Kate slapped her palms against the table and jerked to her feet. She marched around the table and stopped before him. Worry flashed across her face right before the emotion slammed into him, burrowing deep. “What if you don’t come back?”
Mitch hissed out a breath. She hadn’t blocked that emotion from him and he felt it as strongly as if it had come directly from inside him. “I felt that, Kate. The worry coming off of you. You should warn me next time.”
“Sorry.” She didn’t sound sincere. It was more of a sarcastic response. “I forgot to block it.”
He deserved that. He should have controlled himself, kept away from her, kept his damn hands to himself, but the drifter in him was too strong. He cleared his throat. “I promise I’ll come back. I have a new gift from the drifters that will help me.”
Her brows lifted. “What is it?”
Mitch saw no reason to hide it from her. “I can blend into my surroundings, like a chameleon.”
Her eyes went wide. “Really? Show me.”
Mitch walked back to the far wall. He closed his eyes, imagined himself as part of the wall. When he opened his eyes, Kate was staring at the wall, glancing all around, looking for him.
“Mitch?”
“Right here.”
Mitch turned his eyes on, making them glow. Her gaze found his. “All I can see are your eyes. That’s amazing.”
He stepped away from the wall, immediately coming back into view. “I can only do it for short periods of time and I have to concentrate, imagine myself as part of the background or it doesn’t work.”
Kate nodded, her gaze turning serious. “You know you don’t have to keep running from what’s between us. I’m not afraid. And neither should you be.”
Mitch lowered his gaze. They were back to that, were they? She was certainly persistent. But she didn’t understand what might happen. He did. He couldn’t talk about this right now. He needed to find Ethan. Mitch quickly changed the subject. “I have to go back to Aftermath and double-check to make sure Ethan isn’t hiding out there somewhere. I need to find him. We’re running out of time.”
Kate’s gaze delved into his. “Running out of time for what?”
Mitch sighed. “I’ll explain later, okay? Keep your bow and arrows close by. If anyone comes sniffing around, shoot them. If Ethan shows up, tell him I brought you here and that I’ll be back. He won’t hurt you. He’s not one of the violent ones.”
Kate puffed out a breath. “Okay. How long before I start to worry about you?”
Mitch raked a hand through his hair. “If I’m not back within two days, you should expect that I won’t return. And in that event, you’ll need to find another place to go. There’re plenty of small colonies in Mwanza that you can go to. They will welcome you.”
“Won’t Ronin be hunting me?”
“Not if he captures me. He won’t care about you, anymore.” Mitch turned away. “I’ll see you later, hopefully by morning. Stay safe, Kate.”
Kate raced after him, grabbing his arm and bringing him to a halt. She didn’t block her emotions again. He was engulfed by her worry and a hint of fear that pulled at his predatory instincts. Mitch jerked his arm from her grasp. “Dammit, you’re not blocking your emotions.”
Color crept into her face. “Sorry. I have to concentrate to do that. And I don’t feel like blocking them right now. I want you to feel how much I care. Please, Mitch, come back to me. Don’t leave me alone in this place.”
Mitch swallowed hard. He squeezed his eyes shut. He would come back. He wouldn’t abandon her. He couldn’t.
He strode for the surface of the crater.
“I’ll be back. I promise.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Mitchell’s scent wafted around, teasing, taunting him. Faint, but still lingering, as if he’d run past without Ronin’s knowledge. Ronin spun around the yard, searching every corner, every hiding place, his superior senses seeking the source of the scent. Where was the traitor? Was he here somewhere? Hiding out? If Mitchell was here, why? What did he want? Mitchell must know something Ronin didn’t if he’d come back to Aftermath. What was Mitchell up to? Ronin wasn’t about to be bested by anyone, especially a traitor. Mitchell had powers that could be useful to Ronin. But Ronin would need some kind of leverage to make Mitchell rejoin the army. To make him obey. He would need to find Mitchell’s weakness in order to make him pliable. Last time, it had been a woman. Was it possible the trader woman could be his new weakness?
