Blue Abyss: Timewalker Chronicles, Book 3 (The Timewalker Chronicles) (29 page)

Too late now. He finally understood exactly what his mother’s dark gift would cost him, what it had cost his twin, Ryu. He’d lost himself to the darkness, and it would happen again. As long as he fought the Triscani, it was inevitable. Which meant there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d risk Mari being with him when that happened. Assuming she survived the current nightmare, which didn’t look good at the moment.

Raiden took a few deep breathes and gently helped Mari back into her dive suit, straightened his and lifted her into his arms. He walked out of the room, once a sanctuary and now a reminder of horror. When he reached the point of descent, he reluctantly laid her down so he could hook the air tank with one hand and slip the BCD vest on as quickly possible. He shoved the regulator in his mouth and made sure the air was flowing. Ready now, he lifted Mari once more and stepped down onto the ladder that would take him back through the access tunnel, pulling her along behind him with soft touches, afraid to hurt her. Causing her more pain than he already had would drive him past the brink. He pulled Mari into the water and swam straight toward the exit. The collapsed tunnel appeared before him, slowing him down. He pushed his vest through first, wiggled through backward and then pulled her along after him. Her small frame slipped through the blockade quickly, the tiny light of his flashlight all he had to guide them.

Just how had she known her way around his ship? The fact that she’d headed straight to his private quarters was another enigma. He wished he could ask, but there was no one home to speak to, no worry in the milky-white gaze. For a short time, her gaze had darted over her shoulder as he lifted her. More than once, she’d curled toward his embrace, as if she still recognized his touch.

No more. Now she ignored him, her legs no longer moved at all, she didn’t give the smallest effort to propel herself forward. She bumped into the walls and floated wherever the current took her. He held on to her with one hand and grasped the seams of his ship with the other, pulling her body forward hand over hand with his fingertips.

He knew this ship like the back of his hand. He didn’t need light to find his way out. And he didn’t want her flopping around hurting herself. He tucked the light into his dive suit, pressed Mari to his chest with one arm and felt his way along the corridor with the other. Swim past three doorways on his left. Turn. Two more doors. Pass by an open workstation.

At last he reached the open portal. Light filtered through and his chest relaxed. He would get them out of here alive, back to her friends.

It was a shock to him that Mari had healed him. He’d never even heard rumors of what had just happened. The Immortals on Itara guarded their lies and their secrets with equal fervor. Perhaps one of them would know how this was possible, but they’d most likely kill him for asking.

Grateful for his strength, he pulled Mari into the entryway beside him, tucked her smaller body close and peeked out into the open water. A sea of turquoise stretched to the surface clear and bright. A boat floated above with a long anchor line attached to a heavy anchor that rested a short distance in front of him.

Boom!

Raiden turned in time to see a massive great white shark hit the side of his ship then move on. The giant female, who was easily three times his height, was big enough to bite him in half and barely notice.

All around him they swam in circles. At least twenty sharks circled them, several nearly as large as their leader, who swam straight at him now in a silent and deadly glide.

Were they here to protect her, or kill him for getting her hurt? Would Mari’s connection to them be lost with her consciousness? Was his blood attracting them? If so, he couldn’t bring her out without inciting a feeding frenzy. He hadn’t come this far to turn her into a shark snack.

He glanced up toward the boat again. Maybe they could help. He reached for Tim in his mind.
I need help getting her to the surface. There are too many sharks.

Sarah, answered.
They’re Mari’s friends. Trust in that. Just hurry up
.

Chapter Eleven

Mari’s friends? Allies perhaps, but friends? And would their protection extend to him with her not just unconscious, but dying in his arms? The question hovered in his mind as the largest female swam straight at him. Was she watching him? He fought the urge to hide Mari behind his back when the largest female swam back around for another pass. The shark slipped by within a few inches of his hands.

When he didn’t move she went by. She turned for another pass, the large black eyes and razor-sharp grin on her face unsettling.

The woman was actually friends. With sharks.

The enormous shark swam directly to him again. This time he reached out to run his palm along the giant’s side, hungry for aide, for communication, for help of any kind.

As soon as their bodies touched the shark bombarded him, attempting to communicate with images. The first was an impression of Mari, from a shark’s point of view. To this female shark, Mari was a shimmering mass of soothing energy, a living extension of the great Earth Mother’s core.

Friends? Hardly. To this giant predator, Mari was something sacred, revered. A sacred female she would kill to protect.

Raiden held Mari to his chest and agreed with the beast wholeheartedly. The shark gently nudged her with its nose. Mari was unconscious and could not respond. The giant female was distressed by Mari’s condition and swam in a tight circle around them.

He hoped Sarah was right, and he would not be devoured by the sharks on his way to the surface. He didn’t have much choice. Raiden wrapped his arm around her waist and kicked for the anchor rope.

He reached the rope and wrapped his hand around it.
Tim, pull us up!
Had he been wholly human, he would’ve worried about the rapid ascent. He’d suffered far worse than a few nitrogen bubbles in his blood, or a burst lung in the past. One goal drove him…get Mari to the surface.

As for his little water-breathing female, he’d have to hope her body’s abilities in water would take care of itself.

They surfaced an arm’s length from a shiny silver ladder. Raiden headed for it, pulling Mari along this wake. A tattooed arm reached over his head to grab Mari from his arms. Reluctantly, he let her go but could not resist trailing his fingers over the dark locks of her hair. With her head out of the water, she choked and sputtered as blood-drenched water flowed down the side of her abnormally gray face. No human’s flesh should be that color.

“Mari!” She was hauled from the water and onto a low swim platform. Raiden lifted his face and took a deep breath, eager to taste fresh air and to assess the damage to her in full daylight.

