Night Unbound (37 page)

Étienne fell silent for a moment, during which Lisette suspected he unsuccessfully tried to read Zach's thoughts. “What changed your mind?”

“Your sister.”

Étienne shifted his gaze to Lisette.

Smiling, she shrugged. “I am woman. Hear me roar?”

The women present all laughed.

“When the Others learned Zach had met with me again,” Seth continued, “they tortured him for months and would likely
still
be torturing him had he not escaped.”

Guilt suffused Lisette. “Did they know you saved my life? Is that why they captured you?”

Zach shook his head. “They knew nothing about that. All they knew was that I had spoken with Seth.”

“And for that you were tortured,” Bastien stated. “Again.”

“Yes.”

Lisette leaned into his side. “Because he has strayed from the path again to be with me, the Others are hunting him.”

Marcus shot Seth a look. “Will their search bring them here? Is it safe?”

“They won't touch David's home or harm any of you. It's Zach they want.”

“Okay,” Ethan said. “So . . . I think it's safe to say they aren't involved in this. Which means it
has
to be one of our own.” He looked to Seth. “What do you want us to do?”

“Nothing yet. I'll leave momentarily to check out the compound and—”

“Alone?” Lisette asked. David had always accompanied Seth before.

“Yes. David needs to remain here with Ami.”

“I'll go with you,” Zach offered.

Chris spoke up. “Checking it out tonight is good. But I think, when it comes to eradicating the place, we should go in during the day. Since the mercenaries are new to the whole vampire thing, chances are good they haven't developed protective suits yet for their supersoldiers. The vampires will be vulnerable and will have to remain in their residence, while the suits you'll wear will give you free run of the compound and shield you to some extent from the darts. I've had my guys make a few modifications.”

If that was the case, Lisette wouldn't complain about having to wear a protective suit. She did
not
want to get tranqed again. Zach had scared the hell out of her when he'd pointed out that the enemy could up the dosage even more.

“I'd also like a few days to do some recon,” Chris told Seth. “Learn their routine so we'll know where their men are during the day. The damned place is so huge, if we don't know their training schedule and how spread out they are on a regular basis, it could bite us in the ass.”

“How may days do you need?” Seth asked. “Every day we delay, we risk their gaining enough confidence in this venture to reveal their seemingly indestructible army to potential buyers.”

“Three,” Chris said. “A week would be better, but three days will tell us more than we know now. Plus you guys are going to need a hell of a lot of support from the network to ensure that every inch of the fence that surrounds
all four thousand acres
isn't jumped by fleeing mercenaries. I'll need a little time to coordinate that
and
to call in every Special Ops man we have to scour the grounds while you hit the main buildings.”

“So be it.” Seth started to say something else, but stopped. His brow furrowed with what looked to be puzzlement.

“Marcus?”

Lisette gasped at the tentative inquiry and looked toward the hallway that led to the back of the house.

Ami stood there, pale and fragile, her coppery curls forming a disheveled halo around her face. A demure white nightgown fell to her knees. Her limbs were thinner than Lisette remembered, her cheeks gaunt. Her body seemed to bear none of the extra weight or roundness a woman who had just given birth
should
have. Her tiny feet were bare against the cold bamboo floor. Her hands curled into fists.

Lisette looked to Marcus, who had gone so pale she feared he might pass out.

Roland must have feared the same, because he hastily took the baby from Marcus and cradled her against his chest.

Marcus rose slowly and staggered a few steps toward his wife as though afraid she were an illusion. “Ami?”

She nodded.

Rushing forward, Marcus took her in his arms and crushed her against him.

“Careful,” Seth cautioned as he and David rose.

Loosening his hold, Marcus sank to his knees in front of Ami, buried his face in her chest, and wept.

Ami's green eyes glimmered with moisture as she wrapped her arms around him and rested her chin atop his head. Her gaze sought Seth. “Is it . . . ? Did the baby . . . ?”

Seth circled the table, pausing long enough to take the babe from Roland. Then he and David approached the couple.

As soon as Ami saw the small, swaddled bundle in Seth's arms, her face lit with hope.

“Your daughter,” Seth told her with a smile.

Tears spilled over her lashes and trailed down her cheeks. “She's okay? She's healthy?”

He nodded. “There's no trace of the virus in her blood.”

Marcus gained his feet and took his daughter from Seth to present her to his wife.

“She's beautiful,” Ami professed.

“Just like her mother,” Marcus rasped, drawing her into a family hug.

Zach squeezed Lisette's hand under the table.

Blinking back tears, Lisette rose and joined the others who migrated over to the couple and welcomed Ami back.

Ami was so thrilled about the babe and so concerned about Marcus that her usual shyness, which bordered on fear (a lovely parting gift from her captivity), fell away. She even smiled through the multiple embraces the immortals and their Seconds foisted upon her.

Everyone spoke at once. No one minded.

Even the baby, awakened by the cacophony of voices surrounding her, took it in stride, peering around with curious eyes.

Lisette nearly wept when Ami held her baby for the first time and received a toothless smile.

“Zach,” a voice spoke behind Lisette.

Turning, she saw David issue Zach a hard look.

“Come with me.”

Unfazed, Zach smiled at her and gave her back a quick caress. “I'll be back in a minute.”

Lisette watched with trepidation as the two slipped out the front door.

