Page 52 of Kingly Bitten

The one they called Ryder—whom I’d only met in passing—was similar.

Damien seemed younger. Not as young as me, but less experienced than the others. He lacked their powerful presence. However, he made up for that with his lethal edge. Something told me he could hold his own against an ancient and potentially come out on top of the fight in the end based on skill alone.

Jace’s thumb pressed into my spine, my thin black shirt doing very little to dispel the heat emanating from his touch. He’d found a pair of pants for me as well, the denim fabric different from my usual scrubs. And I didn’t particularly enjoy the feel of it against my more sensitive areas, but Jace hadn’t provided me with undergarments.

“Hold,” Damien said, causing Jace to grab me by the hip to halt me at his side. “Let me see what I can do.”

It took several more minutes for me to realize what he meant because it took that long for me to be able to see clearly.

A door.

We were standing outside a building that resembled a rundown warehouse, but the technology on the entryway certainly appeared brand new. It reminded me of the tech in our labs.

“This is definitely the right place,” I said, glancing around for surveillance cameras and finding none.

Odd. They have to be here somewhere.

I also expected a Vigil army of some kind to be protecting the premises—something I’d said when Damien had asked me about potential security.

However, the place seemed abandoned.

Maybe it’s all underground?I thought, glancing downward.

“Are we going to have to blow it like the other one?” Darius asked.

“We can’t,” Damien replied, his attention on a screen he held in one hand. “The technology inside is too valuable, and for all we know, the computers we need are just beyond this door.”

I quickly analyzed the size of the building sprawled out before us and quietly agreed with his assessment. If the servers were above ground—which would be the best place for them, as they required constant cooling—then we couldn’t risk it. One ill-placed explosion could knock out the air supply as well, thus destroying the temperature control inside, which would lead to a quick deterioration of all technology.

Glancing around Damien’s shoulder, I eyed the tablet to see how he was trying to unlock the door. He was using some sort of code-descrambling device to find the appropriate password, and since we weren’t on a countdown timer, I supposed it was a decent way to do it.

But there was one problem.

“If Lilith’s software detects that breach, a protocol will likely be engaged, just like in Bunker 47.”

Without my watch, I wouldn’t be able to detect anything about this server farm. Not that my watch was even connected to this area. I didn’t even know if it still worked since someone—probably Jace—had taken it from me while I was unconscious.

“I’m anticipating that,” Damien responded, holding up another device. “That’s why I brought Lilith’s phone.”

That explained how they’d known about the countdown in Bunker 47, and various other details.

Damien returned his attention to the screen but started scrolling through Lilith’s phone as well. I studied the building again, concerned. If I’d learned anything over the years, it was that Lilith planned for every situation.

And I really didn’t like the lack of visible cameras.

It told me they were hidden, or perhaps a different type of surveillance was being used in this area.

Satellites?I wondered.Infrared scanners from the trees?I glanced over my shoulder, noting the surrounding overgrown forest. They’d landed the plane over a hundred yards out on a patch of asphalt that was clearly meant as a landing strip for this location specifically.

For Lilith to visit.

She wouldn’t have wanted to land too far away, her preference to be in and out of her facilities quickly and efficiently.

“What are you searching for, Doctor?” Jace asked, sounding suspicious.

“Surveillance.” I looked at the door and then about three stories up at the roof. “There are no cameras.”

“There weren’t any outside your lab either,” he replied.