The other questions could wait. Her past wasn't going anywhere. Right now, she needed to find out what his motivations were, because it was clear something was driving his actions. The other guardians had recognized her. That much was now obvious, but they hadn't seen fit to enlighten her. Maybe they thought she was here for some reason only a Savior would know, or maybe they had some other reasons for keeping quiet.

  This guardian had gone out of his way to make sure Tate saw that painting. She wanted to know why.

  He held his hand out to the cell doorway.

  "No, I want to know why you took me there. Why did you show me that painting? Do you know why I was left asleep?"

  He gestured to the cell again, more emphatically this time. She shook her head and folded her arms.

  A noise from the far end of the hall distracted her. As she turned, Grimsly stopped and stared, his eyes comically wide.

  "What are you doing out of the cell?" Grimsly asked.

  Before she could respond, the other guardian shoved her back inside her cell and slammed the door. An eerie giggle reached her, and brown eyes peered at her through a small opening between the door’s slats.

  She knew that laugh. It haunted her in her dreams sometimes.

  "Christopher," Tate whispered, her eyes widening in surprise.

  "I hear you’ve been looking for me,” he said in a coy voice.

  Tate breathed out through her nose, even as Night, hearing his voice, roared and bounded forward. She didn’t like that he knew that. It meant either he was incredibly connected to hear what they’d been very careful about keeping under a veil of secrecy. That, or he was having her followed.

  “Now you know I wasn't lying about what I told you the last time I saw you," Christopher said. "I hope you remember this for our next encounter."

  He let out another giggle.

  "One last thing—you’re a lot closer to those responsible for your lost lambs than you think," he said with a strange twist to his lips.

  "You took them," Tate said, her voice tight. She should have known as soon as this started.

  His giggle came again. "Stop, you're making me blush." His eyes glittered as they stared at her. "No, I wish. The people behind this are not the sort I would ever consort with. You know who I'm talking about."

  Before she could respond, his eyes disappeared from the small space followed by the echoing sound of running footsteps. Tate ran to look out the same slat, noting Grimsly chasing after Christopher.

  She tried to call out to him, to tell him not to pursue. Christopher was a dangerous man, responsible for the deaths of several people. She didn't want anything to happen to the other guardian, and if he went after Christopher alone, the chances of that were good.

  The sound of panting reached her moments before Grimsly appeared in her narrow field of view. "I lost him."

  "That's probably for the best," Tate responded. "Christopher is a very dangerous man."

  "I'm going to need to report this to the Grand Master," Grimsly said with an uneasy frown. "He's not going to be happy. This is the second breech today."

  That was probably for the best.

  "Why were you out of the cell?" Grimsly asked, his eyes curious.

  Tate blinked at him with an innocent look on her face. "He was wearing guardian robes and indicated I needed to come with him."

  "Good thing I came along when I did," Grimsly said. "Who knows what he would have done to you if he'd gotten you alone."

  Tate gave him a small smile, grateful he'd arrived at the conclusion he had. It would save her the trouble of having to think of a plausible lie. "Yes, it could have been a lot worse."

  She didn't want to share what had really happened or what she'd seen. Grimsly hadn't seemed to recognize her as a couple of the guardians had. She saw no reason to change that.

  "Thora should be here soon," Grimsly said. "I'm sure everything will be cleared up shortly."

  He gave her a regretful nod before stepping away from her cell. Tate listened to his footsteps retreat down the hall.

  What did Brown Eyes show you? Night asked.

  Tate gazed down at where he'd taken a seat at her feet. "My past."

  His enigmatic gaze held hers as his tail swished behind him, the only sign of his disquiet. Is it bad?

  She took a deep breath. "Guess it depends on how you look at it."

  Night's ears flicked. He'd never been as driven as Tate to uncover his memories. He remembered a little more than she did, most of it dealing with blood and death. It hadn't given him a lot of motivation to search for more.

