His eyebrows shot up and his lips twitched like he wasn’t sure if I was serious or not. “Exploding?”
I laughed, but it died on my lips. “I am kidding. If everything goes as planned, this will be a routine extraction, quiet going in and quiet going out.” How many times had I heard my father use those two words? Routine extraction. He would never not be a marine even years after he’d lost his men in the desert.
The next two hours crawled, and I didn’t feel like talking so I leaned back and closed my eyes, pretending to sleep. In reality, I sunk myself into the energy that tied me to my pride. Kiara, Steve, and Darcy, all bundled together to the south. The best I could get from them was they were cold and hungry, but otherwise unhurt, though Kiara was the weakest of the three. That they were cold was an odd thing and a good clue as to just where they were. I wasn’t sure how well I’d be able to track them inside the Dominion. Cold meant they were likely underground.
Finally, I let myself look for Maks, finding him easily.
He was in the Jinn’s Dominion too, but farther to the east. Like the others, he was uninjured but still sick. Still dying. For the moment, he was alive. That was the best I could find. Ford lit up as he moved around, his energy buzzing orange, and Lila’s soft colors as she rested with me.
I let myself sink a little deeper, and I found the horses near the water, their energies the same color of silver, but with variations that allowed me to pick out Balder and Batman from the small herd with no problem. Funny, but I’d never considered them part of our pride, but it looked as though they were as tied to me as were the others.
Deeper yet, the sands around me shifted and danced, vibrating with an energy I’d never noticed.
Deeper again and the water called to me.
Deeper again, and against my back, the flail warmed, humming with energy. I paused there. The magic in the flail was hot, the heat of fresh blood spilled, of the last breath of life escaping a mouth, the heat of a burning fever before death claimed a new soul.
My eyes didn’t open and yet I could see the desert. The same place I’d been before.
The Emperor stood in front of me. “Zamira. I’m surprised to find you here.”
“You called me here, didn’t you?” I snapped as I moved to away from him. Once more I was stopped by something at my back, something that followed me around.
“I did not. You are finding a deep well of power in yourself, aren’t you?” His face was kindly as he smiled.
“You killed Destry and the giants,” I snapped.
“I did not.” He shook his head.
Well, what did I expect? That he’d take ownership? “Then who?”
“The one who would take my power for his own. I may be the monster in the dark, but the monster in front of you that wants my power is far deadlier to this world.” He sighed. “The choice will be yours soon, to decide the fate of our world.” The Emperor watched me closely. “What will you do? Will you kill Marsum and remove his jewel, freeing me? Or will you let him live and become the new ruler of your world?”
“I choose neither,” I snarled.
My hand reached up to the flail on my back.
“Damn it!” roared Ford, snapping me out of the trance as surely as a bucket of ice water doused over my head. I jerked upright, breathing hard as if I’d been running flat out.
I stared across at Ford who clutched his left hand. A new wound there, one that looked self-inflicted. I couldn’t help the exasperated snort that escaped me. “How exactly did you survive on your own?”
He shrugged, and I approached him with the hacka paste while I struggled to put together the vision I’d had.
I took his hand and turned it over, getting a good look at it. “It’s not deep. We need to save the paste for those we’re bringing out. There’s a good chance they’ll need it.”
Ford nodded. “Right, of course.” He took my hand in his good one, holding onto me. “I really am sorry about the things I said before. About you and Lila.”
I arched a single eyebrow, not sure if I believed him. Color me cautious when it came to men suddenly reversing their positions, but it smacked of him being up to something. “Sure. Thanks for the apology.”
He smiled and winked at me, then arched both brows high. “You think Darcy will like me?”
The question shouldn’t have surprised me. I took a step back, looking at him through the lens of a woman who sought a mate. He was tall, strong, well put together with a smart-ass attitude. And he was a black lion, which made him unique if you could deal with the cheek.
“Possibly. I honestly don’t know what her type is.” Which was true. My brother had loved her, and she had fucked Steve believing she should because he was the alpha apparent. I wasn’t sure that either had her heart.
He sagged a little. “Well, I’ll just have to convince her then, right? Any suggestions on how to show her I’m a good guy?”
“How about we get her the fuck out of the Jinn’s Dominion first before you start the courtship?” I walked over to my bag and dug around in the pack. “I’m going to get a pack ready for you. Then you’re going to shift to four legs, then you’re going to carry me all the way to your hold position at the edge of the Jinn’s Dominion so I don’t burn energy I don’t have to. Got that?” I dug through the gear, making sure there were a few clothes the girls could wear. “I need a pair of pants from you, besides those you’ll need.”
He threw a pair at me and I stuffed them into the bag. Extra weapons, a blanket, the last of the hacka paste, three water bags. On my own body, I tied the bag of magic dust to my belt, made sure the kukri blades and the flail were firmly attached and adjusted the straps over my chest and shoulders. The diamond was wrapped in a leather bag and I hefted its weight. On a whim, I looped it through the middle of my bra so the stone hung against my belly. Less noticeable than if I’d hung it from around my neck. I put a hand on the emerald stone, and at the last second tucked it into the bag.
The green stone was meant for Maks. I wasn’t sure I should give it to him, but I took it anyway.
From there, I got the five horses ready, and that took up the last of the daylight. I stroked Balder’s nose as I finished tacking him last. “You wait for me, buddy, but if I’m not back by tomorrow night, run back to the Stockyards.”
He snorted and pushed his head into my chest. I repeated the instructions to Batman. Both horses watched me with dark, serious eyes, as if they completely understood. I hoped they did.
“Lila, you ready?” I turned to find her buried in the ashes of Ford’s campfire. She popped her head up so only her violet eyes peered at me surrounded by painted black scales. I stared at her, my heart racing. “Shit, you look like your dad.”
She grinned and snarled. “Good, ’cause he’s a major fucker, don’t you think? Maybe they’ll fear me.”
I laughed and she flew to my shoulder. The coal ash clung to her scales. I waved a hand at Ford. “Strip and shift.”
He pulled off his clothes and threw them to me one at a time. I stuffed them into the bag and then he shifted into his lion form. He stretched and yawned, showing off his teeth.
“We’re like the eastern wall’s ninjas.” Lila giggled. “Scourges of the night!”
I laughed and went to Ford. I put a hand under his belly and he squirmed. “Stop that, I need to get the straps on you, fool.”
“Sorry, ticklish,” he grumbled.
Lila leapt from my shoulder to his, then up to his head. I quickly looped the wraps between his front legs and back up over his shoulders and tied them to the bag. “Feel good?” I asked him.
“Not bad. I can run with it on.” He turned his big head to me and I reflexively scratched under his chin the way I had with my brother how many times? Too many to count.
For just a moment, I felt him there with us. I looked to my left, the image of a ghostly golden lion pacing the Oasis. Only I wasn’t sure it was Bryce.
Blue eyes stared up at me from the golden lion.
My father’s ghost stared back at me.
I hoped to hell it wasn’t the bad omen it felt like.