Chapter Six
When Quintus arrived at the compound, Atticus and Vitus had just finished their patrols. Neither looked concerned. He wondered if that was necessarily a good thing. They needed to find their enemy.
He headed toward the gathered hybrids.
"Any signs of the Glycon pack?" Nero asked.
Vitus shook his head. "They must be hiding somewhere in the mountains, and that’s assuming they aren’t hiding their scents.”
Quintus considered that. It made the most sense considering the hybrids had been over nearly every square inch within the city limits. But searching the mountains was far too difficult with the dangerous terrain and the snow still covering the northern parts.
It didn’t help that for all the hybrids knew, there could be anything from a few more Glycons to dozens of the things.
“Lots of movement with the Azilians,” Vitus said. “More shipments than normal, and they have several more men standing guard. I’d say they are up to something, but they are always up to something.” He shrugged. “Maybe something big is coming up.”
Quintus frowned. Despite their occasional helping of the hybrids, the Azilians had already proven they were ruthless, and seeing movement like that with them when there was all sorts of crazy already going on didn’t really sit well with him, and he’d bet Rem would feel the same.
He wasn’t sure how Rem felt about the Azilians, but Quintus still wondered if they weren’t setting up the hybrids in the long run. The cult’s leader, besides being strange and something more than human, obviously had some sort of plan that probably didn’t end with everyone living quietly and in harmony.
The behavior of a fanatic could be harder to predict than that of a hired killer or beast.
Atticus grunted loudly. "This whole thing is bullshit." He scowled. "We’re waiting to get taken out. We should've left the moment we found even one Glycon near us. I don’t give a shit if they aren’t controlled by the Group. The Group obviously made them, and if they are loose, the Group’s probably looking for them. We stay, the Group will find us, if they haven’t already.”
Atticus wasn't the only one feeling that way. Many in the community were afraid the Horatius Group might gain access to them once again. The Group had stolen the early parts of their lives and taken their memories. They’d changed them into the hybrids they were now for their own purposes. And if caught again, the Group would likely enslave them once again, if not kill them. outright.
“And go where?” Nero asked. “It’s not like it was easy to find a place like this. Seclusion isn’t something you find much of these days, and that would be dooming most of the hybrids to lives without their other half.” He shrugged. “If anything, running again might make it easier to find us.”
Atticus grunted again, but this time with less force. What Nero was saying made sense. There wasn’t a place to run off to.
Before their move to Eagle Ridge, Rem had carefully prepared a place where they could hide. If they left, they would be leaving with the clothes on their backs, and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t be found at their next location. Making it work was the best option at the moment.
Quintus also wondered about fate. Their move had brought them close to the Azilians, and several Vestals. He wasn’t sure how much he believed about ancient Atlantean gods controlling their fates, but it very well might be they were exactly where they needed to be.
"Rem knows what he's doing," Quintus said.
Their leader was cunning if anything. He seemed to know what the next step was before they even thought of it themselves.
His methodology might not be the most open, but Quintus knew that Rem had their best interest at heart. He’d taken huge risks with his own life to free them.
Atticus rolled his eyes. "Not this shit again," he said. "Can't we just focus on the fact that we know there's a problem and have an opportunity to fix it?"
This time it was Vitus that scowled. “Can’t you just have a little faith it will all work out?”
“I just hope it wasn’t faith that put me in that hellhole in the first place," he said, and shoved past them toward his place. “It’s not like I’d even remember if it was.”
Quintus opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He'd never been any good at comforting people. It wasn’t something he was offered much of in the little of the impressions of his life before he could remember. He tended to always stay on the outskirts of things. Life was much easier to deal with when you didn’t have emotions getting in the way.
"So, anything interesting happen?" Vitus said. He raised a brow toward Quintus as if he already knew the answer to his question.
Quintus opened his mouth to answer but stopped. He still wasn't quite ready to share with the others about finding his Vestal, especially since they didn't know just where she stood in all of this.
As much as he didn't want to be, Quintus was practical. If Allison proved to be a threat to their people, her being his Vestal wouldn't help much. He would put the safety of the hybrids ahead of his own needs.
He glanced over to Nero, who he was sure knew just what she was, but he didn’t seem all that interested in talking about it. Either he just didn’t care or figured it was none of his business. Either way, Quintus was glad for it.
Given Nero’s own complicated past, Quintus wasn’t surprised that the other hybrid didn’t seem interested in making things difficult for him.
"The mayor agreed to the installation of Veronica’s devices," Quintus said. "I'll also be starting work at her house tomorrow."
“Huh?” Vitus cocked his head to the side. "Work at her house?"
Quintus nodded. "Rem said keep an eye on her, and it turned out she needed someone to do repairs. I convinced her to hire me.”
The men grew quiet for a moment.
"Is she hot?" Vitus said.
Nero snorted. “And on that note, I’m out. Glad to see everyone’s so focused.” He spun on his heel and walked off.
Quintus frowned slightly and shrugged. "What's it matter? This is about gathering useful intelligence.”
Vitus broke out in a large grin. "Doesn't, but it doesn't hurt if she’s hot either."
Irritation flared in Quintus. He had no real claim on her, and yet the animal in him screamed that she was his. No man could talk like that about what was his.
He shook himself out of the thoughts. Nothing good would come of it. Nero was right. He needed to remember why he was going to her home.
“I have a job to do, and that’s all I’m focused on right now,” Quintus said.
“Whatever you say,” Vitus said.
Quintus offered a quick wave and hurried to his place. For now, he’d just do his best not to think about Veronica as anything other than a information source.