“Witch’s blood,” she whispered. Kilian couldn't hear the words as much as he could read her lips. Witch’s blood — the most powerful magical element in the universe. She lifted her red hand and spread her fingers as she murmured words. Kilian opened fire and the spray of bullets slammed her back into the cubicle partition wall. A notice about not taking longer than fifteen minutes for break fluttered down and landed in the blood pooled beside her still body.
Kilian blinked, his mind empty of any thought as he stared at the crumpled form of the broken witch. He needed blood. He blinked against the darkness.
Silas reappeared. “You know what's happening,” he said. “A vampire who is near death will lose brain function. Will you go mad with bloodlust? Perhaps you will lose the part of your brain that directs action. You will slide to the floor and watch as your limbs turn to ash.” Silas’s words confused Kilian. He knew his sire was right, but he couldn’t comprehend what he was right about.
“Kilian!”
Kilian turned his head to see Barrett running towards him, his arms transformed into monstrously long werewolf limbs as he raced down the dark hall. Horror invaded Kilian’s soul.
* * *
REALITY CRACKED ANDa spiderweb of light flashed across Kilian's vision.
He was back in the commander's office. Commander Rudolf sat behind his desk with his customary scowl, his back stiff and a mission folder in front of him. For a second Kilian thought he was still locked in a memory, this time of the horrible debriefing after the mission. He remembered the commander’s quiet fury. Barrett’s shadow had haunted the corners that day, but now morning sun flooded the room and the commander’s guest stood next to the open window.
Kilian narrowed his eyes as he considered the older woman. Her graying hair was pulled into a ponytail at the base of her neck, and she had a gauntness that suggested either illness or overuse of magic. She had to be another witch. No one else could throw him into a memory like that. However, Kilian hadn’t been given permission to object to her invasion. He stood at parade rest and practiced a calming mantra. It wasn’t working.
“Commander, will you give us a moment?” The woman phrased it as a request, but Kilian had the feeling that she held rank.
That was confirmed when Rudolf didn’t protest. “Ma'am,” he offered. He didn’t look at Kilian as he walked out of his own office, leaving Kilian with this woman who had shown not only an ability to invade Kilian's mind, but also disturbing interest in his last mission.
“I apologize; that was abrupt,” she said.
Kilian narrowed his eyes. “Permission to speak freely?”
“Always. I find that requiring people to ask permission before sharing honesty is a dangerous habit. It allows one to assume subordinates agree when in reality they don't feel they have permission to tell a superior officer that he's an idiot.”
Kilian had no idea whether she was speaking specifically of that mission or not. The entire team had requested more magical resources. Maybe another commander would have authorized those expenses, but Commander Rudolph made no bones about his feelings towards those individuals who shared the curses of the gods. He respected those with blessings, like Dario who carried the blessing of Susanoo-no-Mikoto. When that powerful god could no longer carry all his power, his power spilled into the world, creating tengu like Dario. But those with darker origins had no place in the commander’s Army. Ironically, Kilian had seen very few practical differences between those two forms of paranormal power. When he’d been an eighteen-year-old recruit confident he could save the world if he could just earn a spot in the Special Forces, he’d thought a god blessing and a god curse were different, but he’d grown up. The commander never had.
Kilian rocked on the balls of his feet and then settled back into a proper parade rest. “What gives you the right to invade my memories?”
“The contract you signed with the Army,” she said mildly. “I required honest answers about your last mission, and that appeared the least intrusive way to get them. I find many soldiers would rather relive a memory than discuss it.” Her hard look dared him to disagree.
“Why are you so interested in my last mission?”
She moved to the commander’s desk, running her long fingers over the edge. “Perhaps I wish to understand the man so highly recommended for my unit.”
“Your unit?” At this point, Kilian would jump on any chance to get away from his current assignment. Most of the base had been uncomfortable when they’d learned that he was a vampire. His kind had a reputation for violence when they were young, which was likely why the Army had offered to facilitate his transition. However, after the loss of the rest of his unit, dark hallways and isolated training rooms had grown increasingly uncomfortable. Sooner or later some werewolf or arachne would want to test their strength against his. And he might not survive. “Are you recruiting for a unit or a mission?”
“Both.”
“Details?” Hope fluttered in Kilian’s chest.
She pursed her lips. “Exceptionally dangerous. The most pertinent detail is that the unit includes a case of possession.”
Damn. Demon possession was phenomenally rare. Once demons of any form were cast out of the plane of existence, they were locked behind a dimensional barrier. They could whisper secrets to the witches who summoned them, but possession required an individual from a specific bloodline to call on a specific demon with a specific ritual and sacrifice. It took a powerful and brilliant witch to tear the magical veil wide enough to allow that.
Besides, people generally avoided cursing themselves, which is why it was so ironic that Kilian had chosen a Judas vampire as his introduction to paranormal powers. Perhaps that was why this woman wanted him. Perhaps she hoped that one individual stupid enough to volunteer for a curse could relate to another.
“Mission goals?”
“Please, sit.” She waved toward the guest chair before settling into the commander's seat and folding her hands in her lap. She had a stillness he associated with supernatural powers — as if movement required conscious effort. Powerful witches sometimes developed a sort of disassociation with their own bodies. He settled into the chair opposite her and waited.
“You would be both protection and guard.”
“Is the possessed individual working for you or a captive?” Those were different missions, and Kilian only had interest in one of them. He had joined the military to make the world a better place. True, his rare success had been outshone by his flood of failures, but he had no interest in being a guard.
“Both.”
