Page 75 of Map of Pain
The neutral hunters knew somethingwascoming. Nick felt sick thinking about people preparing to defend themselves while having no idea what theywerereally facing. The Society didn’t just attack—they studied, planned, overwhelmed. Those people neverhada chance.
“Pontiac’swerejust gone,”Ophelia said, still focused on her phone.“No bodies, no signs of struggle. Like they just vanished. Which probably means theyweretakenalive for questioning before being disposed of elsewhere.”
Nick flinched.He’dseenSociety interrogation techniques. The clinical way Ophelia delivered the informationwasprobably kinder than dwelling on what those peopleendured before they died.
The silence that followed felt heavy with implications Nick understood, but hoped hewaswrong about. He glanced around the table, seeing concern instead of panic. They still didn’t fully grasp what theyweredealing with.
Marcus nodded grimly.“That confirms what we suspected. This isn’t the same small group of zealots we dealt with before. This is something much larger and more organized.”
Nick wanted to correct him—itwasn’tjust larger, itwasprofessionally organized, well-funded, and methodical in ways that made their previous encounters look like random violence. But speaking up felt enormous, like standing on a cliff edge.
Stay silent. Stay small. Too many of them. Don’t draw attention.
Marcus turned to him, amber eyes gentle despite the serious subject matter.“Nick, do you remember anything about Society planning to target the neutral hunter networks? Any discussions about expanding operations outside of Chicago?”
All eyes focused on him, and Nickhadto fight the familiar urge to drop his gaze, to make himself smaller. But Luka’s thumb stroked across his knuckles under the table, but he pushed forward. These people needed the truth.
“Itwasnever brought up,”Nick said, his voice steadier than he felt.“At least not in any of the briefings Iwaspart of. The Society doesn’t like neutral hunters, but the official policywasto ignore them unless they became a direct problem for Society operations.”
“Official policy,”Adam repeated, picking up on the subtle distinction.“What about unofficial policies?”
“I...”Nick paused, thinking back to the fragments of conversations heoverheard, the meetings Henderson and Owenattended without him, the way Shaw would sometimes reference operations that Nickwasn’tbriefedon. His throat felt tight.“Therewerethings Iwasn’ttoldabout. The current head is Shaw, he didn’t always include me on everything, I was only told where to go and who to...”He stopped, uncertain how much to reveal.
“What about Shaw? How far does he reach?”Marcus asked gently, without a trace of judgment in his voice.
Nick met his eyes, seeing only patience. No demands, no pressure. Just willingness to listen. The kindnesswasstill surprising. “Shaw runs more than just the Chicago cell,”Nick admitted, the words feeling heavy.“Therewerereferences to other cities, other operations. But Iwasnever given details about the full scope of what theyweredoing.”
Luka’s hand squeezed his encouragingly, and Nick felt a flutter of gratitude. Admitting his ignorance felt like confessingincompetence, but Luka’s touch suggested understanding rather than disappointment.
The silence that followedwasheavy. Nick watched as glances were exchangedaround the table—not panicked, but concerned. Theywerestarting to understand what Nicktried to tell them: the Societywasn’tjust a local problem anymore.
Luka did a series of one-handed motions, and Ophelia glanced up from her phone.“He wants to know how big,”she translated.
Nick met Luka’s eyes, seeing worry there but also trust. Lukawasasking him to be honest, even if the truthwasterrifying. “I don’t know,”Nick said, his voice gaining strength.“But from what I overheard, what I pieced together... Shaw commands at least one hundred active hunters across multiple cities. Maybe more.”
The number hung in the air like a death sentence. Nick could see the calculations happening behind their eyes—one hundred trained hunters versus their small group of vampires and broken humans. The mathwasn’tencouraging, and Nick knew the realitywasprobably worse than even that estimate.
“One hundred, that you know of,”Ophelia said, leaning forward with an intensity that made her previous boredom seem like an act.“It could be more if they’re compartmentalizing information.”
Nick nodded reluctantly.“It probably is more. The Society operates on cell structures. Need-to-know basis. I only saw a fraction of what theyweredoing.”
The weight of his limited knowledge pressed down on him.He’dbeen so focused on individual missions thathenever noticed the bigger picture. How many peoplediedwhile he remained ignorant of the Society’s true scope?
Ophelia’s dark eyes fixed on Nick with laser focus, and he resisted the urge to shrink back.“Did you notice anything strange at the community center?”
Nick blinked at her.“Do you mean all the dead bodies? Or the signs of torture? Or the decapitated, burnt vampire?”
“Besides the obvious,”she said impatiently.
Nick frowned.He’dbeen focused on the immediate horror of the scene and watching for threats, not looking for subtle details.
Ophelia looked over at Vincent and Petrov.“What about you two? Did you notice anything strange?”
Both vampires shook their heads, Vincent looking genuinely confused by the line of questioning. Nick felt a small relief that hewasn’tthe only one who missed whatever Opheliahadseen.
Ophelia glanced down at her phone, made a few quick swiping motions, then stood up. Nick tensed as she walked over to him—despite her small stature, therewassomething deeply intimidating about her focused attention. His hand brushed the outline of the knife in his pocket.
“I noticed something in Decatur,”she said, stopping beside his chair.“And I want to know if you know what this is, because I also backtracked up to Peoria and found something similar.”
