Heart of Stone

by Debra Mullins

  “It’s up to you. I’m just along for the ride.”

  “Okay then. First things first: muffins.”

  “I’m down with that.”

  * * *

  Darius was sweating a little as he reached the tenplu on the third floor of the house. The family temple, a rooftop garden, and the vault holding all their Atlantean artifacts took up the entire uppermost floor of the house. This was where his brother Rafe would go through his Soul Circle. If all went well, Rafe would emerge from the ritual with more control over his powers than ever before.

  If he failed, Rafe would be gone forever, replaced by the primordial warrior Rafe became when he allowed his abilities full rein—the Hunter.

  Darius paused before entering the tenplu to catch his breath. He looked down at his cane. Rafe had lost control of his Hunter five years ago, resulting in the injury that had left Darius in a wheelchair. He hoped history didn’t repeat itself.

  Especially since his love life had taken such an interesting turn.

  A Seer and a former member of the Mendukati. Who could have foreseen such an unlikely pairing? His mother said he and Faith were bonded as mates, and she was never wrong. Rafe had found his destined mate in Cara, and she anchored Rafe, something his brother had needed for a long time, especially today. The Soul Circle tested one’s control over one’s abilities, which meant pushing them to the limits. Rafe hadn’t had a whole lot of control before Cara came along, and his link with her might be the only thing to save him if something went wrong. They were a truly bonded couple, and their happiness poured off them like rainwater, soaking any room they were in together with the bliss of true love.

  He wanted that for himself and Faith, but would it be possible to overcome the deception that had been in play since the day they’d met?

  “Darius, what are you doing standing in the hallway?”

  He looked up and saw his mother in the open doorway. She wore the large, faceted crystal pendant around her neck that marked her as apaiz nagusi—the high priestess. The chain, made of orichalcum, an ore found only in Atlantis, shone red-gold against her black shirt. She focused her power through the clear quartz.

  “Well?” she pressed. “Are you coming in or did you plan on participating from the hallway?”

  “Sorry.” He stepped through the door she held open for him. “I was thinking.”

  She patted his arm and closed the door. “I know you must be nervous.”

  “A little. But Cara seems to keep him stable, so I’m holding on to that.”

  “I’m glad.” Maria smiled. “Your brother needs your support.”

  “I know. Listen, after all this is over, I’d like to talk to you and Dad about Faith.”

  “What about her?”

  “I need to tell her the truth.” His mother opened her mouth to speak, but Darius rushed on. “You said she’s my mate. I can’t keep lying to her. I know she means us no harm.”

  Maria sighed. “We will discuss it—after the ritual.”

  “Thank you.” Darius tugged his own focus stone from beneath his shirt, a solid two-inch triangle of green moss agate on its own orichalcum chain. “I’m ready.”

  “Good. Everyone’s here.”

  He looked up and saw that she was correct; he was the last to arrive.

  “Sleep through the alarm, bro?” Rafe asked. Dressed in a T-shirt and jeans, he stood at the edge of the massive sandpit that split the room, hands on his hips and a smart-aleck grin on his face. The clear quartz focus stone hanging around his neck glittered in the morning sunlight streaming in the windows.

  “You should talk,” Darius shot back. “I was up and swimming laps when you finally rose from your beauty sleep. I saw you stumble into the kitchen for coffee.”

  “I expected you to sleep in a little,” Rafe said, glancing at Cara beside him, “given recent developments.”

  “Rafe!” Cara smacked her fiancé’s arm and hissed, “That was supposed to be a secret!”

  “What secret?” Tessa asked, looking up from watering the plants lining the edges of the room. “What developments?”

  “You tell us, O Knowing One,” Rafe shot back. “You’re the one who makes all the prophecies.”

  “Rafe,” Cara warned.

  “You think you’re safe because I can’t read other Atlanteans?” Tessa put down the watering can and strode over to Rafe. “Let’s put that to the test.”

  “Here we go.” Cara buried her face in her hand.

  “Bring it, sis.” Rafe folded his arms and smirked.

  “Children,” their mother said, “this is not the time for nonsense.”

