Vampire in Atlantis

practice that it probably would take some time.
    She would provide a distraction, then.
    “Why are you referring to yourself in the plural?” She called to the water magic and formed two apple-sized spheres of water and light, which she casually began to juggle from hand to hand. A bit of fun to distract children, but perhaps it also worked on those who were mentally unstable. A man who referred to himself as “we” would fit in that category.
    He watched her with great concentration, a look of joy and fascination on his face. “I have not seen the mummer’s balls of waterlight since I was a child,” he said. “My mother’s sister came to visit me once . . . It is a Nereid magic, I had heard.”
    Serai noticed Daniel raising his hands, his eyes closed tightly, and knew she had to keep the warrior distracted for just a little while longer.
    She tossed one of the spheres toward Justice, who instinctively raised his free hand to catch it, lowering his sword hand even further. He laughed when the sphere splashed and dissolved against his fingers.
    “Daniel did not attack me, Lord Justice,” she said softly, in a sing-song cadence, riding her own magic on the waves of Daniel’s gentle persuasive push, but it was too much, too soon, and Justice’s face hardened.
    “We saw him. He attacked you, and you fell.”
    She took a step toward him. “No. I was dizzy from the magical fluctuations of the Emperor. A witch is attempting to use it for her own ends, and the backlash is harming me and the other maidens. Daniel has been protecting me and supporting me as we seek it.”
    Justice looked doubtful, but she took another step toward him. “Is it not your duty to protect me, as a Warrior of Poseidon?”
    “Yes, of course, my lady, but—”
    “Then you must allow me to continue my quest, and allow Daniel to help me do so. If I don’t find the Emperor, I may die. All of the maidens still in stasis may die.”
    He hesitated, but then shook his head and raised his sword again, this time in a defensive position, but still aimed at Daniel. “We cannot take the chance that you have been misled by the vampire’s magic. We will all wait here for Conlan’s return.”
    “I’m sorry, Justice, but we’re out of time, my friend,” Daniel said. He sliced one hand through the air, chanting under his breath, and Justice froze in place, as still as one of the statues in the palace atrium, nothing but his eyes moving.
    The look in those eyes promised a slow and brutal death to his assailant when the immobilizing magic wore off, however.
    “Everything she told you was the truth, Justice, but we just don’t have the time to wait. Serai is growing weaker every minute. If we don’t find that Emperor soon, it could be very bad.”
    Daniel raised his hands into the air, and Justice’s immobilized body turned sideways and then floated down gently to the grass. The strain from using the magic was plain on Daniel’s face, and Serai automatically sent her own magic flowing through the air to support his, not thinking of the cost to her strength.
    She staggered a little, and Daniel ran to her and caught her before she fell.
    “We must move, now,” she whispered. “It’s growing worse, Daniel. I don’t know how much longer I can go on.”
    “Can we try to fly again?”
    A wave of panic rushed through her at the idea, and she stumbled again as her knees went weak.
    Daniel nodded grimly. “I see the answer is no,” he said. “We’ll hike faster. I’ll carry you if I need to.”
    “Conlan and Ven will find you,” Daniel told Justice. “They should be back soon. You can contact them through your telepathy thing, I’m guessing?”
    “Yes, he should be able to do so,” Serai answered, since Justice obviously could not. “We need to go now, Daniel. Please.”
    “I’m sorry,” Daniel told Justice, and then they set off again, he all but carrying her as they walked toward the resonance of the Emperor’s power, shining like a beacon in her mind.
    They hiked in silence for perhaps twenty minutes, until they reached an obstruction on the path. She put her arm around Daniel’s waist, and he flinched a little.
    She pulled her hand back and stared down, uncomprehending, at the dark wetness on her fingers where they’d grasped his waist.
    “You’re injured? This is blood?” She pulled him around to face her and pushed his shirt away from his skin before he could protest. A slender gash in his side steadily dripped