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Lauren wanted to be pissed at Gavin for going into her head, but she understood why he had. He’d apologized ahead of time,andmade sure she knew what he was doing so she couldn’t accuse him of trying to hide it. There hadn’t been time to explain, negotiate, and then do it. They’d been under active attack, and he’d taken nine minutes to fix her.
She’d been pissed he’d stayed in her head until he explained why, so now it was hard to hold onto her anger about that as well.
As a teen, she’d thought being raised by a therapist was a huge pain in the ass, but as an adult, she was grateful. Otherwise, she’d have been pissed at Gavin without understanding she was actually angry and terrified at the fact he’d gone into her head and she hadn’t felt him go in, nor had she felt him once she’d known he was there. This meant not just Gavin, but any powerful vampire could go into her head and see anything and everything. She had secrets in her head — Nathan’s, her mother’s, Cora’s, Nick’s. What if they found a way to hurt her loved ones because her shields were apparently weak as fuck?
Once outside the house, Lauren felt her hawk’s frustration and realized her shirt had shifted back to cover him. She pulled a knife from its sheath, lifted a hunk of shirt, and cut below her fist. The shirt slid back to rest on her frame, and Ying’s vision was ultra-clear once again. She stowed the knife away and ran her hand around her belly band. They’d stopped by an ammo room on the way, and she’d discovered a box full of mags that fit her gun, all fully loaded. There were six slots on her belly band, plus she’d put another three mags in her left pants pocket. They were leggings, so the pocket was on her outer thigh, but at least she had them.
She’d also strung an AR over her shoulder, and she had two extra mags for it in her right pants pocket.
Ying lifted his head to look around, and she reached up to stroke the silky feathers framing the right side of his face while sending him images of hiding, so no one knew what he was. He merged back onto her shoulder, but with his head at a slightly different angle, so he could see a wider view.
That works. I’m pleased.
He understood, and she reminded herself to use words for him as well as feelings in the future, until she felt more comfortable with his grasp of English, which seemed fine, but she wasn’t taking chances.
She aimed her thoughts at both Ambrose and Ellania.I like the tree in front of us. Are there spots below for the two of you?
Rather than a patrol as she’d thought of it, this seemed more like sentry duty, but the plan was for her to be up in a tree with a wider view, while the other two faded into the shadows within sight, creating a triangle. Lauren was aware this got her up and out of the way of any fighting, but she also agreed that with her new vision, it was the best use of her skills.
She climbed with a combination of muscles and levitation, settled herself on a branch, and then unrolled the gauzy, camo-patterned blanket-sized cloth. It went on over her, head included, but she could see through it easily. From the outside, it would break up the lines enough to make her hard to spot, and to hide Ying.
You can lift your head and look around, she told the bird while visualizing him doing so, and he immediately did exactly as she’d envisioned — looked all around and then focused behind her.
It only took a few seconds for her brain to reformat her field of vision so she could see it as a wrap-around single view, though there was a spot in the middle that went dark. Ying moved his head back and forth a little, and settled so the blind spot was minimal in the middle, and they could still see an important pathway at the very edge of their field of view.
Lauren didn’t look at any one place until patterns began to form, and she saw something that didn’t fit.
There’s something on the ground where the deck meets the house,she told Ambrose and Ellania.Fabric or plastic that looks exactly like the mulch, but it isn’t.
The wall of windows was now encased in steel. Lauren hadn’t realized they could do that, but it made sense — even the best bullet-proof glass could be taken down with a few fifty-caliber shots if you knew where to hit.
Another pattern, and she saw three snakes in the gnarled roots of a tree, using the natural camouflage to hide. No way would natural snakes do that, and she made sure Gavin heard her as well as Ellania and Ambrose this time.
Three snakes in the roots, my two o’clock. No way they aren’t shifters.
To Gavin, she telepathed,You have permission to use my vision and hearing as you are Ambrose.
She was his sentry, and it was stupid to blind him because she couldn’t deal.
The next thing she knew, she was on the road outside of Homewood’s gates with Ellania, and two guards of Homewood were standing with rifles drawn, pointing at Ellania.
The password to make them stand down changed daily, and she didn’t know what it was. She telepathed her mom,Homewood password?
The second word wasn’t all the way out of her mind when her mom was suddenly standing in front of her. Her mother quickly took stock of the situation and waved at the guards. “Porcupine. Weapons at the ready, but down.” She looked at Lauren, then Ellania, and said, “Report.”
“The coterie house was attacked. When we realized bombs had been placed around the building, it was agreed we needed to get Lauren out of there.”
Lauren had been taught how to remain focused no matter the danger, and she thought back to what she’d seen — the snakes had been on the side of the tree away from the house, so they’d be protected from the blast. How many other shifters were similarly staged? Even if Gavin had a safe, blast-proof room, and she assumed he did, he’d have to deal with an army of shifters who’d have a straight shot to him once the walls were blown.
“I have to go back! Why did you pull me away! The shifters were using the trees to shield them, so the blast was probably directional towards the house. We’d have beenfine!”
Ellania shook her head. “The decision was made to abandon the house. Gavin has a way to egress from the lower level, and he was taking everyone out that way. Ambrose couldn’t be certain of his welcome here, but Mordecai trusts me, so I brought you to safety.”
Right, the cave system below the house. Lauren’s gut relaxed at the knowledge Gavin could get to safety, but that didn’t mean she was happy about being brought here. She turned to her mother. “I’m making Branson my home. Ihaveto go back and fight. I can’t leave them to make the city safe without me.”
“A few things you should know,” Ellania told Lauren’s mother. “The surface memories of those who attacked first told us Lauren was the objective, but Gavin went deeper into the minds of those he’d captured and saw that Medved wants to take Branson. Gavin is the true target.”
“Okay,” Lauren’s mom told her, pulling her into a hug, “I hear what you’re saying, so let’s talk through the political ramifications of our best options. I’ve made it clear that anyone who comes after you will feel my wrath, and that’s kept you safe so far. We can use those surface memories for me to go with you to fight, but it’ll eventually come out that I knew they were after Gavin, and it’ll weaken him if it looks like I had to fight his battle for him.”
