by Priya Ardis
Matt’s cheeks reddened. “I couldn’t shut it out. Imagine a door between our minds. After the attack on the plane, I left it open a crack, in case you needed me. What you were feeling burst through the crack like an avalanche.” A thought seeped out before he could hide it. “I’m not sure I can. I’m not sure I want to.”
Blushing, I decided not to comment.
“But that’s not what I need to talk to you about.” He shut the bathroom door. “Blake described the fight to me. He told me what Vane did to the gargoyle.”
A tingle of unease went down my spine. “And?”
“I know my brother. We come from a more brutal time,” he said. “His life in Arthur’s court wasn’t easy. The knights fought in one battle after the next and Vane can be…” Matt grimaced. “Ruthless. Vindictive. A bloody bastard.”
My brow crinkled. “So you don’t think it was odd?”
“More than odd. It’s disturbing. What Blake described is not like Vane. Ruthless is not the same thing as cruel and I have not known my brother to ever be cruel.”
I stared at Matt. I always thought deep down he cared about Vane, but I was a little surprised to actually have him admit it.
“I don’t like what this means. The timing of it. He’s got a strange connection to the trident.”
So much for caring. I said, “Nice to know you’re looking out for your brother, Matt. Heaven forbid, something happens to the mission.”
“It’s not a mission.” To my surprise, he reached out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear. His palm rested against my cheek. “If we do this right, we stop a catastrophe that will devastate millions of lives. This is a crusade.”
Heat from his hand warmed my skin. The image of exploding volcanoes filled my mind. So far, the vision had hung like a dark cloud above us, but now that cloud was swelling. It grew bigger and bigger. Soon, I knew, it would be big enough to cover the entire sky. And unlike Atlas, I didn’t feel strong enough to bear its weight.
“We can hold it together,” Matt said.
I drew away from him. “What do you want me to do, Matt?”
“Keep close to Vane. That shouldn’t be hard for you.” His lips twisted into a bittersweet smile. “Don’t miss the details. If he does anything else unusual.”
“And tell you.”
“He won’t know,” he thought to me.
I bit my lip. “It doesn’t feel right. I’m not a spy.”
“Consider what’s at stake if you don’t.” Then, he used the one argument he knew would work on me. “How much do you care about him?”
Matt stood up. The door burst open. Vane strode inside.
“Hello? In the bath!” I said.
Vane’s eyes flickered over Matt with a sneer. “With him?”
“He can leave too,” I snapped.
Gia poked her head inside. “Is there a party in here?”
“Party?” Blake’s voice traveled from further down the hall.
I sunk deeper beneath the bubbles. “Can you all just get out?”
Vane’s gaze fixed on Matt. “Not before you tell me what you were talking about in here.”
Matt said nothing.
“He’s worried you’re going crazy,” I said.
“What?” Vane frowned.
“The gargoyle at the club,” I prompted.
“That was crazy,” Gia murmured.
With a scowl, Vane kicked the door shut in her face. He rubbed his chest unconsciously. The exact spot where I’d seen his scar.
Matt noticed the action too. “You need to take some time to re-center yourself. If you become a liability, I can have you sent back to Avalon Prep.”
Vane stopped rubbing. His hands fisted. Hazel eyes blazed and locked on me. “Is that what he’s told you? That he’s concerned?” He looked back at Matt. “Nice threat, brother, but we both know it has no bite. You need me.”
Matt crossed his arms. “You’re deflecting the issue away from yourself.”
Vane raised a brow. “Everything I say is true.”
“Yes, but cleverly structured in your favor. It’s still a deflection.”
I was having a deja-vu moment. I rubbed my forehead. “You had this argument fifteen hundred years ago. Can we move on?”
Vane looked at me in surprise. “What?”
“Merlin found you with Guinevere. I dreamt all of it.”
Vane made a low sound of anger in his throat. He hurled himself at Matt and punched him in the face.
Matt staggered, then, straightened. “I refuse to fight you.”
“Then, you’ll make this a great deal easier.” Vane hit him in the stomach and pulled back for another swing.
