They had no way of knowing he couldn't access the rest of his troops.
He and Throe regained their forms on top of the tallest skyscraper in the city. He and his soldiers had always had a rallying point such that the band could be reunited from time to time during the night, and this towering rooftop was not only easily visible from all quadrants of the battlefield; it seemed apt.
Xcor liked the view from on high.
"We need cell phones," Throe said over the din of the wind.
"Do we. "
"They have them. "
"The enemy, you mean?"
"Aye. Both of them. " When Xcor said nothing further, his right-hand male muttered, "They have ways of communicating - "
"That we do not require. If you allow yourself to rely on externals, they become weapons over you. We have done just fine without such technology for centuries. "
"And this is a new era in a new place. Things are different here. "
Xcor glanced over his shoulder, trading the view of the city for the sight of his second in command. Throe, son of Throe, was a fine example of breeding, all perfect features, and comely body that, thanks to Xcor's lessons, was now not merely decorative, but useful: For truth, he had grown hard over the years, finally earning the right to declare his sex as that of male.
Xcor smiled coldly. "If the Brothers' tactics and methods are so successful, why did the race get raided?"
"Things happen. "
"And sometimes they are the result of mistakes - fatal ones. " Xcor resumed his perusal of the city. "You might consider how easily such errors can be made. "
"All I'm saying - "
"This is the problem with the glymera - always looking for the easy way out. I thought I beat that tendency out of you years ago. Do you require a refresher?"
As Throe shut the fuck up, Xcor smiled more broadly.
Focusing on the expanse of Caldwell, he knew that dark though the night was, his future was bright indeed.
And paved with the bodies of the Brotherhood.
Chapter Four
"Where the hell are they finding all these recruits?" Qhuinn asked as he walked around the fight scene, his boots slapping through the black blood.
John barely heard the guy, even though his ears were working just fine. With the departure of those bastards, he was sticking by Tohr's side. The Brother seemed to have recovered from that uncalled-for kick in the nuts Xcor had just nailed him with, but it was still waaaaay break time.
Tohr wiped his black blades off on his thighs. Took a deep breath. Seemed to pull out of an inner suck hole. "Ah. . . the only thing that makes sense is Manhattan. You need a big population. With a lot of bad seeds on the periphery. "
"Who the hell is this Fore-lesser?"
"A little shit, last I heard. "
"Right up the Omega's alley. "
"Smart, though. "
Just as John was going to broach the whole Cinderella-turning-into-a-pumpkin thing, his head shot around.
"More," Tohr said on a growl.
Yeah, but that wasn't the problem.