35. Aru

As the meeting drew to a close, Aru"s mind raced with the countless details and contingencies that needed to be addressed before they set out for the military base. They would have to camp out in the mountains for the night, which would be a challenge with Jasmine"s injury. The three of them could carry her, but there were certain things a woman wanted to do privately.

Not only that, they could run into trouble. They were about to enter a military base, and things could go badly despite the shrouding. Some humans were immune to mind manipulation, so there was always the possibility that the shroud wouldn"t work. They could also accidentally trigger an alarm. If the soldiers opened fire, the gods would probably escape with very little damage, but the same wasn"t true for Jasmine.

Casting her a glance, it occurred to him that he could speed up her recovery with a small transfusion of his blood. He couldn"t do that while Edgar was hovering over her, but once they were out on the mountain, he could thrall her to sleep and inject her, but only with a tiny quantity. If she healed too fast, it would look suspicious, especially to the doctor, who would no doubt want to inspect her leg.

It seemed frivolous to use such an extreme measure for such a trivial injury, but it might save them a lot of trouble down the line.

A knock on the door had him shifting his gaze away, and as it opened and Gabi walked in, a smile stretched his face. It was odd and wondrous that he dreaded even the shortest separation from her. When she wasn"t near him, he felt as if he was breathing only half of what his lungs required, and when she came back, he could finally take a deep breath.

That was why he hadn"t objected to Margo, Frankie, and Ella coming along even though they were not needed for the mission. He knew how hard the separation was.

"Good morning, everyone." Gabi walked in and kissed him on the cheek.

Behind her, the rest of the team crammed into the small room, their faces flushed from the cold outside.

Julian was carrying a pair of crutches, which he handed to Jasmine. "I knew that the clinic would have them. Now you can at least go to the bathroom by yourself."

Jasmine took them, a grateful smile spreading across her face. "Thank you." She held them at her sides. "I"ve never used crutches. I don"t know how to walk with them."

"I"ll show you." Ella took them from her and demonstrated how to walk with the devices while keeping one of her legs off the floor.

"Got it." Jasmine took the crutches from Ella, tucked them under her arms and pushed up, standing on one foot.

Everyone squeezed to make room so she could take a few tentative steps.

Jasmine did okay, but it was clear that the crutches would be useless on the uneven, rocky terrain outside the hotel. "It"s not easy," she admitted as she wobbled back to the chair, nearly losing her balance before plopping tiredly down. "You are right." She looked up at Julian. "These are only good for going to the bathroom. I can"t take them on the trek." She shifted her gaze to Aru. "I"m afraid you will have to keep carrying me around."

"That"s not a problem." He gave her a reassuring smile. "In a day or two, you"ll be much better."

Julian cleared his throat. "Not likely. Sprains are nasty."

Aru pretended not to have heard the comment. "So, did you learn anything from the townspeople?"

Ella shook her head. "They don"t even know that there is a military base so close to their town. Well, not so close that they can see it, but still. It"s not like this is a densely populated area. They should have noticed something."

Julian rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I even peeked inside a few minds to ensure they weren"t lying. But unless the Chinese military knows how to use mind manipulation, these people genuinely seem to have no clue."

"They could have used hypnosis," Margo said. "I"m sure that armed forces around the world are using some type of mind control to keep their top operatives from revealing secrets."

Frankie chuckled. "Another conspiracy theory?"

Margo cast her a glare. "The real conspiracies are so vast and unbelievable that even conspiracy theorists can"t envision them. I"m struck repeatedly by how right I was to suspect things when the truth finally comes out, which doesn"t happen often, but when it does, it"s just mind-blowing."

Aru shook his head. "This is not the time to discuss global cabals. We have a mission to complete."

Margo arched a brow. "So, you agree with me that there is a global cabal bent on manipulating humans to self-destruct?"

Dagor snorted. "Yeah, and it"s called the Brotherhood of the Devout Order of Mortdh."

"They are not the only ones." Margo crossed her arms over her chest. "And I don"t think that they are even the worst."

Aru lifted his hand again. "Please. You can keep talking about this later." He turned to the pilot. "Edgar, how soon can you have the chopper prepped and ready to go?"

"Fifteen minutes." Edgar pushed away from the wall he"d been leaning against. "I"ll get it warmed up and ready to fly."

Aru nodded and turned to the rest of the group. "Okay, everyone, it"s time to gear up. Double-check your equipment, and don"t forget that we are camping out tonight, so make sure you pack extra warm clothing." He looked at Jasmine. "Don"t forget gloves."

"I won"t." She reached for the crutches and heaved herself up. "I also packed no-rinse bathing wipes." She turned to Ella. "Thank you for recommending them. They will be lifesavers out there."

"You"re welcome." Ella threaded her arm through Julian"s. "Good luck out there. I hope you find the pod soon."

"So do I." Jasmine frowned. "I feel it"s not going to take long now."