Chapter 42

ANDREI

Tobias describedthe space that houses the recruits earlier, and the images he plucked from Natalie"s mind exactly match. After the claustrophobia of the tunnels, we step into a warehouse-sized space with higher ceilings. Four arches lead to different catacomb tunnels, including the one we walked along, with makeshift LED lighting attached to disused pipes on the flat ceiling.

The recruits must sleep elsewhere since this area is set up for day activities. Long dining tables and metal chairs cross the centre, with old sofas positioned against the opposite wall. From beneath my hood, I quickly take in everything about the surroundings. There"s nothing much to occupy minds.

Dominion kids scatter around the room, some eating, others sitting and chatting on the sofas or uneven floors. Some eat, others don't and must be blood drinkers who"re older than those at the academy. Although, the ones playing cards on the floor close to a tunnel entrance pass around a liquor bottle.

Dozens, not hundreds. Do the non-hemia recruits head out to gather up potentials during the day? Who is recruiting and where?

A few kids wear their faces covered with hoods or caps, again helping us blend in, and we"ve copied their image. Apart from Tobias, who"s taken a risk by not covering his face at all. This led to a minor argument amongst our group, except for Maeve who said nothing to Tobias directly.

Something"s off that no-one"s telling me because there"s a distance between the pair. Nobody admits to knowing anything, and when I asked Maeve directly, she said they"d had a misunderstanding and she"d explain later.

I walked away, well aware that Tobias"s "misunderstandings" are always more. If I"d seen a single mark on Maeve, he wouldn"t be standing, which supports my theory Tobias has done something wrong, and nobody told me in case I lose my shit. I considered pushing into one of the guy"s minds, but I"m unsure of my strength and what damage I could accidentally do.

So, I watch Maeve. I watch Tobias. And I wait.

At least we don"t draw attention when we walk into the room, since others move back and forth through the other arches. Hands casually in his jeans pockets, Tobias wanders by the dining tables to study notices pinned to one of the chipped walls. I follow with Ash, and Maeve and Jamie stay close to the entrance, looking around for witches.

One contains a list of names written in black ink, some scrawled out.

The sheet beneath lists red or green coloured names, some highlighted in yellow. I"ve a flashback to when the academy posted lessons for the year, but there are no subjects at the top of these.

Tobias doesn"t pause to read the list, and walks along the edge of the room. He halts before pointing to steel door. "There. That symbol. Callum's company logo. I recognise the shape from the documents."

"Some dragons like hiding in caves, then?" I say as I study the black spray-painted shape.

Ash throws me a look. "I can"t sense anybody inside."

"Steel that thick would keep people out," says Tobias. "I sense lead to. Helps against magic."

Witches are occasionally bulkier than vamps, but Ash"s size places him firmly in the "shifter" category at first glance. That and they"d pick up his shifter scent. Natalie indicated that the Dominion don"t involve shifters in this "project", which is why we need the "dragon checking up on their treasure" angle for Ash. Leaving him behind would be a greater risk than any suspicion about who Ash is.

"When did you arrive?" asks a voice behind us.

I don"t take my eyes away from the wall as Tobias turns. "We"re here to assess your operations," he says.

"Yes, but who—" The man halts even though Tobias hasn"t interrupted him. Not with words, anyway.

"Where do you think I"m from, Art?" Tobias asks evenly.

Good. The right person.

"Oh. You. Wasn"t expecting anyone from the boss until tonight." The man"s aggressive tone drops. "Daywalker, huh? Who"s with you?"

I pivot to face Art but don"t meet his eyes. There"s nothing remarkable about this vamp, even his face isn"t as obviously hemia. Middle-aged when turned, thinning brown hair, could be an average human if it weren"t for how his heartbeat matches mine and my blood recognising his.

This man, with his authoritarian aura, contains the First"s blood.

"I never travel alone," says Tobias. "Safety in numbers. Threats abound." Ash remains quiet, body pulled straight as he regards Art with a disinterested, disdainful expression. "My dragon friend would like an update for his boss, too."

Art frowns. "Why? What did you hear? Nobody around here touched any dragon storage."

Ash slants his head. "Are you positive about that?"

"Why did the dragons suddenly send someone to talk to me?" he asks, annoyed not suspicious. "I"m told to keep out of their business."

"But the dragons allow you to use their space," says Ash impressively haughtily.

"Yeah, extra security for you lot in return for somewhere safe for us." Suspicion now edges across his features. "What"re your names?"

I straighten. Does nobody in this army know what our group look like? That"s crazy. I side-eye Tobias, detecting his gentle caress of the man"s mind to push away questions, in order to ask his own.

"Have you encountered Confederacy recently?" Tobias asks. "That"s becoming a concern."

"Found a few rats in the tunnels the other day." Art pulls a disgusted face before chuckling.

"They"re causing issues," says Tobias. "I"d like an update on how many Confederacy and when."

