Siren's Call Part 22

A closer examination revealed a series of dark sculpted blocks arranged in a circular pattern, vaguely resembling the shape of Stonehenge. Capped with thick stones, there was only a single narrow s.p.a.ce through which to enter.

It didn't take someone with Jake's knowledge to realize the edifice hadn't been part of the surface world. This arrangement looked as though it had been constructed under the water to begin with. To enter it, one had to swim, and with the dexterity of an underwater creature.

Curious, Tessa peered into the crack between the stones. She couldn't be sure, but she thought she detected a faint glow coming from within. She reached out, touching the rock. The surface beneath her bare palm hummed, vibrating with a strange energy.

Now would be the time to turn back, she warned herself. Report the findings. Get Jake's advice.

But she didn't.

Wriggling through the s.p.a.ce, she found herself in a tunnel-like pa.s.sage. Once inside, the rock walls seemed to have a different sheen, acting as a dim but definite source of illumination.

Eager to see where the pa.s.sage led, Tessa flicked her tail. Several minutes pa.s.sed as she made a sharp descent. If she hadn't known better she would have sworn she was heading toward the core of the earth itself.

Her journey ended as abruptly as it had begun. At the end of the corridor she was surprised to find a wide stone staircase leading . . . upward?

Her brow wrinkled. That certainly doesn't make sense. Curiosity tugged. She definitely had to explore.

Swimming as far as the water would allow, Tessa quickly shifted into human form and followed the steps to their top. Alone, she didn't bother with clothing. It would have been a waste of energy since she antic.i.p.ated shifting back soon.

Tessa gasped. "Holy s.h.i.t." Rubbing her eyes, she blinked hard. She appeared to have stumbled into some sort of antechamber.

She looked around, gazing upon a place no one had seen for centuries. A glorious vision to behold, the artistry of nature had been finely tempered by the hand of a nearly lost race.

Ishaldi's artists had fashioned their temple out of pure stone. The shade of the walls and floor was incredible-the deep burgundy of iron ore, the blues and purples of manganese oxide, blotches of pink and coral and, lastly, calcite as pure and polished white as any pearl.

Rectangular in shape, the chamber was lined with a series of columns stretching from floor to ceiling. Seemingly lit from inside, the columns glowed with pale luminescence.

Labradorite, her mind filled in. A high-energy, powerful stone.

More incredible was the fact it was not submerged.

She drew a breath to test the air. Her lungs rose and fell. There was oxygen, breathable oxygen. A little stale and definitely damp, but perfectly breathable.

Given the expert set of the stone, she guessed the chamber to be impermeable by water. The temple's ancient builders had somehow found a way to create an airtight sanctuary beneath the sea.

Progressing deeper into the chamber, Tessa shivered. The ethereal gleaming of the columns cast strange shadows on walls covered with all sorts of unusual images.

At the rear of the chamber, seemingly fixed into the wall, was a tall arched doorway. The edges were scored with strange symbols.

Walking toward it, Tessa held out her hand. Her fingertips brushed the surface of something that looked vaguely like crystal aragonite. Growing in an odd formation, the mineral branched into finely spun spiderwebs of stone, seemingly so delicate they would shatter into billions of shards if touched.

The stone webbing was beautiful. Exquisite. And eerily realistic.

The fine hairs on the nape of Tessa's neck rose. This part of the chamber gave her a different feeling, distinct and unappealing. It seemed strangely devoid of energy, and Tessa sensed stark, cold death. Overall, the entire place reminded her of a mausoleum.

Goose b.u.mps p.r.i.c.kling her skin, she let her hand drop. "I don't like this," she murmured. "Man, I wish the guys were here."

Suddenly a figure appeared beside her. Surprised and more than a little bit startled, both of them instantly jumped back.

Tessa gaped at the man beside her.

Staring into the water, Kenneth heaved a sigh. It seemed like hours since Tessa had disappeared into the murky depths. Checking his watch, he turned toward Jake. "How long can she stay under there?"

Gaze raking the calm sea, Jake shrugged. "Forever, if she wants. She's a mermaid, dude. Swimming is what they do."

Annoyed by the simplistic answer, Kenneth rubbed the back of his neck with a hand. He'd stared into the water so d.a.m.n long the muscles in his neck were beginning to ache. "I know she's a f.u.c.king mermaid. But aren't you worried it might be dangerous down there? What if she meets something nasty, like a shark?"

Jake didn't blink an eye. "The shark population has declined ninety-seven percent over the past two hundred years. In fact, large predatory sharks are facing extinction unless current fishing pressures ease."

Kenneth shot the archaeologist a look. As usual, the smart-a.s.s had an answer at the ready. He wondered if there was any subject Jake wasn't up to speed on. The man was a walking encyclopedia, and too d.a.m.n smart for his own good.

