“We’ve considered that. But—again—we have to be concerned if they learn we’ve got dwellings built down here.” Derek was silent for a moment as he moved through the darkness. “They’re going to figure that out soon enough. Everyone who died at St. Paul’s Cathedral bought us some time. We don’t know how much. But if the demons think that we’re not a threat, maybe we can learn enough about them to be even more of a threat than we are right now. That’s what we all hope for.”
At the Baker Street station, distinctive because of the Sherlock Holmes wall tiles, Derek continued to the hidden doorway and put his palm against a wall section that only he could see. Simon knew the video circuitry in the helmet allowed Derek to spot the pulse communicator.
He laid his hand across it.
A few seconds later, a deep voice said, “Stand back, Knight Chipplewhite.”
Derek stepped back. Simon and Leah followed suit.
Simon felt a little heartened. He’d grown up in the Baker Street tube area, within the hidden walls of the secret Templar base. The fact that it still existed gave him hope, but it also sharpened the pain he had over his father’s loss.
The door flared open. Templar knights flared out and brought them into the hidden area. The door closed behind them.
A massive knight squared off in front of Derek. “State your business.”
“I’m reporting with Knight Simon Cross,” Derek replied.
The Templar inside the security room turned to Simon. The lead warrior opened his face shield. “Simon?”
“Bryan,” Simon said, recognizing the younger man. Bryan Hedges hadn’t yet been brought into the ranks as a full knight two years ago when Simon had left. Looking at him now, Simon didn’t think the young man had even started shaving. He was still smooth-cheeked.
But Bryan was no longer innocent. Simon saw that from the hurt inside the young man’s blue eyes. The last few days of the demon infestation had taken their toll.
Bryan hesitated a moment, then held out his mailed hand. “It’s good to see you, Simon.”
Simon took his hand and shook. “It’s good to see you too, Bryan.”
Frowning, Bryan asked, “You’ve heard about your father then?”
Simon nodded. “I have. That’s part of why I’m here.”
“It’s too little and too late,” one of the other Templar muttered.
Ignoring the comment, Simon released the younger Templar’s hand. “I’ve come for my armor.”
Bryan nodded. “It’s with your father’s things.”
“Where…” Simon’s voice locked up and he had to try to speak again. “Where’s my father?”
Taking a deep breath, Bryan shook his head. “I don’t know. Things at St. Paul’s Cathedral became extremely complicated. You have heard about the battle there?”
“Yes.”
Bryan looked at Derek. “Of course you have,” the young man said. “It was confusing…afterward. We didn’t get a chance to recover the bodies. There were…just…too many of them.” Tears glinted in his eyes. “My own father died there as well. We couldn’t return for him, either.”
“Can you track his armor?” Simon asked.
“Yes. My father’s armor is still at St. Paul’s.”
“Is my father’s?”
“No.” Bryan looked sympathetic. “The military and police force recovered some of the bodies. They have them in various holding facilities, from what I understand.”
“Why?”
“We don’t know. Probably to study them.”
Simon didn’t say anything.
“During the invasion, just as the demons were about to attack and we recognized them for what they were, we took the police and military by surprise,” Bryan said. “They’ve been trying to open up a line of dialogue with us. High Lord Sumerisle has decided not to follow that course of action.”
“Why?”
“Because the police and the military haven’t been trained to combat the demons as we have. They’ll only be cannon fodder in the coming war. Furthermore, they may compromise our own efforts.” Bryan frowned. “The sacrifice our fathers made was to dissuade the demons from seeing us as the threat we could be.”
“If we’d been more of a threat,” Simon said, “we would have beaten the demons.”
“We will.” Bryan’s chin lifted defiantly. “As long as one of us lives, we will strive to find the demons’ weakness and use it against them.” He studied Simon. “What about you? What are you going to do?”
Simon thought about that and almost said he didn’t know, then Derek spoke up. “He’ll be with my unit. I’ve spoken for him.”
Bryan nodded and offered a wan smile. “That might be best.” He cut his eyes to Derek. “He’ll be in your care while you’re here?”
“Yes.”
Simon tried to hide the hurt and anger that writhed within him. Even though he was certain Bryan hadn’t intended the question to be an insult—and had, probably, intended it as a friendly warning—Simon felt as though he’d been slapped.
You’re no longer welcome here, he told himself harshly. You knew that. Don’t fight it. You can’t win.
“Take as long as you need,” Bryan said. “But remember: the sooner, the better.”
Derek nodded.
After a moment, they were waved through.
Derek asked direction as they went. He wasn’t overly familiar with the House of Rorke’s Underground branch. Simon answered quietly and succinctly. He didn’t want to own the hurt and confusion that filled him as he strode through the tunnels he’d grown up in.
They’d been home once, but he knew they never would be again. He knew he’d miss the feeling of belonging somewhere, of having a home.
In South Africa, the loss had seemed far away and negligible.
The attrition of warriors, so evident by the pedestrian traffic in the hallways, brought that loss even more sharply into focus. He had no way of knowing how many had died at St. Paul’s Cathedral. Only the High Lord and his inner circle had known the exact number of losses.
And they weren’t telling.
Now that he thought about it, Simon also knew he’d never heard how many Templar there had been in the Underground. His whole life had been filled with secrets. He thought he’d known them all.
The truth was they’d been living under siege.
And the monsters were real.
“You lived down here?” Leah asked as they walked. “Yes.” Simon didn’t elaborate. He’d been
