victims into the exact place he wanted them before ending them. He was known not simply for killing, but for manipulating everyone involved with the deal. And his price was always the most valued possession of the buyer. When Underborn said it would cost an arm and a leg, he wasn't joking.
"I don't wish Templars to see me or my inside agents. While they may not know who I am at first, they would certainly figure it out."
"You want me to clear the perimeter?" Elyssa wasn't sure how to accomplish such a thing. Her father or Christian could give the command to clear the perimeter, but she certainly couldn't. Even if she knew where the lookouts were stationed, distracting one of them wouldn't be enough. The location of Maximus's stronghold left few, if any, concealed approaches thanks to a wide road looping about it and roundabouts on all corners. A tall wall towered over those streets and offered few entrances to anyone wanting inside. From the history Elyssa had uncovered, the place had once served as a military fort, later converted into a mansion with several outbuildings.
In other words, the Templars using the cluttered buildings around the stronghold would see everyone coming in and out. The vampires on the walls would as well.
Underborn already seemed to know this. "Not feasible, I'm afraid. What we need, however, is nearly as impossible."
Here it comes, Elyssa thought. "Spit it out already."
"What I'm about to tell you may come as a shock."
"After all I've been through lately, your revelation had better be about Godzilla or aliens, because I can't think of much else that would shock me."
Underborn chuckled. "True. After surviving the horrors of El Dorado, fleeing from husks, wraiths, and even facing down leyworms, I don't imagine there is much in the physical realm that could surprise you."
A shudder ran through Elyssa's back at the thought of the husks, short and infant-shaped creatures with smooth oily skin and nothing but a maw of sharp teeth on an otherwise featureless face. Justin called them cherubs which wasn't far from the truth. Vadaemos told them they were the leftover husks of angels nearly killed when the Grand Nexus tying their plane of existence to Earth was destroyed.
She shook the troubled memories from her thoughts and returned to the question at hand. "So tell me then. What's the shocker you have in store for me?"
Underborn seemed to pause for dramatic effect and said, "There is a spy among you."
Elyssa raised an eyebrow. "That's not shocking. It's silly." She glanced at the dark hulk leaning against the wall, and wondered who he was. "Do you agree with him?"
The man didn't respond.
She rolled her eyes. "Maximus has a spy in our ranks? That's your shocking news?" She had no doubt the rogue vampire was spying on them somehow, but to have an actual spy, a member of the Templars, implanted in their ranks hardly seemed feasible. "You realize we can sense vampires, right? I mean, you were a Templar."
"I'm quite aware of that, Miss Borathen. However, Maximus has been rather adept lately at avoiding and outsmarting the Templars. How else do you think he knew about Justin's arrival at La Casona, hmm? Or when, exactly, to hit the convoy? Or how to hide so many vampires from Templar senses until it was time to strike?"
"Easy." Elyssa directed a condescending look at the assassin. "He probably has eyes on La Casona and the Grotto. It's not like we veiled our forces or tried to sneak into Colombia."
Underborn reflected her condescension with a condescending grin of his own. "I would agree with you, except Maximus wouldn't have had enough time to mobilize such a force, not to mention positioning scroll casters in strategic firing locations at a moment's notice. If he had watchers at the Templar compound in Atlanta, he would have had less than thirty minutes to organize before you arrived at La Casona. The cars there to pick you up arrived only moments before you did."
Elyssa ran some calculations through her mind and came to the conclusion Underborn had a point. Unless Maximus maintained a force outside La Casona, he couldn't have mobilized such an organized ambush and kidnapping in so short a time. A chill settled in her stomach. As impossible as it sounded, someone she knew, someone close to the commanders might be a traitor.
"Crap," she said, running a hand through her hair as faces of friends ran through her mind. Could one of them be