Archangel's Sun (Guild Hunter #13) - Nalini Singh Page 0,96

could not only take his full strength, but who could give it back in equal measure. There was a reason they’d been sparring partners for centuries. “Your archangel thanks you for your diligence.”

That was when Tzadiq’s face cracked a smile and so did Titus’s. Because before sire and second, they were friends and had been for over a millennium and a half. Titus had known Tzadiq before his second met Tanae, before the two had a son. Titus didn’t understand the relationship Tzadiq and Tanae had with each other, and with their warrior offspring, but as his second and his troop trainer, they were faultless in their dedication.

Leaving Tzadiq to his task, Titus made his way to Guild HQ, which was near the edge of Narja, and thus closer to him at this moment than his own citadel. Situated in an old stone fortress, it had a flat roof that allowed for an easy landing. The head of the Guild, the tight black curls of his hair buzzed close to his skull and his beard equally neat and precise, was there waiting to meet him, some scout having no doubt sighted his approach and guessed his destination.

“Archangel Titus.” He bowed, a tall and slender man dressed in worn brown fighting leathers with a sword strapped to one thigh and a heavy knife on the other—but despite the bow, there was no sense of obsequiousness to him.

The bow Njal used was one Titus might receive from one of his generals.

Some might say the mortal was being presumptuous in acting as if he had so high a status, but hunters chose strong people for their leaders, and Titus appreciated them for it. He could speak to Njal as a warrior and know his bluntness would be reciprocated.

“Is there a problem?” the other man asked after rising from his bow, the golden brown of his eyes piercing against the blue-black hue of his skin.

“No.” Titus laid out what he wished for the hunters to do. “Your hunters are an asset I wouldn’t lose. Tell me if this is a risk too great.”

“You don’t want them to attack the reborn, just to track and pinpoint nests so that angels can strike from the air to eliminate entire nests in one blow?”

Titus nodded. “Should they come across lone reborn, they can feel free to eliminate the reborn—as long as such contact doesn’t present a danger to their own lives. At present, I’m less in need of ground fighters, and more in need of information.” Not many archangels would speak to a Guild Hunter with such openness, but Njal had fought beside Titus on the battlefield, resolute and tireless.

Titus knew that despite his attempts to stay distant from mortal friendships, Njal was a man he’d miss when the hunter passed from this world. “I need to use my resources more strategically.” Else, the reborn would keep feeding on the people of his land, decimating it.

“We’ve been reacting for too long—driven by our lack of numbers and the way the reborn continue to spawn.” Cut down one and two seemed to take their place. “But again, there’s no point in doing this if I end up losing a large number of highly trained fighters.”

“It’d be no more dangerous than going after a bloodlust-driven vampire,” Njal replied in his calm, thoughtful way. “I won’t send out the newer, less experienced hunters, but I have a strong complement of experienced hunters, even after the losses of the war.”

Pain carved deep lines into Njal’s skin, his serenity breaking into shards under the weight of it. “I’ll send them out in various directions, with the majority going south, but a dedicated group heading north.”

“Excellent. We can’t leave stragglers in the north to continue to breed—but instruct the ones going north not to engage even with lone reborn. It’s possible Charisemnon created a new strain limited to that region and we don’t know all the possible dangers. They’re to report any unusual sightings directly to me.”

A small lie, because he couldn’t tell even Njal about angelic reborn; some secrets were too deadly for any mortal. If a hunter ran across an infected angel, then Titus would work out a solution. Of all the mortals in the world, Guild Hunters were the most used to keeping secrets.

Njal grimaced. “Another new strain. If only Archangel Charisemnon had used his power to create cures instead of diseases.” He put one hand on the hilt of his sword. “I’ll make certain my hunters know their value