“Those people made their choice to stay in that house!” Booth roared. “They weren’t our bloody problem!”
Simon barely kept his mouth shut. You weren’t there. You didn’t see the look on that little girl’s face.
“When Sergeant Chipplewhite decided to stay to try to save you, he put his team at risk,” Booth continued. “I’ve got six more dead Templar than I had last night.”
Simon didn’t point out that Bruce’s death was due to the book they’d been sent after, not the encounter with the Gremlins.
“In all fairness, sir,” Derek spoke up from where he stood slightly behind Simon awaiting his turn for Booth’s wrath, “the situation wasn’t—”
“Wasn’t for Simon Cross to muck about with,” Booth interrupted, swinging his baleful gaze to Derek. “Nor was it yours. Do you consider trading the lives of six warriors for one a good trade, sergeant? Because if you do, I’ve seriously got to rethink your position as a leader.”
Derek closed his mouth and put up no further protest.
Booth stared hard at Simon, like the effort was going to wound him in some manner.
The old resentment rose in Simon. For a moment he felt like they were back at school when Booth had thought he could bully a smaller and younger classmate. Everything in him cried out to prove that wasn’t about to happen now any more than it had then.
Don’t go there, he told himself. You won’t win the political battle involved in this encounter. Still, he hated to acknowledge that even to himself.
“You had your assignment when you went there,” Booth continued. “You were to get that book and get out of that house. It should have been easy. No muss, no fuss.” He paused. “And no loss of life. Not of my warriors.”
“That little girl,” Simon said in a tight voice, “those people, needed help. If they’d stayed in that house, they would be dead now.”
“That’s not my problem,” Booth said. “That’s not your problem.” He cursed. “There are a lot of people dead out there. I’ve seen their bodies. And I’ve got a vidburst for you, Cross: there are going to be a lot more of dead people before this is finished.”
Simon breathed out, concentrating on controlling his reaction. He didn’t have to get mad. That was a luxury he couldn’t afford at the moment.
“And to make matters even worse, you brought them here. This base is supposed to remain secret!”
“There was nowhere else to take—”
“Those people are not our responsibility! We’re here to save a world. Not a handful of people. We can only do that by defeating the demons. Not offering sanctuary. When that woman and her children choose to leave here, if they choose to do that—and if they don’t then you’ve served only to increase the burden here—they could tell others about the secret areas we have in the Underground. It won’t be long before the demons learn where we are.”
Simon hadn’t thought about that until he’d returned to the Underground himself. He’d concentrated solely on getting the family out of the burning house and to someplace safe. Saving them had come first.
“We’re not here to save people,” Booth said. “That’s not what all those Templar intended when they died at St. Paul’s Cathedral. That’s not what your father intended when he died so that we could have a chance to carry on this war.”
You don’t know what my father intended, Simon thought angrily. Then guilt assailed him. He didn’t know what his father intended either because he hadn’t been there with him at the end.
“We’re here to win the war against the demons,” Booth continued. “Not to lose it slowly.”
Simon concentrated on his breathing. Whatever Booth said wasn’t going to matter. He’d learned something tonight that had felt good. Saving that girl and her family had felt good.
“Are you listening to me?” Booth demanded.
“Yes, sir.”
“Those people,” Booth spoke carefully, “are part of generations that stepped away from everything the Templar tried to teach them about the demons. They didn’t want to see the demons. They didn’t want to heed the warnings the Templar had that the demons existed. Those people watched as King Philip IV broke the ranks of the Templar in 1307. None of them believed in demons. They didn’t want to. No one wanted to admit beings of such immense power existed because it might lessen the place they believed they had in the world. So they lived their lives in denial while the Templar went underground and worked to rebuild their lost fortunes so they could continue that war. That’s not going to change just because you want it to.”
Simon breathed out.
“We need warriors,” Booth said. “Not heroes. The heroes all died at St. Paul’s Cathedral. We don’t have that luxury.”
Simon almost said something. He thought Derek had to hold back a comment as well, but he couldn’t be sure.
“We can only win this war if we manage to keep enough Templar alive long enough to figure out the weaknesses of the demons and get the job done. They’re not going to do that by trying to play the hero.” Booth spat the word as if it were a vile thing.
Keeping a tight rein on his emotions, Simon remained silent.
“If you want to be such a bloody hero,” Booth said, “figure out how to defeat the demons. I’ll mark you in the Book of Champions myself.” He snorted in disgust. “The only reason I’m allowing you to stay at this point is because we need every able-bodied warrior. But if you screw up again, if you risk my Templar by inciting them to act foolishly, you’ll be gone. And I mean forever banished from our ranks. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” Simon’s voice was low and tight.
“Good. Now get out of my sight.”
Simon turned on his heel and marched out of the room. He resented Booth’s heavy-handedness and wanted to retaliate, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good. He had to walk a
