Veso Read online

  “Enough.” Chaz gave his twin an annoyed frown. “My brother is the outgoing one and he likes to show off sometimes. We have more air support flying above waiting to go with us. I brought eight scouts for the nest. We left another six patrolling your territory for Decker. I hope that’s okay.”

  “Thank you.” Lorn approached the men. “We appreciate this.”

  “The master is using some humans. He took over their minds.” Veso would hate for innocents to get caught in the coming battle.

  “Got it.” Chaz reached up and pressed his finger against his ear. “Mind-fucked humans might be on the playground. Grab them if you see any and hold them until a VampLycan can get them straightened out.” He dropped his hand. “We upgraded to have better communications. We’ll bring you guys any humans we catch and you can see if you can wipe their memories.”

  “The new coms system is awesome. It beats yelling at each other,” Flay added, his skin returning to a normal texture and color. “One of our scouts carries a signal booster on his back. We brought you guys some. Go Team Dust Vamps.” He reached into a pouch attached to his belt and approached Lorn. “Just pop one in your ear and press to talk. You’ll hear anyone speaking.” He handed them out to the other men, including Veso.

  Veso glanced at it, figured out how it worked, and put it in his ear. A deep voice instantly broadcast through the tiny speaker. “Are we flying them to the location or following from above, Chaz?”

  Chaz touched his ear. “They’re hooking in. Not sure yet. Stand by.” He stared at Lorn, arching his eyebrows.

  “I figured we’d go on motorcycles and draw out any Vamps and soldiers in the woods. They’ll hear the engines and come at us.”

  Chaz nodded. “Good plan. We can swoop in and grab them before they get to you. This is a dust-and-destroy mission, right? Take no prisoners?”

  “That’s how I’d like it to go down. Will Lord Aveoth agree to that?” Lorn put on gloves.

  “This is your show, Lorn.” Fray grinned. “We’re under your direct command. You want them all dead, you got it.”

  “The nest needs to die,” Veso stated, staring at Lorn. “Glenda said they were holding other humans and feeding on them. They’ve harmed our human neighbors, possibly killed them.”

  Lorn held his gaze for a moment, then nodded at Chaz. “Everything with a need to feed on blood has to die.”

  Chaz nodded and relayed the order. “We’re all set.”

  “Cool,” Fray chuckled. “It’s going to be a blood-and-dust shower. I love those.”

  Veso eyed the GarLycan, concerned that the man might be a little mentally challenged.

  Fray winked. “Did I mention it was getting boring at the cliffs? It was. I’m so ready to kill some bad shits.”

  Veso could understand that. Sometimes being a guard had been tedious. He relaxed around the GarLycan.

  “Let’s go. This mine is eighty-two miles away and we need to drive on roads that will avoid humans but draw the attention from any hunters searching for Veso and his mate.” Lorn walked to the map, trailing his finger over it. “This is the route we decided on. We’ll arrive two hours before the sun comes up.”

  Chaz nodded. “That will work. It will give us enough time to take them on and fly home afterward. We’ll be your air support while you’re driving there. When we hit the mine, we’ll join you inside but I’ll leave some of my scouts in the air to take out any who might try to flee other exits.”

  “Good deal.” Lorn shook Chaz’s hand. “Thanks again.”

  “Lord Aveoth doesn’t like Vampires in this area either. They only have one reason to be here and that’s to fuck with us all somehow.”

  Glenda’s scent filled Veso’s nose and he turned toward the door. It wasn’t her though who entered the room. Kira did, carrying her clothing in her arms. It alarmed him.

  Kira walked closer, shooting him a dirty look. “Give me a break. I didn’t do anything to her. Glen’s in the visitor’s quarters taking a shower. My dad is guarding the hallway so she’s not down there alone. I gave her clean clothes to wear once she’s done but took her dirty ones. I thought you might like to take them with you because the Vamps might have memorized her scent to track.”

  Veso relaxed and accepted them. “Smart.”

  “You trained me well. I never had your keen sense of smell, but you could always track me wherever I went until I caught on about how you were able to do it.”

  “Thank you, Kira.” He accepted Glenda’s clothing, balling them up and shoving them under his arm.

  “You’re welcome. Do you know what would be better though? If I wore Glen’s clothes and rode behind Veso. They might mistake me for her.”

  “No way in hell,” Lorn snapped. “You’re staying here, Kira.”

  She sighed. “Fine. I’m not going to fight with you, especially in front of the GarLycans.” She smiled at Lord Aveoth’s two enforcers. “It makes him look bad when I win and he totally spoils me,” she whispered.

  “Kira,” Lorn warned.

  “Fine. Be careful, everyone. We’ll be waiting here. Doing nothing.”

  Veso felt a little envious as he watched Lorn kiss and hug his mate goodbye. Glenda was showering. He wouldn’t be able to see her before they left. Time was of the essence if they wanted to attack the nest during the night. And they needed to do that so no humans spotted their winged allies in the sky over territory that didn’t belong to the clans.

  “Let’s get going. Garson and Kar will have gassed the motorcycles and have them waiting outside for us.” Lorn led the way.

  Lavos walked next to Veso. “You up for this? You could stay here.”

  “You need me. I’ve been in that mine and the master wasn’t there when I left. I think he’s holed up somewhere close to the mine.”

  “You should probably tell our winged friends that.”

  Veso reached up, pushed on the earpiece, and relayed that information to everyone. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the master responsible for kidnapping him and threatening Glenda’s future.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Movement caught Veso’s attention from the right side of the road as he drove. He glanced that way, seeing the source. One of the GarLycans had swooped down and grabbed hold of someone. Judging by the high-pitched shrieks, it was either a Vampire or a soldier. It flailed its arms and legs, being flown higher into the sky and above the treetops by the scout. A second scout flew closer and as he passed the first one, the three shapes became two. They’d dusted the thing in the air.

  He had to appreciate the way the GarLycans worked as a team. They’d located at least four enemies already, dispatching them in the same manner. There might not be too many Vamps or soldiers left alive to fight when they reached the mine if the bastards kept coming at them while they drove in that direction.

  “Nice job.” Lorn’s voice sounded in the earpiece.

  “Soldier,” one of the scouts responded. “That’s all we’ve killed so far. Duster, look to eleven o’clock. Spot it on the ridge? You’re closest.”

  “Got it,” a gruff voice replied.

  Veso glanced up, seeing one of the GarLycans break away from the group overhead and fly toward a hill. Veso couldn’t see anything up there since his main focus was on the road, but he kept glancing that way and saw when the scout grabbed another body, taking it up in the air. A second scout flew toward Duster, they crossed close together, and this time the third body didn’t disappear. It fell from the sky in one big piece and a smaller one.

  “Shit. New soldier,” Duster shared over the coms. “I’ll fly down and make sure the body and head are exposed to the sun.”

  “Thanks.” Chaz paused. “Watch him, Flay. Work in teams of two. That one was easy to spot since it was running but I don’t want anyone attacked if there’s a smart one being very still so we can’t see them.”

  “On it,” Flay responded. “I’ve got you covered, Duster.”

  Veso reached up and pressed against his ear