“Stop!” I grabbed an enormous towel and hastily wrapped it around me as I got out. The bottom edge got soaked and slapped uncomfortably against my skin. I ran to grab Vane’s fist before it could connect with Matt again. “What are you doing?”
“I’m tired of him getting inside your head. Can’t you see what he’s doing to us?” He moved to punch Matt with his free hand.
I grabbed that one too… and seriously prayed my towel wouldn’t fall off. “Vane, walk away!”
His gaze fixed on my neck and the amulet. He watched my skin rise and fall. “You can’t even remove it long enough to take a bath.”
I touched the gemstone. I’d actually forgotten I had it on.
Matt pushed me aside. “You are out of control, Vane. I don’t know if it’s the trident or something else, but you need help.”
Vane’s jaw tightened. “No, you need help. You need my abilities. It took me a while to figure out, but I eventually saw Merlin’s grand design. There’s only one reason why I’m being allowed to tag along on this little venture—you can’t talk to the mermaids without me. You don’t know how.”
I looked at Matt’s profile. He kept his eyes steadily on Vane, but didn’t reply. It was an admission. Vane was right.
“Despite how he tries to convince you otherwise, the great Merlin only cares about one thing.” Vane grabbed my chin and turned it toward Excalibur. I had leaned the blade against the tub before I’d gotten in. “He’d sacrifice all of us in a heartbeat for it.”
Before I realized what he was doing, Vane’s hand moved to yank the amulet from my neck. I gasped in pain as the chain got caught in my hair and wrenched out a few strands.
“Vane!” Matt growled.
Vane’s fingers only tightened around the gemstone. The amulet reacted. A shock of blue light zapped him. He dropped the gemstone.
“I wonder if you could take it off, even if you wanted to.” With a final look at me, Vane whirled on his heel and walked out. The door slammed behind him.
I looked at Matt. Without saying anything, I reached back to unhook the chain. The same shock of blue light zapped me. Wincing, I dropped the chain.
“You didn’t trust me,” I said.
Matt watched me without remorse. “I couldn’t take the chance.”
“Everything Vane said is true, isn’t it?” The amulet, a burdensome weight, bore down on my bones. The longer we were on this journey, the more alone I was starting to feel. I turned away from Matt. Going to the sink, I picked up a hairbrush. “Just go. I need to get dressed.”
A soft breeze blew behind me, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. Matt stepped behind me. He unhooked the amulet.
Our eyes met in the mirror.
He said, “Vane is right about one thing. The choice should be yours.”
The amulet slid down my skin into the valley above my breasts. I reached up to grab it, but Matt held onto the chain.
“In the memory you saw, it was the morning before Vane went to fight the Fisher King. He lived, but he wasn’t the same. He stopped seeing Guinevere after he came back; and then he disappeared for months. It was only later I found out the purpose. He was helping Mordred amass an army. Then, he came for Camelot. Somehow he convinced the gargoyles to join him.” Matt let go of the chain. The amulet dropped into my hand.
The chain fluttered down against my arm. “I won’t let it happen a second time.”
“Camelot is gone, Matt,” I said.
Matt floated Excalibur from the tub and laid it across the sink in front of me. “Are you sure?”
***
When did life become so complicated? I mulled this over during our flight the next day.
Colin, Rourke’s bodyguard and enforcer, met us at the exit and directed us to a line of waiting cars when we landed. I could tell Clarence, the oldest wizard among us, was not thrilled, but he conceded under Matt’s direction. So did I. I sat stiffly in the car along with Blake and Gia. Matt rode in the front next to Colin.
Sylvia, Vane, Grey, and Clarence were behind us; and the remaining guardians rode in the last car.
We crossed the island fairly quickly—it wasn’t that big—and drove along the edge of a cliff to Fira, the main city on the western part of the island of Santorini. The island formed a rough crescent shape and Fira was built in the inside middle of the crescent, along the edge of the ancient caldera of the now submerged volcano. When Thera erupted, some thirty-five hundred years ago, the volcano blew the island apart into three pieces. The blue waters of the Aegean Sea had swept into its cracks and made the three parts three different islands. In ancient times, the one island had been called Thera.