  “It’s not nonsense.” Tessa’s eyes widened as she peered closely at Rafe. “Darius and Faith? Mates? Are you nuts?”

  “Hey, since when can you read me?” Rafe demanded.

  “Oh, Rafe.” Cara looked up, her expression revealing the exasperation Darius knew she felt. “She didn’t read you, she read me. She always reads me.” She turned a scowl on Tessa. “Which is very rude, Tessa. If we’re going to be sisters, you have to cut that out.”

  “Sorry. I like to know what’s going on. Darius and Faith? No way.” With a shrug, Tessa turned to Darius. “Tell them.”

  “Tell them what?” Darius asked.

  “Tell them it’s ridiculous.”

  “What’s ridiculous?”

  “Dar.” Tessa narrowed her eyes. “Don’t play dumb.”

  “Who said he’s playing?” Rafe said.

  “Children,” their mother said again, this time through gritted teeth.

  “You and Faith, a romance, destined mates. Tell them it’s crazy,” Tessa said.

  Darius shrugged. “Maybe not as crazy as you think.”

  “No way.” Tessa’s eyes bugged. “Tell me you’re not falling for that … that…”

  “That what?” Darius set his jaw. “Finish it, Tess. I know you’ve got some ax to grind regarding Faith.”

  Tessa folded her arms. “She used to run with the people who are trying to exterminate our family.”

  “Briefly,” Darius said. “She broke off from them years ago.”

  “Maybe.”

  “No ‘maybe’ about it. She’s here to help us, Tessa, and she wants nothing to do with the Mendukati. It wouldn’t kill you to be polite to her.”

  “I don’t trust her.”

  “Why, because you can’t read her?” Tessa’s sudden flash of guilt told him the truth. “That’s it, isn’t it? Every woman Rafe or I have dated was human, and you could read them. Judge them. But Faith is Atlantean, so you have no idea what she’s thinking. And it’s driving you nuts.”

  “Someone needs to know what she’s up to.”

  “Darius does.” Their father spoke from the other side of the room, near the light switches and temperature controls. “His powers do work on Faith. He’d tell us if she was up to something.”

  “And while I, too, am nervous about having her here,” their mother added, “I know what I know. I don’t want to believe Darius’s destined mate is a true danger to us.”

  “So she is his destined mate? That can’t be right.” Tessa wrapped her arms around herself and turned away.

  “It is what it is,” Maria said. “Now please shake off that negative attitude so we can work some energy. Rafe, are you ready?”

  That quickly, every person in the room sobered. Rafe nodded. “Let’s do this.”

  Cara laid a hand on Rafe’s arm. When he looked at her, she stood up on tiptoe and brushed a kiss to his lips. “I’m right here. Make sure you come back to me.”

  “You got it.” Bending his head, Rafe gave his fiancée a harder kiss than she had bestowed on him. Turning, he faced the sand.

  “John, if you will,” Maria said.

  His father turned a dial, and the sunroof in the ceiling slowly opened to let in the sunlight. The open space was as wide as the sand below it and only six feet long, though the sand itself extended the width of the room. The sunshine poured in and hit the
stones they’d placed on the seven three-foot-high rock pillars that made up the most sacred part of the tenplu.

  Each of the colored stones sitting on a pillar represented one of the seven chakras: red tumbled ruby, bright orange carnelian, yellow tiger eye, green moss agate, blue turquoise, dark indigo amethyst, and light violet amethyst. Darius stood along the edge of the sandpit with his mother and sister as Rafe stepped into it, walking forward until he stood between the pillars. As one, all four Montanas turned their faces to the sun. The warm light streamed over them, touching their focus stones, warming them.

  And as one, they began to sing the chant to initiate the Soul Circle.

  * * *

  Faith and Rigo had settled at the kitchen table with their coffee and muffins when Lupe came into the kitchen from the laundry room.

  “What is this?” she demanded.

  Faith paused in lifting the muffin to her mouth. “Oh, were we not supposed to eat these?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Lupe threw up her hands. “Why do you think I made them?”

  “Because you know they’re my favorite?” The affection in Rigo’s voice startled Faith, as did the mischievous look in his eyes.

