Page 84 of Immortal Unveiled

“Think about what your mother might have done with the book. If she hid it somewhere because she was afraid the demons were following her, she would have counted on you to find it if anything happened to her. When I’m back, we’ll brainstorm together. We’ll figure it out. Okay?”

“Okay.” Kim rose and walked toward him, but he gave a quick shake of his head. He didn’t want any show of affection in front of his brethren. It all still felt too new.

“I have confidence in you. I know you can do it.” Manus turned and left the kitchen.

He made his way to the lowest level, where the portal was located. His footfalls echoed against the thick stone walls, reminding him of how different his life was from Kim’s. Had he really done the right thing by bringing her here, exposing her to a world that she couldn’t truly understand? Not only had he broken a bunch of rules by doing so, he’d also broken his own rule: never to get close to anybody for fear that his heart might be broken again, just the way it had broken when his parents had perished. Or was it already too late for him? Had he already gotten too close and was just not ready to admit it to himself?

With a deep breath, he placed his hand on the carved symbol on the portal and willed it to open. The moment the heavy stone disappeared, he stepped inside the small cave that could accommodate eight people, ten if they didn’t mind being squeezed together like sardines in a can.

His ride to the council compound was short despite the distance he traveled. A couple of years earlier, the original compound from which the Council of Nine ruled had been destroyed. Because of the constraint of not being able to build any new portals, the new compound had to be built at a location of one of the lost portals, a location that only warriors and the council members knew. The general Stealth Guardian population was unaware of it.

Upon his arrival at the compound, Manus made his way to one of the upper floors, where the council chambers were located. A guard stood sentry in front of two massive oak doors, adorned with diagonally laid iron bars.

“Identify yourself, warrior,” the guard demanded.

“I’m Manus. I called ahead to speak to the Council.”

The guard nodded. “They’re expecting you, but only five members are present. Your request was too short notice. Next time—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Manus reached for the door handle, but the guard stopped him.

“Your cell phone, please.”

Manus pulled his cell phone from his pocket and handed it to the guard, who placed it in a built-in box next to the door. No recording devices were allowed in the council chambers due to the sensitivity of subjects discussed there. He was fully aware of that.

“May I now?” he asked impatiently.

“Go ahead, warrior.”

Manus pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Just like the old council chamber, this one, too, had a halfmoon-shaped table around which the council members sat. They looked up when they saw him.

Barclay, the head or Primus of the Council of Nine, and Manus’s compound mate Aiden’s father, waved him to step closer. To his left sat Riona and Wade, to his right Ian and Cinead.

Manus was glad to see that Virginia wasn’t present. It meant there would be no awkwardness having to hide that Virginia already knew what was going on and hadn’t disclosed it to the Council immediately.

“Manus, I must say, we’re surprised you wanted to speak to us urgently. We’re not aware that you have any sensitive cases on your docket right now,” Barclay started.

“Primus.” Manus bowed briefly. “Council members. I’m afraid we have a situation.”

The council members’ eyebrows rose.

“The demons have discovered the existence of a previously lost Stealth Guardian warrior training manual.”

Stunned gasps echoed in the chamber.

“We need to mobilize our defenses,” Manus added, “in case they find it before I do.”