That evening, Dario met Sarah at their usual coffee shop. She took one look at his face and ordered two large coffees instead of her usual tea.
"Rough day?" she asked, settling into the chair across from him.
"You could say that."
"Want to talk about it?"
Dario hesitated. How could he explain what he'd learned without sounding completely insane? How could he tell her that there were people hunting him, that the quiet life they'd been building together might be nothing more than an illusion?
"Sarah, what would you do if you found out that everything you thought you knew about the world was wrong?"
"That's a pretty broad question. Wrong how?"
"What if there were things existing right alongside normal life that most people never see? Hidden communities, secret organizations, dangers that the average person never even suspects?"
Sarah frowned thoughtfully. "Are we talking hypothetically, or...?"
"Hypothetically."
"Well, I suppose I'd want to learn more. Understand what I was dealing with before making any major decisions."
"And if learning more put you in danger?"
"Then I'd weigh the risks against the benefits. Knowledge is usually worth some risk."
"What if it put people you cared about in danger?"
Sarah's expression grew more serious. "Dario, are you in some kind of trouble?"
"I might be. I'm not sure yet."
"Does this have to do with Alex?"
"Partially."
"I don't trust him."
"Why not?"
"Because he looks at you like you're something he wants to possess, not someone he wants to know. And because every time you spend time with him, you come back troubled."
Dario's phone buzzed with a text message. He glanced at it and felt his stomach drop.
Need to see you tonight. Important. Meet me at the warehouse. Come alone. - A
"I have to go," he said, standing up.
"Dario, wait—"
"I'll call you later, okay? I promise I'll explain everything when I can."
He left before she could argue, hating himself for the worried expression on her face.
The warehouse looked different at night. More isolated, more ominous. Only Alex's car was in the parking lot, which struck Dario as odd. Where were the others?
He found Alex inside, pacing back and forth in the converted living space. The candles had been replaced with harsh fluorescent lighting that cast everything in stark relief.
"Thank god you came," Alex said when he saw Dario. "We have a problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"Maya told me about your conversation today. About your reaction to learning the truth about what we're up against."
"And?"
"And I'm worried you're going to do something stupid."
"Like what?"
"Like try to protect your girlfriend by walking away from the only people who can keep you safe."
Alex stopped pacing and turned to face him. In the harsh light, his features looked sharp and predatory.
"Sit down," he said. "We need to talk."
Dario remained standing. "Where are the others?"
"Elena's handling a situation in Detroit. Maya and David are investigating a lead on who might have sent those men to your high school. It's just us tonight."
"Good. I have questions."
"I'm sure you do."
"Are you really Alex Morrison, philosophy student? Or is that just a cover identity?"
Alex smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "Very good. You're learning to think critically about what you're told."
"That's not an answer."
"Alex Morrison exists. He's enrolled in classes, has a dorm room, even has student loans. But the person you're talking to right now is something else entirely."
As he spoke, Alex's posture shifted subtly. His movements became more fluid, more graceful, and his eyes took on that familiar otherworldly darkness.
"Hello, Dario," Lucian said. "I thought it was time we had a proper conversation."
Be very careful, Cassius warned. He's much stronger than he was before.
"Where's Alex?"
"Safe. Resting. He doesn't need to be present for this discussion."
"What discussion?"
"The one where I explain why you're going to join us, willingly or otherwise."
Dario took a step back toward the door. "I'm not joining anyone."
"Of course you are. Because the alternative is much worse."
"What alternative?"
"The alternative where Sarah Mitchell, psychology major, age nineteen, daughter of Robert and Linda Mitchell of Evanston, Illinois, disappears one night while walking back to her dorm from the library."
The words hit like a physical blow. "You wouldn't."
"I wouldn't want to. She seems like a lovely girl. But if threatening her is what it takes to keep you alive and safe with us, then yes, I absolutely would."
"Cassius would never let you hurt her."
"Cassius isn't here right now, is he? I can sense him, hiding deep in your consciousness, probably advising you to be careful. But he can't surface fast enough to stop me from doing whatever I choose to do."
Lucian moved closer, and Dario could feel power radiating from him like heat from a fire.
"You see, Dario, you've been thinking about this all wrong. You believe you have choices, options, the luxury of making moral decisions. But you don't. You're a valuable resource, and resources don't get to choose how they're used."
"I'm not a resource. I'm a person."
"You're a vessel carrying one of the most powerful demonic entities to ever exist in this realm. That makes you incredibly valuable to the right people, and incredibly dangerous to everyone else."
"What do you want from me?"
"I want you to stop pretending you can live a normal life. I want you to accept what you are and use your abilities to help us build something better."
"By killing people."
"By removing obstacles to progress. By protecting those who need protection. By ensuring that our kind can exist without fear."
"And if I refuse?"
"Then I'll make the decision for you. I'll eliminate every connection you have to your old life—Sarah, your roommate, your parents, anyone who might give you a reason to resist. Then I'll take you somewhere safe where you can learn to appreciate what you really are."
The casual way he described destroying Dario's life was somehow more terrifying than any overt threat.
"You're insane."
"I'm practical. And I'm running out of patience."
Lucian raised his hand, and Dario felt an invisible force push him backward into a chair. He tried to stand, but found he couldn't move.
"Let me show you something," Lucian said.
