Belly of the Beast

Chapter 44

Waiting had to be the worst part about my crazy gollum life. It seemed like someone was always out doing something dangerous, and there was a chance they'd return with an injury, or not return at all. After Vincent confirmed he had located Titan and the rogue agreed to accompany him back to New York, I followed my mate's orders to relax, choosing to do it in front of the television.

A few hours later, my cellphone buzzed with an incoming call from said mate, and I took a deep breath before answering. "Hi, Vincent. How was the trip? Are you and Titan with the she-demon?"

"She-demon?"

"Yeah, I just made that up. I've been watching Netflix all afternoon and... Nevermind. What's up?"

"We're at the warehouse where Colin and Adam are holding the demon."

"Oh, good. Has she said anything? Did Titan recognize her?"

"Funny you should ask. He was able to identify her right away. She's his niece, Terra."

"Holy crap! Oh...but that means... She's not really his niece anymore."

"Actually, she's not dead, but she has the smell of death on her. So, we're thinking she's been traveling with undead backup."

"Then, she can talk? What has she told you?"

"Not much, but Titan is working on her right now. With any luck, he'll get her to crack soon. She's a tough one."

"Well, if she has backup, you need to be careful. They're probably lying in wait somewhere."

"I doubt it. They would have tried something already."

"They may have left to get reinforcements. Maybe Dmitry returned to his Peekskill home and they've run off to tell daddy."

Vincent was silent for a moment. "You make a good point. We hadn't thought of that. I assumed Dmitry would stay in Russia with his precious cube."

"He could still be in Russia, but that doesn't mean his minions aren't using the New York hideout to keep an eye on us. I wonder why Titan's niece is helping Dmitry? He wants to kill off her species."

"Hopefully, we'll know something soon. It seems Titan was right about her building up a healthy hatred for him. She spits in his face every time he comes near her."

"Geez. In hindsight, maybe fetching Titan wasn't such a good idea. So, if she's not a zombie, Dmitry must be manipulating her somehow. Have you checked her for devices?"

"Colin and Adam have made several attempts to do that, and they have the bruises to prove it. No obvious devices or remotes were found."

"Do you think she's the one who deployed the spider?"

"It's possible."

I thought about our last visit to Titan's hideout, and the story he told us about Kimbra having his brother killed.

"You know, I'm willing to bet it wasn't just Titan who took issue with his queen killing his brother. Maybe Terra has built up a healthy hatred for Kimbra too. She might be attempting to seek revenge on the queen who killed her father."

More silence followed on Vincent's end, and I could hear my son starting to fuss in the other room. "Your hypotheses are getting better and better. I must be rubbing off on you."

"Humor. You're ready for your own Netflix special." I grinned like an idiot. He was really making progress.

"I'll share your theory with Titan. It might help to bridge the gap. I won't be much longer here. Are you hungry for anything special? I'll stop somewhere on my way home."