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“A small test, so we know where we stand. We’ll see if we can get someone to move the damn flowers at least. They reek something fierce, don’t they? If the suggestion doesn’t work, we have our answer. In which case, we proceed with Plan B.”
A ball of dread hardened my belly when I considered Plan B.
“What do you propose?” I reluctantly asked.
“Keep it simple. The handsome fella with the beard is mine. Make the other five docile, in case it works. I’ll present a reason for his actions. Be sure your group accepts it.”
“It won’t work.”
“No. I doubt it. Shall we skip Plan A?”
“No. We’ll try.”
I tapped into the minds of five hunters, draping a blanket of passivity over them, taking their preparedness down several notches. The change was visible. Their rigid stances relaxed, and the concentrated attention they had been paying to their surroundings vanished as they picked their fingernails or teeth and checked their phones.
Cristofer noticed. “Well done. Here goes nothing.”
And nothing was exactly what we got.
No matter the implanted excuse, Cristofer could not convince the bearded man to remove the blossoms from the trapdoor. His effort showed. Our guinea pig glanced twice at the barrier with a deep frown, as though he wanted to do something, but he shook it off and returned to his post.
Unless it was his idea, it would never happen.
After several minutes without success, I told Cristofer to stop. “You don’t want him to suspect you’re inside his head.”
He laughed. “As if. I’m not an amateur.”
I released my hold on the other five, and they shook off their lethargy and continued their duties unaware anything was amiss.
“Valerius has them under his influence.” It was a redundant statement.
Cristofer sighed. “We suspected as much.”
“I don’t want Ensley involved.”
“Then we find another human. It’s the only solution. You and I can’t do it. Nor could an army of vampires.”
Cristofer motioned for us to retreat from our position on the outskirts of the clearing as he continued. “We’ll select a young and capable human, put them under our control, guide the process, and leave them with no memory. If it bothers you, I’ll do it. But you have to be present to wake Iulian. That, mate, is beyond my capabilities.”
“I know. It’s not about Ensley specifically. You’re risking a human life, and the complications of that level of manipulation under these circumstances—”
“Would be extremely risky. I’m aware. Don’t you see? Ensley wouldn’t need to be manipulated.”
“It doesn’t make it safer.”
“No, but he knows who we are, and I suspect he has a fair understanding of this assignment. Am I right?”
I mumbled in agreement.
Cristofer clasped my arm and stopped my advance, spinning me to face him. “Make a choice, Mordecai. Ensley or a human puppet. We have no other options.”
I pressed my lips in a firm line. He was right, but I didn’t like it. Impulsively, I wanted to pick a stranger, sparing my lover’s involvement, but it was the wrong decision. Ensley’s knowledge and understanding of the task would make it far more likely that we would succeed. His reaction time and ability to problem-solve on the spot would be paramount.
Using a stranger, turning him into a puppet, as Cristofer so elegantly put it, was far more complicated. We would only be able to control them from a distance, and they would rely solely on the instructions we implanted. It would widen the margin of error tenfold.
“We can at least see if he’s willing,” Cristofer said.
I almost laughed. We didn’t need to ask. Ensley was more than willing to jump in with both feet. Danger be damned.
