Darkness Rises

Chapter 18

North Carolina was a beautiful state. The area above which Seth and David soared boasted rolling hills and meadows, corn fields, hay fields, and forest. Rivers and streams wended through the countryside like arteries, feeding numerous lakes and ponds. Wildlife abounded. And the two eldest immortals were not the only “carrion birds” surfing the breeze.

A vulture that shared their glossy black wings joined them, searching the ground below to see what had caught their attention and regarding them curiously.

Inwardly, Seth smiled.

I needed this, David said.

I did, too.

The trip did not take long by air. Soon the land beneath them began to mimic the satellite image Chris had shown them. There were differences, as he had warned. Fewer trees, thanks to logging and a new housing development under construction that was still in the skeletal stage. The mercenaries probably wouldn’t like that. They wouldn’t want neighbors so close to their home base.

That must be it, he said as the thick trees beyond parted, revealing a building that looked quite different from the one in the dated satellite image.

The mercenaries had doubled its width, but the different-colored roofs—old and new—allowed Seth to discern the original structure. The flowering trees in front of it had been removed, leaving a large open area and a small parking lot. Two large hangars rested like small football stadiums nearby. Barracks that reminded him of those their previous mercenary enemy had employed formed rows between the main building and the hangars. A nice collection of Black Hawk helicopters rested on helipads beside the hangars, in which Seth glimpsed armored personnel carriers and Humvees.

All was surrounded by a twenty-foot fence woven throughout and topped with razor wire.

As with the other PMC encampment, one road led in and out and required inspection by guards armed with automatic weapons.

Déjà vu, David uttered.

Seth agreed. It was all very similar to Emrys’s base, to which Donald and Nelson had been frequent visitors.

Do you think all mercenary bases look like this? David asked.

I know little about them, Seth confessed.

Each building bore surveillance cameras. The main building bore two different-colored bricks where Seth guessed they had replaced windows with walls. The front door was steel.

More soldiers, bearing automatic weapons, walked the grounds and the perimeter.

I’m getting a bad feeling, David said.

So was Seth. The feeling that they had indeed screwed up and missed something. The similarities were too numerous. This base was too reminiscent of the other. Coupled with the knowledge that these men had acquired the tranquilizer, Seth could only conclude that—

We must have missed something, David announced grimly.

Yes.

Do you think it’s Donald and Nelson?

Their memories were wiped, so if it is them, they’re operating on whatever information the hard drive or whatever gadget we missed contained.

Which could be a little or a lot.

Their feathered companion swung away just as a scent reached Seth.

You smell that? he asked.

Death.

They banked, circling around to follow the vulture to its feast.

“Are those vultures?” he heard a guard down below ask.

“Yeah. I told you the body was too close. If the wind changes it’s gonna smell like shit.”

The vulture led them to the body of a mercenary who had been shot in the head.

Seth and David joined the bird in circling above it.

Do you think it’s one of the men Lisette, Étienne, and Krysta tagged? David asked.

I’m not sure. Why kill only one of them?

And, if they killed him because they found the tracking device, why are they still here? Why aren’t they all bugging out?

Let’s widen our circles so we can fly over without raising suspicion and pick their brains. Perhaps they’re busy designing a trap if they think we know where they are.

Reading the minds of the guards from this distance was a challenge, simply because maintaining this form already took a lot of concentration, but both elders could do it.

You weren’t exaggerating, David said. Had they been in their usual forms, Seth knew David would be shaking his head. They know almost nothing about the outfit that employs them.

Most don’t care because it pays so well.

I’m not hearing anything about traps. No anticipation of our arrival.

Nor any mention of the tracking devices.

They seem to regard the slain one as a betrayer, yet can’t say why.

They were told he had betrayed them, but not how.

A couple more vultures joined them, circling the carcass below.

I’m going to read the minds of the men in the hangars and the barracks, Seth said. You take the men in the main building.

It was a time-consuming task. Holding these forms for extended lengths sapped their energy, but neither complained. What they learned here could save lives.

By the time they finished, half a dozen vultures were picking the dead soldier’s bones clean.

