Dreams of a Dark Warrior

speaking no known language, sir.”
    Declan hung up, tamping down his frustration. He’d heard tales of an omnilingual fey—an elven creaturewho somehow knew all languages. He put her on his capture list.
    The phone rang. Webb was the only one who called his personal line. Declan had no friends or family.
    When he answered, Webb said, “You completed all of your captures! Good work, son.”
    Even after all this time, Declan savored the praise. He knew he’d cast Webb in a father’s role, but Webb had been just as quick to put Declan into a son’s. They’d both lost loved ones in this war. “Thank you, sir. But we sustained casualties when taking both the vampire and the Valkyrie.”
    “I saw the videos of the captures. Of course, we knew taking Lothaire wouldn’t be easy. You confiscated a ring of his?”
    “A plain gold band. He was incensed to lose it, even more homicidal.”
    “It must have mystical powers. Find out what it does. And what about the Valkyrie? How did she know we were closing in?”
    “Her soothsayer sister dispatched her to attack my men.”
    “Nïx the Ever-Knowing did this?” Webb asked, his tone peculiar. “When is the glowing one in the exam schedule?”
    Declan pulled up the rotation on his screen. “Dixon won’t have her until next week.” The facility was backlogged with inmates, and still Webb insisted on bringing in more, no matter how much Declan protested.
    “Question the Valkyrie before then. Dig for as much intel as you can get before the docs get through with her. We need to discover how she produces energy, how she channels it—”
    “You knew she could channel electricity?”
That intel would’ve saved lives tonight.
    “Not until we watched her capture,” Webb said. “Think, Declan, she doesn’t eat or drink, but she produces continuous, uninterrupted power. She’s like a walking reactor. Tapping into her energy source could solve the limitations inherent in the TEP-C.”
    The Order’s charge throwers, or tactical electroshock pulse cannons, were incredibly effective against detrus—at least, against most of them besides Regin the Radiant—but they had limited firing power.
    “If you can discover what fuels her, we can use it against her own kind. …”
    Turning their strengths into weaknesses.
Dixon’s team of scientists would cut the Valkyrie open on the operating table to get to the truth. Since they’d need measurable, duplicable results, they’d do it repeatedly.
    Declan gazed at the monitor, regarding the female with puzzlement.
    “In any case, now that we finally have a Valkyrie, we need to learn everything we can about her species, and what sets this one apart.”
    Whenever the Order had been close to capturing a Valkyrie in the past, the target had grown spooked, as if she’d been tipped off. Likely by Nïx the Ever-Knowing.
    So why had Nïx allowed Regin to be captured?
    Why tell him he was
late
?
    “And we need to know about the vampire’s ring,” Webb said. “I understand how difficult it is to get miscreats to talk, but I’m confident you can get me these answers.”
    Though Declan had become an expert at torture, the immortals were astonishingly closemouthed, even withholding information about their natural enemies. The only way to get results was by tormenting a loved one or mate, but Declan had no leverage like that over either the Valkyrie or the vampire.
    No matter. Somehow he would break them. “Yes, sir,” he said absently.
    “Son?” Webb sighed. “You’re not feeling mercy for the Valkyrie? Because you had to harm a female?”
    Thirty-five years of
something
had rushed to the fore.
    “Remember, their beauty is a weapon. This one will not hesitate to wield it on you.” A pause. “Has she compromised your judgment? Tempted you in anyway?”
    Declan grated, “No, sir!” The Order would mind-wipe and cast out any member who became involved with a detrus. Even an involuntary entrancement was enough to have one’s memory erased.
    Unless it happens to me.
    Two years ago, a witch had entranced Declan, cursing him to relive every terror and agony he’d ever experienced.
    Webb had procured a countercurse before Declan had been driven insane—or at least
noticeably
insane. Then the commander had covered up the whole ordeal.
    How many more rules would the old man break for him? Would he fix any more transgressions?
    On this night, Declan had savored the feel of a captive’s body in his arms.
And I’m …