“But Skelton said not to take any Hunters,” Elliott noted. “Remember?” He looked at Cadence, and she nodded. “Do you think that’s because Daunator can’t kill Guardians?”
Cadence wasn’t sure if the question was to her or in general, but she answered. “I have no idea if he can or can’t. But... why keep Christian in a hole in the ground if he can kill him?”
“To lure us there,” Aaron replied quickly.
“Do you think he can kill Guardians?” Aurora asked the Guardian Leader.
“No.” Once again, Aaron’s response was definitive. “But that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous. We know he can get into people’s minds, even if we don’t believe Skelton’s story that Daunator made him kill Jordan because Daunator jumped Cassidy last night.”
Jamie’s voice was so quiet at first, Cadence almost didn’t recognize it. “If he can jump into Hunters’ heads... then he can kill Guardians. Just not directly.” The end of the statement was louder, clearer, more like the Jamie she was used to. “He’ll jump into their heads and use their fingers to pull the trigger.”
It was a logical conclusion, one Cadence wished she’d seen half-an-hour ago. She glanced in Aaron’s direction and noted he seemed to have already figured that much out, though for whatever reason, he hadn’t mentioned it aloud. “Then we can’t take any Hunters,” Cadence said conclusively.
“But we don’t know that he can’t get Guardians to do the same thing,” Elliott reminded them. “And with the right weaponry, a Guardian could take out another Guardian, right? If a titanium bullet will let a Guardian kill a Hunter, then won’t it also work Guardian to Guardian?”
Jamie was nodding. “Tissue sample tests say yes. We haven’t tried it out.”
“Are you volunteering?” Aurora muttered under her breath, and Cadence cringed. So far, her friend had been playing nice, but that comment was uncalled for and rude. Aurora shook her head slightly. “Sorry.”
Elliott ignored her, which Cadence appreciated. “Not taking titanium with us would also be a mistake.”
“Whoever we take, we’ve got to be prepared for a difficult fight, even if our first step is just getting Christian back. We can take certain precautions against anyone getting shot by our own teammates, but there are no guarantees. Bulletproof vests help, but they aren’t foolproof.” Aaron looked at Elliott, who had been wearing a vest when Sam shot him in the head, and there was nothing else the Guardian Leader needed to say on the topic.
“We should probably hurry up and get over there, though, if we’re going to save Christian. Who knows what kinds of psychological trauma he’s already suffered if he’s been in that hole for several days.” Hannah sounded both clinical and concerned.
Elliott started to say something, but stopped, and once again, Cadence found herself proud of his ability to bite his tongue. Taking a jab at Christian’s usual psychological state would’ve been easy with that set up, but her friend didn’t go there.
“Should we ask Mila’s team to see if they can find him?” Aurora asked. “They’re a lot closer.”
Aaron was shaking his head before she finished the question. “I wouldn’t trust her to be able to get it done without someone getting hurt. No, we’re taking our A Team, and like Cadence said earlier, no extra Hunters.”
“What do you mean by extra?” Aurora asked.
“I mean only essential personnel.”
“He means me and Cass... and Heather,” Cadence said, trying to be honest without hurting her friend’s feelings. “Sorry, Roar, but I can’t take the risk of bringing you with us. It might be possible that Guardians could be infiltrated by Daunator, too, like Elliott said, but they have to go.”
Aurora glowered but didn’t say anything for a long moment. Eventually, she asked, “Can I at least come and stay in the hotel?”
Cadence was tempted to turn her head and look at Aaron for his advice but decided not to dilute her authority by doing so. “I’ll think about it.”
Her second in command nodded, but it was obvious she wasn’t happy with that answer. Cadence couldn’t put too much effort into trying to spare her feelings. If it meant protecting the Guardians, then that’s what she needed to do.
“That means Ash can’t come either, Jamie,” Aaron mentioned to the Healer sitting on his right.
“I understand,” Jamie said, which surprised Cadence a little bit. She thought maybe he’d insist his girlfriend be allowed to go, as he had with the Eidolon Festival. There was something in his expression that made her think perhaps he wanted to say more, but he didn’t, and Cadence put it out of her mind as Aaron continued.
“All right. I’m not sure what else there is to talk about right now. Obviously, everyone else at this table is going, as well as Shane. We’ll take Cale and Scarlet, too. The more established Healers we have, the better.” Aaron was still thinking, his eyes darting around as he looked up at the ceiling.
“Margie?” Cadence offered.
“Yeah.”
“Paul?”
“Sure. And probably some of the others who did a great job on the last hunt.” Aaron folded his hands and dropped his head for a second before he looked up, and not meeting anyone’s gaze added, “And we’ll need to bring in Mila and the other Guardians on her team... including Eliza... because they are the only ones with experience fighting these demonic creatures.”
Cadence’s eyes widened, but she took a note from Elliott and kept her mouth shut. The last person in the world she wanted on the hunt was Eliza.
“We think Daunator really is able to make these creatures because he came out of the Blood Moon Portal?” Elliott asked, reminding them of what Skelton had mentioned earlier. “Are they half-demon, half-Vampire?”
“No idea,” Aaron admitted. “We’ll find out soon enough.”