I got nothing, David said at length. None are aware of any plans to capture us. No one has been warned about or knows anything about the tracking devices. And, while they’re all speculating and coming up with their own ideas, none know why the dead soldier was deemed a traitor.

Apparently only the commander of the army knows why and he isn’t here.

And, of course, they don’t know where he is. This is ridiculous , David said with irritation he rarely exhibited. There is a point at which gullibility ceases and stupidity begins.

I know. They passed that point as soon as they saw their first paycheck and, because they assume that everything they are doing is legal and at the behest of some government contract, they have no problem with the killing.

Money has made them imbeciles!

They were imbeciles before that. The money just gave them a chance to confirm it. How are you holding up? Generally the only time David’s mellow temperament succumbed to irritation or anger was when he was in pain. They had been out in the strong midday sun for a few hours now while expending large amounts of energy to retain the forms of vultures. While Seth was weary, David was probably really feeling it by now.

I could use some blood, he admitted reluctantly.

We aren’t going to learn any more here today. Let’s head home.

The fact that David didn’t protest told Seth the pain was substantial. He should have asked David to shift forms and wait on the ground in the shade at least an hour ago.

Five miles beyond the fence, Seth banked toward the ground.

David followed without question.

Seth shifted just above the grass and landed on his feet.

David did the same, but stumbled.

Seth braced him until he could get his balance, then drew him into the shade of a nearby tree and placed his hand on David’s chest, absorbing his pain. “Forgive me. I lost track of time.”

“I didn’t. We needed the information.”

When David sighed with relief and nodded, Seth removed his hand and clapped him on the shoulder, teleporting them home.

“You seem nervous,” Krysta said, eyeing Étienne with some concern. The only other time she had seen him this nervous was when he had been about to ask Seth if she could be transformed.

Even facing multiple vampires and mercenaries didn’t make him nervous. So what was up?

The two continued to arm themselves for the night’s hunt while she awaited his response. Cam was training with Sean in the home gym down in the basement.

Sean hadn’t been as pissed as she had thought he would be when she had transformed. He actually had seemed relieved that she would now be much safer when hunting.

Étienne cleared his throat and opened his mouth. Let it hang open. Closed it and turned back to the cabinet in which he kept his many daggers.

“Oh, come on. It can’t be that bad,” she coaxed. “Can it?”

He gave her a quick glance from the corner of his eye. “Do you have enough daggers?”

“Just tell me what it is!” she blurted, then clamped her lips shut. “I’m sorry. It’s just that imagining whatever catastrophe might make you nervous is beginning to make me nervous.”

“It isn’t a catastrophe,” he muttered. “Or wasn’t. I seem to be making it one. Cam warned me I would, damn him for being right.”

She pursed her lips.

Crossing to him, she took the dagger from his hand, slipped it into its sheath and turned him to face her. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

He smiled. “Have I mentioned how much I like it when you call me that?”

She smiled. “Yes. So, what’s up?”

He leaned back against the cabinet and crossed his arms over his chest. “I talked to Chris earlier. He mentioned assigning you your own Second now that you’re immortal and said he has a couple of houses in mind for you and Sean to choose from.”

“Oh.” Her stomach sank. She had thought . . .

Well, she hadn’t thought. Not about this.

When she and Sean had first moved in, living with Étienne and Cam had been a temporary arrangement. She had even mentioned staying in a hotel. But then she had gotten to know Étienne and fallen hard for him. They had made love and admitted their feelings for each other. He had transformed her and helped her adjust to her new condition. They had spent nights hunting together and days . . .

She hadn’t slept in “her” bedroom in weeks. She spent the days with him in his. The subject of moving out had just never come up.

“I don’t want you to go,” he said.

Relief left her buoyant. “I don’t either. I mean, we never talked about it and I don’t want to push you into anything you aren’t ready for—”

“I love you, Krysta.” He straightened and took her hands. “I don’t think I could sleep without you beside me. I don’t want to sleep without you beside me. And I want you to be right there with me every evening when I wake up.”

“Me, too.”

He pulled her into his arms and claimed her lips in a kiss that seemed to carry with it everything she felt herself: relief, excitement, lust, love . . .

