Warriors of Poseidon 04 - Atlantis Unmasked

hair.
     
    Very, very few men could subdue her so easily. But then again, he was a seasoned and powerful warrior, and one of the last of the race of weretigers. More than two hundred fifty pounds of muscle in human form and twice that as a big cat.
     
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    “I know it‟s been a while, Grace, but that‟s no way to say hello to an old friend,” he said, laughing a little. “Also, that old saying about not having enough sense to come in out of the rain comes to mind.”
     
    “Jack! I thought you and Quinn were on a mission somewhere in—”
     
    Something in the way he narrowed his eyes stopped her from continuing. “Sorry. It‟s just—”
     
    He lowered her to her feet and gave her a brief hug. “No details. Not here, Grace. Not out in the open.”
     
    Walking to the barrier she‟d nearly tumbled over, he stared out at the sea. “I need to join Quinn, but I can‟t tell even you any more about it. We have a lead we think is important regarding the . . . object we . . . lost . . . back in St. Louis.”
     
    She nodded. Vonos had stolen the gem the Atlanteans called the Vampire‟s Bane: a rare yellow diamond that reportedly had the power to kill other vampires without harming the one who wielded it. Vonos already had way too much power as Primator.
    Now that he possessed a weapon of mass destruction that could kill his own kind, the heavyweight threat was very effectively making him many, many alliances with vamps who‟d rather join up than die.
     
    “It may be here?” Vonos quite famously owned a winter home in Florida near Daytona Beach; Undead People magazine had done a cover spread on “The Primator at Home.”
    She‟d seen it at the checkout stand at the grocery store and promptly lost her appetite.
     
    Jack nodded, a muscle clenching in his jaw. “Apparently it‟s some vamp macho thing to have a home in the sunniest place around. Shows you‟re tougher than all the other bloodsuckers.”
     
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    “Would he keep it here, though? Wouldn‟t the Primus be safer? I heard that the place is a fortress.”
     
    He turned his face up to the rain, closing his eyes, for a moment, and then turned back to her, tension evident in the way he held his head and body. “It is. I hear they‟ve beefed up security, too, after we broke in.”
     
    Grace blinked. “You broke into the Primus? What? With all those vamps? I heard it‟s like the undead Fort Knox.”
     
    He shrugged. “You heard right. But we had a few advantages. Ask Quinn to tell you about it sometime.” But as soon as he said it, his mouth tightened and he shook his head. “On second thought, never mind.”
     
    “Come inside, at least,” she urged. “Let‟s find dry clothes, make coffee, and talk. There are only a few of us here until the new group of recruits shows up in the morning.”
     
    “I can‟t. There‟s no time. I only came to give you a message, so here it is: you can‟t trust anything the Fae tell you.”
     
    She tilted her head, studying his face, but his expression gave nothing away. “The Fae can‟t lie. You know that.”
     
    “The Fae are masters at telling the truth without telling the truth, and you know that .
    Masters of misdirection and manipulation.”
     
    She nodded slowly. “Of course I know that. I just find it interesting that the same night I had a visit from a high prince of the High House, Seelie Court, you show up to warn me about the Fae.”
     
    Interest sharpened his face. “Already? Rhys was here?”
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    “Not here. At the beach where I swim.”
     
    He gave her a quick once-over and grinned. “Naked?”
     
    He‟d surprised a laugh out of her. It was rusty, like her sense of humor. “No, not naked, you perv.”
     
    “Hey! You‟ve got to watch out for those elves. The whole lot of them are horny, untrustworthy bastards.”
     
    She raised an eyebrow. “Didn‟t you just describe most men?”
     
    Jack clutched his heart. “Ouch. Point and match.” But his teasing smile faded and he put a hand on her arm. “Watch out for the Fae. Tell Alexios about it—everything, don‟t leave anything out—and whatever you do, be careful.”
     
    “I‟m always careful, tiger,” she said, letting a little of the arrogance and power of her birthright flow into her words and stance. “I am a descendant of