The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (9 page)

No one answered.
“
Stop kidding around,
”
she called, expecting her sister to jump out from behind one of the high rocks.
Again, nothing happened.

As she realized what her unseen stalker had been searching for, her breath came faster.
She checked; the amulet still hung safely around her neck beside her locket.
She swam to shore, got out, then began walking toward her pile of clothes.

She’d only made it partway up the beach when she caught the crunch of footsteps on gravel behind her. She spun around, only to halt where she stood.

Ian rounded a clutch of boulders at the opposite end of the beach, carrying a towel.
He glanced up from the ground and stopped dead, looking poleaxed.
His breath came out in a long, loud
whoosh
.

Her heartbeat charged through her chest like a steam train.
She couldn
’
t breathe, couldn
’
t think, couldn
’
t speak.
Words bottlenecked in her throat.

He closed his mouth.
His stare heated and traveled over her naked body.

Fire coursed through her veins, eclipsing the cool water running in rivulets down her back.
The primal instinct to answer that look in his eyes sent a wave of chills rippling across her skin.

He took a step, then halted.
She saw his hand clench on the towel, and then he tossed it into the air toward her.

She caught it and flung it around herself.
Shaking, she spun away, then bent to scrape up her clothes.

Gravel crunched again.
Closer, and closer yet.
“
Sara,
”
he said, sounding strangled.

She shot to her feet and gripped the towel tighter, panting around the fierce thudding of her heart.
She didn
’
t turn to face him.

“
Get out of here, and do it quick.
”

She ran.

****

Sara stopped only when she knew she
’
d put enough distance between them.
Even then, she paused just long enough to jerk her pants on and thrust her head and arms through her sweater.
She arrived out of breath at the campsite.
Dustin called her to dinner.
He and Thomas had started a fire and begun laying out everyone
’
s dishes.
“
I
’
ll be there in a few minutes,
”
she puffed, going straight to her tent.

Inside, she felt a little safer.
She only wished her mind would tell her body to calm down, as well.

“
Sara?
”
Faith ducked her head into the tent.

“
I
’
m here.
”

Faith entered.
“
Have you seen my journal?
I can
’
t find it anywhere.
”

“
No.
”
Distracted, Sara swept a glance around her tent, then shuffled a couple of books on her table.
“
Did you leave it with me for some reason?
”

Faith shook her head.
“
It was in my trunk this morning.
I checked my whole tent.
Sara...it had stuff about the necklace in it.
”

Her blood iced over.
“
You wrote it down
?
”

“
Shhh!
”
Faith held up her hands.

Fresh waves of trembling flooded Sara
’
s body.
Her worst nightmares rushed back with terrifying clarity.
“
We should never have taken it from the safe box.
Someone went through my clothes while I was swimming.
I
’
ll give you one guess what they might have been looking for.
”
She lowered herself into a chair, then ran a hand through her damp hair.

Faith mimicked the motion and sat in the table
’
s other seat.
She cast a quick, suspicious glance at the tent doorway.
“
Did you see anyone?
”

“
Ian showed up.
A little too conveniently timed.
”
She braced her elbows on the table and put her face in her hands, masking both her agitation and the blush she felt burning in her cheeks.

“
Maybe you shouldn
’
t be wearing the amulet.
”

“
The hell I shouldn
’
t.
I
’
m afraid to let it out of my sight.
We don
’
t even know what it is, yet.
I
’
ve looked.
I can
’
t find anything.
”

Faith reached out a hand.
“
Give me it.
I
’
ll just read the damned thing with my gift.
”

“
I don
’
t think that
’
s such a good idea, Faith.
What if—
”

“
What if, while we
’
re trying to figure the stupid thing out, someone comes and murders you in your sleep?
Let me worry about what I see or don
’
t see.
If someone is after this thing, I
’
d just as soon know what we
’
re protecting.
I
’
ve looked too, and we
’
re not getting anywhere the easy way.
”

Sara pursed her lips and removed the amulet from her neck.
“
Do you think Ian might be the one—
”

“
Ian wasn
’
t even there to break into our house.
”

“
Well, there are only five of us on this island!
”
Sara lowered her voice to a harsh whisper.
“
He knows what I am, or at least he knows enough to make me worry.
”

Her sister reached for the necklace.
“
Just give it here,
”
she said,
“
and let
’
s get this over with.
”

Sara handed it over with reluctance.

