There was no time to talk about anything else.

Brison appeared a few minutes later. He made a motion with his hand. "Magaera has posted only half a dozen of her guards. If we move quickly, we can take them."

Cyntheris considered his report. "That is reasonable," she allowed. "Magaera believes she still has you imprisoned, so she has no reason to expend her soldiers' efforts. Soon enough, though, that ruse will end with the changing of the guard."

Tessa's heart accelerated. "Then I guess this is it. We're going in."

Wiggling through the narrow gap, she vowed not to let fear distract her.

Staying focused was absolutely essential.

Chapter 20.

Crouched behind a pillar in one of the purification chambers, Tessa felt defeated. So many of them had died already.

Though they had initially overcome the guards posted at the sea-gate, one of them was able to escape and alert Queen Magaera's defense forces. In moments, they easily outnumbered the rebels. Kallixeina and Kleio had already sacrificed their lives in the initial push to take the sea-gate. Their bodies lay near the bodies of their husbands.

Tightening her grip on the dagger she held, Tessa swallowed painfully. She'd managed to kill one Mer, but she wasn't sure she could do it again.

Death. It was a smell she would remember all her life.

Which might be shorter than she thought. Magaera's soldiers had them boxed in like rats in a trap. Attempting to retake the sea-gate had been the errand of fools.

Not that they'd had a choice.

A desperate whisper came her way. "Holding steady, Tessa?"

Tessa shot a glance toward Kenneth. Sword clutched in his hand, he looked pale but determined. They'd managed to hold off the first attack, but Magaera's soldiers had regrouped.

They were coming back, stronger than ever.

"Not so steady," she called. "But I'll do my best." Antic.i.p.ation sent her heart into a faster rhythm.

He ducked as a stray energy bolt from a Ri'kah smashed into the stone above his head. Sharp pieces of debris rained down on her. "Now would be a good time to try that teleport thing."

Swallowing hard, Tessa quickly shook her head. "I wish, but the stones of the temple have been negatively charged. No Mer can draw off them-to them it's a sacred s.p.a.ce."

"But not one I want to die in."

A sudden movement behind Kenneth caught her attention. A blast coming out of nowhere took down a portion of the wall shielding them. Stone turned to rubble as a half dozen heavily armed Mer poured through the newly made opening. Catching sight of the enemy, several of the women lifted their weapons.

"Tessa, look out!" Kenneth warned.

Paralyzed by the sight, Tessa barely felt her dagger slip from her numb fingers. For ten, maybe twenty seconds, she couldn't move.

One of the Mer tackled her. The two hit the ground, rolling.

Gaining the superior position, the Mer slammed a knee between Tessa's shoulder blades, stealing her breath. She fought the woman viciously, thrashing like a wild horse attempting to buck out from under its rider.

The vicious Mer refused to be shaken. She dug her fingernails deeply into Tessa's brow, wrenching up her head. The cold blade of a dagger slipped beneath her neck.

Tessa clenched her eyes shut. s.h.i.t. She was about to die.

"Do not kill her," she heard a voice say. "This is the one Magaera wants alive."

The weight on her back lifted.

Two more Mer soldiers stepped up. Grabbing her arms, they hauled her to her feet. She struggled, but her captors held her in an iron grip. Three more Mer moved in, cutting her off from the rest of her comrades.

Kenneth swung into immediate action. By the look on his face, he was ready to take it all the way. Catching the closest Mer with a tackle, he slammed his opponent into a nearby wall.

Kicking and twisting against his weight, the Mer screamed with rage. "Die, inferior!" she snarled. The blade she carried flashed in an upward arc, slashing a long slice in his arm.

Weapon skittering from his grip, Kenneth hissed in pain. "s.h.i.t!" Catching the woman's wrist, he twisted hard. The bone beneath his grip snapped like a stick. "Sure do hate doing that to a lady." He panted. "But you ain't no lady."

Dropping her dagger, the wounded Mer howled in agony.

