The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (14 page)

He knew everything and he hated her for it.
Just because of what she was.

She almost hated herself.

****

Digging advanced rapidly over the next few days. The find began to show signs of being more than just a field wall. Sara allowed the flurry of activity to consume her thoughts, trying to forget Ian. He’d be leaving, anyway, if he hadn’t already. She’d told her sister only that he knew of her abilities and wouldn’t speak of them to anyone else. Since that day, his name hadn’t crossed her lips. She couldn’t bring herself to speak it. Every time his image flashed in her memory, it was coupled with that look of distaste and distrust.

She spent her waking hours with pick and shovel, laboring in spite of her injury.
When it became too dark to see outside, she worked on her laptop, entering measurements, logging soil compositions, and keeping a precise record of their progress.
Anxious for hard data, she logged onto her computer twice a day to check for lab results from Eurocon.

The e-mail response came at last on the morning of the spring equinox.
Without reading it, she rushed from her tent in search of her sister.
She found Faith surveying the perimeter of the site.
“
Hey.
It came. Lamb responded.
”

Faith shot upright, all attention.
“
Well?
What
’
d he say?
”

“
I didn
’
t read it yet.
Come on.
”

They hurried back to Sara
’
s tent.
She dropped into her chair, clicked on the e-mail, then read it aloud.
“‘
Sara—The lab results from your dig samples suggest the find to be of Norse origin—
’”
She let out a wild whoop.
Everything their father had worked for might be right under their noses.
At last.

“
Come on, finish!
”
Faith danced in place and waved her hand at the screen.

Sara made herself sit still.
“‘
Carbon dating placed the samples within the period of Viking occupation of Shetland.
Should you find artifacts, please photograph them immediately and send them here to the lab.
I will be coming to the site within the week with more crew to oversee—
’”

“
Here it comes,
”
Faith snapped.
“
He
’
s going to send for Flintrop, I just know it.
”

“
He can
’
t.
Shetland was Dad
’
s baby.
I
’
ll kill him if he tries it!
”
Jittery, she started tapping her heel.

“
Hello?
”
came a male voice from outside the tent.

Ian.
Still here?
Sara clapped a hand over her bouncing knee, but it did nothing to stop her jitters.
She found Faith
’
s gaze.
“
Why don
’
t you go tell Thomas and Dustin?
I
’
ll catch up with you.
”

Faith responded with a doubtful expression and crossed her arms.
“
Why don
’
t you just tell me what
’
s going on between you two?
”

“
Nothing I can
’
t deal with.
”

With a last, unconvinced smirk, Faith ducked outside.
Sara glanced around her tent as if it might provide some excuse for remaining within.
Nothing.
She
’
d have to face him.
Resigned, she emerged in her sister
’
s wake.

Ian strode toward the camp wearing a T-shirt, fleece jacket, and jeans.

And no sling.

Faith stood outside with her hands on her hips.
She cast a brief, apprehensive look at Sara before she called to Ian.
“
Hey.
Didn
’
t realize you had stayed.
Your sling
’
s off.
Better already?
”

He came to a stop before them.
“
Yeah, it feels pretty good.
Two days ago, I was photographing some gannets, and the tripod tipped over.
I caught it without thinking, but it didn
’
t hurt.
It
’
s just about back to normal.
”
He flexed the fingers of his left hand and waved his arm.

“
That
’
s great.
”
Faith met Sara
’
s gaze with an expression that made it clear she sensed an undercurrent of tension.

“
I
’
ll catch up with you,
”
Sara said reluctantly.

Faith gave her a long look that echoed the reluctance.
“
All right.
If you hear anything else from Lamb, let me know.
See you around, Ian.
”

Ian jerked his chin in the direction of Faith
’
s retreating figure.
“
How
’
s the dig coming?
”

She struggled with nerves.
Why was he still here?
Why, why, why?
“
You didn
’
t walk all the way down here for small talk.
”

“
Well, yes and no.
I came to say I
’
m sorry.
”

“
Sorry for which part?
Forcing me to confess my laundry list of unsavory traits, or being willing to make use of them?
”

He sighed and angled his head toward her tent.
“
Inside?
”

She allowed him into the tent ahead of her.
She caught herself watching the way he angled his broad shoulders through the narrow doorway and cursed under her breath.

