Midnight Awakening (Midnight Breed 3)

She listened woodenly as Lucan explained Tegan's disappearance. They hadn't seen him, hadn't heard from him, for several hours. Lucan was going to send the rest of the Order out to Prague with Reichen at dusk, but he was staying behind to begin searching for Tegan. He wasn't sure where to begin, or even how long it might take to scour the city for any sign of where he might be. Suspecting that she and Tegan shared a blood bond, their best means of tracking him would be Elise. We can't be certain, Lucan said, but it's a fair guess that Marek might have him. If that's the case, there won't be a lot of time before--

I'm on the way. She glanced at Gideon, who was waiting just outside. Can you get me a flight out right away?

The Order's jet is still in Berlin, but I can see about chartering another one.

There's no time, she said. What about commercial air?

He frowned, concerned. You really want to sit on a plane for half a day with a couple hundred humans? You think you're up for that?

She wasn't sure, actually, but she damn well wasn't going to let that stop her. If she had to hitch a ride with a plane full of convicted killers, she'd do it, if that's what it would take to make sure Tegan was all right.

Just do it, Gideon. Please. The first flight you can get me on.

He nodded and took off at a jog up the corridor to handle the details.

I'll be there as soon as I can, Lucan.

She heard his low exhalation, and the caution in his voice. Lucan wasn't convinced that they would be able to do anything for Tegan, even if they managed to find him.

Okay, he said. A car will be there to pick you up and bring you to Reichen's estate. We'll start searching as soon as you get here.

Chapter Thirty-three

The flight to Berlin was long and taxing. Elise took each hard minute, every hour, as it came, determined that she would be stronger than the ability that had owned her for so long. She had Tegan to thank for helping her overcome the worst of it--not only his showing her how to manage the psychic talent, but also the love she had for him, which drove her forward even as the familiar, vicious migraine began to pound in her temples barely an hour into the flight.

Elise got through it because she had to. Because Tegan's life might very well depend on her now.

God, she could not fail in this.

She could handle anything except losing him.

As soon as the jet's wheels touched ground that evening, Elise's determination to find Tegan-- and bring him home safely--redoubled. She ran out of the terminal and met Lucan outside at the curb, where he waited with one of Reichen's vehicles.

You realize that if we do find him, Tegan's going to kill me for bringing you in on this, Lucan said as she approached the car. He said it kind of jokingly, but she didn't miss the fact that there was no humor at all in his gray eyes.

When we find him, Lucan. There can't be any ifs. She tossed her carry-on bag into the back and climbed into the passenger seat. Let's get started. I don't want to rest tonight until we cover every street in this city.

Dante, Reichen, and the rest of the Order pulled the two SUVs to a stop just off a moonlit, wooded stretch of road an hour outside Prague. The forest was thick here, only the smallest light from a few remote homes glowing in the darkness. They got out, all seven of them garbed in black fatigues and armed to the teeth with guns, thousands of titanium rounds, and a healthy cache of C-4 explosives.

Each Breed male also carried a sheathed broadsword strapped on his back--unconventional weaponry for modern warfare, but totally necessary hardware when you were dealing with something as nasty and powerful as the creature they were intending to rouse out of its slumber.

That's got be the place, Dante said, pointing to the jagged silhouette of the mountains ahead of them. The outline is a perfect match for the design in Kassia's tapestry.

Probably take us a couple of hours to make the hike up there, Niko put in. His cheeks dimpled with his eager grin, the white glint of his teeth bright against the cover of night. What are we waiting for? Let's go bag the motherfucker.

Dante held him back with a firm hand, scowling at the young warrior's zeal. Hold up, all of you. This is not a fucking game. It's not like any other mission we've done. That thing that was sealed away in this mountain is not your garden- variety vampire. You take Lucan and Tegan and put them together--shit, throw Marek in there too--and you still aren't coming close to what this creature can do. He's Gen One times a hundred.

But his head can be separated from his body, same as any one of us, Rio pointed out in a low, deadly voice. The fastest way to kill a vampire.

Dante nodded. And we're gonna have one shot at him, no more. Once we find the crypt and get inside, first priority is putting three feet of razor-sharp steel through the bastard's neck.

And we'll need to do it before it has a chance to get up, Chase added. If we let this thing rouse before we're in place and ready to kill it, there's very good odds we won't all make it out of there.

Someone remind me why I didn't want to be an accountant when I grew up, Brock drawled.

Niko chuckled. Because accountants don't get to make things go boom.

They don't get to smoke many suckheads either, Kade added, sharing in the joke.