A full month went by before Sam called a meeting with everyone to discuss the church, the hunters, and Orris. My poor angel boy wasn’t feeling that great, but he joined us for the meeting, given that he was the one with the insider information.

I looked around the group as we sat in the large living room. Despite our better judgment, the unicorns had become part of the fabric of our daily lives.

They’d set up a large camping area behind the manor with their RVs all parked in a big circle around a communal picnic area where a hodgepodge of tables and mismatched chairs had been set up around a fire pit.

It wasn’t bad having them there, especially since we were upwind of their settlement. It was just… too much at times. At any hour, one could look out a window and see one of the bastards prancing about in unicorn form, usually with our little princess on its back.

Emery’s mom, Vivian, and Sam’s nana had become fast friends with Mama Vee. The three were always in cahoots, drinking tea and reading the leaves after they’d finished. Emery and my angel boy were usually right there with them, too.

Cory gritted his teeth and overlooked the unicorn influence for my sake, a fact that I appreciated because these people were now my family. Somewhere, the gods of fate were laughing at me—of that, I had no doubt.

Blaze liked to tease me, and Sana was keeping his silence, but I saw his eyes light up with mirth every blasted time one of the unicorns hugged me. Gods, were they ever huggers. At least these modern-day unicorns weren’t dicks—I had to give them that much.

“Okay, everyone.” Sam spoke with authority. He’d blossomed so much with Blaze at his side. “I need you all to sit down—we have a lot to go over. We have to get plans in place to take Orris and his organization of hunters disguised as religious zealots down.”

Cory and Emery sat on a loveseat to the left of Sam and Blaze. Sana, Peter, and I were on a long couch to the right. Nathan was in his normal spot—my lap. Mama Vee and her taciturn mate, Ernie, sat across from us, while Nana and Vivian had the little ones outside with the rest of the unicorn clan.

“What have you found, Sam? Is there a weak spot where we can get in and take the fuckers out?” Good old Blaze. Always ready to jump in and fight.

“Yes and no, babe… but I’ll get to that. We need to make plans, because taking them down will be more involved than you realize.” Sam smiled softly at Blaze before turning his attention back to us. “As you know, the Paragons of Purity are publicly led by that guy we see on TV every Sunday, the ‘Divine Agent’ Joshua Mendrion. He’s obviously just a figurehead puppet, while Orris is the one pulling the strings. From my research, I’ve found that this religion is quite secretive. In order to join, you have to sign an ironclad NDA. The few rumors I’ve found online point to needing a fat bank account to become a full member. As you rise within the church, you pay tithes and offerings along the way. It also involves undergoing trials and a baptism ceremony that apparently includes walking over hot coals before being immersed in an ice-cold river, but that’s not the worst part.”

“If there’s worse than that, I’m not sure I want to know,” Emery said quietly. He was shaking his head already, but I had a feeling that Sam was just getting started.

Sam took a deep breath and continued. “The church’s public statement says they are dedicated to the eradication of demonic presences in our world. It took a lot of digging, but I found this much… in order to reach the rank of Divine Agent, Joshua Mendrion had to kill a dragon. There’s a video on the dark web of him slaying a dragon with one of those spikes in its skull that renders its victim mindless. The dragon’s blank stare was pitiful enough, but then you can see that he was tied down with thick metal chains. Joshua is shown coming up to him from behind, where he then proceeded to slice the dragon’s throat with a scimitar. A crowd of men cheered as the blood gushed from the poor thing’s jugular, and the microphone picked up a sad whimpering noise coming from his throat as he breathed his last breath. It’s… quite disturbing. I needed to be alone with my mate for hours after watching it.”

“My lands. And he’s gittin’ away with this shit?” Mama Vee looked ready to go take the man out now, but Sam had made a good point—plans needed to be made. We couldn’t afford to move with impunity. Orris wasn’t playing games, and one wrong move could mean the end of someone’s life. “And where did this Joshua person come from, anyhow? I never heard tell of him or that church afore last year. They come from outta nowhere, and now they’s everyplace ya look.”

