Vampire in Atlantis

Better and better.
    When she didn’t respond, and not even a hint of her presence came to him, he tried to seek out a hint of her trail. The use of Atlantean magic had a unique signature, and he should be able to spot it easily enough.
    Should be able to find it quickly.
    Should be . . . but couldn’t.
    Not a single trace.
    “Nightwalker mage plus ancient Atlantean princess trumps my magic every time, I’m guessing,” he said out loud, to any of the local wildlife who might be interested. “I’m going to need help.”
    No way could he search the caves and canyons and nooks and crannies of this area by himself in time to find Serai before, oh, next year or so. It was almost dawn, so Daniel would have to head for the darkness. He had time to go for reinforcements. He called the portal again.
    “Daniel, I hope you know what you’re doing,” he told the cool night air, and then he stepped through the portal. Time to go back to Atlantis and regroup.

Chapter 26
     

     
    Daniel and Serai hiked steadily, making better progress than they had thus far, until nearly dawn, when he called for a break.
    “We’ll need to stop soon and find a place to rest.” He scanned the area for one of the many caves that would give him sufficient darkness to avoid the deadly rays of the sun.
    Serai kept hiking, not even slowing down. “I’m not tired.”
    “Nor am I, but unless you like your companions slightly flambéed, we need to get out of the sun.”
    She instantly stopped walking and whirled around. “I’m sorry, Daniel. I wasn’t thinking. I just—we’re so close, and I can feel the Emperor in my brain, pounding and pounding its call, and—”
    “I know. I’m sorry I can’t help you in the daylight. If you have changed your mind and want to call Conlan and Ven, you know I think it’s a good idea.”
    “No,” she said, not even hesitating. “I still don’t trust them.”
    “What about Reisen?”
    She shook her head. “I’ve tried several times to contact him to see if they’re well. If Melody survived. But he won’t answer me.”
    “Or he can’t answer you,” Daniel said grimly. “Neither option is good for us.”
    She put her hands on his shoulders and looked up at him with nothing but trust in her eyes. “We can do this. We can. We’ll rest for the day and find the Emperor tonight.”
    “If it’s still here to be found,” he said grimly. “We don’t know when they’re going to move it, Serai. We need to contact Ven and Conlan, now. Too much—too many lives—depend on us finding that stone for us to wait a single minute longer.”
    She sighed and moved away from him, saying nothing, but she raised her face to the sky and closed her eyes. A long moment later, she inhaled sharply and opened her eyes.
    “There’s no response. They’re gone.”
    “That’s impossible. They wouldn’t have just left, not with the Emperor lost and your life and those other women’s lives on the line. Try again.”
    She did, but then shook her head. This time she looked a little frightened. “They’re gone, Daniel. Either dead or gone back to Atlantis, or somewhere else that is far out of my range.”
    “What is your range?”
    She shrugged. “Perhaps a thousand miles, in current measurements? More or less.”
    “That’s pretty impressive. And you’re sure? Absolutely sure?”
    “Yes. There is nothing. It’s different from Reisen; I can feel his presence but he won’t answer or has his mental communication pathway shut to all messages, not just mine. But there is no trace of Conlan, Ven, or the Nereid at all.”
    Daniel put his arms around her and pulled her close, unable to resist comforting her.
    “I can call the portal, if you’re sure we need them,” she murmured, her breath warm against his neck.
    He tried very hard to concentrate on facts and the mission at hand, but the reality of her soft warmth against his body was knocking all of his brain cells out of his head as his blood rushed south.
    “Portal?” He kissed her cheek, and her nose, and her other cheek, before taking her mouth. Heat rushed through him, a conflagration so intense he almost thought he had been caught in the sun, from her touch and the way she responded to him.
    “Sun. Need to get out of the open,” he managed, when he could make himself stop kissing her. “Can you call the portal from inside the cave?”
    “Of course,” she said. “Which cave?”
    “There.” He pointed to an opening that nature had carved