The Grey God

"I doubt it. What use are you to them? They'd be looking for someone who could help them win their war. I mean, that's what I'd do."

"Someone like Xander, maybe."

Jenn shrugged. "It doesn't seem likely, but then again, we really don't know where his loyalties are."

"You think …" Jonny shifted. "You think Xander might not be loyal to me?"

"I think Xander tries to control you."

"He's my advisor."

"What advice does he give you?" she challenged. "I'm saying you need to keep an open mind. And if it is Xander, maybe the Others want something from Xander that Xander himself doesn't know he can do for them."

"That's much more likely."

Jenn cursed silently. She'd been planting hints for days that Xander couldn't be trusted. Jonny was all but immune to them. Rather, he was looking for an excuse not to believe them. She understood why. As the chief of the spies in this hemisphere, she'd been in a lot of really bad situations with nothing but her charm and mind control to keep her safe. She'd never met anything like Xander, who was not deterred by even a god's powers.

"It could be you, too," Jonny added. "What if they know you're helping me? They might want to steal our secrets."

"I'm not worth an Other's attention," she replied.

"But like you said, what if you don't know it?"

"Maybe. But between Xander and me, he's got more power than you and I combined."

A troubled look crossed Jonny's face. "He does, doesn't he."

"But, like I said. It's almost impossible to know. Just stay open to other options," she said.

"I will, Jenn, thank you."

A small team of four vamps approached the window and stopped at the edge of where the carpet from the hallway met the tile of the foyer. She looked them over dismissively, calculating what it would take to kill them all. She could take them. Two looked sleepy and one wasn't armed.

Jonny followed her gaze. "I'm going to town."

"You want me to go with you?"

"No. I need to do some things. Maybe next time."

"I'm here if you need me, hon," she said, not surprised to be excluded again.

"Thanks, Jenn." Jonny's words were more heartfelt than she warranted necessary. Jonny turned to go and joined the four. They walked to the front door of the mansion built into the side of the mountain.