Bound to Blackwood (40 page)

"Lena?"

"Soraya. Hi. Um..."

"C'mon, Ryver! We know you know somethin'. Spill. Now," Mercury shouted as he threw a football at Ryver's head.

Fortunately, Mercury wasn't shielding that well, so Ryver knew the ball was coming his way before it even left Mercury's hand. He ducked and rolled off the leather sofa. He made to get up just as Phoenix's retro high-tops appeared next to his head.

The other Guardian towered over him. "Yeah, come on. You can't tell me being the only telepath in living memory doesn't have its perks. Something's going on and you know what it is."

"Perks? Is that what we're calling it now?" Ryver spat back as he pushed himself off the floor. "You guys think it's fun being able to hear everyone's thoughts? To never know silence?" He span round to face Mercury, pointing his finger right in the guy's face. "You want me to tell everyone your most precious secrets, huh, Mercury?"

Mercury blanched and guilt pierced Ryver's conscience. His anger swept it away.

"Mercury? What's he talking about?" Phoenix asked, his voice no longer so self-assured.

"Nothin'," Mercury growled.

Ryver was exhausted. So many secrets to keep. He had no idea how Kaden did it. The Keeper of the Watch was older than Ryver by nearly a thousand years. The thought of keeping secrets for that long made Ryver feel sick.

Mercury stared at him, his one good eye burning with fury. "What the fuck, Ryver?"

Ryver's own anger dissipated as the mental exhaustion took its toll and he sank back down on the sofa, the leather creaking under his weight. He ran his hand over his crew cut. "Shit."

"You can say that again. What the hell is going on?" Phoenix asked.

Ryver pinched the bridge of his nose, desperate to alleviate the mounting pressure in his head. He replied with a heavy sigh.

"Is that all we get?" Mercury asked, still angry.

Ryver lifted his head and met Mercury's furious stare. "I'm sorry."

Phoenix plonked down on the huge coffee table, narrowly missing one of Mercury's beloved game controllers. "You've always been a moody bastard, but this is taking the piss. Why can't you just tell us?"

"Because I can't!" Ryver shouted back.

"Says who?" Mercury demanded.

Ryver held his head in his hands.
Damn Kaden and his honour oath.
 

"Ryver?" Mercury pushed.

"My honour," Ryver replied in a whisper.

A deafening silence was Ryver's only reply. He slowly lifted his head again to look at his brethren and found shock and amazement painted on both their faces. Honour oaths were not made lightly. Nor did the conditions often include keeping secrets from fellow Guardians.

"Let me guess. Kaden?" Mercury asked.

Ryver just nodded.

"Well it must be bloody serious if Kaden has Ryver keeping secrets from the Order," Phoenix said to Mercury.

Like you wouldn't believe.

Ryver wasn't sure which was worse. The guys thinking he was keeping something from them, or them
knowing
he was and that it was far more serious than any of them could imagine.
 

"Well, that's just great," Mercury said. "You wait till I see Kaden."

"It won't do you any good," Ryver replied, defeated.

"Yeah? We'll see about that," Mercury snapped as he turned heel and stormed out of the den.

Thorn headed for the Command Centre. This Greenshire case just got stranger.

Though he was due back any minute, Kaden had sent a report back from Marin's base in Norway. They needed to find the paperwork for House Clayden.

Someone must know something. Thorn swore under his breath. The list of someones grew ever shorter. There were so few of the race left, a few hundred at last count, the chances of any of them knowing something significant were slim.

He breathed a heavy sigh as he pushed open the steel door of the Command Centre. Mercury was in his usual place in from of the huge transparent screen, swiping different applications across it in a blur. A world of digital information coursed across the display, but one thing held Thorn's attention — the decryption program.

The last time he'd been here, they weren't even halfway to cracking the code. Now though, there was just one digit still reeling. They were just one character away from cracking it. Thorn's heart soared. "It's about time."

Mercury continued swiping screens, pressing icons and checking information. "Shouldn't be long now," he replied.

Thorn frowned. "Isn't this what you've been waiting for?" He pointed to the decoder. "Why do you sound like someone just wrote off the four-by-four?"

Mercury stopped with the swiping. "Sorry."

"I need more than that, Guardian. What's going on?"

Mercury sighed. "It's just takin' too long. And there's no guarantee we'll get the answers we're lookin' for. What if all we get is some fucked up Fallen manifesto?"

"A lot of security for a manifesto, Mercury."

"Yeah, but I've been thinkin'..."

"Dangerous habit, that."

"I'm serious. I know this was Lena's idea, and she knows the Fallen pretty well."

"But?"

Mercury lowered his eyes.

"Come on, spit it out."

"Well why are the archives even on a server? Why aren't they using some kind of Fallen voodoo?"

"Voodoo?"

"Well, I mean, technically, they're still Fae. Why aren't they using Magic?"

Anger flashed through Thorn's mind. Calling the Fallen
Fae
, even dark, Unseelie Fae was outrageous. It went against everything the Order stood for. "They. Are. Not. Fae," Thorn replied through gritted teeth.
 

"But they kinda are. Technically," Mercury said, unperturbed.

"You are on thin ice with this, Guardian."

"I mean no offence. I don't like surprises. Accessing the servers and finding a big 'fuck you, we got our voodoo on,' would really piss me off."

