Darkness Rises(115)

“He told Lisette he gave them all ruptured aneurysms.”
“That takes both power and precision.”
“He must be practicing.”
“On whom? And why?”
“I don’t know.”
Perhaps when Seth had warned Zach months ago that the Others couldn’t best him because Seth had been exercising and growing his powers, it had struck a nerve.
“How did he even know Lisette was in trouble?” David asked.
“I suspect he was following her.”
“Why would he do that?”
“She, Roland, and Sarah captured him a couple of weeks ago and interrogated him.”
David’s eyebrows nearly met his hairline. “I assume he let them.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Not yet.”
“What did they ask him?”
“He’s been seeing Ami. They wanted to know why.”
David’s face filled with pure menace. “By seeing her . . .”
“He’s been meeting with her on your roof.”
Utter disbelief mingled with the menace. “How did I not sense his presence?”
Seth shook his head. “He’s learned to mask it in some way. I didn’t even sense it myself. Had I not read Lisette’s thoughts, I would not have known anything about it.”
Judging by his expression, the idea that Zach could come and go without their knowledge unsettled David as much as it did Seth.
“Apparently,” Seth went on, “Ami can detect his presence and joins him up on the roof whenever he pulls gargoyle duty up there.”#p#分页标题#e#
“In her condition?” David said with disapproval.
Seth snorted. “She’s as sure-footed as a cat and has exhibited no dizziness thus far. I don’t think we have any worries there.”
David grunted. “So he can mask his presence, but not his energy signature.”
“Yes.”
“What is Ami’s interest in him?”
“I don’t know,” Seth admitted. He seemed to be saying that a lot lately. “I think that’s the biggest puzzle of all.”
David frowned. “You don’t think it’s romantic, do you?”
“No. Ami sees no one but Marcus in that light.”
“I agree.” David pondered the mystery for some time. “Perhaps he reminds her of you.”
Seth grimaced. “I hope not.”
The sound of a car turning onto the long drive caught his ear. He looked toward the front of the house the same time David did.
A window rolled down so the driver could lean out and punch in the security code.
The music of Miles Davis floated to their ears.
“Chris,” they said in unison.
Reordon always played Miles when he was stressed.
The car seemed to crawl up the lane so slowly Seth thought Chris could have walked and reached the house faster. The engine stopped. His car door opened and closed.
“Does Chris ever sleep?” David asked as they followed his progress up the walk and through the front door.
“Not much. Not enough. But he refuses to delegate.”
Footsteps approached from the hallway.
“You ever been to his place?” Seth asked.
David nodded. “Looked like a typhoon hit it.”
“Come on, guys,” Chris complained, entering. “I’m right here.”
“We know,” they said.
He dropped a briefcase on the floor and flopped down in the chair next to Seth, across the desk from David.
“How did the tracking go?” Seth asked.
“Very well.” He opened the briefcase, drew out a folded piece of paper, then leaned forward and spread a map out on the desk. “Both mercenaries headed for the same rendezvous point here.” He pointed to an area on the outskirts of Chapel Hill. “They remained there until daybreak, presumably to ensure they weren’t followed by immortals or vampires, then headed here on wheels they must have stashed somewhere because they moved much more quickly.” He pointed to an isolated area between Mebane and Saxapahaw. “Again, they waited, then were probably taken blindfolded by someone they met there—if the mercenaries stayed true to what they did before—to what I believe is the PMC’s base here near Burlington.”
He reached into his bag again and drew out an iPad. “Here’s a satellite image of the area,” he said, bringing it up for them.
Seth set the tablet on the desk so David could examine it, too, and leaned forward. “Did one of your new contacts send you this?”
“No. I’m leery of risking their involvement.”
Seth hesitated to say anything. Chris still labored under the ass-load of guilt piled on his shoulders after discovering that his former contacts and their spouses and children, had all been either tortured to death or shot execution style by the last mercenary group they had fought in an attempt to extract information and send a message. But one of the things that made Chris indispensable to the Immortal Guardians was his ability to recruit contacts in very high places. Contacts who had been invaluable in the past. “Chris—”