Warriors of Poseidon 02 - Atlantis Awakening

rasping of their breath and the ringing of boot heels on stone.
     
    Resisting the urge to open his eyes, he gave no sign that he was waking up from whatever drug the darts had pumped into his system. The poison was strong, but his immune system was proof against all but the most virulent poisons and had undoubtedly been attacking the molecules of the foreign substance until his bloodstream was recovering from its effects. But the properties of Atlantean health and recuperative powers were not widely known, and he was counting on the attackers to believe he'd be unconscious for quite a while.
     
    He slowly lifted one eyelid a hairsbreadth of space and saw nothing but darkness. He mentally counted off a full thirty seconds before opening his eye a little more, and still saw nothing but darkness. Vamps and shape-shifters had night vision that was superior to his, so they undoubtedly didn't need light.
     
    As they continued their descent, he considered his options. He wasn't entirely sure the poison's effects were diluted enough for him to be able to manage the transformation to mist, or at least to be able to affect it before they could stab him with another dart.
     
    Awake and feigning unconsciousness, he held a temporary edge. He decided to stay as he was until he could determine what had happened to Quinn and Jack. Careful not to give any hint that he'd woken up, he began counting footsteps. It was always a good survival tactic to know the direction and duration of any exit routes.
     
    Exactly three hundred and thirty-seven steps later, the quality of light on his closed eyelids changed. Instead of the constant black, a reddish glow came through. Again, Justice cautiously raised one eyelid just enough to see that they were not walking in total darkness any longer. From his facedown position, he could see a flickering reddish-yellow glow reflected off the small pools of water on the ground. Wherever they were headed, there was either fire or torches. Either way, he'd finally be able to see Atlantis Awakening – Warriors of Poseidon 02
    Page 242 of 296
    what he'd gotten himself into. He couldn't look up high enough to see if any of the men following his captors held Quinn, but he did see the legs of several of them who were walking in a closely gathered group. When one of them stumbled, a long orange and black striped tail swung free and smacked the man right in the groin, prompting a howl of outrage.
     
    Way to go, Jack.
     
    "Keep it together, you lot," snarled the man on Justice's left, clearly a shape-shifter. "I don't want to be anything but model wolves until we find out what exactly that bastard plans to do with those vials of Special K."
     
    The one who'd gotten his nuts smacked growled, but subsided, and then the shifter carrying Justice's right arm and leg spoke up in a low tone. "I didn't like the sound of that. The mouthy little human had a point. Whatare our supposed allies doing packing ketamine? That Calgoolie fellow has a rep for offing his help."
     
    "It's Caligula, you illiterate asshole. Used to be a Roman emperor, right? Anyway, he says he had the Special K for the tiger, although why anybody'd want to play with a live tiger, ancient vamp or not, is beyond me. I've heard of this Jack, too. He's one of the meanest shifters around. Vamps killed his whole pride."
     
    "That's lions. Tigers call 'em something different, I think. Streaks?"
     
    "I don't give a square shit what they call them! Whatever the name, the result is the same. Killed his entire pack or streak or whatever, and he's been dusting vamps ever since."
     
    "Can't say as I blame him for that. If somebody came after our pack…" His voice trailed off into guttural growls, and the fierce need to get his hands on a sword gripped Justice so hard he had to fight a mental battle with himself to remain limp in their grasp.
    Atlantis Awakening – Warriors of Poseidon 02
    Page 243 of 296
    "I hear you. But that ain't our concern. We do this, we get paid, we move on. First we got to survive meeting the big man himself, and we're almost here."
     
    They made a jerky, awkward turn to the right, bashing Justice's already wounded head against the stone wall, and then stopped. The orangey light flared brighter in this space than it had in the tunnel. Justice snapped his eyes closed, in case the room boasted guards who were a little more alert than the two carrying him.
     
    Justice fixed the information in his memory. At least three hundred