The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (27 page)

Sara crouched on Cameron
’
s other side.
Faith caught a glimpse of her sister blinking away tears and the evidence of her power.
Cameron coughed.
A reddish froth of sputum covered his lips.
His glassy gaze fixed on Sara.
“
You— Your—
”
His chest heaved once, twice, then his breath hissed out and his stare turned blank.

Sara made an inarticulate sound and clapped a hand over her mouth.

Feeling sick, Faith checked for a pulse and found none.
“
Lamb.
Radio the mainland for a helicopter.
”
Lambertson was already walking as she spoke.
She glanced up at Thomas and Michael and caught them staring, stone-faced, at Sara.
Even without her sister
’
s skill at reading expressions, Faith saw
It
’
s your fault we stayed here
on their faces.

Flintrop
’
s voice spurred them into action.
“
Someone get a blanket to cover him.
The rest of you, help me put this goddamn thing back.
”
Becky dashed off to find a blanket, and the others put their shoulders under the steel bars of the scaffold.

Faith watched it swing upright with less trouble than it had given moments ago.
Suspicion raced through her.
Thomas and Michael found sledgehammers, and secured the rigging with extra posts.
Faith wanted to throw up.

Lamb returned.
“
They
’
re on their way.
”

Sara got to her feet, swaying.
Becky came back with the blanket, and swept it over Cameron
’
s body.
Sara swallowed convulsively, glanced once at Faith, then bolted away.

Lambertson made a move to follow.
“
Let her go,
”
Faith said, stalling him with an outstretched hand.
Lamb frowned, but stayed where he was.

Faith stared after her sister, sensing waves of guilt and anguish even from that distance.
Oh, Sara,
she thought, heartsick.

It would be no use telling her sister that she couldn
’
t have saved him, or somehow done something to bring him back.

Sara had felt exactly the same when their father died.

Chapter Ten

Sara pushed the empty beer bottle onto the table to join its fellows.
The bottle
’
s lines blurred and swam in the lantern glow.
How many drinks had she had since the helicopter had brought the police to investigate?
They
’
d determined it an
“
accident,
”
which was complete crap.
That scaffold was rock solid.
Her crew made sure of it every morning.
She reached into the cooler at her foot for another beer, counting the chirps of a night insect outside her tent.

“
Hey,
”
came a hushed voice from the doorway.

Sitting in the chair facing away from the door, she couldn
’
t see her tormentor.
“
Go away.
”
She heard the person enter the tent in spite of her warning.
“
I said go away.
Let me get drunk in peace.
”

The figure rounded the edge of the table.
She recognized Ian from the corner of her eye and glanced up.

She must have looked as wretched as she felt, because his expression went from concerned to alarmed.
His gaze fell on the throng of empty bottles.
“
You didn
’
t show up at the inlet, so I came to see if you were all right.
”

Sara took a healthy swallow of her new beer.
“
Yessss.
I am all right.
I
’
m walking around... Sitting around.
Talking.
Breathing.
Drinking.
”
She saluted him with her bottle.
“
Drinking quite a bit, actually.
And planning to do more drinking.
”
She took another gulp and pursed her lips around the bite of the alcohol as it went down.
Still not dulled enough.

Ian pulled the other chair around and sat beside her.
“
I saw a chopper today.
What happened down here?
”

She curled her lip.
“
What happened is, I
’
m the one who insisted we brace the fault and stay here.
What happened is, twenty-three-year-old Cameron Leone got crushed under a scaffold, and it
’
s my fault he
’
s dead.
What happened is, no one has let me get quietly drunk since six o
’
clock this evening, and it
’
s beginning to piss me off.
That
’
s
what happened today.
”
She tipped the bottle up again, drained its contents in one long swallow, then slammed it down onto the table.
“
Between Lamb, and Faith, and Flintrop, I don
’
t know why the hell I
’
m even here.
I should find a way to open that damn ley line and walk right in.
Maybe they
’
ll give Cameron back in trade.
”

Ian stood, pushed the cooler away with the heel of his boot, and reached for her hands.
“
Come on, don
’
t do this.
”

She lurched to her feet and flung his hands off.
“
Damn it, just go away!
I don
’
t want anybody here!
I swear to God, I
’
ll throw you clear back to your ca—
”

“
I
’
d like to see you try.
You
’
re plastered.
”
He shot a look at the procession of empty bottles on the table.

