Heart of Stone (3 page)

“I guess.”

“I understand the whole mourning thing.” Corinne waved her hand as she spoke, a swath of crackling light, like an Independence Day sparkler, trailing after the movement. “You two got married so young. First love and all that. I get having to go lick your wounds, work through the pain of watching your husband die.” She paused and tilted her head, chilling and predatory in her stillness. “But, Faith. You. Didn't. Come. Back.”

She bit off each word like a chunk of ice.

Faith glanced down, monitoring the flow of energy from the jewelry in the display case. Her hands trembled, but the resilience of the stones slowly hardened her resolve, and the tremors ceased. She looked Corinne in the eye. “That life—it's not for me. Never was.”

“Not for you?” Sinuous as a feline, Corinne edged toward the counter. “You're a Stone Singer, Faith. What kind of life did you expect? This?” She swept her hand at the displays. “Running a gift shop for tourists? Are you kidding me?”

“I like it. It's simple.” Faith kept her voice calm.

“Well, get ready for complicated. We've found the second Stone of Ekhia.” Corinne laughed. “You should see your face! It's true. We found it. The third can't be far behind.” She did a little twirl and stopped on a dime, her every muscle under supreme control.

Faith shook her head. “Every few years someone thinks he's found one of the missing stones, and it's always a fake.”

“But we did find it! Don't you get it?” She cocked a hip. “Time to come home, Faith.”

“No, Corinne.” Faith braced herself, harmonies slipping into her mind as the gemstones around her hummed. “I won't help you kill anyone else.”

“What is wrong with you?” Corinne surged forward, gripping the edge of the counter as she got up in Faith's face. “They're Seers,” she hissed. “Greedy murderers who destroyed our homeland.”

“Thousands of years ago. Who are they hurting now? No one.”

Corinne narrowed her eyes, her tight mouth pulling her features taut. “And they won't be allowed to. We have to protect what's ours.”

“I won't be a part of it.” The song gathered in her mind, power swelling around her. “Go back to them, Corinne, and tell them to find another Stone Singer.”

“There isn't one. Wei Jun died two weeks ago. You're the only one who can finish his work.” She held Faith's gaze. “You're the last Stone Singer alive.”

The silence stretched between them for a long moment. She knew Corinne had been sent to bring her back, willing or not. But Faith had changed in the years since she'd stood on that ridge with Michael.

She would never be used as a weapon again.

“I'm sorry you came all this way,” she said, watching the rage flare in Corinne's eyes, “but you've wasted a trip. Tell the Elders I'm not going back.”

“The Elders? They're not the ones you have to worry about.” Corinne gave a knowing little smile. “It's Criten. He's sent Azotay for you.”

Faith's blood chilled at the name. She'd heard of Azotay; who hadn't? In the island nation of Santutegi, where many refugees from Atlantis had settled, Jain Criten, their leader, ruled with equal amounts intimidation and ruthlessness. If Criten wanted something from you, or wanted you to disappear, he sent Azotay to handle it.

But she'd been with the Mendukati long enough to learn the truth about Criten. He personally commanded the forces of the Mendukati in their quest for blood vengeance against the Seers. Though he smiled for the cameras and played politics on the surface, in reality he wielded Azotay like the whip's lash Azotay had been named for, mercilessly destroying his enemies and bending others to his will with icy callousness. The merest mention of Azotay made even the most hardened mercenaries uneasy. No one dared cross Jain Criten, or if they did, they didn't live to tell about it, thanks to Azotay.

Corinne was watching her closely. Faith hoped she looked mildly interested rather than terrified. “Azotay is here, in the United States?”

“Oh, yeah, he's here. Flew in a few days ago. President Criten was ambushed by the Seers who stole the second stone. He escaped, but he had to get back to Santutegi, so he sent Azotay to get the stone back.”

“I thought you said you had the second stone.” Faith watched some of the glee fade from Corinne's expression.

