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Weapons and Strategies
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2021-02-18 09:24:18It was no wonder her head was beginning to ache again and the tumultuous feeling in the pit of her stomach hadn’t quite gone away. She was considering another round of Jamie’s blue light when Aaron returned, looking as annoyed as she felt. “It’s like having teenagers,” he said, shaking his head. “Well, I mean, I guess. Not that I’ve ever had teenagers. Except your sister.”
“And she only lived with us for a few weeks, but yeah, I get it. What was the problem now?”
“Apparently, Aurora got on the plane early and took off all of the Cheetos Elliott had requested be stocked in the snack center. Really? The man can’t go a few hours without his favorite chip?”
Cadence bit back a chuckle. “In fairness, that was a pretty petty thing for her to do.”
“I agree, but calling her out on it is just going to make her act even more childish. And I thought Elliott and Christian&r
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The Budapest office was small compared to what Cadence was used to, but it was in one of the older, but kept-up, parts of town, and she’d enjoyed looking at the architecture as they made their way in from the airport. The only downside was that Elliott had insisted on singing, “Budapest” by George Ezra over and over again, likely because Aurora mentioned she hated that song. Since he basically only knew the chorus, it got annoying really quickly. But he was driving, and Aaron was the only one close enough to turn the radio on. A threat to slap any hands that reached for the knob kept the rest of the team at bay, so the Guardian’s serenading had to suffice until they were no longer “miles from Budapest.”After a quick greeting with the local team members, Cadence and Aaron had spent an hour or so going over the situation with Mila, just the three of them. The Area Leader’s insight was helpful, even if she didn’t know much about D
Last Updated : 2021-02-18The Clandestine Saga Not Sick
Cadence did so, quickly, tugging at the hem of her white shirt, not that he’d moved it. “What is it? Am I going to die, Doc?” The amount of drama infused in her voice got the laugh she was looking for, but part of her was truly beginning to question how serious this situation might be.“Someday—but not from this. Cadence, I’m not sure I want to tell you right now, since we’re headed into a pretty big battle, but you’re not sick.”“Huh?” she asked, bracing her hands on the edge of the table. “Isn’t that a good thing?”“It could be. But I also don’t think you’re going to be particularly happy to hear what it really is.”She took a deep breath, the edge of the table cutting into her hands. “What is it, Jame? Just tell me.”“You’re... pregnant.”Cadence’s face was frozen, and once again, she felt the blo
Last Updated : 2021-02-18The Clandestine Saga Planning Out the Strategy
It wasn’t like Cadence to be late to a team meeting, and when she walked in, about five minutes after the time he’d planned to start, Aaron could tell something was bothering her. She mouthed “sorry” at him, and he smiled at her reassuringly. The room was crowded, and a lot of people were still chatting. Already an hour behind the time he’d planned to leave, part of him wanted to make them all shut up so he could get on with it, but the expression on his wife’s face also made him want to tell them all they needed a few more minutes.“Jamie will be here in a few,” she said through the IAC. “He’s working on an experiment.”“Yeah, I got his message, thanks,” he replied, glad to know she’d been with the doctor. “Your head still hurting?” Maybe that’s what was bothering her, though not feeling well didn’t quite seem to be enough to
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Heather laughed, bringing more smiles, but she seemed satisfied with that answer, so Aaron moved on. “Paul, Lex, and Margie will be with her to make sure she’s able to throw her shield if needed.” He looked at those three, certainly a trio that would be difficult for any enemy to reckon with. “Over here, we’ll have Hannah, Mila, Eliza, and Kaycia.” He pointed out the different places where he was positioning the teammates. Cadence had ended up inviting Kaycia and Moira once Aurora was allowed to come, despite the fact that they were Hunters. They’d earned it. The ladies would be close enough to each other where they could see and hear even without their IACs but they weren’t bunched together. “And on the other side, Moira, Cale, and Andor. That’s the first line. Beyond that, the rest of you will be waiting in reserve.”After a pause to let that all sink in, he went over the positioning for the remaining Guardia
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The forest around Klet was alive with the sound of animals stirring, leaves trailing across bark as they tumbled to the ground, and the footsteps of twenty or so assailants dressed completely in black winding their way up a steep incline in search of a wayward friend—and maybe their worst nightmare.Cadence knew she wasn’t herself and that Aaron was worried. The flight from Budapest had brought many questions, none of which had been answered truthfully. Yes, she was fine. No, nothing was bothering her. Sure—she was just concerned about the hunt. Whatever she’d needed to say to make him feel better, she’d said it. The idea that she was carrying another person up the mountainside along with her was a constant distraction, one she didn’t need on the cusp of probably the hardest fight of her life. But there was no pushing it out of her mind at the moment. As she tried to avoid piles of fallen, crunchy leaves, her mind wandered to what the futur
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“All right, we’ll move forward, Cass will stir up the ground over Christian, and the rest of us will hold the perimeter while she pulls him out.” Aaron’s directions made it seem far too simple, but they all agreed knowing it wouldn’t be easy at all. “Cadence, stay in the back,” he added, and she looked at him with an arched eyebrow for a moment before nodding. She would stay behind the others until Daunator showed up. Then, all bets were off.Elliott and Aaron went first, staring at the ground before each step in order to make sure they didn’t inadvertently walk on any of Daunator’s pits of destruction. Not that it mattered if he decided to create shafts for them to fall down. Still, she didn’t blame them for being as cautious as possible.Cass followed them, floating above the ground so she wouldn’t have to worry about it, and Cadence made sure she was using her X-ray vision before tak
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Cadence’s thought was interrupted by her sister. “Too late,” she said, her voice sounding a little more like the little girl from Poltergeist than Cadence would’ve liked. “He’s... coming.”“At least she didn’t say, ‘They’re here,’” Elliott mumbled, still staring off in front of them. “Where?”Before Cassidy could answer, the ground beneath their feet began to shake, and Cadence shifted, trying to stay between the holes that were certainly opening up to suck them down. The idea that all of them could be trapped in a matter of seconds was terrifying. “Run!” Aaron insisted, letting go of Christian, and giving his wife a good shove in the direction from which they’d come.Cadence’s instinct was to run, but not the way that Aaron had pushed her. Still, he seemed determined to make her move away from the danger this time, and she took a few hurrie
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Cadence was getting away from him. Despite his best effort, it seemed every time Aaron took out one of the black creatures, three more took its place. They continued to pour out of the mountainside, the ground nearer Daunator opening up in a wave that went halfway around the mountain so far, from what the Guardian Leader could see, and there didn’t seem to be any end in sight. How his wife had managed to power through them was a mystery, but then, he hadn’t realized she was leaving until she was gone, and by then, the first bunch of demons had been on top of him. While part of him had wanted to hang back a bit, to make sure Cassidy was safe, it was obvious now that they couldn’t reach her anyway as she was floating out of their grasps, using her powers to push them over the side of the mountain, a novel idea that only she and Heather were capable of.“This isn’t cool,” Elliott said, his hands full with the monsters as well. “The cover
Last Updated : 2021-02-18
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The Clandestine Saga Cadon and Jo
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.
The Clandestine Saga One More
“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
The Clandestine Saga Family
“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,
The Clandestine Saga So Much Love
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,
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“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
The Clandestine Saga Remembering
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
The Clandestine Saga More To Do
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
The Clandestine Saga Breathe
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
The Clandestine Saga Glimpse Into the Beyond
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
