Runestone (17 page)

They writhed against one another in bliss. She sucked on his tongue even as her nethermouth sucked his cock.

Slowly, she came back to herself. Perspiration slicked their bodies together and she felt his lips spread over hers into a smile. She drew away to see it. She nearly gasped at his beauty. His pupils were wide, the black centers nearly engulfing the dark brown. A lock of hair was stuck in the corner of his mouth and he shook his head to free it. But his true beauty was in his expression of absolute love and adoration. The sight of him would be forever etched into her soul.

“I love you, Sean. My beloved husband,” she whispered. She trapped his face against her throat. He delivered a series of little kisses to her tattoo, bringing tears to her eyes.

“I love you too, Evangeline, more than I can put into words. But I feel you trembling. I think it’s time we go and find your mate.”

The triple stone sprung up from the earth like three massive figures standing shoulder to shoulder—a wall of granite coated in moss and vines. Tree roots twisted around the base of the monolith on the left, and Sean wondered that the sinewy fingers hadn’t yet dislodged the stone. But it stood straight and tall like the proudest of old warriors.

The group stopped walking and gave a collective gasp of amazement.

“Look!” Evangeline’s rough whisper pierced the silence which followed.

Sean followed the direction of her finger to the only rune visible through the greenery—a rune that also lived at the shell-like curve of her ear. A rune that according to Maria meant destruction.

With a cry, Evangeline surged forward. She scrabbled up the small knoll where the stones perched, with Sean right on her heels. She dropped heavily to her knees in a fit of uncontrollable sobs. “Sean, help me clear the faces. Maria, what do they say? I need to find Will. Oh, I need him so bad,” she cried.

Sean unsheathed the long blade worn on his hip and began to carefully scrape away the moss surrounding the only visible rune. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of silver as Nathan did the same, and Dante tackled the third stone.

As each rune was unveiled, Maria read them aloud. Javier copied the symbol on a small pad of paper he’d extracted from his backpack.

At his side, Sean felt Evangeline’s quaking. He shifted closer to her. “Lean on me, darlin’. It’s okay. We’re nearly there.”

“What if it’s just another map to another location? I don’t think I can bear it, Sean.” Her words cut off abruptly and her head snapped around. The hair rose on the back of his neck too, and he looked over his shoulder to where she was staring. Excitement washed over him. Earlier this morning, before Evangeline had awakened, Sean and the other immortal men had held a conference while he communicated with Will via text messages.

Will had dug up some information on the triple stone and had set off for it immediately, determined to be in the area when they arrived. But he refused to show himself. As they’d hiked through the jungles to find the triple stone, Sean had prayed he would come to his senses and reveal himself to Evangeline. She was growing desperate. The madness was setting in. Once during their trek, they had had to stop and silence her screams.

“Sean?”

He curled his fingers around her throat. “Yeah, baby?”

“I need this stone to tell me where to find my immortal mate.” Tears erupted from her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.

He leaned in and kissed her cheek, catching a salty tear in his mouth. “I know. We’ll find him. I need him too.” He scanned the forest over her head, but saw nothing.

“Finished,” Dante said. Sean pulled Evangeline to her feet and together, they looked upon a stone older than anything he had ever seen. The face was scored with lines of runes, many of which he recognized from Evangeline’s tattoo.

Maria drew close. Her profile was strong, almost fierce, seemingly etched in stone as well. He could imagine her as she’d once been—a Mayan princess. Her mouth pursed and then she shook her head. “No. I need the other two.”

Nathan scraped faster. Sean took up the first stone again with Dante’s help. Holding his blade at an angle permitted him to better remove the moss as well as dig into the incised characters. Maria and Javier were deep in conversation using their native tongues and Evangeline was softly weeping.

Nathan shot Lillian a meaningful glance, but she was already pulling Evangeline into her embrace. Gracie smoothed her tattoo, and Evangeline released a stuttering breath. She hung limply in Lillian’s arms with her head on the woman’s shoulder.

If Will was here, Sean thought he would have shown himself. He’d never be able to endure Evangeline’s heartbreaking cries without stepping forward and comforting her.