“We know where it is. We'll get it back.” She smirked and pointed at Faith, electricity crackling and flowing around her fingers, along her arm to her elbow. “And my orders are to bring Azotay the Stone Singer.”

Never
. Two of the three Stones of Ekhia had been missing for centuries, ever since Atlantis was destroyed. If Criten were to get his hands on all three and harness their power …

Well, Armageddon just wasn't a strong enough word to describe what would happen.

Her heart thundered in her chest, her blood roaring in her ears. She could not let them use her like that. They'd tried to make her a weapon before. Wei Jun was dead, so without her, they had nothing, just a bunch of rocks. It had to stay that way.

“No.” Faith pulled her own simmering power with a rush, the songs of the stones around the shop whirling in her mind like a choir. Her tattoos glowed and throbbed, and she held up her hands so Corinne could see. “How smart is it, really, to threaten a Stone Singer in a shop full of stones? Leave, Corinne. While you still can.”

Corinne's lips peeled back in a growl. She whirled, firing lightning blasts all around the room. Woven blankets on the walls caught fire. Pottery shattered on shelves, and jewelry in glass cases exploded. The turquoise and tiger eye and onyx in those rings and bracelets and earrings shrieked their death wails in Faith's mind, ripping through the power stream she'd summoned and flashing back on her. She staggered, bile rising at the death of the stones.

Corinne spun back to face her, advancing with an obvious rage flaring her power even hotter. The lightning coiled all the way up her arms like snakes. “Who's the smart one now? You haven't learned anything about combat, Faith. But I—” She thumped her chest with one crackling hand. “I've been training for this my whole life.”

“I'm not going with you, Corinne.”

“Oh, you will.” The blonde leaned closer. “I've orders not to kill you, but all bets are off for Michael's daddy. You don't come, he pays.”

Faith's breath caught. No way would she let them hurt Ben. Not after all he'd done to help her, both before and after Michael. He was all she had. She would die first. If she were dead, they wouldn't be able to use the stones. And they would leave Ben alone.

She slid her hand into her pocket, touched the stone bear fetish. Power surged through her body at the brief contact, borne of love and woven especially for her. Its song swelled inside her, fighting to explode.

She let it.

*   *   *

“I've dreaded this day.” Ben Wakete sat with his hand curled around his beer mug and gave the other two men at the table a solemn look, the light of dusk carving shadows around his strong Native American features. “She's happy now. I don't want to ruin it for her.”

Darius Montana tossed back another swallow of his bourbon, ice clinking in his tumbler. As with most humans, Ben's emotions batted at him like moths trying to get to a glass-encased flame. Being here in a big city like Albuquerque had just about tested his empathic limits. So many people, so many feelings. But there had been no choice. In order to survive this war, they had to chase down this woman.

This
Atlantean
woman. The Stone Singer.

The notion still threw him for a loop. All his life he'd believed that only his ancestors had escaped the destruction of Atlantis. A few weeks ago he'd discovered that not only were there others, there were
many
others, and not just Seers like his family. Channelers, who could manipulate energy and matter, and Warriors, who had super strength and speed and, in some cases, the ability to implant suggestions to make a person do whatever the Warrior wanted. And some of those blamed the Seers for the destruction of Atlantis. They called themselves the Mendukati and had made it their mission to murder every Seer alive.

Six weeks ago the leader of the Mendukati had broken into his family's home and tried to take them all out.

Darius took another swig of bourbon and longed for the days when life had been simple.

“Are you sure about this?” Ben asked. “She's in danger?”

Adrian Gray, a Warrior and the one who had known Ben for years, lowered his voice. “Absolutely sure. We just got word the other Stone Singer has died. This war is starting, Ben, and Faith is right in the middle of it.”

Ben let out a harsh sigh, then glanced around the restaurant and lowered his voice before continuing. “These people will stop at nothing. They're crazy. She got away once, and she wants to stay away.”

His concern was genuine, the love he felt for his daughter-in-law bringing a very real lump to Darius's throat as the emotion swept over him like a gentle tide. But sharp fear peppered the swell like broken seashells, and having experienced his own encounter with the radical Atlanteans, Darius couldn't blame the guy for being scared.