Taking a deep breath, Faith called on her psychic sense.
Her eyes melted into silver, and fixed on the amulet.
She grew still and silent.

Sara waited.
Five minutes passed, and Faith did not rouse from her trance.

Ten.

Fifteen.

Anxious now, Sara leaned forward and touched her sister
’
s arm.
“
Faith, wake up.
”

Faith shook and blinked awake, looking confused.
“
A man,
”
she said.
“
Not Dad.
Not a Celt, either.
I
’
m not sure
what
he was.
Everything was indistinct.
”

“
What did he do?
Did he say anything?
”

“
He had a sword.
I saw him kill another man in white robes and take the amulet.
He held it up and said something, I don
’
t even know what.
The necklace started spinning, and these lines of light shot out from it along the ground, and then he screamed...
”
Faith shuddered and looked down at the amulet in her hand.
“
This thing has blood on it, Sara.
Lots of it, I feel it.
I think we should destroy it.
”

Sara
’
s body hummed with agitation.
“
What happened?
”

“
It killed him.
He fell, and the necklace fell, and I saw his spirit rise from his body and just vanish into the lines of light.
We need to smash the thing.
”
She rose from her seat.

Sara jerked to her feet as well.
“
Dad gave it to us on purpose, or he would have destroyed it himself!
”

Faith hesitated.
“
Maybe he didn
’
t have time, once he found out what it was.
Before he was—
”

“
We
still don
’
t know what it is,
”
interrupted Sara.
She paced the length of her tent.
“
Did you see anything else?
”

Muscles worked in her sister
’
s jaw.
She sighed and rubbed her forehead.
“
I saw what
’
s missing.
The pieces on either side in the center of the necklace.
Oval inlays.
”
She touched her locket.
“
One gold.
”
She gestured at Sara
’
s throat.
“
The other silver.
”

Open-mouthed, Sara touched her locket.
She unfastened it with shaking fingers.
“
We have to melt these down.
They belong in the amulet.
”

“
Are you nuts?
”
Faith strode forward until she was toe to toe with Sara.
“
Dad took them out for a reason.
He wanted to disable the amulet.
It
’
s dangerous.
You know it is.
”

Sara shook her head.
“
He would have smashed it himself.
I
’
m sure of it, Faith.
I think he wanted us to do something with it.
”

“
Like what, get killed?
”
Faith slapped the amulet on the table and snatched an empty glass bottle.
She raised it to strike.

“
No!
”
Sara shouted, jumping toward her.

Faith brought the bottle down on the amulet with a crash.
The bottle shattered, and a deafening chime reverberated off the tent walls.
Both of them cringed and covered their ears until the sound faded away.

Faith clutched her now-bleeding hand and looked at the amulet, resting intact on Sara
’
s table.
She bit off a moan and held her hand against her body.
“
Smashing it is out,
”
she snarled.

Sara snatched the amulet up, then looped it over her head and tucked it quickly into her sweater.
The stone pulsed with heat against her skin.

Thomas ducked into the tent.
“
Everything okay in here?
”

“
Yeah, we
’
re fine,
”
Sara answered.
“
We
’
ll be out in a few minutes.
”

Thomas passed her an unconvinced look, but left again.

When she was certain of their privacy, Sara reached her hand out to her sister.
“
Give me your locket.
”

“
You
’
re out of your mind.
”

Sara stepped toward the tent door.
“
Do you want to figure this out, or not?
Give me the locket.
We
’
ll go to Mainland and get them put back in the amulet tomorrow morning.
”

Faith grabbed Sara
’
s first-aid kit and dropped it on the table.
She flung it open to rummage for bandages and antiseptic.
“
Sure.
We
’
re just going to walk in there with this knick-knack, which no one is going to get curious about and ask questions about, and
come looking for
.
Not to mention, I don
’
t think we should leave the dig site.
”