Sitting across the table from her sister, Cadence could see she was nervous. Her hands were interlaced on top of the table, and that fire that usually shot out of her like a volcano when she was explaining her thoughts about what the team should do next was only percolating deep beneath the surface.
“How did your research go?” Aaron asked, settling into his normal chair to Cadence’s right. She knew him well enough to recognize he was fighting to sound nonchalant when what he really wanted to do was start an interrogation. She’d let him take the lead for now.
“I have some interesting information to tell you,” Cassidy said. “But it’s not good.”
Cadence took that to mean that the facts Cassidy was able to establish meant the task ahead of them would be harder than expected. “Let’s hear it.” She tried to smile, even though after her last encounter and this confirmation, it didn’t come easy.
“First off, those black creatures are people. I was able to get into the head of a girl named Dala who went missing a few days ago. She’s in some kind of hole in the ground, out in the mountains where Daunator has his lair. He did something to her, and now, she’s turning into one of those things. She knows who she is at the moment, but eventually, I think she won’t have her own memories anymore. That’s why I’m not able to find everyone using my telepathy. If they’ve already crossed into something else, I can’t pick them up. And those monsters don’t have their own thoughts. They’re just part of Daunator’s web of magic after that.”
“Do you think all of the missing are either already turned into these creatures or in these holes?” Aaron asked, his brow crinkled as he tried to decipher something he’d never heard before in all of his years.
“No, some of them are Vampires, like the ones Eliza encountered that night, the first time she ran into Honey. I have no idea how he decides who becomes what, but there seem to be more creatures than new Vampires.”
“You don’t know exactly what they are, but do you know how to kill them?” Aaron asked.
“I don’t have any idea,” Cassidy replied, shaking her head.
Cadence knew Skelton had mentioned that Daunator learned how to make the creatures while he was in the Blood Moon Portal, and he had also said they were easy to kill. Unsure whether or not Aaron wanted her sister to know about their visit from Skelton, she kept those thoughts to herself.
“I want you to get into contact with Mila later and see if you can help her out while they look for the next Vampire on their list. She’s aware now that Eliza was speaking to you.” Cassidy’s eyes widened as Aaron continued. “Eliza’s not in trouble or anything, but I’m sure it’s yet another reason why Mila doesn’t quite trust her. Anyway, if we can find that guy, and take him alive, we might be able to figure out the answers to some of our questions.”
“All right.” Cassidy didn’t look as enthusiastic as she would have if the assignment had been made a few months ago when the teen was bored and begging for something to do. “Something else happened last night....” Her face went pale, and when she swallowed, Cadence could see the lump in her throat.
“What is it, Cass?” She reached across the table and took her sister’s hand, which was clammy and cold.
“Daunator... jumped into my head. While I was down there, trying to figure out a way to help Dala, he was suddenly in my thoughts, shouting and laughing. It was horrible. Maybe the worst experience of my life. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t push him out.” She pulled her hand away and propped her elbows on the table, fingers splayed on either side of her head, like she was still trying to force him out. “I hope I never have to go through that again.”
Cadence looked at Aaron, whose face echoed her concern. “I’m so sorry, Cassidy.” He leaned forward and patted her on the arm a few times. “How did you get him to leave?”
“I, uh, don’t know for sure. I was so scared, I didn’t know what to do. I ran down to Elliott and Brandon’s apartment, and Brandon helped me to calm down, and eventually, I was able to get Daunator to stop. But I don’t know if I did it myself or if he was just bored of terrorizing me so he left.”
While Cadence was glad to hear that Cass had turned to Brandon for help, she was alarmed that her sister had gone through something so terrible. “Thank goodness he was able to help you.”
“Yeah.” Cassidy continued to stare at the table a long while before she lifted her head. “I want to help those people in the holes, but I don’t want that to happen again.”
Once more, Aaron and Cadence exchanged glances before he said, “We’ll just have to be careful not to ask you to stay in too long or push too far.”
Cassidy nodded, but she didn’t look nearly as assured of her strengths as she usually did, and Cadence couldn’t blame her.
Aaron leaned back in his chair and ran a finger across his chin. “We’re going to get the rest of the leadership team in here in a few minutes and see what we’ve all figured out. We’ll let you know if we need any more information after that.”
“’Kay,” Cassidy said softly.
“We need to get on this as quickly as we can, but we also have to be careful. Until we know for sure we can handle Daunator, heading that direction would be suicidal, at least for the members of our team that can die.”
“And we’re not even sure who that might be,” Cadence reminded him.
Aaron nodded without any further elaboration necessary. “Cassidy, it’s really important that we talk to Christian before we leave to face Daunator. I can’t get his IAC on. His phone is here and off. I really hate to ask you to contact him for us, but I don’t see any other way. Do you?”
