DECEPTION

"All warfare is based on deception." —Sun Tzu, The Art of War

—

DECEMBER 4TH 2039

4:55PM MST

MONTANA

It was almost a shame that, for as tolerable as he was, Jamie was the only one whose strength was already beginning to wane.

A shame because Maria had finally made decent enough progress with all of their training over the past two months. A shame because it meant that she had made some sort of mistake in her initial selections, and she had not been careful enough. A shame because she was already forced to travel with such low numbers and if they stumbled across some antagonistic nomads now then he'd probably drop like a fly.

A shame because he didn't talk which meant he wasn't annoying to have around.

It had been refreshing to travel through the mountains, despite her noisy company. She had informed her companions (she despised the word but used it to placate them) that they would have to begin traveling east again soon before they carved their way farther north. For now, they headed south and prepared to cross through the Rocky Mountains, enjoying the cover the moonless sky offered.

Maria truly didn't know much about what made the Cullens decide to infest a town. She had not gleaned much information when she'd seen them last. Calgary had been cold, mountainous, and far. Those three details had been enough of a starting point.

It wasn't the easiest place to search but if the Rockies didn't provide them with any leads then maybe she would have better luck in Appalachia. She would not go anywhere near the west coast unless she ran out of places to look.

Each day that unfolded before her made her more careful than the last.

The days grew shorter as they passed and Maria was grateful for the approaching solstice. There was no ideal time to abandon her city and travel deep into enemy territory (because this end of the entire wretched continent was riddled with pathetic nomadic creatures) but to have to do so during the approach of the winter season was perhaps a stroke of luck.

A part of her wondered what these men would do after they found the Cullens and they saw what she was truly like. While they ran through the mountainside she played around with that thought. She even toyed with the idea of a fresh line of deceit. She could just lie to them, again. It wasn't very hard.

"They don't bring out the best in me, I must admit," she could say, keeping her voice quiet during their next daylight hour, trapped beneath whatever shade they could find for that day. "Despite our past alliances we did not treat each other well. I fear the way I'll act and the things I'll say will make you all hate me, but I can not be like this with them. I can not be myself." Then maybe she'd kick a rock or something. Or frown deeply and sigh.

Maria tried hard to think back to the most pitiful of the newborns she'd seen over the years, but she would rather have burned the whole Earth to a crisp than scream like a child, sob like an infant, or cry like a banshee.

She could also say: "Keep quiet and stay out of my way and then maybe I won't kill you."

She would likely land in some sort of middle ground between the two. Maria would warn them, but she would continue to play the role of nervous leader, and she prayed these morons would continue to look at her like she'd hung the fucking moon.

Ugh. It was honestly disgusting to think about.

Maria couldn't wait to see the Major. It would be so gratifying to argue and fight with him again. She shivered in anticipation and then wanted to scream when Connor noticed and moved closer to her.

"Everything alright?" He asked, too close for her liking. He was grossly pale, with short, dark brown hair and a mouth that smiled too easily. But he was tall, he was strong, and he fought like a brute. Now, his voice was repulsively quiet as he leaned into her personal space. He at least knew better than to reach toward her.

Maria nodded, picking her words carefully. "I grow anxious with each day we do not find them." Her voice was even and her eyes focused straight ahead. Travis, a short, stocky man whose speed outshone the rest, glanced back at them. He immediately looked away when he met her gaze and Maria chanced to roll her eyes. Connor, the absolute moron, did not notice even with the attention he was paying her.

"It'll be alright," she ignored his smile as he stared a hole into the side of her head. "In the meantime, you're safe with us."

Maria patiently counted to three. To him, it probably looked like she was battling some suppressed emotion or mulling over a complicated trail of thought.

Her urge to kill him was actually not complicated at all.

She turned her head up toward him and smiled, wide and uncomfortable. "Thank you. I'm comforted by the presence of all of you." The words were loud enough for all to hear and when Connor focused too hard on her smile, his jaw slackened. Maria bit the inside of her cheek when he stumbled slightly.

Her words were enough of a distraction for all of them. Maria sucked back the venom that flooded her mouth from her small wound and pushed her feet just a little harder, moving away from Connor's nauseating, lovelorn stare. She was always unwilling to entertain them in conversation. The less information she gave them—whether pertinent or just a flat out lie—the better.

