Read Heart of Stone Online

Authors: Debra Mullins

Heart of Stone

BOOK: Heart of Stone
4.19Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

 

 

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied so that you can enjoy reading it on your personal devices. This e-book is for your personal use only. You may not print or post this e-book, or make this e-book publicly available in any way. You may not copy, reproduce, or upload this e-book, other than to read it on one of your personal devices.

 

Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the author's copyright, please notify the publisher at:
us.macmillanusa.com/piracy
.

 

 

For Josh, who feels so deeply and has enriched my life with his presence,

much love always

 

CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright Notice

Dedication

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Acknowledgments

Tor Books by Debra Mullins

About the Author

Copyright

 

PROLOGUE

Faith Karaluros watched the minivan in the distance, skis and a snowboard fastened to the rack on top, as the vehicle wound its way along the mountain highway. A chill swept over her, and it had nothing to do with the dusting of snow on the frozen ground around them. So normal. Not what she'd imagined the enemy to look like.

“They're going skiing,” she said.

Michael glanced over at her. Even in the shadows of the leafless trees where they hid, her husband's green eyes gleamed, always so startling against his sun-kissed, angular features. “That's what they want you to think. It's a great cover.”

“Are you sure they're the ones? I mean, that van looks like it belongs to a soccer mom.”

“Like I said, a great cover.” He stroked her cheek with one finger. “Our intelligence says these are high-ranking officials, Faith. They have the info we need, and we have to detain them.”

Her nerves calmed a bit, and she nodded, breaking from his comforting touch and turning her gaze back to the approaching van. She pushed aside any lingering doubts. This was her first mission, and he had much more field experience than she did. She must come off like a total rookie. Just first-time jitters, nothing to worry about.

She shook her head. She knew how dedicated he was to the cause. Even before their marriage two years ago, he'd been urging her to come with him into the field. This time, she'd finally agreed. She wanted to share every part of his life, not just those weeks when he wasn't on a mission.

“Be ready,” he said, and closed his eyes.

Slowly she stripped off her gloves. Despite the nip of winter in the air, her hands weren't cold. No, they were hot and getting hotter, warmed by both Michael's rising energy and the tattoos spidering down her fingers and past her wrists, throbbing like twin heartbeats. Her energy and Michael's linked and blended as they had for years. The familiarity, like a cozy fire on a snowy night, calmed her. She shoved the gloves in her pocket, along with her misgivings. If she got in over her head, Michael would take care of her. He always did.

“When they get closer, push those rocks down into the road.” He indicated a bunch of boulders perched awkwardly on the mountain opposite them. They sat in a teetering pile, like a child's blocks haphazardly stacked. Strange and beautiful formations like it peppered all the deserts of the Southwest. Normally the rocks would stay exactly like that, just one more oddity on a remote New Mexico highway.

Unless something—or someone—pushed them. She blew out a long, slow breath.

“Showtime, babe.” Michael flashed her that crooked smile she had always thought so charming. And though her heart still skipped a beat, for some reason his bared teeth didn't seem quite so cute this time.

Were
they doing the right thing?

“I don't know about this,” she whispered, then immediately wished the words back.

“Hey.” He captured her gaze with his. “You know it has to be done. They're
Seers
, Faith. Their kind tried to take all the power of our homeland and enslave the rest of us. They destroyed Atlantis doing it.”

“I know.” How many times had she heard the story? “But that was our ancestors. Thousands of years ago.”

His face settled into a grim mask. “They're still a danger.” When she said nothing, he smiled again, though this time it seemed forced. “Look, we're doing this to protect ourselves, to protect our children. We're just going to take them back to camp to find out what they know.” He reached out a hand to tweak her chin. “Don't chicken out on me now, babe. You can do this. Trust your training.”

“All right.” She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, closing her eyes and opening to the energy around her. She was just going to block the road. Michael wasn't a zealot like some of the others. No one would get hurt.

She would make sure of it.

She reached for the power that simmered all around them, housed in the sturdy protection of stone and earth. She was a Stone Singer, able to channel and utilize the energy stored in any kind of rock, everything from gemstones to the mountains around them to the Earth's core. The power rose at her command, swelling and gathering. A hum erupted from her throat, a song unknown and unwritten, yet tuned perfectly to the vibrations of the forces rising around them. Her tattoos burned and throbbed with her heartbeat as she focused on the rocks across the way.

The power flowed easily between her hands. She had to time this perfectly. She opened her eyes and watched the van come closer; she didn't want to crush it.

A dog stuck its head out the window, tongue hanging out the side of its mouth. Her lips curved. Didn't want to crush him, either.

Then a second head poked through the window. A child. A little boy who laughed as the dog licked his face, then tugged the animal's collar to pull him back inside. Now she could see the flicker of a movie running on a DVD player, the outline of a car seat. There were children in the van.

