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“Why, are they going to attack us before the rest of the army arrives?”
Ferguson shrugged. “I don’t know, but if they start breeding, then the reinforcements will be irrelevant.”
Steele rubbed his chin. “Damn. We’ve been so focused on the portal, we never considered they could breed here.”
Riley glanced around the room. “Does anybody know anything about the breeding cycle? How long a female is pregnant? How long their young take to mature?”
Steele blew out a breath. “The hunting party that traversed their world reported on their life cycle. Their gestation period is between five to nine months. The smaller demons need less time to mature in the womb.”
“So, soldier demons are nine months. Similar to us. Do they mature at the same rate?” Riley asked.
“Not at all. They are lethal within a few years of birth, but their intelligence is slower to mature,” Steele said.
Riley blinked rapidly. “Are you saying that you have a fully formed killing machine at three years old, with the mental capacity to match?”
“Yes. The demons that speak and have superior cognitive abilities are hundreds of years old. In some cases thousands.”
Riley huffed. “They’re immortal?”
“We know the females aren’t immortal, and most of the demons are killed before reaching a certain maturity, but the king appears immortal, and possibly Deruthel.”
Ryder turned to Stern. “Can you imagine the ramifications if they can breed here?”
Stern shook his head. “Do we know how many women they can convert? Is it an infinite number?”
Ferguson glanced at the newest member of the bear clan. “I cannot confirm the breeders are viable. We assumed they would bring their females over with the army, but if they’re successful, their numbers will grow while our population is decimated.”
Raine shook his head. “But why do it? They have females. If they’re able to establish a permanent portal, they will end up with too many. Their purpose for taking over new worlds is to consume them. Having too many mouths to feed would decimate their food source too quickly.”
Ferguson frowned. “I would suggest that they aren’t thinking past getting an army in place, but Deruthel has eons of military experience. There is something about the demons we are missing. Something that the original hunting party didn’t investigate.”
Riley nibbled on her thumbnail. “The hunting party that traversed their world could only observe them in their natural environment. They had no way to document the process of recolonization.”
Colton nodded. “You’re right. We need to determine why they’re subverting females, and more specifically, how.”
Ryder leaned forward. “This is a nightmare we never conceived of. We need to get someone near their compound.”
“Why?” Dannika asked.
“We have to find out how many females they have. We’re assuming they’re only targeting descendants of the priestess, but we could be wrong.”
They all turned as Darwin entered the meeting room.
Darwin nodded to Dannika. “I have the report on the abductions. They are taking the women and killing the males. The locations are specific. The winery. A woman’s apartment. An ice cream store and a local restaurant.”
Dannika shook her head in disgust. “Do you think these locations are random?”
“No. It appears they targeted specific women and massacred those around them. There are several dead females at the restaurant,” Darwin said.
Colton glanced up as black script formed in front of him. “Fallon is monitoring the police station. There’s been another attack, but we have another concern. The local PD is debating whether to call in the Army.”
Dannika glanced between her advisors. “Is that good or bad?”
Ferguson’s eyes flickered. “Bringing in the human military will simply provide another food source for the demons. Their weapons are useless against the demons and us.”
Dannika leaned back in her chair, looking exhausted. “How do we stop the military from getting involved?”
“We could fake an infection, though in reality, it’s the truth. Raine could suggest it to the right people and Graydon County would be put on quarantine until we feel it should be lifted,” Ferguson said.