Catching sight of another attacker, Kenneth caught the strap of the first woman's belt. Digging his fingers in deep, he slung the Mer around in front of him. At the same moment, her comrade thrust the spear intended for Kenneth. The serrated point impaled the Mer all the way through, back to front.

With a sharp sound of surprise, the first Mer sank to her knees.

Kenneth immediately spun toward the third female soldier, swinging his bare fist in a roundhouse blow. His hand made contact. Hit with a full- force blast, she dropped like a stone.

He whirled on the women who'd captured Tessa. He narrowed his eyes, and a half smile came to his lips. For him the fight was just beginning and he intended to keep on kicking a.s.s.

One of the women surrounding Tessa stepped forward. She drew her finger across her throat in a crude gesture of execution. "Stay back," she warned. "Or I will kill her myself."

Kenneth came to a dead halt. He immediately raised his hands to show he wasn't armed. "I'm staying," he said. "No fast moves."

More Mer soldiers came through the destroyed wall. Half the great temple was in a rubble, but it didn't matter. In less than an hour, the rebels had fallen.

Swarmed from all directions, Kenneth cursed as a couple of Mer came to avenge their slain sisters. They retaliated without mercy, driving him to his knees. Scant minutes later his body bore the deep cuts and bruises-wounds not deadly enough to kill but sufficiently vicious nevertheless.

"Deliver the death blow," one soldier urged.

Another shook her head. "We are commanded to take the outsiders alive."

Struggling to escape her a.s.sailants, Tessa kicked and screamed like a madwoman. "Stop it, you b.i.t.c.hes! Leave him alone."

One of the Mer gave her a hard slap. "Hold your tongue, animal! He gets no less than he deserves."

Tessa blinked, recognition flooding her mind. Chiara, her mind filled in. But the woman who had greeted her and hailed her as a G.o.ddess was not the same. Outfitted in a tight leather jumpsuit and boots, she'd shaved her long blond hair. Only a Mohawklike strip remained. On one side of her scalp was a small tattoo, a symbol Tessa recognized to mean death.

Magaera's warriors were prepared to follow the bidding of their queen. To fight and to conquer was their sole purpose. They wouldn't stop, not even when faced with death.

Such was the true nature of the Mer.

"Are you so blind that you can't see what your queen is doing to Ishaldi?" Tessa demanded.

The priestess laughed. "The chance to be immortal, to be a true G.o.ddess, is worth the price. Your world has the resources we need to make it so."

Tessa's heart sank. Nothing stood between the Mer and the human world. Nothing at all. "I wish I had never opened it."

Chiara frowned. "Unfortunately, you didn't. The sea-gate still blocks us."

Shoved by rough hands, Tessa and Kenneth were hustled to the undamaged portion of the ma.s.sive temple. The wide stone stairs leading up to the sea-gate were perfectly intact, as was the altar. Several of the rebel Mer and their human mates huddled at the base of the stairs. Faces pale, their eyes were rimmed with fatigue and defeat.

Tessa recognized Atheia, Cyntheris, and several others among the group. At least a few had survived. Though probably not for much longer. No doubt they'd all face the executioner.

And that was definitely something she didn't want to contemplate.

Hands on her hips, Queen Magaera stood at the top of the altar. Arta Raisa stood on one side. Jake stood on the other.

Seeing him, Tessa frowned. b.a.s.t.a.r.d. It wasn't fair that he'd walk out of this disaster unscathed.

Chiara prodded her in the back. "Walk."

Barely giving them a chance to lift a foot, the Mer soldiers practically dragged them both up the stairs. They couldn't seem to deliver the prisoners fast enough.

Queen Magaera's gaze raked her captives. "There you are, you silly little b.i.t.c.h." She arched a brow. "Did you honestly think you were going to get away?"

Reckless bravado surged through Tessa's veins. "Gave it my best shot."

Ignoring her, Magaera turned to Jake. "I wonder if she knows how painful her flippancy is about to become."

"Go ahead and get it over with," Tessa said defiantly.