“Too bad we have that meeting tonight,” he said, trailing heated kisses down her neck.

Her pulse leapt. “We’re both immortal now. Can’t immortals have quickies?”

He laughed. “Immortals give quickies a whole new meaning. But . . .” He drew his hands up her sides and brushed her breasts with his thumbs. “I like to savor you.”

“That disappoints me and excites me all at the same time.”

He brushed her lips with his once more. “So you’ll stay with me? You’ll live here with me?”

“Yes.” Happily.

“How would you feel if I told you that I’m an old-fashioned guy—”

“I already knew that.”

“—and wish to marry you and spend the rest of eternity as your husband?”

She stopped breathing. “You want to marry me?” Marriage was big for immortals. For them, ’til death do us part could mean hundreds, even thousands, of years.

“More than anything,” he vowed, the sincerity in his voice unmistakeable.

Krysta threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him tight.

“Is that a yes?” he asked, sliding his arms around her and burying his face in her hair.

“Yes. A very enthusiastic yes!”

He hugged her close and said with some regret, “I wanted more time to woo you.”

She grinned. “To what me?”

He popped her lightly on the butt. “Stop mocking me.”

She laughed. “I can’t help it. It’s fun.”

Straightening, he brushed her hair back from her forehead and cupped her face in his large hands. “I wanted to spend months courting you properly. I planned to spend months courting you properly once we’d quashed this latest threat. But Chris kept mentioning the damned house . . .”

“Étienne, you have been courting me.”

“No, I haven’t. All we’ve done since we met is train and fight vampires and mercenaries.”

“Sweetie, I’m not a flowers and chocolates kind of gal,” she said, leaning into him. “Well, maybe the chocolate.”

“I was going to say.”

She laughed. He had seen her put away a lot of chocolate. “I don’t need flowers. I don’t need jewelry. I don’t need . . . whatever other frilly things men give the women they’re dating.” She hadn’t dated anyone long-term since Michael and couldn’t remember what men usually brought their girlfriends. “I need weapons. And you have given me some beautiful weapons.”

She no longer carried Lisette’s weapons. Étienne had, over the weeks, gifted her with her own personal arsenal. Shoto swords. Katanas. Daggers. Throwing stars. Glock 18s. Sigs. Her very own uncomfortable rubbery suit to wear if she had to venture into daylight.

“We’ve talked for hours,” she said. “We’ve laughed and flirted and teased.” She nipped his chin. “Seduced.”

“You’re very good at that,” he said, voice deepening.

“Which one?”

He began to move from side to side, the two of them swaying to slow, nonexistent music. “All of them.”

She smiled. “You see? We’re even dancing.”

“Is that what this is? I was just enjoying the feel of you against me.”

She shrugged. “That’s what we called it at my high school prom.” And she was loving the feel of his hard body pressed to hers.

“Dancing was very different in my day.”

“Would you teach me?”

“I would love to.”

A throat cleared.

Cam and Sean stood in the doorway.

Cam raised his eyebrows. “Should I call and tell them you’ll be late for the meeting?”

Smiling, Étienne shook his head. “No. And you were wrong. It wasn’t a catastrophe.”

Krysta grinned. “We’re engaged.”

Sean’s face brightened. Striding forward, he hugged her and shook Étienne’s hand. “Congratulations.”

Cam did the opposite, hugging Étienne and shaking Krysta’s hand.

“Listen,” Sean said, “while we’re talking about the future . . .”

“I hope you’ll stay with us,” Étienne said, then looked to Krysta.

She nodded. “Absolutely.” Unlike many siblings she knew, they rarely fought. And, since Cam already lived with them, it wasn’t as if Sean would be intruding upon their privacy or anything.

Sean tucked his hands in his pockets, a nervous gesture she hadn’t seen him make in a long time. “Actually, I’ve come to a decision.”

She didn’t like the sound of that, nor the somber look on his face. Had he changed his mind about working for the network? He had seemed very happy working with Dr. Lipton these last few weeks.

“Étienne,” Sean said, “I would like you to transform me.”

Krysta’s jaw hit the floor. “What?”

