“Is the database something we can look through and see if we can determine if these lead Vampires, or whatever you want to call them, are recently turned or have been around a while?” Aurora asked.
“Yeah, we can do that. But it’s not very intuitive, and without Christian here, whoever takes that task on might be here a while,” Aaron explained, getting disappointed looks from everyone.
“Who’s Eliza’s team after next? Is it someone whose head you can get into, Cassidy?” Hannah asked, leaning forward in her chair. “Maybe you can find out if he’s been dormant all this time like Daunator or if he’s new.”
“It’s a guy named Sylvester,” Cassidy replied. “I can try.”
Elliott sighed. “Why would Daunator be giving these people up so quickly if they’ve been part of his clan for so long?”
“What do you mean?” Cadence asked, not sure she followed.
“I mean, if he’s all powerful, more powerful than Holland, why wouldn’t he put a damn shield around them, like she always did, keep the likes of Eliza from wiping them out?”
“Maybe he’s not capable? Or maybe he doesn’t need them anymore?” Jamie offered.
“No, he’s definitely capable.” Cassidy didn’t hesitate with that part of her answer. “He’s able to produce an even more powerful shield than Holland. You guys, I hope you realize, this dude is serious bad news. I mean, he makes Holland look like a knock-off Barbie version of a Vampire, like the kind you can get at the dollar store.”
The group was quiet for a long moment as everyone pondered what that might mean. “Do you have any idea what his weaknesses are?” Aaron asked.
Cassidy shook her head. “I’m not sure he has any.”
“Christian was working on some new weapons. Maybe those will be helpful.” Hannah shrugged, but looked hopeful.
“I don’t know,” Cassidy said, shaking her head. “It would have to be something like a nuclear bomb for Vampires.”
“Well, without him here, it’s kind of hard to tell what it might be,” Aaron reminded them all.
“My dad might know. He works with Christian.” Cadence didn’t know how much of what Christian was working on was common knowledge and how much was secret stuff he kept to himself.
“We can definitely ask him and the other people who’ve been working with Christian,” Aaron agreed. “Back to the monsters. Cass?”
“Yeah?” She looked as if she’d been busy on her IAC or thinking about something else but snapped back to attention at the sound of her name.
“I know you said you can’t get into their heads, but we have a list of the missing persons. Maybe you could go through and select a few and see if you can reach them, see what state they are in. If they are not still human or Vampires, then that means they might be our new creatures.”
“Or they might be dead,” Elliott offered.
“Know a little bit about that do you?” Cadence asked shoving him in the bicep with her elbow.
Not pausing for Elliott to answer, Aaron said, “That is true. They might be dead, but Daunator wouldn’t send his people out to turn a bunch of people only to have most of them die.”
“So... do you think we’re headed over there to face him ourselves soon?” Aurora asked, spinning her chair back and forth slightly.
“Most likely. But if Christian’s going to be gone for another week, that will make it difficult.” Aaron was staring at other papers in front of him as he answered, and Cadence noticed one of them was a map of the area where the most people had disappeared.
“Why can’t we go without him?” Elliott wanted to know. “It’s not like he’s that good of a shot, and quite honestly, life is more pleasant without him around.”
“If we decide to leave all of the unpleasant people behind, you can water our houseplants,” Aurora said, glaring across the table at him.
Cadence squeezed his hand hard. “Not worth it. Let it go.”
“We need Christian, if that’s at all possible. He’s the most familiar with Daunator. He’s the one who knows what weapons might work, and he deserves to get to go on this trip after what he did with Hines and the portal.” Aaron’s statement was definitive.
“You mean letting us walk in there like a bunch of chumps?” Elliott asked. “I mean, just to clarify, you do know this is the same jackass who knew about the portal but didn’t tell any of us, right?”
“I am aware,” Aaron replied. “He’s also the same guy who threw himself in there with Hines to try to get me out.”
“But that wouldn’t have been necessary if he would’ve told us about it in the first place. Jamie, back me up here.”
Jamie raised his hands, like he was staying out of it. “Elliott, I’ve known Christian a lot longer than you have, but Aaron’s known him for the longest. And he probably has a better understanding of why he does what he does than we do. So....”
“That is the opposite of back me up, Jame.” Elliott glowered.
“He’s been hurt.”
Everyone turned and looked at Cassidy who seemed to only then realize she’d spoken aloud. “What are you talking about, Cass?”
