“You kill him,” Gregor speaks up for the first time.
“What? I am not killing a human, Vampire Hunter or not.” I stand now to make my point and Cole stands with me.
“Aefre,” CK says patiently, “we are not asking you to kill him.” He looks at Gregor in annoyance. “We need to find out if he is the Hunter first, then if it is confirmed, we will act. Together.”
Feeling slightly calmer now that I’m not some poor human executioner, I sit again. “Fine. Although, how am I supposed to find that out? It’s not like he’s just going to blurt it out. Christ, the man is as taciturn as that lamp.” I gesture at the table lamp.
“We just need you to glean a bit more information out of him. Anything.”
“Of course, you do. So, I’ll just go ask him, shall I? Right before he sets me on fire.” My three boys look alarmed at that thought. I pointedly ignore Eloise’s look of delight as I turn back to CK. “May we speak privately please?”
“Of course.” He looks at everyone and they stand to leave, except Cole and Devon.
I open my mouth to speak once they have exited the suite, but CK holds his finger up, so I shut it.
A couple of minutes later he nods, “Okay, they’re gone. It’s clear, now you may speak freely.”
“First things, seeing as we are all here right now, I want to finish what we started. Today, tomorrow, we need a plan and second, I don’t like the idea of seeking out this guy if he has the power to kill me.”
“First things, I agree with you. It is ideal and, yes, we will arrange a plan. Second, I don’t think he has the power to kill you, Aefre. I don’t think anyone has the power to kill you. Remember your own Powers, my sweet.” He motions his hands out at his sides, palms facing outward to indicate my virtual armory.
I had in fact forgotten my own Powers under the threat of being sent on a suicide mission. It slipped my mind.
“Every weapon ever created means theirs as well. You just need to do a bit of mental digging. See what you can come up with. Be prepared. Not only that, I am certain that She hasn’t put you through all of this without somehow protecting you.”
“That’s a big leap of faith,” Devon says heavily. “I am not prepared to just accept that as fact.”
“Neither am I,” Cole says in agreement.
Yeah, me either, I add silently.
“We know that you aren’t vulnerable to Gladius Infernus, which leads me to believe that if the fires of Hell aren’t going to set you alight, then I am sure regular Earth fire won’t either,” CK says, full of confidence.
Huh. A working theory.
“Okay, let’s just try and set her on fire, then shall we?” Devon sneers but I look at him in inspiration. “Oh, Hell no!” he yells, standing. “Not a chance. Don’t be insane.”
“Dev, it’s worth considering. I don’t want you to set me on fire per se, but there might be a way to test it. Safely,” I add. “But enough about that, I am more concerned with the first plan and what we are going to do about it.
“I say we do it now,” Cole speaks up and we all look at him.
“Now?” I frown. “We have no plan.”
“Yes, we do. Same plan, different setting. Devon and I will go to find Eloise, granted now that James is here it may be trickier, and you call Gregor up here. Once it’s done, you and Constantine can Teleport or Astral or whatever to us and finish her off,” he says decisively. I am so proud.
“I’m in,” says Devon. “Once it’s over, the next phase kicks in and we find out once and for all what this Power of One is really supposed to do.”
“Agreed,” says CK.,
I’m left with no choice but to say, “Okay.”
“Great. Let’s go,” Cole says to Devon when he stands.
“Wait!” I stand as well and they both turn to me. “Be careful, and don’t let her make you do… stuff…” I say with a slight frown and they both laugh at me.
“Stuff is kind of implied, but I will look after your new charge. If we get in trouble, will you sense it?” Devon asks.
“Yes. I will stay focused. As soon as I finish him, she will feel it, so distraction is key until we get to you.”