Heart of Stone (29 page)

“You got it.” Bending his head, Rafe gave his fiancée a harder kiss than she had bestowed on him. Turning, he faced the sand.

“John, if you will,” Maria said.

His father turned a dial, and the sunroof in the ceiling slowly opened to let in the sunlight. The open space was as wide as the sand below it and only six feet long, though the sand itself extended the width of the room. The sunshine poured in and hit the stones they'd placed on the seven three-foot-high rock pillars that made up the most sacred part of the
tenplu
.

Each of the colored stones sitting on a pillar represented one of the seven chakras: red tumbled ruby, bright orange carnelian, yellow tiger eye, green moss agate, blue turquoise, dark indigo amethyst, and light violet amethyst. Darius stood along the edge of the sandpit with his mother and sister as Rafe stepped into it, walking forward until he stood between the pillars. As one, all four Montanas turned their faces to the sun. The warm light streamed over them, touching their focus stones, warming them.

And as one, they began to sing the chant to initiate the Soul Circle.

*   *   *

Faith and Rigo had settled at the kitchen table with their coffee and muffins when Lupe came into the kitchen from the laundry room.

“What is this?” she demanded.

Faith paused in lifting the muffin to her mouth. “Oh, were we not supposed to eat these?”

“Don't be ridiculous.” Lupe threw up her hands. “Why do you think I made them?”

“Because you know they're my favorite?” The affection in Rigo's voice startled Faith, as did the mischievous look in his eyes.

Lupe blushed and waved a hand at him. “You. Don't try to sweet-talk your way out of this, Rodrigo Mendez.”

“Could I? Sweet-talk you, I mean?”

“Bah!” Lupe addressed Faith. “This one, such a charmer. Of course I made the banana nut for him. But is that all you intend to eat?” She whirled back on Rigo. “A man like you, a muffin will not hold you for long. I'll make you eggs. That's a good breakfast.”

“Oh, Lupe, you don't have to do that,” Faith said.

“Three or four of these, and I'm good.” Rigo held up the muffin.

“You need protein. Especially you.” She pointed at Rigo. “No arguments. How do you want your eggs?”

“Over medium,” he said.

“Scrambled,” Faith said in response to Lupe's lifted brow.

“Ten minutes,” Lupe said, and pulled a frying pan from the cupboard. She muttered beneath her breath in Spanish as she collected eggs, cheese, and nonstick spray.

Rigo lifted his cup to his lips and met Faith's gaze over the rim, his eyes full of mirth and crinkling at the edges. She felt her own lips twitching and quickly took a gulp of coffee. Minutes later, Lupe slid a plate of steaming scrambled eggs sprinkled with cheese in front of Faith and a plate with two fried eggs in front of Rigo. She slapped a bottle of hot sauce beside it.

“Now, this is breakfast,” she announced. The buzzer from the dryer went off, and she headed into the laundry room, still muttering to herself as she left.

Faith glanced down the hallway to make sure she was gone. “I don't know about you, but I feel like I've been schooled.”

Rigo grinned, took the cap off the hot sauce, and splashed some on his eggs. “Lupe makes her thoughts known, that's for sure.”

“If I keep eating like this, I'll have to hit the gym after I get back home.”

“There's one here. I'm sure the Montanas would let you use it.” He cut into one of the yolks. Yellow goo oozed out.

“Maybe I'll ask Darius.” She scooped up a forkful of eggs.

“Good idea.”

Out of nowhere, her tattoos flared like freshly seared brands. Her fingers spasmed. She dropped her fork with a clang. A scream tore through her mind like a sharp blade through a sheer veil. She whimpered and grabbed the edge of the table with contorted fingers.

A stone, splintered, out of balance. Energy being forced through distorted channels. Hot, so hot. Can't hold it all. Throbbing, throbbing. The wail ripped from her throat, scraping her vocal cords like gravel. Agony. So much. Too much.

Have to …

Make. It. Stop.

It flooded her mind like acid. She swept her arm across the table. Plates and silverware crashed to the floor. Someone grabbed her wrist. She saw a face. Rigo. His lips moved, but there was no sound.

