demon pals so far up each others’ asses that you’ve failed to notice.”
In a heartbeat, Ky was in Lance’s face. “Me and my demon pals are the only reason we have a world to defend in the first place, or did you forget what happened in Israel? Or in the battle with Pestilence last year? So be very careful about what you say next. This is my family you’re talking about.”
“You’re so arrogant, Morgan. Ever since you bullied your way into the Sigil with your special charm and your angel buddy you think everyone should follow your lead. There’s no room for discussion. It’s Kynan’s way or the highway.” Lance spat on the floor, as if talking to Kynan left a bad taste in his mouth. “Has it occurred to you that you might not always be right? That you might be wrong about Thanatos? About his prophecy? About the baby?”
“If you had concerns, you should have brought them up before now,” Ky shot back.
“We tried.” Lance leaned in, so close Ky could smell the burger he’d had for lunch. “You wouldn’t listen. You and your bleeding-heart demon-loving ideals are dragging The Aegis into the dirt.”
Kynan’s voice had long ago been destroyed by a demon who had nearly ripped out his throat, and now it degraded even more, like gravel mixed with shards of glass. “Next you’re going to tell me I’m responsible for the attack on our headquarters.”
Their noses were now touching. “I didn’t say it. You did.”
Before Kynan could stop himself, he fisted Lance’s collar, ready to lay the bastard out. Juan leaped in, jamming his arm between Ky and Lance to pry them apart.
“Guys. Now’s not the time for this. We need to stay on track.”
“Yeah,” Ky grunted. “Fine. Where’s the
Lance smiled snottily. “It’s on its way. We put it on the ship with the Guardians.”
“Ship? How many damned Guardians did you send?”
“Just a handful,” Juan said. “We needed extra room for equipment. It’ll anchor just off the Greenland coast in a few hours. Lance, Omar, Takumi, and I are catching a helicopter transport in an hour to take us to the ship. We’ll transfer Guardians from there to the Horseman’s keep with the helo.”
Kynan did not like this. Did not like that all of it had been done without his knowledge or his input. And he had serious reservations about so much equipment that a ship was required to send Guardians to Greenland. But maybe Lance had a point about Kynan taking too much control. The Aegis had survived for thousands of years because the Sigil operated under the premise that every Elder was equal. Not that he’d ever admit that Lance might be right.
“I don’t suppose you’ve given the Horsemen a heads-up?”
“I sent a message to Arik.” Lance glanced at his watch. “Quit worrying. It’s all good.”
Cursing, Ky stalked out of the chamber, an uneasy feeling churning in his gut. He’d always trusted his instincts, and right now they were going off like storm sirens in Tornado Alley. Something wasn’t right. No, something was wrong. Very wrong.
As he hit the narrow staircase leading down to the castle’s great room, his cell went off, and the storm siren in his head rang louder. He checked the screen and took the stairs at a dead run, Gem’s message flashing in his brain like a bloody scrawl at a murder scene.
Twenty-five
Thanatos left Ares in the keep to act as an extra set of eyes on Regan. Now, it was time for Than to spring himself on the vampires he’d let stew while he handled other Apocalyptic shit.
If there was one thing daywalkers hated, it was to be kept in the dark.
Literally and figuratively.
Than allowed himself a grim smile as he strode through the side courtyard, where the daywalkers watched him from between the shutter slats in the outbuildings he used for storage, working shops, and vampire quarters. A hellhound guarded the entrance to the keep, preventing the bloodsuckers from entering or, at Than’s request, from leaving their quarters.
He let the daywalkers stew a little longer and entered the building that housed the night crew. This thick- walled, windowless structure kept the sunlight to a minimum, but once inside, there was another measure of protection. The upper section was set up as a gathering space with furniture, appliances, half a dozen video gaming systems, and a pool table. But a staircase led to sleeping quarters deep in the earth, where a tunnel also provided an escape route if needed.
Thanatos had sealed it after Dariq poisoned Regan. He was taking no chances.
He descended into the shadowy depths, and by the time he hit the bottom of the stairs, all twelve nightwalkers were standing around their giant table, some blinking after being awakened by his arrival, and others bright-eyed and watching warily.
“I’ll get right to it,” he said. “What do you know about the plot against me?”
They all exchanged glances, and finally Peter shook his head. “We don’t know anything, sire. The daywalkers despise us. They don’t exactly share their murder plots.”
Thanatos suspected as much. In truth, he didn’t expect to find any nightwalker collaborating with the daywalkers, and it wasn’t just because they hated each other. It was because no nightdwelling vampire would want to see the daywalkers come to power in Pestilence’s post-apocalyptic world.
“Sire,” Roland said, stepping forward. “We’re here because we want to be. Even if you hadn’t confined us to quarters, we’d have done it ourselves until this is over. We don’t want you to have any reason to suspect us if anything else happens.”
Peter nodded. “But we’d be honored to guard Regan.” In one coordinated movement, the vampires went down on one knee, their fists over their hearts. “We’re yours to do what you will.”
All the pain the rogue daywalkers had caused became muted in the humbling loyalty on display before him. “Thank you. I’m honored.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll open the escape tunnel, but I still can’t allow you in the keep. I don’t believe any of you are involved in trying to kill my son, but Regan can’t always tell the difference between you and the daywalkers. Hell, Limos and Ares can’t even tell you apart most days. I can’t risk someone slipping into the keep under the guise of being a night-walker.”
“We can wait.” Roland looked up at Than through his messy mop of red hair that always hung in his eyes. “But if you need us, we’re here.”
Thanatos got out of there before he gathered them in a lame-ass group hug or something, and braced himself for the real confrontation. He stopped in the middle of the courtyard in a patch of sunlight, and called out to the daywalkers. They came from their buildings, blinking in the morning light.
“I had a really interesting meeting with your brethren in France,” Than said, stopping all of them in their tracks. “Who knows what I’m talking about? No one? That’s what I thought. So here’s the deal. I don’t have time to torture you all. But what I do have time for is to get you all a new tattoo. Awesome, right? Who doesn’t love new ink?”
“
“Right. But this will be different. You remember Orelia, the Silas demon who gave you the first one. Well, she’s going to give each of you one that’ll be taken directly from your thoughts.” Thanatos grinned, letting his fangs punch down. “So if you haven’t betrayed me, you have nothing to fear. If you have… let’s just say you might want to start pissing your pants now.”
He jerked his thumb at Viktor. “C’mon, buddy. You first.” As Viktor approached, Thanatos lost a little of his cocky mood, because the truth was that he loved his vamps, and it was going to hurt him to kill the traitors almost as much as it was going to hurt them.
Almost.
Regan woke up alone. Well, alone except for the yak-sized hellhound lying by the door.
Yawning, she sat up, expecting to see Thanatos in the corner chair, but he wasn’t there, either.
