All nodded, confirming a solid yes, acting like this was the millionth time they had done this type of mission.
“Good. All communication between you and the base will be cut off. Watch out for fae doors and the Mongrels. My inside spies are telling me they are getting bolder and more ruthless, not sticking to the nights anymore.”
“Mongrels?” I asked.
“A group of cutthroat bandits who prowl the motorways and around the borders of the privileged, murdering and robbing,” Mykel answered. “They have no purpose or goal except to thieve. They are loyal to no one or no side.”
They sounded exactly like the Hounds in Budapest. It wasn’t surprising they had their own gangs here as well. They always popped up in desperate times to take the scraps while the top was too busy fighting over power. Istvan always brushed the Hounds off as nothing but a nuisance. A small splinter in your finger, but in my experience, the sliver could fester and turn into a much bigger problem if ignored.
“Okay. Good luck, everyone.” Kaptain dipped his head and strolled out, not even looking back at me, which made me feel like he believed in me more than I thought. He didn’t act like my hand needed to be held.
Sink or swim.
“That’s all the instruction?” In HDF, I was used to detailed, step-by-step directions.
Luk rose from the chair. “We’ve been doing this for a long time, and he trusts us to figure out our moves in a moment’s time. So many things can change, and if you aren’t able to adjust in a blink, a lot of things can go wrong. People die.” He yanked on my chair, getting me out and moving. “Plus, we aren’t his number one team for nothing. You’re lucky—people have been waiting years to join this crew.”
“Wow.” I fluttered my lashes at him. “I’m so honored I get to be in the presence of Kaptain’s grade-A beef.” I motioned to him. The man’s physique was seriously top-shelf.
He huffed out a deep laugh. “You and I are going to be good friends.”
I hoped he would be right, but I was still on guard. Being friendly and flirty was one thing. Letting someone in was another.
I had learned that lesson.
A dagger stabbed at my chest every time I pictured Warwick with his family. The dream of him calling to me only hurt more. Because it was just a dream.
He was clear he wanted our connection to end, to be rid of me—now I saw why. Who would want to have a connection like we had to another woman when you were already with someone else? But why wasn’t he honest with me from the beginning? Was the moment in the shower an act of pity? A way to cheat without actually cheating?
The man was a head fuck. Walling myself up against Warwick was what I had to do. If not for us, or even the woman I saw, at least for the child.
My life was here now, and whether it was a good or bad thing didn’t matter. Severing my connection with Warwick was for the best.
“Get food and do whatever you need to do and meet me back here in fifteen,” Luk said, running off.
My stomach was dancing around like the polka, but I knew today was going to be long and stressful. I needed energy—a lot of it—and a gallon of coffee.
The lethargic feeling shook down into my bones, and I had to clear it out.
For once, I wanted whatever unique, superhuman quality I had to show up today.
Lives depended on it.
Twenty minutes later, I was on the back of a motorcycle, holding on to my partner, the nippy morning air slicing across my face on our way to Prague. Luk had put me in a heavy jacket, and I was thankful it cut some of the chill from the crisp October day. The slight warmth of the hazy sun heated the black fabric of my clothes, melting into my skin.
When I met back up with him, everyone was in an artillery room across from the ops room. This held every type of weapon, jackets, goggles, small walkie-talkies, and other things we might need for this mission. We were strapped with guns and knives while still trying to look like everyday pedestrians heading for a train.
The egg sandwich I scarfed down must have sat wrong in my stomach because as soon as the group went down a long hallway, climbing out of the earth through a hatch, I vomited in the bushes. My head spun, my body wanting to collapse into the ground and sleep. But I shoved through, forcing my shoulders back and my feet to move forward.
“Don’t worry, you’re not the first.” Luk handed me a cloth to wipe my mouth. “Most get sick on their first mission.”
“Go ahead and throw up. All do at some point.” Zion’s voice crept back into my head, the memory of when I first was led into Halálház, the terror raging through my body. I could barely stand, my body wanting to shut down. But I didn’t throw up then, so why now? Sure, I was nervous, but I wasn’t terrified. My training, the ability to compartmentalize, allowed me to do what was needed.
No, this felt like all my energy was being siphoned away, making me nauseous and dizzy.
“You gonna be okay?” Luk’s concern was written over his face. They couldn’t risk having someone not at their best.
“Yep.” I forced a bigger smile.
“Kaptain has our transportation stored in a building over here.”
I followed Luk, my head turning back as if something called for me. In the distance, only about a hundred yards away, I spotted what looked like the top of Czech baroque-style church spires.
“The barracks is under a church?” I twisted back to Luk.
“And a graveyard.” He smirked with a shrug. “Guess it was pretty well known back in the day. There was already a crypt and tunnels below it where Kaptain hid out once. I guess he thought it was the perfect cover to hide a base for the army that was expanding daily.”
You couldn’t fault his plan. Most would not consider looking for a rebel base under sacred ground.
“Come on,” Tracker yelled back at us. Luk took off jogging after him. I glanced back at the small Roman Catholic church again, a strange sensation tugging at me, tightening my throat.
“X!” Luk shouted, tugging me from my trance as I trotted after them into a gutted structure.
Jak, a demon with red eyes who was a rung above Kek, jumped into a beat-up car, which was a rarity for me to see. Lea was with him. I couldn’t tell if she was fae, human, or both, but she was close to my height and built. I was tough and could look extremely unfriendly, but she seemed like she really was, and by the few annoyed glares she shot me, she wasn’t thrilled I was on this mission.
The others were paired up on motorcycles, all of us hurrying away from the village where the base was located. There were tiny, mostly abandoned houses and what looked like boarded-up hotels and long-closed souvenir shops, their signs decaying and worn.
Whether it was the fresh air, my adrenaline, or throwing up the breakfast sandwich, for the first time since I arrived, the weight of exhaustion and low energy dissipated as we rode toward the capital, the cool wind lashing against my cheeks.
Growing up, I had never left Budapest, nor knew much about the Czech Republic, so I had no real understanding of where I was. So far, it reminded me very much of the area outside the busy streets in Savage Lands. Poor and abandoned. You could feel the emptiness of the villages and towns we passed. Ghosts of the past loomed, remnants of the life which once filled these streets. The buildings were now deserted and dilapidated, crying for the days that were long gone.