Page 41 (1/2)

"Mine," he rasped And he leaned down and kissed her long and deep, trying to let his touch tell her what he couldn’t say aloud

Da fast He didn’t knohat she was or what the gods intended for thee All he kneas that his life had been changing since she had co And he didn’t want to be alone anyainst his, rah hies He wanted to lock her in the house and keep her safe, wanted to surround her with a protective force field, wanted to--hell, he wanted to put her in a bubble where nothing could touch her except hientled his kiss and slid his hands down her arers linked and held, he knew that would make him no better than the masters he had once served Because it wasn’t what she wanted She wanted to be out there, in the thick of the action She wanted to find herself, wanted to find answers

"You scare the hell out ofback, she looked up at him, her eyes so after the skull, JT I just know it, deep down inside" She flattened her palm over his heart "I know it in here"

He closed his eyes, for the first tiic user Because then he could’ve hit her with a sleep spell and kept her safely snoring until the equinox was over Except that she was right They couldn’t ride this one out So, apparently, was him

"Okay We’ll do it your way" He pressed his forehead to hers, holding her a o and stepped away "Co for the trick door that led to his officeand the weapons cache beyond "If we’re going after the bastards on their own turf, we’re going to need some serious firepower"

Chapter Six

As they headed into the forest, Natalie didn’t knohether it was the approaching equinox or the knowledge that the two of theic orking She could see a golden sparkle in the air; it flowed in a thin, translucent ribbon, leading her onward as the blue-black of dawn beca

Behind her, JT was heavily ar tunnels And if part of her worried that he would want to si the skull to avoid a direct fight, she had decided that she would deal with that if and when it happened Because one thing was certain: She had to get the skull back It was a tangible link to the ht" He kept his voice low, but the concern in his tone was evident "We’ve circled around The village can’t be more than five, tenin this area but a couple of carved pillars No temple, no hell mouth"

"We’re practically on top of it," Natalie said, looking back over her shoulder at hih a waist-high layer of thick, leafy ferns "Trust me"

"It’s not about trust It’s--" He broke off "Gods help us," he whispered, the words co from both shock and prayer as he looked beyond her

Natalie spun And gaped

The clearing that opened in front of them held the broken pillars he had mentioned But that wasn’t all Where before there had been only a few scattered stones, now there were dozens of intact pillars as well, their carvings crisp and new, the bat glyphs proe opening where the earth had fallen through to reveal the path of an ancient underground river The dry riverbed came up to almost the surface on one side, then sloped down and split into three dark-mouthed tunnels, where tributaries had once flowed The cave walls were incised with hieroglyphs; the central tunnel had life-size can of the creatures the flesh This was their ho suddenly right

She had walked right across the clearing a few days earlier and it had felt like solid earth Either the equinox had opened the hell mouth, or the skull was somehow involved

A shadow moved within the central tunnel

"Get down!" JT hissed, yanking her below the level of the leafy ferns, where they would be hidden Once they were both down, he parted several fronds and looked through "Shit "

A line of skeletal, patchy-skinned ca from the center tunnel, their steps slow and uneven

He whispered, "They h the barrier, which lanced at her "Can you still sense the skull?"

Her stomach shimmied "It’s down that saht to the hell mouth"

"So what’s the plan?" Her blood pounded with the need to reclaim the crystal skull

"There isn’t any plan" His expression went hard and closed, becoo down there"

Her heart clutched "I thought we had an agreeret flickered in his eyes "Natalie, be reasonable"

"And let those bastards have the skull?" Panic kicked at the thought, co from the instincts that hadn’t ever failed her Except,down there would be suicide"

"So is doing nothing This isn’t just about one equinox It’s about the next two years, and you daaunt ca into the forest in pairs, all headed toward the village

JT’s eyes darkened "We need to help theht that this isn’t about one grand gesture; it’s about a long-ter the skull back will do a dae the outcome" He paused "Or do you?"

She hesitated The lie would change his mind, and he’d lied to her plenty But she couldn’t do it