Heart of Stone

by Debra Mullins

  Sacrificial victims, Gerlari whispered.

  Faith shivered, disturbed by the very idea, and moved her light to the center of the chamber. A sarcophagus had been set on a dais in the center of the room. She slowly traced the carving on the lid, three triangles connected at the base by a circle with a squiggly line in the middle—the symbol of Atlantis. A survivor of the cataclysm had been laid to rest here.

  “Help me,” she said to Rigo. Both of them took a corner at the head of the sarcophagus. Leaning every muscle into it, they were able to slide the stone lid over enough for Faith to shine her light inside.

  Red crystal glimmered between skeletal hands.

  “I see it.” She started to reach inside. The lid skidded. She and Rigo grabbed it and prevented it from crashing to the floor. They stood balancing the heavy stone, muscles straining. The idea was to reclaim the stone and leave the rest of the artifacts untouched.

  “Wish Gray was here,” Rigo said. “How are we going to get that thing out?”

  “You grab it. I’ll hold the lid steady.”

  “What? You couldn’t possibly.”

  She smiled. “Yes, I can.” She closed her eyes and reached for the energy of Gerlari. The stone had been packed away for eons, no human contaminating it, which meant it flared to life with as pure an energy as she had ever felt. Unlike Igarle back at the Montana house or Eraldatu in Santutegi, this stone remained as pristine as when it had been balanced by the last Stone Singer.

  Its song burst from her throat, full and eerily beautiful.

  Rigo jumped when she first started singing. She didn’t know how much he knew about who his employers were, but he recovered quickly and just waited for orders. She channeled the energy of Gerlari, asked for its help. Moments later, invigorating power swept through her, activating every muscle with an adrenaline rush. She easily lifted up the stone lid so Rigo could grab the stone.

  “Sorry, amigo,” he said to the skeleton as he freed the stone from the clasp of the dead.

  As soon as his hand was clear, Faith replaced the lid with a soft thud and brushed her hands together to get rid of the dust. “Let me see it.”

  Rigo handed her the stone. The instant it touched her hand, it flared to life, glowing clear with swirls of red in it.

  “Dios,” Rigo whispered.

  “Where’s your bag?” she asked.

  “Right here.” He detached a waterproof catch bag from his belt and opened it.

  Faith placed the stone in the bag. “Hang on to that with your life. Now let’s get out of here.”

  “Hell yeah.”

  They hurried out of the cave, following the dim glow of the main cavern. They burst out into the light. Two Warriors in scuba gear met them, pointing harpoon guns.

  “I’ll take that,” one said, and snatched the bag from Rigo. He tucked the harpoon gun under his arm and opened the bag, glancing inside. He nodded to his partner.

  “You.” The partner pointed at Faith and then swung his finger to the other side of the cavern. “Get over there.”

  Faith glanced at Rigo. Don’t try anything, she thought. Please don’t try anything.

  He tried something.

  As Faith shuffled to the other side of the cavern, Rigo lunged at the Warrior who’d opened the bag. The guy went down, and the bag skidded aside. Rigo leaped for it.

  The other Warrior fired. Rigo tried to dive out of the way, but the harpoon sliced along his side before bouncing off the stone wall. He landed hard, groaning and pressing his hand to his side. The Warrior he’d tackled snatched up the bag with the stone in it and stood. Rigo shoved himself into a seated position against the wall. His head sagged forward.

  “We should finish him,” the Warrior with the bag said in Atlantean.

  “No,” Harpoon Gun answered in the same language. “We have our orders. Separate the girl from the stone and wait for Azotay.” He jerked his chin at Rigo. “He might want this one for some reason.”

  “Very well.” Bag Warrior folded his arms. “Then we wait for Azotay.”

  * * *

  Adrian came out of the lush forest on the east beach of the island, as instructed. A man in black jeans and a black T-shirt waited for him. Adrian glanced around. He appeared to be alone.

  “Ah, Atlas. So good of you to come.” White teeth flashed through carefully groomed stubble. “I assure you, we are alone, according to the rules of the erron-ka. I would not have it said I cheated.”

