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“Not sure what you’ve been waiting for really.” Sloane grinned as he met him at the door. “You’ll be okay, Commander, until we are back?”
“Yes, the aid your brother gave me has been a relief.”
“See? And you think he’s all bad,” Sloane quipped as he slipped out of the door in front of Salem.
“Be vigilant, Principal,” Bryce whispered from the bed to Salem.
“We’ll be back soon,” Salem promised before he followed Sloane out, his knives in his hands. Sloane was pressed against the wall, and Salem moved past him. “Follow my lead, Sentinel.”
“Always.”
The two of them moved quietly along the hall, weapons at the ready.
* * *
Tegan was crouched at the stairwell on the upper level. She had successfully gotten into the Headquarters with no detection. Drakhyn were deadly, but they weren’t very bright, she knew, and that belief had proven her right today. She had only killed one and managed to avoid the others. Her training to kill on sight was warring against her instinct to survive by evading detection. Very little of Headquarters had been disturbed; the Drakhyn seemed to have checked rooms and done nothing else.
Why would they?she surmised as she craned her neck to see down the stairs. Had there been any Akrhyn here, they would have killed them, and she sent a prayer of thanks to Brindlelay that she had come across no remains of female Akrhyn. In fact, Tegan had come across no live Akrhyn at all. Why were the Drakhyn being left to roam the complex? She couldn’t understand it, where were the Sentinels? Where were the Lycans? The Vampyres?Anyone? Why had no one come to aid them?
She checked the lower level again. There was no movement, and keeping her weapons ready, Tegan moved cautiously down the stairs, checking her surroundings constantly. At the bottom, she waited for any movement. On seeing and hearing nothing, she moved forward slowly. A flash of…somethingcaught her eye, and Tegan moved forward. Coming to a door, she hesitated briefly before sliding in through the crack.
The door closed firmly behind her, and Tegan gasped as a warm hand covered her mouth. Stopping her strike, Cord dipped his head so his mouth was almost on her ear.
“You aren’t supposed to be here, little tiger,” Cord whispered.
Tegan stiffened further and wriggled in his arms, vainly trying to break free without alerting anything that they were there. Slowly, Cord let her go, his hand trailing over her abdomen in an almost caress.
“You left me in the woods, and I am asuspectin this attack!” she hissed at him.
Cord looked at her in surprise. “They think you are working with the Drakhyn?”
“No, imbecile.” Tegan poked his chest. “They thinkyouare, and they think I am working with you, so therefore—”
“Therefore, you are guilty by association,” Cord finished. “Sometimes Akrhyn aren’t that bright.”
“Why are you here?”
“I came for Sloane. I only intended to collect my brother and leave. But there are Drakhyn here still, as well as others.” Cord sighed. “I left him, Salem and your Commander upstairs. They are safe.”
“Are they okay?” Tegan demanded.
“The Commander needs aid, but the other two are fine.” He ran his eyes over her speculatively. “Tell me, little tiger, were you taking on the whole of the Drakhyn force alone?”
“I only killed one so far; I have avoided the rest. Tove said my family haven’t been seen since the attack.”
“I did not know Michael was missing,” Cord mused. “I will find him, you go to Salem.” Tegan cursed at him, and Cord’s eyes widened in surprise. “Or you can stay, and we can attract attention to our squabbling and we all die?”
“I don’t like you.”
“I know.” Cord patted her arm mockingly as he moved past her to the window. “My brother was trapped in a storage room in the basement. Are there any other places Michael could be?”
Tegan thought quickly of the floor plans she had memorised before her father and she had arrived here. “There is a pantry.”
“Describe it,” Cord ordered.
“Take me with you.”
“No.”
