Tessa licked dry lips as uncertainty seeped through her veins, sharp and painful as shards of gla.s.s. For a wild moment she doubted her ability. Everything she'd learned in the last few months seemed to drizzle away, leaving her brain a useless pile of mush. "I don't know. I can try."

Jake nodded. "Then do."

Tessa waved her arms, moving the men back. "Give me some s.p.a.ce."

Both moved toward a far wall.

Satisfied she had enough room, Tessa pressed her hands together in front of her. She'd easily mastered kinetics and had successfully learned to move small stones and other objects from one place to another with the flick of a thought. It shouldn't make any difference whether the item was a foot away or several thousand miles away.

In her mind's eye, she plucked the choker from her jumble of memories. Remembering how it had looked to her eyes and felt under her curious fingers, she envisioned holding it in her hands.

Taking a deep breath, she reached into her mind and connected with the memory. This, she hoped, would allow her to grasp the physical item.

The crystal pendant hanging around her neck warmed. Gathering its energy, she pushed it outward, willing it toward the desired object. When she was sure she had a firm grasp, she reeled the energy back in.

A little spark of light exploded in front of her eyes. Her hands shot out, cupping together to form a cradle. Seconds later the desired object rested against her palms, still warm from its travel through kinetic s.p.a.ce.

A low whistle broke through her concentration.

"Jesus, that's amazing," Jake complimented.

Kenneth managed a nod. "I knew you could do it."

Tessa's heart gave a convulsive thump. No, he wasn't exactly thrilled by her unworldly ability. The unspoken rift between them widened a minute fraction. He was very aware he was all too human and she was not.

Shaking off his silent disapproval, Tessa gave a little bow. "Thank you very much," she said, holding the prize out toward him. "Would you hold this for me?"

Kenneth stepped forward and claimed the trinket. He cradled it carefully, as if she'd handed him the most fragile and rarest of objects.

She waved him back. "Now for the orb."

Tessa repeated the process, a little easier the second time around. More confident in her ability, she easily managed the incredible task. A minute later she held it balanced in her hands.

Jake clapped. "Excellent."

"You handled that like an old pro," Kenneth observed.

"Let's get to work," Jake said.

Tessa looked to Kenneth. "Would you help me put it on?"

"Sure." He claimed the piece. A clasp at the back allowed it to be opened, widened, and fitted around the neck.

Tessa lifted a hand, fingering the regal ornament. The fit was tight, uncomfortable. But she had to admit the choker was an impressive piece. Like fine diamonds, the stones had been sized, cut, and polished into a marquis shape before being embedded in a band of solid gold. Altogether there were five thin rows, giving it an overall height of about three inches.

She thought of the queen being chained and choked by the incredible responsibility that went along with wearing the piece.

She frowned. "d.a.m.n, I'd hate to wear this every day."

Kenneth noticed her discomfort. "Feel okay?"

Tessa swallowed, feeling the muscles in her throat contract in rebellion against the metal. "I'll be glad to take it off."

It's wrong, a voice whispered in the back of Kenneth's mind. We shouldn't be doing this.

But he said nothing. Despite his reservations, he had to support Tessa's decision to open the tomb. As she'd said earlier, she had the right to learn everything she could about her people.

Kenneth personally felt some things were best left undisturbed. Sometimes things were hidden for a reason. And once concealed, were meant to remain that way.

He glanced at Tessa. She looked pale, a little unsteady on her feet. "Are you sure you can breathe?"

Forcing a finger between her skin and the tight collar, Tessa tugged the choker. "This freaking thing feels like a choke chain," she gasped through a series of shallow pants. "I'll be glad to get it off."

"Don't forget the orb," Jake put in.

Tessa frowned at him. "I can handle this, thank you very much."

Jake sniffed and looked down his nose. "I'm just offering a few suggestions."

Kenneth couldn't suppress a wary look. Jake loved flaunting his knowledge. And he took his occupation as a know-it-all very seriously. "Maybe you should shut up and just let Tessa handle things."