  Adrian stopped several paces away and folded his own arms. “I’m here. And the name is Adrian.”

  “Oh, I think not.” Azotay’s dark eyes gleamed. “I think you are Atlas Itzal, son of Ezares Itzal and his wife, Nilara. I think you are a Warrior of Mneseus.”

  Damn, the bastard knew too much.

  “You’re mistaken.” Adrian frowned. Something about Azotay seemed familiar, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

  “I doubt that.” Azotay pressed his palms together and touched his lips with the tips of his fingers, that gleeful grin still playing about his lips.

  “And what about you, Azotay?” Adrian challenged. “I know that’s not your name.”

  Annoyance flashed in Azotay’s eyes. “It is now.”

  Touchy subject. Adrian filed that away for later. “So,” he said. “You challenged me. Here I am. What now?”

  “Now we battle,” Azotay said, and lunged.

  * * *

  Rigo hadn’t moved since he’d fallen.

  Faith slanted a glance at the Warriors. They sat on a large rock, their harpoon guns across their laps, talking in undertones. The bag with Gerlari in it hung from the belt of the one nearest to Rigo.

  Faith leaned against the wall of the cave and closed her eyes. She summoned power from Gerlari, the white-hot energy sweeping through her channels like caffeine, amping up her powers. The Warriors had no idea she could do that; they thought she needed to touch the stone.

  Ha.

  She guided the energy into the wall behind her, the same wall against which Rigo rested, and focused her mind-voice stream. Rigo couldn’t hear her telepathic speech, but when she filtered the energy through it, the result was a soft vibration through the rock. Barely audible sound.

  Rigo, can you hear me?

  He didn’t respond.

  Rigo, if you can hear me, twitch your pinky finger. She nearly squealed when the finger flicked. Are you okay to swim? Move one finger for yes, two fingers for no.

  His pinky moved again. One finger.

  I want you to grab the bag and swim out of here. Bring the stone to Darius.

  Two fingers twitched.

  Don’t argue with me. I’m going to cause a cave-in, and I need to know you’re clear before I do. Take the stone to Darius.

  Nothing. Then, he flicked one finger again.

  When the shaking starts, you run for it, you hear? Grab that bag and get out of here.

  The pinky twitched.

  Here we go. Channeling both the power of the massive rock cave around her and the ancient stone Gerlari, she jabbed deep into the earth and ripped through the delicate stability of carefully balanced plates to poke at the fault beneath them.

  The cave started to shake. Stalactites fell from high above, splashing into the water. Rigo jumped to his feet and sprinted, snatching the bag off the belt of the Warrior and jumping into the pool before the man could aim the harpoon gun.

  The Warriors shouted, argued. One dove into the water after Rigo. The other turned the harpoon gun on her … until a huge chunk of rock fell from the ceiling and flattened him.

  Faith held the integrity of the tunnel, watching Rigo’s progress through the eyes of the Earth itself. She threw obstacles in the pursuing Warrior’s way, rocks from above and below, crashing on the bottom of the narrow tunnel, churning up sand and debris to block his view and slow him down. Finally Rigo was clear. She slumped back with a weary sigh. She knew she wouldn’t make it out alive. She’d known that the instant she’d thought of this plan. But as long
as the stone was safe, as long as the Mendukati didn’t get their hands on it, her life was worth the risk.

  She sat on the floor of the cave, hugging her knees to her chest as slabs of rock crashed down around her. How ironic that she’d never wanted to be part of this war, yet she would be giving her life for it. She thought of Darius, of a love that had started in deception yet somehow still lodged in her heart.

  Maybe they could have worked things out. Or maybe she would have been on her own again. She didn’t know which way it would have gone, but she would have liked a happy ending.

  She’d never know now.

  Water gushed into the chamber. She bowed her head and waited for the Earth to take her.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Something was very wrong. Darius could feel Faith as if she were there beside him. She was afraid.

  Faith, are you all right?

  Darius. Even her mind-voice sounded weary. I sent Rigo with the stone. He’s wounded. Make sure he gets … back … safe.

  Faith!