Sean held up his hands. “Now, hear me out—”

“That would be awesome!” she practically shouted.

Sean blinked. “What?”

Jumping up and down, she tugged on Étienne’s arm. “You have to do it! That would be so cool! You have to do it! You have to do it!”

Étienne hesitated. He didn’t want to disappoint Krysta or squash her excitement, especially after she had just made his existence by agreeing to be his wife, but . . . “Are you sure?” he asked Sean.

“I’m sure. If you doubt me, read my mind.”

Étienne did and found, to his relief, absolute certainty.

“I’m as proficient with weapons as Krysta is,” Sean said, “so I wouldn’t require a lot of training.”

Krysta nodded. “He’s good. He really is.”

Étienne smiled. She was like a child trying to convince a parent to buy her that one special toy she wanted for Christmas. “What about medical school?”

Krysta sobered. “Oh. Crap. I forgot about that.”

“I didn’t,” Sean said. “Since I’ll be able to do everything faster, including read, I can finish my studies in record time under Dr. Lipton’s instruction. She has already agreed to oversee my education and I can serve my residency at network headquarters.”

Étienne was impressed. “Sounds like you’ve considered everything.”

“I have. When I’m not studying, I’ll be able to hunt instead of having to sit on the sidelines as I have for the last six years.” His thoughts revealed just how much that had bothered him. “I’ll be able to heal—Krysta or anyone else who needs it—without risking my life. And I could potentially live forever.”

With everything that had been happening in recent years, the enemies who had risen up against them, the Immortal Guardians could use another healer in the area. “As long as Seth grants his approval, I’ll do it.”

Squealing, Krysta threw her arms around Étienne and hugged him tight, then hugged her brother.

Cam clapped Sean on the back. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks.”

“So . . . you’re okay with what will happen when Étienne bites you?”

Sean nodded. “Dr. Lipton told me what to expect and I saw what Krysta went through with the illness, so yeah.”

Face solemn, Cam shook his head. “I wasn’t talking about the illness. I was talking about the other thing.”

What other thing? Étienne asked him silently. What are you doing?

Just having a little fun with him. Play along.

“What other thing?” Sean asked, smile fading.

Cam lowered his voice conspiratorially. “You know. The intense sexual bond it will forge between you two.”

Étienne was looking at Krysta when Cam made the absurd claim and nearly burst into laughter. Lightning fast, her eyes widened, she flashed all of her teeth in a grin, then sobered just as Sean turned a stricken gaze upon her.

She nodded solemnly. “It’s true.”

You are so bad, he told her.

Don’t make me laugh! This is hilarious! Look at his face!

“Dr. Lipton didn’t say anything about a sexual bond,” Sean said, the picture of unease.

Krysta shrugged. “She was probably too embarrassed. You’re about to become her student. I doubt she wanted you to know she was overcome with lust for Roland and tore his clothes off when he bit her. Especially since she and Bastien were already a couple then,” she lied with silent glee.

Cam nodded. “You’ve seen the movies. Being bitten is always . . . incredibly erotic.”

Krysta nodded. “Orgasmic.”

Sean swallowed. “Umm . . . Okay. Wait.” He actually began to sweat.

Krysta burst out laughing.

Unable to keep a straight face any longer, Étienne did, too. Then Cam.

Realizing he’d been punked, Sean swore and gave Cam a hard shove. “You asshole!”

Cam staggered. “You should have seen your face!”

“Uncool, man.” He turned to Krysta. “And you!” Locking an arm around her neck, he drew her down and ruffled the hell out of her hair.

She laughed all the while, letting him do it even though she was strong enough to toss Sean through the roof if she wanted to.

When he released her, Sean smiled wryly up at Étienne. “So you’ll transform me?”

“With Seth’s permission, yes.”

“And there won’t be anything sexual?”

“No.”

Krysta shook her head, still smiling. “The bite actually hurts like hell. You won’t be having any warm and fuzzy feelings for him. Trust me.”

“Good.” He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “You guys are so wrong.”

“I wanna be a cowboy,” a man began to sing to an eighties beat. “And you can be my cowgirl.”