Ronin’s neck wound had taken two entire days to heal. The trader bitch had sliced right through his carotid artery. He’d nearly bled to death before Lionel had found him. If he ever saw that woman again, he’d torture her long and slow, make her suffer, then kill her. And if she was Mitchell’s new weakness, he’d use her to keep Mitchell in line. It had worked before. Surely it would work again.
Ronin let his gaze scan the yard again. The goat pen, the chicken coop, the corral…Mitchell was here somewhere, or had been recently, but Ronin couldn’t see him. Why? Had he put up some kind of shield, blocking himself from view? What kind of powers did the traitor have? Ronin vowed he would find out. He would make Mitchell talk. Then he would use Mitchell’s powers to help him gain control of the mountain.
Where had Mitchell been the past week? Ronin hadn’t detected even the faintest scent until right now.
Then it hit him.
The dinosaur dig.
That had to be it. That had to be where Mitchell had been hiding out.
Ronin let out a snarl. He should have searched the place after he’d healed, but he’d believed Mitchell was long gone. There was nothing there but dinosaur bones.
Or was there?
Was there more in that crater than Ronin knew about?
It was time to find out.
“Lionel!” he shouted, turning toward the front of the building.
“Sir!” Lionel stepped away from the wall where he’d been leaning, talking with another one of the soldiers.
“Gather the men. Make sure they’re well-armed. We’re going hunting.”
* * *
Mitch couldn’t get Kate’s words out of his head. He’d been the first man she’d wanted to make love with before? She craved his touch, wanted to experience the physical with him, even though she’d only witnessed the violence of rape? Damn, and he’d nearly taken her up against the wall for her first time. That would have been unforgivable. When and if he made love to her, it sure as hell wouldn’t be against the fucking wall.
Mitch had been so distracted with thoughts about her that he’d nearly given himself away moments ago. Ronin had almost seen him. He’d looked right at Mitch as Mitch froze, concentrating hard to blend into the acacia thorn fence behind him. By some miracle, Ronin hadn’t seen him, though Mitch knew Ronin could sense him.
Now Ronin was gone, heading out with a group of soldiers to go hunting.
Good.
It would give Mitch a chance to search for Ethan without fear of Ronin finding him.
He stepped away from the fence and headed toward the building. It was late, so most of the residents were sleeping.
Mitch checked the inside of the building first, going from room to room, teleporting quickly so the soldiers who were stationed about wouldn’t see him.
Ethan was nowhere inside. Not the bedrooms, not the kitchen, not the dining/meeting area.
Next, Mitch checked around the outside of the building, checking the small outbuildings, the latrine, and the bath house. No Ethan.
Lastly, he checked the cellar.
Ethan was gone.
But so was Maddy.
Had Ronin sent her somewhere? Was she with Ethan?
Where had Ethan gone? Where would he go?
Then Mitch knew.
The drifters’ lair.
Holy shit, Ethan didn’t.
Mitch stiffened. Would Ethan go there? Would he risk that? If Maddy was with him, would he put her in harm’s way like that?
But if
not there, then where?
Ethan was there. He had to be.
Mitch hurried back to the crater.
If Ethan was indeed deep in the crater, hiding out in the drifters’ lair, then Mitch had underestimated him.
Ethan might not be what he once was. He might have become something terrifying.
He might be dangerous now.
He might harm Kate.
* * *
Kate heard the soldiers before she saw them. They charged into the crater with weapons drawn, Ronin in the lead. Kate gasped. She snatched up a lantern and stumbled back from the table, leaping for the closest tunnel, the one that led into forbidden territory: the drifters’ lair.
She didn’t have time to stop and think about the danger she might be putting herself in. She had no doubt Ronin would kill her if he caught her. She’d survived the drifter bites, so if the beasts attacked her again, she was certain she would survive. Mitch had said they were still feeding on the carcass, so she imagined it would be awhile before the drifters returned to their lair. If she could find a place to hide out until the soldiers left, and until Mitch returned, then maybe she could avoid running into the drifters.