Sara tried to hold his angry blue stare and couldn
’
t.
She took one unsteady step forward, pushing at him.
“
Just.
Go.
Away.
”

“
Like hell I will.
I
’
m not going to let you do this to yourself.
”

“
Who
’
s letting me?
I
’
m a grown woman,
”
she snapped, turning away toward her cot.
“
I wish someone would tell Lamb that.
Everyone seems to know what
’
s best for me, and to hell with what I think.
”

“
What are you talking about?
”

She pivoted back toward him.
The room swayed.
She managed to keep her feet and muster another dark look.
“
I
’
ve been given an ultimatum to stay away from you until the dig is finished.
”

“
Or what?
They
’
ll send you to your room without dinner?
”

She thumped him in the chest.
“
You see my point, here.
Pass me another beer.
”

He propped a boot on the cooler
’
s lid and crossed his arms.
“
I don
’
t think so.
”

“
Don
’
t be a jerk, Ian.
”

“
I
’
m not.
Give up on the beer for tonight.
You
’
re not getting it.
”

She threw her hands in the air and stumbled toward her cot, then dropped onto it like a stone.
“
Another asshole who knows what
’
s best for me.
”

“
Drinking yourself stupid is a better idea?
”

Sara looked up at him.
His figure blurred around the edges.
Tears.
No tears.
Stop it.
She screwed her eyes shut and pulled her knees up, hugging them and hunching on the cot
’
s edge.
“
Please go away?
”
she begged into her arms.

The cot sank as he sat beside her.
“
Absolutely not,
”
came his soft murmur.

She couldn
’
t hold it in anymore.
A long, broken wail tore from the center of her being.
She covered her head with her arms and curled into a tighter ball, trying to disappear into herself.
Tears flooded forth in a torrent that shredded her from the inside out.

His arm came around her back with a gentle tug.
She gave up all pretense of hiding her anguish, shifted, and threw herself at him to sob into his shoulder.
He held her tight while she went to pieces in his arms.
Her heart unraveled.
She couldn
’
t stop it.
She shook with terror at the force of emotion pouring through her.
This—oh, God, this was why she never let her guard down.

Ian laid his cheek against the top of her head and stroked her hair, saying nothing as she wept.

The last vestiges of her self-control caved in on top of her.
Guilt crashed down with it.
She cried so hard her ribs hurt.
She cowered against his body, clutching in desperation at his jacket, but the pain sought her out and laid her open.
With no escape, she surrendered and let the tears come until none were left to cry.

Seconds, minutes, hours later—she had no idea—exhaustion crept up on her.
Her eyes burned with salt and dryness.
Her head ached.
An empty hollow sat in the pit of her stomach where all the feeling had been.
Still trembling, she pulled away from him and scrubbed at the tearstains on her cheeks.

He reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a bandanna.
He shook a puff of chalk dust out of it and offered it to her.

She took it and wiped the tears away.
“
I haven
’
t cried like that in twenty years.
”
Her voice sounded hoarse, nothing like her own.
“
Not since—
”

“
—your father died,
”
he finished quietly.
“
I remember.
”
He propped up the pillows on her cot, then slid backward to sit upright against them.
Without a word, he reached for her.

She went, and rested her back against his chest.
His arms came around her again.
Warm.
Safe.

“
You stayed late after school for something.
I was there for baseball practice.
I saw you crying in an empty classroom, but I didn
’
t know why,
”
he told her.
“
I wanted to do something.
I should have.
”

She wiped at her face once more with his bandanna, then huddled on her side against him, gazing at the off-white canvas of the tent wall. “You just did.”

****

Ian roused later to the sound of footsteps outside.
The lantern had guttered out.
Wide-awake in an instant, he squinted into the darkness.
The footsteps paused in front of Sara
’
s tent.
He groped one-handed along the bedside table, but it held only the extinguished lantern.
He searched along the bedside.
His hand landed on a spare tent pole.
Easing out from under Sara, he picked up the pole, then moved soundlessly to the tent door.

A sliver of starlight appeared as someone unzipped the door.
A shadowy figure slipped into the tent.