Cael looked at the body in Alex's arms.
"The bearer of Fragment 4?"
"He's no longer a bearer."
A second of visible processing in Cael's expression.
"Good." He said it without particular emphasis.
"That's one less problem to deal with." A pause.
"Even so, my mission is to capture you and take you to the Temple."
Cael's hand went up.
The squad tensed — twelve hunters responding to their Inquisitor's gesture, preparing to move.
Then Seraph appeared.
---
Not from the sides of Carter's team.
From the space between the two groups — emerging from among the fragmented rocks that were part of the north entrance and the squad's position, Fragment 2's spectral scythe floating visibly behind her shoulder, her dark cloak waving slightly.
She stood exactly at the point where any movement from Cael's squad toward Carter's team would require passing through her.
She smiled.
"Do you mind if I join in?" She said to Cael directly.
Without hostility in her voice.
