“Where’s Ana?” I asked, looking around for her. I didn’t even see the soldier who had been holding her.
“From what I heard she took off as soon as she got out. Seems like she’s more accustomed to portal travel than the rest of us.”
I sighed my frustration, but it was just another thing that couldn’t be helped.
Ronon was down to his last group of ten and looked at me expectantly. “What’s the plan?”
“Plan?”
“You do have one, don’t you?” he asked, his tone was as sharp as the blades on his back.
“Yes, I do, I just didn’t plan on them involving you,” I flung the words at him, tired of standing on the hillside. I was ready to make my way to the Château and see the state of things. There wasn’t a roaring fire like before, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t carnage hidden behind the walls.
“You’re not going alone,” his voice sounded deadly. “Now, what’s the plan?”
I opened my mouth to protest, but the ferocity it his eyes shut me up. There wasn’t time to fight, not him at least.
“Well, if Baal really is down there, then I need to make a little pit stop,” I said, turning my sights down the hillside.
“Oh, he is,” Titan said menacingly, as he strode up beside me.
“How do you know?”
“I just do,” he said, with no explanation. “I can feel it.” A low growl rumbled through Titan. Ronon turned to his father, joining forearms for a long moment before Titan bolted toward the Château and seemingly disappeared. Ronon’s shoulders slumped briefly and I wondered if he feared this might be the last time he’d ever see his father again. The last time Titan went toe-to-toe with Baal, it resulted in his mother’s death.
If he was worried, it didn’t show in his impassive expression. He seemed to remain unruffled by the night’s events. I, on the other hand, was barely holding it together.
“Where’s this pit stop of yours at?”
“My bedroom,” I answered, not bothering to gauge his reaction. “You ready?”
He’d barely lifted his head to nod before I rocketed down the hillside. Everything seemed like it had any other night in Naos. The city below was peaceful and quiet, the ocean waves crashed soothingly against the rocky shore; the sound echoing its tranquil melody for all to hear. Even the warm lights of the Château glowed like a massive lantern for all to see.
It wasn’t until I was far enough away from the sound of the waves that I could hear the clang of battle. My legs quickened their pace and I barreled through the side entrance near the outdoor carport. The very same door I’d used when Bennett and I had seen it on fire. It felt like it was years ago when it had only been a couple of weeks.
The side hallway was spookily silent, only the echoes of fighting reverberating to where I stood. Aside from the fallen picture frames, and rumpled carpet, everything looked as it usually did.
I wanted to tip-toe, and sneak up to my bedroom unnoticed, but that was impossible. I knew we would run into some dark vampires long before that happened.
Ronon and his soldiers crept in behind me, tightening their grip on their bladed shields as we made our way deeper. I found the back stairwell and jogged up it, taking two or three steps at a time. The throne room was on the second floor, and the living quarters on the third. It took all my willpower to keep heading upward once I’d made it to the second landing. But, there was something very important in my room that I needed before I faced Baal again. Something that could change the outcome of this battle.
The bodies of three dark vampires were lying in mutilated heaps at the landing of the third floor. Their blood oozed and dripped down the steps, making a smile spread across my grave features. Seeing them solidified that Baal had indeed returned, but it also meant we wouldn’t be going down without a fight. There was no way to tell who had killed them, but all that mattered was that there were three less monsters to attack us.
Ronon and his men kicked the dark vampire bodies out of the way as we ran down the hallway of the third floor. They didn’t seem fazed by their graying skin, mammoth size, or their overall gargoyle-like appearance. After seeing a sylph who could blame them? Something told me that the dark vampires