The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (38 page)

“
I haven
’
t got that kind of power.
Even healthy, I haven
’
t.
”
Sara dropped her legs over the side of the bed.
“
We
’
ll have to find another way.
I just need a little more rest.
”
When she struggled to get to her feet, Ian crossed the tent and put a bracing hand under her elbow.
She swayed there.
“
Right now, we have to assume that whoever
’
s working against us wants the same thing.
To clear out the dig.
We
’
re going to help them.
Then we
’
re going to stop them.
”

Chapter Fourteen

Coming out of her fog, Sara leaned against Ian
’
s solid frame.
Her strength began to return in halting, miserly increments.

He curled an arm around her waist and turned to her sister.
“
Please tell me you
’
re not going to try anything stupid.
”

What
’
s that about?
Sara wondered.

Faith sighed.
“
I
’
m sorry about the argument.
I don
’
t know what to do.
We have no data, no sources—
”

Ian
’
s arm tightened around Sara.
“
You have Hakon.
”

“
I
’
m almost as tapped as Sara.
It
’
s going to take me at least a couple of days to recover before I can make any contact worth getting.
This is just crazy.
In three weeks Callander, or whoever else, could do anything to us and make it look like an accident.
All the while, we
’
re helping him excavate the dig and get closer to opening the ley lines.
”

“
That
’
s if they even know where the amulet is in the first place,
”
said Sara.

“
Either you
’
re coming to stay with me,
”
Ian said,
“
or I
’
ll stay down here.
”

“
I
’
m not leaving my sister,
”
she said.

“
Then I
’
ll stay.
”

Sara knew he meant to guard her, but even weakened, her body responded as though he
’
d offered her seduction.
She couldn
’
t halt the images of their night together flitting through her mind.

Faith pushed aside the glasses and binoculars on her table.
The large sheet of graph paper lying there rolled up of its own accord.
“
Bad idea.
Flintrop
’
s gunning for you as it is, and he
’
s not the kind of guy who puts up with people he doesn
’
t like.
I know how he is, I dated him.
”

Ian snorted. “Why?”

Faith threw her hands in the air. “I don’t know. It didn’t work out. A few months later, he dumped me for no particular reason, and acted like we’d never—” She broke off and cleared her throat. “Is this need-to-know, or can we get back to the big problem?”

“Fine.” Ian looked back down at Sara. “I’ll walk you to your tent.”

She nodded, and they started together toward the door.

Faith snatched up the graph paper and crumpled it into one fist.
In a flash of silver eyes and a burst of flame, the map withered to ashes in her hand.

Ian tensed, quick as reflex.
Sara pushed him out the door ahead of her.

On the way to her tent, she asked,
“
What was all that about back there?
Why were you two arguing?
”

“
It
’
s nothing,
”
he said.
“
Does she do that a lot?
”
He made a flicking motion with his hand, imitating Faith
’
s burst of flame.

“
Often enough.
”
She cast a look around camp, but no one was outside at the moment.
They entered her tent.
“
She
’
s right about Flintrop.
”

He slid his arms around her.
“
I couldn
’
t care less about Flintrop.
Do
you
want me to stay?
”

Oh, yes.
Her body vibrated with it.
“
You shouldn
’
t.
”

His lips trailed along her cheek. Heat sizzled from his touch into her skin. He molded his body to hers and kissed her, swallowing her moan. The rigidness of his growing arousal pressed against her abdomen.

Her head spun, but it had nothing to do with fever. “Please,” she whispered, not knowing if she meant him to stop, or to keep going.

He kissed his way down the side of her neck. “I worried about you last night,” he said, his breath warming her ear.

She shivered with pleasure. “I’ll be all right,” she said, then gave a soft cry as his teeth closed over her earlobe. She fisted her hands in his jacket and jerked him closer.

He hissed and pressed his hips into her. The sweet pressure of it rebounded through her and left her breathless. She arched against him.

He kissed her again, again, again. “The inlet. Tonight,” he whispered, then pulled away with reluctance in his eyes.

She stood there for several moments after he left, touching her fingers to her tingling lips as if she could preserve the feel of him.