Zach followed David several miles away to a meadow that was little more than a small break in the dense trees that covered David's land.

“I've been with Seth for thousands of years,” David said without preamble.

“Yes,” Zach acknowledged when David seemed to expect a response.

“I know pretty much everything there is to know about him. Which means I know everything there is to know about you.”

Zach shook his head. “You may
think
you do, but you don't know me, David.”

“I know you can be slain.”

Surprise flitted through him. “Are you threatening me?”

“I may not be as powerful as you,” David said, taking a step forward and daring to crowd him. “But trust me when I say that, if you betray Seth, you will never see me coming.”

“Trust
me
when I say I will.”

“I wouldn't be so sure. Even Seth can't always tell when I come and go. And, should I not succeed, I shall summon those who will.”

Zach stiffened.

“That's right. I will broadcast your every movement to the Others until they come for you.”

That was a threat he couldn't ignore. “You wouldn't know how to reach them.”

“Oh, I know how to reach them. I've done it before; remember? When Seth lost it after his wife and children were slaughtered. And I can and
will
do it again, should you drive me to it.”

A sobering thought. “You would endanger Lisette?”

“No. I would endanger
you.
”

“Once they know what she means to me—”

“They won't touch Lisette. She's one of Seth's. And their fanatical determination to remain apart from the rest of the world and to stay off the proverbial radar will keep them from creating the chaos of violence that harming her would spawn.” A chilling smile tilted his lips. “They'll leave Lisette alone, turn all of their wrath upon you, and will ensure you never see her—or anyone else—again. There will be no escaping them a second time.”

Zach could see why the other immortals were reluctant to raise this one's ire. David could be a formidable opponent.

“Sheath your claws,” Zach told him. “I won't betray Seth or stab him in the back or whatever it is you fear I'll do. I'm one of
you
now and intend to remain so for the rest of my days. Or for as long as Lisette can tolerate me.”

David stared deeply into Zach's eyes.

What did he see there?

The dark Egyptian's smile went from chilling to friendly in a heartbeat as he took a step back. “Then we're good.” Clapping Zach on the shoulder, he turned and raced through the trees toward his home.

Zach stared after him.

“That was scary.”

Jumping at the sound of a voice behind him, Zach spun around and watched Lisette step from the trees.

“Yes, it was,” a deeper voice agreed.

Issuing a squeak of surprise, Lisette did a one-eighty. Her mouth fell open as Seth stepped from the trees behind her. “How long have you been there?”

“About as long as you have.” His features darkened with feigned disapproval. “Really, Lisette? Eavesdropping?
Tch. Tch. Tch.
”

Smiling, Zach shook his head. “Aren't you guilty of the same?”

“Yes,” Seth said as he and Lisette strode forward. “But now that everyone knows I'm not infallible, I can get away with it.”

Lisette laughed.

“Are you ready to do this?” Seth asked.

Zach nodded and gave Lisette a quick kiss.

“Be careful,” she ordered.

“I will,” he promised.

Her brow furrowing with worry, she stepped back.

“Let's shift now,” Seth said.

“What form?”

“A hawk. Average-sized. Nothing that will draw notice.”

Zach grimaced. Shape-shifting was a lot easier when you shifted into something roughly your own weight. Significantly smaller animal shapes were more difficult to maintain.

The worry on Lisette's face vanished in an instant when he and Seth shifted. Her eyes widened. Her beautiful lips stretched in a grin. “I so wish I could do that!”

Laughing inside, Zach leapt into the air and began their flight to the compound.
We could have teleported, then shifted when we were closer,
he commented mentally as he and Seth rode the breeze.

There's so much we can't share with Lisette,
Seth replied.
I wanted to show her something we could
.

Thoughtful bastard.

Seth's laugh floated through Zach's mind.

It didn't take long. Zach marveled over how accurately the satellite images had represented the impressive compound.
Was Donald and Nelson's compound like this?

Hell no. It was a cheesy motel compared to this place.

Movement on the training fields over which the two soared drew Zach's attention.
Is that what I think it is?

Vampires training like military soldiers? Yes.

The vamps were newly turned and exploring the extents and limits of their abilities. They were also high on the power they now wielded.

The humans in their midst responded with both awe and irritation as the vamps' taunts and showboating increased.

Scuffles nearly broke out at least half a dozen times while Zach and Seth passed overhead.

They're already having difficulty controlling them,
Seth said.

Zach agreed.
It must be why they're so determined to get their hands on an Immortal Guardian. They hope to discover what keeps immortals from going insane so they can prevent it in their own army. Power mixed with volatility is a disaster waiting to happen.

Near the heavily guarded entrance to the compound, a vampire argued with a human soldier. The more the vampire tried to convince the human he was obsolete, the more heated their words grew.

“I can see in the dark, dumb ass,” the vampire bit out. “You need night-vision goggles that cost thousands of dollars.”

“Bull
shit
you can see in the dark. You just see
better
in the dark,” the human retorted.

With preternatural speed, the vamp yanked the soldier's weapon away from him, aimed it up at the sky, and fired.

The bullet slammed into Zach's shoulder, damaging his wing. Unable to shift without blowing their cover, he tumbled to the hard ground.

Are you okay?
Seth asked, flapping his wings in feigned panic before veering away.

Zach groaned.
Yes.
He peered through the tall grasses at the vampire who had shot him.