Surrender (THE DRAGONFLY CHRONICLES) (21 page)

“The original entry is completely caved in,” Jackson said.

“It is. And I’m sure that the bastards who took Anthony know it too if they read his journals. Why they’ve gone to the trouble to drag me here, I’m not sure.” Her eyes narrowed. He could almost hear the accusations being flung at him in her mind.

“Even with the journals, there is a lot of shoreline to unearth to find the tomb. It is probably easier to persuade someone who knew where it was to help.”

“Because Anthony stood his ground and refused.”

The sun shot brightly into his eyes. “As you know, I wasn’t working with him. He kept to himself. He certainly refused me a lot.”

Kailin’s eyes shifted downward and she coughed slightly. “Do you intend to continue half naked? Your skin will burn.”

“Thank you for your concern. I was but drying off.” He shifted his gaze to the white shirt molding to her breasts. Even in trousers, there was no missing the fact that she was a woman. “I prefer to dry before throwing a shirt on so it won’t stick to every nook and cranny.”

Kailin gasped and turned, plucking at her thin cotton shirt.

Qeb called behind them where he watched the camels fill up on river water.

Jackson pointed and the native led one of the camels behind him away from the river. “We’ll make a camp a ways back from the bank, in the shelter of the hill. Far enough to not be easy prey for the crocs.”

Kailin scanned the free flowing water. “If one comes up, I’ll push him back.”

“Better yet, roast croc is delicious.” Jackson grabbed some of the bags that Qeb had lowered from the pack camel and tromped through the grass toward the camp site. His still damp skin pulled against the thin cotton of his white shirt. He hoped the eyes he felt on his back were green-blue, framed with long lashes, and not narrowed in suspicion.

Delve into the carnal world of passion
, Drakkina had recommended. It seemed unlikely Kailin would take the advice. If she did, it better be before they found the orb. That didn’t give him much time.

****

Evening descended quickly in the shadow of the hill. Kailin straightened from her crouch near the saddle bag and stretched her back in a long arch. Her gaze drifted across the sand dunes. She would wait until darkness hid her abilities before digging in from the top. The attack last night proved they were being watched. She didn’t quite know how she would locate the mysterious Orb of Life or why there was a dragonfly embedded on it.

Dragonfly!
Kailin froze.

Jackson drew his gun, eyes trained on the dune line. “You saw something?”

“No.”

Why hadn’t she thought to ask the spirit-woman? Drakkina said the mark was hers. Did she know something of the orb? “Just thought of something I forgot to ask the apparition.” She lowered back to the small fire.

“What was that?” He slowly re-holstered the gun though kept his gaze far reaching. The fire played off his strong features, cutting shadows across his strong jaw.

Kailin looked away. “She might know something about the orb. Anthony mentioned that it had my birthmark on it.”

“A dragonfly?”

She nodded and flaked off a bite of the roasted fish Jackson had caught earlier. He’d insisted that he do it without her magic. She’d schooled the fish underwater toward him. His eyes had narrowed when three fish jumped right into his hands but didn’t say anything.

“Interesting,” he murmured. “When do we take our walk?”

Kailin’s eyes shifted to the dozing camel owner. He really wasn’t a guide since she’d been the one to guide their way. But he supplied the camels and took care of the beasts. She placed the rest of her fish in her mouth and licked her finger clean. “Now.” Kailin stretched upward, lengthening the tight muscles of her shoulders and hamstrings after the full day of riding. Jackson didn’t follow, just watched her stretch.

“What?” she asked impatiently.

“Still trying to remove the image of your lips sucking your finger.” He gave her a roguish half leer.

Kailin’s chest squeezed simultaneously with her lips, yet relief gave her the room to inhale and release an exaggerated sigh as she rolled her eyes. The day of stilted apathy was over. Had he decided a course of action during his silence? Take his treasures and run or try to seduce her first?

“You’re impossible,” she muttered and grabbed a canteen of fresh water.

Jackson stood and rambled off something to Qeb, who nodded with his eyes closed.