  Lupe blushed and waved a hand at him. “You. Don’t try to sweet-talk your way out of this, Rodrigo Mendez.”

  “Could I? Sweet-talk you, I mean?”

  “Bah!” Lupe addressed Faith. “This one, such a charmer. Of course I made the banana nut for him. But is that all you intend to eat?” She whirled back on Rigo. “A man like you, a muffin will not hold you for long. I’ll make you eggs. That’s a good breakfast.”

  “Oh, Lupe, you don’t have to do that,” Faith said.

  “Three or four of these, and I’m good.” Rigo held up the muffin.

  “You need protein. Especially you.” She pointed at Rigo. “No arguments. How do you want your eggs?”

  “Over medium,” he said.

  “Scrambled,” Faith said in response to Lupe’s lifted brow.

  “Ten minutes,” Lupe said, and pulled a frying pan from the cupboard. She muttered beneath her breath in Spanish as she collected eggs, cheese, and nonstick spray.

  Rigo lifted his cup to his lips and met Faith’s gaze over the rim, his eyes full of mirth and crinkling at the edges. She felt her own lips twitching and quickly took a gulp of coffee. Minutes later, Lupe slid a plate of steaming scrambled eggs sprinkled with cheese in front of Faith and a plate with two fried eggs in front of Rigo. She slapped a bottle of hot sauce beside it.

  “Now, this is breakfast,” she announced. The buzzer from the dryer went off, and she headed into the laundry room, still muttering to herself as she left.

  Faith glanced down the hallway to make sure she was gone. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like I’ve been schooled.”

  Rigo grinned, took the cap off the hot sauce, and splashed some on his eggs. “Lupe makes her thoughts known, that’s for sure.”

  “If I keep eating like this, I’ll have to hit the gym after I get back home.”

  “There’s one here. I’m sure the Montanas would let you use it.” He cut into one of the yolks. Yellow goo oozed out.

  “Maybe I’ll ask Darius.” She scooped up a forkful of eggs.

  “Good idea.”

  Out of nowhere, her tattoos flared like freshly seared brands. Her fingers spasmed. She dropped her fork with a clang. A scream tore through her mind like a sharp blade through a sheer veil. She whimpered and grabbed the edge of the table with contorted fingers.

  A stone, splintered, out of balance. Energy being forced through distorted channels. Hot, so hot. Can’t hold it all. Throbbing, throbbing. The wail ripped from her throat, scraping her vocal cords like gravel. Agony. So much. Too much.

  Have to …

  Make. It. Stop.

  It flooded her mind like acid. She swept her arm across the table. Plates and silverware crashed to the floor. Someone grabbed her wrist. She saw a face. Rigo. His lips moved, but there was no sound.

  Another wave seared into her mind. Her body jerked. Rigo was saying something. She couldn’t hear him through the deranged shrieking in her head. She yanked her wrist from his grasp and leaped to her feet. She had to find that stone, save it. Stop the screaming.

  Rigo grabbed her elbow. Tried to hold her back.

  The Stone of Igarle had been whispering to her all morning, urging her to heed its call, to connect again and discover the secrets of the ages. She’d ignored it earlier, but now she reached for it, tapped it with a feather-light touch for the power she needed, and shoved Rigo away one-handed, the force of the ancient stone behind it. Mendez flew across the room, smacked his head on the stainless-steel fridge and slumped to the floor, dazed.

  Faith ran for the stairs.

  She followed the scream of the damaged stone to the third floor. Her throat vibrated with the hum of the Stone of Igarle, and the ancient crystal seemed to shield her somewhat from the mind-splitting wail of the fractured stone. With her connection to one of the most powerful crystals in Atlantis fueling her, she shoved open the double wooden doors and took in the scene with a glance.

  Bright sunlight pouring in from an open sunroof. Seven pillars with seven colored stones glowing, all healthy. John in the far corner, Darius, Maria, Tessa, and Cara standing alongside a sandpit. And in the pit—Rafe.

  The mind-searing screech came from the stone he wore around his neck. She could see it clearly now, feel it, a jagged shard of crystal hanging from a chain. It glowed as he fed power through it, but the channels were warped. This stone did not belong to him, yet he forced it to his will.

