He took a slow, deep breath, then let it out just as slowly. “Think about what I said, Andrea. Please.” He kissed the top of her head and loosened his hold on her.
She nodded, not meeting his eyes, and turned back to their dinner, which they ate in silence. She did a quick clean-up afterward, then paced the chamber. “We’ll need to take turns being on watch tonight,” she said finally. “I’ll take the first shift.”
Kallan remained in the middle of the nest of blankets where he’d sat to eat his stew, and his green gaze missed nothing when she faced him from the back of the room. “Do we have another way out of here? In case?”
She tipped her head toward the back of the cave.
He pushed to his feet and followed her into the smaller chamber.
Andi took a quick breath, then eased the shelving unit away from the wall a few inches to uncover a hole. It was big enough for her to get through, but she suddenly realized he might have a problem.
Evidently, so did he, judging by the frown on his face. He squatted down to study it. “That’s it?” He touched the rock on one side. It didn’t look as though the passage was wide enough for him.
“’Fraid so.” Cold settled in her belly. If she had to escape that way, she didn’t want to leave him behind to face his angry cousin.
“I’ll manage,” he said shortly, shoving to his feet. “Hopefully we won’t have to use it.” He helped her push the shelves back into place. “Your protections, they’re strong?”
She nodded. She’d given them a boost before they’d clambered up behind the waterfall, and she was certain they’d hold.
“Stavros has a different talent,” Kallan said slowly, putting his hands on her shoulders and rubbing gently.
She swallowed. “You mean he has to worry about whether he’s locked his keys in the car?” The joke fell flat, and the cold in her belly seemed to expand.
“Every Harvester has a different ability.”
Her mouth went dry. “What is his?” she asked, though she was very afraid of the answer.
“He can sense magic.”
Like her protections. Her knees went watery. He’d know exactly where she’d done her spells around the property boundaries.
And he’d find the cave, protected as it was.
She met Kallan’s gaze and didn’t feel at all reassured.
“He can also undo whatever was done.”
Her knees gave out, and she dropped to the floor, staring up at him.
He crouched down in front of her. “It will take him a little while. He can’t just undo something automatically. It’ll take a while to figure out all the steps, but eventually he’ll find what he needs.” He rubbed her shoulders again. “The best thing we have going for us right now is that tracking isn’t his specialty. As long as he’s alone, it’s going to take him some time to search the property.”
Andi shut her eyes, feeling worse by the second.
“If he’s brought one of my cousins who is skilled as a tracker, we’re in trouble.”
Chapter Seven
Kallan hated having to tell her all that, as her face had gone a shade paler with each revelation. But she needed to understand what they faced. She needed to know if she wanted to survive.
But she swallowed after a moment, and she opened her eyes, the blue dark. “All right.” She pushed to her feet, brushing aside his hands and moving to the mouth of the cave. “I’ll be right back.”
He watched her pick her way down the rocks to the small ledge behind the falls, waited as she knelt and chanted something he couldn’t hear over the water. But he could feel the surge of energy as she did whatever it was she was doing. Likely adding to the protection on the cave for the night.
But so much magic would be a beacon to Stavros once he was close enough.
He bowed his head, racking his brain for something else to slow his cousin down and coming up empty. Stavros was too smart to fall for another lie about his location.
Andrea clambered back inside and let him catch her wrist to pull her upright.
“We have to be gone before he gets here,” he said gently.
She nodded.
“And you’ll have to undo everything when we go. Otherwise, it’ll still draw him.”
She nodded again. “Fine.”
“Do you have any preferences for where we go next?”
“Wherever you want.”
He frowned. “Really?” There were a lot of places they could go that wouldn’t be flagged automatically and immediately as possibilities by his cousin.
But she was being awfully agreeable.
Kallan studied her face more closely. “For how long?” He had a sneaking suspicion…
“Until I can take care of your cousin myself.”
He shook his head, smiling. “No.” Still, he gathered her close, despite her slight resistance. “It wouldn’t be safe for you.”
“Nothing much is safe for me right now.” She lifted her face so he could see the anger flaring in her eyes. “I just want to go home, to my house.”
He held her gaze for a moment. “You know you can’t.”
“No, not right now.”
“Not as long as you’re the Medusa,” he corrected her. “If Stavros has found your house, you can bet it won’t be left unattended until he’s convinced someone else is now the Medusa.” He slid his hands to her lower back, easing one under the hem of her shirt so he could stroke the spot where her tattoo started. “As long as you carry the amulet, you’re a target.”
“Then you’d better kill me, because I won’t spend my life running.” She pushed away from him, striding around him to pace the room.
He couldn’t do that. She knew it too, damn her. He dragged one hand through his hair and swung away to look out into the darkness. He’d never run before, from anything. But he would run, at least temporarily, to keep her safe from Stavros.
He just needed her to trust him a little. Enough to keep her safe. That would be a good start.
