Born of Silence (Immortal Guardians) (37 page)

“Works for me.
Let’s roll out,
”
Draven said as he started walking
e
ast.
“The Navigator
is just down on
Washington
.”
He stopped off at a payphone so he could call his and Ally’s house phone, giving
his mate
the details as quickly as possible. When they reached the SUV, they crawled inside. Draven took the driver’s seat while Garrick sat in the front passenger seat so he could give directions.

“Where are we going?” Draven asked as he turned the key in the ignition.

His
mind went back to
the kiss he and Dani had shared in her parents’ house. It had been so much more than a kiss. Without her even knowing it, he had gifted her with parts of himself, giving her more strength. In doing so, he’d also reinforced the link between them, hopefully making it so he could track her anywhere.

Closing his eyes, he focused on Dani and the part of himself that he’d given her. “North. We’re going
n
orth.”

****

“The sun’s coming up,” Ethan said from the backseat. “We’re going to need to stop for the day.”

Garrick nodded, realizing that there were four—no, five—vampires in the car: Draven, Ethan, Raider, Blaze—even though he was half-breed—and now Nitro, even though they called her a “Drac.” She was likely the worst one. From what he’d learned
during
the drive, Nitro went into a “dead phase” while the sun was
up
. Her heart stopped beating, and she was basically dead until the sun set each evening.

As far as
he
was concerned, Dracs and vampires were more or less the same. Both
had to avoid the sun
, and both liked to drink blood. Sure, vampires’ hearts didn’t cease to beat
during the day
, but that was the only difference as far as he could tell.

“Okay,” Garrick said. “Let’s take the next exit and get some rooms.” They had driven for hours before he started to feel like they were getting close. They were now in northern
New York
, approaching
Glens Falls
. Snow fell the entire trip—still was, in fact—which made their journey that much longer. None of that matter
ed
though because he sensed how much closer he was to Dani. As Draven pulled the Navigator into the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn, Garrick wondered
about
the likelihood that he and Ash could take down the Institute alone
.
I
f he found that they were that close, that is
.

“Not very good, my man,” Raider said, after having apparently read his thoughts. “It took a miracle to take down the last one.”

He turned around,
eyeing
both Nitro and Raider. They were
gazing
at each other, their expressions changing as though they could read each other’s thoughts.

“And by ‘miracle’ he means me,” Nitro added with a smile.

Ash snorted and shook his head. He’d likely known his sister would say something to that effect. “Are you sure you’re up to it?
Seeing Ekhart, I mean?”

She looked at her twin brother, her face growing serious—almost angry. “I am definitely up for it. That asshole’s heart is mine.”

Garrick opened his mouth to argue that Ekhart was his, but the red gleam that shon
e
from the female’s eyes stopped him. He hated Ekhart for what the bastard did to Dani, hated him for the pain that she had gone through and the loneliness she’d endured i
n the caves for all those years;
but there was equal rage burning in Nitro for things that were done to
her
.

“How close are we?” she asked Garrick suddenly.

He let out a slow breath, focusing on what his senses told him.
“Close. I can feel it.”

“If we’re that close,
” she said.
“
I’ll be ready for him
by nightfall
.”

Garrick paced. And paced. Sleep had been non-existent, and anything resembling rest had been just as poor. He needed to reach Dani. He could sense her nearness, and everything inside of him demanded that he reach her. A large part of him wanted to trace to her location with guns blazing and take out every one of Ekhart’s men, but the unknown
wa
s what stopped him.

Was she at th
e caves? Was she with Pyro,
or were the other guards and demons around her? If they were, he couldn’t take them all on alone, and that’s why he had approached the Guardians for an assist. Their help could mean Dani’s safety, and that
wa
s what was most important. Ekhart’s head was second and the Harpy Queen came third.

A knock sounded at his door
. H
e hastily approached it and swung it open.

“Who the hell lit you up like a Christmas tree?” Blaze asked.

Garrick’s eyes narrowed on the Valvo. The bastard looked well rested and had obviously just showered. His pitch
-
black hair with blue spikes was shiny from the hotel lights. “What?”

“You. You’re all wired and shit,” Blaze replied, stepping inside his room. He
cocked an eyebrow
at the bed, and then at Garrick. “No sleep, huh?”

“No.”

“Understandable. Draven and Raider just went through this with their females too.”

Garrick’s face hardened. “Dani isn’t my…” He raked his
hand through his hair. “S
he’s
…
my friend.”

“Sure. Whatever.” Blaze shrugged. “Tell yourself that if you want to, but I seriously doubt you’d be kept up all day worried about someone who’s just ‘a friend
’
.”

He could have done without the air quotes. Ignoring him, Garrick sat down in the tan chair in front of the window. Unfortunately, he’d done a lot of thinking about Dani during his time spent in this room. There was
no way
she could be his female. She was born human. Was still human. Lore and humans weren’t meant to mix. Being Fated to one just didn’t happen.

But then…

Nitro had been a human too, and look where she and Raider were.

“I’m half surprised you didn’t come get me so we could go stake out the place,” Blaze continued, taking the seat across from Garrick and effectively distracting him from the internal babble he’d been going through for hours.