It wasn’t until she was halfway down the first tunnel that she realized she’d forgotten to grab the bow and arrows. She had no weapon. No way to protect herself from whatever might be inside the crater.
The soldiers thundered after her, their footsteps pounding down the tunnel behind her. Her heart in her throat, she raced down one tunnel, then into another, and another. The deeper she went, the cooler the air became. Water dripped down the walls, dampness rising up to seep into her skin, soak into her clothes, fill her lungs. The dirt floors turned into mud. Her footsteps turned into slushy footfalls, the floor slippery and dangerous. Kate slowed her pace to keep from losing her balance in the mud. The tunnels led deeper into the earth, the stench of dirt and something else—something foreign and frightening—filling her nostrils as she fled. This place wasn’t human made. It was otherworldly. Scary. Kate’s heart raced, not so much from being pursued by the soldiers as from the knowledge she’d entered an unfamiliar place. A supernatural place that made chills creep down her spine and the hair on her arms stand on end.
Kate came to the end of the third tunnel, which opened into a larger area. The air was moist and cool here as well, the floor slippery with mud. Something moved in front of her, stepping out of the shadows. A pair of glowing greenish-blue eyes turned toward her.
She jerked to a halt, letting out a soft scream, and nearly dropped the lantern.
The “thing” moved closer and she shoved the lantern toward it, warning it back.
“Stay back!”
Water dripped down the wall behind the “thing”, a constant drip, drip, drip.
As the “thing” stepped closer, it took a moment for her frightened brain to comprehend that she was looking at a man, not a beast.
Tall, lanky, with sandy-blond hair, the man eyed her warily, his stance cautious, as if he was ready to bolt at any second. “Who are you?” he demanded. “What are you doing in here?”
Kate swallowed hard. What was a man doing in the drifters’ lair?
What if he’s not a man, but something else? What if he just looks like a man? What if he’s a drifter disguised as a man?
Stop scaring yourself, Kate. Breathe. Get a grip.
She stared at him, her heart pounding wildly, while he stared back. He didn’t appear dangerous, though his eyes were a little wild. Was he crazy? Had he gotten lost in here? Why else would he be in the drifters’ lair?
And then the truth registered.
Oh my God. Was this Ethan?
She stumbled back a step as he continued to advance on her, his gaze intent on her face.
“Ethan?” she squeaked.
He paused, his blue-green eyes narrowing on her. “How do you know who I am?”
Shouts came from the tunnel behind her as the soldiers came closer, barreling down the tunnel.
Ethan glanced behind her, then his gaze settled on her again. “What have you done? Why did you bring them here?”
Kate felt her eyes go wide. “Me? I didn’t do anything. Mitch was the one who brought me here. He said I would be safe. He’s looking for you.”
Ethan scowled. Then he seemed to come to a decision. He grabbed her arm. “This way. Hurry!”
Kate didn’t ask herself why she trusted this man. If he was Mitch’s friend, then he was trustworthy.
She ran after him, deeper into the crater, down winding tunnels and dark, creepy, mud and stone-filled paths. Her lungs heaved. Her heart pounded. Mugginess filled her lungs. The air grew thinner, the oxygen level lowering the deeper into the earth they traveled. Just when she thought she couldn’t run anymore, that her lungs and her heart were about to give up, he stopped.
Snatching the lantern from her, he set it aside. He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her into a cave-like hole that spiraled up out of the earth. “Climb! And don’t stop. Keep going until you reach the top.”
Kate did as he instructed, digging her fingers into the earth. She climbed. Up. Up. Up. Higher. Higher. How far into the earth were they? Up. Up. Up she climbed. The moisture dissipated the higher she climbed, the air drying out, the earth smells becoming more natural and less alien. Her nails broke, her fingers scraped on rocks and fossils in the earth. But she kept climbing. And climbing.
