The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (49 page)

She backed up a step, searching for her sister with no luck.
She retreated farther into the rough circle of the hearth, hoping to draw Flintrop away and give Ian an escape route.

Luis snatched up Ian
’
s gun.
With a shrug at Ian, he cocked the rifle.
“
Sorry,
amigo
.
Money talks.
”
He put the rifle to his shoulder and aimed it.

Sara tensed.
No.
NO!
She didn
’
t even get the word out.

A brilliant flash appeared between them.
Metal screeched.

Faith appeared between Ian and Luis, swinging Hakon
’
s sword and knocking the rifle upward.
The gun fired into the air.

Thomas sprang toward them.
Faith tossed the sword to Ian and threw a hand out.
A searing white arc of flame flew from her fingertips.
Thomas screeched and whirled away, covering his face.
“
That
’
s for Cameron!
”
Faith snarled.

Ian swung the sword at Michael, then rolled as the man threw a bolt of flame in his direction.
“
Damn it!
Him, too?
”

“
I didn
’
t know!
”
shouted Faith.

Behind them, Sara took another step backward.
Seeing Flintrop reach into his shirt pocket, she held out a hand to blast him with telekinesis.

“
Oh, no, you don
’
t.
”
He jerked her against his body so hard it knocked the wind out of her.
She caught the glint of a knife in his hand.
“
A shame I have to damage this skin.
”

Wordless with wrath, she slapped her other hand on his chest and released her power.
Whoosh.
Flintrop flew backward. The knife sliced along her arm, and she cried out in pain.

Faith scrambled behind the pile of peat bricks they’d been stocking for fire fuel. She seized one and hurled it into the air. Flinging a hand out at it, she set it ablaze. “Sara! Throw it!”

Without hesitation, Sara swept her hand out and sent the peat brick racing through the air at their adversaries.
The fiery missile exploded against the ruin
’
s south wall, and a rain of sparks lit the night sky.
Another gunshot split the air.
She dropped to her belly as it zipped past over her head.
Her heartbeat banged around inside her chest so hard, she thought it might punch holes in her ribcage.
Snap out of it!
she begged herself.

Faith tossed brick after brick, lighting them as they flew into the air.
Sara recovered and sent them rocketing toward Flintrop and his men, forcing them to retreat out of range.

Flintrop barked something at Luis, and tossed his knife.
Luis caught it and disappeared into the darkness of the ruin.
Sara sent another blazing peat brick toward Michael, who ducked behind the ruin wall and returned it with a volley of flame.
We can
’
t keep this up,
she thought frantically.

Thomas lurched in Ian
’
s direction.
For a second, Sara caught the pale flash of Ian
’
s T-shirt, then lost them both in the shadows.
She pushed onto her hands and knees, wincing at the pain in her arm.
The amulet swung close to the bleeding gash.
With a gasp, she snatched it away.

“
Sara!
”
Faith cried again.

She looked up in time to see three fiery peat bricks falling toward her sister.
She flung out a hand, sending them away toward their adversaries an instant before they burst against the ground.

She wrestled upright.
An arm snaked around her throat.
Choking, she dragged at the ground, but her captor—Luis—hauled her backward.

“
Now!
Do it!
”
Flintrop screamed.
She looked up, gasping for air around the viselike grip on her throat, and saw Flintrop, Michael, and Thomas stagger into three of the compass positions.

And her, the fourth.
No!

Luis jerked the amulet from her throat.
With his arms around her, he gripped her injured arm and slashed the knife across her palm.
She screamed.
Faith shouted something, and then Luis slapped the amulet against her bleeding hand.

The very air tore open.
Every hair on her body stood on end.
The amulet blazed against her palm.
Mindless with pain, she battered herself against Luis
’
s body.
The earth roared open under her feet.
Luis released her, and they plunged into the fissure.

The amulet fell from her nerveless fingers.
She pounced at the torn edge of the crevasse.
Peat and gravel spilled around her head as she clutched at the precipice.
The sky overhead boiled with gathering storm clouds and echoed with thunder.
Beside her, Luis clawed his way upward and scrambled out of the gap to disappear into the maelstrom.

“
Sara!
”
Faith rushed toward her and threw herself down at the edge of the fissure.

“
The amulet!
I dropped it!
”
Sara clutched at her sister
’
s hand.
She squinted into the darkness of the rift, searching in desperation, but could find nothing among the shadows.

“
Give me your other hand!
Please!
”

Sara looked back up.
In a flash of lightning, she caught Flintrop
’
s silhouette behind Faith, tall and confident and with a terrifying snarl on his face.
His fingertips snapped with lightning of their own.
Panicking, Sara lunged over her sister
’
s shoulder and cast a bolt of telekinesis that sent him sprawling backward.

