Elliott's eyes were locked on Cadence, and his brow was furrowed, as if he were deep in thought. He still managed to answer Hannah's question. "Same old story. Rogue Vampire, no one can seem to get a handle on him. You itchin' for a hunt, Cadence?" he asked, a thought popping into his head.
He had her attention now, even though she was well aware that Elliott was not her biggest fan. "Always," she replied, almost absently.
"Well, you know," Elliott began, attempting to sound nonchalant, "if you really want to go, I know a spot where we are almost guaranteed to have some action."
Eliza looked up sharply. "Elliott, don't even think about it," she said as sternly as her high-pitched voice could sound. "There's no way Aaron would approve that."
Before Elliott could respond, Hannah said, "It's not a good idea, Elliott."
But, he had Cadence's focus. "What are you talking about?" she asked, her interest piqued.
Leaning forward to the edge of his chair, Elliott rested his elbows on his knees. "There's a Vampire who lives in a little town about a hundred miles from here. Old, badass, bastard. He's been on the Naughty List for decades. But, he's reclusive. Hard to catch in the act, hard to get into his place. We've had teams go out lots of times, try to get in, try to take him down. Never any luck. Most of the time, it's not a priority. But Halloween is the time of year when he comes out and does something pretty drastic. This year, he shows up at some kid's Halloween party, takes out a dozen tweens before anyone knows what happened. Well, we sent in some free agents; one of them got it; the rest of them couldn't get 'em either. We backed off, tried again a few weeks later, nothing. Then, everything went down with Holland, and we've been too distracted to concentrate on him. Chances are, he'll get away with this atrocity, too."
Cadence was listening intently, hanging on every word. "He killed a Hunter and a bunch of kids, and he's still out there? Are you serious, or are you just yankin' my chain?"
"No, he's serious," Eliza affirmed. "Barbarosa is one old bad dude. But his place is set up like a labyrinth, and he always seems to know we're coming. It's about the worst idea I've ever heard. There's no way that Aaron would go for it."
"I totally agree," Elliott said, sitting back in his chair. "There's no way that Aaron would go for it." Then, leaning in to catch Cadence's eyes again, he added, "But then, he's not feeling well, and I'm not sure we need to disturb him."
She considered the idea for a moment. Thinking again about how mad Elliott was when she and Aaron had toyed with the idea of becoming a couple, she wondered if Elliott was just trying to come up with a plan to get her knocked off. But, on the other hand, the idea of taking out another badass Vampire, one like Holland, was extremely appealing. And it would be one-on-one, though she would have at least one Guardian with her in Elliott. "What's his place like?" she asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
A small smile curled at Elliott's upper lip. "It's got a huge iron wall around it. Inside, he's grown a barricade of thorny bushes, at least ten feet high. Most Hunters can't make it through without him jumping out at them and taking them out from behind. If you happen to get inside, his house is a series of tunnels and passages that wrap back around on themselves. If you should happen to get that far, the possibility of actually catching Barbarosa off guard or in a vulnerable position is nil to none. And then, engaging him in battle is almost futile. He's one strong bastard."
Cadence glanced around at the other faces in the room. Both Eliza and Hannah were shaking their heads in disbelief. "How many Hunters has he killed?" Cadence asked, returning her attention to Elliott.
It was Hannah who answered. "Too many to count. Don't go, Cadence," she said forcefully. "It's really not worth it."
Cadence could feel Hannah trying to change her energy, attempting to persuade her that she was too tired to go or too upset about Jack. Because she knew how to detect this sort of persuasion, she was able to block it and found it rather annoying. "Did you say a hundred miles? How would we get there? We don't have a car."
"Oh, I can take care of that," Elliott said, with his relaxed tone again. "I've got connections."
He winked at her, and Cadence thought it was a bit creepy at first, but then she realized that was one of his persuasive tactics. Now, she was wondering if he wasn't the one trying to sway her emotions. Either way, the idea of going after this particular Vampire seemed extremely appealing to her. "I think we should go," she said, her mind made up.
"No way," Eliza said, her head shaking frantically, burgundy locks being tossed about. "Forget it. If Aaron found out, he'd kill you." She was addressing Elliott but glanced at both of them.
It was Cadence who replied. "Well, he can't kill us if Barbarosa gets us first!" Her tone took on the lull of a teenager trying to scare her friends into going to a haunted house. "I'm in; let's do it!" she declared, slapping her hands down on her knees and looking at Elliott.
The sneer on his face reflected the delight he felt in his heart. "I'll arrange for the car," he replied tartly.
"You're insane! You can't let her do that!" Eliza interjected sternly through Elliott's IAC.
"Relax," he replied, calmly. "I'm not really going to let her tangle with Barbarosa. I'll drive her out there and then bring her back. It'll be fine."
"It's too dangerous," Hannah stated emphatically. "What if she gets away from you?"
"You guys worry too much," Elliott shot back as he stood and crossed the room. "She wants a hunt; I'll give her a hunt. It'll be fine. She'll never get out of the car."
