Sergius: #4 (Luna Lodge: Hunters of Atlas) by Madison Stevens Page B

from his tattoo, but Sergius continued to glow.
    Jade collapsed on the ground and panted as exhaustion overwhelmed her.
     
    Power throbbed through Sergius. Jade had somehow changed him when she touched his tattoo. He wasn’t really certain how or what she’d done, but his wounds had healed, and strength pulsed through him, more than he’d ever experienced.
    The monster screamed again. If he wasn’t mistaken, the voice sounded both angry and scared.
    He watched as the black, blurry formed lunged out at him, still mostly cloaked in a shroud of smoke, but this time he was ready. He reached out his hand and slammed into the monster. The new tattoo that trailed down his arm turned into small spikes that speared the monster.
    A bright blinding blue hole shot its way through the shape.
    The creature howled and let out mighty scream before running back into the outer cloud.
    He had hit it. He had been able to actually hit the monster. The smoke around them faded, and he knew the creature was getting away. Sergius stepped forward to chase after it but stopped when Jade moaned.
    “Sergius,” she called, her voice weak.
    He looked back to where she lay on the ground, her breathing labored and skin far paler than she’d ever been before, even after any of her visions.
    Damn it. What good did it do to fight off the creature if he still lost her?
    Sergius rushed over to her and lifted her in his arms. He had to do something before it was too late.
    He turned around quickly. Something made a noise in the grass behind him. A white cloaked figure stepped out from behind a tree.
    He growled. He’d just fought a strange monster. He had no problem taking on the Azilians.
    Anassa held up a pale hand. “I’ve come to help.”

Chapter Sixteen
     
     
    Anassa followed closely behind him in silence as they made their way back to his house. He was unsurprised when Rem, Magnus, and Marcus met them at his door.
    They all tensed at the sight of Anassa.
    “Did she do this?” Marcus said. He stepped forward. “You think you can harm our people, you Azilian bitch, and get away with it?”
    Rem placed his hand on the younger man’s chest to stop him from charging the cloaked woman.
    Sergius shook his head as they opened the door to the house and stepped inside. Anassa lingered by the door, but Marcus shot her a baleful glare.
    “No,” Sergius said. He laid Jade on the couch. “We were attacked by the creature.”
    “What was it?” Rem asked. “A Glycon?”
    “I… don’t know, but definitely not a Glycon. I couldn’t really see it. It hid in this cloud of smoke, or something that looked like smoke. It had claws, and was fast.” He stared at Rem. “The one thing I do know is that it had glowing blue eyes.”
    The gathered hybrids all exchanged meaningful glances. He assumed they realized the same thing he did, that they must be dealing with something related to their people.
    “We were losing until Jade touched my tattoo. Then something happened.” He stepped away from her.
    Sergius watched as Anassa stepped over to Jade and opened her eyelids to reveal that her eyes had rolled into the back of her head.
    “She touched your tattoo?” Rem asked. “What happened?”
    Sergius shook his head. It was hard to explain what he experienced. He still wasn’t sure himself. “One minute, the creature was hurting me badly, and the next minute, I was healed and hurting it.”
    “She transferred her essence to him,” Anassa said quietly, stepping toward Jade.
    The gathered men looked at the cloaked woman as she pulled a blue vial from her sleeve. She uncorked the bottle and tilted Jade’s head up to pour it into her mouth.
    Sergius snatched ahold of her wrist.
    “What the hell are you giving her?” he growled.
    Anassa didn’t look over at him or struggle to get away from his grip.
    “This is essence,” she said calmly. “This is the life force that makes a Vestal. That is what is in the Atlantean blood. She is dying because she