Time Raiders: The Whisper (5 page)

“How so?”

“Alert the shaman at Machu Picchu to prepare for a great sacrifice.” Kentar turned toward the window, his eyes glowing red.

The hairs on the back of Imac’s neck stiffened.

Marisol reeled backward against the stone wall. Did Kentar plan to sacrifice Gunnar so that Pachacuti could assume the shaman’s powers?

Marisol had to get back to Gunnar and warn him, but she couldn’t until she knew Imac was safely away from Pachacuti and Kentar.

“How will I get him to Machu Picchu? He is a shaman. Won’t he see through your plan?” Pachacuti asked.

“You are a master tactician, Emperor. How have you conquered so many thus far?”

The emperor stared straight ahead, a scowl hardening his jaw. “Imac. She is my most trusted warrior.”

“Send her and the jaguar warriors to Machu Picchu. Tell her that if Ollantay is successful against General Rumi-Naui, Machu Picchu could be next. She needs to be there to defend it. Assign the shaman to Imac as protection. She will not suspect a thing. You will have the shaman out of Cusco and have protection for Machu Picchu.”

“Imac will be gone for many days.” Pachacuti’s scowl deepened.

Marisol felt Imac’s anger lessen, the rumble in her throat turning to a purr. The woman obviously had feelings for her lover, Pachacuti.

“Use the time to plan the future expansion of your empire, unencumbered by a jealous female. A great warrior is Imac, but first and foremost, she is female and very demanding of your time.”

Pachacuti stepped toward the window.

Imac shrank back against the stone wall, ready to leap to the ground should the emperor come closer.

The Incan ruler crossed his arms over his chest. “I could use time to think, and I greatly desire the power of the Inti shaman.”

“Your greatness, you might consider also that Imac’s power grows, as well,” Kentar persisted.

Imac hissed quietly, her fingernails digging into the stone.

“Careful, Kentar,” Pachacuti warned. “Imac is my heart, my soul.”

“Beware she is not also your mind.” Kentar’s tone was low, intense.

The hairs on the back of Marisol’s neck rose as did Imac’s. Kentar’s words were meant to drive a wedge between Pachacuti and Imac.

Kentar’s gaze shifted from Pachacuti’s back to the window where Imac perched. His eyes narrowed.

Kentar stepped around Pachacuti. “The air grows cold. Let me close the shutters.”

Imac leaped to the ground and padded through the garden, careful to stay in the shadows. As she passed a pool, she stopped to drink, dipping her face close to the water’s edge.

The moon chose that moment to break free of clouds, shining down on the garden, creating a reflection in the pool.

Marisol considered breaking contact and hurrying to warn Gunnar of Kentar’s plan. But as Imac paused beside the pool, Marisol peered into the water through Imac’s eyes and stared into the golden eyes of a black jaguar.

Marisol jumped, her head hitting the rim of the pedestal with the statue. Pain radiated from the point of impact and for a moment, she lost contact with Imac. When she returned, Imac was on the move, weaving through the bushes and trees to a doorway leading into the palace.

She stopped in the shadows, stretching her muscles, straightening to stand upright. She shivered, gooseflesh rising on her arms. Until that moment, the cool night air had not affected her. The pause before entering the palace had given Imac the necessary time for her anger to cool.

Then Imac bent to sift through a pile of clothing at her feet, slipping a tunic over her head and shoving her legs into wool pants. She lifted a medallion dangling around her neck to adjust it before tucking it back beneath the neck of her tunic.

For a brief moment, Marisol could see intricate carvings in bronze. Shock rippled through her.

When Imac stepped through the doorway, Marisol could feel the other woman’s lips curl into a smile. Then a wall of darkness rose between them, shutting Marisol out.

Marisol crouched behind the pedestal and statue, her mind reeling, her breaths coming in short ragged gasps. Two truths had been burned indelibly into her mind.

Imac had the medallion Marisol sought, hanging on a leather strap around her neck.

The second truth was that Imac wasn’t human.

Gunnar sat up straight when servants entered his chamber bearing a tray of food. At first all appeared normal, just like any day in Cusco. Until he remembered what had happened right before he’d fallen asleep.

Marisol Vasquez and the most amazing sex he’d ever experienced. Never had he felt so close to the heavens.

