she couldn’t keep from covertly glancing at Finn to gauge his reaction. He was focused on Stefan, seemingly rapt with attention. It crushed her to see how very much he bought into all this crap.
Finn had never had to put his acting ability to use as much as he did right now. God, this guy was a total nut job.
“With the death of Deoul Arias,” Liuz said, “we see the end of order and the beginning of chaos. First the council, then the local human government, then the Western states. We have members throughout the West who are dedicated to the path of anarchy.” His eyes glittered with fanaticism, a slight tinge of crimson circling his irises.
“But the council already has another president in place,” someone said. “Shouldn’t we strike at every member?”
“And we will. Imagine, if you will, the fear that is rippling through them even now,” Liuz responded. He lifted one hand, index finger pointing upward. “First we took out their newest member, Tobias Caine.” His gaze held Finn’s for a moment, and through all the crazy shining in his eyes there was a brief glint of approval. Liuz held up a second finger. “Now we’ve removed the president. Believe me when I say, they are more panicked than you will ever know.” He went droning on, more of the same claptrap he’d been spouting from the beginning.
Finn knew in order to keep the trust he’d earned and move further into the inner circle, he would have to continue to act like he completely agreed with the narcissistic son of a bitch. He tried to ignore the fulminating glances Keira kept sending his way. It didn’t help that the shiny bluish-green blouse she had on reflected in her eyes, making them look even more gorgeous than normal.
He knew he’d screwed up, big time. But there wasn’t much he could do about it now. As a matter of fact, if anything had come out of these last few days it was the certainty that until this mission was complete, the less he saw of Keira the better.
She distracted him, as his father had figured she would. The other day, when he’d left her to go to Nix’s house, he’d been so inwardly focused that he hadn’t taken the ordinary precautions he would have to ensure he wasn’t being followed. Even if he had been, it wouldn’t have been all that unusual for his almost stepsister to have called him in her time of need. His presence at her house could easily have been explained.
Then something Liuz said caught his ear. “I and my comrades on the other side have been working on this plan for centuries. It wasn’t until the last few years that technology on this planet has allowed a machine to be built that will keep the naturally occurring rift open longer than normal. What does this mean for us?” He paused and smiled, looking like a proud father announcing the birth of his first baby. “It means that more of our kind can come through the rift, perhaps double the normal numbers. Maybe even triple.”
Finn frowned. Granted it had been a couple thousand years ago, but he himself had been born here on Earth. He hadn’t traveled through the rift like Liuz. And like Keira and probably at least three-quarters of the people in this room. Unless there’d been a mighty increase in crime in the other dimension, he didn’t see how those numbers were possible.
“My comrades have been gathering likeminded individuals and sending them through the Detention Center on the sly. There is no record of them being stripped from their bodies, and no record exists of which holding cells they’ve been placed in. The authorities on either side of the rift are completely in the dark, and will remain so until it is much too late.”
Finn shared a glance with Keira. She looked alarmed, and he was sure the same feeling was plastered all over his face. And it shouldn’t be, not if he really wanted to get deeper into the group. He schooled his face to impassivity and whispered, “Isn’t this great?”
“Yeah,” she murmured, her brows drawn in a slight frown. She didn’t sound like she was thrilled. Far from it, in fact. Before he could comment on it, she looked forward again.
Finn did, too.
“This machine is waiting for one final part,” Liuz said, “and then it will be operational. Don’t worry, it’s in a secure location that very few of us know