“You’re no good out in the day,” Garrick replied. “I did consider getting Ash though.”

Blaze played with his chin a little as he pondered. “You do know I’m a half-breed. That means I can survive a little longer than purebreds.”

He hadn’t known that, or else he would have been knocking down the bastard’s door.
And he’d certainly
have
gone and dragged Draven and Ethan out of bed too.
As it was, he’d thought about going over and waking Ash up countless times. A few times he’d even gotten halfway to his room, only to turn around and slink back to his own.

“Yo, bro.” Blaze waved his hands in front of Garrick’s face. “Did I lose you?”

“No. Just thinking.”

“Yeah, well, I hope you’re devising some brilliant-ass plan because the others are going to wake up any minute and be ready for some action.
” He picked up the menu on the nightstand and thumbed through the pages. “I’m going to order some food.”

Garrick watched him dial the phone, though he didn’t pay much attention to what the man was saying or doing.
A plan? Dear gods, a plan? Was he
kidding
? Garrick had no idea what in the hell he was headed toward, other than sensing Dani. He’d been locked in that cave for weeks, without any insight as to how big the place actually was, let alone
where
it was.

A knock sounded at the door and Blaze jumped to his feet. “
Yes, that’s it. See you in thirty.” Blaze hung up the phone. “
I got it
,
man.”

He
opened the door to the others. One by one, they entered the room, gave Garrick a knowing look, and sat down on his bed, facing him.

“I ordered food,” Blaze said helpfully, and a little too cheerfully.

Garrick wondered what the Valvo had ordered. Likely the whole menu, and hopefully no corn dogs.

“What’s the plan?” Nitro asked. That was classic Nitro—the girl didn’t like wasting time. One of the attributes he’d once hated about her, but had grown to appreciate.

“I don’t have one yet,” he replied honestly. “I really have no idea what we’re headed into. I was kept in a small containment area
.
I have no clue what was going on outside of that.”

“Well.” Nitro stood and pulled a blade from
its
sheath
on her belt
. She inspected it as she twisted around
, the light gleaming on it in fragments
. “I can tell you that Ekhart keeps guards everywhere, and he also seems to have an endless supply of demons. So if we’re heading into another Institute, then we better be ready for a real fight.”
She flicked a worried gaze toward Raider, but immediately looked elsewhere before he noticed. Raider wasn’t one-hundred percent at the moment. As Garrick had learned, the vampire had almost died only a few days ago. Nitro had as well
.
S
he’d used too much of her Instinct to battle the enemy,
which
had nearly wiped her out as well.

“I don’t know about the countless demons part,” Garrick replied. “Most of the demons I saw were chained to beds and unconscious.”

The twins shared a glance. “Experiments,” they said at the same time.

“We need to get in there,” Ash added. “We’ve got to put a stop to this bullshit once and for all.”

“Agreed
.
”
S
he
flicked her gaze around, settling on each man for a short time
. “I’m ready to take that bastard out.”

“I don’t see how any of this is helping us come up with a plan,” Draven said. “If we don’t know exactly what we’re up against, how in the hell are we supposed to plan?”

“We can’t,” Nitro replied. “We’ll let Garrick here lead us to the girl. When we get there, we’ll be able to scope out the perimeter and start to get a feel for it. More likely than n
ot, we’ll just have to charge
.”

****

They were a hell of a lot closer than Garrick had guessed. With every mile they drove, the blood in his veins seemed to vibrate. “There,” he said. “Pull onto that road.”

Draven turned left onto the thin paved road that was barely visible even with the headlights. The tiny lane wound through the thick, forested area.
They’d had to turn on four-wheel drive some time ago. Most of the roads hadn’t been paved yet, or if they had, the snowfall had wiped away any evidence of it. Gods in the heavens, he couldn’t wait to reach Dani, couldn’t wait to take her in his arms and make sure she was safe, and whole.

Garrick sat up straight, throwing his hands out. “Stop.”

Draven slammed on the brak
e
s, and the SUV went quiet inside.

Garrick focused inside himself, hoping his connection to Dani would tell him exactly where she was. “She’s on the move.”

“What do you mean
‘
she’s on the move
’
?” Nitro asked. Her head popped in right beside his.

“Shhh.” He could feel her. She’d been in front of them before, but he’d been distracted, and hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t any longer. Now that he was focusing again, he could sense that she was now heading
e
ast, and fast. “Turn around, get back on the main road.”

Draven did as he said, throwing the Navigator into gear and wrench
ing
on the wheel, making the SUV do a doughnut in the snow. Then they were off, following their own tracks back to the main highway.

“East,” Garrick demanded. She wasn’t too far from him, but he’d definitely lost that close connection he’d felt. All of the warriors in the SUV watched out the windshield in anticipation. Draven slowed the Navigator as they approached a turn. Even with the four-wheel drive, the tires slid going around the bend.

They came out of the turn, their headlights illuminating someone in the road. Garrick barely got a chance to see what it was before Draven slammed on the brak
e
s. The SUV turned sideways and slid that way down the road. A loud crash sounded and the Navigator bounced, though they still spun out of control. Draven wrenched on the wheel and they finally stopped, though they were faced in the opposite direction.