His gaze shot around the room, his stomach twisting when he realized the woman who’d sent him to the stars had disappeared.

Gunnar leaped to his feet.

The young servant girls’ eyes widened and they backed up so quickly the golden goblets on the tray teetered and tipped over, falling with a splash to the stone floor.

One of the girls dropped her tray and burst into tears. The other ran from the room, food bouncing off the tray she still carried.

Guilt pulled at Gunnar, but he didn’t have time to waste on the servants’ feelings. If Marisol got caught snooping through the palace, Gunnar might not be able to stop Pachacuti from punishing her, and the emperor was known for sentencing offenders to death.

Gunnar ran for the door, so intent on finding Marisol it never crossed his mind that he wore no clothing.

The young woman on her knees backed into the wall, her body shaking.

Her fear made Gunnar pause in his headlong rush to the door. It was then he noticed he was naked. He was about to turn back for his clothing when the heavy wooden door slammed open and Marisol stood poised on the threshold.

Gunnar let out the breath he’d been holding since he realized she’d disappeared. Then his gut tightened as he registered her ashen face. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her into the room.

To the young woman crouched on the floor, he ordered, “Out!”

She stumbled to her feet and ran from the room, leaving the tray and its spilled contents strewn across the floor.

Gunnar let go of Marisol and shut the door behind the departing servant. “What happened? Were you discovered?”

Marisol had her back to him. “No.” She shook her head and walked deeper into the chamber. After several paces, she spun and faced him. “I just can’t believe…I don’t know what to say.”

Gunnar laughed. “I’ve only known you for a short time, but from what I’ve witnessed thus far, you are never at a loss for words.” His laughter died as he stared into her pale face. He closed the distance between them, lifting a hand to cup her cheek. “What has frightened you, my precious?”

She gazed up into his eyes, her forehead creased, her mouth pinched into a straight line. “Did you drug me while I slept?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. I fell asleep. When I woke, you were gone. Why would I drug you?”

She shook her head, her gaze dropping to his chest. “I don’t know. I just…I can’t…What I saw…” She shook her head again. “Unbelievable…” Marisol leaned her forehead against his chest, her arms wrapping around his waist, pulling him so close he could feel the rapid beat of her heart.

“Where were you?” He stroked the loose tendrils of hair from her face, his fingers sliding over her head to the braids falling down her back. He liked her hair loose, flowing around her shoulders.

“I was going to search Pachacuti’s quarters.”

Gunnar gripped her shoulders and shook her. “Don’t. If he catches you spying, he can kill you, and I could do nothing to stop him.”

“I didn’t go there. I didn’t have to.” She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and looked up at him. “While I was out, I learned that Kentar is pushing Pachacuti to send you to Machu Picchu.”

Gunnar frowned. “You said you didn’t spy on Pachacuti.”

“Listen.” She pressed a finger to his lips. “Kentar warned him that you were becoming too powerful. He wants you out of the city.”

“The man is poison. I am disturbed that Pachacuti listens to him.”

“Kentar also talked Pachacuti into sending Imac, as well, and she’s not happy about that.”

“How do you know all this if you were not spying on Pachacuti?”

Instead of answering right away, she stared up into his eyes. “You believe in magic, don’t you?”

“I have to. I live with it every day.”

“I know I told you that I didn’t believe in magic, but I lied.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want you to think I was crazy. I wasn’t sure what they do with crazy people in this time.”

“This time? What do you mean by this time? You talk in riddles.”

She raised a hand to Gunnar’s face. “That’s not important now. What is important is that I can see through the eyes of others.”

He stared down at her, trying to wrap his mind around what she said. “How can this be? Do your people have powers like mine?”

“Some, not many, have powers different than mine and yours.”

“Yet you can see through other people’s eyes?” He shook his head. “Anyone?”

“No. Usually I can only see through the eyes of animals, not people. Then I saw through Imac’s eyes today in the great hall.”

“Imac? But she is human. Yet you say you see only through animal eyes?”

“Yes. I didn’t know why I could see through Imac’s eyes until tonight when I saw Imac’s reflection in a pool of water. I saw the reflection of a jaguar. Imac is a jaguar.”

“How can that be?”