"Who"s your other friend? He has the?—"

"An interested observer," interrupts Tobias, placing a hand on the guy"s shoulder, starting to manoeuvre him away from his focus on me. "We"re here for a progress report."

Crap. Do I follow Tobias and Ash? Tobias must"ve dug around in the vamp"s head and figured who we"re supposed to be. If the real "whoever" we are don"t arrive until tonight, that at least gives us time.

I do as Tobias requested earlier and stick by his side, Ash walking beside Art. Then I take one last look at where Maeve stands with Jamie at the edge of the room, hoping to hell they stay safe.

She"s safe, Andrei. Maeve can protect herself.

But the familiar uncomfortable feeling that she"s too far from me sets the familiar discontent running in my veins.

Art leads us to a space behind a battered and rusted metal door, with black runes daubed around the edges. Possibly an old storage room. This windowless space contains a scratched desk and chair, where a tray with neatly sorted sheets of paper looks out of place in the dilapidated surroundings.

I"m no longer attracted to blood apart from Maeve"s, but any vamp would recognise the red splatters covering most of the walls in the makeshift office.

"Jared. Could you wait outside and ensure we"re not disturbed?" says Tobias. Only when he nudges me away from my staring at the unsettling stains do I realise he means me.

"Uh. Okay," I say as quietly as possible.

"But not far." I"m given a warning glance before Tobias switches back to Art. "Jared"s more a bodyguard than an officer, Art" he explains with a smile. "One can never be too careful."

Art chuckles. "Bodyguard? Against our recruits? Most of this lot don"t have power to match Dominion of your calibre. Yet."

"I"m pleased that we"re discovering a healthy number of sympathisers," says Tobias.

"Yeah. Hemia practically beg to join," says Art. "They can see our powerful hemia leader equals a world where the race holds precedence."

I swallow down a scoff. Gabriella? Powerful? Not for long.

"Interesting," says Tobias. "And witch recruitment? How"s that going?"

Art straightens. "You"re aware we"re struggling. We"re working on numbers. If you"re here to criticise our efforts, you can fuck off."

Whoa.

"Jared," says Tobias again. "Leave us." He turns to me, his back to Art, and adds quietly. "Your unusual presence is stronger in a small space. The distraction"s interfering with me interfering in Art"s mind. Stand just outside."

With a nod, I duck through the door away from Tobias and Ash and wait on the other side. I can"t take part in the questioning, but I can listen to the answers.

I swear ninety percent of kids here are hemia, and a handful of witches who separated themselves towards the rear of the room. No shifters. This isn"t an academy but there"re clear cliques, and several groups gravitate around one guy in each.

As I"m someone who arrived and then spent time with Art, a few kids watch me with interest, and not all of that interest friendly.

I scratch a cheek, remaining hooded, unable to return the intense look from the black-haired guy at the central table, whose elbows stretch either side to widen his presence, even though the "fuck off" attitude would work to keep people distant.

In the past, I"d struggle to figure out a hemia"s age, but I can now pick his heartbeat out from the multiple ones around me. To my new ears, the room sounds full of clocks ticking, the majority of hearts at the pace of a younger hemia. A teen-looking guy beside him has a heartbeat that places him as twentieth century—not too old. This guy? Slightly quicker; the age of my academy friends.

What concerns me is a handful of the hearts beating in my ears were once human. Recently.

A girl with brown hair in a ponytail, and with sharp hemia features, wanders over and sits next to him. She whispers, cupping a hand around his ear. Those around her may not hear. I do.

"New witches are here." She jerks his head at Maeve and Jamie, who"re surveying the room.

Shit. I cross my arms and feign a disinterested gaze at the opposite wall.

"Dumb fuckers," he says, accent local to south London. "The blood killed the last lot. I bet they"re next."

"Why are witches always gifted before us?" complains another local-accented guy beside him.

""Cause Dominion want witches to take the blood too."

"Yeah, but why a priority?" asks the girl.

"Fucking waste of blood," mutters the other. "Every drop that kills a witch is one less for a hemia."

I"m pissed off that I can"t listen to both this conversation and Tobias"s, choosing to focus on the vamps" derisive talk about witches, and their suspicions about why a dragon arrived.

Maeve speaks quietly to Jamie, and they move to stand close to an archway where others pass in and out—somewhere to slip through to should the pair need.

Our group discussed whether we all walk into this place, or some stay outside, in case not all are like Natalie, and some know names or faces. But we"d no choice, because if Gabriella is around, and we"re surrounded by dozens of Dominion, we can"t be apart.

I"ve no hint of Gabriella"s presence yet, but as these catacombs stretch far beneath London, she could be further into the maze. I slide a look to the hemia top dog, who"s continuing to stare as if I"m a piece of shit. I swallow down the urge to approach him and switch my focus to Maeve instead.