Darkness Arisen

chapter Nine



Alice's kiss was intoxicating.

Her lips felt like the softest silk of a new rose. She was a purity that Ian had never deserved, and yet, here she was, in his arms, her fingers tunneling through his hair, responding to his kiss as if she'd been waiting her entire life just for this moment.

Alice. He whispered her name into her mind as he deepened the kiss, sinking his hips against hers. Sweet Jesus, it felt unbelievable to have her body beneath his, to feel the softness of her flesh below him.

Ian. Her voice was breathless, the magnitude of her desire striking deep, igniting a fire within him so powerful he felt like it would doom him if he didn't let it come to life. Which, given the curse, was probably not far from the truth.

He ran his hands down her arms as he kissed her throat, her skin so soft and delicate. He brushed his lips across her collarbones and her chest, his mouth teasing over the low neckline of her tank top. His soul screamed for more, demanding he make her his, but he knew it wouldn't be enough to simply connect physically. He had to have more than that. He had to break through that metaphysical wall keeping them apart. "Tell me what you are, Alice." He flanked her waist with his hands, sliding his fingers beneath the hem of her tank so her stomach was bared to him.

She didn't answer his query. Instead, she groaned and arched her back, writhing beneath him. He could feel the intensity of her physical response, and he could also sense her awe and confusion. It was new for her, feeling like this, and an unfamiliar sense of ownership and propriety swelled within him. He was the first man to awaken this side of Alice, and that was how it should be.

He bent his head and swirled his tongue in her belly button, teasing her, taunting her, stoking in her the very fires she was fighting so hard to suppress. "Are you a fallen angel, Alice?" he asked again.

"No," she gasped, her fingers digging into his hair. "I'm an angel of life."

"You mentioned that earlier. But you can't save anyone. It doesn't fit." He kissed his way across her belly, holding her twisting hips still, stealing from her the freedom to move, and trying to break through the barriers keeping them apart. He assaulted her defenses on all levels: sexually, telepathically, and emotionally.

"Ian, I can't tell you—"

"You can." He trailed his tongue over her ribs, working his way up her belly. "No more walls, Alice. Tell me the secrets you can't share." He slipped the built-in bra over her breasts, and she gasped as the elastic brushed over her taut nipples.

Raw desire began to build inside him at the sight of her full breasts, at the way she was responding to him. But her body wasn't enough. He needed all of her. He needed her spirit to accept and welcome him. Having her this close, but not completely accessible, was brutal. Frustrated, he pinned her arms on the pillow and kissed her breast.

The moment his mouth closed around her nipple, Alice shuddered, her whole body twisting beneath him. "How can you be affecting me like this?"

"Because I'm hot as hell, and you know it," he said as he lightly bit the puckered tip of her nipple, satisfaction pulsing through him as she yelped in response. "And because your soul craves me," he added, even as the mere voicing of those words made the curse pulse within him, taunting him that he was wrong. That the woman he was made for didn't need him the same way. That she would walk away. Reject him. Cut him down.

The voice seemed to swell in his mind, ruthlessly hammering away at him, stripping away at his foundation. Isolation. Loss. Rejection.

Swearing, Ian slammed his mouth down over hers, trying to fight off the voice of the curse with her kiss. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, and she responded instantly, matching him with each stroke, a dance of seduction and desire so intense it seared his very soul. More, Alice. I need more.

Alice was shocked by the sudden crush of emotions from Ian. It was as if he'd dropped all his shields and was flooding her with who he was. His despair and desperation were almost overwhelming, as was his need for her. Her heart ached for him, and she wanted to help him, to ease his pain. What can I do, Ian?

Stop fighting me. Just let me in.

Alice closed her eyes, tears brimming as Ian consumed her with desperate kisses. She wrapped her arms around his neck, clinging to him, trying to hold him tighter. Never had she felt so close to anyone. Never had she felt so alive. She wanted more. She wanted to see how far it could go. She wanted to reach out for this man who was calling to her so urgently.

