Shadows Strike(60)
“I assume they were ordered to keep their fangs to themselves,” Seth surmised, “so no alarm would be sounded that might alert the base to their approach.”
Roland frowned. “They all must have been newly turned to show such restraint.”
Ethan agreed.
Chris removed the image of the islands and revealed a satellite image of Asia behind it. “It took some doing—I had to bring damned near every European and Asian network and their contacts into play—but we were able to backtrack the vampires’ movements and locate their base or lair.”
Ethan frowned. “Why didn’t Gershom just teleport them all to the island? Judging by the chase he led Seth and Zach on earlier, he’s clearly powerful enough to do so. Why risk the vampires leaving a trail we could follow?”
“I’m wondering the same thing,” Chris said, “and worry this may be a trap.”
Zach leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the table. “Not necessarily. This is Gershom’s first—at least as far as we know it—interaction with vampires. It may be something as simple as him getting off on seeing others jump to do his bidding.”
Seth nodded. “We have no idea what has driven him to tamper in mortal affairs in such a way, why he seems hell-bent on watching the world burn.”
“Maybe he’s fucking crazy,” Sheldon suggested.
Seth shrugged. “Or perhaps he has developed a god complex and wants to rule over whoever rises from the ashes of the next world war.”
“Like I said,” Sheldon muttered, “crazy.”
Zach glanced at Seth. “The god complex thing may not be too far off, if that is his particular insanity. He has watched you rule over thousands of immortals and hundreds of thousands of network humans for millennia. Perhaps he thinks it’s time he carved out his own piece of the pie.”
Seth’s brow furrowed. “I wouldn’t say I rule over them.”
Sheldon nodded, his face somber. “Of course not, Your Highness.”
Laughter erupted.
Even Seth cracked a smile before he returned his attention to Zach. “Do you really think he’s jealous? Of me?”
Zach shrugged. “He does seem to be targeting you, at least in part. He has already fucked with your head once, trying to pit you against your Immortal Guardians. And his actions resulted in the deaths of two immortals. After watching you for all these years, he had to have known what a blow that would be.”
A heavy silence fell.
To say that Seth had taken the losses hard would be a gross understatement. Even now, a year later, pain flashed in his eyes, adding a faint golden glow as he looked away.
“Now he’s fucking with Heather and Ethan,” Zach continued, “for reasons we’ve yet to discern. He could’ve sparked an apocalypse in a hundred different ways without involving you and your Immortal Guardians. I think it’s safe to assume you’re part of his stratagem.”
Shit. Ethan had been so busy worrying over what Gershom’s plans for Heather were that he hadn’t considered what the bastard’s plans for Seth might be.
Aidan shifted. “I don’t like the sound of that.”
Nor did any of the others, Ethan guessed by their expressions.
“We can’t afford to lose you, Seth,” Aidan continued.
“You won’t,” Seth announced, then turned to Chris. “Tell them what you’ve found.”
It seemed to take Chris a moment to redirect his thoughts. Knowing how assiduously the network head protected the Immortal Guardians, Ethan guessed Chris had already begun to turn his attention toward protecting Seth.
And how odd was it to think Seth might need protection?
“We followed the surprisingly faint trail of the vampires’ travel,” he said, distracted at first, then more focused as he proceeded, “and found them holed up in Russia.”
Swears erupted.
Chris held up a hand to forestall questions. “Anatoly and the other network heads in Russia have confirmed that neither the Russian government nor the Russian military have any knowledge of the attacks. It took a hell of a lot of work, but we were able to track the vampires to their lair here, near the border of Kazakhstan.”
Ethan contemplated the map. “Then they are Russian?”
“That’s what it looks like,” Chris answered. “But as I said, the Russian government and military are not part of the operation and aren’t even aware that this group attacked two U.S. military bases.”
Roland scowled. “Who the hell are these vampires, then?”
Seth spoke. “Men who would profit from starting a war between the two superpowers.”