Sam nodded, a concerned frown on his face. “That’s just it—Joshua Mendrion didn’t exist before two years ago, when this church was incorporated. I finally found him, after a lot of digging. He was previously known as Joshua Crane, a petty criminal who spent his life in and out of jail for theft, narcotics sales, and the occasional prostitution charge. Obviously, this isn’t something of which his parishioners are aware.”

“Okay, then let’s start there.” Emery spoke hopefully. “If we out him to the world, then maybe that will shut down the church.”

“It’s not that simple, I’m afraid.” Sam’s voice was burdened with regret. “Joshua is a puppet—a figurehead, if you will. Orris is the one pulling the strings. Even Joshua has been heard referring to a mysterious founder he calls the Divine Master. I think it’s safe to assume he means Orris. If we take down Joshua, he’ll just put another man like him in his place—besides, the church has the clout to bury any bad press. No… there’s only one way that we can do this effectively—we need to fight them from within. I just haven’t worked out how to accomplish that. Orris would know any of you on sight, and a human couldn’t be put in such a dangerous position.”

“Oh, ya need a mole! Ya shoulda led with that! I got that handled fer ya, honey.” Mama turned and patted Ernie on the leg. “Go get my Beepee in here, babe. That’s the one fer the job.”

Before we could ask what a bee’s urine would accomplish, let alone ask how or why she would even be in possession of such a thing, Ernie was already up and slipping out the door.

“I don’t know, Mama.” Nathan’s voice shook and grew higher as he spoke. “What if Blake gets hurt? I could never forgive myself if they took him down like they did me. And what if they come after your kind next? I mean, none of us are safe once hate is allowed to roam freely under the guise of faith.”

I pulled him against my chest, giving him comfort while I nuzzled his curls and asked the obvious questions. “Who is Blake, and what will bee urine accomplish?”

Nathan shook with silent laughter against my chest while Mama Vee stared blankly at me for several moments until my angel boy elaborated.

“My brother, Blake, has a psychic skill that make him impervious to having his mind read or receiving any hypnotic suggestions. You don’t get into his mind unless he lets you in. After he came into his powers, Blake became known to us all as Blank, as in blank page. We called him BP for short. Then, over time, it got lengthened to Beepee, thanks to those of us who have a Southern drawl.”

We were all processing that when a muscled young guy about Nathan’s age came walking in with Ernie. He nodded politely to all of us before turning to Mama Vee. “Hey, Mama. Pappy says y’all want me fer a mission? Tell me what’s what, I’m yer guy.”

“First, may I check your power?” Blaze asked respectfully, standing to greet the other man with an outstretched hand and a smile.

When Beepee shook Blaze’s hand, a look of consternation crossed my friend’s face. Blaze turned to Cory. “It’s true! He’s like a blank page… or a brick wall. I can’t get a thing from him. This is truly remarkable.”

“Oh, hell. Is that why y’all wanted to shake? Shit, I coulda saved ya the trouble,” Beepee said with a cocky grin. “Although, ya wouldna believed me, and we’d be right here anyway, I s’pose. Naw, there’s only one way to read my mind, and that’s if’n I let ya. Now, tell me what’s goin’ on.”

“Hush, boy,” Mama admonished. “Set yerself down and we’ll tell ya.”

We all shared a quick grin while Beepee rushed to obey his mama. Once he was settled, she explained the problem before telling him the part she intended him to play.

“We need us a mole to get in that there church ta help git revenge for Natty boy and them there dragons. It’s too dangerous fer a human, and these dragons would git themselfs caught. Think ya can do it?”

Beepee nodded without hesitation. “What would I need ta do? Just tell me, and it’s done.”

Sam frowned slightly. “I appreciate the offer, but if you don’t have a way to communicate, there’s no purpose for your sacrifice. From what I’ve seen, you won’t be allowed any cell phones or electronic devices. I’m at a loss as to how to proceed. This plan needs to be fleshed out a bit more before we can use you, I’m afraid.”

