“She’s not going anywhere with you.”

  Chloe’s voice was steely and unwavering, and her eyes were locked onto Andre in a manner of warning. Behind her, she could hear Jin’s breathing pick up and sense her preparedness for battle.

  “Chloe,” Jon called his tone one of warning.

  But Chloe didn’t glance in his direction. She kept her eyes locked onto Andre, whose lips were curled now into an ugly smile, fists clenched at his sides.

  “I was not making a request, soldier.” His voice was laced with threat, superiority. “The alien comes with us. She can come willingly or painfully.”

  As he spoke, the two who stood on either side of his rear stepped forward. The one on the left was a towering man with brown skin and a shaved head that looked oily. He sported a thick beard. His eyes were brown, but not entirely—there was some crimson in them too.

  The second was a woman, taller than Chloe and broader too, with arms that bulged even in her tactical gear. Her hair was jet black and cut short, with a parting that stretched along either side. Her eyes were a dark, deep-set blue, and she had an even more defined jawline than Andre.

  “Jin stays with us,” Chloe repeated, adamant and unthreatened by the Pandorans in front of her. “We head for the Capital together or not at all.”

  Andre’s eyes flashed with annoyance. “Know your station, worm,” he snarled. “The girl has been ordered to accompany us—an order straight from the Capital. And I have my own orders too, should she or the rest of your people fail to comply. Stand aside now. Final warning.”

  “No,” Chloe said softly, not taking her eyes off Andre.

  Andre said nothing for a moment. Then he took a breath, stepped backward, and nodded slightly. The two Pandorans on either side of him marched forward.

  They had only taken a few steps when suddenly, Lucas and Jon were there, a long metal rod pressed against the towering brown man’s neck.

  “Please,” Jon said softly, “threaten my sister again. I dare you.”

  Aiden joined Chloe, standing in front of Jin alongside her. “You heard her,” he said, addressing Andre. “The girl doesn’t go anywhere with you. Not unless we’re with her.”

  Andre narrowed his eyes, and Chloe thought she saw veins spread through them. He snarled, and she noticed then that his teeth weren’t entirely normal. He had fangs—fangs that he now bared menacingly as he prepared to attack.

  He took a step forward, but before he could pounce, another voice spoke.

  “This is all very pointless,” the voice said, coming from behind Andre and from one of the choppers.

  Chloe’s eyes widened as she heard the voice.

  She hadn’t noticed anyone else left aboard the choppers, hadn’t smelled anyone else. Even now, as the man spoke, her senses picked up on nothing.

  Her eyes darkened.

  “Andre, one of them may accompany us,” the man in the chopper said. “Better to compromise than resort to senseless bloodshed. I’ve had a pretty annoying morning as it is.”

  Andre snarled again but retreated despite that, his shoulders relaxing somewhat. Chloe saw his fangs retreat, shrinking back into normal teeth.

  “You,” Andre growled, gesturing directly at Chloe. “You can follow the girl.”

  “Wait, n—” Jon began.

  “It’s fine,” Chloe said.

  Jon looked at her, concern and distrust of Andre and whoever was in the chopper evident. Like her, he too sensed there was something off about the man in the chopper.

  The only other time they had come across someone their senses couldn’t detect, that person had turned out to be an alien.

  “It’s fine,” she said again, nodding at Jon.

  Jon hesitated for a moment, but then his shoulders relaxed. He nodded back at her.

  Chloe returned her attention to Andre and nodded at him. The boy, despite scowling, stepped aside, holding out one hand and gesturing to the chopper immediately behind him. Jin led the way, and Chloe followed closely behind, climbing into the chopper just behind her.

  The man in the chopper looked old. Not very old—maybe around Chancellor Hardy’s age. But he didn’t look as fragile or weary as a man that age ought to have looked.

  He was broad and tall, his height evident even while he sat in the seat opposite theirs. His jet-black hair, graying at the roots, had been oiled and slicked back elegantly. Over his upper lip was a neatly groomed, graying mustache. His eyebrows were sharp, giving him an even more serious look, and his deep gray eyes resembled those of a man who had seen far too much.

  A deep gash—an old wound that had healed poorly—marked his left cheek.

  Unlike the others, he wasn’t clad in tactical gear. Instead, he wore a simple white T-shirt beneath a blue blazer, paired with white shorts and blue sandals. A locket draped over his T-shirt, and a golden wristwatch dangled from his left wrist.

  Andre climbed into the chopper after them, sitting next to the man. He signaled the pilot, and at once, the chopper’s blades began to whir again.

