Groaning in disappointment, Tessa closed her eyes. She lifted a hand, pawing ineffectively at her left temple. "G.o.d, it's throbbing. Feels like I've turned my insides out."

"Just be still," Kenneth urged. "You have to rest."

But Jake had wandered away from Tessa, staring straight at the doorway. He pointed. "You did it."

All eyes turned toward the circular arch.

Kenneth gasped, struck by the vision, dazzled by the sheer force Tessa had unleashed. The crystalline sh.e.l.l had vanished, replaced by a rippling blue veil of a mist-like substance.

A chill of dread and foreboding raced down his spine.

"I'll be d.a.m.ned," he murmured.

Hearing his words, Tessa forced herself to stand. Unsteady on her feet, she staggered toward the swirling ma.s.s. "It's open." Panting through her mouth, she spread her arms wide as if to embrace the glowing mora.s.s of light writhing in its center. At the same moment her legs gave out under her weight, causing her to sink to her knees.

Kenneth rushed forward to catch her. But before he could wrap his arms around her and pull her back to safety, something incredible happened.

As though commanded by her gesture, the force swirling in the heart of the blue veil reached out. White- hot light flared, filling the chamber with a blinding glow.

Throwing up his arms, Kenneth shielded his face from the glare. He felt raw energy spreading through him, heating and intensifying until he was sure his flesh would be scorched to the bone.

The glare slowly faded.

Kenneth lowered his arms. He blinked, searching the empty s.p.a.ce. Tessa had vanished.

Just. Like. That.

Kenneth froze. "What the f.u.c.k?" He threw a panicked look toward Jake. "What the h.e.l.l did that thing do?"

Face pale, Jake said tremblingly, "I don't know what just happened. It took her. It just took her."

Gritting his teeth, Kenneth focused his full attention on the strange vortex. The sole source of light in the chamber, it continued to cast an ominous glow.

That thing had Tessa.

He wanted her back.

Rage and frustration boiled. "There's only one way to find out where she went," he growled.

There was no time to hesitate. No time to think.

Just do it.

Raw determination spurred him forward. He forced his body into motion, heading straight into the center of the glowing light.

Chapter 15.

Gripped by the powerful force, Tessa felt warm. Content. Safe.

But it was only a matter of moments before she found herself rudely thrust outward. The radiant illumination abruptly winked out, taking with it its pure warm rays.

She barely had time to register the abrupt change before she caught a glimpse of a hard white surface below.

Tessa fought to break the eerie paralysis that held her. As one accustomed to performing tricky maneuvers in water, she instinctively twisted her body midair to more easily absorb the impact of the fall. Thrusting out her arms, she fell to the floor with a thud and rolled.

She ended up on her back, legs splayed wide.

For a moment she lay still, panting. Relieved she could breathe, she did a quick mental check. She had a bruise on her backside, but she'd manage to escape breaking a bone.

What the h.e.l.l happened?

Making a grab for her bearings, she stared out into unfamiliar surroundings. A few minutes ago she'd been in the undersea temple, staring at some sort of energy ma.s.s. And then it had grabbed her, hauling her . . . where?

Still a little shaky, Tessa climbed to her feet. At the moment she couldn't begin to guess what had happened. In the blink of an eye she'd been forcibly sucked into a whole different world. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out the thing they'd opened wasn't a tomb, but something else. Something totally bizarre. And out of this world.

At the moment she had no idea where she was, but she had a gut- level feeling that she was about to find out . . .

Looking around, Tessa realized that she appeared to be standing on a high platform at the rear of a huge stone sanctuary that looked like it had been lifted straight out of a photograph of ancient Greece. Instead of ruins, though, the Parthenon- like structure was perfectly intact.

And occupied.

She wasn't alone.

Her gaze skimmed across a crowd of figures. She couldn't count the number, but she figured out by the startled look on the faces around her that she'd caught them by surprise. It took her a moment to realize why she could see everything so well.

She was standing high above the crowd. From such an advantageous point she saw the occupants of the temple were women. Women who shared strange, eerily unsettling similarities. Tall and pale skinned, they were all blond and blue-eyed. There wasn't an ugly or imperfect face among them.

