Jewel of Atlantis

He didn't speak. Lines of tension bracketed his face. She sensed the panic growing inside him, heard his thoughts of, Don't fall. Don't fall. Get Jewel to safety, and tightened her hold on him.

'Gray,' she repeated firmly. 'The only way to get me to safety is to let me help you. Lean on me.' Using all of her strength, she stepped forward. 'Now walk.'

He gave no indication he'd heard her until he moved forward, carefully placing one foot in front of the other. Always beside him, Jewel absorbed most of his weight. Her limbs and back soon burned from the strain. All the while, she retained a steady, albeit one-sided, conversation, hoping her voice would keep him awake. If he were to fall into slumber... She shuddered at the thought.

'I only have one memory of my father, and that was the first and only time I met him. I remember how big and strong he was, how his shoulders dwarfed me when he drew me to him for a hug. I didn't get to spend much time with him, probably five minutes. When he released me, he waved goodbye and my mother carried me away. I didn't know it was the last time I'd see him. My mother was killed soon afterward, and I was all alone.' She continued her monologue. 'All I've ever wanted to do is find my father again. Well, that and—' She fumbled, realizing she couldn't admit she'd wanted him.

A grove of white trees filled her line of vision, and she ground to a halt, drawing in a shocked breath. 'We're here.' She hadn't expected to reach the alcove so soon. At her side, a waterfall crashed into the river, falling from a towering cliff.

Gray moaned. His shoulders were slumped, and his breathing shallow. The noises of the Outer City reached them, blending with the rush of the water. Scents of freshly baked bread and dewy fruits wafted on the breeze.

'Five more steps and you can rest, Gray.'

'Rest,' he repeated, the very word brought forth on another moan of pain. He shook his head. 'No rest! Protect Jewel.'

'We're safe here. I'm safe,' she promised, urging him forward, toward the secluded glen. When they finally reached it, Jewel eased Gray to the ground. He collapsed onto the bed of leaves with a grunt.

Few creatures dared enter this area. The Forest of Dragons belonged to Darius en Kragin, Dragon King and Guardian of the Atlantean Mists. Fierce, bloodthirsty warlord that he was, only the most desperate of people tempted him to anger by trespassing.

'I'll take care of you,' she said. 'Don't worry.' She dug her satchel out of Gray's bag, amazed that the contents inside were completely dry, and withdrew her robe. After ripping several strips, she strode to the river edge and soaked them in the pink sand.

Thankfully she no longer needed the glow stick. Above them, the crystal globe approached its dawn cycle and swept thin, golden fingers of light over the forest.

Cloth heavy with the healing sand, she hurried back to Gray and wrapped it around his arm wound. He didn't make a sound. He didn't move. Her fear and apprehension grew, and she fought against a sting of tears. He'd saved her life, only to die himself? No. No!

This was her fault. She had guided him to her, had convinced him to rescue her. She had to save him.

If only he didn't look so pale, so near death... She pressed her lips together to cut off her sob of terror. He's stubborn, she reminded herself. When he accepted a mission, he succeeded. Always. Whatever the cost. Whatever the consequence.

'You have to beat the poison, Gray, or your mission will fail. Do you want to be a failure?' She shouted the last words, desperate for him to hear her.

No response.

'Do you want to be a failure?' she whispered brokenly, shaking him this time. Not even a flutter of his eyelids.

With a growl, she ripped two more strips from her robe, filled them with sand, and used them to bind the bite on his neck. The vampire cut on his thigh had opened and now oozed a thick, black blood. She bound that with sand, too, fighting back a rising sense of hysteria.

She couldn't lose him. He was a part of her, had always been a part of her. But what more could she do to help him?

She watched the slow, shallow rise and fall of his chest. She possessed so many gifts, that of knowing truth from lie, the ability to sometimes see the future, the ability to read minds, and yet none of those could help Gray. Then...

Her eyes widened in horror as he gasped for air—then stopped breathing altogether.

CHAPTER SIX

What the hell was happening to him?

The panicked thought tumbled through Gray's mind with dizzying speed. He tried to search his surroundings, but he couldn't open his eyes. He couldn't fucking open his eyes.

The knowledge hit him, and his body jerked; his lungs seized. Sharp needle-pricks stung his chest, and he realized he didn't even have the strength to draw in a single molecule of air. My God, he was going to die.

Every survival instinct he possessed screamed for him to fight, to take action. To do something. Anything. All he needed was one breath. As seconds passed, the lack of oxygen seared him with fire. The flames ate at him, consuming him. Devouring him. Colors flashed through his head, so many colors, all too bright in their intensity.

But with the colors came calm. Not acceptance, never that, but a sense of knowing his pain would vanish completely if he sank into the never-ending void of darkness that awaited him, beckoning. How beguiling the void was, like the last cold beer in the Sahara.

A part of him longed to simply fall into the peaceful abyss. The other part, the part that refused to be a failure... failure—was that Jewel's voice he heard? He fought to reach her, grinding his teeth together, clenching his muscles, and squeezing his hands into fists.

Where was she?

Hissing voices and grunts of fury suddenly echoed in his ears, claiming his focus; his own death dripped from each timbre, the evil sounds chilling his every cell. And with the sounds, a need to taste blood, warm and living blood, grew inside him. He yearned to drink sweet, crimson nectar from someone's throat. Yes, he needed to, would die if he didn't.

What the hell was happening to him? Around him? Inside him? His eyelids remained heavy, too heavy to open and look. He heard the clang of... swords? Claws? The louder the intonations became, the weaker he became. His chest constricted, making him all the more aware he needed to breathe.

'Gray.' The gentle beseeching drifted above the chaos encompassing him, drowning out the horrifying battle sounds. 'Gray.'

Jewel.

He recognized her sexy accent. She seemed closer than before. Reachable. The need for tasting blood abandoned him, replaced by a need to see Jewel. With every ounce of strength he possessed, he finally managed to pry open his eyelids—no, not his eyelids, but his mental eye—the very act more excruciating than taking a bullet.

In a flash of white light, Jewel materialized.

Dark walls surrounded her, and he realized they weren't in the forest. They were in some sort of shadow land.

'Your mind,' she said. 'We're inside your mind.'

He saw her float toward him, her hips swaying seductively. Her sheer white robe whispered around her ankles, a vivid contrast to the silky black hair cascading down her back. She looked like an angel.

Her rose-petal lips eased into a sweet smile. 'Gray,' she said again. 'Breathe with me.' Can't, he wanted to tell her. His mouth refused to obey.