His expression cleared, and he offered a quick smile. “I was merely thinking that what little I saw of the shrine didn’t seem to indicate any recent activity. Of course, I didn’t get a very good look before you disturbed the griffin and its entire clutch.”
“Me?” I sputtered. “I did no such thing.”
“We were fine until you dropped your torch.”
I tried to splash him only for him to cheat by catching my hand before I could. Fighting a smile, I shook my head at him. “Choose your next words very carefully, Myrmidon, or I’ll show you the hard way of what happens when you tease a Spotter too far.”
“Oh, that is a terrifying statement,” he murmured. Teasing lit his blue-green eyes as he leaned in closer, raising my hand in his grasp. “I’m impressed.” Then, he kissed the fox’s head tattooed over my wrist.
Resisting the urge to give in to his teasing, I pulled our hands back down so he couldn’t distract me with more kisses. “Mathias, what makes you think that Weard hasn’t taken all the pieces by now? Or that we will even find them?”
He squeezed my hand, his gaze softening. “We will find them because you are looking for them. None of Weard’s people are as clever as you continually prove yourself to be.”
“That’s a blatant lie,” I countered drily, “but thank you.”
“Mmm, how are your scrapes? Do you need me to look at them after all?”
“No. At least, not yet.” I gave him a pointed look. “Stop trying to distract me. I told Raz Yakov that I would find the Crown of Nimrod because someone needs to keep it out of Weard’s hands, and my parents wanted the same thing. But if we find nothing at every wonder, where do we look then? It feels like this quest is breaking into a thousand pieces, and I can’t catch them all.”
“We’ve only searched four of the wonders, Lauren.” Mathias’ gaze sharpened as he added firmly, “Do not let that bloody idiot of a seer influence you. If either of us is to be called the Destroyer, it’s far more likely to be me.”
I tightened my grip on his hand. “The only thing we are going to destroy is whatever plot Weard is attempting to achieve by hunting for the Crown of Nimrod.” I caught the hint of a crooked smile and chose to ignore it as I rested our clasped hands on the edge of the tub. Tapping my nails against his skin, I mused, “We have three wonders left. The Great Pyramid at Giza, Knossos in Crete, and Mount Etna. Technically, the latter two are restricted to paranormal records of the wonders since norms still only count the lost Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Hanging Gardens in the list. While it’s possible the Spotters used those places, it seems more likely that they would conceal a paranormal artifact within paranormal wonders.”
“Seems reasonable.” Mathias patted my hand with his free one. “So where do we go from here, mistress?”
I splashed him, soaking his shirt with a satisfying amount of water. “Don’t call me that! And, we’re going to Egypt. Crete may be closer, but I’d rather avoid any more islands for a little while after this last one.”
Mathias let go of my hand as he plucked at his shirt. “I love going to Egypt. It will be a tad dusty, though.”
A laugh bubbled free. “You’re not fooling me, Mathias. You just want to walk in the footsteps of Alexander the Great.”
“It’s a definite benefit although we’ll be skipping Alexandria,” he pointed out as he stripped his shirt off. My eyes dropped to his long, lean torso. Light scars pointed to close calls, including some that were far too recent for my liking, but he truly was a distraction.
Mathias cleared his throat and then raised an eyebrow at me. “We’re going to succeed, Lauren.”
I nodded. “Together.”
“Yes.” His gaze turned mischievous as he stood up and tossed his shirt to the side. “Now budge over, woman.”
“You are insane and have absolutely no focus,” I retorted through giggles.
Mathis just grinned. “I’ll have you know that I am extremely focused right now. You’re the boss and have planned our itinerary for tomorrow. It’s only sound strategy to make sure those scratches aren’t going to affect you. Now budge, woman.”
I laughed and splashed him again. Our life had yet to be normal. But, I loved every moment I had with him. Now, we just needed to succeed at our quest.
* * *
Chapter Two
Mathias
The near silent hum of the airship’s engine was the only sound breaking the night’s stillness outside of Lauren’s quiet breathing. We had a small cabin to ourselves but I stayed awake, sitting on one end of the bench-like berth. Lauren was asleep with her head resting on my thigh, trusting as always that I would keep her safe.
