Scorched Ice (Fire and Ice #3)(56)
Cameras. His prey already knew they were coming.
CHAPTER 21
Quinn watched as the vampires Julian sent out in search of the cameras blended seamlessly into the woods. All of the vampires who had agreed to help go after The Commission had arrived. They all looked like she felt, a little queasy and a whole lot murderous.
A beginning and an end, she reminded herself, and they both might occur tonight. The end of The Commission, and probably the end of some of those who had followed them here. Perhaps the end of her or Julian.
The hair on her nape rose as she surveyed the woods crowding the narrow roadway. She kept expecting eyes to materialize from the shadows of the thick pines surrounding them, but she saw no movement within the trees. The only sounds she heard came from the howling wind and the branches scraping together as the trees swayed against each other.
“Wouldn’t they have separated, gone to ground in different locations in different areas of the country?” one of the vampires who had remained with them asked.
“They might have,” Julian replied. “From what I saw, this place looks highly fortified though, at least from the outside. There is a large fence surrounding a concrete building. I’m sure there are other things protecting it too, but I don’t know what they are. Even if they have a stronger fortification elsewhere, The Commission will most likely group together in the hopes they’ll be able to take us out. Don’t forget they’re not expecting the numbers we have.”
Luther turned to face the vamps. A few of those closest to him took a step back, wary of the man who was completely human but radiated an air of ruthlessness. “He’s right. I have limited experience with The Commission even for a Guardian, but when threatened, they group together. They’re twisted and have caused more damage and hurt more people than many vampires over the years.
“However, they are only human, and humans tend to gather numbers for strength, and The Commission doesn’t have many numbers left. Spreading out may mean keeping some of them alive for longer; it also means thinning their resources and making them more vulnerable. If it turns out they aren’t all here, but if even one of them is, it will be one less we have to deal with by the time we’re done hunting them down.”
“I like the way you think,” one of the vamps said, and those around him nodded their agreement.
“What about the Hunters they’ll have with them?” another asked.
“If they’re under The Commission’s control, they’ll do as they’re ordered. The Commission will happily sacrifice them to save their own lives,” Luther answered. “You’ll most likely have to take those Hunters out.”
That was what Luther hated most about The Commission, Quinn realized. Luther would destroy anyone who threatened his Hunters. They were the children he’d never had, and he loved them as such. The Commission used the Hunters as disposable pawns, something meant only to protect them. To Luther, such a callous attitude was unacceptable.
Quinn surveyed the woods again. She didn’t acknowledge it, but she was aware of the vampires creeping closer to her. Some of them with open awe and curiosity on their faces, while others didn’t seem aware they were doing it.
She frowned at one when he stopped a foot away from her. Julian stepped in between them; the look on his face saying he’d happily tear the man’s throat out if he moved a centimeter closer. The man backed hastily away.
She really hated the whole damn prophecy, but if it somehow made it possible for all of them to live and work together, she would suck up that they made her feel like a rare animal on display for the first time ever. The idea of being akin to a zoo attraction for vampires was something she would have to get used to, and hopefully, she would become old news for them soon.
Shadows shifted through the trees. Her hand fell to one of the guns at her side as she sniffed the air and strained to hear anything above the creaking of the trees. Faint footsteps on the forest floor reached her. Detecting no heartbeats from those approaching them, her hand fell away from her guns before Vern emerged out of the woods. The ten vampires who had gone with him followed behind.
“We took down all the cameras we detected,” Vern said. His brown eyes held a hint of red in them when he stopped before Julian. “They have quite the encampment at the end of this road.”
“Did you find any traps?” Julian asked.
“We made it through to the fence surrounding the building safely. We’ll make it through again,” Vern replied.
“Did you notice if there was another way out of here?”
“No, but we didn’t go around the whole fence.”
“There may have been traps out here before, but they could have taken some of them down to try to make us lower our guard,” Luther said.
“It’s a good possibility,” Julian agreed.
“They still have no idea how many of us there really are,” Vern said. “At least the last quarter of the vehicles never made it into camera range.”
Julian rubbed at the stubble lining his jaw as he surveyed the vamps gathered around them. “Half of you are going to stay here,” he declared.
“Why?” one of them asked.
“For backup. You’ll know when we’re in trouble. I have a feeling there will be no hiding that if it happens. They’re trying to pull us in, but we’ll also lure them into a feeling of false security by keeping our true numbers from them.