Cadence continued giving directions. “Aurora, you’ll be in charge of all of the Hunters while I’m gone, but you’ll ultimately answer to Hannah. I want you to get with Ashley and Meagan and discuss the tactics and weaponry we saw work the other night and the things that didn’t.”
Aurora nodded, but she looked a little nervous, like she wasn’t sure she was the best woman for the job. “Right.”
“You will also want to step up Tara’s training,” Aaron interjected. “She’s much faster and stronger than the rest of you now.”
That raised some eyebrows, but no one asked exactly why that might be, so the Guardian Leader went on. “Shane has experience with these beasts, as does Dax. So ready them. I’ll be sending Cale home because I don’t want to leave Reno up in the air. They’re practically surrounded as well. Morgan will need his help.”
“So tha
After Aurora left, only those of us who would be traveling to Australia remained in the conference room. I wanted to get up and go, but I was so tired, I needed a minute. Brandon ran a hand through my hair and said, “Christian seemed a little disgruntled.”“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elliott chimed in, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “He seemed perfectly gruntled to me.”“He’ll get over it,” Aaron said, but I didn’t necessarily think that was true, and I didn’t think that he believed it himself. “You guys, we’re about to undergo an extremely dangerous mission. You know they’re going to throw everything they have at us. The Melbourne team is good, but they’re not up to the caliber of what we’re used to working with. We have got to be extremely diligent and not veer from the plan, especially since, as Cassidy noted, we’ll be going into this wit
Tara looked absolutely normal, sitting on the sofa in her apartment next to Dax, sipping a bottle of water, chatting away. It was nearly impossible to believe only a few hours ago she had been dead, but I was so happy to see her, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her, even when my eyelids were so heavy I almost fell asleep sitting upright.“So Australia, huh?” she asked smiling. “That’s so cool.”“Yeah. I’m looking forward to the plane ride. So I can sleep,” I joked. I hadn’t told her much about the trip because she didn’t know about the portal. But she knew we were leaving in just a few minutes, and I could tell she was a little jealous that she couldn’t go with us. I didn’t blame her. I would’ve been too.“I went there once about five years ago,” Dax said. He was sitting fairly close to Tara, and I wondered if their friendship might develop into something else.
Bandon and I headed out of the apartment and rode the elevator to the lobby, Brandon carrying my bag for me. I always thought it was weird that we didn’t all meet here and ride to the airport together rather than taking separate vehicles or getting one of the humans to take us, but I figured Aaron had a reason for his madness. When we headed back over to our apartment building to arrange a ride, we saw Jamie and Elliott loading up and hopped in with them. I was glad Jamie was driving because Elliott’s just a little too dangerous for my taste, even though I know a car crash can’t kill me.By the time we got to the airport and pulled in near the private jet we’d be taking, my eyes were so heavy, I thought I would fall asleep before I could get aboard. “You okay, Cass?” Brandon asked me. I managed a nod, but I was glad he had his arm around me as we headed up the steps to the plane. I had never been this tired in my whole life.Once we
“He messaged me, too, like a hundred million times,” Brandon said, and I knew he was talking about Christian. “I told him you were sleeping, and he could wait, but he is relentless.”“Sorry about that,” I said between bites.“No, not your fault. Just….” He shook his head, and I agreed he probably shouldn’t finish that sentence.I also had IAC messages from Tara and Dax, who had gotten his IAC implanted while I was out, so I checked in with them while I finished eating. It was cool to see Tara in the gym. She was with Aurora, Ashley, and Meagan, and they were preparing for a possible attack, one I was sure wasn’t coming. But she was so fast and so strong. I was a little jealous. However, I was also glad because I was pretty sure that meant she’d get to stay on our team, which meant I could pursue my friendship with her without worrying she’d be gone soon. I couldn’t imagine Aaron
The Guardian stood up as soon we entered the room and came around the table to greet us. The hug Margie gave her brother was a little awkward, like she wasn’t sure she wanted to touch him, and I remembered Jamie had told me that they didn’t get along very well.“Cadence, this is my sister, Margie,” Jamie said as she stepped forward, taking Margie’s outstretched hand.“Pleased to meet you,” Margie said, and I could tell by Cadence’s reaction Margie had quite a grip. I braced myself, hoping she’d be a little more gentle on me.“You as well,” Cadence managed, shaking out her hand once Margie had let go.Margie greeted Aaron and Elliott, whom she’d obviously met before, and then it was my turn. I thought the tips of my fingers might explode, she squeezed my hand so tight. I didn’t even have time to look at Brandon’s face to see if he was in as much pain as I was since I was tr
We took three SUVs to the location. Elliott drove ours, and I sat in the way-back holding Brandon’s hand and trying to keep myself calm. Melbourne didn’t look anything like I thought it would. The dream I’d had gave me the impression it would be desert-like, but it wasn’t. The city was huge, and we drove through the heart of it. There wasn’t much traffic this time of night, and Elliott was going well over a hundred miles an hour, but I could see the bright lights and tall buildings and thought maybe I’d come back here someday when there would be time to take it all in.Eventually, we got off the freeway and started winding our way through a not-so-lovely part of town. Here, the buildings were rundown. There was trash everywhere, and while we only saw a few people, they may have been homeless. The cars we saw looked like they might give out at any moment. I had a feeling we were getting closer to the location.I could tell Elliott was
“Get her out of here! Get her out of here now!” Cadence was shouting. She pulled me up and started shoving me toward the fire escape, pushing Brandon and Jamie, who just happened to be between me and the ladder, as she went.She didn’t understand. That wouldn’t work. “He’s down the street,” I said. I realized now that Holland had filled the entire area with an eerie fog. I assumed that was her way of setting the stage and obstructing our view. I couldn’t feel her, though. I was fairly certain she wasn’t anywhere near our location. “He’s headed this way, and he’s not alone,” I said to my sister. The advanced members of Carter’s forces were coming up the road quickly now. “We won’t make it to the SUV in time, Cadence.” I stopped and looked at her. She was more frantic than I ever remembered seeing her. “He’s not after you. Not yet. He’s after me.”
Time was up. A barrage of bullets lit up the street below us, and I knew Margie’s team had come into contact with those advanced forces. “Be careful!” Cadence said, pulling me over to her. She kissed the top of my head and then squeezed Brandon’s arm before nodding at Jamie in a show of confidence.Aaron followed her the last few steps to the fire escape. “Becky wanted to send backup from HQ, but I told her not to. We don’t know for sure where Holland is, and she could be planning an attack there. Remember, Cadence, this was a rescue mission, not the attack. Our objective is to get everyone out alive.”“Right,” my sister said, but I knew she wasn’t thinking about that. she wanted to get Carter again. I couldn’t blame her. I would’ve been thinking the same thing. “I love you,” she said just as a scream filled the night sky. I felt with my mind and saw that it was Steph, and she was hurt