“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 sound of her voice.
It was a surprise, at least for Cadence. Hannah spent most hunts directing, not fighting, but maybe she felt like she could be more useful. “Okay,” Aaron said.
“Me, too,” Aurora added, a brief glance at Elliott who was still as a statue.
“And me. Shane does, too,” Meagan said, speaking up for her boyfriend who wasn’t there.
“Can I?” Cass asked, and Cadence turned and glared at her. She shrugged. “Worth a shot.”
“Dad?” Brandon asked. Cadence turned to look at Elliott whose jaw was set tight. “You know it’s safe. You did it.”
“I’m willing to gamble a little bit with my own ass, Son, but not with yours.”
“It’s not a gamble, Dad. Jamie won’t let anything happen to me,” Brandon argued, and it was clear that Elliott was considering it.
“What if it enhances my powers?” Cassidy argued, and Cadence’s eyes flickered from one teen to the other.
“Tell you what, Cass, you get Liz Findley to sign a release form, and we’ll chat,” Aaron said, nipping that conversation in the bud.
“Dad?” Brandon asked, likely seeing Elliott was caving.
“Hell, boy,” he muttered. “I don’t know. Let me talk to your mom.”
Brandon’s mood brightened, and Cadence couldn’t help but notice the difference between the two teens—one of them happy to have his mother involved the other knowing her mother would kill her if she mentioned it.
“Okay. I would like to move in on these four bands of Vampires sooner rather than later. Jamie how many of these procedures do you think you can handle at once?”
The Healer looked up at the ceiling like he was counting. “Well, we still have that makeshift hospital ward set up in the tagging facility. I think there are about fifteen beds in there. I should be able to handle the room at capacity. I’ll get Martin and the other Healers to help, and Kathy can assist, too, since she’s got nothing else going on these days.”
“You sure you can handle all of that? What if something goes wrong?” Aaron asked, and Cadence was right there with him.
“All I’ve had to do is monitor. We should be good.” Jamie seemed confident. “I’ll do everyone else first, and then if you’ll let me, once they’re all awake, I’ll go.”
It was almost as if he was trying to sneak Aaron’s permission into the conversation, but before he could either agree or disagree, the office door opened, and Alex stepped back in, followed by a short man with dark hair, a mustache, and a closely cropped beard who looked like he was in his mid-to-late thirties. That meant nothing, of course, since he could’ve been centuries old and likely was if Alex knew him so well. “Pardon us,” Alex said, bowing politely in his manner. “This is my good friend Michael Schmitz.”
“Yes, of course,” Aaron said, standing and shooting around the table to shake the newcomer’s hand. “It’s nice to see you again, Schmitz.”
Cadence wasn’t surprised that Aaron knew him. He knew everyone. If she had ever seen the Guardian, she didn’t recall him. He looked rather timid, and Alex didn’t bother to introduce him to everyone, only offered him the seat he’d previously vacated and took a position leaning against the door as if he were a sentinel as Aaron returned to his chair.
“Alexander said you might have some questions for me?” Schmitz asked, interlacing his fingers on the table, his elbows squeezed together.
“Yes, we were hoping you could help us,” Aaron replied. “We know that Holland is somewhere near Linz, but we don’t know why she’s there. Giovani went there, too, right before he traveled to Philadelphia to create Gibbon in an attempt to destroy Cadence. Do you happen to know why Holland might be in that part of Europe? Is there anyone you can think of she might be visiting? Or a location she might be staying at for some reason?”
Cadence watched what color Schmitz had held in his face slowly drain away the longer Aaron talked until he was nearly as white as a sheet of paper. “Linz?” he finally asked, once Aaron was done, and when the Guardian Leader affirmed he had heard correctly, Schmitz ducked his head and ran his hands across the top of it, clearly in consternation.
“What is it?” Cassidy asked on everyone’s behalf.
Schmitz needed some time to answer, so they all waited patiently. Cadence’s eyes met Elliott’s and for once there was nothing remotely playful about his expression. He looked a little frightened, which matched Cadence’s countenance. What could it possibly be that would make Schmitz react this way?
Eventually, the man cleared his throat. “Back in my day, there was a legend about a mysterious creature who resided in the hills near the small town of Klet. Even though most of my family had Transformed as young as possible, none of us were ever foolish enough to wander alone in those woods. They said… they said that the monster who lived there had a way about him, that even if you were a Guardian, he had powers that could influence, powers that could destroy. I never actually knew of anyone who saw him with their own eyes, but the legends went back to well before my great-great-grandparents’ time.”
The table was silent as Cadence ponder all of the reasons Holland might be looking for someone with that sort of power. While she doubted whatever this thing was could actually destroy Guardians, he did sound menacing. “Do you know what they called him?” she asked quietly.
Schmitz’s head bobbed up and down, but he didn’t speak.
Cadence’s eyes flickered around. Everyone seemed to be taking the information seriously, except for Christian, who only looked angry. “Can you tell us?” Cadence asked.
Schmitz’s head shook back and forth quickly, and he still said nothing.
“You can’t tell us?” Aaron questioned. “Why is that?”
He cleared his throat. “Speaking his name is said to draw him out, and even though I am certain he cannot manifest here, I’m not willing to take the chance.”
“Can you write it down?” Cadence asked, thinking it a little odd this man who was practically an immortal, who had more to fear of her than whatever this beast who lived halfway around the world was, seemed afraid to say his name. She wanted to ask if his name was Betelgeuse but didn’t think it was an appropriate time to make a joke.
When Schmitz indicated he could write it down, Hannah passed him her pad of paper and a pen. He took a deep breath and jotted a few letters down on the paper, putting his hand over top of it. “Will you wait until I leave before you read it?”
“Certainly,” Aaron assured him. “Well, if there’s nothing more you wish to tell us, I suppose you can go.” Cadence noticed he’d slipped back into a more formal way of speaking since he was talking to people closer to his age and would’ve thought that was funny, too, if it weren’t for the fear she saw on Schmitz’s face.
“That’s all,” he nodded. “That and… just be cautious. We don’t know what he can do, but it’s not… typical.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you,” Aaron said with a smile, and Schmitz darted out of the room before he could be asked anything else.
“Shall I accompany him?” It was obvious Alex didn’t want to stay either. Cadence wasn’t certain why that might be, but the fact that Alex wanted to be human again, to be able to die, made her think perhaps he was tired of being involved in all of this.
“I don’t see why not,” Aaron replied, and Alex departed as well.