He didn
’
t sit.
“
I don
’
t have a right to accuse you of anything just because you
’
re...what you are.
”

Okay.
Unexpected, but not unwelcome.
She crossed her arms and waited for the other shoe to drop.

“
And you don
’
t have a right to involve me in whatever you
’
re doing with that necklace—
”

Her temper flared.
“
Listen here, you—
”

“
—
without
telling me the whole story.
What your sister is, what your father was.
Why you had to drag me into it when you could have brought one of your own people with you to Mainland.
”

She glowered at him, afraid that if she didn
’
t, he
’
d see how much his contempt had hurt.
“
I think I told you not to ask about my family.
”

Advancing, he said,
“
I
’
m asking anyway.
You owe me an explanation.
”

“
I seem to be owing you a whole lot of things, while I get nothing in return.
”

He laid his hands on her elbows.
“
Sara—
”

“
Get your hands off me.
”

He snatched them away and raised them into the air.
The quick, defensive gesture pained her.
Did he think she
’
d use her power against him?
“
Why aren
’
t you gone?
”
she snapped.

He looked her up and down, then scraped a hand through his hair.
“
I don
’
t want to fight with you.
”

“
At least we
’
re in agreement on something.
Only in my case, it
’
s because I can
’
t afford to.
”

“
I told you, I
’
m not going to squeal on you,
”
he said.
“
If I was going to do so, I
’
d have done it by now, wouldn
’
t I?
”
He dropped into a chair.

She remained standing, wrapping herself in offended dignity.

After a few minutes of charged silence, he sat forward just enough to pull a leather journal from his back pocket.
He laid it on his knee and studied it as though it were a precious artifact, staring at it instead of her.
“
The man who attacked my family wanted something from my dad. I don
’
t know what.
My dad wouldn
’
t cooperate, so the guy killed him.
When I tried to fight back, the sick son of a bitch spent the next half-hour using telekinesis to draw little knife marks all over my back while my mother cried.
Is that enough information for you?
”

Bile rose in her throat.
She swallowed back the burn and sank onto her cot, rubbing her arms against the sudden chill in the tent.
She longed to say something, but words lodged in her throat.
They stared at one another for a long, uncomfortable stretch.

At last, Ian spoke.
“
Anyway, there
’
s a reason I
’
m still here.
”
He opened the book on his knee and flipped through it.
He stood and carried it to her, holding it out.

She saw a beautiful pencil sketch of a falcon in flight.
“
Falco p. peregrinus,
”
she murmured, reading the words scribbled below the sketch.

“
A Eurasian peregrine falcon.
An endangered species.
”

She searched her memory.
“
I thought they delisted the peregrine.
”

“
The American peregrine was delisted.
This is a different subspecies.
I need your help with him.
”

“
Him?
”

“
I
’
m pretty sure it
’
s a male.
He
’
s been roosting on the cliff.
I saw him the day before I dislocated my shoulder.
”
He closed the book, then put it back in his pocket.

“
You want me to help you—what?
Take pictures?
”

“
That, and get some information on his habits.
You said you were a zoo minor.
This is a big deal for my work, finding this bird out here.
”

“
I have a full-time project going on, Ian.
I can
’
t just leave it to help you with this.
”
Not to mention, the idea of working shoulder-to-shoulder with him sounded far too appealing, in spite of their mutual misgivings.
She stole a sidelong glance at him.
His attention was on the page.
Expressive eyes.
She remembered the way he
’
d looked at her the instant before kissing her.
Hungry.
Possessive.
She wrapped her arms around herself to quell a giddy shiver and said nothing further.

His gaze came up.
“
I left my work to help you with your necklace.
”

She hugged herself harder.

He mistook her silence for reluctance.
“
If I help you dig, will you come climbing with me?
”
When she still remained wordless, he added,
“
What, I can
’
t manage a shovel?
”