Slipping free, she started kicking at the unbreakable obsidian. Tears poured down her cheeks. “First chance I get, I’m going to kick Jake’s ass to hell and back.”
Kenneth tried again. Coming in from behind, he wrapped his big body around hers like a straitjacket. Pressing her against his chest, he simply held her. “It’s okay, babe. Just calm down.”
“I don’t want to calm down,” Tessa said between angry sobs. “I want to kill that asshole.”
He kept his hold firm. “I know, I know. I’m pissed, too. But beating down the walls isn’t going to work. If I thought I could kick them down, I would.”
She relaxed in his hold, the whole of her weight suddenly sagging against him. “I know you would.”
He kissed the top of her head. “Okay to let you go?”
A long minute passed. She finally nodded. “I think so.”
Kenneth released her. She managed to stand on her own. Brushing matted hair away from her sweaty skin, she offered a weak smile. Her face was swollen, skin blotchy and red. “Sorry about that. I just lost it for a minute. I’ll be fine.”
“You sure?”
She planted her hands on her hips and glared at the wall. “Yeah.”
Kenneth dragged a hand through his hair, staring at the unblemished surface.
Man, what I couldn’t give for a keg of dynamite.
“No use in throwing a fit. It isn’t going to budge.”
Sighing heavily, Tessa dragged herself over to the shallow basin and sat down on its edge. Dipping a hand into the water, she splashed her face. “At least it’s cold.” Filling her hand a second time, she took a long drink. “Too bad this isn’t poison,” she muttered.
Her remark caught him squarely in the gut. A chill slid down his spine. He remembered the day he’d tried to take his own life, the sense of hopelessness filling him like a black and bitter acid. “Don’t talk like that, Tess.”
Tessa looked up, her gaze drained of all hope. “Our backs are against the wall. They’re going to kill us no matter what.”
Kenneth tried to distract her. “Right now I’m thinking about wringing Jake’s neck.”
She allowed a reluctant smile. “I should have sucked the life right out of Jake when I had the chance.” Her hand lifted to the crystal she wore around her neck. “Did you know a Mer can siphon the energy right out of you?”
Kenneth shook his head. “I don’t see how that’s possible.”
“The human body is full of minerals, which are unformed crystals. All a Mer has to do is latch on and she can drain you.” She snapped her fingers. “And like that, you’re dead, all your energy sapped away.”
An idea glimmered in the back of Kenneth’s mind. “What do you do with the energy?”
She shrugged. “Anything I want. It’s the most powerful magic a Mer can use.”
“Could you use it to teleport us out of here?”
Tessa blew out a deep breath. “These walls are too much of a psychic damper to try to get through. The best I could do would be try to blast a hole.”
“Then do it.”
Startled, Tessa looked up. “Do what?”
“Take the energy from me.” Kenneth pointed to himself. “I’m a pretty big guy. There ought to be a lot of charge in me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“It’s forbidden to use
D’ema
, death magic.”
“But if you use it, there’s a chance you could get us out of here, right?”
“Yes,” she admitted slowly. “But you might die in the process.”
He thought a moment, then shrugged. “So? I’m dead if we don’t try. And if I have to, I’d rather die by your hand than have some Mer zap me with her little laser gun.”
Tessa looked at him long and hard. The idea clearly distressed her. A silent minute passed, and then another. “No. I’m not going to do it.” Her voice trembled with pent-up emotion.
He persisted. “Why not?”
“I thought we weren’t doing the suicide talk anymore.” Her forehead furrowed a little. “You talked me out of it, remember?”
Suicide was one thing. Sacrifice was another.
I have what she needs
.
Determined to persuade her, Kenneth moved toward her. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he gave her a little shake. “Think straight for a moment. If there’s a chance you could get one or both of us out of here, you should take it.”
Tessa adamantly shook her head. “I won’t be bullied into using my magic against you.”
Kenneth gave her a harder shake. “I’m not bullying you, Tess. I’m trying to give you a way out of here. If one of us can survive, then we have to try.”
