Vampire in Atlantis

Chapter 25

Ven searched the canyons and riverbanks as he flew overhead, looking for any sign of a magic amethyst, murdering vampires, or an evil witch and wondering when things had gotten so freaking weird that a warrior from Atlantis felt like he was in the middle of a twisted faery tale.

Or a really bad joke.

So, a vampire, a witch, and an Atlantean walk into a bar . . .

Justice’s call broke into his mental meanderings with a bang, so powerful and furious that Ven nearly fell out of mist form and slammed into the tree he was soaring past.

COME NOW COME NOW COME NOW THE VAMPIRE ATTACKED HER AND WE ARE DOWN COME NOW COME NOW.

He arrowed for the ground, transforming back into his body as he went, and landed lightly next to a shining cloud of mist that instantly turned into his brother.

“What in the nine hells was that?”

Conlan shook his head. “I have no idea. Justice sounds like he could chew through that sword of his, but the vampire attacked her? What vampire? Surely not Daniel?”

Ven sent a mental message to Justice but only got a zap of weird static in response.

“He’s not answering. Either he’s down and out, or he’s gone so ballistic that the Nereid half of him took over.”

“Neither is good,” Conlan said grimly. He launched into the air, transforming back into mist mid-jump, and Ven followed his brother’s lead, heading up and out to find his other brother, and hoping they weren’t too late.

Minutes later, they found Justice, lying immobile on the grass a short distance from the creek bank.

Trap? Ven sent to Conlan.

Could be. Let’s go in carefully.

Justice wasn’t sending anything on their mental channel but waves of static and random words like kill, murder, disembowel.

Typical, in other words, but not really helpful.

Ven touched down close to Justice while Conlan landed a good twenty paces away. Both of them drew their daggers and scanned the area, but there was no sign of anyone else around.

“What happened to you, big guy?” Ven crouched down next to Justice and felt for a pulse, but it was only reflex. Obviously Justice was alive, if not exactly well. The fury glowing in his spring-green eyes was a bad sign for whoever had done this to him.

“You said vampire. Can you elaborate? Try to calm down enough to think it at me. We can’t fix this if we don’t know what’s going on.”

Conlan walked up, still scanning their surroundings but clearly having reached the same conclusion Ven had, that nobody was around.

“Are you getting anything? All I can hear is dire threats of a slow, torturous death for whoever did this to him,” Conlan said, grinning.

NOT FUNNY. WILL KILL HIM. KILL DANIEL.

The grin faded from Conlan’s face, and Ven felt as sucker punched as Conlan looked.

“Daniel? Are you sure? He did this to you? How is that even possible?” he asked Justice.

NIGHTWALKER MAGE POWERS. KILL HIM.

Ven rubbed his forehead, which was beginning to pound from the sheer volume of Justice’s anger. “Got it, you’re going to kill him, but in the meantime, could you hold it down? The only thing you’re killing right now is my head.”

Justice’s lips twitched, and after that his fingers moved slightly.

“It seems to be wearing off already,” Conlan said. “Hell of a spell, though. Immobilizing someone with Justice’s power takes a lot, and to sustain it from a distance is extremely difficult. If this is really Daniel’s work, he’s been hiding quite a bit of his capabilities from us.”

He attacked her and drank her blood. He has hypnotized her, too, and she believes he is protecting her. We heard this from her own lips.

“I can’t believe Daniel would compel Serai,” Ven said. “Did you see him with her? He had the same puppy-dog eyes you have with Riley.”

Conlan glared at him. “I don’t want to hear it from you, who acts like a lovesick youngling every time Erin is near.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. We need to get Justice back to Atlantis. Alaric or one of the priests will be able to fix this,” Ven said, and then he remembered. “If Alaric has returned. This week is turning into a damn clusterfuck, isn’t it?”

Conlan shot him a look of pure exasperation. “What time in our lives hasn’t been? Do high princes get vacations?”

Ven called for the portal, then waited until its shimmering oval began to form before he started laughing. “Sorry, Your Highness. Welcome to your life.”

Conlan just shook his head. “I’ll take Justice to the healers, and you keep looking for Daniel and Serai. We need to find out what happened, and if she’s safe, and I don’t trust myself to keep from just tearing his head off when I see him. At least you’ll give him a chance to tell his side of this.”

Ven suddenly wanted to hit something. “If we’re suddenly having to worry about sides—with such a trusted ally and friend as Daniel—then things are getting worse.”

Much worse, Justice sent. We are in dire straits, indeed.

“Dire straits, clusterfuck, apoca-damn-lyptic times. Welcome to the fun house,” Ven muttered, as Conlan carried Justice through the portal. “It just keeps getting better and better.”

After they’d vanished, he stood perfectly still and sent his senses out into the wind, calling out to the Atlantean princess who might possibly be in thrall to one of his best friends. Better and better.

When she didn’t respond, and not even a hint of her presence came to him, he tried to seek out a hint of her trail. The use of Atlantean magic had a unique signature, and he should be able to spot it easily enough.

Should be able to find it quickly.

Should be . . . but couldn’t.

Not a single trace.

“Nightwalker mage plus ancient Atlantean princess trumps my magic every time, I’m guessing,” he said out loud, to any of the local wildlife who might be interested. “I’m going to need help.”

No way could he search the caves and canyons and nooks and crannies of this area by himself in time to find Serai before, oh, next year or so. It was almost dawn, so Daniel would have to head for the darkness. He had time to go for reinforcements. He called the portal again.

“Daniel, I hope you know what you’re doing,” he told the cool night air, and then he stepped through the portal. Time to go back to Atlantis and regroup.