Page 32 of Grayson’s Challenge

“Who’s Pearce?” Monique asked.

“He’s a Stealth Guardian like myself. He works out of the Baltimore compound. I figured Thomas and his team are busy enough here, and I didn’t want to divert their resources to do something our own people can do.”

“I appreciate it, Virginia,” Monique said.

“Of course.” Virginia shoved a dagger into her boot. “I still need photos of your brothers, so I can be sure that they are who they say they are.”

Monique pulled her cell phone from her pocket and unlocked it. “Airdrop?”

“Works for me,” Virginia said and took her cell phone from her pocket and swiped it.

There was a soft ping a moment later, and Virginia said, “Got ‘em.”

“How long will it take for you to get to Switzerland?” Monique asked curiously. She’d heard of the Stealth Guardians’ portals that allowed them to teleport to countless places around the world, but had never been in one, or even seen one.

“A few seconds,” Virginia replied. “We’re lucky, there’s a portal in a church in Gstaad, so that’ll be the easy part. But it can take hours or even longer for us to get to whatever cabin David and Zach are stuck in, depending on the weather and the road conditions.”

“I understand. And you’ll be able to transport them all back in the portal? They won’t get lost somewhere on the way?”

“As long as they’re all holding on to me, I’ll get them back here safe and sound.”

The doorbell rang.

“Guess that’s Cooper,” Wesley said and walked into the hallway to let him in.

“Don’t worry, Monique,” Grayson said, putting a hand on her arm. “I’ve traveled in those portals before, and while your brothers might suffer from a bit of vertigo, it’s quite safe for a vampire.”

She appreciated his reassuring words and nodded silently.

“Hey guys,” a young vampire hybrid with ultra-short dark hair and a muscled physique greeted them. He wore khakis and a flannel shirt and boots. His jacket was a thin windbreaker.

“You’ll need a winter jacket,” Grayson said pointing at him. “It’s freezing cold in Switzerland.”

“Oh,” Cooper said, surprise on his face. “Guess I didn’t get the whole message. I was only told to show up at Virginia’s for a trip through the portal. And to come armed.” He patted his windbreaker. “Small caliber semi-automatic with silver bullets, a stake, and a silver knife.”

“I’ll get you one of my jackets,” Wes said quickly and opened a closet in the hallway.

“I’ll brief you on the way,” Virginia said to the hybrid. “Let’s get going. It’s already late afternoon in Switzerland. Sun’s probably setting any moment. I wanna get there in time to get a lay of the land.”

Wesley handed Cooper a thick jacket.

“Thanks, buddy,” Cooper said and put it on, then zipped up.

Virginia slipped into a thick parka with a hoodie and shoved gloves into her pockets. “Let’s go.”

“Where is the portal?” Monique asked.

“In the basement,” Wesley said and followed his wife down the stairs. “We built it about nine years ago when the Stealth Guardians recovered the source dagger. It’s made it possible for new portals to be created.”

“The source dagger?” Monique asked as she followed the others down into the basement.

“Yeah,” Wes explained. “It’s an old dagger forged in the Dark Days, and the only tool that can create a portal for Stealth Guardians to teleport. Before the source dagger was recovered, Stealth Guardians had to rely on the few portals that connected their compounds.” He pointed to a plain brick wall. “This is it.”

Despite the light on the ceiling illuminating the dingy space, Monique couldn’t see anything that looked even remotely like a teleportation device. All she could see was a symbol etched in the stone. It looked like a dagger.

Before she could ask where the portal was, Virginia placed her palm on the symbol, and beneath it, the stone began to glow. All of a sudden, the stone wall was gone. Behind it was a small dark cave. Monique stared at it in disbelief.

“It’s quite something, isn’t it?” Grayson said next to her.