"There's something you should know."

I spoke as I stood, pulling my dagger from its sheathe. "May, I could use a hand; stand next to me."

Theo watched this, moving his feet as May obeyed the command. Her face was utterly desolate, showing no more spirit that Anna. The event of the day may very well have broken them both. "What is it, Dark one?"

"May." I closed my eyes, remembering the command. "Like father, like son."

She immediately lunged at Theo, murdering flaring into her eyes as the paired kill command overwhelmed what little familial piety remained to her son. I grabbed her arm as she moved, pulling her back, and looked down at Theo.

"I see." He frowned, his eyes downcast. Then I slit May's throat and let her fall to the road in a spray of blood. He looked back up, his eyes amazed. "That. . ."

"I'm sorry," I bowed my head. "I thought it was necessary at the time. Frankly, I can't say I regret it. But if we are to be partners, as Demon and Knight, then we need to trust each other. So, that means no hidden kill commands, no secrets, and no plotting. If we're to do this, then we must do it as one."

Theo looked at me with wide eyed amazement, and then he stood. He bowed to me, losing the theatrics, and his eyes were shining with tears. "This is what I wanted. This is what I hoped for."

"Theodore." I offered a hand. He took it. "You, in private, may call me Ikarus."

"I'm honored, Ikarus." He paused, clearly blushing. "My friend."

There was a question in the statement. I didn't bother answering, as if it needed no answer; it was the strongest card I had to play as a merchant. And so, there we were, two half-naked men affirming an oath of evil over the dying body of a woman who should have been loved.

"We should probably find some pants."

"Yeah. . ." He grinned boyishly. "Ruins the scene, doesn't it?"

"Little bit." Our hands parted and I gestured around us. "Direction is up to you, you know the area better than me."

"Right. Get up, whore, we're going." He said off-handedly to Anna. Then he paused, sheepish. "There is something you should know about me; I've got some magic in me, too. Like one of the sages or heroes in the stories."

"Or like the villains?"

"Yeah." He smiled. "A proper Dark Knight, you know?"