16

Ace watched from the bookstore across the street as Edgar walked out of the double glass doors of the hospital and made his way to the lot to a sleek black sedan. He was a strong, powerful man with an equally commanding stride. He had such a powerful presence that Ace shuddered at the thought of having to stand in the same room with him.

No doubt if they were to fight Edgar would easily pick him up by his collar and bash his head in with just a swing of his hand. He would expect nothing less of the Drakai Protector.

He watched the car drive out of the lot and at the same time another car, this time a jeep containing four men drove in. They were Drakai and they entered the hospital.

Ace sighed. He should have expected this. Edgar would never leave his daughter unprotected especially now. Did he guess already that there were forces out to get her or was he just being cautious?

He couldn't say for sure but one thing he knew was he wanted to see her again. He wanted to convince himself that she was alive. After all, what good would her death do his father before his mission was complete? He would have gone in after Edgar Dragenar left, after all the only other person Edgar had come with was a limping Drakus. But with the other men there there was no chance of seeing her without risking his life.

Just as he stood there thinking of how to slip through to check on her his phone rang.

The shrill sound caused a few people in the bookstore to shoot him sharp glares. Frowning, he hid in between two shelves and picked the call.

It was Emily.

"Where have you been?" she asked.

"Around," he said carefully. He could trust Emily, she was like a sister to him after all but he couldn't take chances when she was the other outcast dragons.

"You can speak, it's just me here."

"I went to the tomb. I found Sarah."

"No surprise there. Weren't you supposed to be on the team?"

"Yes, but I stumbled upon something. I might be mistaken but I think my professor – Klavan, remember her? I think she's up to something. There was a rumble of some sort when Sarah entered that tomb. I think Klavan suspected that was going to happen. In fact, I think she planned it. She had a knife with her and it looked suspicious."

"What? Describe it."

He did the best he could with the flashes he had seen of the knife. "Steel blade, steel gilded handle, double-edged, it had relief images but I couldn't see them well with the cave shaking so much. I grabbed Sarah and made a run for it."

"I will look into it. Where is she now? Sarah I mean." Emily sounded worried.

"In the hospital, I am watching the doors now across the road."

"Good. Stay there and keep an eye on her. She is your responsibility and you must keep her safe."

She was his responsibility in more ways than one but he didn't want to think about that. "Actually I need your help. I can't get in without her father's men knowing I am Drakus, I need you to check on her for me and keep an eye on her."

Emily wasted no time agreeing. "Sure thing. What hospital is that?"

He told her. She agreed to be there in a few minutes. He would wait until she came before leaving. He needed to find Klavan and know just what her mission had been in that cave. Something told him her mission there wasn't anything good. He would hunt her to her house if he had to.