I touch her cheek, gaining her full attention. "How do you feel?"

"Gooey," she says, a smile tipping the edges of her lips. "I need a bath."

"I promise, the first puddle I see, I'll push you in it."

She laughs, the sound bright and clear. "You are so kind."

"Here." Reece hands her the canteen from his supply bag. "Take a shower, but do it on the go. The one thing I've learned about this place is the longer we stay, the bigger chance we have of something nasty jumping out at us."

Reece walks back over to Signe, pulls her to her feet, and pushes her in the direction of the bridge, completely deaf to her complaint that she was in the middle of tying her shoe. "Come on," he calls back to us.

The leaves on the trees shimmer prettily in the dappled light. I don't see anything scary lurking around. "Seems quiet."

"Reece is correct to be cautious." Kera takes my hand and pulls me after her. "Never trust a quiet wood." Seeing my frown, she says, "It's a first proverb, and you know what they say about proverbs."

"No. What?"

"Every proverb started with a problem."

When she puts it like that, I don't like quiet woods, either.

We trudge along, and I fill her in on Jason and how he's gone all psycho on us. She bites her lip, and says she's not surprised, and relates the dream she shared with him.

I can't hide my surprise. "Why do you think Jason wanted to share his dream with you?"

"I don't think he did. I think he was as surprised to find me in his dream as I was to be there."

A low rumble sounds and I glance at Blaze, our now half-ton dragon, following close behind us. Every so often I've noticed him peering up through the branches and letting out a deep rumble. I hush him every time, but he won't stop. Through the breaks in the trees, I see something big dart across the sky.

"Please tell me you're not calling another dragon for a play date."

Kera c.o.c.ks her head, listening. "He's made strange noises a couple of times, but that one was different. I think it may be a challenge."

I glare over my shoulder. Blaze's chest is puffed, and he's searching the sky. "Ready to a.s.sert your dominance, are you, big boy?" I jab my finger in his direction. "Stop it. Bad dragon."

Blaze drops his head and snuffles an especially fragrant huff.

Reece suddenly stops. "Dylan."

His call is softer than what it should be, and it raises the hair on my arms. I position Kera by Blaze. "If anything bad happens, get on him and go."

Her lips pinch together mutinously, and I point my finger at her. "I mean it."

"But I'm just as able to-"

"Please do what I say for once without arguing." I don't wait to hear what else she wants to say. When I pa.s.s Signe, I tell her to join Kera.

Reece has worked his way forward to the edge of the trees and is low to the ground. The bridge isn't that far off. More than a Hail Mary football throw away, but seeable. What I didn't expect is the sound of logging and the building of shelters all along the edge of the Unknown. There are all manner of creatures roaming around, and a few appear innocently human.

Farther in, I see inky black ribbons, their shape smokelike. In the center of it all stands a man I know all too well.

Kera comes alongside me. I close my eyes and groan. "Why can't you stay put?"

"Is that Granel? What's he doing here?"

She doesn't know he left without a word to anyone. "I don't know, but something's been bugging me since Ainsbury Cross. I think one of the dark souls is Navar."

Kera gasps. "I saw a face that resembled him, but I didn't think it was possible."

We both saw Navar's face? A creepy feeling settles in my gut. "Granel must have seen it, too. That's why he left. He has issues that have warped his sense of loyalty."

"He's going into that building." A thoughtful expression settles over Reece's face.

Signe cranes her neck to see past us. "How are we going to get to the bridge? They're everywhere."

"We're not," I say.

"How are we to leave, then?"

"Blaze. I'll send you and Kera back first. Then call him back for Reece, then me."

"What about Baun?" Kera asks.

"I'll stay as long as I can and wait for him."

Reece is staring off into the distance. I don't think he's paying attention until he asks, "What does your dad look like again?"

"Light hair. Tall. A lot like me. Only older and scruffier."

"Like him?" Reece asks and points.

A man with s.h.a.ggy hair and wearing ragged clothes stumbles out of the woods across from us. Cuts along his arms and torso ooze blood. All around him, small lights zip in and out, hara.s.sing him forward.

Reece's attention jumps from Baun to the enemy camp, where dozens and dozens of creatures roam the area. "He's going to bring attention to himself and then us if he's not careful."

Baun is being oddly careless. Not at all what I expect from him. He suddenly trips and falls, splaying out his arms as if searching for something, but he only crawls along, grunting at each cut that appears on his body from the pux.

"He's blind," Kera says, close to tears. "He's been underground for nearly two decades. Who knows what's been done to him. Do something, Dylan. They will see him any minute."

The more I look at him, the more damage I see. Dark circles ring his squinting eyes and there's a sickly hue to his skin, like it's never seen a speck of sun. He pushes awkwardly to his feet, his arms stretched out in front of him searching the air for any obstacles. He's a mess. But worse, I actually feel pity for him.

Before I think better of it, I call on clouds to gather overhead. It's not easy. The Unknown doesn't want to obey me. Finally the clouds darken, and the rain I let loose sheets the air, swamping the ground in no time. The enemy does exactly what I expected. Half run for cover and the other half hunker down on the spot, burying their heads under whatever is available.

Baun does what I had hoped he'd do. He stops. And then he does something I don't expect. He lifts his head up to the sky and laughs. His enjoyment seems to irritate the pux and they dart back in for another attack.

"Stay here," I tell everyone, and then I take off, pushing around the underbrush, my eyes glued to my dad and those evil little monsters.

I settle behind a clump of foliage as near to Baun as I can get without drawing attention. Thunder shakes the Unknown and Baun curses at his torturers. "I am no longer your plaything. I have been set free. Leave me be."