Something that at times felt impossible with Weard’s noose closing around our necks. And yet . . . I rubbed at my chin and glanced down at Lauren. Her dark lashes were still against her creamy tanned skin. A good sign that she wasn’t having nightmares tonight. Those still happened with far too much frequency for my liking. Not that they weren’t earned.
This quest for the Crown of Nimrod was proving more difficult than even I had suspected. I touched my left side and grimaced at the memory of shifter claws, too much blood, and stitches. Unfortunately, our encounter at Herculaneum with some of Weard’s hunters had ended with my becoming a touch too well acquainted with the claws of a bear shifter. Several of my ribs were broken, and I hadn’t been able to hide it for long.
Even after the delay caused by Lauren’s insistence that we stay put in Rome until I’d sufficiently recovered, we should have been further in our quest. The first two wonders we went to, the shrine housing the lost statue of Zeus beneath Constantinople or Istanbul rather and the ruins of the temple of Artemis in Ephesus, had been empty of any recent signs of activity. I also went alone to check the original site of the statue in Olympia and narrowly avoided being seen by a pair of hunters. Hunters whose presence inexplicably vanished between our departure from Constantinople and our arrival in Ephesus. There had been a news report on a paranormal news channel claiming that Weard Enterprises had begun backing down in regards to its standoff with the Fae and draconic councils. I believed none of it. It was too convenient and too easy to believe that sense had suddenly returned to the head of Weard in regards to avoiding war within the paranormal community. Not to mention the fact that the two hunters who escaped our confrontation should have brought more hunters flocking to Italy instead of vanishing.
I glanced out the small window, a vague sense of unease still gnawing at me. If the one responsible for all the changes in Weard and its increasingly aggressive tactics was a rogue dragon, then it did not make sense for this apparent reconsideration unless it was all a ploy of some type. I knew rogue dragons too well. They never backed down from a fight even if they weren’t the ones fighting. They only threw more soldiers at the battle.
The night was fairly cloudy, and I caught only glimpses of the lights below with the occasional peek of the dark ocean. The clouds parted briefly and moonlight spilled into our cabin. I followed the light to where it played across Lauren’s creamy tan complexion and dark hair. Beautiful. The thought no sooner crossed my mind than a flicker of movement caught my attention and I leaned forward slightly, careful not to disturb Lauren, as I peered out the window.
A stream of white-hot fire blazed in the distance. If Lauren hadn’t been using me as her pillow, I might have leapt to my feet and run for a better vantage point. Another stream of white-hot fire. Dragon fire. Moonlight splashed across silver scales, almost as though a lake had magically appeared in the clouds, as a dragon of middling size banked toward us.
The airship swayed abruptly, and I could make out the faint sounds of the crew shouting to each other as the ship struggled to avoid the dragon. Oh no! I shook Lauren’s shoulder. “Wake up!”
I risked a glance down to see Lauren’s eyes barely open. I muttered, “Trouble incoming.”
Lauren’s eyes opened wide and she quickly sat up. She leaned against my arm to look out the window, and I
heard her hissed gasp when she caught sight of the dragon. It was catching up to us despite the crew’s efforts. Its maw opened to reveal faintly gleaming fangs and a light building in the back of its throat.
Grabbing Lauren’s hands, I put them both against the ship’s wall just below the window. Meeting her wide eyes, I nodded. “Hide us.”
“I can’t do that!”
“Yes, you can.” Still holding her hands in place, I kept my gaze on her as I added, “You are the daughter of Elam Serkan, a Jinn. You have his talent too. Now, use it.”
“Mathias, I don’t know how.”
“Do you want to be blown up by a dragon?”
“Not particularly,” she muttered. Her eyes dropped to where I held her hands against the ship’s wall. “I’d much rather avoid that.”
“You can do this.” I glanced out the window. The dragon was coming closer, flames white with heat searing the air. An intimidation. And based on the screams starting to sound, other passengers had woken up or noticed the nearing danger.