Jake scoffed, but Kenneth had to say his piece. There was a fine line between the spirit of discovery and rushing in like fools. "I just don't like all this guessing, especially since you two are messing with something unknown. What if something goes wrong and the whole d.a.m.n place collapses around our heads?"

Jake stared right though him. "When you take on a job like this, you take on the risks that go with it. If you're going to keep whining like a baby, maybe Tessa can send you back to the ship."

In other words, Jake was calling him a p.u.s.s.y.

Ouch.

He made a snap decision. "I'm in."

Jake raised a brow. "All the way?" he asked, lacing his question with dry sarcasm.

Straightening his shoulders, he looked at Tessa. "To h.e.l.l and back."

She smiled. "That's the best thing I've heard all day."

Although he couldn't be sure, Kenneth thought she looked more than a little relieved by his reply. But then again, the idea of having Jake Ma.s.sey watching your back wasn't a very inspiring notion. Beneath the surface of his personal allure, the archaeologist had a devious streak a mile wide. It was best to keep loose change and sharp objects out of his reach.

"So what exactly are you going to do?" Kenneth asked.

Tessa eyed the arched doorway. "The seal looks like crystal aragonite. I think if I apply enough heat I can weaken its cellular structure, crack it open, so to speak."

Alarmed, Jake waved his hands. "Be careful," he warned. "We want as little damage as possible."

Positioning herself in the center of the chamber, Tessa looked at the imposing seal. "I'll do my best," she promised. Setting her feet apart, she extended her arms. The orb rested in the center of her upturned palms. "An instruction booklet would definitely help," she mumbled before closing her eyes.

Kenneth watched as the stones circling her neck began to flicker. Tessa wasn't only drawing their energy in, she was going to have to redirect it out, toward the globe.

Face twisted with intense concentration, Tessa opened her eyes.

The choker around her neck lit up, giving off a thousand-watt glow. At the same time, it emitted a beam of pure energy, striking the crystal orb in her hands. Lightning flickered within the sphere, flaming out from its heart and striking the hard crystalline shield. The red-hot beam sparked and flared against the stone before completely spluttering out.

Trembling from head to toe, a low groan pa.s.sed Tessa's lips. "d.a.m.n it," she slurred. Her knees buckled, threatening to take her down.

Kenneth rushed in, catching her before she hit the floor. Holding her around the waist, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Steady there."

Barely managing to keep her fingers wrapped around the fragile orb, Tessa pulled in long, desperate gulps of air. "By the G.o.ddess." She fought to catch her breath. "I wasn't expecting that."

His gaze shadowed with worry, Jake hovered. "What happened?"

Fighting to regain her equilibrium, Tessa slowly shook her head. "It's hard to explain, but when the beam hit the stone, the f.u.c.king thing turned on me. It started to suck the energy out of me." Jaw tightening, she shook her head. "I had to let it go or it would have sucked me dry."

Kenneth frowned. "That's enough, then. There's no reason to put yourself in any more danger."

Tessa twisted out of his grip like an unruly toddler, determined to have her way. "That f.u.c.ker didn't like me trying to open it."

Kenneth looked at her. He didn't need to be able to read her mind to know what she was thinking. "No. You don't need to try again."

Tessa looked up, meeting his gaze with a stubborn one of her own. "I'm going to try again."

"If it's going to drain you, I'm inclined to agree," Jake seconded. "Neither one of us can swim out of here if something happens to you."

Tessa brushed off their protests. "Nothing's going to happen. I think I know what I did wrong."

Kenneth folded his arms across his chest. "What?"

She made a vague gesture toward the crystal seal. "This thing was made to put up some heavy resistance," she started to explain. "It's not only locked, but double-bolted. Throw a little energy at it, and it's going to toss it right back in your face."

Jake nodded. "That would make sense."

Tessa looked around the chamber. "I need more energy, and I need it to come from a bigger source than the Herkimer diamonds I'm wearing." She eyed the softly luminous pillars. "There's the boost I need."

Kenneth compared the size of the pillars to the size of the woman standing in front of him. Those things were ma.s.sive, huge, and, by the looks of them, full of power.

