Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“I believe if we attack those watching from the storm clouds, the cravings will either go away altogether or lessen,” he finally said. “Whoever is orchestrating the storm can feed our need for blood. Without the storm raging, we might have a better chance to break free. That’s my assessment. Does anyone have a different take? A reason to leave the storm raging and the spies in place untouched?”
The men were silent, contemplating the idea of striking at the watchers and what the repercussions might be.
Lojos shrugged. “I’m willing to risk it. Anything to lighten the burden Mataias is carrying for me.”
“I say let’s go for it,” Nicu weighed in. “It may give us a reprieve, but at the very least, we can try to feed without them watching us and pushing us to kill.”
Tomas thought it over carefully. He wasn’t a man to make snap decisions. He heaved a sigh and rubbed at his temple. “I vote to go after them.”
All of them turned to Mataias. He tapped his thigh with a steady finger as he weighed the pros and cons of attacking the spies in the storm. “I think it best if we keep the eyes off us, so I’m in agreement with all of you. Most likely they’ll be waiting for us. If they had eyes on us when we managed to turn to mist, they will be looking for the most likely place we have taken shelter.”
“That’s a good point,” Benedek said. “We’ll have to orchestrate the attack carefully. We’ll have to shift inside this cave and go out one by one in separate directions until we’re all in place. Once we’re ready, we can strike hard.”
They discussed how best to find the watchers in the clouds. How to take over the lightning whips so they couldn’t be used against them. Benedek wanted time to study the storm, how it was developed and what, if any, safeguards were used to protect the demons spying on them. That would tell him quite a bit about their enemy. Every Carpathian hunter had a signature. He’d been around far too many centuries not to be aware of other hunters. He had familiarized himself with any he came across and those he heard of but never met. His mind held facts about all of them because they were all potential enemies.
“Lilith was injured in the battle in Dellys,” Benedek said. “All of us felt that moment when Petru struck at her and scored. Essentially, we won because he took her out of the fight. It is possible she’s still healing, trying to gather her power, and that’s why she hasn’t attacked Nachtbloem. These delaying tactics are giving her more time to heal and prepare her army for war. She has plans for us, and I’ll admit as a general she’s quite brilliant, but she’s also emotional. Very emotional. If these spies lose us, she may well turn on them and the vampire creating the storm. She has a low tolerance for mistakes.”
That brought him back to the thought of his lifemate. The demon slayer. What would she do if she saw them all now? Understand the battle they waged for their honor? He had been driven to find her, to reclaim his soul, but the others came with him to aid her. They had lifemates and yet they risked themselves to help him—and her. Would she be able to look beyond the fight inside them—if she was able to see it? A demon slayer was intuitive. They could never hope to enter her realm and act as if nothing were wrong.
He would have to confess he was close to turning, and so were his brethren. Would she be able to trust total strangers to wage a war with blood and battle all around them, preying every moment on their dark cravings? She would worry, with good reason, about those in the village they would use for sustenance. She would have to worry about herself. He certainly couldn’t claim his soul until he knew what was happening to him. Or could he? Would taking back his soul stop the vile compulsion?
He didn’t voice his concern for his lifemate’s reaction because there was no use in worrying about something that hadn’t happened and might never happen. He pushed the thoughts from his mind and turned his attention to the battle plan. He was good at strategy. He was a Carpathian who planned each battle, never acting impulsively. Despite the intensity of the unfamiliar cravings, he focused solely on how they would defeat their enemy.
“Mataias, it will be important for you to gain control of the lightning. The rest of us will be in position to strike at the spies once you signal you’ve taken over. If we’re lucky, we will be able to destroy one or two of them before they can be pulled back,” Benedek said. He gave the coordinates for each hunter to position himself.