“She can't stay away anymore,” Gray was saying. “They've had one of the stones of power in Santutegi for centuries now, and a Stone Singer working with it to keep it balanced and charged for when the war comes. Now with the second stone that we have, and their guy dead, I don't think there's any doubt. The war is here, and they're going to come for our stone next. And Faith.”

“I didn't want this for her. I've done my best to protect her.”

“I know, but now you can't do it by yourself. Help us convince her to go with us.” Gray held the older man's gaze. “We need to know what this stone can do, how to prepare. She's the only one who can connect with it and tell us what to expect.”

Ben shook his head, the desire to help and his need to protect his family clashing like waves against the rocks. Darius took another swig of bourbon.

Gray leaned in. “If it's not us, it will be them. At least with us, you know she'll be safe. We can protect her.”

We hope,
Darius sent telepathically.

Gray's mouth tightened.
Not helping
, he sent back before continuing aloud. “Ben, your people and ours have been allies for centuries. Hell, you and
I
have been friends for years. I need you to trust me.”

“Which is the only reason I'm even talking to you about this.” Ben shoved aside his beer. “Our peoples have learned from each other and helped each other since the earliest times. My wife, Alishka, was of the Zaindari, and I lived among the Zaindari for many years, teaching the children to respect balance and the harmonies of our world. But this group…” Ben shook his head. “They claim to be Zaindari, but they are different. Evil.”

Darius sent a question to Gray.
Zaindari?

Gray didn't take his attention from Ben.
Guardians. It's what Atlanteans called themselves long ago.

“She is the only one who can help us,” Gray said out loud to Ben, “and by doing so, we can stop these guys. And maybe all stay alive.”

Darius flicked a glance back at the older man. He was wavering; Darius could feel it. The hope that he could save his daughter-in-law when he had failed to save his own son had kept the old man going all this time.

For a second Darius's connection to Ben wavered. It came back again almost instantly, and then, before relief could take hold, it flickered again.

Darius frowned at Gray.
You using your powers to convince him?

The other Atlantean turned to scowl at Darius.
We've never used our powers on them. They're our allies. We would not disrespect them so.

Ben looked from one to the other. “Is something wrong?”

Gray shook his head. “Not at all.”

Darius could feel that Gray was annoyed with him, and for an instant the emotions of both men clamored front and center in his senses. Then they faded, everyone's emotions faded, leaving only … music.

The notes swelled in his mind, not instrumental, not really verbal, as if the world itself had a voice and had raised it in song. Even as the thought formed, the melody faded. He turned his attention back to Gray and Ben.

And his every sense exploded with an ethereal sonata that took his breath and set his heart to racing.

Where was it coming from? He looked around, but no one seemed to even notice them—well, except for one hungry-eyed waitress near the bar. One quick glimpse into her man-eating heart told him she was not the source of the music.

Where the heck was it coming from?

Something wrong?
Gray sent the question telepathically, though anyone watching would think he was focused on what Ben was saying.

I don't know yet
. Darius got to his feet and grabbed his cane where it leaned against an empty chair. Ben stopped talking, and both men looked at him with inquiring expressions.

“I need some air,” Darius said. “I'll be right back.” Without waiting for a response, he headed for the door. As he limped through the restaurant, he could sense the waitress's gaze on him. Her sexual interest faded, replaced first by disappointment as his injuries became obvious, then pity. He looked straight at her. She glanced away.

They always did.

His lips twisted.
Yeah, don't stare at the cripple
. Even his former fiancée hadn't been able to look at him at the end. He left the restaurant, lured by a siren song apparently only he could hear.

*   *   *

Corinne shot lightning in Faith's direction, but the bolts flew wild, shattering more pottery. Faith didn't even flinch. Most Atlanteans could not use their powers on one another; they just didn't work. As far as she knew the only exception was an Echo like Michael, a Channeler whose ability was to enhance the powers of others.