Her mind and heart screamed for him, and she kissed him deeper, trying frantically to somehow open the connection between them, to somehow overturn the barriers keeping her isolated.

I can feel your need. Ian pulled back and tore her shirt over her head.

Alice's heart pounded as he sat up, his gaze sweeping possessively over her body. Her breasts tingled, her nipples taut in anticipation. Without a word, he pulled his own shirt off, revealing that same chiseled body she'd seen in the water.

Her breath caught at the sheer magnificence of who he was. The breadth of his shoulders and arms, the indomitable strength of his chest, the hardness of his toned stomach. He was all male, pure, raw male, and his need for her blazed in his eyes.

Desire pooled in her lower abdomen, and anticipation roared through her as he came down toward her, his hands braced on either side of her head. He said nothing. He gave her no chance to turn him down. He just kissed her, a kiss designed for the sole purpose of stripping her defenses and claiming her to the very marrow of her bones.

Longing swelled within her, and she kissed him back just as fiercely. She braced her hands on his chest, and electricity leapt between them. He groaned and lowered himself on top of her so that her bare breasts were against his chest. So much skin. An electrifying connection. Unreal. Unbelievable. Incredible. And yet not enough.

She shifted restlessly beneath him, craving more, trying to kiss him deeply enough to ease the ache in her body.

Ian broke the kiss and trailed his way down her body. Hot, wet kisses on her breasts, tantalizing nibbles on her nipples, and daring bold swipes of his tongue on her belly... lower... and lower...

With a growl of possession, Ian grabbed the waistband of her shorts and tore them off her in a single quick move. Anticipation poured through her, and her body began to tremble as he grabbed her hips and pulled her toward him.

He locked his arms around her thighs and braced them apart. You are going to burn for me, Alice.

God, I hope so. She gasped as he kissed the inside of her left thigh. Then the right. Then the left again, all the while working his way closer and closer to her core. His hands were tight around her thighs, holding them apart while his thumbs circled at the edges of her labia, teasing, touching, tantalizing, so close, so very close. Desire seemed to flood her senses as he neared her most sensitive spot, and the anticipation seemed too much to take. Kiss me, Ian!

Demand more from me. He kissed the inside of her thigh, right next to where his thumbs were still working seductive circles. I want you to need me so badly that you can't take it anymore. His tongue darted out, striking her folds with a tease that made her cry out. That's what I want. Burn for me, Alice. Let yourself crave me until I consume every thought in your mind, every breath you take. He kissed her again, and this time he didn't stop. He tugged at her folds with his teeth, drove her to the edge of ecstasy with his tongue, and teased her to uncontrollable frenzy with his kisses.

Alice was stunned by what Ian was igniting within her. The sensations he was creating were incredible. Like waves of hot lava flowing through her body. They seemed to inflame her very soul, and she wanted more, so much more. Ian—

Let me in, sweetheart. It can be so much more. His fingers slipped inside her, and she gasped at the invasion that felt so right. They were supposed to be together. They were supposed to be connected.

She wanted to feel this all the way to her spirit. Damn the rules! She wanted to be free! She didn't want to play by these stupid rules anymore! How? How do I let you in?

Soften your shields. He kissed her again, and she writhed under him, desperate for more. Stop protecting yourself.

Tears burned in Alice's eyes at his words. I have to protect myself.

Why? He broke the kiss and moved back up to frame her face with his hands. His eyes were no longer the glittering stones of a warrior, or the tormented pits of the cursed. They were a deep rich brown of such beauty and warmth she felt her soul cry for him. Why do you need to protect yourself?

She laid her hands on his cheeks, feeling the roughness of his whiskers. Because my mother was murdered, and it was supposed to be me. The words were out before they could be stopped, and she held her breath, waiting for the repercussions, for the punishment, for the payback.

But it was only Ian, still watching her, still holding her. Tell me what happened, love.