Walking away from the small fire into the dark, cold air was like diving into a black lake, the warmth and illumination of the sun obliterated. Kailin buttoned her leather duster and wrapped the
kufiya
around her neck to keep the even breeze from sparking more goose bumps down her chest. She refused to look behind her, but glanced overhead at the stars. Orion held ready. Cassiopeia sat upon her sideways throne. Cold and distant, her friends didn’t call to her as usual. Instead her senses strained to hear the deep tread of Jackson behind. Anger at herself piqued her temper and Kailin trudged faster up the slope until she reached the plateau at the top that they’d explored earlier.

Slightly sunken, the plateau seemed to sag under the star-sprinkled blackness. She stood still, teasing out the memories of that night near the beginning of her life when she stood here trembling despite Anthony’s jacket. She’d been so young, Anthony guessed three. Only glimpses of the memories remained, that and a tremor of panic, residual from the fear that nearly blew her and the hill completely apart. The river had raged that night, flooding the land up the base of the hill, sluicing away the erected braces for the dig.

Anthony had calmed her and helped her say the words to make the hole fill in with sand and dirt, burying the evidence of their unnatural escape. Then he’d scooped her up, held her close, and promised to care for her. That she remembered. She’d been lost, terrified, and totally vulnerable and she’d taken his instant love for her to heart.

Kailin’s eyes welled with tears at the thought of her father’s worry. He’d know that his kidnappers would be after her. His concern for his little Cleo would pain him more than his discomfort. Whatever the orb was, she’d find it and trade it. Anthony was worth much more than any treasure.

“Here?” Jackson asked near her.

“The tomb sits below us.”

“How far?”

How far had she flown upward, propelling herself and Anthony out of the hole? “I’m not certain. I was only three when I last found it. It might have completely caved in.”

Jackson nodded and raised a shovel high. It cut through the sand and he flipped a load behind him.

“I will go much faster,” Kailin boasted. “Just stand back. I wouldn’t want to bury you.”

Jackson threw the shovel back behind him. “Try not to throw the treasure out with the sand.”

She nodded. Yes, she’d need control to do this correctly. No digging like a dog. Extraction required finesse not speed. She held her hands before her, backs together. Slowly she pushed them apart. “Part.”

The sand parted, deepening the sunken spot. She parted several more times but didn’t feel like she was getting deep enough. She touched her fingers to her forehead. Where was the orb? Where should she dig down? Jackson let her stand still in concentration. Kailin imagined her pebble of magic intertwined with her birthmark. The pebble pulsed in her mind as if fed by the image. The dragonfly fluttered nearly breaking her concentration.

Behind her eyes, Kailin let the small dragonfly lift outside her. She opened her eyes and followed the zipping spot of shadow over the pale sand. It hovered over the dip she’d parted. She moved closer. “Where?” Kailin murmured. “Seek your mate,” she whispered so soft it was as if her lips fluttered over nothingness.

The shadow shot downward toward the far side of the plateau, diving into the sand. Kailin anchored her eyes to the spot and ran over to it. The sand looked unmarked. “Here,” she said. “The orb is somewhere below here.”

Jackson stood silently beside her, supporting, flanking her.

“Twist,” she said and a mini tornado formed over the spot. It drilled into the dune, throwing a stream of sand and dirt up.

Jackson cursed softly with a chuckle. She smiled at the precision. She’d been practicing all day as they rode. Small tornados at a distance so as not to be noticed.
Twist and out
, she thought as she drilled downward, breaking through layers of sand and rock. The tornado slammed into something hard about four feet down and dissolved.

Kailin held a stick she’d brought up with her from the camp. “Fire.” The end blinked aflame. Jackson stood with her at the edge of the three-foot diameter hole.

He tilted his head to look at her, his smile one of pride and amazement. “I’d say Dr. Whitaker, that’s the ceiling of a tomb.” Sandy blocks lay fitted together in tight lines.

Kailin nodded and smiled back at Jackson. “Thrilling, isn’t it.”

He laughed lightly. “I’ll make a treasure hunter out of you yet.” Jackson took the torch and nodded toward the blocks.