“A nuclear war?” Tracy sputtered. “Who the hell would win in that?”
Seth smiled grimly. “No one. But Gershom can be very persuasive. And, as many of you immortals have seen in your long lifetimes, getting rich almost always triumphs over doing good. The right things don’t seem so right when one can profit far more from doing wrong. The men who raised this covert vampire army for Gershom believe they stand to earn billions from World War Three.”
“That’s insane,” Tanner gritted.
Seth shrugged. “One man’s insanity is another man’s profit.”
“What are we going to do?” Lisette asked, brow furrowing.
“Strike the lair in much the same way we did Shadow River,” Seth told her.
Ethan shifted. “Will we be striking it or will the immortals stationed in Russia do it?”
“I would prefer that you do it,” he answered. “You’ve more experience with this particular kind of battle and know the unique challenges it presents. But I will ask some of the immortals in Russia to join us so that they will be prepared if another such group should arise there in the future.”
“When do we strike?” Aidan asked. As usual, the Celt seemed to anticipate the battle with peculiar eagerness.
“That depends on you,” Seth informed them. “I’d like to move quickly on this. They’ve attacked two bases in a very short time. I’d like to take them out before they have a chance to attack a third. Would you be up for a fight in the morning?”
All voiced affirmatives.
“Then we’ll attack at five a.m. our time and catch them midday. If we strike in daylight, we may have the advantage. Both of their attacks happened at night, so they may not have protective suits like yours.”
The vampires Immortal Guardians had fought in the past never had.
Chris seated himself at the table. “Anatoly’s network soldiers will back you the way my men did here when you descended upon Shadow River. How many of you speak Russian?”
Several raised a hand.
“Good. You can translate for the others. Seconds, you’ll all remain behind. I will, too.”
Protests erupted.
When Ed launched several of his own, Ethan winced.
A Second’s primary duty was to protect his or her immortal so that immortal would live to fight another day. Surrendering that duty to anyone else, let alone a complete stranger, would not sit well with them.
“Anatoly’s men can handle it,” Chris told them. “And you may be needed here.”
Seth held up a hand to silence the angry words. “We still don’t know the extent of Gershom’s plan. He put in an appearance at the last attack, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he will do the same when we strike his vampire army. He may instead choose to handle unfinished business and target those he believes we have left unprotected.”
Unease made Ethan’s stomach churn as Seth turned his gaze upon Heather.
Heather swallowed. “You think he may come after me?”
“It’s a possibility.”
General Lane paled. “I can hide her. I can surround her with—”
Seth shook his head. “All Gershom would need to do is read your mind to find her. Once he did, your human soldiers would not even slow him down. Besides, we need you to go to work as usual and keep your eyes and ears open. Alert us to anything the military or other agencies you collaborate with may pick up on. Our network contacts are going to scramble all satellite signals in that area to prevent anyone from viewing the attack, but we can do little if a surveillance drone should happen by.”
Ethan took Heather’s hand and squeezed it. “So what should we do? How do I keep Heather safe?”
“Stay here. David’s home has long been considered off-limits by the Others. Gershom could have fostered mischief here long before now, but has not. Let us see if he will stay true to that. If not, the Seconds and a virtual army of network soldiers will be stationed here to protect Heather. I’d like some immortals to remain behind as well. You, of course, Ethan. Richart and Jenna. Marcus, I want you here to protect Ami and Adira.”
“I want to stay behind, too,” Roland said, surprising Ethan. “To help Marcus.”
Seth shook his head. “We’ll need your strength and speed in Russia. Sarah’s, too. Bastien, I want you, Melanie, Linda, and Alleck to guard network headquarters. If something goes down there and the vampires have to join the fray, you may be the only ones who can keep them in line.”
The two couples nodded.
“I think I should go to Russia with you,” Ami inserted, casting her husband a wary look.
Marcus’s head snapped around. “Hell no!”