And with that kindness, the story she'd held inside for so long came tumbling out in a desperate rush to cleanse her spirit before the barriers could rise again and lock her away from him. "I was six years old and I was living in an angel enclave with my mom and hundreds of other angels. That's where I was trained in all the rules and protocols of being an angel of life. The leaders were extremely strict, and they pretty much terrified all the little girls into never breaking the rules."

Ian narrowed his eyes. "I thought angels were supposed to be loving and nurturing."

She laughed softly, but it was with years of suppressed pain. "It was for our own good. Mistakes are too costly if you're an angel."

He grunted, but she could see the disapproval in his eyes. "Kids should be uplifted into their powers, not cowed into fear of them. That's how great warriors are made. With arrogance, bravery, and attitude, not fear. Fear is the enemy."

Alice shook her head. "Fear is sometimes the only thing we can hear when our heart is trying to get us to make a bad choice."

Ian leaned closer. "Sweetheart, your heart and your instincts are always right. Fear is the thing that sends you in the wrong direction. F*ck fear."

Alice stared at him, her heart starting to race at his intensity. A life without fear? Really? The thought was terrifying, but at the same time, it sounded exhilarating. And dangerous. "Do you want to hear the story or not?" She had to stop thinking such dangerous thoughts. Fear was what kept her safe and breathing air instead of seawater.

He gestured with his hand to keep going. "Yeah, continue. Sorry."

She nodded. "Catherine was there, and she was a little older than I was. We met when I was four and became best friends."

Ian's eyebrows shot up, but he didn't interrupt.

"One day Catherine and I went out to play in a nearby stream. While we were gone, the camp was attacked by demon specters, which are like the shadows of the demons that come for me when I die. We heard the screams and hid, just like my mom had always told us to do. We were in that cave for days. It was four nights before the screams stopped." It had been so cold in that cave. So damp. So terrifying. She remembered curling herself into a tiny ball behind a rock, the two of them trying to make themselves so small that no one would be able to see them from the entrance. "We waited two more days after the screaming stopped. We were so weak from hunger, we had to crawl out."

Ian began to stroke her hair, and she closed her eyes, focusing on his comforting touch.

"We could smell the blood from a mile away, but we didn't know what the scent was. Just this awful, acrid smell that burned our noses." She tried to rub the grit off her hands, remembering what it had felt like to crawl that mile back to camp. "Our hands and knees were bloody by the time we got there. When we got to the hill above the camp, we saw angels strewn everywhere, their bodies caked in blood. Around each one was a circle burned into the ground, and inside the circle was a pentagram."

"The devil's symbol? In an angel enclave?"

"It's not just the devil's symbol," she said. "It's the symbol of eternal life. If they harvest life from an angel of life, then demons can harness that magic and use it to try to break the barriers between our world and theirs. They can use it to give themselves real life." She looked at Ian. "They tortured every single angel looking for me, and not one of them told them where I was. When we got back, the only one still alive was my mother." She swallowed, remembering that frantic run across the scored earth when she saw her mother's body. "My mother was an earth angel, and they'd put her on a slab of cement to keep her off the ground. When I reached her..." Alice stopped, trying to steel herself against the agony of that moment. "She told me to get some earth and pack it in the wound above her heart. That was all she needed to live."

She couldn't say anymore. She couldn't relive it again.

"You couldn't do it?" Ian brushed his finger over her cheek, and she realized he was touching tears she hadn't noticed.

"No. All I could do was watch her die. I just sat there next to her, crying hysterically while her soul moved on. When she realized that I couldn't help her... God, the disappointment in her eyes was horrible. She turned her head away from me and died without looking at me again. Catherine couldn't save her because she's...well...she just couldn't do it either. But I am the one who is supposed to be able to do it, and I'm the one they were looking for. It was my fault she was attacked, and my fault she died."

"Shit, Alice." Ian kissed her lightly. "It's not your fault."

"It is," she said. "I'm an angel of life, and I couldn't save my own mother. What kind of angel am I?" She looked at him. "Do you know I've never been able to save anything in my life? Not even a bug. If they are dying around me, I can't help them. Not even if it's as simple as handing someone an EpiPen for an allergic reaction. I can't do anything." She pressed her hand to her forehead, trying not to let the memories overwhelm her. She didn't know how she was telling him, why this time, for the first time in her life, she could talk about these things, but it felt desperately good to be able to share it. To admit her failures to a man who she knew wouldn't judge her.