She twisted out of his grasp, putting as much distance between them as the cell would allow. “How can you ask me to kill you when I’ve just figured out I love you?” Her glare was hot, filled with confusion and anger. “It’s not fair. It’s not fucking fair!”
Kenneth froze, stunned by her words.
She loves me?
came his dazed thought. In the back of his mind he’d suspected she cared for him. But loved him, truly loved him? He never would have believed it was possible.
Her confession strengthened his resolve. “Nothing about life is fair. But you’ve got to take the chance if it means getting out alive.”
Clenching her fists, she shook her head. “Don’t make me do it.”
Kenneth walked over to her. Reaching out, he slipped his fingers beneath the crystal hanging around her neck. Heat pulsed from the tiny stone. He almost believed he could feel the beating of a tiny heart resonating from within its depth. “If you won’t do it for yourself, do it for me.”
Her throat worked. “I—I can’t. It’s bound to be painful.” She shook her head adamantly. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Letting go of the stone, he reached for her hand. “I can take the pain.” Kissing the cold tips of her fingers, he pressed her palm against his chest. “Do it now, and do it fast.”
Shivering, Tessa tried to jerk back. “No.”
Kenneth held on, keeping her hand flat against his chest. “Do it. Then do your damnedest to get the hell out of here.”
Worn down by his badgering, Tessa wavered. “I’ll try to just take a little,” she finally agreed. “Just enough to break through the stone.”
He nodded tightly. “Take what you need.”
She hesitated. Tears began to roll slowly down her cheeks. “I’m going to hate you for this. I’ll never forgive you.”
He licked papery dry lips. “So hate me for the rest of your life. You need a charge and I’m it.”
Tessa reluctantly lifted her hands, pressing the tips of her fingers against his face and temples. “I’ve never done this to a living person before. Just inanimate rocks.”
He smiled. “There’s a first time for everything, babe.”
Blinking hard, she offered a wavering smile. “I wish you were Jake. I’d gladly suck the life out of him.”
His jaw tightened. “Can’t say I wouldn’t mind that myself.”
Tessa’s muscles tensed. She pressed a little harder. “If I can get to him, I will,” she promised.
Kenneth nodded and closed his eyes.
Good enough
.
Tessa closed her eyes and murmured, “Don’t be afraid. You’ll free a pressure in your head, but that’s only me.”
The force invading his body came slowly, creeping in through his skull. Latching on with steel-tipped claws, Tessa’s symbiote burrowed deep. Pain spiked through his brain, hot, crimson, and definitely hungry.
Biting back a moan, he fought to remain conscious as fiery hot tendrils ran down his neck, shoulders, back, and abdomen. Blazing with pain, he felt as if his insides were boiling.
Tessa cried out softly. “I’m not going to take everything.” Her voice sounded panicked, afraid.
But her symbiote kept going.
Kenneth’s vision wavered, suddenly going dark. He was vaguely aware of his skin growing cold.
He clenched his teeth.
Tessa has to get out of here
. That’s all that mattered.
Her symbiote dug deeper.
He suddenly realized she had no control. It would take until glutted.
The pain exploded.
Kenneth couldn’t react, not even to scream. Darkness stretched endlessly, and he felt as if he were about to fall into it.
He struggled to cling to consciousness, acutely aware his body was beginning to shut down.
So this is what it feels like to die
.
Self-preservation was curiously absent. He didn’t care.
He was completely anesthetized. It wasn’t true an entire life flashed before one’s eyes. In fact, he was aware of nothing except his inability to respond to what was happening to him.
Legs crumpling beneath him, Kenneth tumbled. He hit the cold stone floor with bruising force.
Chapter 18
T
he air in the cell felt cold and empty. Save for Kenneth’s soft moan of agony, silence prevailed. Horrified by what she’d done, Tessa dropped to her knees beside his trembling body. His face had gone bone white under the strain of losing so much so fast.
Cradling his head on her lap, she quickly checked for a pulse. It was faint, but there. She breathed a sigh of relief.
I didn’t kill him.
“Kenneth, can you hear me?”
His lids fluttered open. His gaze was blank, unfocused. “Get out, Tessa.” His words were barely discernable.