Scowling, Étienne glanced around, then realized it was his cell phone. Damn it. He really needed to figure out who kept changing his . . . ringtone. He looked at Cam, whose mirth was unmistakable. “You?” he demanded incredulously. Cam was as staid and stolid as they came.

Or he had been until five minutes ago.

Laughing, Cam shrugged.

“You’ve been my Second for seven years now and haven’t once cracked a joke until tonight.”

“Because you were always so somber,” Cam said. “I thought you were a stick in the mud like the last immortal I served. Damn, Petrus was boring. I practically begged Chris for a transfer, then you ended up being the same. But you started loosening up after you encountered Krysta.” He shrugged. “So I did, too.”

Étienne narrowed his eyes. “Remind me to kick your ass later.” He answered the call. “Yes?”

“It’s me,” Lisette said. “I just talked to Chris. We’re striking the mercenaries’ compound tonight. Come loaded for bear.”

Krysta sat at David’s dining room table, Étienne on one side of her, Sean on the other, and marveled over how dramatically her life had changed. Two months ago, she and Sean had been struggling to make ends meet and risking their lives every night as they tackled the vampire threat on their own. Exhausted. Lonely. Their futures uncertain.

Tonight she was immortal, even stronger and faster than the vampires she hunted. She fought alongside a powerful immortal warrior she loved and who had asked her to marry him earlier this evening with charming uncertainty. Her brother, still studying medicine, would soon be immortal himself and free of the threat of death if he had to heal her. And the three of them sat at a table, surrounded by more than a dozen other immortals and their Seconds, all of whom would fight to the death if necessary to defend each other and her like family.

Yes, the task before them—besieging the mercenary compound—was daunting and made her stomach flutter with nerves. But the future was bright. And, for the first time in years, Krysta was happy.

At least, that was, until she glanced down the table and found Roland staring at her. Again. He had been watching her and studying her ever since she had arrived and it was seriously starting to aggravate her.

Seth and Chris had not yet arrived. Everyone else chatted and joked and wondered aloud if this battle would be as volatile as the last big battle with mercenaries had been.

Krysta hoped not. Étienne had told her about it and about the attack that had inspired it. And it had sounded like something out of a freaking Michael Bay movie.

Beneath the table, Étienne took her hand and rested their entwined fingers on his thigh.

They had decided not to tell anyone they were engaged tonight, since—

Across the table, Lisette sucked in a breath. “You’re engaged?”

All conversation stopped as heads whipped around and gazes honed in on her and Étienne.

Krysta stared back, eyes wide.

Crap. She must have been reading my thoughts. “I—”

“Yes,” Étienne announced.

Lisette whooped and circled the table so fast she blurred, drawing Krysta into a hug, then squeezing the stuffing out of her brother. “I’m so happy for the two of you.”

Richart rose and approached more slowly with a broad grin. He, too, hugged them both, as did Jenna.

When Sheldon rose and tried to hug Krysta, Étienne shoved him aside with a roll of his eyes.

Congratulations and well wishes abounded.

Even the quiet giant, David, sitting at the head of the table on the other side of Sean, wished them happiness and expressed his pleasure over the union.

All retook their seats.

And still Roland stared.

“Okay,” Krysta said when she couldn’t take it any longer. “Why do you keep staring at me?”

Étienne glanced down at her, then followed her gaze to Roland. “He’s staring at you?”

“Yes, ever since we arrived.”

Étienne frowned. “If you’re still pissed because I asked you to transform her—”

“That isn’t it. I was trying to recall where we had first met.”

“You and me?” Krysta asked with a frown of her own. “Here at David’s place the night the mercenaries tore up my house.”

Roland shook his head. “No. We met before that. I just couldn’t remember where until a few moments ago.”

“I’m pretty sure I would remember it if I had met you before.”

“Not if you had just been bitten by a vampire.”

Her blood chilled. She had only been bitten by a vampire once . . . the night she and Michael had been attacked. “You were there?”

“Yes. I’m the reason the vampires didn’t kill you. I intervened when the scent of blood led me to you.”