Andi took a sip of water as she sat in the mouth of the cave hours later, listening to the falls. Occasionally night sounds reached her—an owl hooting, several deer leaping into the stream.
Behind her, Kallan lay in silence, but she knew he wasn’t sleeping. He was far too alert, too tense for that.
She was completely exhausted, but she didn’t want to sleep.
“You should lie down.”
She shut her eyes. It was tempting. To lie down beside him and rest. But she couldn’t. Not when there was a man hunting her—maybe even in her home or on her mountain now, stalking her like she was an animal.
“Andrea.”
She glanced at him. “I’m fine. You should get some sleep while you can.”
He sighed, but didn’t reply.
She knew he didn’t sleep, though. Not for a long, long time. She stared out into the dark, trying not to think of the things he’d said to her. The accusation he’d made about her family earlier. That one hurt. The other declaration scared the hell out of her.
It also made her heart beat faster with pleasure.
That was not a good thing. She couldn’t have a man in love with her who intended to kill her.
Then again, that same man had also promised he’d die to protect her. He’d already lied to his family to keep her safe.
Kallan Tassos was a lot more complicated than she would have guessed.
Hours later, her brain had simply given up on trying to figure out the tangled mess of her life when she felt his hand on her shoulder. “My turn.”
She didn’t argue this time, getting slowly to her feet and stretching. He kissed the top of her head.
“Get some sleep, meli. I’ll keep watch.” His hand slid down her back, and he nudged her toward the sleeping bag.
Andi kicked off her boots and rolled into the blankets, which were still warm from his body. She inhaled deeply, his scent making her smile a little. He smelled good. She fell asleep thinking that.
When sh
e woke, there was faint light outlining the cave opening where Kallan stood, every muscle tense.
“Is he coming?” She threw back the blankets and grabbed her boots.
“He’s somewhere on the mountain. And he’s got company.” He glanced over his shoulder at her, but it was still too dark to see his expression.
Her heart pounded crazily in her chest, making it hard to breathe evenly. She fumbled with the laces on her boots for a few seconds, then got to her feet. “How long?”
“If they follow our trail from yesterday, five hours or so. If they follow Stavros’s eye for magic, much less.” He moved away from the entrance. “Either way, we need to be gone long before he finds this place.”
She nodded, folding blankets with trembling hands.
“Andrea.” He caught her wrists as she wrestled the sleeping bag into submission.
She looked up and found his eyes dark with concern, but his jaw hard with determination.
“We’ll be fine.”
She swallowed and nodded. “Okay.” She had to trust him on this—that he would get her to safety and not hand her over to his cousin who wouldn’t care if they got the amulet or not before he wiped her off the face of the earth.
After all, he hadn’t killed her over the past few days when it would have been extremely easy.
She paused in her folding at that thought.
The Harvester hadn’t killed her.
She glanced up and found him back at the cavern opening again, the line of his shoulders stiff. She’d trust him in this. She had to.
She got everything put away, hoping she could come back sometime soon. Or just sometime. She stood staring at her shelves of supplies and felt a lump try to clog her throat.
She swallowed it down and grabbed some MREs to add to her backpack, turning away. “We’ll need more water for today.”
“Do you mind packing while I keep an eye on things?” He looked at her over his shoulder.
“No.” She felt better with something to occupy her mind, and repacking her backpack kept her busy for almost five minutes. Then she gathered more water bottles for Kallan, though she didn’t root through his pack. Instead, she set them down beside his backpack and moved to the doorway, touching his back lightly. “I’ll watch while you do your pack.”
He kissed her, hard and fast, and left her blinking stupidly at the stone wall when he moved away.
Andi inhaled and forced her gaze to the water streaming in front of the cave, noting the brightening of the sky outside. The birdsongs multiplied and amplified around them.
It only took him a couple minutes to replenish his backpack, and then he stood beside her, his body warm. “We should eat before we head out. But nothing requiring a fire, I think.”
She agreed, heading to the back of the cave again to find something.
They ate in silence, both watching the lightening sky outside, tension making the air around them heavy. When she’d finished her energy bar, she glanced up to find him watching her.
“Do you trust me for this?”
She nodded, noting the way his jaw relaxed slightly at her response. Her pulse beat faster.
“All right. Then let’s go.” He touched her cheek lightly and moved away to grab the packs.
They climbed down, and Andi knelt on the ledge to undo her protections on the cave, her head bowed and eyes shut. While she was at it, she sent a quick plea to the Gods that she’d be able to return here again safely.
They swam away from the cave in the opposite direction from where they’d arrived yesterday, and climbed—dripping—onto the other bank, careful to step only on the rocks and not into the soft earth. The less evidence they left behind for his cousin to find, the better.
Kallan glanced at his watch several hours later. They’d been heading down the other side of the mountain, away from Andrea’s house, and she hadn’t relaxed at all the entire way. In fact, he’d bet that if she weren’t wearing her backpack, her shoulders would be hunched up with the tension in her. He strode along behind her, just a step or two, periodically opening his senses to see if Stavros was getting closer.