In a weird way, Mercury actually made sense, but the Fallen were cursed. If Vampire Magic was fading, then the Fallen had no hope. Thorn ran his hand through his black hair. "Some things are just easier without magic. We've digitised a lot of our records, why wouldn't they? Why do you think we all carry mobiles? I'd be waiting a bloody long time trying to get telepathic messages through that thick head of yours."

Thorn gave a little chuckle, hoping to move off the subject, but the laugh faded as he saw Mercury wince. He had no idea what he'd said to upset the guy, but he'd clearly hit a nerve. "What's the matter now?"

Mercury returned to his screen. "Nothin'. Just something Ryver said."

It was Thorn's turn to wince, though he really hoped he was just wincing on the inside. Ryver's telepathy was a great asset. It also scared the crap out of everyone, Thorn included. Holy Mother of Fae knew what secrets that boy kept. Or how many. Thorn wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he had to ask anyway. "Something Ryver said about what?"

"Nothin'."

Thorn cocked an eyebrow. "Sailing close to the wind tonight, aren't we?"

Mercury swallowed. "I'm not being insubordinate. For once, Ryver literally said nothin'."

Cool relief swept through Thorn. Ryver and Lena were close and he wasn't naive enough to think that Ryver didn't know at least a little of what was going on. Didn't mean he wanted the whole damned Order talking about it though.

"Maybe he didn't have anything to say. Ryver's a pretty quiet kid when he wants to be."

"Or when he's been ordered to be."

Well, well, well
. "Kaden?"
 

"Yes, Sir," Mercury replied, a frustrated tick forming in his jaw.

"Kaden keeps secrets; it's his job. Why the mood?"

"Because this time it's serious. And it affects all of us."

"And you know this, how?"

"Because I know Ryver, and this, whatever
this
is, is really botherin' him. Being asked to keep secrets from his brethren. It ain't right."
 

Thorn felt a little guilty. Mercury was right to be concerned, but until Thorn worked out what the hell he was going to do, there was really no point in upsetting the apple cart. "You're just going to have to ask Kaden, I'm afraid."

"Ask Kaden what?" The Keeper of the Watch strode through the open door.

The guy looked exhausted as he went over to his desk and sank into the chair behind it. Thorn took one look at Kaden and knew now was not the time for Mercury to pry. He just hoped Mercury
could take a hint. A mumbled "it don't matter," proved their Quartermaster could still be discreet when he wanted to be.
 

"So, how was the trip?" Thorn asked.

"Oh you know, fine and dandy. Marin sends his love."

"I'll bet he does," Mercury said

Kaden ignored him. "Any luck with charts for House Clayden?"

Thorn held his hands up. "Give me a chance, Kaden. I got here five minutes before you."

"What chart are we lookin' for?" Mercury asked.

"We need all the paperwork for House Clayden," Kaden said, still slouched in his chair.

"Ah. So we're talkin' actual paper, not digital," Mercury said. "Guess I'd better call for some back up then." He reached for his phone.

Whilst Mercury was busy rounding up the troops, Thorn perched on the end of Kaden's battered, old desk. Not wanting to be overheard he mouthed, "What did Marin have to say about Lena?"

Kaden looked straight past him "Hey Mercury? Fetch us a couple of beers."

Mercury was still on the phone, but gave Kaden a salute before heading out.

"You ever think of just installing a beer fridge down here?" Thorn asked.

Kaden gave a small smile. "Yeah, but then I'd never leave."

Never a truer word spoken.

Kaden pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Listen, Marin says he didn't know Lena or her parents when she was a child."

"And Vance?"

"He knew them and, I quote,
'paid particular attention to their welfare'.
"
 

That didn't sound good. The thought of anyone paying particular attention to Lena made Thorn's blood boil. The fact that they were talking about a Vampire whose actions were reprehensible even before he
Fell
? It didn't bear thinking about.

"You believe him?"

"Yes and no. I can't say he's actually lying, but I don't think he told me everything either. You know the bastard kept me waiting for over an hour? Span me some crap about attending to business. Pouring over papers in the library. And not just to piss me off either. He was searching for something before I even got there. Once he knew I was on site, he got frantic, throwing stuff around, going from one end of the room to the other."

"What was he looking for?"

Kaden shrugged. "I see people, Thorn. Not things."

"Yeah, I know," Thorn conceded. He had to ask anyway. Just in case. “What about Eden?”

“Clayden did ask them for assistance and a meeting was arranged. By the time they got there, House Clayden had been abandoned. Marin never saw them again.”

Thorn nodded. “And Vance?”

“Who knows what that evil piece of shit got up to. I don't think even Marin really knows.”

“But he suspects?”

The Keeper of the Watch shook his head. “He didn't say as much, but Vance did Fall just after Eden was taken.”

“Can't be a coincidence.”

“I doubt it.”

“So, where does this leave us?” Thorn asked.

“Back at House Clayden.”

Kaden gave a heavy sigh and pushed his hair out of his eyes. Jesus the guy looked knackered. His blue eyes lacked their usual lustre and dark circles had formed beneath them. The cheekbones that usually made the Keeper of the Watch handsome, now razored through his pale skin and made him look gaunt.

Thorn's brow knitted. Kaden was never tired. The man was a machine. "Kaden, are you alright?"

Kaden looked surprised by the question, but whatever answer he might have given was swallowed by the raucous arrival of the rest of the team. Thorn watched the four of them jostling around as they bundled through the doorway. And his heart sank.