After what seemed like hours, but was probably only ten or fifteen minutes, she paused to catch her breath. She glanced back, expecting Ethan to be directly behind her.
But he wasn’t there.
He hadn’t followed her.
Keep climbing, Kate.
At last she reached the top and carefully looked out. The tunnel opened up into a small grove of acacia trees. Kate climbed out and glanced around. She wasn’t far from the main entrance to the crater. Should she risk heading back to Aftermath to search for Mitch? Should she stay here and wait for the soldiers to leave? What about Ethan? Had the soldiers found him down there? Had they captured him?
Indecision clawed at her.
A hyena laughed somewhere close by, sending terror spiraling back into her. Kate slipped back down into the hole, her heart racing. The hyena’s head appeared in the entrance, its nose sniffing around. Kate shuffled lower, away from the beast. And lower still, her hands clutching at chunks of earth to keep herself from falling all the way to the bottom.
Kate waited, her arms and legs aching from bracing herself against the narrow tunnel.
A sudden ruckus came from above. She glanced up.
The hyena was gone.
But something else was now sniffing around the hole to the tunnel.
Kate’s heart stopped.
A drifter shuffled into the tunnel, head first, its eyes glowing eerily in the darkness. Another drifter followed the first one. And a third one slipped in after that one. One after the other, the drifters jumped into the tunnel that led to their lair. Kate lost count after the fourth one.
Oh crap!
Her breath came in quick pants. She started to hyperventilate. She scrambled backward, trying to keep hold in the earthen walls, but the drifters were coming at her fast, eager to return to their lair, their yellow eyes glowing creepily in the darkness of the tunnel.
Her hands slipped on the dirt walls. Her feet lost hold.
She let out a terrified scream.
And then she was falling into the earth’s depths…
CHAPTER TWELVE
Mitch sensed the army’s presence even before he reached the crater. He approached cautiously, alert to the slightest scent, sound or movement.
Kate was in there somewhere. Was she okay? Had she gotten away?
Dammit, he shouldn’t have left her alone. If Ronin hurt her…
His stomach roiled.
He wouldn’t be able to bear it if Ronin killed someone else he cared about.
Just find her and get her out of there.
Ronin strode ou
t of the entrance to the crater just as Mitch reached it.
Shit. Mitch dove to the ground behind the equipment tent, imagined himself as part of the earth.
His camouflage shifted into place, blending him into the dirt.
Ronin strode right past him with a group of soldiers at his heels.
“We lost the woman,” Lionel informed, hurrying after Ronin. “She disappeared somewhere in those tunnels. There’re so many of them, we even got lost in there for a while.”
Ronin snorted. “Doesn’t matter now. I’ve got something much more important than her.” He held up what looked like a small stack of papers.
Mitch’s heart turned cold. He knew exactly what Ronin had found.
Ethan’s notes on the drifters.
The worst possible thing that could have happened, just had.
Now Ronin would know all the drifters’ secrets.
He would know almost everything he needed to know to be able to control the mountain.
Mitch remained perfectly still while the soldiers marched past him, heading back toward Aftermath. He leapt to his feet and raced into the crater.
Panic gripped him as he searched room after room, down tunnel after tunnel. Kate wasn’t there.
Dread settled in. Where was she?
Had she entered the drifters’ lair?
His heart stopped.
If she had, she was as good as dead.
Mitch had to find her.
Steeling himself for whatever he might find, he cautiously entered the tunnel that led to the drifters’ lair.
* * *
Kate woke to a pounding headache. She groaned, letting her gaze scan her surroundings. She was in a cave of some kind, the light from a lantern casting eerie shadows along the walls. Where was she? The crater?
She was lying on a small cot in a corner. Alone.
She sat up.
Her head spun as a memory snagged her, then broke loose.
She gasped, pain ricocheting through her skull.
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