I cocked my head to the side and looked at him for a moment. I don’t know why I hadn’t considered that before. Maybe it had crossed my mind, and I’d just assumed whatever had come through with that other Guardian had been killed a long time ago. I’d always just thought the first one must’ve come back centuries ago. I followed his line of reasoning, though. “Because Dracula came through with Alex, and Holland came through with Elliott....”
“And Carter came through when our grandma went the other direction. So who came through with that third Guardian?”
I didn’t have to think about the answer to that one because I had absolutely no idea. “Good question. It would also be nice to know who the third Guardian is. He had to be before Alex, right? Because Aaron Burr went looking for someone to help him and found an ancient Guardian who knew about the portal. So he must be the one who came through it.” This
“And what do you need that I haven’t given you?” I asked Christian. I wanted to be sure we were on the same page. If I was going to be involved in this, it needed to have at least a small chance of working or else I was going to bow out before I got too involved..“Can you get me the names and visuals for those Vampires you said were turning the others? Last known locations, etc.”That was easy enough. “I already have that.” I searched through the data I’d compiled and pulled up the spreadsheet he’d just described. While I was working, I was staring at the table, but for a moment, I had the odd sensation that someone was looking at me. I glanced up, but Christian was concentrating on his coffee. My eyes went around the room. I didn’t see anyone. It was odd, but I shook it off and sent him the spreadsheet, pulling my focus back to what we were discussing. “That’s the best I could do using what littl
Christian got in touch with me a couple of times the next day to ask questions about specific Vampires that weren’t in the spreadsheet, stuff I hadn’t considered until he asked. So I spent a lot of time in and out of their heads, trying to answer his questions. I knew he was going, so it didn’t surprise me a couple of days after our meeting at the coffee house when he popped into my head to tell me he’d gotten Hannah’s permission to take a trip to Hawaii. He didn’t tell me more. I had no idea when he was leaving, whether he was flying on an airline or private, or when he’d touch down. I just assumed he’d let me know when he needed me, if he needed me, and if he didn’t, well, I prayed he’d be okay. Because even though I am not a fan of Christian Henry’s, there was something more to the man than what I’d originally noticed. I wanted to dig around in his brain and try to figure out what it was that made him the way
With a sigh, I concentrated harder on Christian himself, hoping I could pick up on his thoughts without actually leaping into his head. It was difficult at first. Like trying to tune a television using those big rabbit ear antennas. I had to keep searching around for a signal. Eventually, I found it, though, and tuned it in enough that I could get a picture of Christian driving an SUV through the mountains. He was getting close to the point where he’d leave the vehicle and get out and search on foot. Satisfied that I had a decent idea of what was going on, I shifted.It was not my intention to try to leap into Daunator’s head. Doing so would be hazardous. I could tip him off that Christian was on the way. I could let him know we’d been discussing coming over there but had decided not to, which would be an indicator that what he was doing was working and he should keep at it. No, I wasn’t going to try to get into Daunator’s thoughts, but I did wan
It didn’t take me long to find Honey. She was in a club in one of the shadier parts of Budapest, looking for her next snack. Surrounded by a bunch of duds with drinks, Honey was purring over all of them. I didn’t want to stay in her head because I was afraid she’d detect me and get skittish, so I immediately jumped to the guy she was currently talking to.His name was Daven, and he was nervous, not because he was talking to a Vampire but because his family didn’t know where he was. They thought he was at a friend’s house, playing cards, not out at a club. Certainly not talking to the beautiful female in front of him. His anxiety didn’t get him moving out the door, not even when I shouted into his mind that he should go.But I couldn’t press too hard. If too many of the fellows Honey was chatting with left all at once, she might be suspicious. I needed to wait until Eliza and her people got into position before I made it too obv
The scrutinizing look on Brandon’s face was more than a little bothersome. “Where? Where is there a hunt going on tonight?”I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Not at him but at the fact that I probably wasn’t even supposed to know. “In the forbidden land, the place we shall not speak of.”Brandon was with me now. He shook his head and asked, “The Czech Republic?”“Close. Hungary. So... I’m sorry, but I need to be ready in case they need me.” They would definitely need me, especially if Mila was under the impression that Eliza was able to get the necessary information to track Honey without knowing her source. I didn’t like being so rude to Brandon, but he didn’t have all of the information I did, so he had no way of knowing just how important it was that I was ready when Eliza called.He wasn’t walking away, though. “Why in the world would you be helping the tea
I immersed myself in the hunt, hoping that thinking about catching Honey would mean I wouldn’t have to think about what Brandon had just said to me. Eliza was already out of the vehicle and moving toward the club where Honey was still chatting up those dudes by the time I was situated on the couch and back in the game. I hadn’t heard her explanation for how she knew they were there, but I was sure it was on my IAC, so I could go back and look later if I wanted to.The Hunter with Eliza was a really tall guy named Sergio who spoke in a thick accent, but I didn’t have any trouble understanding him. If I dug into her mind a little bit, I’d probably discover she was kind of in to him, at least it seemed that way. She talked to him like she thought he was hot and stood a little too close to him. Or maybe Eliza just acts like that around all guys. It made me like her even less, if that was possible, but Sergio seemed cool, the kind of guy who might come in h
Eliza and Sergio were moving in. She shouted to the frightened man, “Hey, Daven! Better get home before I call your family!”Startled, he turned around, having no idea who the strange woman with the purple hair was, but he’d had enough. Without a word to Honey, he took off running back the way he came, and I let go a sigh of relief that at least I’d helped save one unfortunate soul.Honey wasn’t amused at seeing Eliza, especially after she’d scared off the Vampire’s dinner. “Oh, great. It’s you again.” She put her hands on her hips and stared at the slight Guardian. “I’ve been wanting to repay you for the way you treated my friends.”Eliza stopped a few feet away from her, folding her arms. Sergio was behind her. I assumed her team was aware that these Vampires weren’t like normal ones, that they would be hard to kill, and they’d opted to go with Guardians in the lead, rath
I heard Honey telling Eliza she should look around her. Eliza held the Vampire down with her boot on the woman’s chest and looked up. I could feel panic welling up inside of the Guardian. She didn’t know what they were or where they came from. But when she returned her attention to Honey, she was undeterred. She’d come there to end the Vampire, and that’s what she intended to do. No matter what.“What are they?” she asked me as she focused on Honey’s neck. She was still intending to behead the Vampire, even though the creatures were still heading her direction.“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But I don’t think you should stick around and find out.” I had no idea what kind of damage these creatures could do if they were able to reach Eliza before she got out of there. Mila agreed. I heard her shouting at her team to fall back.“You’re probably rig