The Serpent in the Stone (The Gifted Series) (8 page)

She sat up straight and matched his deadpan look.

“
—I
’
m leaving.
”

Dismay warred with relief.
“
What?
”

“
I
’
m leaving,
”
he added.
“
Changing my post.
I
’
m going to Mainland first thing tomorrow.
”

She stood up.
“
Why?
”
she asked before she could stop herself.

He shifted and skimmed her tent with a look before bringing his attention back to her, as if he had to make himself do so.
“
You
’
ve got things you don
’
t want to tell me.
Things I don
’
t want to know, and probably shouldn
’
t.
”

She opened her mouth to reply, but couldn
’
t.
The words hovered on the tip of her tongue.
Do you know what I am?

He crossed the tent to stand in front of her, looking caught between reluctance and determination.
“
I
’
m sorry for last night.
For the kiss.
”

Her heart began thumping faster.
“
Oh.
”
I don
’
t think I am,
she wanted to say.
Even now, she had to work to keep from moving toward him.

He shouldered the knapsack again.
“
Anyway, I
’
ve got a favor to ask you.
Will you show me where those seals are before I go?
I want something from here to take back with me, for the college.
”
When she didn
’
t respond, he added,
“
Is now a bad time?
”

“
No one
’
s going to be up for another half hour, at least.
I can take you.
”

By the time they reached the rocky northwestern shore, the sun had just begun its ascent, painting the sky in stained-glass hues.
They walked down to the beach.
Safe topics,
she thought.
Stick to the animals.
“
I
’
m not sure any will be here,
”
she said.
“
I only saw the one yesterday.
”

“
There
’
s probably more.
They tend to have favorite spots where the fishing
’
s good.
”

That piqued her interest.
“
Will there be pups?
”

“
Not likely, this time of year.
”

“
I minored in zoology in college.
Never studied seals,
”
she said.

Why was she sharing anything about herself with him?
He didn
’
t care.
She didn
’
t want him to know.
He was leaving, and she should thank God for it.
She pointed to a large cluster of rocks jutting from the surf offshore.
“
That
’
s it.
”

Ian crouched low and pressed a hand to her shoulder, urging her down beside him.
The touch resounded through her body.
She knelt, watching him, but his gaze had fixed on the rocks while he listened.

“
I hear them,
”
he murmured.
He crept away, beckoning her with a silent wave.

They moved stealthily around the edge of the beach, until at last the seals came into view.
Five of them lazed about on the rocks, barking in irritation when one tried to usurp the best spot from another.
“
I didn
’
t realize they were so big,
”
she said.
“
That one in front is
huge
.
”

He leaned toward her to whisper,
“
That
’
s a bull.
These are gray seals.
The bulls can reach about five hundred pounds.
”
He set his knapsack down, then pulled out a camera.

She watched him take several photos, one-handed, with a long lens.
He set the camera down to pull out a small leather journal.
Balancing it on his knee, he made neat, quick notes.
He worked with the same efficiency and self-confidence she felt when studying a new artifact.
Recognizing a professional in his comfort zone, she couldn
’
t help smiling.

He caught her looking and frowned.
“
What?
”

She sobered at once.
“
Nothing.
”
Being around him was beginning to unravel her.
She almost wished last night had never happened.

No.
She
did
wish last night had never happened.
Did.
Firmly.

Almost
, she thought, looking at his mouth.

He put his journal and camera back in the knapsack.
“
I think I
’
m all set here.
Thanks for showing me where they were.
We can stand up now.
”
He rose to his feet, then shouldered the pack and began to move back the way they had come.

She stood and dusted off her pants.
Her heartbeat stumbled.
How much did he know?
She couldn
’
t stand it anymore.
She took a long, full breath.
“
Ian?
”

He stopped, but didn
’
t turn.
“
Don
’
t.
Please?
Just don
’
t.
”

The pain in those few syllables pulled at her.
What is it?
she wanted to ask, but she bit her lip and followed him back to the camp without another word.

