That sparked Madoc's memory. "Last year, when we took Nika from the mental hospital, she was freaked-out because they were feeding Tori blood, because they were changing her. When we saw Tori in her mind, she looked odd. I'm not sure if what she looked like in her head is what she really looks like in person, but her blood was too dark under her skin. Maybe whatever it is they do to these kids allows them to grow up and bear children that are part human, part Synestryn."

"I didn't imagine what they did to my sister," stated Nika. "I was there. I saw it. I felt it. I know she's hidden some things from me, but I remember the way the blood burned her mouth and throat. I remember how many times she threw up, only to have them do it again. They changed her."

The room fell silent as the implications sank in.

"It seems to fit," said Joseph, "but I don't want to jump to any conclusions. The Synestryn have been able to reproduce without any problems. Why would they go to all this trouble?"

"It doesn't make sense," said Nicholas. "If they looked more human, they'd be less scary. Part of their mojo would be gone."

"Not to mention the fact that they're diluting the power of their own bloodlines," said Gilda. "They're weakening themselves by doing this."

"No," said Helen. Her face had gone ashen and she was trembling badly enough that Madoc could see it across the room. Drake's arm circled her shoulders and she leaned into him. "They're trying to become more human."

"Why?" asked Gilda, incredulous. "What possible reason could they have to do that? They'd be weaker, live shorter lives. That's what happened to the Slayers."

"If they look human, who among you would be able to hunt them down and kill them? If their offspring are part human, where do you draw the line? Who dies? Half humans? Quarter humans? How do your vows to protect humans deal with this?"

Madoc had no idea. All he knew was that Iain was the only one he knew who had volunteered to hunt down these abominations. And his soul was long dead.

"What better way to protect their young than to turn them into the one thing you're sworn to protect? They're counting on your honor, using it as a weakness."

"Helen's right," said Madoc.

"We are so screwed," whispered Joseph. "We've got to stop this. Now. Before it's too late."

"a.s.suming it isn't already," said Drake.

Joseph put on his game face. "We need to rescue these kids, have the Sanguinar study them to see if what's been done to them can be undone. And whether we can stop it from happening again." He turned to Nicholas. "How long before everyone is back?"

Nicholas checked his phone, pressed a few b.u.t.tons. "We'll have a dozen more men here before nightfall; the rest will take longer. I don't know when Paul and Andra will be back. Zach and Lexi are still helping rebuild the African stronghold. Unless someone's got a portal up their sleeve, it will take them more than a day to get back."

Everyone looked at Gilda. She shook her head, making her long, dark hair sway. "I'm too weak to open a portal right now."

Angus's deeply creased face darkened with rage, his mouth tightening into a pale, flat line.

"We can't wait for them to get here," said Nika.

"We need all the help we can get," said Joseph. "If we go in unprepared for whatever numbers they may have, we're going to be ma.s.sacred. No one will get out, including Tori."

"We need to go in during daylight, when we know they'll all be confined to the dark, contained," said Madoc. "If this Zillah p.r.i.c.k gets away to do this again, we'll be right back where we started from."

Joseph turned to Madoc and Nika. "Do you have any idea how many we'll be up against?"

Madoc shook his head. "Sorry."

"I can ask Tori," offered Nika.

"Is that safe?" asked Madoc.

"Safer than not knowing how many bad guys there are, I imagine."

"Do it," ordered Joseph. "But don't take any risks. Gilda, how many people can you port at once?"

"After I rest, maybe four."

Madoc frowned. He knew he'd seen her transport more fighters than that before. From the grim look of frustration on Angus's face, he had, too.

"Rest, then. You, too, Helen. We're going to need your firepower if Andra's not back in time. Maybe even if she is. We'll regroup in the dining hall at sunset and see where we stand and plan our attack."

The room began to empty out. Joseph said, "Madoc, Nika, hold on a sec."

Nicholas was last to leave and he pulled the door shut behind him.

"Congratulations to both of you."

"Thank you," said Nika.

Joseph looked at Madoc. "I need to know how strong the two of you are, where Nika's strengths lie, and if there are any problems that are going to sneak up and bite us in the a.s.s."

Madoc took Nika's hand, hoping she'd understand what he had to do and eventually forgive him. "Our bond is still new, weak. Nika seems to have great skills when it comes to mental manipulation, but that's all. She's not a fighter. She doesn't belong in combat."

"Like h.e.l.l I don't," said Nika, ripping her hand from his. Betrayal shone in her blue eyes. Fury tightened her mouth. "You told me you wouldn't make me stay here."

"You don't belong on the front lines."

"I saved your life last night. I held those sgath still while you killed them. That's nothing to sneeze at."

"Yes, you did. But you could only control them one at a time, and that was only because they had your blood running in their veins."

"I can fight."

"How?" asked Joseph. "Like Andra? Can you blow things apart? What about fire? Tell me what you can do and I'll listen."

Nika looked at her singed fingertips. "I tried fire. It didn't work so well. I just need practice. Once Andra gets back, I'll learn what she can do and try that, too."

