52. Tez

52

Tez

Metallic feathers dropped off the backs of my hands as we moved along the hall. I dared any Gretik Priest to come looking for them.

Cara had recruited a Centaur to help carry Mykal into the island's depths. She hovered over him as we walked.

"We need to organize a strategy meeting right away," Tyrez rumbled from behind us. "We don't have much time."

"I agree," Cara stated. "Gather everyone. We will meet you there."

Tyrez took the first fork to the right and strode off.

Cara turned to the Centaur carrying Mykal. "Take him to the amphitheater. The medical ward requires some renovations after his abrupt departure."

"We were lucky to get him back," I said as we followed the clopping form. "If it hadn't been for Rafael…"

I trailed off when Riggs turned to me. I'd handed the sword back to him, and its hilt showed just above his shoulder.

"It wasn't Rafael," he stated. "Or rather, it wasn't just him."

I stared at the Dragon, feeling a prickle of unease. "The sword helped a lot," I hedged.

His gaze flared metallic. "It did. But what reached Mykal—was you."

No way. "I was just holding the fricking sword," I protested.

Cara turned to me. "The sword has its own energy, which you guys tapped into. But it also seemed to act as a bridge between power sources. Something I didn't know it could do." Her fingers tapped against Mykal's shoulder as they walked. "And I felt your energy from where we were," she said. "Rafael relies mostly on the spoken word to enforce his will. What was coming from you was different."

I was suddenly very uneasy. "You are both imagining things."

"It was pretty damned powerful," Riggs argued. "I felt a compulsion to kneel , Tez. I am certain it was what reached Mykal."

I felt it too. Bree was a bit behind us, walking with Marcus. And so did Marcus.

Great. Now they all thought I had some weird magic mojo.

The Watcher turned from Mykal. "There are many myths surrounding Feathered Serpents—in some places, they were revered as gods. The lore in my references is scarce—your kind has been rare for a very long time."

"We've dug through the library already," Bree said. "We couldn't find much on them that was useful."

Cara tilted her head at me. "You could try Iskar. He has been studying extinct species since the Drakes popped up. Maybe he's found something."

With Finn's army bearing down on the academy, this was a moot issue. "We don't have time for it right now," I insisted.

Cara's eyes slid from me, to Riggs, and back again. "If what you did made Riggs have a strong desire to kneel, I suggest you take the time. Because if you can influence Dragons…"

I gritted my teeth. "No way I can influence Dragons."

Before Cara could reply, Nemi landed on my shoulder and thwacked me with her wing. I winced. Damned bird. Or rather, relative.

"I'll take him to Marcus," Bree said.

The Watcher half closed her eyes, and they fogged slightly. "Try the gardens," she said. "I think he's there, with Riley." She smiled at my incredulous expression. "The Drakes have rather distinctive energy."

These realms, and these people, never stopped surprising me. Which was why I staggered around in a continual state of imbalance.

I reflected on that as Bree and I peeled away. My walk was more of a stalk as we moved off down the hall. I'd been taught that lack of control could lead to a person permanently leaving the land of the living. But it didn't seem to matter how hard I tried to find my feet—something kept coming along to shove me sideways.

We'd better shove ourselves sideways down this next hall, Bree suggested, or we'll never find the garden.

We turned. Do you believe in this influence shit?

I felt something from you, she said. So, yes. You can control the movements of birds and lizards. Maybe that ability is more powerful than you realize.

I grimaced. Life had been much easier when I came at it with a knife.

Bree didn't respond to that thought, but rather said, We turn right here. I think.

I picked up my pace. What are they doing down here, anyway? Mykal just about brings the whole bloody place down on us… We have an army moving on the academy… And they're smelling flowers?

They are mates, Tez, Bree said, I doubt they are down here to smell flowers.

Great. Now we are crashing very private parties, I complained.

Maybe they're just polishing knives in a pleasant environment, she teased.