She gripped Étienne’s hand like a lifeline. “No. I remember the attack. The chemical—whatever it is—that affects memory when humans are bitten doesn’t affect me. The vampires grabbed us, dragged us away from campus, tortured Michael, and fed on me. Then I blacked out from blood loss.”

Roland shook his head. “Vampires don’t leave witnesses. Particularly female witnesses. Did you never wonder why they let you live?”

She had. Every day.

Why had they let her live and killed Michael?

That single question had spawned a nearly suffocating guilt that had never left her.

“Yes,” she said. “But, I don’t remember you being there.”

David leaned forward, drawing her gaze. “Do you want to remember? All of it?”

All these years she had thought she had remembered it. “Yes.”

He reached past Sean and touched the tip of his middle finger to her temple.

Nothing happened at first. Then images flooded her mind. Memories buried by either the concussion the vamps had given her in their initial attack or the drug the vamp’s bite had released into her system.

A drug against which she had believed she was impervious.

She saw it all at lightning speed. Strolling hand in hand with Michael. The vampires confronting them and dragging them away. The pleasure they took in cutting and biting and torturing Michael while they made her watch. One of the vamps turning his attention on her and thrusting his fangs into her throat. Then . . .

Roland arrived, striking with a ferocity that was as frightening as the vampires, his white and purple aura contrasting with the bright orange of theirs. He tore the vampires apart, as vicious as an animal, then turned to her. The vampire feeding from her bolted. Krysta let her gaze stray to Michael, saw his chest rising and falling in pained pants.

Roland took out his phone and called for a cleanup, then started after the vampire.

Krysta caught his pant leg as he passed, clutching it with a hand that shook. “P-Please.”

He knelt beside her, brushed her hair back with gentle fingers.

“H-help him,” she begged, looking at Michael, too weak to point. “S-save him.”

Roland shook his head, his strong face full of compassion. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “One of them tried to turn him. If he lives, he will become a monster like them. Dying is far more merciful.”

Darkness threatened.

David withdrew his touch.

Krysta stared at Roland through eyes full of moisture. “You were there.”

He nodded. “I arrived too late to save him. He had been infected on too large a scale and, as a human, would have turned vampire. Had he lived, he would have long since lost his sanity by now.”

She blinked, knowing he spoke the truth. Tears trailed down her cheeks.

Beside her, Étienne released her hand and wrapped a comforting arm around her.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said.

He dipped his head in acknowledgment and looked from her to Étienne. “I am doubly glad now that I was able to do so.”

The front door opened and Chris entered, the strap of a bulging soft leather briefcase looped over one shoulder. Securing the door behind him, he headed for the table and took one of the two unclaimed chairs, leaving the chair at the opposite end of the table from David empty.

Greetings flowed around the room as Darnell took out his phone and dialed, but the call went to Seth’s voice mail.

He met David’s gaze as he put away the phone.

David turned his head to one side, as though listening, and closed his eyes. “Seth.”

Everyone exchanged glances.

“Yes.” David opened his eyes and faced them. “He shall be here shortly.”

Sheldon stared. “Where is he?”

“Anchorage.”

“Alaska?”

“Yes.”

“And he could hear you?”

“Yes.”

Lisette met Étienne and Richart’s gazes. “That’s amazing. I have to at least be in the same state to hear my brothers.”

Krysta looked up at Étienne as he nodded.

David shrugged. “I’m older. It requires a great deal of power.”

“That’s awesome,” Sheldon said. “Can you contact any immortal that way?”

“Yes.”

“Would you tell Oscar in California that I want the hundred bucks he owes me? He isn’t answering his phone.”

David stared at him.

Sheldon swallowed. “You aren’t telling him, are you?”

“No.”

Krysta’s tears dried as amusement sifted through her.

Seth appeared just inside the front door, katanas in hand, his face and clothing blood-splattered. “One moment,” he told them, then vanished.

Krysta heard a faucet turn on down in the basement. Rustling. The water shut off.

Seth reappeared, face and hands clean, fresh clothing adorning his tall form, weapons sheathed. He took his seat. “Sean,” he said, “I understand you wish to be transformed.”

Every eye turned to Sean. “Yes, sir.”