Joseph shook his head. "We don't have a lot of time. I think it's best if we use the skills you already have, rather than you exhausting yourself trying to learn new ones."

"I am not useless," she growled, the feral sound surprising Madoc.

"Of course you're not," said Madoc. "We just need to play to your strengths. You're the only one who can talk to Tori and gather intel for us."

"a.s.suming Tori lets me. She keeps pushing me away, like she did with us. She doesn't want me near her."

Madoc wanted so much to comfort her, but he didn't know how. Even worse, he wasn't sure she'd let him now.

"She let you in," he said. "I'm sure she wants to be out of that place as much as we want her out."

Nika looked up at Joseph. "When you go, I'm coming with you."

"We'll see how things play out," said Joseph.

"No. We won't. I'm goinga"Madoc promiseda"and anyone who tries to stop me will regret it." She looked pointedly at each man before turning on her heel and leaving.

Joseph let out a weary sigh and sank into his chair. "What do you think?"

"I think I'd like nothing more than to lock her up here in a room with no sharp corners where I know she'll be safe. I also think that if I tried it, she could find ten kinds of h.e.l.l to bring down on me."

"Is she ready for battle?"

"No, but she's also not stupid. And we need her. I'll protect her. We'll stay well behind the fighting."

"I think that's best, at least until you two are ready for action."

"That may take a while. I won't let her push herself and suffer a setback. I can't let her go back to that screaming nightmare she suffered before we found her. Which means I can't let her spill her blood."

"Hard not to in combat."

Which was why Madoc planned to never let her get close to one. "I think her strengths are going to lie more in what happens before a fight. If she can learn to use her ability to control one of the Synestryn to gather intelligence or sabotage a nest, she's going to be one h.e.l.l of a weapon."

"If she lets you live that long. I saw murder in her eyes when she left here."

"Yeah. We're still working out the kinks in our relationship."

"I suggest you work faster."

"What about my sentence?"

Joseph turned on his speakerphone and dialed. It took several rings, but a groggy Tynan picked up. "Yes?"

"You alive?" he asked the Sanguinar.

"Obviously."

"Thanks." Joseph hung up, looking at Madoc. "You didn't kill him."

"I meant to. I wanted to. I was glad when I thought I had. That alone is worthy of punishment. That's the law."

"f.u.c.k the law," said Joseph. "The rules are changing under our feet. I can't keep up and I'm sure as h.e.l.l not going to sentence you to death for something I've fantasized about doing myself a time or two. If he accuses you, I'll deal with it then."

"He will. He deserves justice."

Joseph leaned forward over his desk, anger clipping his words. "And I deserve never having to take another friend to his death. Everyone's just s.h.i.t out of luck on the justice front. Now get the h.e.l.l out of my office and do your d.a.m.n job. Chances are you won't live through the battle, anyway."

Madoc didn't allow himself to feel relieved. He knew better. Tynan now held his life in his hands, and after all he'd done to him, Madoc was certain this was far from over.

Chapter 18.

Nika had rarely felt more alone than she did now. Even among her own kind she felt like an outcast. She saw the way the others were looking at hera"as if she'd committed some kind of crime by going into Joseph's mind. Even though he'd asked her to.

She hadn't done anything wrong. She hadn't pried into his secrets or made him dance on his desk as she'd briefly considered doing. All she'd done was give him the proof he needed to know that Tori was still alive. Just as he'd asked.

And yet, somehow, that had shoved a wedge between her and the others, as if they feared what she might do to them.

Nika flopped back on her bed, trying to let the frustration leak out of her. She needed to focus right now, and worrying about what other people thought was not going to help her concentration.

Andra, she called out with her mind. Please come home. I need you.

Nika listened, but felt nothinga"not a stir of emotion or a flicker of awareness. Wherever Andra was, she was too far away to reach.

Nika was on her own. It was up to her to do what was best for Tori. Anyone who didn't like it could go screw themselves.

For once, it was going to be Nika leaving Andra the note on the fridge, rather than the other way around.

She packed a small suitcase with a few clothes and toiletries, then wheeled it to Madoc's suite.

She knocked on the door. He opened it partway.

"I'm moving in. If you try to keep me out again, I'm going to grab hold of a body part you like and start twisting."

A hint of a smile played at his mouth. "And just which part would that be? I can think of a couple you could twist that I might actually enjoy."

She shoved at the door and he stepped back, letting her in. "Stop playing around. We have work to do."

"I've never had a woman boss me around before. I'm not sure if I like it. Maybe you should do it some more so I can figure it out."

"I've had about enough of all the macho c.r.a.p around here. I'm tired of being treated like some kind of wilting flower. You don't treat Andra like that."

"That's because she could blow my head off with a single thought."

"And you don't think I can?"

"Not twice, anyway. You'd need my power." He was being too lighta"almost like he was hiding something.

Nika let out a short shriek of fury. "Stop it. This is serious. We need to find Tori."

"And we will. It's just nice to not hurt anymore. It's making me all giddy."

She lifted a brow, staring at him. "You haven't been giddy a day in your life."

"How do you know? I was a little boy once."

As big and manly as he was now, she had a hard time believing that, even though she knew it was true.