"I'm not worried about the dead f.u.c.kers. It's the live ones that concern me." Kenneth's stomach twisted. He glanced back down into the water and swore. "Where the h.e.l.l is Tessa anyway? She should have been back by now."

Jake flicked a hand through his long hair, casually flipping it off his shoulders. One could almost hear the whir and click of the cameras as he posed for shots for the press. "A mermaid can outswim about anything in the ocean. She'll come back when she's ready."

Kenneth was starting to lose patience. "The least you could do is show a little concern."

Jake shrugged. "Why? These are most likely the waters that gave birth to her kind. She's practically home."

Just as Kenneth began to consider wrapping his hands around Jake's throat and squeezing, the d.a.m.nedest thing happened.

He winked out of existence.

For a moment there was nothing. Blank, black nothing. It was like a giant hand had smothered the world and everything in it except for him. His universe spun like a top.

Kenneth panicked. He bolted, taking a mighty step forward . . .

He instantly reemerged in a strange, luminous chamber. A figure loomed before him. Skidding on his heels, he reversed his momentum seconds before he slammed into the other person.

"How the h.e.l.l did you get here?" a familiar voice demanded.

Barely registering the change in venue, Kenneth shook his head. His heart slammed against his rib cage, threatening to steal the breath from his lungs. His head spun, as if plucked off his shoulders and set to ride on a maniacal carousel. "I don't know." He blinked hard to clear his blurry vision. Recognition slowly drizzled back into his scrambled brain. "Do you?"

Tessa blinked back. "Uh, it's weird. I was just thinking you guys should be here, and all of a sudden you were."

Kenneth swallowed hard, glad to feel his nausea receding. Having the world yanked out from under his feet hadn't been fun at all. "You said guys." He looked around, taking in all the details of the unfamiliar chamber. The entire place looked alien, definitely unwelcoming. "I don't see Jake here."

Tessa nodded. "As much as I hate to say it, we sure could use him about now."

Jake immediately appeared, blipping in out of thin air. He stumbled, dropping to his knees. He'd obviously been in midstride when Tessa s.n.a.t.c.hed him. Hitting the floor hard, he cursed. "What the f.u.c.k!" Rolling onto his back, he looked around. Dazed confusion colored his expression. He didn't seem to recognize anyone. "Where the h.e.l.l am I?"

Kenneth stepped forward and held out a hand. "I don't know. Ask her."

Jake gratefully accepted the help. Hoisted to his feet, he clenched his jaw and swallowed. "Christ, I feel like my guts have been ripped out." Pressing a hand against his forehead, he blinked hard.

Tessa touched his arm. "Are you okay?"

Jake's hand dropped. "I think so." He grinned at her, his smile turning lewd. "Oh, man. I love seeing you after a swim."

Disgusted, Tessa quickly covered vital parts of her anatomy. Her right hand slammed across her b.r.e.a.s.t.s even as her left dropped to cover the soft thatch of curls at the crux of her thighs. She'd clearly forgotten she was stark naked. "Lech!"

Jake defended himself. "How could I not look? I'm a man. It's what we do."

Focusing, she conjured her clothes. "You and me and naked is never happening again, Jake." Kenneth recognized her favorite faded jeans, kick-a.s.s Goth T-shirt, and combat boots. It was the fastest he'd ever seen a woman get her hands on clothes. "You're getting pretty good with that teleporting stuff."

Dropping her clothes into a pile on the floor, Tessa quickly sorted the pieces and dressed. A minute later she tugged on her boots. "It's the best thing I ever learned how to do."

Kenneth eyed her from head to foot. "I didn't know you could move people."

Tessa tossed up her hands. "Until today, I couldn't. It's like my power has suddenly become supercharged."

Taking note of the unfamiliar surroundings, Jake explored the chamber. A low whistle broke from his throat. "This place is absolutely fantastic." He shot her a look. "I'm going to a.s.sume you're the one who brought us here."

Hand rising to the crystal around her throat, Tessa nodded. "I think so. When I found this place, I thought about you two being here and-" She made a wide gesture with her arms. "All of a sudden you appeared."

Whipping his BlackBerry out of his pocket, Jake snapped off about a dozen quick pictures. "You do have the ability to teleport things," he reminded absently, absorbed with checking his handiwork.

"Yeah," Tessa agreed. "Small things, usually."

Giving her answer half an ear, Jake futzed with his handheld. The archaeologist's first instinct was to record and transmit data. "Why do I never have a freaking signal when I need one?" Annoyance laced his words. "I thought AT&T was a global network."

Kenneth snorted. "I'm sure they didn't count on you sending e- mails from the bottom of the sea." He'd definitely missed the technological revolution. The computer was a foreign beast and he had almost no working knowledge about his own cell. He could receive and make calls. That was it. Give him a wrench or a hammer and he was fine. Ditto heavy equipment.

Neanderthal definitely lingered in his DNA.