No such luck. Tim had already pulled her onto the boat and out of sight. Hanging on to the water craft, Raiden struggled to lift the heavy tank and vest onto the craft. He didn’t want to drop it and leave evidence others might use to track his ship.

“Let me help.” Tim leaned over him, looking like a bald warlord from Raiden’s home world. Fierce green eyes, grim expression, and arm extended in friendship. Even from this vantage point Raiden was reminded that the Timewalker’s human mate was strong. Would he be strong enough to protect Mari if Raiden were gone?

Tim glanced up nervously, scanning the skies and scowling at what looked to be a fierce lightning storm. Thunder boomed over them and lightning crackled through the clouds. Strangely, the water around them remained calm and untouched. Raiden grasped Tim’s forearm and was hauled out of the water to sit on the platform. A couple quick yanks and Raiden was on his feet inside the safety of the boat.

“Thank you.”

“No problem. Now what the hell happened down there?”

“The damn sharks pulled her down to the ship too far ahead of me. And she didn’t wait.”

Tim grunted. “Sounds like someone else I know.”

“I’m listening, you know,” Sarah shouted from the front of the small craft.

“Yeah, we know.” Tim stepped back. “What else? What happened to her?”

Raiden put his hands on his knees, gulping air as he studied her unmoving form. The sight gave him chills and he longed to pull the stubborn woman into his arms and never let her go again. A fool’s dream.

“Tim!” Sarah yelled a warning.

“I feel them!” Tim jumped to the driver’s seat. “Get your ass in the boat, brother. We’re about to have company. Time to get the hell out of here before my wife stirs up more storm than she can handle.”

“I heard that, too.” Sarah stood at the front of the boat with her arms and face raised to the sky. Her hair crackled around her head in a halo of power, like the gods of legend.

Tim started the engine and Raiden pulled the short length of rope and its attached anchor out of the water.

“Anchor?” Tim yelled over his shoulder.

Raiden moved to the main area and knelt beside Mari where she lay on the bench seat. “Got it.”

Tim shoved the throttle forward and Raiden settled on the floor. He pulled Mari into his lap, concern eating at him. She was breathing, but that was all. She remained unconscious, and cold, and gray as fresh concrete.

Tim nodded and yelled at his wife, “Hold on to something, Sarah!” The engine roared and they took off, the boat jumping waves as they raced over open water. A giant helicopter approached in the distance, attempting to follow them.

“Sarah?”

“Got it.” Lightning hit the rear of the craft and it lurched to the side before righting itself.

“Try not to kill the good guys, sunshine.”

“Trust me.” Sarah smiled. “I just fried their radar and communication system.”

“That’s my girl.” Tim chuckled and Raiden fought to make sense of what was going on around him. He’d suspected these humans were more, but just how powerful were the Timewalkers and their mates? No wonder the Immortal Queen wanted them all to herself. They were powerful enough to be a threat, even to the Itarans.

Tim yelled over the wind, “Here comes another one.”

The hair on Raiden’s arms rose as the electrical charge built all around them, but nothing happened. Soon, a second military helicopter was close enough that Raiden could hear the rotating blades beating the air above them.

“Now would be a good time,” Tim yelled.

Sarah shook her head but didn’t respond.

“God, I hate it when she does that,” Tim grumbled, resigned, focused on steering. The speedboat raced over the waves, bouncing Raiden several inches off the bottom of the boat with each cresting wave. He pulled Mari completely onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her, shielding her cold, frail weight. He absorbed each jolt into his own body as much as he could.

The helicopter moved closer, close enough to see the faces of the men on board, and Tim cursed under his breath. Worried now, Raiden glanced at Sarah. The halo of energy surrounded her entire body and she floated effortlessly an inch or two above boat’s floor. She looked young and innocent, a beautiful, freckle-faced goddess. “Exactly what is she doing?”

“Playing with fire.”

Raiden growled in frustration. That was not an acceptable answer. He didn’t like anything about the situation but he wouldn’t tolerate them risking Mari’s life with unnecessary delays. “Sarah, fry the bastards and let’s go. Mari’s in trouble here!”

“Watch it, alien boy. She’s pulling about as much juice as she can handle alone. Don’t push her unless you want to dump your precious cargo on the floor and drive.” Tim warned him off as lightning sizzled overhead and struck the helicopter’s windshield. The explosion of shattering glass was loud enough to be heard over the churning rotors. The helicopter pulled back and lost pursuit behind them as it made an emergency landing on the water. Raiden watched several humans leap into the water, the specks growing smaller and smaller as their boat sped away.

Sarah floated down to stand on her own two feet and lowered her arms but did not open her eyes. Lightning continued to crackle above them, but the flashes were no longer continuous or as strong.

“Sarah?” Tim studied his wife, his shoulders at ease, but concern in his voice.

“It’s okay. Katie-bug was on the first chopper. She’ll take care of it from here.”

Tim cursed a mean streak but Sarah seemed unfazed. “What the hell is she doing out here?”

Sarah finally opened her eyes, but it wasn’t to look at her husband. Her face remained turned toward the horizon, back the way they’d come. “They’re looking for something in the caves.”

Tim nodded. “Probably searching for the Triscani cave that Mari destroyed.”

“They won’t find it.” Sarah’s eyes twinkled with a background of tiny sparks when she lifted her gaze to Raiden’s. She abandoned her storm and knelt beside Mari. “What happened to her down there? Oh my God. Why is she gray?” She checked Mari’s pulse. Frowned. Sarah looked up over her shoulder into her husband’s emotionless face. “Maybe it was too soon for her to go into the water again after what happened last time?”

“Maybe.” Tim scowled. “But that wouldn’t explain the blood.”

Sarah sighed. “Maybe the salt imbalance is making her cells explode or something.”

Raiden shook his head. “No. I should have died down there. I was practically dead…and Mari brought me back.”