Katie's Hellion

"Good job, death dude!" Ully cheered, earning him the scathing look of Jade.

"She's immune to all but the most ancient of us. The mutation started sometime after our births, Kris," Gabriel voiced.

Surprised, Kris eyed him.

"You know more than you're telling me?" he challenged. "This isn't a secret you're sworn to protect."

Amusement flashed across the death dealer's face, and Gabriel shook his head.

"Ully, do a full workup on her parents, grandparents, as far back as she remembers. Find any siblings and get their blood. We need to know how many people have this mutation and where they are," Kris ordered.

Ully bounced up.

"And Ully, be discreet," he added. "No more stalking and kidnapping."

The lab rat flushed but saluted and ducked out of the room.

"The Council meets in a few," Jade commented. "Do we return her and pretend we don't know or keep her where they can't get her?"

It's not cool to use women like that.

Kris had never heard anything so ridiculous. No human --nor most of those in his organization --would dream of speaking to him like that. And yet, she had without fear. Shock did much to humans, he knew, but she was either crazy or incredibly stupid to challenge someone like him.

Worse, they'd never run across this type of issue in all their years. That it emerged now, when the Council was on the verge of disintegrating, couldn't be a coincidence.

"Jade, send some men to her apartment and dig around. Check on Toby while you're there. Iliana, we have a Council meeting to attend in a couple of hours."

"You want them to take her back?" Jade asked.

"Yeah. Take her back and post guards everywhere you can. I want to see what Sasha's planning."

"You shouldn't go alone to the Council meeting," Jade warned.

"It's the way it is."

"Someday, one of you is gonna snap and take out the others."

"Let's hope it's me," he said with a small smile.

"If you wouldn't take out half the continent doing so, I wouldn't care. C'mon, death dude. Let's get her to her apartment. Travel safely, Kris."

Gabriel followed them out obediently, content to hang around them while bored.

Kris traveled via shortcuts through the shadow world as Gabriel did and willed himself to the in-between world. It was foggy and chilly, like a walk on the beach after the fog rolled in. Several portals glowed, and he strode across the silent domain toward the portal he needed. He emerged from the shadow world in a luxurious penthouse suite in Paris overlooking the Arc de Triomphe.