  She didn’t answer. He connected through their link, but her energy felt weak.

  He searched for Rigo. There weren’t a lot of people in the immediate area, so he found him quickly. The ex-Marine was wounded and losing strength fast as he struggled to make it back to the boat. There was another man closing in on him, one of the Mendukati Warriors, based on his emotional signature.

  Darius jerked off his shirt and jumped into the water in his khaki shorts. His daily laps paid off as he swam easily and quickly, closing in on Rigo and the enemy. As he neared them, he focused on the Mendukati Warrior.

  You can’t breathe. You might drown. Darius built the natural concern into a crippling fear that stopped the Warrior cold. The man surfaced not far away, choking and frantic, lost in his own terrors as he tore at his regulator. Darius continued on to the other dark head he’d seen break the water. Rigo was barely holding on. He’d lost too much blood. Darius grabbed him around the chest with one arm and started to tow him back to the boat.

  Rigo clawed at his hand. “I can make it,” he panted. “Faith is in trouble. Cave-in.”

  They were halfway to the boat. The fading mating bond urged Darius to go after Faith, but he could tell Rigo’s strength was flagging. He continued to tow the other man to the boat.

  Finally they reached it, and Rigo grabbed the ladder.

  “Take my tanks,” he said, breathing hard. He unfastened the air tanks and shrugged them off into Darius’s hands. “I’ve got the stone. Faith needs you.”

  Darius glanced at the gauge to make sure there was enough air, then shrugged into the harness. “You get up there and rest. Gray should be back soon.”

  Rigo nodded and started to climb the ladder. Darius put the respirator in his mouth, pivoted, and swam for the cave entrance. He only hoped he was in time.

  * * *

  They were evenly matched, Adrian thought, countering a move by Azotay. Their sizes, their strength, and even their skills were on par with each other.

  They danced up and down the beach, a blur of flying fists and leaping kicks. Little by little, Adrian gained on him. Azotay gritted his teeth and came back harder and dirtier. “Fair fight” was apparently not in his vocabulary.

  “When I win,” Azotay said, “everyone will know I defeated the great Atlas Itzal. I will be revered.”

  “You’ll be bruised and bloody,” Adrian countered. “And I told you, my name is Adrian, not Atlas.”

  “You don’t call yourself Atlas anymore, you mean.” Azotay dodged a blow, spun around, and pinned Adrian against a tree with a forearm to the throat. He shoved his face right up into Adrian’s. “Not so high and mighty now, are you?”

  Adrian gouged his thumb into the other man’s eye. Azotay howled, stumbling back. Adrian followed, plowing his fist into Azotay’s jaw. Azotay sailed backward, landing with a thud on the sand. Adrian approached him, following the protocol of the erron-ka. “Do you yield?”

  Azotay groaned and rolled over onto his hands and knees. “Do I yield?” He sprang to his feet and spun, flinging a handful of sand into Adrian’s eyes. “No! I do not yield!”

  Adrian stumbled backward, blinking at the sting. He swiped the sand off his face and brows with both hands, his eyes watering. He heard Azotay charging, ducked and rolled to the side, landing on his feet. His vision cleared a bit, though his eyes still burned.

  Azotay strode toward him. “Now we are both similarly impaired.” He flicked a hand at his own injured eye.

  “You were the one who called erron-ka,” Adrian said. “Time to end this.”

  Azotay chuckled, teeth flashing in a knowing smile. “If you can … Atlas.”

  Adrian smiled back. “I can.” And he began to chant.

  “Oh, so you fall back on your Leyala ways?” Azotay snickered, dancing backward. “You cannot continue the battle as equals without leaning on that Leyala crutch, can you?”

  “You, Azotay, are responsible for the death of Ben Wakete.” Adrian’s tattoo throbbed on his chest, glowing hot beneath his wet suit.

  “Wakete? I wasn’t even there.” Azotay’s eyes widened in what seemed like shock. Then the surprised expression melted into amusement. “All right, it’s true. I ordered Venkat to Whisper the human pilot. Brilliant, wasn’t it?”