The queen chuckled. "Oh, you shall not be the one to be sacrificed. Not yet, anyway." She snapped her fingers and pointed toward the huddled prisoners at the foot of the altar. "Bring Cyntheris. It is fitting a traitor should be first."

Doma Chiara and another Mer guard wrestled Cyntheris to the top. Swaying a little, Cyntheris moved with concentrated effort, as if sheer force of will could help her overcome her body's weakness. Bleeding from several wounds, she was unsteady on her feet.

Magaera pointed at the sea-gate. Its entire center blazed, roiling like a star gone nova. "Send her through."

"My death is not the end," Cyntheris cried out before she vanished into the swirl of energy. Her screams of terror echoed on even after she'd vanished.

No one moved. Or dared to breathe.

A heap vaguely resembling a person came spilling back. The skin on the corpse was leathery, sucked down to the bone. Cyntheris's body had been completely drained of every last mineral.

Too shocked to think clearly, Tessa gasped, horrified. Her mouth dropped open and it was all she could do not to scream. She pressed a hand to her mouth. "By the G.o.ddess," she breathed.

Kenneth's eyes were equally wide with shock. "What the h.e.l.l just happened?"

Jake ambled over, prodding the corpse with an expensive leather loafer. "That's just the problem," he said. "We don't know yet. Every time we send someone through the gate, it spits them out. Right now we're just testing a few theories."

Tessa smiled sweetly. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Jake bared his teeth right back. "Actually, sweetheart, I was saving that honor for your boyfriend. He came through the gate unscathed, so I'm thinking it might be safe to send him back." His smiled widened. "Or not."

Icy fingers wrapped around Tessa's heart. Her breath caught in her lungs. She shook her head. "No."

Jake ignored her. "How about it, partner? Are you feeling lucky today?" He pointed to the gate as if a side-show barker. "There's a fifty percent chance you'll get through."

Kenneth shrugged. "Why not? I seem to be into investing in losing ventures. I took a chance on a f.u.c.ker like you, and look what it got me."

Jake tsked. "Oh, come on. It'll be the biggest adventure of your insignificant life." He arched a cruel brow.

Face livid with pain and rage, Kenneth stared through simmering, narrow eyes. "You're welcome to have the honor."

The archaeologist laughed. "No dice. That's why they put the monkeys in s.p.a.ce first. The theory had to be tested with big dumb animals."

The eyes of the two men locked, each a.s.sessing the other, both refusing to back down from the path each had to pursue.

The Mer guards pushed Kenneth toward the sea-gate.

Maddened by the thought of losing him, Tessa struggled to break free from her captors. "I'll go."

Queen Magaera smirked. "That is the idea, my dear. Although I can't be sure, I believe I know exactly why we cannot get through the sea-gate."

"But it's all speculation at this point," Jake added. "You were first through the sea-gate. We're thinking you might be the answer to getting back to our side. It's a long shot, but it's all we've got at this point."

"And if it kills me?" Tessa shot back.

Jake shrugged. "Tough s.h.i.t, babe. Better to be alive on this side, than fried to a crisp trying to go home."

Tessa bared her teeth in a fierce scowl. "Your sentiment truly touches my heart, a.s.shole."

Thrust toward the sea-gate, Tessa stumbled. She landed on her knees, barely a foot away from the roiling ma.s.s separating Ishaldi from the human world.

Shivering from head to toe, she looked into the center of the ma.s.s. That thing's going to eat me alive.

Struggling to master her fear, Tessa slowly climbed to her feet. She stepped toward the gate, held out her hand.

"Tessa, don't!" she heard Kenneth call.

She refused to look back. I love you, she thought, and pa.s.sed through the threshold with a single determined step.

A rush of energy came at her from all sides, s.n.a.t.c.hing her off her feet. The electric tension grew, a ma.s.s of flame and heat detonating all around her.

Shaking, burning, Tessa felt as if she were about to shrivel up into ashes and blow away. She tried to scream, but the sound was locked in her frozen throat . . .