The Atlantean crystal.
After witnessing its power with Zael and Jenna the other day, Lucan could not deny that he’d been thinking of little else. If two crystals had been used by the Ancients to destroy the entire realm of Atlantis, then nothing—and no one—would be able to stop the Order if they had another in their possession.
Zael had divulged when they met for the first time that a group of Atlanteans who fled the realm and formed their own hidden colony had taken a crystal with them. The Order had Zael’s alliance, but Lucan dreaded that there might come a day—and soon—that they would also need his help in building a weapon capable of ending any war before it even had a chance to start.
As the thought churned in his mind, Chase emerged from out of the shadows of a side street and headed their way.
“Any sign of Brynne?” Lucan asked.
Chase shook his head. “Found the SUV where Nathan said it would be, but it’s empty. Looks like she got out on her own and fled on foot. No sign of her anywhere, from what I could find.”
Dante shrugged, smirking. “The way Zael poofed out of headquarters at the mention of her, I have a feeling when we find him, we’ve located Brynne too. Also, where do I sign up to get one of those cool Atlantean transporter bracelets?”
Chase chuckled, but Lucan had a hard time feeling the humor. “Whatever is going on between Zael and Brynne, they picked a damned lousy time for it. We can’t afford distractions like this at headquarters when everything is going to shit around us.”
Dante quirked a brow. “Talk about old times. I recall you saying that to more than a few of us back in the day. No doubt you told yourself that same shit when it came to Gabrielle too.”
Yeah, he did and he had. It was an argument he wouldn’t win now, but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
“Keep an eye out for both of them,” he instructed the two warriors. As he spoke, his comm unit buzzed his ear with an incoming call from Tegan, who was commanding another of the patrol teams that had fanned out to cover more ground. “What’ve you got?”
“Six Rogues ashed between the park and the university,” Tegan said. “We’re all clear here. Rio and Kade are with Nathan near the government center and they’ve spotted another gang of Rogues over there.”
Lucan swore under his breath. At this rate, it was going to be another long night.
“I’m with Chase and Dante. We’re on our way there now.”
CHAPTER 21
If she needed confirmation of how hideous she was now—a monster—she had it.
Zael went utterly still the instant his eyes locked on her transformation. He cursed something low under his breath, something in a language that she didn’t understand.
“Brynne,” he murmured. “My God…”
Her heart twisted at the stunned tone of his deep voice. She knew what he was seeing. She knew what she was—the flawed, imbalanced result of a DNA experiment that never should have happened.
An anomaly.
A mistake.
An abomination.
She slowly pulled herself up from her crouch in the corner of the old fire escape. Zael watched her move, caution in his stance and in his confused expression. The predator in her took great satisfaction in seeing a powerful being like Zael on guard as she rose to her feet. It was that part of her that worried her, too, because once the monster took hold of her, not even she could fully rein it in.
“Stay away, Zael. I’m warning you.”
“Tell me what happened. It’s okay, Brynne. I only want to understand.”
She scoffed, certain the softness that crept into his tone was based on pity or revulsion. The inhuman part of her preferred his wariness over this tender attempt to put her at ease.
She took a sideways step, following the railing of the fire escape.