Page 34 of Helsing: Demon Slayer
“Doubting” came the acerbic answer, as if the tall CzechElioudspoke into his ear. “Daemonsuse your feelings against you. You don’t have time for feelings, not for yourself and definitely not for her. Stick to the mission, soldier.”
Ryan almost laughed. Despite his imagination, or maybe because of its lack, Beta sounded like every CO he’d ever had.
Dianne gasped behind him. Retching came a moment later followed by sounds of thrashing.
And an unholy growling and hissing signifying the presence of adaemon.
Ten
Milesknewassoonas Beta Nagy walked into the ops center behind him. An invisible shock wave propagated outward from her into the space, which was large enough for twenty personnel. Turning in his chair, he watched her walk to Olivia in the far corner of the room. Where Olivia exuded the confident command of a born leader, the black-haired Czech radiated a tightly leashed menace that always put Miles on edge. It didn’t help that he’d seen her transform into a mythical dragon and rip another dragon to shreds. But he’d also witnessed as she vowed love for and fidelity to András, the giant HungarianElioud, on the battlefield beforehand. Beta was a threat, but she wastheirthreat.
The two women conversed for a moment before Olivia looked over at Miles. Taking his cue, he got up from his desk and came over.
“Ma’am,” he said, nodding at Beta before giving his attention to his commander, whose tense posture suggested that whatever her friend had told her was anything but good news.
“Beta just spoke with Helsing.” Olivia paused, glancing at Beta as if seeking confirmation. The Czech said nothing. Olivia looked back at Miles. “Via harmonics.”
She waited while that sank in.
Crossing his arms, Miles studied both women. “I take it you don’t mean he used his comms.”
Olivia shook her head. “They weren’t activated. He spoke to her telepathically.”
“What does that mean?” asked Miles, looking back and forth between the twoElioud. “Ordinary people can’t use harmonics unaided.”
“Well, he did,” said Beta. She narrowed her eyes. The air vibrated around him, and he caught a hint of heat and ash. “Do you doubt me?”
Olivia ignored her. “We don’t know what it means. I sent a message to Miró to see if he can explain it. Regardless, before Ryan’s transmission ended, Beta read significant discord in his harmonics.”
“Adaemonmanifested nearby,” said Beta. “Within three meters.” She didn’t have to say inside the vehicle.
“One who bypassed the defenses on the transport vehicle. And Ryan’s system confirms Beta’s assessment. Now we can’t raise anyone in the transport vehicle on comms.”
Miles looked between the two grimElioud. “Thezotiis still thirty minutes from Trnbusi.” Trnbusi, a small Croat village on the team’s route, had been designated as the extraction point.
“Do we have any assets in the area? Any at all?” asked Olivia, a hint of desperation in her voice. “How about the truck? Is it really up on a lift right now?”
She was asking about the Eagle, a prototype truck that had a detachable, two-person harmonically powered helicopter that launched from its bed. It was being built and tested in Kastrioti facilities in Shkodër, a process overseen by Miró’s second-in-command, Willem DeVries. In theory, the cutting-edge aerial vehicle could transport its occupants several hundred kilometers within seconds.
In theory.
So far, the test pilots had only flown the little bird fifty kilometers outside of Shkodër in sixty seconds. Still faster than Mihàil’s AW139—and that was one of the fastest private helicopters on the market—but Helsing’s vehicle was more than 350 kilometers north of the Eagle. The fact that Olivia asked about it underscored the direness of the situation.
Miles considered his answer. “It’s on the schedule for test flights today,” he said, carefully choosing his words as he considered how to answer her real question. “They planned to extend the range another hundred kilometers.”
“So, it’s ready to go then?” asked Olivia, her gaze searching his face. He knew her well enough by now to read tentative hope in it.
He nodded.
“Then send it to Helsing ASAP,” she said. “Loaded for bear.”
“Copy that,” he said, pivoting to return to the ops director’s desk. It sounded like it was time to say a Hail Mary and hope the Eaglet was ready to fly far from the nest.
Thirty seconds after Germaine slid the square of white chocolate onto her tongue, she started gagging and retching. A foul-smelling foam bubbled from her open mouth. She began thrashing, ripping the IV from her arm in the process and loosening the stretch bandage wrapping her thighs together. In an instant, Dianne understood that if not stopped, Germaine would make her injury worse, maybe far worse.
Then Germaine began hissing and growling like a cornered wild animal.
Dianne unclipped her seatbelt and swiveled in her seat even as Ryan yelled something. The Range Rover leapt forward, throwing her into the rear with Germaine, whose hands had become claws. One managed to scratch Dianne’s cheek. It was all she could do to duck her head under both arms as the injured woman struck her with unimaginable force. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she noted that the gossamer jacket she wore radiated an ethereal blue light.