Looking at him, Tessa felt a vise grip her heart. Just a few minutes ago, he’d been so strong and vital. Now his face was plastered with pain, his body contorted with suffering. Dark circles ringed his eyes.
Smoothing his hair off his sweat-soaked brow, Tessa bent close. “Hang on.” She reached out to claim one of his hands and squeeze it tight. “I’m going to get us out of here.” Her own body trembled alarmingly, not from weakness or exhaustion but from the searing surge of energy she’d taken in.
Right now she felt as if she had enough power to light up half the globe.
Kenneth struggled to draw in a breath. “Don’t waste time.” He struggled to lick dry, cracked lips. “Just go.” Drawing in a final breath, his eyes slipped shut. He sighed and went limp.
For a shattering moment, Tessa thought he had died. She pressed a hand to his chest. His heart continued to beat, but weakly.
She gently lowered his head to the floor. By the goddess, he’d given everything and had nothing left. Not one whit of strength. She could tell just by touching him that she’d almost drained him dry. One more minute and he would have died for sure.
And she wasn’t sure he’d survive now. She’d never heard of a human surviving D’ema. When a Mer used it, it was usually with the intent to kill.
Tessa sprung to her feet. Somehow she had to get him out of this wretched place. No way she’d let him die here. Not now. Not when they had a fighting chance.
“Hang on,” she said fiercely. “We’re not going to be here much longer.”
Focusing her concentration, Tessa hurried toward the nearest wall. Pressing her hands against the smooth obsidian, she began to examine it, not with her eyes but with her senses. Going past the physical, she delved into the molecular level of the stone.
Its solid face faded away, allowing her to see the mass of particles and energy that gave it form. As she’d guessed, the Mer had reversed the stone’s charge from positive to negative.
Tessa continued her exploration. It took a few moments to find a weak spot in the stone, but it was there. If she focused her energy strongly enough, she might be able to blast through it.
Pressing her fingers against the weak spot, Tessa reached for the crystal around her neck. Gathering the energy she’d harvested from Kenneth, she gritted her teeth and concentrated on channeling it outward.
The tips of her fingers began to glow, taking on a strange luminescence. The air around her quivered, crawling over her skin like a thousand tiny insects. Behind her eyes she felt a sense of pressure, her body’s reaction as the energy she’d taken in began to drain away. The sensation wasn’t painful.
I can take it
.
Tessa pushed a little harder. Tiny cracks formed beneath her luminous fingers. But it wasn’t enough. She needed to give a little more.
Narrowing her eyes, she recentered her energies and prepared for another attack. Body stiffening, she pressed her other hand against the obsidian wall. The tiny cracks grew larger. The floor wavered under her feet.
The pressure behind her eyes suddenly increased. A twinge shot through her temple. She ignored it. Now was not the time to draw back.
She pressed on, full speed ahead, leveling more mental energy into the heart of the stone. The cracks suddenly spread across the wall with unnerving speed.
Feeling the pressure behind her eyes turn to pain, Tessa refused to stop. Her brain began to burn. The sensation took off like wildfire, zipping down her neck and shoulders, intensifying as it spread through her chest and down her legs.
Tessa collapsed, her body slamming into the floor.
A long minute passed, and then another.
Lying as if a deadweight, she didn’t move. Darkness flowed around her. She gasped painfully. Teeth chattering, her head and heart pounding, double time.
I can’t give up
, came her vague, indistinct thought.
Too close
. . .
Dazed, she lifted an unsteady hand to her temple. Locking her jaw against a rush of nausea, she pressed her fingers against her skin, attempting to ease the pain.
Struggling to sit up, she blinked hard. Her vision was badly blurred, the four walls around her doubling to eight.
Still shaken, she tried hard to focus on the wall.
All she’d managed to do was crack it a little.
She felt defeated. All that energy wasted for nothing. “Shit.” She’d done almost nothing to damage it.
A single tear fell down her cheek. Kenneth had given her a chance and she’d wasted it.
They were still trapped. Still doomed to die.
Unbidden, another tear fell. She wanted to cry more, but there was no more to give.