And he didn't. He simply kissed her nose and rested his forehead against hers, in an intimate, private gesture between two people who have no secrets from each other.

For a long moment, neither of them said anything. Ian gently rubbed her shoulders, his heavy weight comforting on top of her. "How does this relate to the fact you can't connect with me?"

Her arm began to itch, and she absently rubbed it. "As an angel of life, I'm bound by rules that don't apply to other angels. Our gift of being able to restore life is too powerful and too dangerous. If we get emotionally invested in someone, it can obscure our judgment and make us choose to interfere when we shouldn't. We can't save lives just because it suits us. We have to be driven by the greater good, by forces bigger than us."

He lifted his head. "The greater good?"

She smiled faintly. "I guess that sounds like your mission, doesn't it?" The itch on her arm became more intense, and she scratched it restlessly. "If you love someone, you will do anything to save them, so we can't love. We can't connect. We can't share secrets. No bonding. It's against the rules, but in addition, we literally can't do it."

Ian studied her. "But you just did it. You shared with me."

She nodded and took a deep breath. "I know. I've never been able to do that before." She managed a shy smile. "It felt good."

He grinned. "Aye, it did. Must be because my allure is so compelling that you can't hold yourself back from me anymore."

She smiled at his silliness. "Yes, that must be it. Your animal magnetism."

He shrugged. "I'm a raging inferno of manliness. Things like this happen from time to time."

"Well, it feels good. Really good. But why am I even constrained by these stupid rules?" Her arm was burning now, and she dug her fingernails into it, trying to get relief. "I can't save anyone anyway, so what would it matter if I fell in love with the world? I couldn't save them even if I wanted to— Argh!" She shook out her arm. "I think I got a bug bite or something—"

Ian's eyes narrowed. "Your arm hurts?"

"Yes—"

He grabbed her wrist and placed his hand on her skin. A look of raw possession filled his face. "It's hot. Feel it?" He splayed her palm over her forearm, and she felt the intense heat emanating from her skin.

"What is it?" She propped herself up on her elbows, looking at it. "There's no mark—"

"Not on the surface, no." But there was an edge of excitement to Ian's voice. "But it's beneath the surface, trying to form." He raised her arm to his mouth and pressed his lips against the burning flesh. It didn't cool it. It just made it hotter and more uncomfortable. "One of the stages of the bond is trust," he said. "It has two parts—you trusting me, and me trusting you. When you told me the story of your past and your inability to save your mother, you shared your darkest secret with me. It satisfied your half of the trust stage. We've done two and a half stages so far. Halfway there."

She caught her breath. "Telling a secret satisfies the trust stage?"

"Yes. It can be that, or giving the other one the power to kill you and trusting them not to actually do it." He grinned. "We're bonding, Alice. The mark is there, beneath your skin, and it's trying to get out."

Alice rubbed the mark. "That would be a bad thing, Ian."

"Why?" He was suddenly looming over her, frustration etched on his face. "Tell me why it's so damn wrong for us to bond."

"You mean, other than the deadly sheva destiny?" Because even assuming that all the angel stuff could be worked out, that was still a major problem.

"Yeah. Why else? Because I'm not buying that you're thinking about that right now."

She met his gaze. "Because angels who break the rules are stripped of their powers and thrust into exile. If I go far enough astray, I will become the Mageaan." She held up her hand, showing him the tiny gray mark on her palm that she'd noticed. "I've already started to fall."

* * *

I've already started to fall.

Alice's words reverberated in Ian's mind as he sat on the edge of the cot the next morning. Alice was still sleeping, but he had his weapons out. He was ready for Jada to come for them.

After Alice's revelation that his need to connect with her might drive her into the hell beneath the ocean, he'd shut it down for the night between them. There was no way he could take responsibility for turning her into a Mageaan. He'd just have to man-up and allow her to keep her angel secrets.