She hesitated. The flow faltered between her hands.

What are you doing?
Michael's mental voice snapped through her mind.

There are children down there.

Seer spawn. So? You know what we have to do.

“Put children in danger?” She shook her head. “I'm sorry, Michael. I'll never be ready for that.”

“The Elders are counting on us. You've been training for this.” He said the words with hard deliberation.

“Training, yes. But not for
this
.” She held up her hands. “I don't want to take the chance of hurting those children. I don't care who their parents are.”

“Then I have no choice.”

Earth energy roared forth, fed like a flame fueled by gallons of gasoline, out of her control, out of her hands. Suddenly Michael's essence was in her, part of her,
taking the reins of her power from her
. She struggled against his mental invasion. Michael was an Echo, a Channeler whose talent was to augment the gifts of others. Always before, he had guided her abilities. Enhanced them. Supported her as she learned how to handle them. But now he was taking it a step further. Now he was stealing her power from her, taking control of it, leaving her helpless to watch any destruction he cared to wreak with it.

And through their joined minds, she saw the truth of his intentions. Her stomach lurched. He'd never planned to take these Seers prisoner; he had always intended to assassinate them. Wipe them from the Earth like a scourge.

Cold crept through her. Who was this man? Not the husband who'd loved her since they were teenagers. Not the gentle teacher who'd coaxed her into confidence in her abilities. She did not know
this
man.

His obsession ate at him like acid. After all the times they'd linked, how had he managed to hide this from her?

Never mind how. Just the fact that he had hidden it at all spoke volumes.

She couldn't breathe. A heaviness weighed on her chest, squeezing her breath from her lungs. A gaping hole tore open inside her, shattering her heart and sucking away the gentle flower of love she'd nurtured all these years.

He truly believed these people evil, truly thought in the depths of his warped conscience that their ancestors were responsible for taking something from him, from all Channelers and Warriors of Atlantean heritage. Truly believed they deserved to be annihilated.

And he expected her to stand there and watch him do it. Be the docile, obedient student she had always been, while he demonstrated the carnage her abilities could bring. Marrying her, training her—it had all been part of his
mission
.

Her tattoos seared like hot coals. All Stone Singers had tattoos made from ink derived from minerals. It linked them to the Earth, made them stronger Channelers. She glanced at Michael's hands, ungloved and unmarked. He was an Echo. He had no power of his own; he was forced to direct the power of others. And right now, she was letting him steal hers to commit murder.

She gathered the torn and throbbing remnants of her heart and encased it in diamond-hard stone. Any tenderness, any sorrow, any regret, got entombed behind the impenetrable walls of her mental fortress. Michael wouldn't hesitate to pounce on the slightest weakness. She knew that now, just as she knew she had a battle before her.

She hummed. Immediately the stream of energy flickered. He scowled and glanced at her. She hummed again, listening to the song born within her, releasing it into the air. Summon the energy back. Control it. Don't let him win.

The energy flickered again.

Stop!

His mental bellow rattled her nerve endings, but she would not relent. She kept singing the song, and the Earth listened as she slowly coaxed the power out of his hands and into hers. He fought her, and the stream jerked and flared and nearly came apart more than once.

The van below passed by safely, the teetering rocks solid on their perch.

Michael whirled on her. “Look what you've done!”

She struggled to hold her power in check. He'd amped it to a level she'd never experienced before. “I'm no killer.”

Hands fisted, he stepped forward. “So much power at your command, and you refuse to use it.”

She stepped back. “Maybe we just disagree on how I should use it.”

“You're a Stone Singer. You don't get to choose.”

He jerked at the energy again, but she held it fast.

“I can't let you kill those people.”

He smiled, his voice softening, but the rage still simmered beneath the coaxing tone she'd heard so many times before. “Babe, I told you—”

“You lied.” She fisted her pulsing hands as his eyes narrowed. “When you linked with me, I could read your thoughts, Michael. Usually you're more careful, but not this time. I know exactly what you were trying to do. And don't call me
babe
.”

He stepped closer, and she retreated. She didn't like that light in his eyes, and he'd masked his thoughts.

She masked her own. She knew she'd have to leave him. She couldn't stay with him, not now. Not when she knew what he truly was.

But first she had to get to safety.

She turned her back on him and started down the path, flexing her fingers to keep the energy close, just in case. Her legs trembled, but she forced them to move forward.

“I didn't say you could leave.” He grabbed her by the arm and spun her around to face him, eyes burning with unmasked fury. “What makes you think you're in charge here? You have no idea how to use your power. You're nothing without me. You're like a kid with training wheels.”

BOOK: Heart of Stone
4.19Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Power Systems by Noam Chomsky
Itsy Bitsy by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Secret Seduction by Lori Wilde
Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl
Deceived by Kate SeRine
The Wind Rose by B. Roman