(37) Two vampires, a ghoul and a shifter.

Feeling euphoric and energized, Linden paced while Piers watched and occasionally told him to sit down before he wore holes in the expensive carpet.

"What's taking him so long?" Linden asked, finally flopping down on the sofa across from the bed.

"Searching thousands of acres is no small job, even when he has vampires and the other shifters to help him," Piers pointed out in a calming voice.

"Yeah, but—okay, yeah." He drummed his fingers on the arm of the sofa then looked at Piers. "We know where Dixon is."

"No we don't!" Piers said in denial. "He could be anywhere."

"Come on, you're fooling yourself if you really think that."

"Alright, maybe the revenant has him, but there's not a damned thing the two of us can do about it so get that out of your head right now."

Linden arched an eyebrow. "Reading my mind?" 

"I don't have to, I know you, especially when you're in this mood. Leave it to the experts. If the revenant has taken Dixon, they're the ones with the power to deal with him."

"They never have."

"They never had a reason to. Or, I suppose, they never had one that related to the people they're supposed to be guarding."

"That's a cynical outlook."

Piers nodded. "But still the truth."

"We can't just sit here," Linden exclaimed, jumping to his feet again.

"Yes. We. Can. Lin, be realistic. The revenant's an evil creature who'd survived for over five hundred years. He's bound to be powerful, a lot more so than either of us."

"But we're sneaky."

Piers rolled his eyes. "No. Absolutely not."

"Are you saying that as my master," Linden asked angrily.

"Fuck no, and fuck you for even suggesting that."

Heaving a sigh, Linden came to kneel beside Piers. "I'm sorry. I'm just scared, of the revenant, of what might be happening, of—everything right now I guess. Why isn't Helmut back yet?"