she realized it was because nothing was alive here. It was all soil and rock. There was some energy because of the surrounding area that had plant life, but directly beneath her…she might as well be in a barren desert.
She was able to draw enough to give herself a tiny boost of strength. He must have realized what she was doing, but it was too late. His eyes widened just as she broke his hold on her arm and brought her dagger to his throat. A couple of quick slashes ended him, and she pushed his corpse off her. She grimaced at the warm blood she could feel sliding down her face. She swiped at it with her sleeve, wiping it off as best as she could, then turned to see how Finn was faring.
He slammed his vamp up against the wall of the mine with enough force to split his skull. He let the vampire fall to the ground and looked around, his gaze a little wild. When he saw her, his eyes widened and he hurried over to her. “Keira,” he said, his hands coming up to cup her face. “You’re bleeding.”
“It’s not mine,” she whispered. He didn’t seem to hear her, and now his gaze was fixed on her throat where she imagined the imprint of the vamp’s hand still showed. She rested her palm on his lean cheek and said, “Finn, I’m all right.”
He looked into her eyes and some of the worry left him at her words. “Good,” he muttered. “That’s good.”
She dropped her hand and took a step back. She cleared her throat. “What do you say we go take care of that machine?”
Finn ran his tongue over his lips. “Why don’t you hang back and let me take care of that? You’ve done enough.”
She sighed. On one level she understood his need to protect those he saw as weaker than himself; he wasn’t one to exploit weakness unless it was in the enemy. On the other hand, it rankled that he wanted her to stay behind like a good woman should. “You know what? You have more machismo in your little finger than any other man I know.” She propped her hands on her hips and scowled at him.
“You sure it’s not this finger?” he asked, flicking up his middle finger.
That made her laugh. “Come on,” she said with a shake of her head. “We still have work to do.” His face, as he realized she wasn’t going to stay behind like a good little woman should, would have been comical if the circumstances were different.
As they approached the sliding wall, she sobered. With her hand on the rock mechanism that operated the wall, she looked at Finn. “You ready?”
“Wait a sec.” He searched around until he found a sizable rock. He hefted it in one hand and nodded. “Let’s do this.”
She opened the wall. As it began to close behind them, Finn set the rock on the ground in the opening, making sure it blocked the doorway from completely closing. Then they made their way into the large chamber of the mine where the machine was housed.
Liuz stood beside the machine, twisting dials and fiddling with the array. Several other prets were there as well, each engrossed in their duties. One was bent over a laptop, another stood next to the antenna array, and two others prowled on the other side of the machine, no doubt guarding it from intruders who might find another way into the mine.
She caught the thumbs up that Finn gave her. He stayed to the shadows and moved soundlessly around the wide shaft, heading toward the man on the laptop.
Keira drew in a deep breath and started walking in Stefan’s direction. He wasn’t yet aware of her presence. Pulling a cell phone–size device out of the front pocket of his slacks, he twisted a dial and started talking in the standard language of the other dimension. She heard the tinny response from the person on the other end, assuring Stefan that all was ready on that side of the rift.
Good God, this really was happening. Her heart stuttered and her palms began to perspire. They had to stop this madman!
Stefan lifted his head, nostrils flaring, and looked at her. Confusion, irritation, and then growing anger flitted over his face. “What are you doing here? You weren’t invited.” Concern flicked through his eyes. “You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine, Stefan. It’s not my blood.” Having replenished her energy from her time