Fira, on the rocky cliff, rose high above the water, revealing a glamorous panoramic of the whole caldera.
Blake, Gia, and I crammed together at the window to get a good view of the city as we approached. Fira spilled over the cliff and disappeared down into the sea. It exemplified the pictures of Greek cities I’d seen on postcards. Rows upon rows of pristine white square buildings lined the breadth of the precipice. Narrow steps made up the streets that wound up the cliff. Churches with peacock-blue domed tops matched the almost crystal blue waters of the Aegean below. Old metal bells swayed with the breeze. In stark contrast, the rock from the caldera was a mix of green, red and brown.
Once we entered the city, we drove down the steep cream-colored streets and turned into the private drive of a multi-level house. Around the side of the house, I saw a magnificent infinity pool that faced the sea. Even under the sun, the winter air called for a sweater and I shivered as I got out from the red sedan.
“It doesn’t get better than thirteen degrees, lass,” Colin remarked.
I went to the trunk to grab my bag, but Colin shook his head. “Someone will get those. There are over ten rooms in the house. One wing has been set aside for you.” He glanced at Matt. “Rourke is waiting for you.”
I squinted at the long, white stucco building. It didn’t look as if it had even four bedrooms. We followed Colin through skinny, green doors. The wooden doors had only a simple white arch above them to mark the entrance. Immediately inside, another open-air courtyard revealed the infinity pool and beyond that, the sea. Several cherrywood patio sets had been placed poolside. The deep cushions on them though told me they weren’t a flea market find. Rourke sat in one of the chairs with a drink.
An older woman stood next to him. A tight bun managed her silver hair, yet that was the only sign of her age. Her face, although mature, had no lines. Against the blue waters of the Aegean, she could have doubled for the great earth goddess, Demeter.
Rourke rose as soon as he spotted Sylvia. I made a face when he grandly took her hand in welcome. He leaned heavily on his walking cane. He inclined his head to the older woman. “Sylvia, I’m sure you recall my mother.”
“Deirdre,” Sylvia murmured.
“It has been a long time.” Deirdre looked at Grey with keen interest. He stood at Sylvia’s side. “Your son, I presume?”
Sylvia’s mouth tightened. “Yes.”
“Please, sit,” Rourke said.
Sylvia complied, although she glanced at Deirdre, who remained standing. Rourke quickly sank back into the chair once she took the seat beside him.
“We’ve found something, but we don’t know how to open it.” Matt held out the bronze snake. “Any ideas?”
“Greetings to you also, Master Emrys,” Rourke said lightly.
“You’re not well,” Matt said bluntly.
Sylvia glared at Matt.
“And I thought wizards had better manners,” reproved Deirdre.
My lips twitched. Deirdre reminded me strongly of the Council’s First Member. However, neither the First Member nor a gargoyle matriarch could faze a wizard born more than fifteen hundred years ago.
Matt met her gaze without wavering. “We’re all running short on time.”
“Indeed.” Rourke watched Grey, who’d meandered closer to the pool. Rourke turned back to Matt. “What is it?”
While Matt explained about Medusa’s blood, I wandered to the pool. I sat down on a bench in front of a prickly cactus and wished my outside shell also had its razor-sharp needles. I touched the amulet. It sat once again on my neck, an albatross weighing me down.
Vane sauntered over to me, but remained standing. “Still mad?”
“I’m not mad,” I said shortly.
He rocked back on his heels. “What did I do wrong?”
The sun shone directly over us. I squinted to look at him. “Why do you think you’ve done something wrong?”
“You’re a girl.”
As if that were enough of an explanation. I scowled.
He shrugged. “It’s how you think. Are you hungry?”
“No, I’m not hungry,” I snapped. Actually, I was a little. I’d only picked at my breakfast this morning. But, no, how was I supposed to tell him that I’d chosen… the amulet. Did it matter that the choice left my stomach churning with acid?
“Do you want to beat up some gargoyles? They’re easy targets.”