  And was killing it.

  She threw her hands up, tattoos burning like lava, and sang a short, harsh song with the power of Igarle behind it. Every stone in the room flared, then winked out.

  The screaming in her mind cut off. Silence.

  Rafe stiffened and collapsed in the sand, and the room exploded with panicked voices as the entire Montana family turned and looked at her.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Faith managed to remain standing, even as her legs trembled with the aftereffects of the ancient power she had channeled. She wanted to lie down in a quiet corner somewhere, but the fear and rage in the faces of the people in front of her had her stiffening her spine. She wouldn’t let them see her weaken.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” John Montana strode forward. “You were told to stay away from here!”

  “Hold on a minute.” Darius came to stand beside Faith. “Let her explain.”

  “Explain? Seems obvious to me. She just burst in here and shut down every stone in the room with a wave of her hand.” Tessa glared at Faith. “Know who else can do that? Jain Criten.”

  “Criten sucked the energy out of Rafe’s focus stone when he forced his way into our house, and he nearly killed us all.” Maria gripped her pendant. “That she can do this, like he did…”

  “Hold it right there!” Rigo swept into the room, his pace measured and a two-handed grip on the gun pointed at Faith. “I’m sorry, sir. She got the drop on me. It won’t happen again.”

  “See that it doesn’t,” John said.

  “I told you she was dangerous,” Tessa said, eyes narrowed. “How’d a little thing like her take out Rigo?”

  “What is wrong with all of you?” Darius demanded. “Lower the gun, Rigo. Faith doesn’t want to hurt anyone.” He looked at his family. “She came to warn us, didn’t you, Faith?”

  “Yes,” Faith said. She could see by his expression that he was willing to hear her out, but the rest of his family looked like they wanted to go out and find a strong rope and a sturdy tree.

  They’re afraid of you. The whisper in her mind came from the Stone of Igarle.

  “Rafe’s crystal is unsafe,” Darius announced.

  “What do you mean ‘unsafe’?” Maria demanded.

  “I mean he can get hurt if he keeps using it. Right, Faith?”

  “Yes, that’s right.” Faith frowne
d. “How’d you know that?”

  Darius ignored her question. “Seems to me that’s a good enough reason to do what she did.” He didn’t break gazes with his father. “Tell them the rest, Faith.”

  Puzzled by his grasp of details she hadn’t told him but grateful for the ally, Faith gestured toward Rafe as Cara helped him get to his feet. “Rafe’s crystal is fractured, warped. Every time he uses it, he damages it more, and one day it’s going to lash back on him. I could hear it screaming.” She closed her eyes, as if that would tune out the painful memory.

  “Screaming?” Tessa said. “What do you mean ‘screaming’?”

  “In my head.” She opened her eyes. “I can craft Rafe a new one. But he can’t keep using that one.”

  “Out of the question,” John said. “How do we even know you’re telling the truth, that this isn’t a trick?”

  “Because I know,” Darius said. “It’s no trick, Dad. Something is wrong with Rafe’s stone. Maybe we should let Faith examine it.”

  “Absolutely not,” Maria said. “What do we know about Stone Singers, after all? She might destroy it.”

  “What would you like me to do with her, sir?” Rigo asked.

  “Put her in the safe room,” John said. “And this time do a better job of keeping her contained.”

  “Keeping me contained?” Faith’s heart sank as she glanced at Darius. “I thought he was just supposed to keep me company.”

  “He was.” Darius frowned at his father.

  “I gave him another set of orders,” John said. “I told him to watch you in case you tried something. And you did try something.”

  “Dad, you don’t understand,” Darius said.

  “I understand plenty!” John pointed at Faith. “This woman just ripped away the power from every stone in the temple. The family is defenseless now!”

  “What was she supposed to do?” Darius demanded. “Let Rafe continue using a fractured stone for his Soul Circle? She just told you the stone was screaming in her mind, tearing her apart, yet she still managed to get up here and save us from ourselves.”

  “That’s exactly what it felt like,” Faith murmured.

  “Is that the act of an enemy?” Darius regarded his family. “Let’s put the Soul Circle on hold for now until we find out what’s going on.”