She shook her head quickly, either clearing it or bringing herself back to reality. “Nothing. It’s not my story to tell. Only... I accidentally saw some things I shouldn’t have. Maybe we’ve been too quick to judge him.”
“Says the girl who ripped his face off,” Elliott reminded her.
“That was before I saw what I saw. Look, all I’m saying is, I understand Aaron’s point.”
“Thank you, Cass....”
“I don’t agree with it.” Aarons’ eyebrows shot up. “But I understand it. I think... if we’re going over there... the sooner the better. Whether he’s here or not. A lot of people are getting turned into monsters, of one variety or another. We can stop it.”
“What if we can’t stop it?” Aaron sounded cautiously pessimistic, and Cadence didn’t like it. “What if this is one Vampire we cannot stop?”
“How is that possible?” Hannah asked for all of them. “We’re Guardians. He can’t kill us.”
Aaron shrugged, turning his attention to his second. “Schmitz seemed to think he could.”
“Schmitz is a nut job,” Aurora said, drawing wide-mouthed stares. “Well, come on! He was afraid to say the guy’s name in this room for fear he might kill him while he was sitting in a meeting with a ton of Guardians and Hunters. He’s a bit of a... strange one.”
“I wish we could get him to talk to us, to tell us what he knows,” Cadence said, thinking it was impossible.
“We don’t need him to talk to us to tell us what he knows,” Cassidy reminded her. “I can get the information. But listen, once we know everything we can find out about Daunator, we should just go.”
“And what about Daunator?” Jamie asked, turning to look at her. “Can you get in his mind?”
She was already shaking her head no before he finished the question. “It’s a black, tangled up mess in there, worse than any mind I’ve ever seen.” Her eyes flickered to Aaron, and Jamie caught Cadence’s for a moment. Both of them knew she was referring to the mess she’d encountered in Aaron’s head—and so did he. “Besides, every time I try to find anything out that way, Daunator immediately downloads every thought I’ve ever had. So he can peruse it at any time. He may have an idea we’re planning to attack when we do just from previous thoughts I’ve had.”
“What about Heather?” Aaron asked. “Maybe she could get in. She doesn’t know anything, and she won’t unless we take her with us. Could you distract him while she looks around? Is it possible for you to get close enough for him to detect you without him scraping your thoughts?”
“I doubt it. I could try. But then... I don’t really know anything yet either. It’s just... he’s good at putting ideas together to make predictions about what will happen next.”
“Then do a whole lotta thinkin’ about his demise,” Elliott suggested.
A small smile pulled the corners of Cassidy’s mouth up. “If only that would work.”
“All right. We’ve got a lot to figure out and not a lot of time to do it. Cassidy, you know what you need to work on. Take these.” He handed her part of the list of names. “Cadence and I will talk to the people that have been working with Christian. I’ll get Emma on the cell phone business. Hannah, check in with Mila, see how that’s going. Aurora, study the video of that hunt with Eliza and sit in on the one tonight so that we can find out what techniques work against these creatures. Jamie, see if Eliza can get you any tissue samples from whatever happens tonight, and Elliott—”
“Sit on your couch and eat Cheetos?”
“Uh, no. Contact Ward, I’ll get you his number, and have him talk you through any information he might have on the Blue Moon Portal, any books he might’ve seen while he was here.”
“Why?” Elliott asked.
“I wanna make sure you can’t die before I send you into a situation that might get you killed.”
“What about the rest of us?” Aurora asked.
“I already know the rest of you can, potentially, but if I’ve got someone who can’t be killed, I’ll play my cards a little differently than if we’re all doomed.”
“Does that mean you think Daunator might be able to kill us?” Hannah asked, and Cadence knew she meant Guardians.
“I don’t think so, but I don’t know for sure, and I don’t want to find out, if I can help it.”
Everyone nodded, gathered up their belongings, and headed out the door, leaving Cadence and Aaron at the table.
“Welcome home, sweetie.” Aaron reached over and took hold of Cadence’s hand.
“Welcome home.” She laughed, but deep down inside, she knew this was going to be the toughest battle they’d ever been in, and she had no idea if they were ready, or if there was even anything they could do to get ready.
“It’ll be all right,” Aaron assured her, reading her emotions as easily as Cass could read minds.
“Yeah, I know.” But she didn’t, not really. Deep down inside, she had a feeling it wouldn’t be, but she wasn’t about to let anyone else know that, not even her husband.