When they reached her tent again, she hesitated outside.
“
So...tomorrow morning?
”

“
Yeah.
”

“
Do you need help getting any of your stuff together?
”

“
No.
I have a guy coming from Unst.
”

She stared at his boots for a second.
“
Well, why don
’
t we make you dinner tonight?
That way, you can pack your mess kit.
”

He stiffened, but his gaze remained cool and unaffected, light years from that look last night. “Sure.”

“Okay. See you then.”

He nodded and turned to leave. She watched him go with a knot in her throat, wondering why she wasn’t happier.

When he had left, she ducked into her tent. Her research waited at her camp table. She sighed and sat down, but her body yearned to get back up and rush out of the tent after him.

How could he leave now, after a kiss like that? Kisses like that didn’t exist.

She seized the first book and flung it open, thrusting her thoughts as far from him as possible. Words swam on the page, impossible to shepherd into sense. What did he know? What would he say? Who would he tell?

She managed after a while, and only due to years of practice, to shut off her internal chatter and get to work. After a morning of fruitless searching for information about the amulet, she joined the rest of the crew at the dig. The work engrossed her so fully that she barely noticed the shadows lengthening across the ground. By then, she couldn’t stand herself. “If I don’t get a real bath before dinner, I’m going to go out of my mind,” she grumbled to her sister. “A camp shower just isn’t going to cut it today.”

“
I feel like I ought to soak in bleach, or I
’
ll never get this grime out,
”
agreed Faith.

Sara glanced around the site.
Dustin and Thomas were still working.
She moved close to her sister
’
s ear.
“
When I went exploring yesterday morning, I ran across an inlet on the western side of the island.
I
’
m going to go for a swim.
I
’
ll show you where it is.
”

“
I
’
ll settle for the camp shower tonight, but that might come in handy tomorrow.
Be back by dinner.
Is Ian still coming?
”

She tried to sound casual.
“
As far as I know.
”

“
Sara.
”
Faith gave her an unnerving
Don
’
t-bullshit-me
look.

“
I
’
m fine.
I told you, he
’
s leaving anyway.
I
’
ll see you in a bit.
”
She headed to her tent.

She gathered a towel and change of clothes, then set off toward the inlet.
By the time she reached it, there were only a couple of hours left before dusk.
Time enough for a quick bath.

Setting her change of clothes on the high rocks near the water
’
s edge, she stripped naked, leaving only the necklaces hanging around her neck.
The breeze was balmy on her skin; thank God it had warmed up over the course of the day.

Looking at gold-washed ripples, she debated shapeshifting into a seal or some other seagoing creature.
The water at this time of year would still be chilly, and a human body wasn
’
t insulated for cold ocean swimming.
She didn
’
t know much about seals, except what she
’
d learned that morning from Ian.
What little she knew wouldn
’
t be enough to sustain a shapeshift for more than a few seconds.
Shark Markham, indeed.
She scanned the water again.
“
It
’
s either this, or the camp shower.
”

That decided matters.
She went down to the water.
Gravel gave way to fine granite that shifted under her stride, sandpapery and pleasant on the soles of her feet.
The cold as she splashed into the inlet drove the air from her lungs.
How much insulation did those seals, have, exactly?
She hunched down into the water.

After a while, her body seemed to adapt, and the water felt warmer than she
’
d first thought.
She swam a couple of laps, then dove under the waves.
Grabbing a handful of granite sand from the bottom of the inlet, she scrubbed it over her skin until it glowed.
The cool water glided along her skin as she swam, a welcome change from the heat and sweat of her workday.
Not only that, but it had begun to wash away all the
other
things on her mind.
Letting herself relax for the first time since finding the amulet, she stretched out to meet the sensual wash of current flowing over her body.

She came up in the middle of the inlet and swept her hair back.
The distant calls of seabirds mingled with the lessening shush of waves against rock.
The tide had begun calming for the night.
She supposed she
’
d better rinse out her grubby clothing as well, before the sunset caught her still out in the water.

When she looked back toward shore, she felt a chill that had nothing to do with temperature.

Her clothes and towel had been moved.

She remembered leaving them on the first rock, a rounded boulder sitting where the shoreline dropped away.
They now sat on the ground beside the rock in a jumbled heap.
Sara ducked lower into the water, scanning the beach.
“
Faith?
”