The Sacrifice by Mia McKimmy Read Free Book Online

remember.”
    Riana
waited for a response. The commander ’ s continued silence
and head bobbing, suggested he wasn ’ t even in the
present.
    Damn.
      “Okay…well, it was nice to meet you, Commander. I ’ ll
tell my mother we met.”
     She
turned to leave, but stopped when she reached the door and looked back. His
expression was unchanged, but she could ’ ve sworn she heard
him mumble. “So will I, sweetheart.”
    That ’ s strange. I must have imagined it.
    Elle stood in the hallway waiting for
her. “What was all that about?”
    Heat
radiated from Riana ’ s face. “The commander knew my father. But he
clammed up the same way mother always does when I ask questions. Before I leave
here, he ’ s going to tell me what he knows about my father ’ s
life, whether he wants to or not.”

 
     

Chapter 6
     
    The next day Cy and Oz worked in
Asheville scanning the minds of shop owners downtown.
    “I
can ’ t believe no one saw anything suspicious,” Cy
said. “Or that no more feeders were found during last night ’ s
search.”
    Oz ran his hand down his goatee and
tugged on the ends. “If feeders were in Asheville or the surrounding towns,
they would have been killing humans. Maybe the two we caught were the only ones
around.”
    They
transported back to the compound courtyard. Once inside the gates, Cy glanced
over at Oz. “I ’ m going by the interrogation chamber to see how
Miles and Kam are coming along with the prisoner. Earlier today he wasn ’ t
talking, so they called and asked to use the ‘ Judas Cradle. ’ I hated to let them drag that medieval torture
device out, but between a feeder and innocent victim, the feeder will lose
every time. I told them to try stripping his clothes and leave him hanging above
it for a while first.”
    Oz grimaced and shook his head. “No
one in their right mind would let you lower their naked ass onto that pointed
thing. Just looking at it is a form of torture.”
     “I ’ ll
come by your office and let you know how it went.”
    “I
might not be there. I have an errand to take care of,” Oz said. “Not really
sure how long it ’ ll take, so I ’ ll call when I
return. Would you keep an eye on things this evening?”
    “Sure.
I ’ m going back out to patrol with Miles tonight. I ’ ll
text everyone to call me first.”
    Cy walked to a cinder-block building
behind the Protectors’ lodge. It housed the cells where they held prisoners
until their sentencing. He went through all the security checks to get inside,
and then took the hall opposite the cells. The scent of fresh blood and
astringent filled the area.
    Miles and Kam came out of the torture
chamber and met him in the hallway.
    “Well, did he talk?”
    Kam
snorted “He didn ’ t hang over that contraption ten minutes before he
started screaming he ’ d talk. When we got back in there, he became quite
the Chatty Cathy.”
    “Can ’ t
much blame him,” Miles said.
    “Were they here looking for us?”
    Miles
released a deep breath. Cy recognized his best friend ’ s
reaction to stress, always accompanied by bad news, always at the worst
possible moment, and always something he never wanted to hear.
    “He
and his friend were trackers hired by Vind,” Miles said. “And they were looking for the compound. A few months back, Vind received a tip that our
headquarters was located somewhere in the Eastern U.S. He hired trackers from
all over the world to cover the entire Eastern Seaboard. Those two had been
searching North Carolina. They started at the coast and worked their way west.
Since they were almost out of the state, they decided we weren ’ t
here and dropped their guard.”
    “Were they the only trackers in North
Carolina?”
    “He
said they were,” Miles replied. “Soren is still Vind ’ s
second-in-command, and they call him once a week to check in. He denies knowing
the location of Vind ’ s headquarters.”
    “And you believe him?”
    They both nodded.
    “I
think he ’