But shit, her story about her childhood still bothered him. There was no doubt Alice had learned her lessons well. The fear of making a wrong step dogged her constantly, and he didn't like that. Fear was hell. What angels taught fear? After his bout with the Mageaan and hearing the story of training she'd gotten as a kid, Ian was beginning to suspect that angels were like any other beings: some of them were good, quality people, and some of them were bad seeds whose influence was like the rot of poison infecting the world.

He thought of Ryland's obsession with angels, and wondered what he would think of the truth that not all angels were perfect.

Ian twirled his mace restlessly, wanting Jada to show up and get this thing going. Sitting on a bed beside Alice wasn't good for either of them, which is why he'd dragged himself out of the bed when he'd made the inconceivable decision not to make love to her.

Once he'd removed himself from temptation, Alice had slept hard, but restlessly, calling out repeatedly for someone to save her mother, her cries desperate and agonized, until he felt his own heart ache for her pain. He'd hit the floor and gone into his healing sleep long enough to chase away the worst of the damage. Afterward, he'd spent the rest of the night alternating between comforting her in her sleep and preparing for the morning.

He also hadn't missed her comment about how she had met Catherine when they were at the encampment. She'd said they'd become good friends, which was different than how she would have described a sister. Alice had been so caught in the story that she hadn't noticed her slip, but he had. Catherine was not her sister, despite Alice's claims. It made him rethink all that had happened between them. What exactly was her deal?

The day he'd first met Alice, when she'd fallen off the cliff and Elijah had struck her down, she'd been carrying a wallet with Catherine Taylor's driver's license in it. The picture had been tattered, making it difficult to get a clear read on the visual, so he'd assumed the license he'd found belonged to the woman who'd been carrying it: Catherine Taylor.

Yet last time he'd met her, before she died, she'd told him that Catherine was her sister, and her name was Alice Shaw.

Last night, she'd revealed that Catherine was not her sister, but a friend who had witnessed carnage with her.

Too many tangled threads intersecting. Too many secrets she was trying to keep track of.

Ian studied the woman sleeping beside him. After the unsettled night, her face was finally relaxed in sleep, and there were no lines of stress or tension. Her auburn hair was spread over the pillow like an autumn halo around her head. Her lips were soft pink perfection, the skin on her throat delicate and tempting. In this moment, she looked every bit an angel. Was it really possible that she could end up as a Mageaan?

After a moment, Ian sheathed one of his maces into his arm, and he spread his palm over her heart, pushing aside the tank top so he could feel her skin beneath his. Her heart beat in a steady rhythm, and he closed his eyes, opening his mind to her. Asleep, her defenses were lowered, and he was able to easily slip past her barriers into her mind. It was a cascade of brilliant, vibrant colors. High-pitched, warm energy flowed through him, the spirit of a warrior with a pure soul.

He saw no poison, no taint. Just a woman filled with fear, passion, guilt, and intense determination. There was nothing to explain why she couldn't fulfill her duty as an angel of life. No sign of the walls that she claimed bound her against her will. There was nothing foreign inside her. Simply her spirit, along with the deep-seated protections that were hers alone. Deep, deep fear that was almost paralyzing in its intensity. But her spirit wasn't the unfettered simplicity of an angel. There was so much more to her: a complexity and depth that he suspected an angel wasn't supposed to have. What are you really, Alice? What secrets are you hiding, even from yourself?

Her luminous green eyes fastened onto his. "Are you invading my privacy?"

"Yep." He didn't remove his hand from her chest, tracking the rhythm of her heart as it began to speed up. From his nearness? He suspected it was, and he was glad to know she wasn't immune to him.

She frowned at his admission, and he expected her to get angry. But to his surprise, she smiled. "It feels nice to have you in my mind."

He grinned and leaned forward to kiss her. She kissed him back, and desire flared hot and powerful almost instantly. With a curse, he broke the kiss and stood up, pacing to the other side of the room. "I can't believe I didn't finish ravishing you last night."