Another wave seared into her mind. Her body jerked. Rigo was saying something. She couldn't hear him through the deranged shrieking in her head. She yanked her wrist from his grasp and leaped to her feet. She had to find that stone, save it. Stop the screaming.

Rigo grabbed her elbow. Tried to hold her back.

The Stone of Igarle had been whispering to her all morning, urging her to heed its call, to connect again and discover the secrets of the ages. She'd ignored it earlier, but now she reached for it, tapped it with a feather-light touch for the power she needed, and shoved Rigo away one-handed, the force of the ancient stone behind it. Mendez flew across the room, smacked his head on the stainless-steel fridge and slumped to the floor, dazed.

Faith ran for the stairs.

She followed the scream of the damaged stone to the third floor. Her throat vibrated with the hum of the Stone of Igarle, and the ancient crystal seemed to shield her somewhat from the mind-splitting wail of the fractured stone. With her connection to one of the most powerful crystals in Atlantis fueling her, she shoved open the double wooden doors and took in the scene with a glance.

Bright sunlight pouring in from an open sunroof. Seven pillars with seven colored stones glowing, all healthy. John in the far corner, Darius, Maria, Tessa, and Cara standing alongside a sandpit. And in the pit—Rafe.

The mind-searing screech came from the stone he wore around his neck. She could see it clearly now, feel it, a jagged shard of crystal hanging from a chain. It glowed as he fed power through it, but the channels were warped. This stone did not belong to him, yet he forced it to his will.

And was killing it.

She threw her hands up, tattoos burning like lava, and sang a short, harsh song with the power of Igarle behind it. Every stone in the room flared, then winked out.

The screaming in her mind cut off. Silence.

Rafe stiffened and collapsed in the sand, and the room exploded with panicked voices as the entire Montana family turned and looked at her.

 

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Faith managed to remain standing, even as her legs trembled with the aftereffects of the ancient power she had channeled. She wanted to lie down in a quiet corner somewhere, but the fear and rage in the faces of the people in front of her had her stiffening her spine. She wouldn't let them see her weaken.

“What do you think you're doing?” John Montana strode forward. “You were told to stay away from here!”

“Hold on a minute.” Darius came to stand beside Faith. “Let her explain.”

“Explain? Seems obvious to me. She just burst in here and shut down every stone in the room with a wave of her hand.” Tessa glared at Faith. “Know who else can do that? Jain Criten.”

“Criten sucked the energy out of Rafe's focus stone when he forced his way into our house, and he nearly killed us all.” Maria gripped her pendant. “That she can do this, like
he
did…”

“Hold it right there!” Rigo swept into the room, his pace measured and a two-handed grip on the gun pointed at Faith. “I'm sorry, sir. She got the drop on me. It won't happen again.”

“See that it doesn't,” John said.

“I told you she was dangerous,” Tessa said, eyes narrowed. “How'd a little thing like her take out Rigo?”

“What is wrong with all of you?” Darius demanded. “Lower the gun, Rigo. Faith doesn't want to hurt anyone.” He looked at his family. “She came to warn us, didn't you, Faith?”

“Yes,” Faith said. She could see by his expression that he was willing to hear her out, but the rest of his family looked like they wanted to go out and find a strong rope and a sturdy tree.

They're afraid of you
. The whisper in her mind came from the Stone of Igarle.

“Rafe's crystal is unsafe,” Darius announced.

“What do you mean ‘unsafe'?” Maria demanded.

“I mean he can get hurt if he keeps using it. Right, Faith?”

“Yes, that's right.” Faith frowned. “How'd you know that?”

Darius ignored her question. “Seems to me that's a good enough reason to do what she did.” He didn't break gazes with his father. “Tell them the rest, Faith.”

Puzzled by his grasp of details she hadn't told him but grateful for the ally, Faith gestured toward Rafe as Cara helped him get to his feet. “Rafe's crystal is fractured, warped. Every time he uses it, he damages it more, and one day it's going to lash back on him. I could hear it screaming.” She closed her eyes, as if that would tune out the painful memory.

“Screaming?” Tessa said. “What do you mean ‘screaming'?”