  Adrian grabbed Azotay by his shirt and pinned him against a boulder. “Azotay, you have been judged.” He raised his hand to lay judgment.

  “You would do this? To me?” Azotay’s dark eyes burned. “To your own brother?”

  “What?” Adrian’s concentration faltered.

  “Yes, Atlas.” Azotay laughed. “It’s me, Gadeiros. Your twin.”

  Gadeiros? No, it couldn’t be. He studied Azotay’s face more closely. And saw it, in the eyes, the shape of his mouth. How had he missed it before? How could he not have recognized his own brother? True, they were fraternal twins, not identical, and also true, he hadn’t seen his brother for some twenty years. Not since young Atlas had left Santutegi with his father to follow the ways of the Temple of Mneseus, and Gadeiros had stayed behind with their mother.

  Not since he’d become Adrian Gray.

  “What?” Azotay mocked. “No words for your long-lost brother?”

  Adrian let the power fade. Lowered his hand.

  “I thought not.” Azotay shoved Adrian off him. Swung his fist.

  Pain exploded in Adrian’s jaw. And the world blinked into blackness.

  * * *

  Faith came to in darkness. For a moment, she couldn’t figure out where she was. Then she remembered. The cave. The Stone of Gerlari. The Mendukati. She’d sent Rigo out with the stone and called down an earthquake on the Mendukati warriors.

  She’d expected to die.

  She reached out with her senses. Her stone shield had activated, perhaps a subconscious attempt at survival. It had sheltered her from being crushed by the falling rock. She could tell she was buried under some big chunks; the rock sang in her mind like a choir. She could breathe, so there was air for the moment. But she could hear the sound of rushing water. The earthquake she’d caused might have collapsed some natural dam that had been holding the water at bay.

  She was okay for the moment, but if she wanted to live, she had to get out of here.

  There wasn’t much room to move. She closed her eyes and reached upward into the stone around her with her power, trying to figure out how far she was buried. Each time she established one layer, she encountered another.

  After four layers, she gave up.

  She’d caused a landslide. There was a good possibility the rock had blocked the tunnel, as well, so even if she did somehow manage to get unburied, she might still be trapped in the cave. How ironic that the tomb of an ancient Atlantean Warrior had become her tomb as well.

  Sacrificing herself had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she realized she didn’t want to die.

  Ben’s death still throbbed deep inside her. She’d loved him like a father—she could
barely remember her own—and his loss left a gaping hole in her heart. But he’d wanted her to live, to find love and have a family. To be happy. She’d been so busy looking for betrayal around every corner that when love finally had happened with Darius, she’d used the first excuse that came along to push him away.

  Yes, he should have told her that he was an empath and could feel her emotions. And yes, she had felt angry and betrayed when she’d found out. But she also understood his reasons. He’d made a promise to his family, and Darius kept his promises.

  Shouldn’t that be enough to forgive him? To set new rules for their relationship?

  Fine time to think of that, when every second she exhaled more carbon dioxide into her little shelter meant less time she had to live.

  Darius, I wish we had more time. She sent the wish telepathically, not really expecting to reach him. Not only was she buried under solid rock, but she’d expended most of her energy causing the earthquake. Her range was very short now.

  Faith. His whisper swirled into her mind.

  Her heart leaped. Darius?

  I’m almost through the tunnel. Where are you?

  Buried. She laid her hands against the rock as if that would help her reach him. Did Rigo get back safely?

  Yes, he’s on the boat.

  She rested her forehead against cool rock. Thank heavens.

  I’m in the cavern. The shaking has stopped, but rocks and soil keep falling from the ceiling. Where are you?

  I don’t know what it looks like now, but I was in the corner. Do you see the rock shelf?

  The edge of it, he answered. There’s a pile of rubble nearly covering it.

  I was on the right. She stroked the rough stone as if it were his face. I have air right now, but I’m not sure how much longer that will last.

  I will get you out, Faith. Believe that.

  Her heart overflowed, curving her lips in a sad smile. Darius, always the optimist. I don’t know if that’s possible.

  I’ll make it possible. Remember how I found you when you were lost in the stone?