Night Unbound(97)

“But we’ve narrowed it down.”
“To one of the elder telepathic immortals. Aidan is the most powerful.”
“And is harboring secrets. If he’s strong enough to bend someone’s will, he may be strong enough to keep you or me from finding what we seek in his mind. That barrier I encountered may be too strong even for us to topple. At least not without destroying him.”
Lisette looked from one to the other. “Even while he’s sleeping?”
Both males nodded.
“Then how can you find out who it is?”
“Did you plant a tracking device on the vampire?” Seth asked Zach.
“No. His brain was Swiss cheese by the time I finished with him. Have you pissed off Aidan or any of the other elder telepaths recently?” Zach asked.
“Actually, yes,” Seth said. “But I didn’t think their anger had lingered.”
“You have?” Lisette asked, surprised.
He shrugged. “Rumors of the recent marriages that have taken place here have circulated the globe. Like other immortals, the elder telepaths have become suspicious regarding the unusually high number of gifted ones that seem to populate North Carolina.”
Lisette looked from Zach to Seth. “I admit I’ve been a bit curious about that myself.”
Seth sighed. “David and I always steer gifted ones toward areas that bear network headquarters. It makes it easier for us to keep them safe in the event their advanced DNA is discovered.”
“Ahhhhhh. No wonder.”
“Aidan requested a transfer a few months ago.”
Because he had hoped to find love and happily ever after himself?
Zach grunted. “A transfer you denied.”
“Yes.”
“So we have motive.”
Lisette knew well how lonely this existence could be, but . . . “Do you really think your denying Aidan a chance to meet and fall in love with a gifted one—something that would still be a long shot, even if he were here—would drive him to retaliate by trying to destroy us all?”
Seth shook his head. “You’ve only been immortal for two centuries, Lisette. You don’t know how wretched it can be to live thousands of years without love.”
Zach nodded. “It is.”
“Yes, but . . .” She looked at Seth. “You make it sound like you’re a marriage broker or something and have intentionally denied Aidan and the other elders spouses.”
“I decide which immortals are stationed here. And I’m responsible for guiding gifted ones to the area. Even David suspects there are immortals out there who think I’m playing favorites. I’ll have Darnell look into comments made online, see if he can differentiate between the disgruntled and the furious. Aidan’s wasn’t the only transfer I denied recently.”
A sobering thought. Lisette had heard of men killing for love. She supposed killing for being denied love wasn’t so far out of the realm of possibility.
“Down With The Sickness” interrupted them.
Zach growled. “I hate that fucking song!”
Laughing, Seth retrieved his phone. “I guess this means David is off the clock.” He took the call. “Yes?”
“Is this Zach or Seth?” Bastien asked on the other end, voice taut.
“Seth. What’s up?”
“Cliff tagged one of the new vampires.”
 

 

Seth vanished.
Zach touched Lisette’s shoulder and teleported, following Seth to the field that used to support Bastien’s lair.
Lisette staggered to one side as her feet connected with the ground.
Zach steadied her and bit back a grin when she glared up at him.
“Next time at least let me stand up and set my fork down first,” she demanded. Her angry words lost much of their impact, however, when she raised the forkful of pasta she held to her mouth and stuffed it in.#p#分页标题#e#
Smothering a laugh, Zach turned to Seth and the others.
Bastien stood facing them, his feet braced apart in a warrior’s stance and his face set in stone. At his side, Cliff shifted constantly, as if he couldn’t bear to stand still, his features pinched with anxiety.
Seth addressed the young vampire. “Are you injured?”
“No,” Cliff answered.
Seth looked to Bastien. “I thought we had decided it would be too dangerous for Cliff to try to tag one of the new breed.”
A muscle jumped in Bastien’s jaw. “I changed my mind. We needed information. I thought it worth the risk.”
“Bullshit!” Cliff exclaimed, mirroring Zach’s thoughts.
If Zach had learned nothing else about Bastien, he had learned that the immortal black sheep was fiercely loyal to those he loved. And he loved Cliff like a brother. No way would he have let the young vampire, who clung to sanity by his fingertips, try to tag one of the new breed of vampires and risk being captured again.