He eyed Tessa, measuring her slender body. Though she was taller than the average female, her five-ten height didn't even begin to measure half the height of those pillars. Pulling energy from a larger source into a smaller one didn't make sense. Logic said she'd quickly overload her system and burn herself out.

He shook his head. "You're crazy." The words popped out before he'd even considered saying them.

Tessa took a deep breath, then pushed it out. "Maybe, but I've got to try." Cautiously, she resumed her original position in the center of the chamber. "Step back, nonbelievers."

Jake hurried out of the line of danger, scuttling to the farthest side of the chamber. He wasn't dumb. He wanted to be as far away as possible if anything went wrong, such as a ma.s.sive, rock-shattering explosion.

Kenneth shot his partner a disgusted look. You could always count on Jake to cover his a.s.s first.

He wasn't willing to take that caution. He'd told Tessa he'd support her through h.e.l.l and back, and by G.o.d, he was going to do just that. She won't do it alone.

Stepping up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her curvy frame. "I'll keep you on your feet."

Tessa relaxed against him. "You're a.s.suming I can concentrate with you pressing against me like that."

Kenneth tightened his grip. "You'll have to make the best of it because I'm not going anywhere."

Tessa extended the orb again. "Here goes nothing."

It took only seconds for the magical tension to deepen throughout the chamber.

Holding Tessa tight, Kenneth felt the fine hairs on his body stand to attention as she began to filter the energy out of the labradorite pillars. Her control was stronger this second time around, her aim clear and precise.

Like something you would see in a mad scientist's lab, thin spikes of lightning snaked out from the pillars, striking the choker around Tessa's neck. A tingle of exaltation pa.s.sed through him as the vibrant force throbbed between their bodies, leaving him miraculously unharmed.

Drawing the ma.s.sive charge inside her own body, Tessa redirected it toward the orb. Filmy strings of red-hot light flickered within the orb's heart, gathering strength with each pa.s.sing second.

A beam of pure white radiance leaped from the orb, striking the crystal webbing squarely in the center. Soaking in the radiance, the shield glowed with the brilliance of a sun going nova. Unleashing its potent energy, white whips of flame simultaneously spread out across the sh.e.l.l of stone, dissolving it like acid.

Kenneth felt the luminous energy through his eyes, vibrating the bones in his skull as if it would rip him to shreds.

Blood pounding at his temples, self-preservation kicked in.

This is going to pull us apart.

He had to get Tessa out of the line of danger.

Clenching his teeth, Kenneth bodily wrenched Tessa around, turning her away from the glowing beam of energy she'd unleashed. She sank to her knees as if forced by an intense pressure coming down on her shoulders. Her face twisted as the crystal orb slipped from her fingers. The sphere instantly struck the stone beneath their feet, shattering into a million tiny pieces. The shards crackled and snapped, then darkened into burned-out ashes.

The strange lightning filling the chamber flickered, then died. The pillars around them went dark, burnt out to the core.

The atmosphere around them was void, cold and empty.

Letting himself relax, Kenneth drew a tentative breath. The intense odor of burnt stone scorched his nostrils. Silence prevailed. Tessa lay like a deadweight in his arms. For a heart- stopping instant he was sure she was dead as he lowered her to the cold stone floor.

Kenneth shook her, limp and insensible in his arms. "Tessa?"

A low moan finally broke from her throat. She whimpered softly, making a clawing gesture toward her throat.

Jake hurried in from the shadows. "That was incredible."

Anger rising like a cobra, Kenneth shoved him away. "She better not be hurt. Or you'll be the one to pay."

Jake gestured helplessly. "I'm just trying to offer a hand."

"Stay the h.e.l.l away, Jake!"

Panicked, Kenneth looked at Tessa's pale face. Wrenching the choker off her neck, he tossed the hateful thing aside. Like the orb, the Herkimers were burned out, charred to a crisp. "Tessa, sweetie. Are you okay?"

Dazed and disoriented, Tessa struggled to sit up. "What happened?"

He cradled her cheek against his palm. "It all blew up," he said. "d.a.m.n near fried us all."