk that kind of technology getting into the wrong hands. As if I’d let that happen.”

“What an asshole.” Cyan put the bag on the cushion next to her. “Why does your family put up with him?”

“They don’t.” Dawn fetched a tube of lip balm from her purse. “He’s estranged from everyone.”

Cyan knew he wasn’t close with his family, but she hadn’t known it wasthatbad. “Your dad seems to have a good relationship with him.”

Dawn shrugged. “I don’t think it’s personal, though. It’s more of a working relationship. DART benefits from a lot of StryTech inventions.”

So did DART’s rivals. How could Stryke arm everyone? Weren’t there laws governing the arming of both sides of a conflict?

“Working with StryTech is actually the assignment I turned down.” Cyan reached over and ran her finger over the gift bag’s silky handle. Before Dawn, Shanea had probably been the last person to touch it. “Kynan asked me to work with a team of StryTech people to develop a new weapon that would also capture souls.”

“Wow. That sounds like a great opportunity,” Dawn said. “Why did you say no?”

“Why?” she asked incredulously. “Stryke’s last anti-demon weapon killed Shan.”

“I know.” Dawn finished with her lip balm and popped the cap back onto the tube. “And now you have a chance to help prevent that from happening again.”

“Prevent it? How? This weapon isn’t a counter to The Aegis’s Smiter.”

“No, but any new weapon in DART’s arsenal is something The Aegis doesn’t have. DART will become even more valuable to the world. Right now, they’re under the microscope because of what happened with Draven. DART could even be dissolved. With a powerful new weapon that would allow any agent to capture souls, something The Aegis can’t do, DART becomes indispensable.”

Most of what Dawn said after Draven’s name was lost on Cyan. “Excuse me. ‘After what happened with Draven?’”

Dawn gave her an are-you-kidding look. “Come on, Cyan. He did kill a lot of innocent people.”

Cyan nearly choked on her anger. How could Dawn take The Aegis’s side?

“He killed them because The Aegis killed his fiancée!” She shoved to her feet, knocking the gift bag over and onto the rug. “It wasn’t unprovoked—”

“I know.” Dawn’s voice was annoyingly calm as she fetched the bag from the floor. She was so much like her father. “Look, Cyan…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “It’s nothing.”

“What? Tell me.”

“It’s just…I know I’m only a quarter Soulshredder, but it’s enough. I can see your scars. I can see how much pain you’re in. But you’re taking it out on the wrong people. If you work with StryTech, you’ll kill two hellrats with one club. You’ll help DART become invaluable and can make Stryke’s life miserable. Win-win.”

“Doesn’t feel like a win,” Cyan muttered.

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