Kane leaned forward, as excited as I was at the news. “Do tell.”
“There’s a camp. It’s only a mile past our farthest patrol, and the pixies are there. ODL too. I asked if the ODL were also under the control of the devices, but he didn’t know. He also had no information about Narcissa working with them, so I think they’re still completely separate. He blanched when I mentioned her name. Poor guy has been gone for over a year.”
“A year? Good Goddess. Even before they took the shot at my father, then.”
“Unfortunately, yes. And according to Kofi, he wasn’t the one held the longest. There are locals who’ve been missing for more than two years. This has been a long time coming. Who knows how long it took the pixie king to come up with the first prototype of the collars?”
Kane swore long and low under his breath. “A camp, though. That’s something we might be able to work with.” He rubbed the back of his neck, considering.
“I’ve been thinking the same thing. I had an idea, if you would consider it?”
“Anything. You made the discovery, you should get a say in how it’s used.” He gestured for me to speak.
“I was thinking we could take a small group of fighters, no more than four or five, and scout the camp. We might get the opportunity to free some of their forces in secret before the next attack, maybe figure out if Bastian, the ODL leader, is there.”
“Lucien thinks he’s been suborned by the pixie king, but personally, I think it’s more likely he’s been clapped in a mind-control collar too. He’s the one giving the orders, and with his psychic abilities, he could command the whole of the ODL. That makes him an extremely valuable target for the pixie king.”
I sat back, considering that. “I think you’re right. It would explain why none of the ODL forces we’ve seen are collared, yet they’re all fighting. They’re still under orders.”
Kane nodded gravely. “If you could find Bastian and release him, that would take a huge chunk out of the attacking forces.”
I drummed my fingers on the desk. It was a tall order to find one man in the middle of a war camp we had no eyes inside of, but… it would be a game changer if we could pull it off. “I’m more than willing to try.”
“Good. Who do you want to take with you?”
I shrugged. “Who can you spare?”
Kane made a few calls, and within minutes, Gael, Samuel, and a wolf I’d never met before walked in, all dressed for battle and strapped with weapons to roll out. While I wasn’t fully outfitted, I always had my guardian’s sword on me these days. It was more than sufficient for a stealth mission.
A warm sense of approval hit me, as if the sword itself agreed I didn’t need any other weapons.Interesting.
“Gael and Samuel, you obviously know. This is Julius, my head enforcer in Pack Blackwater. He’s been holding down the fort in Alaska while we deal with all this abroad. They got in late last night because they traveled in with some members of the Dena’ina pack, who are our closest neighbors.”
We shook hands, and his steely eyes told me he’d seen and done plenty to qualify him for the mission. If Kane trusted him, that was good enough for me.
“Thank you all for coming.” I quickly filled them in on what I’d told Kane, explaining how to use the collar-removal tool, and their excitement visibly rose by the end of the update.
“Fuck yes. This is the break we’ve needed,” Samuel said, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
“Do we know what this Bastian fellow looks like?” Gael asked, more measured.
“Reed’s tech team pulled a recent photo for us.” Kane put a picture up on the wall. Bastian was an ugly bastard who lookedlike he spat nails, with a calculating gleam in his eyes. He’d be easy enough to spot.
“You’re going to be greatly outnumbered, and we only have intel from one source. If you can’t get in and out cleanly, hold off. Gather what information you can, and get back here before nightfall.”
“Yes, Alpha,” we all intoned together.
And then we were off.
We fanned out and ran through the woods in complete silence, each of us staying within eyesight of the men closest to us.
After we left our own border, we slowed, moving closer together and prioritizing stealth over speed. It didn’t take us long to spot the outskirts of the camp between the trees, because it was huge.
The outskirts were tents, hastily constructed campfires dotting the open spaces between the clustered shelters. It was enough equipment that they had to be magically portaling it all in, or else our surveillance would have picked it up. We split into predetermined pairs—Julius with me, Gael and Samuel together—and split to circle the camp in opposite directions.
About ten minutes into our circuit, I realized the gravity of the situation. The encampment was fucking enormous and teeming with supes. More than we’d even seen yet. I’d seen magical scorpions, nymphs, and what I was pretty sure were harpies. I didn’t even know those were real.
We moved in silence, observing the camp as was our plan, until Julius’s hand landed on my arm, stopping me in my tracks.
