Total pages in book: 51
Estimated words: 48407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 48407 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 242(@200wpm)___ 194(@250wpm)___ 161(@300wpm)
Barrett smiled. It was a pleasant, affable smile. Perfectly cordial. “Welcome to the Farm.”
“Thank you.”
One of the vampires sprinted at full speed toward me, its eyes red.
Cute.
The undead slid to a stop a couple of inches from my feet. I held out the will-o’-wisp cage and nodded at Barrett.
“Your parcel. Claudia Ozburn says hello.”
“She always sends the nicest things.”
The undead took the cage from me and carried it off.
Barrett Shaw was still smiling.
I should’ve flinched when the undead ran at me. Most people would’ve flinched. I was positioning myself as either a merc or a knight of the Order. Vampire removal wasn’t something mercs did often, and a knight would’ve called him on his bullshit or taken a defensive stance. Either way, I should’ve reacted.
Even if I had tried to fake a reaction, it would’ve been obvious. My acting skills were severely lacking.
Barrett wasn’t speaking. Ryan Kelly, a Master of the Dead from Atlanta, once referred to him as Gator Mouth, and now I knew why. That warm smile was a tornado siren, announcing a whirlwind of destruction coming my way. This had become about me, and I needed to deflect his attention and get access to Onyx, because he was our only link to Darin. I had to explain why I hadn’t freaked out.
“How do you like it? The Farm? Did Rimush give you a tour on the way here?”
An idea popped into my brain. It was a terrible idea, but it was the only one I could think of. “It’s very organized. Even the cohorts are color-coded.”
Despite the name, the Golden Legion didn’t have cohorts, and neither did the People. There was only one military force accustomed to dealing with vampires that used the term cohorts.
Take the bait, take the bait, take the bait…
Barrett’s affable expression stayed pleasant. “You’re a long way from Kentucky.”
I blinked a couple of times to indicate surprise. Kate the Thespian. Hand me my Oscar. “Well, that didn’t take long. The Preceptor and I parted ways.”
“And why is that?”
“I’ve got a problem with authority.”
Hugh’s Iron Dogs used to be my father’s counterpoint to the Golden Legion. His left and right arms, trained to kill each other if necessary. Hugh was now an independent operator, and if Barrett checked with him—which was highly unlikely—he would cover for me. As soon as I got home, I would have to call Hugh and let him know. He’d get a good laugh out of this, the jackass.
The intensity of Barrett’s smile eased a little. I had given him a believable story. A former Iron Dog would be a highly trained, skilled, disciplined killing machine. If Claudia became aware of one operating independently, it would make sense that she would try to recruit her. It would also make sense that after walking away from Hugh D’Ambray, said Iron Dog wouldn’t be eager to take orders again, so Claudia would take it easy, by talking her into running an errand or two. Mystery solved.
“Ms. Ozburn is marking her territory,” Barrett said, as if to himself. “Very well. What brings you here?”
“I’m looking for a kidnapped child. Onyx brokered the sale.”
Barrett nodded and looked at the journeyman. “Did you hear that?”
Onyx gave me a defiant stare. “I didn’t do it.”
“Jace gave you up,” I said.
“He’s lying.”
I turned to Barrett and spread my arms.
Barrett rubbed the bridge of his nose. “And this is where you’ve fucked up. You should’ve asked who Jace was. Because there is no reason for you to associate with a mid-level Red Horn boss. But you didn’t. Because we both know you’ve been doing some shady shit. Malone warned you about it, didn’t he?”
Onyx opened his mouth.
“Don’t,” Barrett said. All the pleasantness evaporated from his face in an instant.
Onyx swallowed.
“You brought your shady shit here. To my island. Now there is a mercenary asking questions and the Order is aware of it. You have a fucking problem. How are you going to fix it?”
Panic sparked in Onyx’s eyes. The older of the two remaining vampires charged me.
The world slowed to an underwater crawl. The vampire was coming for me, mouth gaping, fangs ready to bite and tear, driven by Onyx’s rattled mind.
If I killed it, the backlash would fry Onyx, tuning him into a vegetable. He wasn’t taking any precautions, and a sudden ending of the connection between the navigator and the undead destroyed the navigator’s ego.
If I took control of the vampire, I might as well have just cut my vein and started making blood armor right there. Not only would I not save Darin, but I could kiss any hope of a calm life in Wilmington goodbye.
The vamp was almost on me.
I had one chance at this. No do-overs.
I pulled Sarrat from its sheath, grasped the undead’s mind with my magic, ripped it away from Onyx, and let it go, all in the same fraction of a second. The journeyman had no time to react. The vamp’s eyes flared bright red. It was already running, and I was directly in front of it, a convenient target with a heartbeat. It leaped, claws spread for the kill.