While it should’ve startled Cadence that no one had explained this trend to her, it didn’t. There were just too many surprises anymore to be surprised about anything. “Well, I would really like to find a couple of good male Hunters, but Aurora says she doesn’t have any right now. And recruiting has slowed since we’ve been concentrating on the Guardians coming in from Roatan.”
“Maybe after everything settles down, we can see what we can find—if it’s even necessary. In the meantime, speaking of Roatan, I invited Alex to join us at the meeting. I’m hoping he can offer some insight into why Holland might be in Linz.”
Cadence’s forehead crinkled. She knew Alex was old and wise, but as far as she knew, his information about Eastern Europe was limited. “Why do you think he might be able to help with that?”
Aaron stood and took her plate over to the sink to rinse it off. “Because h
“I have Mom’s data,” Cassidy said, spreading a slew of pages across the conference table in Aaron and Cadence’s office. “And I think it’s pretty obvious what we missed.”Cadence looked at the stack of notes, wishing her mother had a better sense of what they needed. It all looked like random notations to her, while she’d been expecting a detailed map after what Aaron had explained to her what Liz was supposed to do. At least it seemed to make sense to Cassidy.“What is it?” Elliott asked, sitting in his usual spot next to Cadence, though she couldn’t help but wonder if he wished he was sitting near Aurora, who was across the table between Christian and Meagan—like she always was.“Well, if you check back through the communication log, you can see that Becky and Patsy are about to clear a place called Larundel at 2:17, but as soon as Becky makes the call over the IAC, Jeb transmits to h
Cadence did another turn around the table to see ashen faces and wide eyes on nearly everyone, but Christian was actually chuckling. “There’s no way she could figure that out so quickly. Hines can’t possibly know as much about genetics and our DNA makeup as Dr. Morrow, and it’s taken him decades to get this far.”“Why can’t he know?” Cassidy asked, her tone dripping with teenage venom.“Because Dr. Morrow is at the top of his field. He’s a genius. Hines is a quack,” Christian countered, still smirking.“And… Holland can read minds, you moron!” Cassidy spat, nearly out of her seat now. Brandon pushed her back down. “What makes you think she couldn’t just go for a little stroll around Morrow’s head—or yours—and come up with whatever information she needed?”The chuckling stopped, but Christian was shaking his head. “We’d know.
“Actually,” Jamie said again, and all eyes shifted to him. “I want to do it, too.”“Jamie…” Aaron began, shaking his head, but the doctor didn’t let him finish.“I know you’re worried I’ll lose something in the transition, but that doesn’t make sense to me. I don’t think that will be the case. What if it allows me to heal faster or without wiping myself out? I trust Martin enough to keep me safe while I’m under.” It was clear he was convinced, and Cadence turned her attention to Aaron to see if he would argue.He ran his hand through his hair, an indicator he was conflicted. “Let me think about it, okay?”Cadence could see that Jamie wanted to argue, but he didn’t. He only said, “Okay,” and Cadence figured he would do it whether Aaron approved it or not.“I want to do it, too,” Hannah said, and they all turned at the
Once the door was shut, Hannah looked down at the paper. “Are we all ready for me to read it?” she asked.“Nope. Let me get my aluminum foil hat on,” Elliott said sarcastically, getting a chuckle out of almost everyone.Hannah, still smirking, read, “Daunator.”“Daunator?” Christian echoed, as if the name had struck a chord with him.“You know him?” Aaron asked.“I should say I’ve heard of him, I guess. He is legendary. I’m surprised you haven’t heard of him.”“Enlighten us, Captain Henry,” Elliott chimed in before Aaron had to say anything back to the tech guy to defend himself.Christian cleared his throat and shrugged. “There isn’t much to say. Just… yeah… I’ve heard he knows a lot, that he has powers beyond your typical Vampire, a lot like Holland. Except, he is said to be able to transcend time and
Cadence turned to Aaron, who looked relieved since he would likely have to be the one to stop any fight that broke out between the two of them. “Let’s just all be cautious, okay? We don’t want to have to put anyone’s internal organs back inside of them.”“Yeah, with this dry weather we’re having, my hands are all chapped,” Jamie added with his deadpan sense of humor that finally allowed Cadence to get the giggle out she’d had entrapped since Christian’s chide.“All right. You all go assemble your teams. Let me know if there are any questions.” Aaron’s nod was a dismissal, and the vast majority of the team was up and out the door before he could blink, though the usual suspects stayed behind.“Didn’t you hear him, Dad? Go get your team together. And call Mom,” Brandon said, also not moving from his chair.“I will, I will,” Elliott assured him, gestur
Ready to give up didn’t even begin to describe Asteria’s feelings as she continued to trek through the woods, and yet her feet kept moving. She had no idea why. She should’ve gone back to the solace of the castle hours ago, should be contently sucking on one of the reserva de sange. Instead, she was nearly at the top of a mountain now, and in the back of her mind, she wondered what it might be like to float right down off of the top into the valley below. Would it hurt or would she bounce right off of the rocky bottom back up into the clouds?They had already been to the place where Giovani had apparently fallen into a cave of some sort and disappeared for four hours. They’d had no luck anywhere near that particular spot, so Nelo had pressed on, but Asteria was beyond hopeless at this point and certain that she was wasting a lot of time. Meanwhile, she was also certain all of her efforts around the globe were about to be completely ruined as L
Again, Daunator’s laughter rang throughout the space, and Asteria covered her ears once more. “You are the one who has no idea, Holland.”“I am called Asteria now!” His willingness to defy her was infuriating.“You are what you have always been,” he countered as another rush of air met her in the back, and she realized he was moving around her, though she still could not see him. “The powers you have do not belong to you, nor have they changed who you are.”“I have been to hell and back,” she informed him. “My powers have grown exponentially!”“You have only learned to take what you need from others, Holland. What you do only changes the ebb and flow of our kind. You cannot create more power, only transport it.”She had no idea what he was speaking about. Of course she could. She had strengthened her forces, giving them the ability to shift, to fight off the e
Daunator narrowed his eyes and took her in. Asteria stood with her head held high, hoping the confidence she had in her own abilities assured him he should tell her his secret, not dismiss her as a foolish creature. After what seemed like hours, Daunator said, “You traveled here through a passage meant for someone else. Blue lights dance for good, for honor, not for sin and greed. But there is another way, one meant for evil. The devils dance from one world to the next, and in that passage, blackness dwells. Entrapment on Earth is fleeting; entrapment beyond our realm, in the never regions, could be eternal.”Once he’d finished his statement, Asteria gave him a moment, not sure he was done. “What does that mean?” she asked once she was certain he would say no more.Daunator did not answer her question, only shook his head. “You are doomed to failure, Holland. The evil creature within you should not be allowed to walk the Earth. I wis