“I may need further advice as I continue,” he said to Remi. “Will you offer it?”
“Yeah, what the hell. We can be remedial alphas together.” Grinning, the leopard changeling slapped him on the back. “Come on. You want to learn how to be a family, you can hang with me while I go read the riot act to some of the older juveniles. They fucking fried a generator doing an experiment with lightning.”
PSYNET BEACON: BREAKING NEWS
Confidential sources have confirmed that Arrow leader Aden Kai is not missing. He is taking part in a covert mission to unmask certain problematic insurgent elements within the PsyNet. The Ruling Coalition would not confirm or deny this fact when contacted, and the Arrow Squad remains unreachable as per its long-standing operating protocol.
PSYNET BEACON: LIVE NETSTREAM
What did I tell you? The Arrow leader is doing what Arrows do—being a shadow in the Net.
I. Erskine
(Iowa)
I’m disturbed by the implications of this report. It appears we are back to the ways of the old Council.
Anonymous
(Luzon)
The old Council kept a firm hand on things and that’s what we need now.
Anonymous
(Shiraz)
—
Kaleb dropped out of the Net after scanning the feeds. Things had gone as he’d predicted, as he’d wanted. With the news of Aden’s disappearance threatening to rock the fragile equilibrium of the Net, he’d immediately initiated damage control. Instead of making a direct statement, however, he’d used his more clandestine skills to initiate a useful rumor that was then confirmed off-the-record by one of his outwardly junior people who had deliberately cultivated herself as a source for news media.
The information took longer to hit the public news streams this way, but when it did, it held more veracity for having been “uncovered.” The populace would now spend their time worrying about the direction of the Ruling Coalition rather than speculating about what had happened to Aden. At present, that was the better option.
The subterfuge wouldn’t last if Aden remained missing for longer than a day or two, however. Especially if whoever had leaked the news of his abduction continued to leak further disturbing details. A single image of Aden unconscious or dead could throw the Net into chaos. Arrows might be the bogeyman of their race, but they were also a silent symbol of Psy power. And Aden represented the squad.
While Aden was the politically higher-value target since Zaira wasn’t known as an Arrow by the general population, seeing her caged or in a degrading position would also have a devastating impact. Because if someone could hurt the bogeyman, then no one was safe.
The PsyNet was so vast that even Kaleb couldn’t suppress all such data—there was no knowing when or how it might filter in. He could, however, prime the NetMind and DarkMind to alert him the instant anything related to Aden or Zaira hit the dataways so he could take quick and effective countermeasures.
He gave the order and the twin neosentience of the NetMind and DarkMind curled around him in agreement before disappearing into the Net. The situation was contained. At least until the shadowy enemy that had taken Aden and Zaira made their next move.
• • •
HIDDEN in a thick grouping of trees in the underground green space attached to Central Command, Blake read the new Beacon report about Aden and realized he may have made a mistake . . . or maybe not. Even if Aden was alive and around, the squad’s leader would have no reason to connect an “out-of-control blitz killer,” as Blake was being described by the media, to an Arrow who’d taken a little too much pleasure in his work but who had always disposed of his victims where no one would find them.
As long as Blake was careful not to choose a victim who was in Aden’s orbit, the leader of the squad would never know and Blake could continue being part of a group where he had the greatest chance of finding a like mind. Power often came paired with deviant urges. He’d have to be careful as he searched, but the chances of success were high.
Because while killing alone was a rush, killing with a partner would double that. All he had to do was find the right person, a person who was broken inside like him but who owned that brokenness, who accepted that there was nothing wrong with their psychopathic tendencies. They existed, and therefore, they must be right to exist.
Chapter 21
ADEN TRACKED ZAIRA down to their aerie late that afternoon, having already run into Finn and discovered that she had in fact dropped by the infirmary to ensure she hadn’t done any damage to her healing injuries.
The healer had scowled. “Boneheaded move, climbing that wall, but what can you expect? Dominant females are a law unto themselves.”
“Did she need treatment?”
Finn had shaken his head. “She came within an inch of tearing the new skin, though—I’ve told her if she does it again, she could set back her recovery by a week or more.” A glint in his leaf green eyes. “You sure she’s not a cat? Not only does she apparently climb like one, she gave me the same look I get from the RainFire women when I lay down the law.”
No, Zaira wasn’t a cat. She was an Arrow. And right now, she was wearing his jacket over her clothing and lying curled up on top of the bedspread, her body rigid. Taking off his own jacket, he got in behind her, wrapping his body around hers.
At that moment, he felt her fragility, her bones so easy to break—and yet he knew she was one of the strongest people he had ever met. Zaira was afraid of no threat, no predator, not even death.
It was only isolation that hurt her.
“The aloneness is like tiny animals biting and clawing at me,” she said, the tendons in her neck standing out taut against her skin, her breathing harsh. “I need to rejoin the Net or I won’t be able to maintain discipline. I’ll regress.”