“I’ve been trying to,” Long Cang said, his fingers like a vise on Jen’s arm. “But none of you have been cooperative.”
“Let her loose.”
Long Cang let go, lifting his hands. “I can be reasonable. Now it’s your turn.”
Jen began to stumble forward, then Cang yanked her back. “Not yet. His turn to be reasonable.”
Jen’s jaw clenched.
Long Cang said, “There is no need for any more trouble. Give me what I want, and we all go home.”
Nikos took a step toward Long Cang, who said, “Any heroics on your part, and she goes to the raiju. I believe you know him?”
Nikos said nothing. But he stopped, and Jen swore she could feel his agony.
And his anger.
Long Cang went on, “She means nothing to me either way. If you want her, then break that ward and give me the stone. You’re the only one here who can bring it out.”
“Don’t do it,” Jen cried out. “Whatever they want.”
“It’s just an artifact,” Joey Hu said soothingly. “Admittedly these people want to bypass proper procedure, but artifacts can always be recovered. Hang on a minute. We’ll send you on your way home shortly.”
His tone was odd, as if Jen were a stranger. Was he trying to pretend he didn’t know her? Sure enough, Nikos said, “I can’t do anything when you’re threatening an innocent bystander.”
“Not so innocent,” Long Cang retorted, pointing down at Howard, still groaning on the ground, and then hooking a thumb over his shoulder at Zedi, who’d stumbled over to the car and sank into the back seat as soon as Keraunos appeared. “But I’ve little interest in her either way. As long as you give me what I want.”
Again Jen saw writhing lightning flicker slowly up over Keraunos’s head, from his eyebrows down the length of his hair, as he stepped up to Long Cang’s side. She found that creepier even than the dragon coils. She was trying to tell herself it was all a hallucination.
Nikos sent her a quick, worried look, then walked alone toward the spot where the digging machine had been the day before. He knelt on a slab of broken cement, and put his hands down, tenting his fingers on the cement. The ring Jen had noticed on his hand—a very fine, very old fashioned cut of stone that glittered like a diamond, only crimson—glowed with inner light.
For an endless time, no one moved—except for Peke sniffing somewhere behind Jen.
Time seemed to stand still, but it was passing. Jen’s hands began to grow dangerously numb. Those damned zip-ties had cut off her circulation. She gritted her teeth and concentrated on martial arts breathing as she watched the sky.
The stars had begun to turn when Long Cang broke the spell. He took a threatening step toward Nikos. “Quit stalling.”
Nikos ignored him, and looked way. “Mikhail. I can’t get past the ward without actually getting myself down into that cavern.”
Mikhail looked over at Long Cang. “I have to have proximity. You were there. You saw.”
“Find a way,” Long Cang said. “Or you can watch her die right here. And those brats Demitros brought, the moment we find them. And we will.”
Mikhail said nothing. He bent his head, brow furrowed, then sank down on the other side of the cement slab, facing Nikos. And again, everyone waited. The only difference now, besides the two men kneeling, was the sound of the snuffling behind Jen.
She looked behind her, and was startled to discovered that the snuffling, sniffing guy they called Peke was gone. In his place was a little Pekingese dog with huge pointy teeth and fur as black as midnight.
Oh, and glowing eyes. Really glowing, smoldering red like coals.
I have to be hallucinating, she thought, closing her eyes against the ache working its way up her arms.
After an agonizing, endless time she heard the crunch of gravel. She opened her eyes to see Joey Hu taking a step toward Nikos. Between Nikos and Mikhail, the broken ground had begun to glow faintly.
Long Cang’s breath hissed in, and went out on a hiss of triumph as he, too, stepped forward.
Then Mikhail said tightly, “Stay back. Nikos is holding it between dimensions. If anything breaks his concentration it will snap right back to its ward. If it doesn’t vanish altogether.”
Dimensions?