"Fuck," Gideon whispered. "One of these Rogues is your nephew?"
"He started using Crimson and went missing nearly two weeks ago. He is the real reason I came to the Order for help. I wanted to locate him and bring him back before this happened."
The other warrior's face was grave. "You know that all of the inpiduals on this satellite feed are Rogues. They're addicts now, Chase. Lost causes--"
"I know. I saw Camden earlier tonight, when Dante, Tegan, and I were at Ben Sullivan's place. As soon as I looked into his eyes, I understood what he was. This only confirms it."
Gideon was quiet for a long moment as he clicked off the device. "Our policy on Rogues is pretty plain. It has to be. I'm sorry, Chase, but if we run across any of these inpiduals in our patrols, there is only one course of action."
Chase nodded. He knew that the Order's stance when it came to dealing with Rogues was unwavering, and after riding shotgun with Dante for the past few nights, he knew it had to be that way. Camden was gone, and now it was only a matter of time before the Bloodlusting shell that was left of his nephew met a violent end, either in combat with the warriors or through his own reckless actions.
"I have to go topside and do something for Dante," Chase said. "But I'll be back within the hour, and I can give you whatever info you need to help get these Rogues off the streets."
"Thanks." Gideon clapped him on the shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry, man. I wish things could be different. We've all lost loved ones to this goddamn war. It never gets any easier."
"Right. I'll catch you later," Chase said, then he strode away, heading for the elevator that would take him to the Order's fleet garage on ground level. As he rode up, he thought about Elise. He'd come clean to Dante and the others about Camden, but he was still keeping the truth from Elise. She needed to know. She needed to be prepared for what had happened to her son and to understand what it meant. Chase wouldn't be bringing Cam home now. No one could. The truth was going to kill Elise, but she deserved to have it.
Chase stepped off the elevator and reached into his coat pocket to withdraw his cell phone. As he walked toward Dante's coupe, he hit the speed dial for his home. Elise picked up on the second ring, her voice anxious, hopeful.
"Hello? Sterling, are you all right? Have you found him?"
Chase stopped walking, cursing inwardly. For a long second he could not speak. He didn't know how to phrase what he had to say. "I, uh... Yes, Elise, Camden has been sighted tonight."
"Oh, my God." She let out a sob, then hesitated. "Sterling, is he... Please, tell me he's alive."
Shit. He hadn't expected to do this over the phone. He thought he'd call her and let her know that he' d be there to explain everything later on, but Elise's maternal worry knew no patience. She was desperate for answers, and Chase could not keep them from her any longer.
"Ah, hell, Elise. It's not good news." In the heavy, utter silence that held on the other end of the line, Chase launched into the facts. "Cam was spotted tonight, running with a group of Rogues. I saw him myself, at the apartment of the human who's been dealing Crimson. He's in bad shape, Elise. He's... Christ, there's just no easy way to tell you this. He's turned, Elise. It's too late. Camden has gone Rogue. "
"No," she said finally. "No, I don't believe you. You're mistaken."
"It's no mistake. God, I wish it was, but I saw him with my own eyes, and I've seen surveillance footage of him collected by the warriors as well. He and a group of other Darkhaven youths--all Rogues now--were caught on satellite, attacking a human in full public view."
"I need to see it."
"No, trust me, you don't--"
"Sterling, listen to me. Camden is my son. He's all I have left. If he's done these things, as you say--if he's become such an animal and you have some proof of this--I have a right to see it for myself."
Chase drummed his fingers on the roof of the black Porsche, knowing that none of the warriors was going to appreciate him bringing a civilian into the compound.
"Sterling, are you there?"
"Yeah. I'm still here."
"If you care the least bit for me or for your brother's memory, then please, let me see my son."
"Okay," he said, relenting at last and consoling himself with the idea that if he granted her this dubious request, he would at least be present to catch Elise when she fell. "I have some business topside, but I'll swing by the Darkhaven in about an hour to pick you up."
"I'll be waiting." That incredible warmth was back, Tess mused from within the dark tide that held her. She stretched her senses toward the engulfing heat, toward the wondrous scent and taste of the liquid fire that fed her. Conscious thought seemed to dance just out of her reach, but her nerve endings clicked on like strings of tiny lights, as though her body was slowly thawing, coming alive inch by inch, cell by cell, after a long, cold sleep.
"Drink," a deep voice beckoned her, and she did.
She drew more of the heat into her mouth, swallowing it down in greedy pulls. A strange awakening began somewhere deep inside her as she drank from the source of that powerful warmth. It started in her fingers and toes, then spread up into her limbs, an electricity that hummed through her in undulating waves.
"That's it, Tess. Take more. Just keep drinking, angel."
She couldn't have stopped if she'd wanted to. It seemed as though each sip made her thirsty for another, every swallow only adding fuel to the fire that was building within the very core of her. She felt like an infant at its mother's breast, vulnerable and uninitiated, trusting completely, needing on the most basic level.