The two owls continued to circle each other on the ground only a few yards from them. Most people would have been fascinated with witnessing actual combat between two male owls, but the seven men stepped away from the table, even Gorman with his cold pack, and, facing outward, began to actively search for anyone that might be watching them.
The sudden surge of psychic energy was extremely strong, so much so that Gray, who had pinned the other owl and was using his wicked beak mercilessly, broke away. The moment Gray gave way, the losing owl took to the air to retreat. Gray shook himself, spread his wings and let out his challenge for any other intruder.
Blue left her position on the snag and flew low along the ground over the victor and then rose up just a few feet, climbing to avoid the men and table, although she flew directly above them. The men did turn their heads to follow her progress as she made her way into the blue-gray fog with her slow, easy flight. Her mate followed her until both disappeared.
Blue relayed the map as best she could to Camellia, embedding the lines and graphs into her mind. Gray followed suit. He was much more adept at it, used to working with her. She didn’t try to decipher what the two phantom owls had given her; she would do that later. She sent them her thanks and urged them to go deeper into the forest, where the men wouldn’t see them again.
Camellia turned her attention to the seven men. She didn’t have the details of where the last two commanders were bringing their troops, but it didn’t matter. It might be on the map the owls had provided. Right at the moment, she feared her boys were in trouble.
She caught a hand signal passing from Shaker to the man they called Lewis. Lewis nodded and began to move in the direction of trees. His trajectory would take him several yards from the tree where Jeff was sitting. She had covered Jeff by simply making him appear part of the tree, but that didn’t mean one or more of the enhanced men couldn’t see beyond her illusion.
Swearing under her breath, she watched Shaker give a slight jerk of his head to one of the unnamed men. This one was the one she’d been concerned about. He moved like he could really handle himself, not that all of them didn’t seem capable. It was just that this particular man seemed to flow over the ground. When he turned his head to survey his surroundings, he was the only one who had looked up toward the rocks where she was concealed. He’d only flicked his gaze her way twice, but it made her uneasy. He was too aware.
While Shaker rolled up the map, he skirted around the table. He didn’t take off running or jogging toward the forest interior; he walked with purpose, using a smooth, easy gait, almost like an animal.
“Angel,” Shaker called.
The man walking with that smooth gait stopped and half turned to look back.
“You know where you’re taking your men?”
Angel nodded. He turned back toward the forest without saying a word, but he looked up, straight at her where she was hidden in the fog. For some reason, that alarmed Camellia. The look on his face . . . Cunning? Like an animal?
Jeff, whatever you do, don’t move. I’m going to build an illusion in the fog. It won’t deceive these men, but it will hopefully distract them. The one called Gorman and the other one called Lewis are both on you. I don’t have any idea yet how they know we’re here.
Don’t worry, babe, Jeff said, as calm as ever. I’m watching them.
Five of the six enhanced commanders each took off in a different direction. She could see them in the fog, and the underground network told her where they were, but she had no idea what they were up to or how they knew someone was watching them. She increased the thickness of the fog slowly, not adding to it all at once, but bringing it into the valley in increments so the buildup wouldn’t be noticed.
The fog hid her boys effectively, but it also hid the enhanced commanders. Now she relied solely on the underground network to tell her where everyone was. Two of the commanders were running in the forest, one coming straight toward her, another circling around behind her. Two were making their way stealthily toward the grove Jeff was in. Shaker remained in the small clearing with another man, the one no one had identified as of yet. He was the one Jonas thought looked like Shaker. Two others circled around back behind the helicopters. None of it was good.
A prickle of awareness crept down her spine. The one called Angel was close to her. She smelled him, the faint traces of soap and sweat. She took her time separating the various scents. There was much more to him than human, just as there was much more to Jonas. He was a mixture of various reptiles and mammals, just as Jonas was. Whitney had a hand in creating these men for Abrams. Abrams used them for his own private protection.
They can’t have too much actual field experience, Jonas. They have to be Abrams’s private security.
It would explain their arrogance. They hadn’t come up against anyone else enhanced. So what tipped them off? What warning system did Gorman and Angel possess that allowed them to know or at least guess that someone spied on them? Had Whitney given one of them the ability to tap into the underground network? Red would have alerted her if there was a connection there.
If he sent his entire enhanced security force here to get rid of us and we kill them, I doubt if Whitney is going to be inclined to replace them. I’m telling you, honey, something isn’t right here.
The other two men, Pops and Lowell, were close to Jonas. Jonas was perfectly still, immersed in the midst of the fog, impossible to see when he was so much a part of the drops. Still, because the enhanced soldiers were so close to him, Camellia’s heart drummed in her ears, a steady, rhythmical beat.
Slow your heart, baby, Jonas advised.
They can’t possibly hear my heart. Camellia was confident that Red muffled the sound. She was hidden in the mist, impossible for Angel to find. No scent. No way for enhanced vision to see. So why was he so close?
Do you think the underground network connects him to us? she ventured. Watch yourself. Pops and Lowell are coming around the helicopter, Pops to the right of you. The other to the left.
I’m on it.
Her heart lurched again. If you move, they’ll know where you are. Shaker may be the boss, but it’s Angel directing everyone right now. He’s connected to the underground network. I know he is. He can’t feel Jeff because Jeff isn’t touching the ground. But he’s in the tree and the tree is part of the network.
Silence met her declaration. She was very aware Jonas would know what that meant. If Angel was plugged into the mycelium network, then Whitney very well could have gone a step further and paired the man with her. That would explain why he had locked on to her presence.
She was directing the others. Would he have felt their presence through her? She didn’t think so. That didn’t make sense. Something else was going on. All of them were in danger until they figured it out. She didn’t want Jonas to overreact. She willed him to think calmly, not allow the animals in his genetic code to take over the way Gray’s had the moment he saw a rival in his claimed territory.