Page 49 of Beyond the Darkness

“Mmm, good stew,” Denisha said as she dipped her cornbread into it.

“Good ol’ Southern cooking,” Maia said as she also took a bite. “It’ll definitely stick to your ribs.”

“I’ll certainly pass along the compliment,” Hudson said.

Kit liked that they kept the conversation light while they ate. Otherwise, he wasn’t sure how well his lunch would settle. Questions kept bumping around inside of his head.

Once lunch was finished, Hudson helped Connie move their plates back to the cart Stella had left.

They returned to the table, and Hudson glanced at Connie. “Connie? Show Kage, please.”

Connie pulled up the pictures on his phone showing the crates and the eerie underground tunnel, and then he handed it to Kage.

As Kage swiped through the images, his frown deepened. “Weapons. I should be surprised, but I’m really not,” he said, glancing up at them. “Surface-to-air missiles? That’s military-grade weaponry. Do you mind if I pass your cell phone around so everyone can see, Connie?”

“I figured as much, but thank you for asking,” Connie said. “I’ll make sure all the leaders get this information on the tunnels, along with the pictures.”

“Thank you,” Kage said. He handed the phone to Maia, and it traveled around the table.

“If there was any question the hunters were behind the attacks on my compound, it’s been answered now,” Hudson said. “I think it’s safe to say they were behind all the attacks.”

“We assumed as much, but it’s nice to have proof,” Torres said, looking at the pictures.

“And if they’re arming themselves with this kind of firepower, they’re preparing for more attacks.”

“I agree,” Connie said. “They damaged the Dominion, but Kage didn’t lose any of his clan. We don’t know about the gargoyles, and we didn’t lose anybody either. The werewolves got hit hard, though.”

“Anybody heard anything else about Alpha Li Li?” Hudson asked.

Connie shook his head. “No, but we’ve been kind of busy this morning.”

“True.”

Torres crossed his arms. “We need a new plan. If they have access to this kind of arsenal, we’re not just dealing with hunters with messed up DNA.”

Hudson nodded. “They’ve upped their game.”

As the group absorbed the weight of this information, Mitchell leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. “We need to figure out where they’re getting these weapons. This level of armament doesn’t come cheap or easy.”

Kage pulled out his phone to make a note. “I’ll contact my sources in law enforcement and the military. Someone must have noticed something unusual.”

Connie nodded. “I’ll reach out to ours too.”

Maia shifted in her seat, her brow furrowed. “We should also consider enhancing our defenses. If they are planning another large-scale attack, we need to be prepared.”

“I agree, although there are some things we cannot ward against. Can you imagine warding the Dominion and that bomb going off in front of it? There’s a crater in the street and several blocks worth of damage but none to his building? That would’ve brought questions which could not be answered easily.”

Kage sighed. “I understand that the prevailing thought is to keep us hidden from the humans, but it’s times like these I wish we could come out. My clan, like Raven’s coven, is right in the middle of the humans.”

“And I am out here in the middle of nowhere like the gargoyles. I understand where you’re coming from, Kage, and while I’m not saying you are wrong, I am saying we need to deal with one crisis at a time,” Hudson pointed out.

“I know. I do know that. And the fallout could be disastrous. I know that too. But by the dead gods, it does get tiring,” Kage complained.

“So what about the tunnels?” Connie asked. “Are we going back in?”

Denisha pursed her lips. “What about that lake too? And what’s in it? And, you know, the weapons?”

“I think for the time being we need to stay out of them,” Hudson said. “Too much can go wrong in such close quarters, and the only way to get out in a hurry would be to use a portal, which means any daemon would automatically be targeted. Do you agree, Kage?”

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