38. Negal

As they climbed towards the Chinese military base, Negal focused on the steady rhythm of his footsteps. Jasmine"s weight was hardly noticeable, her slender frame resting easily against his own as he navigated the terrain with ease.

Margo had seen him fashioning the harness the day before, and he"d felt like he had to explain that he felt nothing but camaraderie toward Jasmine, but she"d stopped him with a smile and a finger on his lips.

"I"m not jealous. I"m a hundred percent secure in your love," she"d said.

When he"d arched a brow, she"d laughed. "Okay, I admit it. I was jealous of Jasmine when she flirted with you, and then of Gertrude, who I thought you were dating, but that was before you pledged yourself to me. Since then, you"ve been proving how much you care every day, and I"m no longer jealous."

The memory made him smile. He liked that she trusted him so completely. After all, Margo had been human until recently, and human males didn"t have a built-in loyalty mechanism. She hadn"t grown up on romantic legends of fated mates.

Behind him, Negal could hear the soft rustling of the two backpacks that Dagor was carrying rubbing against each other, the faint clink of equipment mingling with his friend"s steady breathing. Aru was ahead, leading the procession.

As they drew closer to the base, Negal could feel the tension in the air thickening, and the hairs on the back of his neck started prickling with anticipation.

They moved in silence, taking turns to shroud themselves from view, seamlessly passing the mantle of keeping their group invisible from one to the other.

Thankfully, when it was his turn to shroud, Jasmine was very quiet and moved minimally, mindful of the effort it took to keep the shroud going.

At last, they reached the base itself. It wasn"t a big encampment, and from its appearance, its primary purpose was spying on neighboring countries. Several low buildings were sprawled over the flat area of the mountaintop, with four watchtowers that were slightly taller than the buildings but not by much. The location was elevated enough that they didn"t need to be taller.

There were also no fences or barriers to mark the compound"s boundaries, just an eerie sense of stillness and watchfulness that hung heavy in the air.

Guards patrolled the perimeter, their weapons seemingly at the ready, but the men looked more bored than alert. It wasn"t as if anyone could get to their base unless they came by air or hiked on foot. An attack was highly unlikely. Several antennae and satellite dishes were positioned on the base"s west side, and although Negal wasn"t familiar with human technology, it wasn"t difficult to figure out their functions.

Behind him, Negal could hear Jasmine"s breathing quickening, the soft, rapid panting of someone on the verge of panicking. He wished he could comfort her, but they were preserving their energy and shrouding only for sight. Adding a noise bubble would have depleted their reserves much faster. The best he could do was pat the side of her leg, but that didn"t seem to help. Her anxious energy kept washing over him with ever-increasing intensity.

Negal kept silent, his jaw clenched tight, as he navigated through the maze of buildings and equipment, following the path that Jasmine"s scrying stick was pointing at.

Thankfully, there were no surveillance cameras in the base, which was what they had expected, but there could have been surprises.

It quickly became apparent that the crater in Syssi"s vision wasn"t located in the base, but it also meant that they had to keep going.

Suddenly, a door to one of the buildings opened, and a soldier stumbled out, heading in one direction and then, for no apparent reason, turning around and bumping into Aru"s back.

Behind him, Jasmine gasped, but he put a hand on her thigh to steady her.

Aru swayed on his feet but managed to straighten himself, and the soldier started trembling but stayed rooted in place.

"Who goes there?" the man demanded in Chinese, his eyes wide with fear and confusion.

As Aru turned around, Negal expected him to reach into the guy"s mind and make him forget that he had bumped into an invisible obstacle. But that wasn"t what happened.

"This is hallowed ground," Aru said in Chinese, his words sounding ethereal and ghostly. "It is bad luck to bring weapons to this holy site." And then he must have reached into the man"s mind because the soldier gaped, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water.

Then, slowly, the man shook his head, his eyes glazing over with a look of dull incomprehension. He turned and walked away, his steps unsteady and his movements jerky, as if he were a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Negal watched the soldier disappear into the maze of buildings.

Yup, Aru had messed with the guy"s head, but what was the deal with the ghost voice? Was Aru bored and needing to entertain himself?

Negal let out a breath.

That had been too close for comfort. This was an army base, and everyone was carrying weapons. They needed to be more careful.

Behind him, he heard Jasmine letting out a breath as well. He patted the side of her leg again and kept walking.