Page 96 of Immortal Unveiled

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In the command center of the compound, Manus turned toward the opening door.

“Finally,” he said with relief when he saw Logan enter with a book in his hand.

“Found it.” Logan waved the book in the air and walked toward where Manus, Kim, as well as Pearce, Hamish, Aiden, and the two hybrids had been waiting for him. “I knew we had one in the vault that was the same edition as the one Kim’s mother found.”

Logan placed the book on the table next to the one Zoltan had managed to rip a page from.

“Then let’s see what he’s got.” And whether they needed to be worried about what kind of information the Great One had obtained.

Manus leafed through the book to the page that was missing in the book Kim had so bravely ripped from Zoltan’s clutches. He couldn’t even express how proud he was of her for having risked her own life though he was still shaking at the thought of what could have happened.

“There.” Aiden pointed at the page Zoltan had managed to steal.

Manus pored over it and started reading. “My Celtic is a little rusty, but if I’m not mistaken, this page is a reference to the source dagger.”

Pearce leaned in and pulled the book closer, so he could read it. “I can run it through the translation program, but from what I’m reading here, you’re right. It’s about the powers it has. That it can create an unlimited number of portals.” He pointed to a spot in the middle of the page. “And here it refers to its healing properties.”

“Can Zoltan do anything with this information?” Kim asked.

Manus turned his head to her. “I don’t see how. The dagger doesn’t exist anymore.” He pointed to the page. “It probably even says so in here, considering that the book was written well after the source dagger was lost. Right, Pearce?”

Pearce nodded. “Correct.” He continued reading the Celtic sentences, then turned the page and stopped abruptly.

“What?” Manus asked and looked at the flipside of the page Zoltan had managed to snag. He didn’t need to wait for Pearce’s answer because he saw for himself what it contained: a drawing of the dagger.

Everybody drew closer to examine it.

“Can the demons make a replica?” Kim asked, her voice shaking. “I mean, like you made a replica of my mother’s bracelet?”

“Sure, they can,” Manus said, “but it won’t help them. A replica won’t have the powers of the source dagger. It’s not how it works.” He gave her a reassuring look. “Trust me on that. Right, guys?”

“Right,” Pearce said, and the others nodded though they didn’t look pleased.

Kim seemed to notice it and asked, “Then why are you all looking so concerned? What are you not telling me?”

“It’s because we screwed up. Any piece of information the demons get about us can eventually bite us in the ass, even if it seems harmless now.” Manus glanced at Aiden. “Your father won’t be pleased that we let Zoltan get that page.”

Aiden shrugged. “My father doesn’t need to know everything.” He looked at the other Stealth Guardians. “If we all stick to the same story, tell him that the book was recovered and is now safely locked away in our vault, he’ll never need to find out that a page is missing.”

Manus felt Kim fidget next to him. “Aiden’s father? What does he have to do with this?” she whispered to Manus.

Aiden had heard her and looked straight at her. “My father is Primus, the head of our Council, our ruling body. He’s the president, so to speak.”

Kim’s chin dropped. “Oh.” Then her look bounced back and forth between Manus and his brethren. “And you’re going to lie to him? What if he wants to see the book?”

“Good point,” Hamish said.

“Not a problem,” Manus insisted and lifted the intact book Logan had retrieved from the archives. “We’ll show him this one. He’s not gonna know the difference. I never told the Council about the inscription in it.”

“What about Virginia? You said she’s on the Council too,” Kim continued. “What if she sees that it’s not her book?”

“You worry too m—” Manus said.

“She’s got a point,” Hamish interrupted.

Manus sighed. “Fine. Then I guess we’ll have to do a little cutting and pasting.”