Not that she would ever get any of her lies confused or mixed up. She'd been playing this game for longer than their great-great-great grandfathers had been alive. Maybe even longer than that. Her age wasn't information they needed to have. Thank god they hadn't asked yet.

They'd probably want to fuck her a little less if they learned she'd been murdering idiots like them since the eighteen forties. That would probably also make them a little less inclined to help. Possibly. Maria wasn't keen on finding out.

All nine of her men followed her down the Continental Divide with the same confidence of her past soldiers. They were calmer, they were trained to fight, and they had absolutely no clue that they were her carefully handled weapons.

Without warning, Maria whistled twice, two staccato beats, and they did not disappoint. In half of an instant all nine of them fell in step around and behind her, allowing her to take the lead. Then, one whistle, a full second long, and they moved into their carefully arranged formation. She laughed then, and turned toward them, smiling again. And if this one felt less excruciating it was only because she was getting damn good at this particular lie. "Just checking."

They would never be good enough to help her conquer land, but they would do well as disposable bodyguards. She continued running and they fell out of formation with a collective breath of relief.

As long as they listened and fought well they would live. As long as they obeyed, Maria was confident in her ability to see this mission through to the end.

As long as the Major didn't fuck this up for her.

—

DECEMBER 6TH 2039

1:46AM MST

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, COLORADO

—

There was no time to waste. Maria pushed her legs harder and her soldiers fell in step behind her even without being told to. It would've been more annoying if she hadn't already been planning on calling them into formation, but they were where they needed to be and better yet…

She'd found a scent trail that she hadn't come across in many, many years.

Maria had seen Peter once since his defection. He and his awful, tiny mate had been scared stiff at her approach. Maria had enjoyed the fierce fright she brought upon them, delighting in the way the woman spoke in shaking, angry bursts.

Her army hadn't been with her that night, but Peter and his mate hadn't been aware of that fact. She let them sweat a little bit. She asked if they'd seen the Major recently. They'd lied and said they hadn't. (Thank fuck the girl had left when she did. She'd been an awful fighter and an even worse liar it seemed.)

Maria hardly recalled her departing threat. Perhaps something about burning in the sun with their skin ripped from their skulls if she ever saw them again.

Or something along those lines. Really, she could barely remember. Sometimes her threats blurred together. Maria had always been creative with them.

She rounded a corner, turning to cross a river as she aimed for the base of the mountain straight ahead of them. She would not lose this lead. It was as they hit the base of the opposite side of the range that she found it.

The Major was with him.

"It's him," she hissed swiftly. The scent trail was not too fresh—perhaps a day or two had passed since they'd run through the area—but it was strong. The faster they moved, the stronger it became, and that's when Maria knew they were heading in the right direction. A third scent joined in and Maria recognized the large one—Emmett, she forced herself to recall the name. "It is him and two others. This trail will likely lead to all of them."

"What next?" Travis asked, and Maria was invigorated by the eagerness in his tone.

"Keep moving, follow my lead, and whatever happens do not engage." She paused. "Am I understood?" She let her voice take on a harsher tone than usual. They all confirmed, individually and verbally, and she found herself relieved. They couldn't be trusted but she was counting on them not to fuck this up for her. "Do not engage, do not speak to any of them, only defend yourself if they attack first and—do not look at me like that," she snapped, her patience beginning to waver, "they are a large coven and can not be counted upon to think things through with sense in the same way we do—" she turned back toward and continued running, still speaking as she moved. "Only move if it's in defense and whatever you do, steer clear of the tall man covered in scars."

Maria looked back on them once more, still dodging trees and plants expertly as she ran.

"You will know him when you see him."

The minutes passed as the ground flew beneath their feet. Maria had never before traversed these specific lands. The mountain ranges were not ideal for travel nor were they good for anything other than hiding. Perhaps that was why the Cullens had settled themselves at the heel of the Rockies.

Did these idiots know what was coming for them?

Maria was toying around with the faint irritation that the thought left her with—and here she was, traveling thousands of miles out of the kindness of her heart to help these sorry bastards and they potentially knew already about what awaited them which meant that they had been content to leave her for dead—when the sound of feet approaching forced her to grind her feet to a halt.

She lifted an arm and hissed "Hold—hold!" fiercely under her breath.

Four seconds later Peter erupted from the trees, eyes red and angry, and Maria dodged, spun backward, and started cursing him to hell.