She did so, and he immediately shared with the others the tiny speck that seemed as if it were part of the brain and looked no different to Ferro.

14

Tariq and the ancients immediately carried out their supposed exodus from the compound. Ferro noted that Lojos didn’t go with them. He remained a short distance from Ferro and Elisabeta while Ferro fed his lifemate. Charlotte, Blaze, Lorraine and Julija had come to join the tight circle of those waiting to be rid of the infection.

Julija wove a spell, her voice murmuring softly in the night as her hands moved gracefully, creating illusions—Ferro, striding purposefully with the other warriors, taking to the air once outside the gates. Gary and Maksim close to Tariq as they took to the air following a different scent Sergey had laid down. Lorraine and Blaze clearly were there to guard the group while the others waited for Elisabeta to clear them of infection.

Elisabeta worked fast, trying to get through as many of the security guards as possible in the shortest amount of time. Gary tried to help her, but the burns didn’t react at all to the Carpathian way of healing. The lighter scoring showed the strange little speck with the hook upward, and he could deal with removing that. The medium scoring had the hook sideways and, taking his time, he could get the speck to move to him, but no manner of work could get the one embedded into the brain to release itself.

Elisabeta has to be right, Ferro. The infection is to turn all of us against one another, but it is also for introducing this little tiny suggestion into whoever it comes into contact with. Big or little. Old or young. It does not matter the sex. The more implanted with the suggestion, the better his chances that one will succeed, and all Sergey needs is for one person to open a way into the compound for him and his army, Gary said. Someone will have to check my brain for this nasty hooked speck. Josef, for certain, will have this branded into him. Tariq, to keep the gates from being opened from the inside, what do you propose?

It mattered little that Elisabeta had worked so hard to stop the infection and clear the brains of the terrible burns. She may have kept the ancients from turning on one another, but every single person who had been touched by the infection could potentially betray the entire compound. Maybe all of them at once—including their leader. If there were any they had missed and weren’t watching, it would be easy enough for the gates anywhere around the massive compound to be opened from the inside and the vampires invited in. It was far too big of an acreage to be kept safe if those inside were determined to open it to their enemies.

They could try to safeguard the gates from the inside, but every entrance and exit would have to be safeguarded, and Sergey would know what they were doing. Ferro was proud of his lifemate. Around her, the discussion raged on, but she simply went about her work, taking care of Charlotte and then Amelia and Danny. She was swaying with weariness as she replenished her blood, refusing to take it from Ferro, thanking Lorraine when she volunteered to give it to her.

You need to be one hundred percent for the coming battle, Ferro. If I take small amounts from others, it will not be so draining on any one person.

His woman. The voice of reason whether he liked it or not. Josef was going to be next, and both of them knew by the way Gary had described him that the burns were going to be bad. The boy looked in a bad way. His skin was drained of color, his eyes bloodred. He clearly knew exactly what was going on and fought his need to explode into rage. Tiny beads of blood seeped out of his pores, indicating his tremendous inward fight. His two guardians, Traian and Joie, appeared quite anxious.