After long minutes of work with the knives, most of the first stone was exposed. Nathan cursed as he hacked at some vines on the middle stone. Maria, too impatient to wait for him to finish, peered around him, reading what she could.

“Numbers. There are numbers here, Dante. Evangeline, can you recognize any of these from Will’s tattoo?”

Sean jerked. “I can,” he said hoarsely. His hand shook as he lowered it from the stone.

Evangeline leapt to her feet and squeezed her way between him and Maria. She gave a quiet rasp, and fresh tears spurted from her. Her hand pulsed in the air with her tremors as she explored the numbers embedded into the boulder.

“This,” she cried. Sean examined the one she pointed at. “And this.” She trailed her fingers over a column which intersected with a cluster of runes.

Maria’s sharp intake of breath sounded, and Dante’s head jerked around to her. Something passed between them. Sean ground his molars, frustrated beyond belief with these damned bonded immortals. He wanted to shake her thin shoulders and demand she let all of them into her head. After all, it was Evangeline’s and Sean’s lover they were searching for.

A dull ache began behind Sean’s eyes and spread through his head, not unlike he’d experienced from the bee stings. Should he run through the surrounding area and try to find Will? If he could get a moment when Evangeline was distracted, he could possibly text him and learn his position.

Suddenly, it dawned on him that the numbers might be related to Will in more than one way. They might lead right to him. They might be coordinates.

Excitement surged to his fingertips and he set to work again on removing the moss. Will thought the map of Evangeline’s tattoo in combination with the runestones was pointing them to a position held by the immortal army. If this was the case, he didn’t want them going there. But Sean would be damned if he’d allow Will and this unknown immortal he was traveling with to march into a death trap. And odds were it would be just that.

Evangeline’s soft sobs burned into his psyche, making him ache. Why the hell couldn’t they just work together? Anger rose in him anew. He understood keeping Evangeline out of the midst of battle, but Will wasn’t always fighting. He could Call to her at least.

Minutes later, they had all three stones cleaned to the bare stone. Green moss streaked them, but the runes and numbers of the center stone were clearly visible.

“I believe the numbers are only on the middle stone for a reason,” Maria said.

“What do you mean?” asked Sean.

“There is a pattern to everything. The runestone gave us a rune that was a third element—an element added to Evangeline’s tattoo and medallion. I believe these numbers fit between her medallion and Will’s tattoo.” Again, her gaze flashed to Dante, and she returned to staring at the third stone, tracing a pattern of runes over and over.

“Where will we find him?” Evangeline’s voice rose in pitch, the usually soft tones growing harsh.

“I think we must keep on, following the stars, and using these numbers in a new way, Evangeline.” Her black eyes glittered as they fell upon Sean’s trembling wife.

“How?” She choked.

“By using them as latitude and longitude.” She tapped a series of numbers. “We follow these, and we’ll find Will. We follow these, and you’ll be reunited.”

* * * * *

Evangeline stumbled up the path ahead of Sean. Since they’d found the triple stone formation, her shaking had increased. He couldn’t help but wonder if Will had been in the vicinity?

And he knew Maria was hiding something. When she’d trailed her fingers over the runes incised on the third stone, apprehension had settled over Sean like an icy trickle of water down his neck.

He glanced over his shoulder at where Dante and Maria walked together, close, but not speaking. But what reason did they have to speak aloud when their thoughts could be shared between their minds? If she was concealing something written on the stone, Dante knew it. And Sean had to know, too. For Evangeline’s safety.

He hung back a little until he was a few steps in front of them. Evangeline didn’t turn, and Sean didn’t think she could hear him if he spoke low.

“What did the third stone say?”

Behind him, he heard Dante’s step falter. Maria made a soft noise as she tripped over a root.

“You know Evangeline will go mad if she knows?” Dante’s voice came out low.

Sean’s spine stiffened. So it was that bad. “She’ll go mad if she knows Will is communicating with me too. But, it’s for her own good.”

“It is. But, this is bigger. Bigger than any of us. Dante and I are trying to work out the details before we reach the coordinates read on the runestone,” Maria whispered.

Sean swallowed hard. “You’d better tell me. My job is to protect Evangeline, and if anyone isn’t able to handle something like you’re alluding to, it’s her.”

