"I must journey to the surface and-"
"What!" Brand's exclamation rang in his ears, followed quickly by a heavy pause. "Please repeat what you just said. I'm sure I misheard."
"Your hearing is excellent. I must journey to the surface."
Brand frowned. "Leaving Atlantis is forbidden. You know the gods bound us to this place. If we leave, we weaken and die."
"I will not be gone more than a single day."
"And if that is too long?"
"I would go still. There has been a… slight complication. The woman was my prisoner. She escaped." The confession tasted foul in his mouth. "I must find her."
Brand absorbed that information and shook his head. "Do you mean you let her go?"
"No."
"Surely she did not escape on her own."
"Yes, she did." His jaw clenched.
"So you did not let her go?" Brand persisted, obviously stymied by the concept of his leader's failure. "She managed to outwit you?"
"How many ways would you have me say it? I locked her up, but she found a way out." Because she slipped the medallion from my neck when I was distracted by the feel of her body under mine , he silently added.
Slowly Brand grinned. "That is amazing. I'm willing to bet that woman is like a wild demon in bed and-" His words ground to a halt when he noticed Darius's thunderous glower. He cleared his throat. "Why did you have her locked away?"
"She is a traveler."
His grin faded, and his eyes lost all sparks of merriment. "She must die. Even a woman can lead an army to us."
"I know." Darius sighed.
Brand's tone became stark. "What do you need me to do?"
"Guard the mist while I am gone."
"But I am not truly a Guardian. The coldness of the cave will weaken me."
"Only temporarily." Darius sent his gaze to the domed ceiling. The seawater that encompassed their great city churned as fiercely as his need to see Grace. The temptress, the tormentor. The innocent, the guilty. Just what was she? Waves crashed turbulently against the crystal, swishing and swirling, driving away all sea life. Just as quickly as one wave appeared, another took its place, leaving a splattering of foam on each individual prism. Was this an omen, perhaps, of his coming days? Days of storms and turmoil?
He heaved another sigh. "What say you, Brand? Will you remain in the cave and destroy any human who passes through the portal, be they man or woman, adult or child?"
With only a brief hesitation, Brand nodded. "I will guard the mist while you are gone. You have my word of honor."
"Thank you." He trusted Brand completely with this task. Only a man who had lost loved ones to a traveler truly understood the importance of the Guardian. Brand would let no one through.
Brand inclined his head in acknowledgment. "What am I to tell the others?"
"The truth. Or nothing at all. That is up to you."
"Very well. I will leave you now so that you may prepare for your journey."
Darius nodded and wondered if there was any way to actually prepare himself for another encounter with Grace.
The messenger he sent to Javar's holding returned as the sounds of the day began to fade. Darius was submerged from the waist down in his bathing pool, gazing out at the breathtaking view of ocean beyond the window he'd bared only an hour ago. Its viewing had become a nightly ritual, granting him some measure of tranquility. He motioned for the young dragon to share his news.
Standing at the edge of the pool and shifting nervously from foot to foot, Grayley said, "I'm sorry, but I was unable to deliver your message. Does that," he gulped, "make you want to yell at me?"
Darius's eyes narrowed, and his hand stilled over the warmth of the water. "Did you purposefully act against my orders merely to win your game?"
"No, no," the boy rushed out, game forgotten. "I swear. The guards refused my entrance."
"Guards? What guards?"
"The guards who told me to leave. The guards who said I was not wanted there."
"And Javar?"
"Refused to speak with me, as well."
"Did he tell you this himself?"
"No. The guards informed me of his refusal."
Darius frowned. This made no sense. Why would Javar refuse a messenger entrance? That was their usual way of communication, and neither of them had ever refused the other. Besides, why would a dragon refuse another dragon?
"There is something else," the dragon said, hesitating. "The guards… they were wholly human and carried strange metal objects like weapons."
Strange metal objects… He jolted to his feet, sloshing water over the rim of the pool, then stalked naked to his desk and withdrew a sheet of paper and writing ink. He gave both to Grayley. "Draw the weapon for me."
What the young warrior drew appeared larger than what Grace had carried, yet was roughly the same design. Darius absorbed that information, mulled it over, men came to a decision. "Gather my men in the dining hall. After that, I wish you to find the unit on patrol in the Outer City. Vorik is acting as leader. Tell him I want him and the others surrounding Javar's palace, unseen, detaining any who enter or leave."
"As you command." The young dragon bowed and rushed to do as he was bid.
Darius dried himself with the nearest robe before jerking on a pair of pants. What a mess this was becoming. He'd thought Javar alive, and had hoped his tutor had merely lost his medallion. Now that seemed implausible.
What were humans doing inside his tutor's palace? Humans. Plural. More than one. Perhaps an army. Frustrated, Darius shoved a hand through his hair. Grace's arrival was no coincidence. The answer lay with her and her brother. He was sure of it. Finding her, he realized, was no longer a luxury. Finding her was a necessity.
His warriors awaited him inside the dining hall. They sat at the table, silent, unsure of his intentions. He positioned himself at the head of the table. Before they could think to begin their game, he said, "You wanted something to do, and now I am giving it to you. I want you to prepare for war."
"War?" they all gasped, though there was an undercurrent of excitement in every voice.
"You are letting us declare war upon the vampires?" Madox asked.
"No. Humans have overtaken Javar's palace, and they carry strange weapons. I do not yet know if they have killed the dragons inside, nor do I know what they are planning. But I have sent Grayley to the Outer City where he is to inform Vorik's unit to surround the palace. Tomorrow's eve, you will join them."
"Tomorrow?" Madox pounded a fist into the table. "We should act today. Now. This instant. If there is a chance the dragons are alive, we must do what we can to save them."
Darius arched a brow. "What good are you to them if you are dead? We do not know what kind of weapons these humans wield. We do not know how to protect ourselves from them."
"He's right," Renard said, leaning forward. "We must discover what these weapons do."
"I will be traveling to the surface," Darius said. "I will learn what I can."
"The surface?" Zaeven gasped.
"You cannot," Madox growled.
"Lucky bastard," Brittan said with a wry smile.
"Go now," Darius told them. "Sharpen your weapons and prepare your minds. Brand, your new duties will begin immediately."
His friend opened his mouth to question him, but changed his mind. He nodded in understanding.
Chairs skidded as they rushed to obey; then the shuffle of their footsteps sounded.
Darius shut himself in his personal chambers. With Brand now guarding the mist, he closed his eyes and pictured Javar's palace. Within seconds, he stood inside the very walls he imagined. Except, these walls were barren, devoid of any type of jewel or decoration. He frowned.
A billowing mist stretched to the prismed ceiling, and as he floated into the next room, he noticed what looked to be ice crystals scattered across the floor. Those crystals produced a thick mist. He bent down and smoothed his palm over a few shards, wishing he could hold them in his hand and feel their coolness. Why weren't they melting? His frown deepened, and he straightened. Unlike the emptiness of the first room, human men abounded in this one. No one saw him, for he was like the mist. There, but not there. Able to observe, but unable to touch.