Chapter 21

Helios

The anger that pulsed through my veins was like a living creature, and completely unlike anything I'd ever experienced in my life.

I didn't say anything to Elex, but the rage that came with my transformation was more than a little frightening. I'd heard stories of some Somas who became berserkers, killing anyone in sight, be they friend or foe, before finally having to be killed. I was holding on to my humanity with a thread, and that thread had Elex's name on it. Only his voice calling my name had allowed me to retain tenuous control over my emotions.

"So most of them are in the barracks?" I growled.

He nodded.

"There are a few in the kitchen, I think? They seem to be waiting for something," he said. "There's a group of them at the front of the barracks."

A plan began forming in my mind.

"We need to get to the storage room past the kitchen," I said. Elex didn't question, just nodded.

Twice, Elex stopped us in time to take out a pair of guards posted at a crossroads. I caught Elex looking at my hands and I realized my claws were dripping blood.

I scrubbed my hand against my pants, trying to get rid of the blood. Before I could do it again, he took my hand in his, threading our fingers. His gaze held mine for a long moment before nodding.

"No surrender," he said.

I nodded. He and Luke had shared the mantra.

"No retreat," I said, taking a deep breath, slowly reining in my emotions.

How had they found us? I know the medallions trackers were rendered useless by the layers of rock and metal around us. Had they found some other way to track the Mageia?

We paused outside the common area where I'd taken Elex the first night. I felt a weird tickle in my ear as he somehow opened the Air shield around us, allowing us to hear what was going on around us.

With the sound came smells. Terror, anger, and blood filled the air. At least a few people were hurt. My fury grew as I recognized some of the scents. I could smell Betts blood, Luke's, and others. Some of it belonged to strangers, so I smiled at that.

I peered around the corner. There had obviously been a battle in the kitchen. Flames had scorched the ceiling, the ground no longer smooth but studded with flowing earth that had solidified mid move. Water sat in puddles in parts of the kitchen.

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 hitting stone 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.

"I decide what is important, Aurelius. Not you." The prince said. "Kataramenos will return. We have his beloved brother," he sneered, gesturing to a corner. "He won't go anywhere without him."

I followed his gesture and saw Luke, arms bound behind him. He was being held in a corner, two men on either side of him. He was panting in pain, and barely able to keep his feet. Both men were concentrating their attention on him, probably Elusian. Despite that, I felt the ground trembling beneath us. It looked as though it were taking several of the Elusians to keep him under control, and even so, their grip was tenuous.

Maalik couldn't have any idea of the power he was playing with. I had received a demonstration of Luke's power and I wouldn't want to ever get on his bad side. I'm not sure even Elex knew what his brother was capable of. The thought of what would happen if he released his power with us so far beneath the earth was terrifying.

To my relief, I saw Betts and Tik near Luke. She was on her feet, but a bruise was already purpling her forehead. She had her own contingent of Elusians focusing on her. As a natural Dual Mageia, Betts had a small amount of immunity to the Suppression ability of the Elusians, but with no Soma to guard her she was still vulnerable to physical attacks.

Tik was at her side, his head down, hands forward in a symbol of supplication. The kid looked terrified, and I couldn't blame him. This was pretty much his worst nightmare.

The prince moved away from where Aurelius was struggling back to his feet, his cheek a livid red where he had been punched.

The man next to him, the older one with the silver hair paced the prince.

"This is the bitch who killed so many of our men?" demanded Maalik.

"Yes, sir," the man said. "She is remarkably powerful and seems to wield both Fire and Water magic."

"Freak," Maalik sniffed.

"Go fuck yourself," Betts snapped.

Maalik's eyes narrowed, and my heart sank.

Betts, just keep your mouth shut! I thought, but my little sister never did what I wanted her to.

"You are a slimy piece of filth. Go drag yourself back to whatever Alexandrian hole you crawled out of," she spat.

Maalik's face reddened.

"I'll teach you the proper use of that mouth, Mageian bitch," Maalik said, his hand flying forward in a punch to the gut.

Betts doubled over, gasping, her head striking the floor with a sickening thunk, and my sight went red. Without conscious thought, I felt my power begin flowing over me. There was no time to go back and get Elex.

Maalik grabbed her hair, jerking her forward.

"You'll learn your place, Mageian whore. I'll show you what it's like to fuck with a real man," he said.

He dragged her forward, swinging her forward toward one of the cots.

"Prince Maalik," the older man at his side slid between them. "Your father gave specific orders that our Mageia were supposed to be returned in… acceptable condition."

"Well she's not one of our Mageia, is she now, Allard? She's a goddamn Illyrian," he replied sharply, an evil grin spreading across his face. "That makes her fair game."

The man looked at him, a deep sadness in his gaze.

"Do you know why your father sent me to the Legion to serve with you?" Allard asked as Maalik tried to push past him.

"I really don't give a fuck, Allard. Get out of my way," he growled.

"He wanted me to try and turn you into a man. Someone worthy of respect. Someone who might, one day, inherit his throne and help make the world a better place," Allard continued as if he hadn't heard Maalik. "I've had to admit, though, I can't do it. I can't make you something you're not."

A blade flashed toward Maalik's unprotected throat. The prince barely had time to gasp as Allard moved, and I thought it might all be over. Then Allard's blow froze, as if caught by an invisible hand.

"You dare strike our Prince?" Aurelius demanded as he sucker punched Allard in the kidney. His pet Mageia stood at his side, her power concentrating on Allard.

The older man went down to one knee, but from the blaze of his eyes he was obviously far from out of the fight.

Maalik's eyes were wide and white, terror clear as he realized how close he had come to having Allard's blade in his neck.

"You son of a bitch!" Maalik screamed. "Hold him!"

The soldiers looked unsure, but after a sharp order from Aurelius they stepped forward and took the older soldier by the arms. Maalik began raining blows on the man.

"How. Fucking. DARE. You?" he screamed, each word punctuated by a blow. "I am your Prince!"

I tried to think how long it would take me to get back to the hallway, but the sight of Betts unconscious form made my decision for me. Her eyes were open, her pupils blown. She was bleeding within her brain. I couldn't get back to the storage room quickly enough. If I didn't act quickly, she would die.

I just had to hope Elex would forgive me for acting without him.

I let the power that had been building behind my eyes wash over me. Time to see what I could do.