  Tate was the opposite. For as long as her memories stretched back, she'd felt there was a giant piece missing—like she'd forgotten something important, something crucial. It had driven her to commit more than a few acts of folly.

  Now that she had some answers, it spawned new questions. Only this time she wasn't certain those answers would give any more peace of mind than the last ones had.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  THE WAIT GAVE Tate too much time to think—about the children, about what was happening to them, her past, and Christopher's agenda. Her mind just wouldn't slow down.

  She was almost grateful when the cell door flew open, and Ryu loomed in the doorway, his jaw clenched and an irritated expression on his face.

  He curled his fingers at her and then walked off, anger rolling off him in waves. She sighed as she climbed to her feet, her body protesting the abrupt movement after being seated so long on the cold ground. Night yawned as he lumbered to his feet and prowled out of the door, showing none of Tate's stiffness.

  They followed Ryu and his guide through the hallways until they ended back at the treasure room, as Tate called it. Ryu waited by the door, stopping her with a hand on her wrist as he said in a low voice, "I don't think I have to tell you the kind of trouble you're in."

  "It was worth it," Tate returned in a sharp voice. She hadn't forgotten her anger of before. "I found the children and your missing dragon."

  His eyes flared. "I hope so, because the guardians are demanding an example be made of you. Right now, Thora is inclined to give them one."

  Good to know. It meant she would need to tread carefully and hope they could see reason.

  She preceded him into the room, calm and composed, not reflecting the turmoil currently taking place inside.

  Thora, Keel and Basalt Olar stood next to the mirror. The range of emotions on their faces ran the gamut. Thora looked fit to be tied, sending a fuming, irritated glare her way as soon as she appeared, while Keel looked composed and unruffled as if the events of today in no way impacted his inner serenity. Basalt Olar just looked amused and smug. In his mind, he'd already won.

  Night prowled over to the mirror, giving it a good sniff before ambling back to Tate. Thora's eyes fixed on him, a brief spark of interest in their depths before a mask slammed down. Tate had forgotten he hadn't met Night yet. Just the cubs.

  "Would you like to provide an explanation for your willful disregard of my orders?" Thora rumbled, a hint of his dragon in his voice.

  Tate tapped her fingers on her thigh, a nervous habit, as she tried to think of the best way to phrase this. She would have preferred to talk to Thora and Ryu alone before involving the other men.

  They might be important, and she had no real reason to mistrust either man, but some sense told her to be cautious in revealing what she knew. Lives might depend on it, and as Christopher had already proven once today, this place wasn't as airtight as they would like to pretend. It also hadn’t escaped her that the mirror that just happened to lead straight to the children, had been discovered in the guardians’ stronghold. It wasn’t a far jump to assume they might have something to do with all of this.

  "I didn't 'willfully disregard' your orders." Well, she had, but he didn't need to know that right now. "As I already told the guardian over there, we came through the mirror. I had no idea it was going to lead here. That just happened to be coincidence."

  Thora stared at her, a vein in his temple bulging just the faintest bit. Tate met his gaze with a bland expression. Dewdrop and Night would have known it for what it was. Ryu too. She just hoped he'd keep his mouth shut until she could explain her real purpose.

  "You came out of the mirror," Thora said in a flat voice.

  "Yup."

  "To a place you were expressly forbidden to go."

  "That about covers it."

  Thora stared at her in silence.

  "They have a guardian that saw us come out," Tate said when the silence became excruciatingly long.

  "Show me," he said with an expectant look.

  "Show you?" Tate cocked her head, off-balance at his request.

  "Yes, show me how the mirror works," he said in as patient a voice as he could muster.

  Tate and Night shared an uneasy look, neither one of them forgetting the creature that had driven them back through the mirror.

  "Unless, this has all been a lie," Basalt Olar said.

  Thora twitched but otherwise didn't react to the accusation.

  Tate gave him a razor-sharp smile. "It's not a lie."

