Page 124 of The Satyr's Guilt
He was the male to target the meat of aconversation. “Some,” said Kole. “Of course, it’s Alarik’s ministrywho has more intel on the subject. We are just the ride-alongmuscle.” He strove to be accurate but limited his comments asCadmon suggested.
Dolph tilted his chin in the haughty mannerhe pulled off so well. “How is the sweep for sex slaves going,Commander Jarek?”
“We have checked out all the captives namedby the satyr guard caught in the raid on Aisen’s Stockade. We foundsix dead. We erased the memories of the live ones, if it’s whatthey wanted. Some actually joined the Alliance when they found outabout their heritage. We arranged the contact. Now we’re operatingon rumor. We rescued a male from a succubus when a neighbor turnedher in. Recently, we raided a berserker’s place only to find ahuman female had escaped. We located her nearly boots-up in a cavebut nursed her back to health.”
“Commander, when your warriors tackled therecent New Orleans’ problems, I understand you uncovered aninteresting problem with Earthers. Explain.” Ares fixed his sharpgaze on Kole.
“Correct. Humans are aware of several portalsites in New Orleans. They killed an incubus, attacked two youngdemons, and kidnapped a pair of vampires by usingtranquilizer-loaded bullets. The male is Lawgiver Viktor’s scion.They call themselves Humans First. Stranger yet, they’re injectingtheir soldiers with a drug which makes them stronger.”
“Is this related to Arisen Dawn orCerberus?” asked the demoness justice.
“Doubtful. A man calling himself Dante,likely an alias, organized these humans. This isn’t the first timewe’ve heard this name. Uwrick, the warlock whose spell trapped theAlliance’s chief legal officer and me on Darque, offered up thename when he was captured.”
“Organized humans who are aware of ourexistence,” said Eron, as she glanced at Dolph. “What do you planto do?”
“We are set to raid a Humans First lab torescue two kidnapped vampires. Our information comes from aprisoner in the Cubes.” Kole checked the time on his D-chip.
Gilda, her eyes swirling with silver andgreen, bent forward on her elbows. “Do our portals remainimpenetrable?”
Cadmon answered. “Minister Alarik claimsthey are strong, but as you know, a male known only as Cerberushunts for descendants of the mages who created them.”
Aras squinted. “Is this mystery male,Cerberus, connected to Arisen Dawn?”
Kole shifted nervously. He had asked himselfthe same question. “Why do you ask?”
The shifter steepled his fingers. “My eaglesenses things. Too many coincidences.”
Kole agreed. Too many. “Your guess is asgood as mine, High Justice.”
“Tell us about these Blood Covendescendants, Cadmon,” said Dolph.
The high commander paused. “I am happy toreport they are safe.”
Aras cocked his head to the side, studyingthe speaker with his sharp-sighted eyes. His lips curled slightlyat the corners.
“How many do you have?” asked Eron.
Cadmon counted on his fingers. “Let me see.”Pause. “Six.”
“And where are they now?” The djinn Roshankept his gaze on the paperwork in front of him.
Bang.Bang.
Aras pounded a gavel. “High Commander Cadmonhas assured us they are safe. That is all we need to know. You aredismissed. Justice and long life.”
Back in the antechamber before eachcommander returned to his own office, Cadmon touched Kole’s arm.“Put extra wards on your stronghold as soon as possible. Jarek,keep your female well-guarded.”
Before the djinn could object to the highcommander’s description of Lizette as his, Cadmon raised his handto continue. “We’ve got Cerberus in the shadows on Scath with thisDante playing center stage Earthside. I trust no one butFirebrands.”
****
After his visit to the Templeof Justice, Kole removed his stiff purple robe. Comfortable in BDUsand a clean tee, he leaned over the table to study a sketch. Theprisoner Steven, Denim’s ex, had drawn a layout of the Humans Firstfacility. He claimed the two vampires were kept there in a lab.
Rein scrubbed a fist over his short militarycut hair. “It’s a simple floor plan. Three main hallways. Fourteams. We should be in and out in minutes.” Rein spread his fingerson the table. “He gave us the location. It’s a warehouse in adeserted complex. We have a portal nearby. If it’s dark, we shouldhave no problem.”
“How many soldiers at this Humans Firstplace?”
“The facility is not large. He’s never seenmore than twenty-five on site at one time. Some are soldiers. Somework in the labs.”
