There were two guards searching the room. One was rummaging through the refrigerator, the other was rifling through the drawers.
“There’s got to be something here letting us know where he went,” the one guard said.
“The prince will have our heads if we don’t find some clue as to where they went,” the other guard said as he dumped a drawer of silverware on the floor. The sound of the metal hittingstone made me jump backward, not yet accustomed to the new sensitivity of my hearing.
“Yeah, well, I’m more worried about Allard. Did you see the look on his face when Maalik took that one bitch Mageia down? I know the Tagmatarches gave us strict orders not to permanently damage them, but he didn’t say anything about—”
Whatever orders of the Tagmatarches he had been about to share were abruptly cut off as Elex stepped out from behind me, gesturing with his hands.
Usually his magic was invisible. Air wasn’t normally visible, right? This time it was like golden threads whipping out, so thin they were almost invisible, through the air and light, wrapping around the guards so quickly they didn’t have the chance to cry out. With a quick jerk of his hands, Elex gestured like he was pulling something sharply, and there was a wet whining noise, then the smell of blood was overwhelming.
The bodies of the guards lay in twitching pieces around the kitchen, blood spattering everywhere. I turned to where Elex stood, his eyes snapping an electric blue. Underneath his feet I saw the jagged ground begin to smooth out, the water evaporating.
Maybe I’d been wrong that we couldn’t have accidentally Bonded.
I eyed my fierce little Mageia thoughtfully. He returned the look for a moment before a slow, dark grin spread across his face.
“I ain’t cleanin’ that up,” I growled.
He saluted me briefly. “Yes, sir. What now?” He asked.
“I’ll get in the air ducts and see if I can get into the barracks,” I said.
“Not by yourself, you’re not,” he said stubbornly.
“As much as I like the idea of being pressed up against your body, there isn’t room in the ventilation ducts for two,” I said.
“Fine,” he muttered, trying to hide the flush in his checks. “You get a better idea of where our people are, then get back here. We’ll figure out a plan,” he said.
I nodded. That, I could do.
We made our way down the familiar tunnels, stopping at a storeroom we barely used. I knew there was a vent from that room that was almost a straight shot to the barracks area. Polemos had sent a group of Earth Mageia to help create this place after we had nearly been caught smuggling the first group of Mageia off the island. The Mageia he sent had formed the tunnels to my specifications, so I knew this place inside and out.
I pulled the vent cover free and ducked inside the dark opening. I hadn’t been lying. It was a tight fit, but I realized it didn’t need to be. I focused my thoughts and slowly took the form of a great banded krait, the same snake that had bitten Luke. I didn’t need to worry about light when I could taste them in the air.
I could hear the sounds of people ahead echoing loudly. I was grateful for the magic-smoothed stone surface beneath me as I crept through the shaft. It would have sucked to have to crawl across sharp stone, even with these scales.
I saw a light ahead as the tunnel opened up and heard the sound of voices, some raised in anger.
I peered through the slanted vent. The metal of the opening crisscrossed my vision, creating a strange patchwork of images.
Below me I could see the Mageia who had agreed to join us, all sixty of them. They were huddled toward the back of the room, some of them on their knees as the Elusians concentrated their Suppression powers to keep them in line.
Toward the front I could see a tall, thin man with long dark hair. He was clad in black velvet and on his lapel was embroidered the sun and stars logo of Alexandria. That logo was only allowed to be worn by the royal household. This was Maalik.
He bore a thick scar on the left side of his face that ran from cheek to hairline. He seemed to be the leader of this group. Beside him stood a taller, older man with dark hair slightly silvered. He seemed to be watching their leader from the corner of his eye.
“… your Highness,” the man who stood in front of him said. Next to him was a woman in white, with silver trim on her uniform. An enslaved Mageian. She was unfamiliar. She must have come with the Alexandrians. The other man was tall and thin as well, and his voice was vaguely familiar.
“They don’t seem to be here, either of them. I would recommend we take the ones we have and get back to Alexandria. Your father—”
“My father,” the leader screamed in the man’s face, “Your King, will not be pleased if I return empty handed. Since you are the one who set this Beast loose in our Machi, I would think you of all people would want to locate him, Aurelius. Your men told me we would find him here!”
I realized with start that I recognized the voice of the man. This was the man who had originally captured me and brought me to Heraklion. The woman was the Mageian, Rika.
“Prince Maalik, he was here,” the man said, his voice tense. “We tracked them to this cave system, and we have found evidence they were both here. However, we don’t know when, or if, he will return. Surely returning these Mageia to the Legion outweighs concerns over a single rogue-”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Maalik’s fist flashed out, striking the man and knocking him to his knees.
