Page 117 of Winterfall Destiny

Fine. We're here to gather intelligence. Clues. But what would a body or two matter?

The supernatural presence in the catacombs grows as we pass beneath another archway, and a few steps later voices travel along the arched tunnel. Tobias pauses and looks at his feet. "Barrier. Runes?"

"Of course there is." I sigh and glance over my shoulder where Maeve approaches and touches several places on the ground.

"Here." She runs a finger across an invisible shape, tracing until circles glow faintly. "A locking rune."

"That helps," comments Tobias. "If we walk past security measures, we've more credibility that we're Dominion."

"And we do all this surreptitiously," presses Jamie. "Right, Andrei?"

I pat his cheek. "I don't know what that word means, so no can do."

"Andrei," warns Maeve. "You know exactly what Jamie means."

"Yeah, and like Tobias said, Andrei has to be extra careful. Any supe will sense there's something different about him," says Jamie. "His hoodie can hide some of Andrei's physical appearance, but not the energy."

"We spoke about this," says Tobias. "His difference helps explain that Andrei's with me and important."

"Without mentioning my VIP name, naturally." I grin at Jamie.

Jamie voiced concerns earlier, not only because the place holds a similarity to Maeve's vision and the mysterious events that might suggest his death, but also the number of Dominion we might face.

And he's scared that somebody might know exactly who we are, especially me. Andrei Tepes.

Maeve, Jamie, and Ash hang back again as we step over the rune and I nudge Tobias. "Your Professor Whitlock persona will come in handy in a room full of kids."

"Very funny, Andrei."

42

ANDREI

Tobias described the 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.

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