Page 110 of Betrayed in Blood
“I’m sorry about Rachel.”
“For what?” Remus sat across from me and perused Cook’s offerings, selecting a slice of pork sandwich. “She was shot by a vampire with a gun. I believe they used guns in the attack at Oasis. We’ll need to be more prepared next time. At least these particular vampires won’t be a problem anymore.” He popped the sandwich in his mouth.
Ginger snorted. “Not based on the number of body parts left behind.” She shivered, then picked up a deviled egg. “God, I just love these.”
“I was particularly interested in how Cressa found a way out of being shot herself.” Colantha picked up her glass of iced tea, though her eyes grazed the food offerings.
“It was a spur-of-the-moment decision.” I heard the hollowness of my words, and while the others glanced at each other, I stared at my hands.
“Exactly. That’s why I found it exceptional work.” Colantha sipped her tea before setting it down in favor of a strawberry tart. “As a dreamwalker, the instant reflexive action to call upon your powers is exactly what I’ve been training you and Hamilton for. It’s not meant to prevent you from choosing another method of defense, whether it’s your martial arts or a dagger, but to give you something else in your arsenal. Martial arts or a dagger won’t always help you out of a situation, but your dreamwalking will, assuming you’re brave enough and quick enough to create a construct while binding others to it.”
I shrugged. “It kind of felt like cheating.”
Remus barked out a laugh, brushing his hands from the second slice of sandwich. “In battle, the key is to take down the enemy while staying alive. There are no rules, especially if you find yourself at a disadvantage. Your actions gave your team the time to capture the two people required to complete a successful mission.” He didn’t appreciate my second shrug and leaned toward me with the fierceness of The Wolf. “I’ve seen this many times before through the decades, usually from a new Alpha after their first mission, where wolves were injured or killed. No mission is ever safe from injury or death. From what Devon tells me, all your missions before this one have been to steal something. This time, you were in charge of planning a mission. Not to steal some artifact or evidence, but hostage recovery and an enemy capture. You knew there would be fighting, and regardless of how well the teams train for it, no one can plan for every variable. Quite frankly, with the close-quarter fighting in a house where one side had guns, I’m surprised there weren’t more injured. No one from House Trelane died. Injured, yes, but not dead. The team retrieved the hostages and captured three enemy combatants. That, my dear Cressa, is a successful mission.”
Everything he and Colantha said made sense, but I wasn’t ready to release the guilt. Remus seemed to sense it and changed the topic by pulling out a folder. He handed it to Colantha, who passed it to me.
“Those are the results of the blood tests from my lab.” He gave me time to review them before explaining the discussion he had with Colantha and Devon.
“Let me make sure I understand.” I rubbed my forehead. “You’re saying these markers wouldn’t have shown up in my blood if I hadn’t been drinking Colantha’s juice?”
Colantha shrugged. “I’m not aware of any dreamwalker having their blood tested, and it will be difficult to find one who hasn’t drunk the juice to know if that’s true.”
“Perhaps if someone refrained from drinking it for a period of time, we could test the theory,” Remus replied. “After the war, we can perform further studies. In the meantime, these lab results will be important when Devon files his case with the Council. But we also need to know what Venizi is doing in his lab.”
“He’s been studying the declining fertility rate in vampires, right?” I asked.
Remus sipped the iced tea, frowned, and set it down. “He’s been studying it for decades. His lab is either inept, or he’s hiding the information. Better yet, a look at his labs might expose more than fertility testing.”
“You’re thinking Magic Poppy,” I said.
Jamison handed Remus another glass of iced tea he brought from Lyra’s mini kitchen.
Remus tasted it and smiled. “Thank you. Much better. I’m not a fan of peppermint. And yes, that’s exactly what we’re thinking. I’m hoping to have confirmation of where his lab is located in the next couple of weeks. We’re taking it slow, so no one knows we’ve located it.”
“Now, that we got that over with, let’s turn to something more exciting.” Ginger sat straighter and glanced around. “I think a dinner party is in order. First, for the success of our mission.” She picked at the end of her silk scarf, and her excitement faded a bit. “The second reason is somewhat bittersweet. An opportunity came up.” She glanced around at the expectant faces. “While Simone is recovering, Devon asked Lucas to fill in for her at Oasis. We’ll be leaving in the morning.”
“Oh,” was all I could say.
Ginger rushed to my side and held my hand. “I know this will be difficult with the lockdown. It’s not like we can just drive back and forth to see each other. But Devon can arrange for you to visit once your mom is feeling better.”
“Sure.” I forced a smile. “That might be good for her.” There wasn’t a chance in hell he’d let me do that. “Speaking of Devon, where is he?”
Remus stood. “He went to the safe house with Sergi to speak with Jasper and check on April.” He nodded at the folder. “That’s Devon’s copy.”
“Are you leaving so soon?” Lyra asked.
Remus chuckled. “I think it’s best I move on before I become part of the furniture.”
She smiled and placed a hand on his arm. “You know you’ll always have a place here. And don’t forget your painting.”
“Come down and give it to Elijah yourself. It would be better coming from you. He and Rachel will be leaving with me.”
Everyone left the room except for Ginger, who grabbed my hand. “Let’s make this a movie night.”
It took me a moment for her words to sink in. “I told Devon we needed to talk.”
“I think that conversation should wait until everything with the mission has settled. And if you don’t want to wait that long, you can at least wait until after I’m gone.” She tapped the side of my head. “Where I’ll be gone for who knows how long.” When I didn’t respond, she squeezed my hand till it hurt. “It won’t be for long. Simone will be up and back to work in no time. Come on, let’s go do a little sparring and clear your head. I’ll see if Cook can make his famous popcorn medley, and I’ll blend up a pitcher or two of margaritas.”