Tessa was caught in her own dilemma. "But I've never moved a whole man before."

Giving her closer attention, Kenneth held up a couple of fingers. "Two. Right about now the rest of the crew should be freaking out." He was definitely unsettled. While he'd known Tessa and her sisters had some interesting abilities, he'd had no inkling they could pull some major rabbits out of their hats. Seeing a rock shifted from place to place was one thing.

Being the rock was quite another.

Kenneth looked around. "So let's have some details."

"We're in a temple I found," Tessa began to explain. "On the outside it's almost perfectly intact. I'm not sure, but I think it was built specifically under the water. The place it's located can't be reached unless you're a Mer."

Realizing a lost cause when he saw it, Jake pocketed his precious device. "It would make sense the Mer would have done some construction beneath the water," he broke in, uninvited. "While humans of the time would obviously have been present on land, the Mer would probably want private areas to themselves."

Kenneth's brow wrinkled. "Kind of like a *no humans allowed' policy?"

The archaeologist nodded. "I'm thinking so."

"So how is it we're under the water, but this place isn't submerged?" The air was heavy and damp, but not hard to breathe.

"My best guess is an air pocket," Jake said. "Based on the architecture of the room, I don't believe it was intended to be submerged."

"I'd guess that, too. But how long is the air going to last?" Kenneth didn't want to imagine what it would feel like when the limited supply ran out. It probably wouldn't be pleasant to experience.

He hoped Tessa would be able to get them the h.e.l.l out when the time came. Otherwise, they'd be screwed with a capital S. As much as he wanted to be in on the discovery of the lost city, he hadn't counted on being transported several miles under the sea. Staying topside had suited him just fine.

Jake shrugged. "I don't imagine it would be a problem for a Mer, as they breathe oxygen and have lungs that filter oxygen from water when they are submerged. It's the humans who would have a problem-not that I think humans are supposed to be here in the first place." He walked around the chamber, inspecting it from all angles. The strange obelisks drew his attention. "Tessa, what is this stone?"

Tessa said, "Labradorite."

Jake reached out, placing a hand against one. "This is a power stone for Mers, isn't it?"

"Very much so."

"These could be the things that supersized your ability to teleport larger objects. You probably drew off them unconsciously," he speculated.

She nodded. "That's what I thought. It's definitely a high-energy area. I can feel the vibrations running through me." She visibly shivered, running her hands up and down her bare arms. "What do you think this place is?"

Jake slowly took in the entire circ.u.mference of the chamber. "Judging by the look, it's definitely some sort of ceremonial chamber." He licked his lips. "Can't be sure just yet, but I think we're in some sort of burial vault."

His words sent a chill skittering up Kenneth's spine. "Are you saying there are bodies here?"

"The way that rear entrance has been marked and sealed off, yes." Jake pointed. "It's an absolutely incredible find."

Kenneth's stomach squeezed. By the gleam in the archaeologist's eyes, they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon.

He drew a long breath. "So now what do we do?"

Tessa dropped her hands, letting them dangle at her sides. "We stand around like morons," she said, the barest trace of a smile parting her lips. "Until Jake tells us to get our s.h.i.t together."

Kenneth barely suppressed his chuckle. "I guess he would know." He had to admit he had no idea what to do next.

His partner was definitely the man of the hour.

Busy with his examination of the chamber, Jake pointed to some of the hieroglyphs etched into the walls. "Can you read any of this?" he asked Tessa.

Tessa shook her head. "My mother spoke Mer to us when we were kids, but I've never seen the language written like this. It looks like nonsense to me."

"I doubt you would be able to read an ancient version of the text even if you were completely familiar with the Mer language," Jake commented.

Tessa swallowed. "How ancient are you talking about?"

Jake considered the chamber. "Judging by the construction of this place, the Mer were a highly advanced civilization for their time. Two influences I'm definitely seeing are Greek and Egyptian-which makes sense since the location of the ruins lie between these two major powers. The script style certainly fits the timeline, too, as this way of recording their history was widely used by many ancient cultures."

Kenneth looked, too. None of it made any sense to him either. "So what you're saying is that we're looking at their version of a book?"

Jake nodded. "Absolutely. This will be the most exciting find of the twenty-first century, I'm sure."

Tess walked to the nearest wall. She reached out, tracing a few of the etchings with the tip of her finger. "So what's all this supposed to mean?"

Jake examined the etchings. "These usually depict a deity or other important person. As you can see, many of these drawings show a woman with a great aura of energy around her." He pointed. "Look at the halo. I would venture to guess she is very a significant figure."

"Atargatis?" Tessa ventured. "As creator of all the Mer, she would be a figure of power."

"It's possible," Jake mused. "The same woman appears several times in these hieroglyphs." He shrugged. "No telling for sure until we learn a little more about the language and find a way to produce a credible translation."