Her laugh fluttered through my mind and warmed every square inch of me. She was so much a part of me that I couldn't imagine her not being there.

Couldn't imagine losing her.

The hall opened up to sunlight ahead, and we stepped out into the garden.

Riley was, in fact, sniffing flowers.

When we appeared, she lifted her head from the dinner-plate-sized bloom she was examining. Nemi chirped at me and darted off to visit them.

Marcus was reclining in the hammock, and he wasn't alone. Rafael seemed oblivious to the wet-ass issue as he sat on the grass. Both exuded a state of smug contentment that confirmed that they'd not been spending their time admiring the vegetation.

I was grateful that we weren't interrupting anything carnal.

"How is Mykal?" Riley asked as she straightened.

"The healers are keeping him in a coma," I said.

"We needed to—unwind," Riley admitted. "Havoc is up there, somewhere. Beating up a cloud."

"This place is beautiful," Bree said. "Good for unwinding."

"We almost got lost coming here," I admitted. "Fortunately, Bree has a sense of direction."

I wish that were true, Bree said with a laugh. If it wasn't for Nemi…

I cleared my throat. "We have some questions for Iskar."

Rafael's brows rose as he stood. Then he grimaced, and brushed at his ass. "I advise you to take a chair."

Bree tittered through my mind as I selected one, and she another. Marcus twisted to dangle his long legs off one side of the hammock.

"So what do you want to know?" he asked.

I rubbed my hands over my face. This was going to sound so weird. "It's about the Feathered Serpents. When we were subduing the monster, Riggs said that my energy did something to him. Tried to control him, I think."

I expected to see disbelief on Marcus's face. Perhaps a slight tendency to consider that this newcomer had lost his mind.

Instead, when he merely nodded, my stomach twisted into a tighter knot.

"It is called the Coerceo." His voice had lightened, and when I looked into his eyes, they had gone pure amethyst. It was freaky as hell.

He continued. "The references I have found suggest that the Feathered Serpents had—er, have—the ability to push their will upon others." He tilted his head, a very unhuman gesture that reflected what lived inside him. "But you are not of pure blood. I am surprised that you can do it."

"How powerful is this ability?" Bree asked.

His gaze fogged as he struggled to recall. "The Feathered Serpents of old were said to be able to exert their will over entire crowds of people. But the newer references suggest that the ability diminished over the years to controlling smaller creatures, like birds and their kin."

"Lizards," I said.

"Yes."

"But Riggs is a Dragon. Why would he think I controlled him?"

His mouth twitched. "It seems surprising, but when you think about it, Dragons are merely giant lizards that fly."

I think I'm insulted, Riggs commented.

He's not wrong, Bree mused.

While Riggs rumbled a growl through the link, Caliel cut straight to the point. This could be important, considering the number of Dragons we will be up against.

I rolled my eyes. Right. I'll march up to one Dragon at a time, and tell them to lie down. This isn't as useful as it sounds.

Cara's thinking about it. There has to be a way we can use it, Riggs said . She wants you to ask him about how strong your feathers are .

Strong?

Can they resist fire? He clarified.

Drake fire, he meant. I swallowed and asked the question.

Marcus's mouth straightened. "Drake fire is elemental in origin, and therefore so much hotter than a Dragon's. Serpent feathers are supposed to be impervious to Dragon fire, but I don't know about the Drakes'."

Well, that is good to know, anyway, Bree stated.

Cara says that all these are pieces of a puzzle that we haven't yet figured out, Riggs said.

Great. Just great. Like our lives don't yet have enough mystery, I growled.

Tyrez wants us all topside, pronto, Riggs added. That was a direct quote.

"We have to go," I told them. "Tyrez wants us all together."

We all filed out of the garden and stopped at the first intersection to exchange a puzzled look. "Where the hell are we going?"

Rafael tentatively pointed left.

Nemi twittered at me and flew in that direction.

And we all followed her.