  No words were exchanged between anyone in the chopper until they were about 15,000 feet high. At that point, Chloe and Jin were handed headphones to help with the noise. Andre and the strange man also put on theirs.

  Chloe examined her headphones cautiously before putting them on, making sure they weren’t rigged with anything.

  The strange man saw this and roared with laughter.

  “Relax, soldier!” he said, loudly enough to be heard over the chopper and the wind. “If I wanted you dead, you’d be dead already!”

  Warily, Chloe slid the headphones on.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  She counted the seconds. Ten passed. Nothing happened.

  Next to her, Jin also put on her headphones.

  Chloe glanced out of the chopper window and looked down below, where fleck-like shapes moved in the same direction as them—the trucks.

  “Don’t worry, your friends will get to the Capital safe,” the man said, his tone light and a little playful. “I’m Major Julius Erwin, by the way. And you are?”

  “Chloe. Chloe Taylor.”

  “Jin.”

  “Just Jin?” Erwin raised an eyebrow. “Do your people not take second names as ours do?”

  Jin raised a hand so Erwin could see the crow tattooed onto it. “The mark of my father,” she said. “A way to identify me with him always.”

  “So, Crowman, then?” Erwin suggested. “Jin Crowman.”

  “What are you?” Chloe demanded, frowning at Erwin. “You’re not human. I can’t—”

  “Perceive me?” Erwin asked, letting out another hearty laugh. “That’s very deliberate, my dear. I am, after all, a man who does not like to be perceived. And yes, I suppose you could say I’m not human. Much like you, that was a part of me left behind long ago.”

  Chloe clenched her jaw. He was a Pandoran too.

  But much, much different than she was. Andre was different too—he had fangs, an identifiable scent, a heat signature.

  Erwin had nothing at all.

  “Do not be afraid of me, Chloe,” Erwin spoke calmly. “Based on everything I’ve heard, it would appear that you and I are soldiers on the same side of the battle, committed against the same foe. You would only have reason to fear me if that were not the case.”

  As he said that, he shifted his gaze to Jin.

  “As for you, Crowman… there’s much I’d like to know. It’s why I asked that you fly with me—I simply had to meet you myself, to see exactly what it is that has everyone in the Capital in such a frenzy. I left important matters for this.”

  Jin said nothing.

  “I know the basics. I’ve been debriefed. Your father’s a bad guy. His scientists are behind the pesky little giant monsters that pop up every now and then, and you’ve apparently got the power source for a doomsday device inside you. Which, of course, makes me a little curious about your biology and physiology. A power source inside you—what’s that like?”

  “Warm.”

  “Not painful?”

  “No.”

  “Alright then.” Erwin nodded. “And your blood? It’s said to have restorative properties?”

  “For the Pandorans, yes. Toxic to regular humans,” Jin answered.

  “More than just restorative, sir,” Andre added. “Chancellor Hardy mentioned a performance boost as a result of consuming her blood. Strength, speed, reflexes, perceptions—all heightened after a dosage of her blood.”

  “Any side effects?” Erwin asked, directing the question to Chloe instead of Jin.

  Chloe thought about the battle three weeks ago, how much she had reveled in the carnage with Jin’s blood coursing through her veins, how strong she had felt… how badly she had hoped it wouldn’t end. She had felt unstoppable, and she had wanted the monsters to see exactly what that looked like.

  “It alters inhibitions,” she answered truthfully. “More aggression, less control.”

  “So potential dangers in sustained use, then.” Erwin looked as though he were taking mental notes.

  Andre, on the other hand, was taking physical ones, typing into a tablet as they spoke.

  Erwin continued questioning Jin for the rest of the chopper ride.

  Halfway through the journey—after about two hours of gliding overhead—Chloe figured out what he was doing. The questions, random as some of them seemed, allowed him to gauge Jin’s behavior, her reactions, and, most importantly, whether she was still hiding information.

  A threat assessment.

  And he asked all the questions in such a light, conversational manner that she had almost assumed he was just talkative—or possibly mad.

  But by the time the chopper touched down, there was a glint of satisfaction in his eyes.

  “What do you think?” Andre asked, glancing at the Major.

  “That she can’t be trusted, of course,” Erwin answered, but with a smile on his face. “Not that the Council needed me to confirm that. I think they only asked for my presence on this because they wanted me to neutralize her.”

  Chloe stiffened.

  “And?” Andre raised an eyebrow.

