A Glimmer of Hope (The Avalon Chronicles #1)(34)

“While you were unconscious,” Dara said, irritated.

“Yes, Dara, while the spirit that had taken over Layla’s body beat me like a drum. I don’t know who it is she’s got in there, but she fights like a demon . . . no pun intended.”

“Just be grateful it wasn’t the actual demon, or you’d be dead right now. Why didn’t you use your own demon to fight her? Your power is right there.” Elias tapped Shane on the chest.

“Didn’t have time. Besides, when I activate the demon’s power, I enjoy it a bit too much, if you catch my meaning.”

Elias understood perfectly. If Shane had used the demon’s power, he would have killed Layla. For a spirit-scroll user, tapping into their demon’s massive well of power could be incredibly addictive, and some people found it difficult to put that cork back in the bottle.

Dara scoffed. “You’re lucky she didn’t kill you. Have you gone through the records and found out who her spirits are? That would have been a good way for you to spend your time.”

“Well, I would have tried to figure out exactly what scroll she took, but I’ve been busy here. Besides, there are several thousand of the things, and while I know they are all numbered, it’s not exactly easy to find out which one is missing.”

“Enough,” Elias snapped. “I’ll go fetch Reyes. I want to see you all together in the mess room.”

He walked into the makeshift gym and found Reyes hitting the punch bag like she was trying to tear it in half.

“We need to talk,” Elias said.

“Later,” Reyes snapped. “You can leave now.”

Elias’s eyes narrowed in anger. He darted toward Reyes, who turned at the last second as he grabbed her by the throat and slammed her into the wall.

“Not later,” he seethed. “Now.” He squeezed tightly. She tried to get loose, but couldn’t. Elias knew that she could use her power and fight back, but if she did, he’d be forced to put her down. Hard.

“Don’t you ever dismiss me again. Do I make myself clear?”

Reyes nodded, and Elias released his grip, letting her fall to the ground. She sat and coughed for several seconds, rubbing her neck.

“Sorry, boss,” she said.

“Get to the mess room. Now.” Elias’s eyes still blazed with the anger he felt. Ordinarily he might have given Reyes more punishment, but the fear he saw in her eyes when she looked at him was enough. She wouldn’t be speaking back to him again anytime soon.

Elias waited until he was alone and then tore the punch bag in half, spilling the sand all over the floor. He was calm after that. It wouldn’t do for him to lose his temper again. It was unprofessional. Even if Reyes had deserved it.

Reyes was the newest member of the team, and the one Elias trusted the least. She was combative, argumentative, and vicious. All of which were great when fighting an enemy, but not so great for fighting amongst the group. She’d been with them two years, and Elias had considered replacing her for at least half of that time. The only problem was that Nergal was unlikely to approve it. He was unlikely to even listen to the request. Nergal had been the one to place Reyes in the team, and he wasn’t the kind of man to be told that his decision had been wrong. She might have to meet with an accident if she continued on her current trajectory.

Elias noticed that his fedora had fallen off when he’d grabbed hold of Reyes. He picked it up and dusted it free of any sand, before replacing it on his head and walking off to find the rest of his people in the mess room.

The mess room was essentially a large space with half a dozen yellow tables and lots of beige chairs. As he entered, Elias could tell that the blood elves inside were angry that two of their own had been killed. They weren’t known for being overly sentimental about their own kind, but they did like revenge. It was almost a species trait.

“So, we find her and drag her back here?” Reyes said with a fire in her eyes, which quickly extinguished when Elias matched her stare. “Slight problem: we don’t know where she is.”

Elias waved away the concern. “We’ll find her. You shot her, yes? She went to a hospital then. If what Shane says is accurate, the spirit controlling her body wouldn’t have been able to do so for long, and for now the bond will be too weak for any of the spirits to take control again. So that problem is no longer something we need be concerned with. I want us ready to move out in an hour. We take nothing we don’t need.”

“What about the prisoners?” Dara asked.

“Any of them that can walk, we take with us. We might need them. Anyone who can’t, just kill them and get it over with.”

“Do we have a back-up location?” Shane enquired.

“An abandoned farm. It’s not as nice as this compound, but it will suffice. Layla probably told someone about us, and we won’t have long before this place is completely compromised.”

“Anything else?” Dara asked.

“I want an address for Layla within the next six hours,” Elias told everyone. “And I want to know exactly which scroll she took. She might have a dozen spirits in her mind right now, and I want to know a) how screwed up she’s going to be; the more spirits the better. And b) who those spirits are. We need to come up with a way to neutralize them.”

Reyes and Shane both walked off, the blood elves in tow. They all knew what their jobs would entail over the next six hours.