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
Hannah took Jo to give her a bath, and Ona helped Cadence get Cadon latched while Jamie left to go check on his own one-month-old baby. Cadence’s son was a pro almost immediately, latching on the first try to resting peacefully while he nursed. Cadence couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have even one sweet baby, let alone the blessings of two. He wore a tiny little cap to keep him warm, and she couldn’t help but stroke his head while he made soft baby noises in her arms.Hannah brought Jo back before Cadon was finished. It took her daughter much longer to latch. She kept turning her feisty little face away, growling her discontentment as Cadence tried to get her on and not disturb Cadon at the same time. With Aaron’s help, their daughter finally latched, but he had to have his hand on her back or else she’d pull off again. “She is definitely a Daddy’s girl,” Cadence declared, shaking her head at her strong-spirited daughter.
“For the record, there really is no comparison between us naming our son after a famous jazz pianist and you naming your daughter after a murderous dictator,” the Healer pointed out before getting back to the task at hand. “I think in two or three more pushes, we’ll have a baby.” He was looking at Cadence now, smiling at her above the draped sheet that made her feel a little more secure even if it didn’t really hide anything at all from the doctor.“Okay,” she said again, ready to get it over with. Jamie told her to push, and she did, as hard as she could, hoping for two and not three as the lucky number.“Keep pushing,” Jamie said, even though Aaron had reached ten. “She’s almost there.”Cadence strained even harder, giving it every bit of energy she had left, and a few seconds later, she felt her daughter slip into the world. Listening to her cries made Cadence’s heart melt all
“One more push, Cadence,” Jamie insisted, his normally friendly-tone replaced by his not-quite-as-friendly medical professional tone. “One more time, and we’ll have a baby.”Cadence could feel the sweat dripping off of her forehead and wondered how normal human women did this, especially the ones who refused any sort of pain medication. Even with her superhuman strength and resilience, she was tired. Jamie had gloves on so he wasn’t using any of his healing powers to help her, but she had opted for the epidural, which minimized her pain but did nothing for the exhaustion.“You ready?” Aaron asked, standing next to her, holding one leg while Ona, a Healer who was acting as Jamie’s nurse, held the other.“I’m ready,” she nodded. Her husband’s smile hadn’t dimmed since her water broke three hours earlier. It might not have diminished since they’d left Prague eight months ago,
Jamie gently wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He kissed her cheek. “Love you, Cadence.”“I love you, too,” she said, returning the kiss. He took a step back and smiled at her before heading off toward the mountain.Cassidy hugged her sister a little more tightly than the doctor had. “Don’t you ever die on me again.”“I won’t. You neither. I love you, little sister.”“I know.” Cassidy giggled at her own smart remark. “I love you, too.” Cadence kissed the top of her sister’s head, and Cassidy let her go, stepping back to wait for Brandon.“Good job getting the monster.” Brandon’s hug was more like a pat on the back, and Cadence almost laughed, wondering if he just didn’t want to break her or was embarrassed.“Thanks, Brandon. Take care of my sis.”“I will try,
“The baby, Cadence,” Aaron said in her head. “You’re carrying our baby.”Cadence sucked in air all over again, like she had when she’d first fought to open her eyes. The baby! Jamie had told her she was pregnant before the hunt. How it had slipped her mind was beyond her, but yes, she was going to have a baby.Or was she? Her eyes flew to Jamie’s face, all of her questions bottled up in her eyes as she raised both brows, hoping he could alleviate her worry.Jamie smiled and gave a small nod only she could see. All of the air rushed out of Cadence’s lungs again as her hand flew to her abdomen, sighing in relief.“What is it?” Cassidy asked. “What was the other thing you couldn’t remember before?”Part of her wanted to keep their little secret just that, and she was disappointed that she hadn’t been the one to tell Aaron. She looked to him to see if
Cassidy smiled, but didn’t say anything, and Cadence could tell by her expression, she didn’t know what to make of Cadence’s revelation. It was no matter—she moved on.“Jack was pitching, Elliott. And the batter was a guy who looked so much like you. I couldn’t remember you at the time—sorry—but I asked, and my grandparents said the batter’s name was Jimmy.”“Jimmy?” Elliott echoed. “I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that name to you.”“I don’t think you have either, but that’s your brother’s name, isn’t it.”Elliott’s head rocked back and forth slowly. “Wow. If that don’t beat all.... It’s like the freakin’ Wizard of Oz. ‘And you were there, and you were there....’ Hmmm.”“Well, it gets Wizardier because your mom was there, too. Arlene. And she wa
A growl from Elliott let her know he disagreed, but he didn’t say anything more, and Christian only nodded before he faded out of view. It was just as well. Cadence was exhausted. She didn’t really want to talk to anyone else, just let her husband pick her up in his strong arms and carry her back to the SUV so she could take a shower and fall asleep for a few years.“I hate to interrupt,” Scarlet said, taking a step closer to where they were sitting. “Cadence, it is wonderful you’re okay. But Jamie, what about that serum you made? Do you think we should try it? If we can get the Hybrids back up there, we might be able to save some of those people who are still trapped in the holes.”“Oh, right.” Jamie scratched his head, like he’d forgotten about the serum. “Yeah, why don’t you and Cale start working on that. The serum is in my backpack, which is in the trees near where we first encountered the bla
Lungs burning, body aching with the pain of soldering itself back together, eyes blinded by brilliant white, Cadence opened her mouth and sucked in air for the first time in as long as she could remember. Her legs still felt like they were on fire, like she’d been running for hours, but as she tipped her head back and began to cough the memories of what had happened to her, how she’d killed Daunator and then found herself in the air with no ground beneath her boots, flooded her mind, and every trace of memory about why she felt like she’d been running fled her mind.“Cadence? Cadence!”Aaron was there. She could feel his hands on her, even though she couldn’t open her eyes to look at him yet. Her throat burned as she continued to sputter, coughing and choking on the air she so desperately wanted in her lungs. How long had she gone without taking a breath? Why did her heart feel like a jackhammer, her chest muscles sore from the exert
Jamie was at twenty-two, and Aaron was trying to focus, but the voices to his left were prominent in his mind. He could still hear Elliott’s murmurs, Cass’s sobs, sighs and gasps from others. Christian was pacing back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, behind almost everyone. Aurora, free of her handcuffs now that she was no longer a threat, was doubled over on the ground, her hands linked around her knees, her wails having lost their voice minutes ago so that she was no longer making a noise as her body shook and spasmed. Eliza had her arm around the much taller Hunter, trying to be comforting, but Aaron was aware that, of everyone here, Eliza Wrath was the only one who really didn’t care if Cadence ever opened her eyes again. He could feel it rolling off of her in waves of ugliness like the sea during the type of storm that leaves debris littered all over the beach, breaks boats in its wake, and sends sailors to the bottom of the ocean.There were