Turning back to Lauren, I could see the way her brow furrowed with concentration. But, the dragon was still coming. Another few meters and it would be close enough to take us down. “Lauren, you can do this. Think about Roma. Remember how you felt when you hid us from the shifters. Remember how you felt when we were at the Forum fight and at the Colosseum. Use it.”
“I’m trying,” she muttered.
I glanced back out the window. The dragon had opened its mouth again. “Try faster, Lauren.”
Light kindled in the back of the dragon’s throat.
“Lauren. Faster.”
It was close enough that I could see the heat of its fire glowing between silver scales.
“Now would be a very good time, Lauren.”
The heat was climbing up the scales of its throat.
“Lauren.”
I could see flames leaping into its mouth.
“Lauren. Lauren, now.”
Instinct drove me to wrap my body around her, forcing her head down, in spite of the knowledge that placing myself between her and dragon fire wouldn’t do either of us any good. I was a Myrmidon, not fireproof. Not like a dragon or dragonborn would be . . . or a tetchy fire elemental. Still I buried my nose in her hair and held on, waiting for the inevitable explosion or blast of heat.
After a moment, I realized nothing was happening. Straightening, I looked out the window. The dragon was flying parallel to us now. Its head swinging from side to side as though . . . I started to grin. As though, it couldn’t figure out where the airship had gone.
Lauren still had her hands against the wall. Beads of sweat formed on her brow and trickled down her temple. I squeezed her shoulders. “I knew you could do it.” If I hadn’t been worried the dragon might hear me, I would have shouted in glee.
I kissed the top of her head. “I’m going to check with the captain. Find out if the dragon can be identified. Don’t stop whatever it is you’re doing. You brilliant woman.”
* * *
Lauren
The ship’s wall hummed beneath my fingers. I felt Mathias kiss my head and squeeze my shoulders again before he rushed off. Leaving me to . . . hide? I have no idea. I was still getting used to the fact that I knew anything about my parents, knew that my father had been a Jinn, a 9. And that somehow in spite of that, I had ended up a Spotter. Something that shouldn’t have been possible, even with Spotters being a recessive talent. My mother being a Seer made sense . . . Everything else, however . . .
I blinked as sweat dripped into my eyes. If it kept us and everyone else on this airship alive, though, I wasn’t going to complain. I just prayed that my tentative grasp on this talent wouldn’t slip. I risked a glance out the window. My heart beat faster in response to the glimpse of a wingtip. Then I caught sight of a tapered snout, scaly lips peeling back just enough to expose long fangs covered in saliva. The snout dipped closer, slit nostrils flaring, and then a glowing eye came level with the window.
I pressed my hands harder against the ship’s wall. The cool metal siding growing warm beneath my sweaty palms. Please, please, don’t see us. We are not here. You saw us venture into that cloud bank over there. Go over there.
The silent stream of words didn’t seem to have any effect on the dragon as she continued her flight beside us, still swinging her head in an attempt to catch our location again. How I knew it was a female, I had no idea. Size was only sometimes a decent indicator given the different families came in ranges and sometimes the females were larger than the males in their dragon form. But that usually came with age and power, royal dragons tended to be larger. This one wasn’t a ruling royal, and she wasn’t very old. Not a true juvenile, but she was born inside the last century. Something else I shouldn’t have known. Somehow, the knowledge was there rattling around in my head. Just like I couldn’t see her number outside of the brief glimpse I had caught of a 10 earlier, but an unmistakable sense of power and danger rolled off the dragon. We could not be caught by her. She would bring this airship down no matter how many innocents were on board.
More sweat trickled down my face and my spine. My hands trembled slightly as I pressed them more firmly against the wall. We had to stay hidden. I closed my eyes against the stinging sweat and kept the thought of being hidden at the forefront of my mind.
I felt the ship tremor beneath me and then sway wildly. I opened my eyes in time to see pale yellow scales flash in front of the window. The dragon that had been hunting us screeched in draconic. I caught only a few words. Something about traitors and prey. I couldn’t focus on the conversation enough to translate as I worked to keep us hidden. We had to stay hidden. That was my task.
