Page 64 of Guardian
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“So we’re all in agreement?” Logan asked.
The Stealth Guardians, plus Winter, were assembled in the command center so Pearce could monitor communications in case the council decided to send somebody to the Baltimore compound to look for Logan. They had discovered his escape only twenty minutes after Logan had locked the two guards in the lead cell. Apparently Pearce had covered his electronic tracks well, because so far nobody at the council compound had initiated any action that led Logan to believe they suspected he’d had help escaping.
“If you think it will work,” Manus said hesitantly.
For two hours they’d discussed what they needed to do to put together a convincing case the council wouldn’t be able to ignore. One that was so strong that even Logan’s treason and his compound’s complicity in it would be overlooked.
Hamish exchanged a look with Aiden. “If this will cause Winter to have a vision that’ll lead to us being able to strike against the demons, I’m all for it. “
“I’m with Hamish,” Aiden said. “Of course, it’s against all our rules, but we don’t have the luxury of waiting for Winter to have a vision out of the blue.”
At that, everybody glanced at Winter, who gave an apologetic shrug.
Logan smiled at her reassuringly. “No, we don’t have that luxury. I can’t let you all take the risk of hiding us here indefinitely. The longer we’re here, the riskier it is for all of you. I figure we have three or four days before the council has exhausted all other possibilities. Then even they will figure out that I’m hiding in plain sight.”
“You know we won’t just kick you out,” Pearce said. “But we can always toss you in the lead cell if anybody arrives looking for you. Just to cover our asses. “
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” Hamish said. Then he motioned to Winter. “You ready for this?”
She nodded.
Logan crossed the distance between him and Winter with three steps and stopped in front of her. “I’ll take you to the archive first, then the armory.”
“Okay,” Winter said.
“Do you need any of us to come with you?” Aiden asked.
Logan looked over his shoulder. “I think you all should rest and be ready if Winter sees something. We have no idea how quickly we’ll have something we can act upon. I’m afraid it’ll be a waiting game.”
He took Winter’s hand. “Come, I’ll show you my home.” Not only that. He would let her touch things, weapons and artefacts, and show her books and pictures, anything that might trigger a vision about his species or the demons.
When they left the command room and stepped into the quiet corridor, Logan turned to Winter. “I’m sorry that we haven’t had a minute alone yet. I promise you it won’t always be that way. It’s just—”
She put her fingers to his lips. “I understand. This is more important right now. I know what’s expected of me.”
He nodded, and they started walking.
“Your friends are good people.” She hesitated. “Even Manus. They all love you. And they trust you. I’ll make sure that all they’re doing for us isn’t in vain.”
Logan sighed. “I don’t want you to feel under pressure. I know you can’t force a vision, and I don’t want you to stress out about it. Charles said that you need to let your brain relax.”
She cast him a forced smile. “I’m trying to.”
“I know.”
She let her eyes roam, then pointed to the runes that adorned the walls, ceilings, and floors. “What do they mean? They’re runes, right?”
“Yes. They’re a sort of warding.” He remembered something then. “You drew runes on the door in your shop. You must have seen them in your visions.”
“I did. But I didn’t know what they meant. Just that I had to draw them.” She shrugged. “But I guess they didn’t work. The demons came anyway.”
“Well, two things you should know about runes. They’re not there to ward against demons, not directly anyway. The runes, together with our virta, our life force, turn this building invisible. There’s powerful magic in these runes. It protects against all other magic. Witches like Charles or Wesley are powerless within these walls.”
~ ~ ~
Had she heard right? “This building is invisible?”
