Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74292 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
This was a flex by Barrett. He’d waited until the tech was up—otherwise the wards would’ve kept the undead off the building—and parked his vampire in the tower, knowing full well that the Order would never tolerate it. Claudia had to chase it off. There was no question about it. But she also would have to avoid making a spectacle or damaging the vampire. A spectacle would make the Order look weak, and any harm to the undead would escalate tensions with the Farm and, again, would cost the Order their street cred. Whichever party resorted to violence first would lose face.
“What do you want?” Claudia asked me.
“Access to Knight-Pathfinder Isaac Silverstein.”
Before I left the fort, I’d called down to Atlanta’s chapter of the Order and asked Nick to look up Isaac Silverstein. After he told me that he wasn’t my secretary and we’d bickered for ten minutes about who was keeping score on favors, he came back with an interesting tidbit.
Silverstein was a really good pathfinder, highly decorated and experienced. He’d come to Penderton as a part of a five-man knight team specifically dispatched to handle this problem. Five knights went in, Silverstein came out alone, and after he came out, he stuck around in the area. Officially, he was on an extended mental health leave. Unofficially, he’d hung around Wilmington for the last six months, but the Order had no address for him. His mail was forwarded to the chapter.
The Knights of the Order were like soldiers in enemy territory. When possible, they preferred the company of their own and the safety of their base, so Isaac was likely inside the Wilmington Chapter right now. He’d probably lived here for the last half a year.
“That’s a big ask,” Claudia said.
“I realize the knight-pathfinder is working through some things,” I said. “But I’m about to go into Pender Forest.”
“Ask the National Guard,” Claudia said. “They can brief you.”
“What’s the point? They didn’t see anything. Knight-Pathfinder Silverstein saw something, because instead of leaving, he’s here impersonating a monk. Like you said, it’s a big favor, but there are five thousand people trapped in Penderton.”
She sighed. “You don’t need to be anywhere near that damn forest. I’m sure Penderton promised you the sky and the moon, but all you’ll get is pain and death. This isn’t me dissing you. This is me speaking as an expert with two decades of experience in the field: powerful people tried to resolve this and failed. This is above your paygrade. It’s not worth it.”
Claudia was trying to look out for me. I felt so…touched. Genuinely touched. This meant three things: Claudia was a real-deal, by-the-book knight, Nick hadn’t told her who I was, and I wouldn’t see Isaac Silverstein unless I convinced her that I was capable of surviving.
This would require a show of power.
If it was just about me, I might have hesitated. Showing my cards to Claudia meant she would start digging deeper. Eventually she’d figure out exactly who I was. But I wouldn’t go alone into the woods. Curran would be with me, and we would be bringing Keelan and his crew. I had already made the decision to take Penderton up on their generous land offer, cracking the door open. Might as well open it all the way so I could get through.
Letting go of the need to hide was surprisingly easy.
Above us, the vampire shifted again.
“I appreciate where you’re coming from,” I said. “But I already gave my word to Penderton. Getting the knight-pathfinder’s input would really help me.”
Claudia shook her head. The world was filled with fools, and I was clearly the dumbest of them all.
I gave her a smile. “While you’re thinking it over, would you like me to get rid of your unwelcome visitor? I can take it off the tower without damaging it, and if you humor me, Barrett won’t ever put one up there again.”
Claudia pondered me. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
She didn’t ask how I would do it. I pulled off my hoodie and held it out. “I need one of your knights to put this on with the hood up, get on my mount, and ride around the block. The undead needs to see me leaving.”
I didn’t want Barrett’s attention focused on me. Eventually he and I would have a reckoning, but not yet. Not for a while.
Claudia nodded. The female knight walked over and took my hoodie. “Which horse is yours?”
“The black and white mammoth donkey up front. Trust me, you can’t miss her.”
“Incoming,” Claudia murmured.
“Barrett?” I asked through the undead’s mouth.
“In the flesh.”
Getting from the Farm across the river to the Wilmington Chapter took about half an hour. Barrett made it in twenty minutes. Either he was already in the city, or he was very motivated. He wouldn’t have trusted just anyone with antagonizing the Order, so whoever piloted the vampire on his behalf had to be good. If someone had yanked an undead from one of my best navigators, I’d be motivated, too.