Kailin pulled on her magic, expanding it into a long knife-like force. “Cut,” she punctuated the “t” at the end like a shot from her mouth. A fissure appeared where she stared, a long line that sliced down through the thick stone, mimicking a surgeon’s blade. It followed her gaze as she imagined the pebble cutting along the edges of the hole her tornado had dug. As the rubble gave way she lifted her hands and the rocks flew upward and out of the growing hole. Jackson held the fire high to illuminate an open area below. The smell of dirt and ancient dust filled Kailin’s nose, tickling, reminding her of the panic she’d felt here. She sucked in, trying to dispel the shadows of fear and…sneezed. The rocks she’d been lifting shot up into the air like a bomb had detonated.

Jackson flung the torch and grabbed her. He threw her to the sand and covered her and his own head as the fist-sized rocks thumped around them. Kailin’s breath struggled to squeeze in past his weight. He cursed against her ear as a rock bounced off his back. Kailin had felt it through his chest. Debris continued to rain down on them for several long seconds. Then silence filled with the thump of Jackson’s heart. He eased his weight onto his forearms braced on either side of her head and lifted.

“You sound?” he asked but didn’t roll away. Kailin blinked against the dust that still floated. His body lay intimately across her and without the cushion of petticoats and skirts she could feel all of him. She nodded, her hair rubbing into the cool sand. “Good,” he said and stared down at her. “God bless you.”

Kailin couldn’t help the grin that answered his smile. It was as natural as a laugh from one’s heart. She shifted her gaze to his chin and moved under his weight, but he remained. “I’m sorry about that. Are you hurt?”

“Bruises make one interesting.”

Her gaze reconnected with his. The heat from his body infused her. The comfortable weight teased her. She was trapped, and her body was rapidly realizing that being Jackson’s prisoner felt good. “Are we lying here all night or will you let me up?”

His lips quirked. “I haven’t decided.”

Kailin let out a small bark of laughter and pushed upward with her hands. Reluctantly, Jackson raised his body and rolled sideways and into a stand. He reached down to help her up. His hand was warm, strong. She grasped it firmly.

Jackson’s eyes nearly sparked with excitement. “Shall we see what the great Dr. Kailin Whitaker has unearthed?”

She dusted her hands together. “And no more sneezing.”

The torch had gone out but barely a thought made it relight when Jackson held it upright again. He maneuvered the flickering glow over the hole. “Terribly convenient,” Jackson complimented. Kailin kneeled along the edge with Jackson. He lowered the torch so that they could see the room below.

Dirt and pebbles covered every surface, but she could make out a number of statues and jars lining the back wall. “I see mosaics and glyphs under that dirt!” Kailin pointed down and to the back. “They could tell us about the orb and the ancient buried here.”

“You sound like you want to go in.”

She twisted her head to meet his grin. “Maybe. In the light.”

His smile turned serious. “You have nothing to fear. Not when you can blast your way out. Come down with me. I want you there when we discover our treasure.”

Kailin’s stomach flipped about, either from the consideration of going below ground or from Jackson’s desire for her to be by his side.

“I would also have you with me so I know you’re safe,” he continued.

“I can take care of myself,” she murmured.

She glanced back down into the jagged hole where she could barely make out the hint of colors peeking through the dust layers on the walls. When she imagined running her palms over the glyphs, feeling where ancients had laid their own hands, her stomach curled into a ticklish twist. Kailin nodded and then shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m considering it.”

All these years Anthony had begged and now, beside a man she knew had lied to her, someone who could mute her powers making her as vulnerable as an ordinary woman, she was preparing to face her insurmountable fear.

“If it helps”—Jackson’s words were very close to her ear, and her shoulder rose at the tickle—“I promise not to touch you down below.”

He held himself away from her now even though he leaned so close it felt as if they touched. A sizzle of awareness slid along Kailin’s skin down her neck where his breath feathered. Yet his body didn’t touch hers. She could still sense her tight pebble, roped and tied, wrestled into temporary submission.

Kailin couldn’t say anything. She swallowed and slowly sat back on her heels. She nodded. “I’ll go.”

By the flicker of torchlight she watched Jackson follow her. “But right now, we’re still above ground,” he murmured as his gaze delved into her eyes, momentarily flicking to her lips when she wet them with a touch of her tongue slipping between.

Kailin kept her eyes open, but didn’t pull back. His empty hand brushed her cheek as his face neared. She held her breath and he caught her chin in a gentle pinch. Kailin’s eyes closed as his lips touched.