Page 112 of Winterfall Destiny

"Uh. No," says Ash gruffly. "These kids are different—they chose to side with terrorists. The shifters did not."

"The Dominion deceived them." I stand to face Andrei. "I couldn't do it, okay?"

Andrei's mouth tightens. "And what if you 'can't do it' next time?"

"Direct threats or attacks on any of you, and I won't hesitate to kill. You know that."

I glare at Andrei, unable to admit I almost did kill the pair. But one thing's certain—those kids will never remember anything. If the kids are caught, their minds will turn to mush before they reveal my name or face.

I'm glad Maeve wasn't with me last night at the catacombs, although partly she was. As I tore into the two kids' minds rather than through their chests, I pictured Maeve standing beside me, watching. Did I choose to keep them alive to prove to Maeve that I'm not the monster she saw in Silas's mind?

Maeve remains quiet and I finally meet her eyes, but she doesn't voice her opinion. I picture her as the girl who freaked out the day she discovered Andrei attacked a human, in the early days where her confusion led to misunderstanding and prejudice. Maeve, horrified by the mental magic I used to wipe the girl's memories. How much violence and death does this Maeve accept?

"I can't do anything about my actions now," I say. "Let's move on."

The words are out before I catch the double-meaning and my eyes go wide as Maeve's face turns to derision.

"I didn't mean—" I begin.

"What's the plan?" she interrupts stiffly. "I'm sure you've spent the night thinking this through, unless there's another reason you didn't come back earlier?"

"We get to the epicentre of whatever's happening—literally, inside the catacombs. If Gabriella is actually there and well-protected, we'll need to push through," I say and look to the others too.

"Just an easy job, then?" asks Ash sarcastically.

"No. And we need everything we've got. Not only what we're capable of, but cohesion."

"Does that mean I can finally come out and play?" Andrei grins. "I vote we go back to the catacombs. Now.”

I pull on my lip. "Not without a plan, Andrei."

"If you've tracked down Gabriella's hive of blood-fuelled followers, someone will find us soon," he says tersely. "How are you sure that nobody followed you from the catacombs?"

"Because the only Dominion I saw last night were the kids from the club. I sensed no other magic or energy presence in the tunnels, apart from the occasional person walking by who didn't sense me and Natalie." I look to Ash and the quiet Jamie. "The Dominion buried themselves much further into the catacombs than I walked."

"At least you were sensible not to go further," says Ash. "But what about dragons? Do they go into the place? Otherwise, people might question who I am."

"They do. Occasionally. Natalie saw one once. There're steel doors inside the catacombs that the dragons installed. Nobody goes near. The dragons are in this deeper than helping the Dominion leader escape," replies Tobias.

"I can guess what's behind the doors." Jamie inclines his head. "They're storing illegal goods. You say Callum's company deals in arms and has a shipment leaving soon? The catacombs make a great hiding place, and now have added protection from supes."

Ash snorts. "Dragons aren't stupid enough to leave guns lying around. Sure, supes don't need them, but someone might touch the weapons."

"Doesn't need to be guns, Ash," says Jamie. "Biological weapons."

"The dragons would be insane to deal in that shit," he says, mouth dropping open.

"Whatever they're storing, we're getting ahead of ourselves," says Tobias. "There might not be anything like we're imagining in the catacombs."

"One way to find out," I say and point at Ash. "Get him access to storage."

"That might be difficult if the Dominion don't go near what's stored. Nobody would have a key," says Tobias.

"What happened to Dorian?" interrupts Maeve. "Why did he suddenly involve himself and where is he now?"

"Back at his estate with the Confederacy kid, I presume. He won't answer my calls today."

"There's no point in Dorian hiding from the First," she replies. "He'll need to help us at some point."

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