"I know." She sat up, swinging her legs over the edge of the bed. Her shorts had ridden up, revealing a long expanse of leg that made his groin tighten. "I thought we were going to."

"Yeah." He watched her as she stretched, her tank top riding up to reveal the same flat belly he'd been kissing last night. Shit. He needed to get his mind off sex and fast, or they'd be caught in flagrante delicto when Jada showed up to announce their fate. "Catherine Taylor isn't really your sister, is she?"

Alice sucked in her breath, her face turning white. "What?"

His heart softened at the look of shock on her face. His woman was as open and real as it was possible to be. She might be lying, but she was becoming utterly transparent to him. "Tell me, Alice," he said, keeping his voice conversational. "Do you really want to rescue her, or are you going after her for another reason?" He was willing to make himself respect her angel rules if that meant helping her avoid a life as a Mageaan, but in terms of the mission they were on, he needed full disclosure.

Alice's face grew even paler. "Of course I want to rescue her. Warwick kidnapped both of us, and I was the one who got away. I couldn't save my mother or anyone else, so I can't let her die, too. I have to save one person in this world. And since I just want to free her and not actually save her life, it should work, right?"

"No. Not right." He walked over to her. She stiffened, and he saw the wariness in her eyes as she pulled her shoulders back. For a moment, neither of them spoke, and Ian reached out with his mind, gently probing hers. She immediately slammed up her mental barriers, but not before he sensed the cold chill of deception. Ah, the conveniences of the sheva bond. It might not work as well as it should, but it was good enough for him to find out what he needed from her. "I don't believe you," he said. "I think you want to make sure she never leaves that island alive."

She stared at him, aghast. "What are you talking about?"

It was a guess, only a guess, but he threw it out there anyway, just to test her reaction, to push her to the edge so he could force some truth out of her. He'd been a warrior long enough to know the importance of having full and accurate information when going into battle. "I think, sweetheart, that you want me to kill Catherine Taylor when we find her. Not save her. Kill her."

Ian was a little shocked by the revealing look of horror on her face, confirming that his wild stab in the dark designed to goad her into revealing more, was actually dead right.

His sweet little angel of life was actually a bloodthirsty murderer? No. That was impossible. It had to be something else, something he hadn't figured out, something he didn't know. "Why? Tell me why, Alice. Tell me what's really going on."

But before he could take it further, the room filled with a turquoise glow.

Jada had arrived.

* * *

Alice whirled around at the intrusion, her mind still whirring from Ian's question. Why had he asked that? How had he known? What would he do? What—

"Oh, shit." Ian lowered his mace. "Jada isn't even going to have the decency of a polite conversation before making her decision? It's just rude to try to drown someone without even discussing it first."

"Drown us?" Alice's feet felt cold, and she looked down. The floor of the room was being flooded with ocean water. It was already up to her ankles, and filling fast. She immediately started backing up, then caught herself. Like retreating would do any good. "I'm thinking that in about two seconds, we're going to discover we can't breathe underwater anymore."

"I agree." Ian sloshed across the room through water that was already up to his thighs. The room was filling so fast that there was foam churning across the surface of the water. "I can breathe for you. We'll do it like last time."

Alice hurried over to him, not even hesitating. "How long can you breathe under water?" The seawater was already up to her ribs, and she started to shiver. "It's really cold."

"I know." Ian wrapped his arms around her, infusing her with his warmth. "I can sustain us for a while, but no, I'm not a fish. I can't do it forever."

"So, then, maybe this isn't going to really solve our problem, is it?" Even as she protested, she wrapped her arms around his neck, tucking herself against him. As before, the raw strength of his body seemed to infuse her with power. It felt amazing, and eased some of her fear. It was getting less scary to turn herself over to him, but at the same time, the fact she was getting used to it wasn't a good sign. How far off her assigned path was he leading her? And at what point would the payment be a fast trip to become Jada's underling? Unless, of course, she finally died for good before then, which was looking increasingly likely.

