Page 89 of Demon Unleashed

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Zoltan was impressed, to say the least. Seeing the vampires and the Stealth Guardians work together in preparing the destruction of the demons was a thing of beauty.

He and Enya had traveled back to the compound in Baltimore, bringing with them three vampires, Samson, Amaury, and Quinn, and a whole lot of supplies that looked sufficient to blow up a whole continent. Now, everybody was assembled in the command center of the compound, an air-conditioned, windowless room with multiple computers and monitors and an assortment of electronic gadgets. No wonder he’d never been able to destroy the Stealth Guardians: when it came to technology, they were superior to the demons in every way.

Enya was taking charge, assigning each vortex circle to a team comprised of three people: one person with explosives experience, and two others for protection, one of which had to be a Stealth Guardian to render the team invisible.

“You’ve each got a map showing the location of the three vortex circles. Don’t lose it. The three explosions have to be timed exactly.” She looked up. “With thirty-second intervals.”

“Why thirty seconds?” Grayson asked.

“So we’ll be able to hear all three explosions and can be certain that the demons didn’t find and defuse them in time. We can’t leave any of the vortex circles operational.”

Everybody nodded in agreement.

“Quinn, you’re with Aiden and Logan. You’re taking circle one. Ryder, you’ll rig the explosives at circle two. Hamish and Manus will be with you. Samson and Amaury, you two are with me. Pearce and Grayson are staying at the compound.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Grayson said. “Why don’t I get to go?”

“Because Ryder has explosives expertise, and somebody has to stay here to protect the compound should we be so unlucky as to have demons on our ass on the way back.”

Grayson grunted. “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.”

“Grayson,” Samson said in a sharp voice.

Grayson snapped his head to his father.

“Shut up!” Samson said. “Enya is right. Ryder has to do this. After Quinn, he has the most experience with explosives. And between Amaury and me, we’ve got enough expertise to rig a vortex circle too. But you’re needed here. There are women and children in this compound. If the demons manage to follow us back via the portal, you need to defend them.” He put a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Can I count on you, son?”

Grayson straightened. “Of course, Dad.”

“Good. Now, Angus, where will the new portal be located in relation to the three vortex circles?”

Zoltan didn’t react. He’d been studying the map while Samson reprimanded his son, weighing up the pros and cons between two different locations.

“Angus?”

“Zol—” Grayson stopped himself, swallowing the second syllable before it could come over his lips.

But everybody’s eyes were already on him.

“What?” Samson asked, his eyes narrowing.

“Nothing.”

But Samson wasn’t stupid. Nor was he born yesterday. His heightened senses must have picked up Enya’s tiny gasp and the acceleration of her heart rate at hearing Grayson’s misstep. Samson’s gaze snapped to Zoltan. “Your name isn’t Angus, is it?”

Zoltan knew there was no sense in lying. “No, it’s not. It was when I was born. But now everybody knows me as Zoltan.” He let a second tick by. “Or the Great One.”

For a long moment, Samson gave no indication whether this piece of information changed his willingness to help them. Then he looked at Enya.

“You didn’t find it necessary to tell me who he really is?”

“Would you have agreed if you knew?” Enya countered.

“You trust him?”

“He’s my mate. I trust him with my life.”