  And, she'd prove it. Giving herself a strict pep talk, she walked over to the mirror. She'd just go through then jump immediately back. Chances were that the monster wasn't hovering right on the other side, waiting for her to come back through. Hours had passed. It had probably grown bored. She'd just prove they weren't lying and then walk back through before anything attacked.

  Should be simple enough. Night gave her a look like he knew her thoughts. She knew his too, because right now he was thinking that nothing was ever simple when they were involved.

  Tate took a deep breath. Might as well get this over with. She started for the mirror, bracing herself for the shift and ran head first into glass instead. Pain radiated from the spot where she'd connected, and she staggered back a few steps.

  She touched her head and drew her hands back in disbelief as blood coated her fingers. Then looked back at the mirror with an incredulous expression. What the hell had just happened?

  "While her commitment to her lie does her credit, it doesn't change the fact that her statements are fabrications," Olar drawled.

  Tate ignored him and patted the mirror, frowning at it when it remained in a solid state. "I don't understand."

  "It's simple. You've been proven a liar," Olar returned.

  Night padded up to her and sniffed at the mirror, lifting both paws and leaning against it. He bounced on the glass a few times as if it just needed a little nudge to get working, like it was a door that was stuck.

  "That is a priceless relic from the Saviors," Keel objected, frowning in disapproval.

  Neither Tate nor Night paid him any attention.

  Night lifted his head to gaze up at Tate. Maybe it would help if I sneezed on it again.

  "I doubt that would make much of a difference," she retorted.

  He gave a feline shrug before dropping back down to all fours. You never know.

  Olar stared at her with an expression that was part glee and part sick fascination. "Perhaps I was wrong and it's not that she's a liar, but rather that she suffers from dragon madness. My men did tell me she had an incident earlier this summer."

  Thora and Ryu both sent him fulminating looks.

  "I'm not mad," Tate responded.

  "How else do explain hearing voices that aren't there?" he asked in what was meant to be a kind voice.

  She stared at him with a blank expression. It took her a long moment to realize he was talking about what must have seemed like her one-sided conversation with Night.

  Ryu arrived at the same conclusion as her. "Her companion can speak telepathically. He can choose who hears his voice. She has shown no signs of dragon madness."

  Olar looked at Night with distaste. The bearcat licked his chops and stared at the other man like he was a piece of raw meat. It was a struggle for Tate to conceal her amusement at Olar's obvious discomfort.

  Olar looked back at Ryu with a superior expression. "Would you submit to an exam by a truth sayer attesting to that fact?"

  Ryu didn't look daunted. "If my commander thinks it necessary."

  "He doesn't," Thora said in a hard voice. "You overstep, Basalt Olar. It is not in your authority to request such a thing of one of mine."

  "Given those under you seem to flout your orders, I don't see you remaining in your position long," Olar said. "Especially when the council of lords realize how far your control of your dragons has fallen."

  "Until such time as I am forced out, they will continue to answer to me, and me alone," Thora said with a dragon's smile—all teeth and silken promises of death.

  Tate watched the back and forth with a sinking feeling. The mirror had picked the worst possible time to quit working. She turned back to it and touched the frame with the hand that had the relic on it. The thing had worked miracles in the past.

  "Come on," she muttered in a low voice. The mirror's surface remained still, no hint of the ripples or glowing symbols.

  "Be that as it may, we still have not solved the issue of what to do about your dragon," Keel said, interrupting the men as their voices grew heated.

  The focus shifted to Tate and the mirror frame she was still clutching. She let out a frustrated breath and stepped back. Since the visual aid wasn't going to work, she'd just have to be persuasive.

  "Yes, the mirror isn't working for some unknown reason. Just like the one in your library wasn't working, and then it was," Tate told Thora. "We don't know what turns them on or off, but one of your own people told you that we came out of the mirror." This she directed at Keel. The next part she said to Thora. "And you saw the creature come out of your mirror."

  Thora looked like he was considering her words. "Her argument is reasonable."

  "My guardian has since recanted that claim," Keel said in a stiff voice.

