Shadows Strike(38)
“You want a reason?” Chris asked. “I’ll give you two of them. We saved his daughter’s life. Twice. Ethan saved it once during the first skirmish they fought with vampires. Seth saved it the second time when she was fatally wounded. You’re a father, Marcus. You were, too, Roland. Don’t you think that would mean something to him?”
Roland and Marcus silently consulted each other.
Neither denied Chris’s words.
David cleared his throat. “There’s a third reason.”
All eyes turned to him.
“I think it’s safe to assume that Gershom is behind this new vampire army, since he was behind Shadow River. The fact that he was forcing Whetsman to smuggle out more of the sedative seems adequate confirmation, as far as I’m concerned. And I know of no one else who would be either bold enough or stupid enough to send an army of vampires to attack an American military installation, knowing full well the response it would provoke.”
Seth nodded. “It would be one hell of a way to kick-start an apocalypse. Not only would knowledge of vampires go public, it would force one of the world’s largest superpowers to retaliate.”
Dread seized Heather. “If Gershom directs the blame at another country . . .”
“It would mean war,” Seth finished for her.
Zach leaned forward and braced his elbows on the table. “And if the American military believes another country has raised an army of vampires who are capable of such destruction, they will do everything they can to acquire the virus themselves and begin to infect troops here to raise their own.”
Seth nodded. “Once that happens, countries hostile to America will find out and want to do the same, as will America’s allies. No one wants the other guy to have the more powerful army.”
More curses all around.
Heather turned to David. “Is that the third reason?”
“Third reason for what?” Sheldon asked.
“The third reason my dad would have for believing you aren’t like the vampires? Because you’ll warn him what will happen if the military gains knowledge of the virus?”
David shook his head. “Your father is an intelligent man. He’ll draw that conclusion on his own. No, the third reason is you. Your safety is and always has been his top priority. When we tell him . . . when you tell him . . . that you’ve become a target of the leader of this new vampire army, a leader who has no qualms about sacrificing your life to achieve his goals and who may not be through with you yet, I think your father will be swayed to our side. I think his desire to protect you will force him to work with us even if doubts linger.”
A tense and somber silence ensued.
Roland broke it. “I still think it’s too risky. I think Seth should just read the minds of the men on Chris’s list and leave General Lane alone.”
“And if Seth and David find no clues at the destroyed base?” Chris asked. “If they find nothing that can help us figure out where the hell this new vampire army is forming, then what? I’ve notified the other network heads around the globe of the attack and they’ll tell the immortals in their area to keep a sharper eye out for any unusual vampire activity. But if nothing has shown up on the radar so far, I don’t think we can count on the vampires giving anything away in the near future. Not unless their next attack is more public. Then all bets will be off.”
“Your point?” Roland drawled.
“The military is doing everything they can to find out what country or organization fostered this attack. Right now they’re combing through every source of intel they have. General Lane can feed us that information and help us narrow down our search.”
Heather saw the reason in it, but hoped like hell the Immortal Guardians’ leader would find something at the base so all of this would be moot.
“Heather,” Seth addressed her.
Her heart trip-hammered in her chest. “Yes?”
“You’ve not told us what you think on the matter.”
Nervous butterflies filled her stomach. “I didn’t know I had a voice in this.”
“You do,” Seth informed her.
“Well . . .” She rubbed her free hand up and down her thigh as her palms began to sweat. Hopefully Ethan wouldn’t mind her other palm sweating, because no way in hell was she going to let go of his hand. “The downside of telling him is you’d have to erase the memory of it afterward if he didn’t cooperate, and that would hurt him. Do I have that right?”
“Yes.”
“Will it kill him?”
“No, but it will be immensely painful.”
“He’ll recover, though, like Ethan did when you read his mind, right?”
Seth hesitated. “Ethan is immortal and has greater healing capabilities. Your father is human and may not fare so well.”
Her stomach churned. “Are you saying he could end up with brain damage?”
“It’s a possibility.”
“Irreparable brain damage?”
“Yes.”
She swallowed hard. “That’s a huge downside.” One for which she would never forgive herself if it were to come to pass. Nor would she forgive herself if he agreed to work for the network and came to harm as a result. Ethan had told her that Chris’s last group of contacts had been tortured and killed. What if that happened to her father?
“Look,” Zach spoke into the leaden silence, “everyone thinks I’m an asshole.”
When no one protested, Lisette shot everyone around the table a glare.
“I don’t know if this will prove it or disprove it,” Zach continued. “But I don’t think it’s fair to ask Heather to make this decision. We’re essentially asking her to weigh her father’s life against the welfare of the entire world. If we talk to him and he chooses not to work with us, he’ll end up brain damaged and will suffer for the rest of his life. If he does work with us, he could end up like Chris’s last group of contacts and die a torturous death.”
His words reflected her thoughts so precisely that Heather wondered if the elder had been reading her mind.
“And,” he went on, “if she should ask us not to enlist her father’s aid and it takes us too long to locate this new vampire army—the world is a big fucking place, people—then she will know she facilitated Armageddon.”
“Dude,” Sheldon said, his face somber, “that sucks.”
Zach reached over and took one of Lisette’s hands. “The Others believe any contact with humans will bring about the world’s destruction. When I fell in love with Lisette, I made the conscious decision to risk it. I chose Lisette over the rest of the world and would do so again. Yet there are some of you at this table who would condemn Heather for putting her father’s welfare first.”
Again, no protests.
Zach looked to Seth. “I applaud you for wanting to be fair and to let Heather have a say. But I think you should be the one who ultimately decides. We all trust your judgment, and it may very well spare Heather a lifetime of guilt.”
Heather held her breath and fought the urge to cry in shame, because part of her wanted Seth to take this decision away from her.
“So be it,” Seth intoned.
She squeezed Ethan’s hand tighter until her nails dug into his flesh, terrified of Seth’s next words.
“Aidan, you and I will go to the men on this list,” he held up the piece of paper Chris had given him, “and see if any of them know the location of the base, while Zach and David keep an eye on things here. Zach, I want you to field my calls for the next few hours so there will be no interruptions.”
Zach nodded.
“Once we know the base’s location, David and I will teleport there and see what we can learn from the scene.”
Heather nearly sagged with relief.
Then Seth snagged her gaze. “Heather, I shall leave your father out of this as long as I can. If we are left with no other option but to attempt to recruit him, I will tell you so that you may accompany us.”
To help them gain his cooperation? Or to say good-bye in case things didn’t go well? She had no idea how extensive the brain damage would be, so she supposed there was a chance her father wouldn’t even know her or be able to speak to her again afterward.
Family is everything to me, Seth spoke in her mind. I will do all I can to spare you that.
The lump that rose in her throat was too big to speak past, so she answered him telepathically. Thank you.
“Anything else?” Seth addressed the table at large.
David nodded. “In light of these events, I want all immortals, even the elders, to hunt in pairs. And do not leave home without several of the autoinjectors that contain the sedative’s antidote in your possession. Until further notice, I want you all to take the same precautionary measures when battling vampires that you did after Lisette was nearly slain last year.”
Nods all around.
“Very well,” Seth said. “Safe hunting to you all.”
Chapter Thirteen
The scents of death permeated the balmy air.
Seth studied the picturesque beach on which he and David stood. Sunlight sparkled on water so clear he could see the pale sand on the ocean floor. Colorful fish flitted about beneath the surface, finding goodies to eat within the coral reef that blossomed like an underwater flower garden.