Warrior Rising - By Pamela Palmer Page 0,69

knocked her out and raised the wall between us. By the time she comes to on her own - if she comes to - the gate will have closed and he'll be long gone. She won't be able to stop him." Harrison slammed his fists against the wall. "Ilaria!"

Findris turned to him. "You must reach her another way. You're connected to her."

"What do you mean?"

"I think you love her."

Harrison scowled. "That's none of your damn business."

"Call to her, human. Not with your voice, but with your mind."

"I'm mortal, Esri. No telepathic abilities, remember?"

Findris's expression hardened. "Do it anyway. If she's not too deep, she'll hear you."

Do it anyway. "Right." Hell. He didn't have anything to lose by trying. Ilaria? He spoke her name in his head. Ilaria! "It's not working."

"You give up too easily. Keep trying!"

Harrison glared at the man, but did as he commanded. Ilaria! Ilaria, wake up. Rith has the six stones of Orisis. You must wake up!

Harrison?

His heart nearly stopped beating, then resumed at twice its previous pace. Ilaria, wake up, angel. Rith has already gone through the gate. You have to stop him.

But the thought of her going after that bastard with only Findris at her side cut like a blade. With sudden clarity he knew he couldn't let her go without him. We have to stop him, Ilaria. I'm going with you.

No. Too dangerous.

Then wake up and stop me, Princess.

"Any luck?" Charlie's voice broke his concentration.

He turned to find the others had joined him. "She's hearing me, she's answered a couple of times, but she's not responding physically." Turning to Findris, he asked, "What do I do?"

"Keep trying." But the Esri's shoulders sagged.

"What?" Harrison demanded.

"Once the king and his guard are mounted, we'll never catch them. Even if she wakes now, we've lost."

Harrison's mind leaped. "What if we take horses, too?" He looked to Jack. "The D.C. cops have a stable."

Charlie held out his hand. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean we?"

Harrison's jaw hardened. "If I can get Ilaria conscious before the gate closes, I'm going with them."

His brother stared at him, his eyes narrowing. Harrison knew Charlie was going to tell him he was out of his mind.

"I'm going, too," he said instead.

Tarrys stepped forward. "As am I."

Charlie pulled her against him. "It's too dangerous with you still enslaved."

"With the draggon stone, Ilaria can break her enslavement," Findris told them.

Larsen put her hand on Jack's arm. "We can't all go. If we fail, there's no one to carry on the fight."

Jack covered her hand with his. "Larsen's right. We'll stay here. Kade? You're our prime Sitheen-finder, but if you need to go, I'll understand."

Kade shook his head. "As a true human, Autumn's far too vulnerable. I can't take her with me and I won't leave her behind. I'll fight the war on this side."

"Good." Jack grabbed his cell phone and pressed a couple of buttons. "How many horses do we need?"

"None." Findris shook his head, snowflakes falling from his hair. "The horses will do you no good. They'll never be able to keep up with the creatures that have evolved in our world. The royal herd can travel for days without rest."

On the plane from Iceland Charlie had told him how, long ago, the Esri had stolen horses from the human realm. While humans were never able to reproduce in Esria, the horses had. More or less. But the resulting animals were hairless and fanged, like something out of a horror film. Apparently they were different in more than just looks.

"How about a Range Rover?" Charlie asked. "A buddy of mine who lives less than three blocks from here drives one. If he's home, we can have it in ten minutes."

Harrison thought his brother was joking until he saw the gleam in Charlie's eyes. "You want to drive an SUV through the gate into Esria?"

"Do you have a better idea?"

Harrison turned to Findris. "What do you think? Would it work?"

Findris's mouth opened, then closed. "I don't know. Ilaria's power is untested, but she might indeed be able to get a vehicle through."

If she woke up in time. Ilaria!

Charlie grabbed his phone. "One Range Rover coming up."

Ilaria, I need you. King Rith has the stones, angel. We have to stop him.

She wasn't responding at all.

Ilaria. Harrison stared at her, fighting to reach her again through his mind. Behind him, Jack, Charlie and Findris continued the discussion.

"You'll need a ramp to get over the lip of the fountain," Jack said. "And gas. There won't be