"Yeah, good point. Much as I love the fact that breathing for you means I get to suck face with you indefinitely, I'm thinking we need a more long-term solution. Tread water," Ian said. "Breathe for yourself as long as you can." His eyes were darting around the room. "I need to figure out where the water is coming from. There has to be an opening somewhere, a portal that she opened to let the ocean filter in."

Alice twisted in his arms, and looked down into the water. "It has to be coming from the floor," She said. "I didn't hear it dripping down from the walls, and the walls and ceiling are dry above the water line."

"Then let's check the floor." He released her and readied himself to dive. "We can't stay here forever. We need to get out."

Alice took a deep breath, then nodded, trying to quell the panic. "Okay."

"Search for any kind of opening," Ian instructed. "It'll be a weak point, and maybe I can break through the rest of the way. Go!" He dove, disappearing under the water instantly.

After taking one last look at the ceiling, which was now far too close, Alice sucked in her breath and followed him. The aqua glow still filled the room, casting everything into a strange tint not unlike the color the moon had been when she'd tried to break into the Mageaan stronghold earlier.

She kicked down to the floor and began running her fingers over the surface. It was smooth and hard, like an oyster shell. She couldn't find even a tiny hole. She could hold her breath longer than an average human, but eventually her lungs began to burn, and she looked over at Ian. He was moving quickly along the seam between the floor and the walls, running his palms over the seam, apparently not yet affected by the lack of air.

Alice quickly swam upward, reaching the top of the water just as her lungs felt like they were going to burst. She sucked in air, watching the ceiling get closer and closer, even in the brief moments she was at the surface. It was only two feet away now. Two feet left of air, and they were hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean. A cold chill began to gnaw at her bones, and she shivered, her lungs getting heavier and heavier as panic tried to set in.

You okay? Ian's voice was in her mind, a warm breath of reassurance. She wasn't alone.

Yeah. For a few more minutes. She knew she couldn't waste time. They had to find a way out, something they had to have missed last night when they'd been looking, something that Jada had opened. She prayed urgency would give them answers they hadn't found before. With mounting trepidation, she took another breath from the shrinking airspace and forced herself to dive again. She went for the far corner opposite Ian, and frantically began probing the floor.

She could feel the current of water, but she couldn't find where it was coming from. Come on! Frantic now, her lungs burning, she kept searching, but she couldn't find the opening the water was flowing through.

A loud clank echoed through the water, and she spun around to see Ian raise his mace over his head, as if he'd just punched the floor with it. Did you find something?

Not sure. There's a stronger current here. I'm checking. He slammed his weapon into the floor again, his muscles straining with the force of his blow. A chunk of floor exploded into the room, and Ian let out a roar of triumph. He swung back and hit it again, and another piece flew out.

Hurry! Her lungs began to hurt. Alice quickly kicked herself back toward the surface. She popped out of the water, and yelped when her forehead smashed into the ceiling. The rebound dumped her back under the water, and she accidentally sucked in water instead of air. She shoved her head back out of the water just as a violent cough caught her, and her nose bumped the ceiling as the spasms wracked her body. Less than an inch of air left.

Her throat ached. Her lungs were spasming as they tried to expel the water she'd sucked in. Frantic, she fumbled for purchase on the smooth ceiling, desperate to hold onto something as coughs wracked her body. Her chin dipped below the surface just as she coughed, and she sucked more water into her lungs. Ian!

Coming!

Alice coughed again, her lungs contracting as they tried to expel the water. She couldn't stop coughing, and the space for air got smaller. Frantic, she pressed her face against the ceiling, smashing her nose and chin against the hard shell as the coughs wracked her body. She couldn't stop coughing long enough to hold her breath, and she knew if she went under again, she'd be in real trouble. Ian!

Shit!

Shit? What did 'shit' mean? This wasn't the right time for him to run into trouble! The water was over the edges of her mouth now. "Ian!" she screamed, smashing her face against the ceiling as another cough assailed her. "Where are you?"

Trapped.

Oh, no.