  "What?" Tate asked in outrage.

  Keel ignored her. "He said he could have been mistaken—that it was possible she and the creature were just hiding behind it."

  They all looked at the mirror where it stood next to a wall. There was no way Tate, let alone Night, would have been able to fit back there.

  "I can't believe this," Tate swore. Night let out a chuff of agreement. "You’re a liar."

  "What would be the purpose in that?" Keel said in a cold voice.

  She lifted her shoulders. "I don't know. It's that, or you intimidated your novitiate to change his story. I wonder what your vaunted Saviors would have to say about that."

  The words hit their target. He flinched, a movement barely perceptible.

  "You hold your tongue. We will not tolerate such blasphemy," Olar snapped, his voice thunderous.

  "You don't know what you're talking about," Keel said, his face and voice once again composed.

  Tate looked him up and down, letting him see her disdain. "You'd be surprised."

  It was on the tip of her tongue to let him know that she'd seen the painting, that she knew the truth. The only things stopping her was the fact that she didn't know the whole truth and given the debacle with the mirror, she didn't want to go on another hunt for that room, especially given she wasn't entirely sure where it was.

  Her credibility had already taken a hit. Anything further would sound like she was grasping at straws.

  "I will not sit here and listen while she insults our Saviors," Olar said, his voice loud and his face enraged. "You do something about this, or I will."

  Thora's face was resigned. "We'll take her into custody, her punishment to be decided at a later time when all parties have calmed down."

  "I want my men watching her as well," Olar said, a sneer aimed at Tate. "She's already proven she has little respect for your authority."

  "She's a dragon. We take care of our own." Thora's expression said he considered the matter settled.

  "I must object.” Olar’s voice rose.

  "As we've stated before, your Order has no sway over us," Thora said in a smooth voice. "You can object all you want. We’ll still be taking Tate and Night with us."

  "He's not a dragon. He isn't protected by the same laws," Olar argued.

  "He's part of her household," Ryu retorted. "And entitled to the same protections."

  Olar began to object.

  "We're done with this subject. Ryu, bring Tate and her friend," Thora snapped before stalking off.

  Ryu's face was grave as he caught Tate by the arm and pulled her in Thora's wake.

  "Ryu, I'm not lying. There’s something you need to know." Tate tried to pull away from his arm.

  "Don't make this any harder than it has to be, Tate." Ryu's hold tightened, giving her no quarter. To Night, he said, "I wouldn't recommend running. The Order will kill you on sight."

  Night bared his teeth but followed docilely behind them as Ryu hauled Tate through the halls and out another entrance, bypassing the hall of heroes. Probably for the best. The worshipers would no doubt have been scandalized at the sight of a dragon-ridden being hauled away from the guardians’ temple in disgrace.

  "Ryu," Tate protested.

  "Enough. Just be quiet for once," Ryu said, his voice harsh.

  Tate flinched. He’d never spoken to her in such a way before. It left her feeling cold inside.

  "I don't care about your excuses right now. What you've done has put yourself and all of us in danger," Ryu said. His pace was fast, and Tate had to move quickly to keep up or risk being dragged like a recalcitrant child. "Just don't. Not right now. You don't even know what you've done."

  Tate pressed her lips together as they left the temple behind and headed to the Emperor's elevator. Thora was a fair distance ahead of them, people hurrying out of his way as soon as they caught a glimpse of his expression—one that Tate could only assume was volcanic.

  He stalked into the cavern that held the elevator, Tate and Ryu close enough to see the guards leap to attention as if someone had set their clothing on fire as they fell all over themselves to summon the elevator.

  Thora waited in fuming silence, tension thickening in the air. It felt like it was squeezing Tate, trying to suffocate her with its weight. Night's eyes fell to half-mast, and he gave his surroundings a lazy glance, seemingly unaffected by the anger of the other two dragons. Tate wished she felt the same. As it was, the barely suppressed anger made her itch for escape—from them, this situation, maybe even Aurelia.

 

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