Marisol spun away and paced across the room. “I don’t know. I thought shifters were myths.” She stopped and faced Gunnar. “Aren’t they?”

Gunnar sighed and pulled her into his arms. “You just asked me if I believed in magic. If I can shake the earth with my thoughts and you can see through the eyes of animals, why shouldn’t Imac shift into the shape of a jaguar?”

“I suppose.” Marisol leaned against Gunnar’s chest.

With her in his arms, he could believe in anything. “So Pachacuti is afraid of me?”

Marisol pushed him to arm’s length. “He wants your powers.”

“I can’t give them to him.”

Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him close. Marisol laid her face against him.

“Don’t go to Machu Picchu.”

“If Pachacuti wants me out of Cusco, perhaps it is time I left.”

“You don’t understand.” She looked up into his eyes. “The Inca offer up human sacrifices to their gods.”

“I know that. It is a barbaric custom.”

Marisol shook his head. “You can’t go to Machu Picchu. Kentar told Pachacuti to have the shaman there prepare for a sacrifice. I think he means that sacrifice to be you. He’s convinced Pachacuti that he can take your powers.”

“Pachacuti is not a fool.”

“The emperor will eventually think of himself as Inti.”

“You see into the future, too?”

“I studied Pachacuti prior to coming here.”

“From where?”

Marisol sucked in a deep breath and laid her hands on his naked chest. “I’m from a land far north of here, and a time almost six hundred years in the future.”

Gunnar gripped her arms. “You make my head spin. What is this about the future?”

“That’s where I’m from. Almost six hundred years in the future. I came back to find a medallion. One that could be the key to communicating with beings from other lands. Lands as far away as the stars.”

Gunnar let go of her and stepped backward. What did he know of this woman who’d appeared before him out of nowhere? “I don’t know what to believe anymore. You drop out of the sky, tell me of seeing through animal eyes and of women who are jaguars. It is all a great deal to take in all at once. I need time to think.”

“We don’t have time. If Pachacuti sends you to Machu Picchu, you may not return.” Marisol reached up to cup his face, a frown pressing her finely arched brows together. “When I leave, I want to know you will be all right.”

A surge of anger raced through him. His arms came up around her and he clamped her to his body. “You are my woman.”

She smiled up at him, shaking her head. “I belong to no man. But you come the closest to owning my heart. Don’t let Kentar destroy you.”

“He cannot harm me.” His chest puffed out against hers. “I have my magic.” His member nudged against her belly, reminding him of the magic he’d experienced with her. How she’d taken him to the heavens in her arms.

Marisol’s fingers curled around his neck, drawing him closer. “I couldn’t bear it if Kentar hurts you.” She kissed his lips.

“I never trusted him.” Gunnar took her lips, pressing into her, his body on fire with desire, his naked skin tingling with the need to feel her against him.

She dragged her mouth away from his. “Gunnar, you should go. You need to get out of here. Leave before Pachacuti sends you to Machu Picchu.”

“I’ll refuse to go.”

“If he insists with an army to back him?” She gazed into his eyes, the worry in her frown comforting him.

He pushed the stray hairs back behind her ears. “I will use my magic as a warning.”

“Gunnar, you are truly magical.” She kissed him briefly.

Too briefly. Gunnar wanted more, his staff hardening, eager to ascend to the heavens yet again.

“You have magic, but aren’t invincible.”

“They wouldn’t dare harm me.”

Marisol nodded. “Yes. They would. Your power not only impresses Pachacuti, it frightens him. He wants your power and may kill you to get it. Please, Gunnar, leave now. Go away from Cusco.” She hugged him close, laying her cheek across his bare chest.

“If I go, you must come with me.”

She stiffened and pulled away. “I can’t.”

Anger made him step away. He’d never had a woman refuse his demands before the beautiful Marisol. “Then I will not go.”

“I can’t go with you. I must complete my mission and return to my home, in my time.”

“Then I will go with you.”

“It’s too dangerous. I have to steal the medallion away from Imac. If she resists, she’ll have me put to death. If she suspects that you are involved in any way…that will be reason enough for Pachacuti to have you put to death.”

Gunnar crossed his arms over his chest. “You go with me or I go with you. Either way, I will not leave you. Those are your choices.”