"By Am'aleh's eyes," Jake swore, "you must be joking. Are you really saying that you've changed your ways?" He paced back and forth in front of Nosdyn, sword still gripped in both hands. He itched to behead the demon and have done with things. Never in his life had he heard of a Haidian forsaking their habits for crime and destruction. But by all the evidence he could see, that was exactly what Nosdyn had done.

"You," Jake went on, "the demon who stole a priceless artifact from a museum in Ettermire, and then killed a family and burned down their house to get it back? You are seeking redemption?"

Nosdyn only gazed at him coolly.

"This is just bloody great," Jake slammed his sword into its scabbard and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well, you're still not off the hook. I could take you back to Ettermire, you know. I'm sure the Aleraran authorities would love to get their hands on you, and so would your old boss." Nosdyn did not flinch at the threat. "But that wouldn't assure me of anything." Jake concluded. "I'm the one you have to prove yourself to, Nosdyn. I'm the one holding you over the fire."

The demon hunter turned his back on his prey, almost hoping the Haidian would attack him. When no attack came, Jake sighed and scuffed the ground. For a long time he had managed to keep certain aspects of his world black and white. He believed in good and evil, in wrong and right. That belief was what kept him on such a strong path through the perils of Althanas. But he could not kill someone in cold blood if they were actively repenting. Not even if it was a demon.

Jake rounded on Nosdyn.

"You claim you are honorable," he said, "and these guardsmen support you. So I want you to swear on your honor. Swear your allegiance to me, swear that you'll help me pursue my goals and defend my life and agenda. If you do that, then I'll stop trying to bury or imprison you. If you do that, I'll be able to keep track of you and make sure you don't fall back on your old ways." He crossed his arms again, his emerald eye narrowing.

"Your choice, Nosdyn. This is your chance to prove all that you claim."