Jenn strode into the compound. She wasn't afraid to be alone. She'd been deep undercover in much worse situations. Xander, however, was a complication she'd never before run across. He wouldn't respond to her mind manipulation attempts, and he was able to control Jonny. She had nothing but charisma and the knowledge the Black God was fond of her.
Neither of those things would matter when dealing with Xander.
Vamps growled as she passed them but made no move to impede her. At the far end of the main floor of Jonny's new home glowed a panoramic window fitted into the mountainside. Chairs lined the window, and she saw why. The window overlooked the neighboring mountain, coated in white with clouds clinging to its peak. Jonny had been drawn to the view as she was and stood before the window.
Jenn didn't approach, instead sinking into the shadows of one of the many pillars providing support all along the main floor. She didn't know what Xander was, but he'd said one thing that struck her hard.
She really had personalized the mission. She'd defended the Black God, a young man she knew was partly in love with her, against his own kind. The training was part of what Damian wanted her there to do, and she mixed training with good old-fashioned spy techniques. She was learning as much about the Black God's organization as she could, from numbers of vamps to locations of their compounds to the Black God's own skills.
Jonny had entrusted her with a lot. Aside from assigning Xander to keep an eye on her, the Black God hadn't restricted her access to anything. She'd taken in everything she could, like any good operative would. But pitying him, defending him, helping him command his own men … The vamp was right, and she hated to admit it. She was near the line of what she was there to do, if not over it. She'd been one of the first Guardians to talk to Jonny weeks ago, before his transformation to the Black God. He'd been a good kid, lost, but honorable. He became the Black God instead of letting his sister die. She still saw him as the lost kid that could be saved, not the Black God who was past salvation of any kind.
What she didn't understand was why a vamp would consider it his job to remind her of her mission. Something was wrong in the Black God's camp, and she couldn't figure out what. Xander crossed to the Black God. The two spoke for a few moments before Xander bowed his head and walked away.