  “Dishonest, but useful.” Erwin shrugged. “Ms. Taylor and the rest of her team were right to keep her alive. And I will do the same.”

  “So we’re just supposed to let her be?”

  “No, of course not.” Erwin shook his head.

  Around them, the other choppers were landing, and the trucks were pulling to a stop.

  “She’ll need to be under close observation most of the time,” Erwin said. “Ms. Taylor, surely you wouldn’t mind if I were to burden you with a small task?”

  It had been phrased like a question, but the look in Erwin’s eyes told her it wasn’t.

  And Chloe had no interest in seeing what the man was like when he got bored of putting up false smiles.

  “No,” she answered, shaking her head.

  Erwin smiled. She had answered correctly.

  He gestured toward Jin. “She’s your responsibility now,” he said. “She already was before, but now, I’d like you to think of it more officially. Observe her, monitor her, and, most importantly, protect her. I have chosen to spare her, but I do not guarantee that the others here in the Capital will share my sentiments. I do not know what the Council has planned.”

  “But should any danger to her arise, it is your responsibility to neutralize it.”

  “And should the alien herself indicate in any manner or form that she is a danger to the continuity of our kind… then you are to neutralize her.”

  “Do you understand?”

  Chloe looked to Jin, who avoided meeting her gaze. She returned her focus to Erwin. “Yes,” she answered.

  “Sir,” Erwin corrected. “Yes, sir.”

  “And you understand also that failure in these duties would be particularly… aggravating for me? I know we’ve known each other only briefly, but I sense you’re a clever woman, and surely, you know how unfortunate it would be for all involved if I were to become… aggravated.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Good.” Erwin smiled. “Then I suppose my work here is done. Oh, wait a minute… one more thing.” He leaned forward. “Should you learn anything new about our… enemies, anything even remotely useful, I would like to be informed first. Surely, that’s no difficult matter?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Thank you,” Erwin said, nodding and leaning back in his seat. “This is where I will leave you for now. As I said, I left important matters for this, and seeing as my work here is done, I must now return to said matters. I suspect it will be some time before you and I meet again, but should you wish to pass any information on recent developments along to me, do not hesitate to meet Nicholson here. He has my direct line.”

  Andre’s face turned smug then. Chloe did all she could to refrain from rolling her eyes.

  Jin was the first to alight from the chopper, and Chloe followed her. Andre drew the chopper’s door shut after her, and she turned back to see him and Erwin engaged in conversation. She couldn’t hear a word of what they were saying.

  The chopper—whatever it had been made of—did a sufficient job of ensuring that nothing said within it spilled out. Which meant Erwin’s request of her hadn’t been heard by anyone else, other than Andre, Jin, and the pilot.

  Jon and the others alighted from the trucks they had arrived in. Jon’s face was dark when he emerged, and he scanned the area before his eyes found her. As soon as he spotted her, a look of relief spread across his face, and he hurried in her direction, Lucas and Aiden behind him.

  Lucas shrugged off a soldier’s hand from his shoulder before snarling menacingly.

  “Chlo.” Jon exhaled in relief as he came to a stop in front of her. “You’re okay. Did anything—”

  “No.” She shook her head, then glanced back at the chopper.

  Erwin was still speaking to Andre, but his eyes were locked on her, and somehow, she got the feeling that while the chopper prevented her from listening in on him, it wasn’t the same the other way around.

  She returned her gaze to Jon. “He just wanted to ask a few questions,” she said.

  “Who is he?” Jon demanded, staring toward the chopper. “What is he?”

  “Pandoran,” Chloe answered. “But different.”

  “So one of them, then,” Lucas said, folding his arms. He looked as though a guess of his had just been validated. “Looks like they’re real after all.”

  “One of who?” Jin asked, frowning.

  Before any of them could answer, the chopper doors slid open again, and Andre leaped out, shutting the door behind him.

  Everyone steered well clear of the chopper as it fired up again and prepared for takeoff, hands clamping over their ears as the rotor blades kicked into full gear.

  A few minutes later, the chopper was gone. And so was Erwin.

  Andre turned to them immediately, the smug expression still on his face. His hair was rougher now, strands having been whipped loose by the wind as the chopper had taken off. He ran a hand through it, brushing the strands away and combing it back with his fingers.

  “Alright,” he said, nodding. “The easy part’s out of the way. You’re here, and you’d all do best to be on your best behavior… this isn’t a slum like you might be used to. One step out of line, and you’re dead. Understood?”

  No one said anything.

  “Good.” Andre smiled. “Now, come with me. The Council will see you now.”