Beepee just grinned and held up a hand toward Blaze. “No worries, bud. All I gotta do is exchange blood with one of ya, and we can mindspeak from any distance. No offense to my mama, but I’m thinkin’ that if this guy has a gift fer mind readin’, he’s the one you would want ta be on the other end of my reports?”

Sam’s face lit up with relief. “Really? You can do that? That’s exactly what we need! You’re absolutely right. With Blaze’s abilities in mind reading, he’d probably make the best connection, I would think.”

Blaze paled, but nodded valiantly. The idea of swapping blood with a unicorn must have been turning his stomach. I had to hold back a snicker. No matter how nice these unicorns were, it would surely leave a mark on his pride.

“I’ll do whatever it takes to protect our king and remove this scourge against our people. That is, if everyone agrees that this is our best plan?”

Peter was the first to speak. “I think it’s a good plan, and probably our only way in. Even the hunters weren’t allowed cell phones while on duty—we kept them locked in the office. We only used two-way radios for communication on-site. If there’s a better way to circumvent that, I can’t think of it.”

Cory nodded at Peter’s comment, then turned to Blaze. “What say you, my friend? A blood exchange is no small matter—be certain before you agree.”

Blaze turned to Beepee with squared shoulders. His lips were set in determination, and he nodded stiffly. “I’m in. What do I need to do?”

Beepee stood and dug a rusty-looking pen knife from his pocket. “We just need to poke our fingertips, and suck up a drop of each other’s blood to open a link.”

Blaze took one look at that filthy blade and shook his head firmly. He held up a finger and allowed a single claw to extend. “Here, allow me.”

After he’d pricked his own finger, Blaze took Beepee’s outstretched hand and pricked his fingertip as well. Cory, Sana, and I sucked in a breath at the sight of Blaze sticking a unicorn finger into his mouth, then stared in wonder when he allowed the other man to do the same to his. Sana and I exchanged glances. Cory looked slightly appalled.

After a few moments, they removed their fingers from each other’s mouths and Blaze stood there with a grin on his face. “Hot damn! That’s so cool! He’s talking to me, you guys! And I can hear him.”

Sam rolled his eyes at his mate’s exuberance and patted the seat next to him. “Okay, babe. Come sit back down—you guys can talk from anywhere now. I need to get this planned out. You can play with your new friend later.”

Once everyone was settled, Sam took control again. “While Blaze and Beepee work out their connection, I’ll construct a fake identity for Beepee. We’ll also need to set him up with money for the tithes—that’s the only way he’ll be able to rise quickly within the inner ranks of the church. Once I have an impenetrable identity for him, he can go undercover. It will take a few days, maybe up to a week, sound good?”

Before anyone could respond, Nathan pushed off my lap and went running for the bathroom. Poor guy. His morning sickness came at all times, especially when his stomach was empty.

As if reading my mind, Mama Vee looked at the clock. “Land’s sake, we haven’t let that poor boy eat in hours. I’m gonna go whip him up a little somethin’. I think we’re done here, yeah?”

I was already on my feet and heading after my mate. “Sounds good to me. Let me know when you have plans that involve me, so I can be there to hear my role. I’m going to check on Nathan.”

The guys kept talking, their voices nothing more than a low buzz, while I let myself into the bathroom. My angel was bent over the toilet, a sheen of perspiration on his brow.

“I’m sorry, angel boy. What can I get you?”

Nathan looked up at me with a grim pout. “I hate when I forget to eat. I think nine crackers, which will be eighteen bites, and about six ounces of apple juice will help settle my stomach. But first, I’m going to need to rinse out my mouth.”

“Three swishes will do it?” I asked with a small smile.

He returned my smile adoringly, the gravity of his affection for me warming the bond between our souls. “Four swishes… because odd numbers are unlucky, remember?”

“I’ll get the hang of it soon,” I promised. “I’ll be back in a second, my angel. We’ll get you feeling better soon.”