The warehouse around them flickered and changed, becoming a college dorm room. Dario recognized it immediately—it was Sarah's room. And Sarah was there, sitting at her desk working on a paper, completely unaware of their presence.
"This is happening right now," Lucian said conversationally. "A simple projection, but accurate. She's writing about dissociative identity disorder, isn't she? Specifically about you, though she's being careful not to use your name."
Dario struggled against the invisible bonds holding him in place. "Let me go."
"Watch."
Lucian gestured, and Sarah's laptop screen flickered. The document she'd been working on disappeared, replaced by something else. Photos appeared—crime scene photos, brutal and graphic.
Sarah jerked back from the screen, startled and horrified.
"Those are pictures of what happened to the last person who tried to research people like us without permission," Lucian said. "Dr. Catherine Reeves, professor of abnormal psychology at Columbia University. She was found in her office, apparently torn apart by wild animals. Though there were no wild animals within fifty miles of Manhattan that night."
Sarah was frantically trying to close the images, but they kept reappearing no matter what she did.
"Stop it," Dario said. "She's innocent."
"No one is innocent. But some people are useful, and others are liabilities. Sarah is becoming a liability."
"She's trying to help people like us."
"She's trying to study people like us. To categorize us, understand us, possibly cure us. Do you really think someone who sees you as a psychological case study can ever truly love you?"
The words hit harder than they should have. Dario had wondered the same thing himself—whether Sarah's feelings for him were genuine or just professional interest dressed up as affection.
"She loves me," he said, but his voice lacked conviction.
"Does she? Or does she love the idea of helping someone with a rare and fascinating condition?"
On the screen, Sarah had given up trying to close the images and was instead staring at them with the clinical detachment of someone analyzing evidence.
"Look at her face," Lucian said. "She's not horrified anymore. She's curious. She's wondering what kind of creature could do that to a human being, and whether it might be related to her research."
Dario watched Sarah screenshotting one of the images, probably to analyze later, and felt something cold settle in his stomach.
"She's a scientist first and your girlfriend second," Lucian continued. "What do you think she'll do when she realizes you're not just psychologically interesting, but potentially dangerous?"
"She wouldn't turn me in."
"Wouldn't she? What if she thought she was protecting other people? What if she convinced herself that studying you was for the greater good?"
The projection flickered and disappeared, leaving them back in the harsh fluorescent lighting of the warehouse.
"I'm offering you a choice," Lucian said. "Join us willingly, and Sarah gets to live her life in blissful ignorance. Keep trying to maintain your pretense of normalcy, and she becomes collateral damage."
"There's a third option."
"Which is?"
"I take Sarah and we disappear. Leave Chicago, change our names, start over somewhere else."
"And then what? You spend the rest of your lives running from people who have resources you can't imagine? You think a new identity and a fake passport will protect you from beings who can track you across dimensions?"
Dario slumped in his chair, the weight of his situation finally sinking in. Every choice led to loss—his freedom, his humanity, or the people he cared about.
"What exactly are you asking me to do?"
"Help us. Use Cassius's abilities to remove threats to our community. Learn to access the full extent of your power."
"And in return?"
"Sarah stays safe. Your other connections remain intact. You get to be part of something bigger than yourself."
"For how long?"
"For as long as it takes."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only answer you're going to get."
Dario closed his eyes, feeling Cassius stirring deeper in his consciousness.
What do you think? he asked silently.
I think we're trapped, Cassius replied. But perhaps we can find a way to turn this to our advantage.
How?
By learning what they really want. By gathering information. By biding our time until we can find a way out.
And Sarah?
We protect her by keeping her away from this. The less she knows, the safer she'll be.
Dario opened his eyes. "Okay."
"Okay what?"
"I'll help you. But I have conditions."
Lucian smiled. "I'm listening."
"Sarah doesn't get hurt. Ever. And she doesn't find out about any of this."
"Agreed."
"I want to know exactly what you expect me to do before I do it. No surprises, no 'it's necessary' explanations after the fact."
"Reasonable."
"And if I ever want out, you let me go. No threats, no retaliation, no hunting me down."
"That I cannot promise. But I can promise that as long as you're useful to us, you'll be protected and valued."
It wasn't the guarantee Dario wanted, but it was probably the best he was going to get.
"When do we start?"
"Tomorrow night. There's someone we need to remove, and Cassius's particular talents make him perfect for the job."
"What kind of job?"
"The kind that requires someone who can walk through walls and make bullets pass through him."
Dario felt his stomach drop. "You want me to kill someone."
"I want you to remove a threat to our community. The method is up to you."
"That's the same thing."
"Is it? Because I can think of several ways to neutralize a threat that don't involve killing anyone."
Lucian released whatever force had been holding Dario in place, and he stood up slowly, legs shaking slightly.
"Go home," Lucian said. "Get some rest. Tomorrow you begin learning what you're really capable of."
As Dario walked toward the door, Lucian called after him.
"Oh, and Dario? Don't even think about warning Sarah or trying to run. I have people watching both of you now. Any deviation from our agreement, and she pays the price."
Dario left without responding, but his hands were shaking as he got into his car.
We're really doing this, he said to Cassius.
We're surviving, Cassius corrected. Everything else is secondary.
What if we become like them? What if we lose ourselves in the process?
Then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, we protect the people we love and hope we can find a way out of this mess.
As Dario drove back to campus, he tried not to think about what tomorrow night would bring, or what he might have to do to keep Sarah safe.
He failed completely.