Ranger X took a step closer to Atlas. “That’s enough, Atlas. This isn’t about whatever’s gone on between you and your brother. Silas is trapped somewhere, and if we can’t get to him fast, he won’t ever come back. I know you two don’t see eye to eye, but unless you’re ready to never see Silas again, then shut the hell up and help us figure out where he’s gone.”
I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I’d never seen Ranger X so coarse or so serious or so confrontational. I’d always been able to tell the man was brimming with protection andpower, but I’d also seen him be so soft and gentle with his wife, Lily, that I’d never doubted Ranger X’s genuine goodness.
But seeing X this way was new. Alarming. It confirmed Silas was in danger.
I looked at Atlas. “Please. You must help him. Helpme.”
Atlas licked his lip, studied my face. Then he gave a single nod, his face wiping free of any emotion. “Fine.”
Ranger X looked surprised. He glanced my way, as if to see whether I’d worked some magic over Atlas. Then X gathered himself and moved on.
“Tell me what happened,” Ranger X said to Atlas. “Your version.”
“I was minding my business up on Olympus,” Atlas muttered, “when I felt it. When you’ve been brothers as long as we have, there’s a bond.”
Ranger X nodded, like he was unsurprised.
“Consider it a sort of involuntary cry for help,” Atlas said in my direction. “Silas and I have mostly learned to ignore each other over the last couple of centuries. He must have been in dire straits for me to be triggered.”
“Is he...” I winced. “Can you tell if he’s alive?”
“Sweetheart.” Atlas locked eyes on me. “You’ll know when he dies.”
I bit on my lip, wondering why people kept telling me that, like I had some sort of preternatural ability to senseSilas’s beating heart. I immediately hoped I’d never have to find out if this were true or not.
“I arrived here at once,” Atlas said. “Consider it a calling. Brotherly bond, and all that.”
“How’d you get here?” Ranger X asked. “Our wards barely pinged with your arrival. If I wasn’t actively watching, I’d never have noticed the blip on our radars. You were almost undetectable.”
“Perk of the gig,” Atlas said. “My abilities run in the family.”
“Wait a minute,” I said, just catching up with the conversation. “Did you say Olympus?”
Ranger X looked at me. “Silas and Atlas have different mothers, same father. Atlas has bloodlines going back to Hera and Zeus on his maternal side.”
“Okie dokie,” I said.
Atlas cracked a smile, then turned to X. “To answer your question, I was able to Phase in just before your gates slammed shut. I could feel the wind on my ass as the portals closed.”
“You Phased.” Ranger X studied him. “Phasing went out of fashion centuries ago. We don’t even have wards up to protect against it. I thought that method of travel was no longer possible.”
“Like I said.” Atlas sounded annoyed. “Perk of the family blood line.”
“Can Silas do it?” I asked. “This... Phasing?”
“Ask him.” More annoyance from Atlas. Then he amended, “When we find him.”
“How do you suggest we do that?” I asked. “What does it mean if all the portals and gates are closed?”
“Like I said, we have no communication with the outside world.” Ranger X waved off Millie as she offered him a cup of tea. She poured him one anyway, along with the rest of us. “All communication went down at the same time. Lines to MAGIC Inc., The Sixth Borough, The Hollow. Europe. The skies and the seas. If someone isn’t within our protective wards, we cannot contact them.”
“Have you tried cell phones?” I asked.
Ranger X blinked at me. Atlas snorted.
“We don’t have cell phones here,” Ranger X explained gently. “We use Comm devices for inter-Islecommunication. We have permanent magical channels open to communicate with the mainland and beyond, most of them based at Ranger HQ.”
“I see,” I said. “So if you can’t talk to anyone else, that means no one is coming to help us?”