I glanced at Colin. His red hair sparkled in the sun. Wearing casual trousers and a sweater, he spoke in low tones to several other gargoyles. A girl gargoyle laughed at a comment he made. I heard Colin call her McKenna. The gargoyles all wore such normal clothes and looked… well, normal.
“We’re all friends now,” I reminded him.
“And you’re wondering how long these friends will be friends?”
I nodded.
Vane’s lips twitched. “Don’t worry, DuLac, they won’t eat you in your sleep. They may be beasts, but they’re not wild.”
“Funny.” I rolled my eyes. “If they’re beasts, I may be one also. I still don’t understand how I have gargoyle blood.” I’d only learned about my mixed blood a short while ago and no one had much explanation for me. “Matt said gargoyles were born, not made.”
“Someone in your ancestry was a gargoyle,” Vane said. “But you’re a regular. Don’t worry. Grey would know.”
Colin’s head snapped to Grey.
“He heard us,” I hissed to Vane.
“Gargoyles have excellent hearing.”
“You knew?” I said, aghast.
Colin watched Grey curiously. He left the other gargoyles and approached us. “If you’re attempting to needle us, it won’t work. We’re under orders from Rourke.”
Vane glanced at Rourke. He slumped a bit in his seat. His face was lined with fatigue. “How long until the old man loses his grip and you revert back to rabid dogs?”
Colin scowled. His hands fisted at his sides.
So much for not being needled. I stood. “Ignore, Vane, please. He’s menstrual.”
Vane put his arm around my shoulder and hauled me against him. “Our sword-bearer, so adorable.”
Colin crossed his arms over a muscled chest. He peered down at Vane, whom he topped by several inches. “I had a report this morning that you almost killed a gargoyle in a club last night.”
“He’s not dead?” Vane gave a mock yawn. “Gargoyles. It’s like trying to rid oneself of a pestilence.”
Colin’s face mottled with red color. “Wizards. They act as if they’re so superior, but in truth, they’ll whore their magic to anyone who pays.”
Since Colin was practically shouting now, I wasn�
�t surprised when the other gargoyles started to move toward us. The wizard guardians, who’d been milling at the entrance in case we needed to bolt, straightened to attention.
“Colin,” Rourke said simply.
The gargoyle forced his shoulders to ease. With a glare at Vane, he turned on his heel.
Matt marched up to us. He held up a hand to halt Colin. “We need to leave right away. We need to get to the Akrotiri ruins before dark.”
“You know how to open the snake?” Vane asked.
Matt shook his head. “That’s why I need to look at the ruins.” He turned to me. “Bring Excalibur.”
Rourke said, “We’re lucky the ruins just reopened after being closed for seven years following an earthquake. It completely collapsed the roof.”
“Earthquake.” I met Matt’s eyes. Understanding flashed between us, the vision of the tsunami still thick in our minds. “Seems to happen a lot.”
“Indeed.” Rourke stood up unsteadily behind us. “I’ll take the car, but it will be faster if you go ahead with Colin on the ATVs.”
Sylvia frowned, her gaze locked on Rourke. “I’ll go with you.”
***
ATVs were apparently a common mode of transportation around the rocky terrain of the island. It took us about an hour to get situated on the hulking machines and down to the village of Akrotiri. It took Vane and Grey about five minutes to become experts on them, despite neither one having ridden one before. To my surprise, the machine seemed to purr for me fairly well. Matt, with his usual disgustingly capable way, mastered the ride as soon as he touched it. Blake and Gia sat on one together. Gia drove. Colin and another gargoyle led the way.
We passed a bustling tavern to turn off toward the excavation site on the eastern shore. The sun had started to sink a bit in the sky when we reached the ruins. It sparkled as it touched the roof, a hulking sheet of stainless steel plates supported by galvanized pipes, which protected the buried city below.
“Ten meters of pumice fell on the city,” Colin told us as we parked next to other ATVs. We mixed in with the other tourists. A sign in the front spoke glowingly of the recently renovated roof. Colin presented passes to guards at the entrance and we hurried inside.