Faith seized her other hand and leapt upward, jerking Sara out of the fissure.
The ground rumbled under their feet.
A line of light exploded open along the crevasse, running the entire length of the island.

Dazed with exhaustion and blood loss, Sara heard thudding footsteps and turned in time to see Michael flying at her.
He raised a hand to attack.

From the side came another gunshot.
She and Faith ducked in unison.
Michael grunted, spun backward, and crumpled to the ground.

Ian came running into the glow cast by the ley line and skidded to a halt with his rifle, panting.
A darkening bloodstain spread across the torn shoulder of his shirt.
“
The sword, where
’
s the—
”

A shining arc of metal swung at his head.
Sara snatched his collar, wincing at the electric burn of touching him, and yanked him down as the sword swept over their heads.

Luis swung again.
Sara threw another blast of telekinesis that knocked him back just out of range.
Tapped, I
’
m getting tapped.
She turned to look for Faith, and then something crashed against her head.
Everything went black.

****

Ian lunged to stop Flintrop as the man dropped his stone and reached for Sara
’
s body.
Hardly pausing to think, Ian gripped his rifle in both hands and smashed it in Flintrop
’
s face.
Flintrop lurched back, swearing, his nose pouring blood.

Faith cringed beside him, and even Ian could feel the echo of the ley line
’
s power running through his body.
Gritting her teeth, Faith threw a burst of flame at Flintrop to keep him at bay.
“
Get the sword.
I have to do the incantation.
”
She whirled and dove into the fissure.

The ley line roared with voices.
Pain scorched through him.
Ian dropped his rifle and doubled over in agony.
Several feet away, Flintrop seemed to be having the same trouble.
At least that took
him
out for now.

But not Luis.

The man charged at Ian and swung the sword again.
Gasping for air, Ian just managed to duck the blow and threw himself at Luis
’
s midsection.
They tumbled backward together.
Luis struck his head on the edge of a mangled stone wall, and went slack.

Ian grabbed the sword from Luis
’
s hand and raced toward the fissure.

Flintrop, recovered now, leaped to stop him.
Too close to swing, Ian slammed the hilt of the sword into the other man
’
s temple, and Flintrop collapsed.

Ian dropped at the edge of the fault and reached for Faith.
“
Get out of there!
”

She hung on the edges of stone sticking out in the side of the crevasse, spewing a stream of unintelligible words as she reached one-handed down into the gloom.
She stopped her incantation.
“
The amulet!
I
’
ve almost got it!
”

He cringed as the ley line screamed again.
“
Are you crazy?
”

She stretched her fingers out with a look of desperation.
The amulet dangled from a broken stone.
A tremor shook the earth, and the necklace slipped farther.
Her fingers swept by it, inches out of reach.
She grasped again, fingers waving at empty air.

He threw the sword down and grabbed her arm in both hands.
Another quake shook the ground under his feet.

The amulet plummeted from its ledge.
Faith snatched it as it fell, then flung it upward.
She grabbed the edge of the crevasse and braced her feet in its trench.
“
Smash it!
”
She went right back to her incantation.

He let go of her, grabbed the amulet from the air, and seized the sword from the ground.
With the amulet in one hand and the sword in the other, he sprinted toward the nearest stone wall.
The amulet hissed as if its engraved snake were real, and he nearly dropped it.
Ian slapped the necklace down on the flat stone, spun the sword in his hand, and brought it down on the amulet with a ringing crash.

The explosion knocked him off his feet and ripped the sword from his hand.
The earth trembled again.
Dirt and gravel rained down on his head.
He rolled to escape a slide of stone as the wall collapsed, then grappled to his feet.
His breath seared his throat.

The ground convulsed underneath him.
Panting, fighting to keep his balance, he searched for Sara.
She remained unconscious where she had fallen.
Flintrop lay several feet away.
Ian ran for the edge of the fault again.
“
Faith?
”

A mass of earth and stone had piled into the fault.
He couldn
’
t see Sara
’
s sister.
“
Jesus.
Faith!
”
Ian vaulted into the fissure and began flinging stones away.

“
Don
’
t move it!
”
she shouted.

Ian froze, and then realized the stones had formed a perfect wedge in the fault.
In a crack between two boulders, he saw Faith lying cramped at the bottom.
“
Hakon
’
s protecting me.
Don
’
t worry about me.
He
’
ll get me out.
”

“
Are you
serious
?
”

She coughed as dirt spilled onto her.
“
Listen to me very carefully, Ian.
You
’
re gifted.
”

“
I
’
m what?
”
The earth shuddered once more.
He gripped the edge of the crevasse with his mind reeling.
He had to get her out.
How
was he going to get her out?