“Lauren! Lauren, drop the glamour! The others can’t see us!”
Wasn’t that the goal? I opened my mouth to ask, but the effort of summoning words proved too great. I couldn’t do both. I couldn’t keep the glamour intact if I tried anything else. It was already growing so difficult to keep a mental grasp on it.
“Lauren! Can you hear me?”
I could hear him, but I couldn’t react. It was too much. It was all too much. I struggled to breathe properly as I kept pushing the glamour to the ship. We had to stay hidden. Had to keep the dragons from seeing us.
The ship bounced wildly, nauseatingly. What? I heard a dragon’s roar, so deep and so close that it resonated through my bones. I flinched and then screamed as the roar seemed to sink into my skull hammering at my brain. Despite my best efforts, I felt something snap like a taught cord had been cut. I screamed again as I was thrown to the floor when the entire airship bucked.
Mathias caught me or rather I landed on top of him. He moved me to the side and stood up, peering at the window. “They’ve sent a fleet to deal with him.”
“Her,” I slurred. “Female attacked.”
I felt more than saw his attention. “You identified her. How?”
“Don’t know.” I sat up slowly, feeling sick to my stomach. “Who sent them?”
No sooner had the words slipped out of my mouth than a deep resonate voice echoed through the night sky. “Airship Helios, I am Commander Suleiman. By order of Heru, Dragon Prince of Alexandria, you will be escorted under the protection of myself and Asar the Yellow to dock at Alexandria.”
Some small part of me instinctively knew it was the same dragon whose roar had snapped my glamour. A louder voice gibbered that I shouldn’t know any of that and it made no sense. I hated when the rules binding paranormals were suddenly bent, especially when they applied to me. I licked my lips and tasted iron. Mathias turned to look at me, alarm skittering across his face, as I reached up to touch my lips. The lights in the cabin flicked on, and I realized blood coated my fingers.
I touched my nose and came away with more blood. Feeling lightheaded, I could only murmur, “I don’t want to meet another dragon prince.”
Mathias lunged for me as my vision went dark. “Lauren!”
I tried to reassure him, but the words wouldn�
�t come. Then, I found myself lying on the floor again. Mathias was leaning over me. Beyond him, I saw clouds and a red scaled wing that dipped into sight and then back out.
“Do we need to hide?” I slurred
“No. Rest.”
* * *
Mathias
I ran a hand along the smooth sandstone walls of the holding cell only to turn away muttering a curse under my breath. There were no weak points that I could find. The sandstone blocks were too thick by half and, if I remembered surveillance of Alexandria correctly, there were solid sheets of iron between this and another set of blocks. All intended to hold paranormals of any ability and power.
I paced the scant length of the holding cell, my steps growing jerky by the moment before I caught myself and forced them back to a more measured pace. Yet, the image of Lauren’s pale face and the blood stark against her skin haunted me. Every fiber of my being ached with the need to get back to her, to protect her. Lauren had managed to glamour the airship, hide it from the dragon’s attack, but she had paid a high price for doing so. Even the hour it took to arrive in Alexandria hadn’t been enough to return the brightness to her eyes. I had gotten her cleaned up and helped her with her head shawl, but she had still needed help walking.
Cutting a cold look at the door that regrettably had no windows or any sort of opening to provide a view of the hallway outside, I clenched my fists at the memory of being forced into a separate line. Lauren had been gathered with the other women and young children, supported by a dragon in human skin. I had argued with the soldiers that we should stay together, shouted that I didn’t care about their damned policies separating men and women when in the holding cells. They hit me with tranquilizers, and I woke up in this . . . cell.
Whether they recognized her, I didn’t know. I did know that Lauren wasn’t in the best shape for attempting to use her Jinn talent again. I shouldn’t have pushed her into doing it. The dragon prince’s guards might have been able to reach us in time to block the flames. Or . . . not.
Quests by Numbers (Rogue Spotter Book 5) Page 2