The women were even dressed alike, most of them clad in a style that might have been lifted straight out of some futuristic science-fiction flick: formfitting leather jumpsuits. Not the usual cowhide, either. They wore the exotic stuff, like eel and stingray. Decked out in a variety of colors and patterns, their outfits were studded with jewels and other precious metals like gold and silver.

Tessa's stomach twisted into tight knots of fear and disbelief. Holy s.h.i.t. While she couldn't exactly be sure, the women looked strangely familiar.

Mers, she suddenly thought. Great galloping G.o.ddess. Living, breathing, weapon-toting Mers. She could barely believe her eyes.

And then the next thought occurred to her. Had they stumbled on Ishaldi?

The more she thought about it, the more she realized it was the likeliest explanation. She wasn't sure how, but she had a feeling she'd find out soon.

The women were armed. Heavily. In addition to the familiar Ri'kah worn by those standing on the periphery of the main group, she recognized a variety of weapons that would have been the latest technology had you lived a couple of thousand years ago. Daggers were sheathed in hilts, and spears were at the ready. She even thought she glimpsed a sword or two.

They were ready to rock. Seriously.

A cold chill rolled over Tessa's skin. If things turned nasty, she didn't have a single thing to defend herself with. She'd expended serious energy, leaving almost nothing for herself. Right now she doubted she had enough brainpower to flick at a fly. If things turned ugly, there was no doubt these Mer could stomp her into the ground before she even had a chance to lift a hand.

Oh, man. This can't be good.

Though they had obviously taken note of her presence, no one said a single word. The temple was absolutely silent. All eyes were fixed on her.

Several minutes pa.s.sed, uninterrupted by any movement whatsoever. Just as she was sizing them up, the Mer were also sizing her up. They didn't show any fear. Merely curiosity.

One of the Mer at the foot of the altar finally broke away from the rest of the crowd. Hand positioned on the hilt of her dagger, she cautiously stalked up the wide stone steps. Reaching the top, she stopped a few feet away from Tessa. Her vivid blue gaze burned with curiosity.

Tessa cast a quick glance over her shoulder, checking out all avenues of escape. The eerie vortex swirled behind her like a giant, gaping maw. That thing had brought her here. Easing back a careful step, she hoped it would be just as good for getting the h.e.l.l out.

No time to find out.

Kenneth burst through the gate's center, tumbling and skidding across the cold marble floor. Jake followed next, rolling head over heels in a most undignified manner. He landed smack on his face, a soft "oomph" sliding from his lips.

He pushed himself up on his knees. "What the h.e.l.l happened?"

Jake rolled over on his back, then slowly forced himself into a sitting position. He panted. "I feel as if I'm going to vomit."

Tessa quickly hushed them both. "Be quiet, you idiots. I think we just stumbled onto a bunch of Mers."

Both men looked past her, mouths agape. One look at the tall, leather- clad, bada.s.s-looking chick with a knife in one hand and a sword strapped across her back shut them both up.

"Just let me do the talking," she warned, hoping she could find a way to communicate with them.

The tall Mer planted her hands on her hips. She c.o.c.ked her head as though expecting an answer.

Tessa quickly extended her arms to show she held no weapons. "I come in peace." She winced as the words came out of her mouth. How lame. But she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I don't think they speak English," Jake hissed from behind. "Don't you know any Mer?"

That made sense.

She gave it a try, speaking a little bit of the language she'd learned from her mother. The words felt strange rolling off her tongue. "Where am I?" A simple enough question.

They seemed to make some sense to the Mer who'd confronted them. A flicker of faint recognition flitted through her cornflower blue gaze. "Do you not know?" she asked.

Relief flooded through Tessa. The Mer's accent was strange, but perfectly understandable. Though not completely fluent in the lingua franca of the Mer, she was sure she'd learned enough to hold simple conversations.

As to the question of where she might be . . .

To show their shared connection, Tessa touched the stone hanging around her neck. "I am a Mer," she said, attempting to put confidence behind her words, "and I have come in search of my people."