I can feel his frustration as if it were my own. I actually hate the pux. They deserve to die... I get an idea, but I have to be careful. One misfire and I'll hit Baun, and frankly, with all this rain, I could miss. I concentrate, and a lightning bolt zigs down and fries one of the pux. They all stop and hover. While they're distracted, I send down two more bolts. A pair nearest Baun fall, leaving smoke trails all the way to the ground.

That sends the little beasts into a buzz, but they do something out of character, yet familiar. They settle all around him, on his shoulders, his head, along his outstretched arms. I remember them doing so in a dream. I thought Baun was controlling them, but maybe it was their way of controlling him. Baun turns his head left, then right. "What's going on?"

"How fond are you of your little friends?" I ask.

"Not at all."

No hesitation and no asking who I am. But then, I think he knows. He always seems to know.

"Stand real still." I call down bolt after bolt, zapping the pux off him like a crack marksman. More than a dozen fall to his feet when the rest spring off and dart away.

The downpour I've created is causing a rush of water toward the bridge. It's strong enough to knock Baun off his feet. He skids along the ground, floundering as the water pushes him closer and closer to the enemy camp. It's crazy to see him so defenseless. He's a different man than I expected, and one I can't just leave. I run forward and pull him to his feet.

"If you keep going like you are, you'll run right into a slew of ugly."

"What does that mean?"

"It's a southern term. I don't have time for a full explanation." I guide him to the trees and lead him toward the others. "Let's just say a human friend of mine got a hold of some first power and is on a vendetta to kill me and everyone else who stands in his way of world domination. I'm pretty sure he's planning on releasing everything you all locked up in the Unknown, and everything you locked up is waiting by the bridge for the go-ahead."

Baun yanks me to a stop. "He's mad."

"p.i.s.sed and crazy. That's Jason." I urge my dad forward. "We all need to get out of here and make sure his plan doesn't turn into reality."

"How many are with you?"

"Three. You and I make five."

"Our combined powers are our worst a.s.set, yet our greatest."

"Only three of us have power."

Baun's jaw flexes. "Two are human?"

"Yep. Like me and Kera."

"Not exactly."

I don't like the look on his face. "Exactly like us."

"They have power?"

Didn't I tell him they didn't? "No."

"Then they are not exactly like you."

He can be such a jerk. "They have other talents."

"I guess if they've managed to survive more than a minute in the Unknown, they must."

"And I guess while you were locked up, you didn't embrace the concept of rehabilitation."

"You couldn't be more wrong. I am a new man. Far more understanding than I ever was. My point is, your friends have no power to help us, and that is a liability-even if you aren't willing to see it as such, I am. We will have to come up with a plan that will compensate for their disability."

There's no talking to him.

We arrive at the place where I left everyone, and I ease the downpour into a light mist. The rain has cooled the ground and a thick fog forms. Kera rushes through the knee-high fog to Baun and clasps his hand between hers. "It is good to see you."

He touches her face with his other hand and smiles. "I am pleased you are safe."

"Relatively," I say, still irritated by his view of our friends and uncomfortable with the two of them being so chummy. This is the Lost King. The scourge of Teag. A man so horrible he was banished by his own father and best friend.

And I just saved him. I can't think about the ramifications of what I've done. We have to get out of here. I turn to Signe. "Where's Reece?"

"He said we needed to keep watch." Signe nodded in the direction of the enemy camp, then slants a wary eye at Baun. She doesn't appear happy he's joined our little group. Why would she? He's the one who started the extermination of humans and those tainted by human blood. People like Kera. Like me.

By the way Kera is fussing over him, I'm beginning to think she's forgotten about that.

I stalk off, hunting for Reece. There are broken twigs and his discarded bag where he sat watching. And then footprints in the mud heading toward the enemy. The fog is thick, which is good cover, but not perfect because I can see him slinking between the structures toward the one Granel entered.

I retrace my steps, and when Kera sees I'm alone, she asks, "Where's Reece?"

"He's gone to kill Granel."

Signe stands, her hands balling into her wet skirts. "I feared he might."

I can't blame Signe for not stopping him. Once Reece saw Granel, I knew he wouldn't stay put. I'm more shocked he left the girls unprotected. What is it with this place that causes sane people to do irrational things? I take off my sword and hand it to Kera.

"What are you doing?" Her eyes are huge.

"Reece doesn't stand a chance out there by himself."

I point to Blaze, who's made a nest out of a charred patch of ground and underbrush. He quickly rises, understanding me, and lumbers over. It's like we have a link of some sort. I only have to think, and he reacts.

"No." Kera grabs my arm as I'm about to vault onto Blaze. "There are too many."

"If it were me out there, or your dad, what would you do?"

Although the rain is far less than it was, water drops slide down her long hair like she's an elaborate j.a.panese rain chain. So beautiful even soaking wet. I want her to be brave. To know there's more than just us. It's taken me a while, but my human side has finally taken over. I'm in control now. Me.

"I'll be okay. I'm a first and a human. They don't stand a chance against me."

I can feel her whole body shaking, but she lets go. "You're right. Go get him."

I bring her close and kiss her in the way that makes her knees weak and her heart melt. I love her so much, I'm nearly devastated by the longing in her kiss.

I pull away and mount Blaze. She touches my leg and I touch her hand. "Protect Baun and Signe. You're smart and clever and stronger than you let on. If anything goes wrong...if I don't come back, find a place to hide until your strength returns. Between you and Baun, you'll figure out a way to get out of here."

Leaving her isn't what I want, but it's the right thing to do.