Xander
Mason and | had left the conference room in such a rush that we hadn’t taken theptop or other notes.
While we were gone, Charlotte had tidied it all up. | bet that she looked through it all, too. That’s what I''d
have done. Nothing we''d been prepping was a secret, anyway.
Mchi took his seat at the head of the table and looked around as everyone settled into their chairs.
“Some of you may have already heard that our contacts in Standard have sent some information.
New arrivals. Unexpected ones.”
“What other information do you have on them?” | asked bluntly.
Mchi shrugged. “What other information do we need? New faces in a town that houses only a few
hundred residents, all of whom work for the town?
Every one of them documented and a known entity?
It''s clear these new people, whoever they are, present a threat.”
“If nothing else, they’re putting a strain on our resources,” said Charlotte.
| pulled theptop toward me and opened the lid. | created a new document and began typing up a fresh
list. “How so?”
“The town gets all of its power from the enve,” she said like the answer was obvious.
| shot my brother a look. Mason had started scribbling notes of his own.
“That probably exins the lights,” Mason thought to me.
“We need more info about this town.”
“This is the first I’ve heard of that. Honestly, it’s the first time I''ve heard anything about Standard at all,” |
said to the entire room. “First rule about your security team is that they should be told everything and anythin
that could be important.”
“Sounds to me like this town is pretty important,” my brother added.
Mchi might not think too highly of wolves, but at least this time he nodded in acknowledgment.
“Of course. Standard and its proximity to Brightsky did not seem to have much importance to Lanie’s
training.”
But it sure would be important to the overall security of the entire enve, which Charlotte had asked us
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to help with.
“Looks like good old DarkLuna didn’t tell anyone else she was recruiting us,” Mason thought to me.
By the look on her face, | had to agree with him. She shot a quick nce around the rest of the room
before looking down at the table, not meeting my eyes.
“Looks to me like she doesn’t want us to mention it, either,” | thought to Mason.
Both he and his wolf rumbled out a silent chuckle.
“Standard is the town everyone passes through on their way here,” Mchi said.
“We didn’t,” | point out.
He shrugged. “You were brought here in a rather different manner than is the norm. My granddaughter
and her family are allowed to bypa ss the general restrictions.”
“Not everyone in the town is there toe to Brightsky,” Charlotte said hastily. “It is the point of first entry, yes, where they can
be vetted by our sources there. But others live there as well.”
“So, how do you know that these new folks aren’t there seeking sanctuary?” Mason asked.
Mchi waved a hand. “Because we haven''t been petitioned for it.”
“So that automatically means they’re a threat?” | focused my attention on Mchi, but | was very aware
of the others, muttering.
Charlotte wasn’t saying anything, but she did stare at me hard. Melina, on her right, leaned to whisper
something in Charlotte’s ear. On Melina’s other side, her husband narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth
from me to Mchi.
“What other reason would anyone have to show up there?” the vampire asked in an using tone.
“People with ties to residents of the town. Families.
Friends. New employees,” | added.
Melina leaned toward me. “Xander, what you should know about Standard is that only some who live
there know about Brightsky. We trust them to let us know of anything strange at once. We consider them to be
our first warning, and we take anything out of the ordinary very seriously. You sound as though you think
Mchi might be overreacting.”
| rolled my eyes. “I would never use a vampire of being dramatic or anything like that. Goddess forbid.”
Masonughed out loud this time.
Mchi scowled. “You should show respect to your elders, boy. For someone who brags about being so
concerned about safety, you seem to be ying fast and loose with ours!”
“But all they’ve told you is that some new people havee to town,” | replied. “Correct?”Content ? N?velDrama.Org.
Melina and Charlotte shared a nce. Melina nodded.
“Yes. It was part of their regr reporting.”
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“So, nobody there said anything about these new folks seeming to be out of the ordinary,” Mason
confirmed.
“No,” Melina admitted.
Mchi stood, pressing his curled fists against the table’s polished wood. “Nevertheless, we must take
action.”
“What kind of action?” | wanted to know.
“We supply Standard with its power, which we''ll cut in half, and then again. We can cut them offpletely,” Mchi dered
triumphantly. “We''ll strangle them before they have the chance to retaliate!”