Gaze immediately lighting with recognition, the strange Mer stepped closer. The soul-stone at the base of her neck started to glow, sending out a soft pulse of light. "The prayers of so many voices have at last been answered," she said. "I offer my most humble grat.i.tude that you have freed your people from their cruel bondage, G.o.ddess."

G.o.ddess? Good grief, did this woman honestly believe she was some sort of all-powerful deity?

"You honor me with such a welcome," she said. "I am pleased."

The woman pressed her hands together and offered a brief nod. "I am Doma Chiara. You have my welcome to the Temple of Thiraisa."

Tessa searched her mind for the meaning. The closest she could come up with was that Doma was an indication of rank. The woman was a priestess. A dagger-wielding, sword-swinging priestess. There had to be an oxymoron in there somewhere. To keep the goodwill flowing, Tessa copied the gesture. "My name is Tessa Lonike, but I am no G.o.ddess. I'm only a Mer who seeks the truth of her people's origins."

The woman's eyes widened. "Then the world outside the sea-gate still exists?"

Sea-gate? That was a new one.

Not exactly sure of the logistics between Earth and Ishaldi, Tessa ventured a guess. "If you speak of the world above the water, yes, it's still there."

A peevish voice interrupted their conversation. "What the f.u.c.k is going on?" Jake demanded from behind. "This d.a.m.n hard floor is ruining my knees."

Tessa shot him a quick frown. "Forget your pants for a minute!" she snapped. "We aren't in Kansas anymore, Toto."

Jake snorted. "You think I haven't figured that out?" He hated being pushed aside and ignored.

"Shut up, man!" Kenneth broke in, eyeing the forbidding horde of Mer and the weapons they carried. "If you don't mind, I'd like to get the h.e.l.l out of here in one piece."

Tessa cut her hand through the air with a kill- it motion. "Both of you be quiet," she snapped, ordering them to silence.

She scrambled to make sense of the entire scene. Right now she had a lot of pieces, but none of them fit together. It was going to take some work to a.s.semble the entire picture. She wished it was as simple as sitting down over a pitcher of strawberry margaritas and dishing.

Unfortunately, she doubted her greeter, rigidly adhering to proper etiquette, would welcome such informality.

The priestess pointed to Kenneth and Jake, seemingly impressed. "I see your pets are well trained. You had them silent immediately. They seem to obey your commands well."

Tessa's brows rose with surprise. "My pets?" She looked toward Kenneth and Jake. "You mean these humans?"

"Humans, yes. That is what they were once called, though we have not used that term since the ancient age." Lips curling with disgust, Doma Chiara spat toward Kenneth. "They are useless creatures."

Tessa felt a slow sinking in the pit of her stomach. Oh, s.h.i.t. Had the sea-gate been sealed because of a conflict between humans and Mer?

A war would definitely explain the lack of Mer in the ocean's waters at this time. After Ishaldi was taken down, any Mer remaining in the human world would probably have scattered, attempting to find a safe refuge wherever they could. Hunted, perhaps relentlessly, their numbers would have quickly thinned.

The gruesome picture of men slaughtering Mer the way they still ma.s.sacred other defenseless sea life flashed through her mind.

Tessa attempted to will away the terrible images. "You speak as if you despise them."

Chiara frowned, nodding solemnly. "The inferiors have always caused problems." Her hand again moved to the weapon sheathed at her hip. "But we have done our best to control them."

Tessa's brows rose in surprise. "Inferiors?"

Chiara indicated the rear of the temple. "The huslas, our human slaves." She pointed out people hovering on the periphery of the Mer crowd. She sighed as though exhausted. "It has taken much time, but we have tamed their savage natures."

Tessa looked. Her brows rose in surprise. She hadn't even noticed them before. They were kept separate from the rest of the group by guards, who kept them in place with snapping whips.

Unlike the Mer, who were clad in elaborate leather outfits, the people wore almost nothing at all. Men were clad in little more than loincloths. Women wore loincloths and cloths binding their b.r.e.a.s.t.s. All wore shackles around their necks, wrists, and ankles. They were chained and kept like dogs.

These people, she guessed, were descendants of the people left behind in Ishaldi when the threshold between the two worlds closed.