“You have my permission. Étienne may transform you at any time of your choosing after tonight.”

“Thank you.”

“Tonight I would like you to remain here and offer what aid you can in the infirmary in case any of the wounded come here instead of going to the network. A staff is already on hand, ready to be of service, and have been informed of your ability.”

“I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“Do not push yourself too far healing or you may not live long enough to be transformed.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Chris?”

Chris rose and, opening his briefcase, began to hand out file folders. “Seth and David inspected the compound this afternoon. These are the schematics they drew. Since the tracking devices could be discovered at any moment, we need to strike tonight.”

Étienne took the folder offered to him. “How do you know they haven’t already been discovered?”

“My men have been surveilling the place all day. There has been no increase in activity. Although we do believe the commander arrived just before sunset with two other men. The mercenaries all saluted him and treated him with deference and respect.”

Krysta took a folder, feeling a sense of pride that she was now one of them and treated as such. Even Sean was given a folder.

Chris handed David one and rounded the table.

Marcus took a folder. “Do you know who the commander is yet?”

“No. My men had to keep their distance to avoid compromising their mission and couldn’t get a good look at his face.”

Krysta studied the map. A large main building. Two hangars that shielded who knew what. Helicopters.

Marcus scowled. “This is nearly identical to the last compound we conquered.”

Seth leaned back in his chair. “Yes, it is. There’s no denying anymore that there is a connection. We just don’t know what it is.”

Ami bit her lip and met Seth’s gaze, worry shadowing her pretty green eyes.

Seth spoke softly to her. “Ami, I want you to sit this battle out. Stay here with Darnell and help him coordinate the other Seconds. And help Sean with the wounded if you can.”

Ami looked up at Marcus and nodded. “All right.”

“Jenna,” Seth added. “I’d like you to remain here, too. You haven’t completed your training and aren’t prepared to face the opposition you would if you accompanied us.”

Beside Richart, Jenna nodded. “If you find yourself in need of an extra pair of hands . . .”

He smiled. “Richart or I will come for you.”

David leaned forward and clasped his hands on the table. “Since it worked well for us before, we’re going to employ the same strategy we used the last time. The immortals will strike first, catching them off guard and clearing a path. Then the Seconds and network guards will sweep in behind us.”

Chris nodded. “I have Black Hawks, two Sisu XA-180 armored personnel carriers, and two Humvees full of men standing by a few miles from the compound. The Seconds here will accompany me to the rendezvous point in a van.”

“A majority of the mercenaries will likely be in the main structure,” Seth said. “David, Roland, Sarah, Marcus, Lisette, and I will tackle that. Bastien, Melanie, Étienne, and Krysta, take the barracks. Richart, Ethan, and Edward, handle the guards on the grounds, but beware of land mines and other traps. Yuri and Stanislov, take the hangers.”

Chris held up a finger. “Once more I’d like to request that you keep the vehicles intact, if possible, so that we can use them ourselves in the future.”

Yuri and Stanislov both sighed with disappointment.

“You are forever spoiling our fun, Reordon,” Stanislov complained.

Seth smiled. “Immortals, make sure you have several doses of the antidote on you stowed in different pockets, so if a bullet destroys one you will have another available.”

“Elder immortals,” David said, “Keep an eye on the younger immortals and lend them assistance when needed. Sarah and Melanie, because you possess the speed and strength of elder immortals, I include you in that category.”

The two women nodded.

Melanie winked at Bastien. “I get to keep my eye on you.”

He grinned. “You always do. My ass, that is.”

“Because your ass is hot.”

“I know.”

Roland sighed loudly.

Chuckles erupted.

“Any questions?” Seth asked.

No one spoke.

“Okay. Let’s book.”

Krysta rose and started to follow the others toward the door.

Sean caught her elbow and pulled her into a hug. “Be careful.”

“You, too. Like Seth said, don’t overdo it.”

“I won’t.”

She saw Sarah tug on Roland’s hand as they walked past. “Why couldn’t we have had siblings like that?”

“I don’t know. We got screwed.”

Sean laughed.

Smiling, Krysta took Étienne’s hand and followed the others out into the night.