“Exactly. She, Lillian, Gracie. They need to be protected and kept from it.”

“What the hell are we talking about?” Sean struggled to keep his tone down and not draw Evangeline’s attention. She continued to pick her way through the thick growth, using her walking stick to poke the ground before her.

Dante’s hand came down heavily on Sean’s shoulder, pulling him to a stop. He turned and met the dark, level gazes of these immortal friends. Their faces were grave, and Maria’s a little pale.

“The destructive forces. A battle. The coordinates we’re following lead to a battle scene, and Will is involved.”

Sean’s heart plummeted as if he held the fragile beating organ in his hands and dropped it into a chasm. He tried to speak, but his throat closed off. He cleared it and tried again. “We’re walking right into it? We’re putting our women in danger?”

Dante’s lips folded into a fine seam. “We’ll keep them safe, but yes, we need to help. Will can’t possibly live through a battle such as the runestone predicts will occur. If we don’t help him, it’s certain death for him. And for your mutual lover.” Dante tilted his head back, gesturing with his jaw toward Evangeline.

Since they’d stopped walking, she had outstripped them, and only the dark halo of her hair bobbed above the foliage. Losing her to the madness which would surely swallow her if Will was killed made Sean’s blood run cold. He knotted his fingers into fists.

“What’s the plan? No more of this hush-hush shit,” Sean spat in a furious whisper. “You let me into the circle of knowledge. In fact. . . . ” He whipped out his cell and got ready to text Will, when Dante tore it from his grasp.

“Will can’t know we’re coming. If he does, he’ll surely lure the army away before we arrive, taking all of it on himself. You don’t want that?”

Sean’s gaze flashed to Dante’s. He stepped close to him so their chests almost touched. “I don’t like the way you said that—as if it was a question. Of course I don’t want Evangeline’s mate to die, and not only because she will lose her mind. I happen to love him,” he said through his clenched teeth.

Dante remained unruffled, but gently pushed Sean back a step. “I understand. I apologize.”

“Apology accepted.” His mind whirred. “What are we doing to keep the women safe? There needs to be a plan, and Evangeline can’t learn of it. If she knows Will is nearby and in danger, she’s going to run to him quicker than a snake bites.”

At that moment, Evangeline stopped walking and looked over her shoulder. When she realized Sean wasn’t right behind her, she turned around and started making her way back.

Sean took off toward her, reaching her in seconds. The small crease between her long, dark brows told him she was suspicious before she ever said a word. Before she could question him, he grabbed her up and kissed her. Her mouth melted beneath his touch, and he drew her onto tiptoe, angling his head to ravage her.

His mind sped through all the possible ways to keep her safe. He’d do anything in his power to keep Will Walking, but he would never be able to concentrate if Evangeline was in the middle of flying bullets and knife fights.

As he hooked his fingers under her delicate chin and tilted her head up to receive his kiss more fully, his mind burned with questions. How many immortals were they talking about in this army? Where exactly would the latitude and longitude coordinates take them? If they intended to fight in the thick rainforest such as this, they’d all surely die. There were too many places to hide.

He lashed Evangeline to him, drawing her sweet scent deep into his lungs. He knew every pore of her body better than his own. If he lost her, he’d die. He could not live his life without her.

I’ll keep her safe. I’ll find a way.

She pulled from his hold, and though her expression was bemused, the wrinkle still stood between her brows. Swiftly he racked his brain for ways to thwart her questions. Also, he was desperate to contact Will. If the numbers he bore would lead him into battle, he needed to know.

More than likely, he and the other immortals would make the women hang back at a safe distance, perhaps with a guard. A sudden thought made his gut clench. What if they made him stay behind to guard them? Since he was mortal, they might try to keep him from fighting. But no way in hell would he stay out of it. He would fight with Will.

The lock of violet hair tumbled into Evangeline’s blazing blue eyes. Sean pinched it lightly between his thumb and forefinger and directed it to the side. When he’d fallen in love with her, he’d never expected to be caught up in the turmoil of a kidnapping or an immortal war. But he’d fall for her all over again given the chance. In fact, the only regret he had was not moving her into his apartment sooner.