“In my head.” She opened her eyes. “I can craft Rafe a new one. But he can't keep using that one.”

“Out of the question,” John said. “How do we even know you're telling the truth, that this isn't a trick?”

“Because
I
know,” Darius said. “It's no trick, Dad. Something is wrong with Rafe's stone. Maybe we should let Faith examine it.”

“Absolutely not,” Maria said. “What do we know about Stone Singers, after all? She might destroy it.”

“What would you like me to do with her, sir?” Rigo asked.

“Put her in the safe room,” John said. “And this time do a better job of keeping her contained.”

“Keeping me contained?” Faith's heart sank as she glanced at Darius. “I thought he was just supposed to keep me company.”

“He was.” Darius frowned at his father.

“I gave him another set of orders,” John said. “I told him to watch you in case you tried something. And you did try something.”

“Dad, you don't understand,” Darius said.

“I understand plenty!” John pointed at Faith. “This woman just ripped away the power from every stone in the temple. The family is defenseless now!”

“What was she supposed to do?” Darius demanded. “Let Rafe continue using a fractured stone for his Soul Circle? She just told you the stone was screaming in her mind, tearing her apart, yet she still managed to get up here and save us from ourselves.”

“That's exactly what it felt like,” Faith murmured.

“Is that the act of an enemy?” Darius regarded his family. “Let's put the Soul Circle on hold for now until we find out what's going on.”

“We have no choice,” Maria said. “She drained the energy out of all the stones. We'll have to recharge them all before Rafe tries again.”

“I didn't drain them,” Faith said. “I put them to sleep.”

“Looks like you drained them to me.” Tessa put her hands on her hips.

“Well, you're not a Stone Singer, are you?” Faith mimicked Tessa's pose. “I put them to sleep rather than let the lot of you continue to destroy them with your ignorance.”

“Ignorance!” Maria's eyes bugged.

“Yes, ignorance. It's clear as day Rafe's stone was not created for him. Every time he uses it, he fractures it a little more.”

“Damn it, Darius, how could you let this happen?” John demanded. “You were in charge of her, and you've done a miserable job of it.”

“I was afraid of this,” Maria said. “What were we thinking, allowing one of them into our home?”

“She's trying to help,” Darius said. “She's not like the others.”

“The hell she isn't.” His father put his arm around his mother's shoulders. “I thought she just talked to rocks, but apparently she can use them as weapons as well. She's dangerous. Take her, Rigo.”

Mendez came forward. “Come on, let's go.”

“Hey!” Darius stepped in front of Faith. “We're not locking her up. She just saved our asses.”

“That's not your call, son,” John said. He nodded at Rigo.

“You're making a mistake,” Darius said.

“The only mistake we made was letting her into our home to begin with,” John said. “The safe room, Rigo.”

Rigo moved to Faith's left, keeping his handgun trained on her. He pulled a set of plastic hand restraints from his pocket. “Put these on.”

“Oh, come on!” Darius glared at his father as Faith took the strip of black plastic and slid one wrist through the loop. “Isn't this taking things a bit too far? I know you're all scared—”

“Damn right we're scared. Here, let me help.” Tessa came forward and pulled Faith's other wrist through the open loop of the restraints, then locked them with a yank. She gave Faith a smug smile. “There. Now I'm not so scared anymore.”

“Gee, thanks,” Faith said through gritted teeth.

“She's not our enemy!” Darius appealed to his father. “Dad, there's a reason everyone is looking for her, and we just witnessed it. She can manipulate the energy in stones.”

“All the more reason to keep her locked up until we know the truth,” Tessa said. “Dar, I can't believe you're buying into her little innocent act.”

“It's not an act. She is innocent in this. Don't you think I'd know if she wasn't?”

“I think you're a little too close to this,” Tessa shot back. “Too emotional. I knew it was a mistake to put an empath in charge of someone like her.”

“You all put me in charge of her
because
I'm an empath, remember?” Darius shouted.

“Excuse me?” Brother and sister looked at Faith as if they'd forgotten her presence. And maybe they had, given the expressions of guilt on their faces. “Did you just say Darius is an empath?”

“Rigo, get her out of here,” John said.