“You left the sprite realm a week ago,” Peri pointed out. “Tell us what has happened from then until now.” Before Boain could speak, Peri held out her hand to the female. “I’m Perizada, by the way, and this is my mate, Lucian.”
“Lorna.” The female wolf shook Peri’s hand and gave Lucian a nod.
“Pleasure,” Lucian replied.
Then Peri looked back at Boain, her brow raised.
“We’d only been back in the human realm about half a day,” Boain began. “In the sprite realm, a male fae offered to take us wherever we needed to go, so I had him flash us back to a hotel that I’d used before while in the US on work for Vasile. We watched some human news, and then we started tracking the vamps. Lorna and I used the same strategy as before—follow the bodies and missing persons’ reports.” Boain glanced down at his hands, and Peri saw they were covered in blood. She flicked out her hand and used her power to remove the vampire remains from both him and his mate. Their clothes, newly magicked, were thankfully free of bloodsucker residue. “Thanks.” Boain looked back up at her and Lucian. “We found where the largest numbers of missing persons and deaths were being reported, and it was here, in Nevada.”
“How’d you get here?”
“I’ve been around a long time, Peri,” Boain said dryly. “You aren’t the only fae I know.”
“How long did it take you to find the vampires?” Lucian crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. It was the pose Peri had come to think of as his listening pose.
“We’d only been here a couple of hours when we came across our first coven. They were young.”
“How young?” Lucian asked.
“By their scent, I’d say less than a week.”
“Where exactly was this, Boain?” Peri asked.
Boain lifted up a hand and then jogged over to the SUV, which now sported a large dent in the hood. He grabbed a pack from inside and jogged back. Boain held out his cell phone for Peri and Lucian to see. “Started here in this small community of Indian Springs. We took out our first coven there,” he explained. “Then we followed the news reports into Las Vegas and took out ten vampires there, but five got away.” He ran his finger along a yellow line. “We followed them on highway 15. Found covens in each of these communities. These places aren’t really large enough to be considered towns. And we’ve taken out three more along highway 15.”
Peri’s jaw ticked. She let her eyes travel the highway on the small map on the mobile device. “There have been covens in each place?”
Boain nodded.
“Any humans left?” Lucian asked before she could.
Lorna’s eyes dropped, and Peri noted the she-wolf’s fists clenched tightly.
“None,” Boain said. “We found no bodies, though, so they’re taking them somewhere. And I don’t know how they managed to get them cleared out before Lorna and I arrived.”
“Likely the vamps that escaped were the lookouts.” Lucian narrowed his eyes. “They were moving ahead, warning the other covens.”
Peri nodded. “Several small communities have been cleaned out. That should look to the humans as if these places have been abandoned. Has anything about that been reported on the news?”
Lorna shook her head. “As of today, there’s been nothing more about a sudden uptick of missing persons. It’s like it never even happened. Suddenly, all the humans want to discuss on the news is the heat wave that is hitting the country so early in March and supposed terrorist activity.” Peri didn’t miss the rage that filled Boain’s mate’s voice.
Peri pursed her lips. “But there were missing persons’ reports yesterday, and the news is buried today? That has the distinct aroma of a cover-up.”
“By whom?” Lorna’s eyes snapped up to meet Peri’s. “And to what end?”
“Humans, I’m sure,” Peri replied. “And a thirst for power. That is always the end game. As different as they are, humans and supernaturals share that much in common.”
The she-wolf’s brow dropped low, and her fists fell open. “What humans? How would they even know…” Her words died off as her eyes seemed to glaze over while her mind caught up to her questions.
“You think the humans know about the vampires?” Boain asked.
Peri sighed. “Some do. There have always been humans in strategic positions of leadership that have known about the supernatural world.”
“But it has been a very long time since the two have interacted on an official level,” Lucian offered as he met her eyes. “And they’ve never worked with vampires.”
Peri tilted her head at her mate. “True. But it’s been a very long time since even the high fae have worked with any human governments. And much has changed since last we did.”
Lorna pursed her lips. “Like what?”