Weariness won out.
She went to her cot and lay down, intending only to get another hour
’
s rest before joining the crew.
But when she woke again, she realized by the dimming quality of the light that she
’
d slept the entire day.

The sounds of clanking dishes reached her, and the faint smell of dinner made her empty stomach rumble.
She hefted herself into a sitting position and touched a hand to her forehead.
Well, at least it didn
’
t feel like she
’
d bake alive anymore.

She heard the zipper of her tent door being drawn back, and turned to look.
Flintrop ducked in with a thermos.
“
Good, you
’
re awake.
”

“
Just,
”
she said.

He stepped inside.
“
I brought you some soup.
Thought it would help shore you up.
Doing better?
”

The rumble of her stomach intensified at the thought of food.
“
Probably look like hell, but yes, I feel better.
”

He handed the thermos over and sat on the cot.
“
You couldn
’
t look like hell if you wanted to.
”

She chose to ignore his comment, and unscrewed the cap of the thermos.

“
Lamb called,
”
he added.
“
There
’
s some snag at Eurocon that he
’
s got to stay and sort out.
We haven
’
t located Becky, even though the boat
’
s still here.
”

Pouring a cup of soup, Sara said,
“
Really?
She must have caught the ferry out.
I
’
m sure she
’
s all right, but she should have called.
”

What Becky really should have done—and was currently doing, if she possessed any sense—was to flee as far as possible from Hvitmar and everyone on it.
If she was lucky, she
’
d already be on her way to the Gemini offices.
Safer than they were, and no one would use her like that ever again.
Sara felt a pang of remorse for the young woman.
She
’
d had her sister.
What about others who possessed paranormal gifts?
Who did they turn to?

Had Callander found himself alone and scared as a gifted child, and then gone horribly wrong?

With half her mind on the morning
’
s events, and the other half wondering how to finish the dig in three weeks under the strain of constant danger, it took Sara a minute to realize Flintrop was staring.
“
Did you want something else?
”

His cobalt gaze mellowed.
“
Are you sure you want me to answer that honestly?
”

She leaned away.
“
We
’
ve been over that, Flintrop.
”

“
We have.
”
He chuckled.
“
We never quite addressed what we were going to do once we got past the pastry level.
”

“
That
’
s because we aren
’
t past it, and we are never going to be past it,
”
she said, raising the thermos cup to her lips.
She closed her eyes.
A sudden flash of Ian
’
s naked body and scorching storm-blue gaze insinuated itself into her thoughts.

She choked down the swallow of soup and slapped the empty cup down, then stood.
“
I
’
ve got to get out there.
I
’
ve wasted a whole day.
Excuse me.
”

He rose to his feet beside her, and blocked her escape.
Frustrated, her mind still full with Ian, she said,
“
We
’
re finished here.
If you don
’
t mind—
”

He raised a hand to her cheek.
The gesture surprised her into stillness.
“
Don
’
t leave.
You
’
ve been sliding away from me for years,
”
he said.
He leaned forward until his breath misted her face.
“
Stay.
”

Her heart pounded.
She stared blindly, seeing a different pair of eyes.
Focus!
She wrestled her senses back to the present.
Realization of what Flintrop was asking dawned on her.
Before she could react, he kissed her.

Her senses blasted into static.
The back of her neck prickled.
Her skin hummed so loud she couldn
’
t think.
Sara froze, immobilized, even as her body screamed to fly out the door.
His palm stroked along her cheek and down the curve of her neck.
“
Be with me,
”
he whispered against her lips.
His fingers threaded into the thick hair at the back of her head.

His fingertips brushed over the leather lace of the amulet.
With her blood fizzing, she put a hand on his chest and pushed, breaking the kiss with an effort of will.
“
This isn
’
t going to happen, Flintrop.
I-I
’
m sorry.
Excuse me.
”
She grabbed a jacket and rushed out of the tent, confused and unsettled and needing to be anywhere but near him.

Dusk had fallen.
The crew milled about the camp, packing up tools.
Sara fought a moment of guilt at having missed a day
’
s work, but her feet moved as if they had a will of their own.
Rather than turning toward the camp, she walked straight across it, heading for the inlet.

Faith met her halfway across the moor.
“
What
’
s wrong?
”