Warriors of Poseidon 05 - Atlantis Redeemed

family be?”
    He frowned. “War. You think it will come to that?”
    “What else? We are on the verge of world domination, if these scientists succeed in their experiments. The entire planet will become a feeding ground for vampires if somebody doesn’t stop it.”
    He touched her face, and a bolt of pure desire raced through him, just from the feel of her cheek under his fingers. “Why does it always have to be you?”
    She leaned into his touch, shivering like a frightened doe. But this was Quinn, and if she’d ever been truly frightened, he’d never seen it. Shivering with pleasure at his touch, perhaps. The idea warmed him, but she had not answered his question.
    “Why you?” he repeated, knowing the answer, not wanting to hear it, but compelled to ask.
    She closed her eyes and turned her face, then pressed the gentlest of kisses on his palm. “Who Atlantis Redeemed – Warriors of Poseidon 05
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    else?” she whispered. “Answer me that, Alaric. If not me, if not you, then who else? Do we stand by while our world is destroyed?”
    “You could return to Atlantis with me. The vampires will never reach us there,” he said, knowing it was futile. Knowing it wasn’t even something he would want for her, and it could never be what he would do. Trapped, knowing they sat idly by while the world ended.
    Never.
    She knew it, too, because she moved away a little, but she smiled. “And Alaric fiddled while Rome burned,” she said. “Somehow I can’t see it.”
    “Wishes have voices sometimes.”
    “Do they?” She stared off into the distance, and he wondered what she saw there in the dark corners of her mind. “Mine do not. They have gone silent and still.”
    “The dictate of celibacy,” Alaric blurted out. “It was a lie.”
    She slowly raised her head, sudden passion mixed with hope burning in her eyes so brightly he wanted to cry out. But then her eyes dimmed, and she turned away. “Even so. My reasons are unchanged. We have no time to discuss this now, while your friend is in danger.”
    She started walking away, following Jack’s path, but Alaric couldn’t bear it. He caught her arm and pulled her back. “And after? Will you at least hear me out?”
    She stared at him for a very long time, but then she nodded. “After. Now we have to go. I have an idea of which direction they went.”

Chapter 36
    Tiernan and Brennan ran. Past the rooms that looked like more labs, more holding cells, and guard quarters. They ran, and they were lucky. They didn’t see anybody. They didn’t see an exit, either, so they kept running, although they were slow and clumsy from captivity and trying hard to be quiet, which slowed them up even more.
    They came to a branching intersection and skidded to a stop.
    “Sure. All that expensive equipment and nobody could afford an exit sign,” Tiernan said bitterly.
    “Which way?”
    He shook his head. “I can only guess.”
    “Let’s go right. We’ve taken enough left turns on this mission,” she said.
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    They took the right-hand turn and ran, and when the corridor snaked left, they followed it, only to run into two very surprised people heading toward them.
    Strike that. Litton and a very scary-looking vampire.
    Brennan raised his hands into the air, but a buzzing sound came from behind them with no warning, and the next thing Tiernan knew, Brennan was down on the floor, straining against the electricity of the Taser charge.
    “You didn’t think you could escape, did you?” Litton said, sneering.
    “This is the human with the resistance?” The vampire stared down at Brennan. “Easy enough to subdue.” He kicked Brennan in the head.
    Tiernan screamed. “No, damn you!” She dropped to Brennan’s side, ripped her torn sleeve off completely, and wrapped her hand in it to pull the Taser leads from his skin. Then she lifted his head into her lap. He was bleeding, but he was still breathing. She stared up at the vampire and silently swore she’d stake him in his nonexistent heart before she died, if she had to spend the rest of her life trying.
    “Now it’s your turn,” Litton said, and she flinched, but he obviously didn’t mean her turn to get kicked in the head.
    They dragged her off and strapped her back down in that damn chair. She fought them until one of the guards came into the room.
    “Dr. Litton, we thought you should know that Mr. Brennan is dead,” he said, and