Not gaining on them yet.
When they reached the foot of the mountain, they had to figure out where to go from there.
He’d been joking last night when he mentioned Scotland, but he’d been thinking about it for a while now as they walked. Neither of them had any ties there, and it might be a safe place temporarily.
Andrea stopped suddenly and he caught her arms to stop himself before he knocked her over.
“What’s wrong?”
She shook her head. “I thought I heard something.”
He cocked his head to one side to listen. He heard nothing but the chattering of the squirrels and birds in the trees. He opened his senses further and felt his heart skip a beat. “He’s closer.” Maybe nearly to the cave. Where their trail would stop, at least for a while. Stavros would need one of the cousins who was expert at tracking—rather than just simply good—to pick it up again. Kallan hoped Stavros hadn’t brought Pietro or Giles.
She shook her head. “Maybe my imagination is just working overtime.”
“Perhaps.” He patted her arms before releasing her. “How long to the road?”
“Half an hour, tops.”
Maybe it had been a car she’d heard.
She started walking again, then stopped when a bobcat leaped from a low branch onto the old trail they were hiking.
Heart pounding, Kallan caught her arms, watching the cat watch them. It was only a few yards away, and if it decided they looked like something worthy of a taste, he needed to get her behind him. She lifted one hand to cover his, staying him.
The cat’s dark eyes remained on them, unblinking for a very long moment, and then the animal jumped into the brush on the other side of the trail.
Andrea smiled up at him, then began walking again. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and started after her.
It took less than thirty minutes to reach the road, but there was no traffic. Getting a ride might be difficult.
Kallan surveyed the area, then dug his map out of one of the pockets on his pants. If they went east here, it would be good for losing Stavros, but not very helpful in a more permanent escape. If they went west, though, they were more likely to find a ride. And stay in Stavros’s hunting ground.
A low hum reached his ears a second before Andrea turned to him, anxiety shadowing her eyes. He shook his head. “It’s good.” Not one of his cousins.
Her expression relaxed slightly, but she reached for his hand anyway.
Surprised, he linked their fingers and smiled down at her. A minute later, a truck rumbled around the bend, slowing when Kallan put up his free hand.
An old man sat behind the wheel of the dusty pickup, a battered baseball cap perched on the back of his head, and he rolled his window down. “You kids need a ride?”
“Where are you heading?”
“Ellsworth.”
“That would be great. We were supposed to meet friends, but I think we must have missed them.” He gave her fingers a light squeeze.
“Climb on in.” The man gestured to the passenger door.
Kallan led the way around the front of the truck, shedding his backpack, then took Andrea’s to put into the back before he helped her up into the cab. When they were both settled, he leaned forward. “I’m Phil.” He ignored the startled glance Andrea shot him at his introduction. “I really appreciate the ride.”
The old man took his right hand off the wheel and stretched it toward Kallan. “Ted. It’s a long way to anywhere from here, Phil.”
Kallan shook his hand. “It is. We met our friends yesterday to hike onto the mountain, and after we broke camp, they got ahead of us. I guess they figure we made it back to town, but we landed on the wrong side of the hill.”
Ted laughed. “It happens, even to the most experienced of us at least once.”
Kallan relaxed, chatting with t
he man about hiking and then the conversation moved on to more general topics, and the drive to Ellsworth was quickly over. Ted dropped them downtown at a spot where Kallan told him they could walk to their friends’ apartment. They hefted their packs.
Andrea let out a long, slow breath and closed her eyes. “That was interesting, Phil.” When she opened her eyes, she showed faint amusement mingled with worry.
He winked at her. “We got to town, which is where we needed to be, and none of my cousins are nearby. Now we’ll get a car and head for Boston.”
“Boston?” She let him lace their fingers and started walking at his side.
“International airport, agaph.” He gave her fingers a squeeze. “You did bring a passport, right?”
“One or two.” She bit her lip. “Where are we going?”
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and he ignored it. “I’ll let you know in a little while.” He steered her toward the rental car office he knew was only a couple blocks away.
She didn’t protest though he could see the questions in her eyes, and he wished he had some way to reassure her this would all work out.
He couldn’t, though. Not as long as she was the Medusa. As far as he knew, there was only one way for that to change, and he was in no hurry now for that to occur.
Within twenty minutes, he’d rented a car with one of his alternate identities, and they were on their way south, out of Ellsworth.
Andrea sank back against the passenger seat, closing her eyes. “Are we safe for a little while?”
“Yes.” He knew for sure Stavros was nowhere near them. He needed to make sure it stayed that way.
She sighed and relaxed a little more.
“Get a nap. We’ll be on the road awhile.” He touched her cheek lightly, and she opened her eyes, rolling her head against the headrest to look at him. “I know you didn’t sleep enough last night,” he said. His pocket vibrated again.
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