Page 42 of Witches Be Damned

Loco and Serena exchanged a glance that conveyed a thousand words. They knew something. Information they withheld from the team.

I rounded on them. “What is it?”

“I think it’s time we brought you in on a secret, Knoxe.” Serena ran a hand through her hair. “This goes deeper than you can imagine, and we need you to know what we’re up against so you and the rest of the team can make an informed choice of whether to proceed.”

A tempest of dread picked up in my stomach at the seriousness of her words and tone. “What do you mean?”

“Loco, my husband, and I were assigned to a top-secret mission eighteen years ago by Vartros, back when he ran security for Nightfire Academy,” she started, her voice flinty and grave.

Fuck, this was BIG. Related to the case Vartros put me on, no doubt. The case against powerful players who threatened his family, drove him to stress and illness, forcing him to take a step back, and take administrative leave from his warden role to lower the heat on him.

“We were tracking Guild traitors who partnered with the Brotherhood of Serpents to acquire them gantii in exchange for accumulating wealth.” Her next words made my instincts crackle, drawing lines with the suspected traitors assisting the vampires to obtain Guild technology.

After my team’s graduation from Nightfire Academy, we were assigned to investigate a series of Veil breaches at three locations and busted a bunch of traffickers selling water sprites. According to Raze, Jaz told him that the people behind the business put out a hit on our heads for costing them money and lost merchandise. Hence, Jaz faked a crime and got us convicted and sent us to the Guardians to protect us from the Brotherhood.

I hooked my fingers in the loops of my belt and asked the hard question. “Why are you telling me this now?”

“We believe the gantii-related material that Pascal and Astra discovered on our last mission was stock connected to that same operation,” Serena advised. “Stock the vampires and Guild members acquired for the Brotherhood in exchange for payment in gold and technology.”

Missing pieces of my puzzle snapped together with blinding clarity.

I ran my eyes over the vampire guards hovering on the cave’s ceiling. They were too far out of range for our bracelets to translate our conversation.

I took a stab in the dark and asked, “That was how the vamps got hold of Guild tech?”

“We believe the Guild traitors are responsible.” Loco finally spoke. “We got close to proving it, and they locked us up in maximum security to shut us up. Until Vartros got us released.”

A fate no one deserved.

I nodded and scrubbed my jaw, appreciating them sharing this with me.

Serena sighed. “We believe this connects to the escaped fugitives, we just don’t have the evidence to prove it. If our hunch is correct, then you need to understand that these players had us locked up. They play dirty and will stop at nothing to achieve their means.”

Loco set a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “They cost me my family. Time with my kids and wife. Seeing my babies graduate high school and college. Serena lost her family, too.”

My jaw hardened, and I worked to free the ache setting in.

His hand tightened on me. “Is your team willing to risk the freedom you earned from this contract? You’ve got your whole lives ahead of you. We’ll understand if you don’t want to be part of it when our lives were ruined by these bastards.”

Their heartbreaking story upped the pressure on my chest.

“You’re pursuing them even after everything?” I asked.

Loco stepped back, removed his knives, swirling them over his fingers. “We won’t stop until every last one of them is six feet under.”

“But you’ve been reunited with your daughter,” I countered. “Don’t you want to get out and be a family?”

Loco’s hand crushed my arm. “We’re not getting out of here alive, Knoxe. They want us dead. Vancor is one of them, we’re positive of it. Vartros is forced on leave after releasing us? Come on.”

Fuck. I swiped at my jaw. Circumstantial evidence at best, but the elements certainly added up. I suspected something wasn’t right with Vancor, and so did my leader and second-in-command. Clues I couldn’t ignore. If our suspicions were correct, then Vancor wanted to erase all evidence of his connection to the traitors and to ensure they remained on the run.

Loco let me go to walk it off and blow off steam. “The only reason Vancor kept us around was because he needed to maintain the ruse of apprehending the fugitives to the Guardian hierarchy.”

I glanced at Serena. “What about Cole?” I didn’t repeat the line about family when it was a given.

Her eyes glistened. “My son is investigating them from outside with Raze’s help. That was how he happened upon the vampires.”

I pinched the corners of my mouth. Then I paced a few feet, not too far, cautious of antagonizing one of the vampire guards.

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