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.He slowly sat up and lifted Lacey s booted foot onto his lap. Let mecheck your ankle.Does it feel broken? She winced when he moved it gently from side to side. No, I thinkit s just sprained.I should be fine as long as we go slowly. She started to stand up, but he stopped her. Wait here while I goback up for our equipment. Maybe if they kept moving, she wouldn t start to wonder how he dknown when they d needed to start running to get out of the way of therockslide.He trudged up the path, knowing each minute he was awayfrom Lacey was time for her to start thinking, but there wasn t anythinghe could do about that but hurry.Their cooler had fallen over but was otherwise unharmed.Thetoolbox had been knocked open, and a few tools had spilled out.Themore fragile equipment that Lacey had been carrying hadn t fared as well.Two of the meters were now bits of broken plastic and bent wire, havingbeen in the direct path of a rather large boulder.Lacey wouldn t bepleased about losing two such valuable pieces of equipment, but at leastthe monitor they d been carrying was intact.There was no way he could carry it all and help Lacey walk.He dhave to get her down the trail to her truck and then come back for their204 gear.She wouldn t like leaving anything behind, but too bad.Well, themadder she was, the less likely she was to ask too many questions.His skin itched from a combination of sweat, dust, and fear for whatwas about to happen.As soon as he made the last turn back to Lacey, heknew that luck wasn t with him.She had spent the short time he d beengone adding up details and coming to only one conclusion.She pushed herself up off the ground.Bracing herself against theoverhang, she turned angry blue eyes on him. You knew, didn t you?Somehow you felt the earthquake coming long before it hit.That s whyyou were trying to hustle me off the mountain. The betrayal in her eyes dared him to deny it.He could pretend notto understand, but why bother? Yes, I knew. How? He set the equipment down on the side of the trail. I won t answerthat.Now, let s get you out of here. When he reached out to take her armagain, she jerked away from him even though the sudden movement hurther.She fought for balance. Don t& touch& me. Lacey, use your head.You can t make it down from here withouthelp.The rangers won t appreciate having to come get you just becauseyou re mad at me. Mad is way too weak a term for what I m feeling. She hobbled afew steps away to pick up a tree branch to use as a cane. Lacey No! Damn it, Barak, what goes on out here is my life s work, notsome little hobby.I ve spent years trying to figure out how to predictearthquakes and eruptions.You ve been working beside me every day inthe lab, watching me beg for enough money to figure out how to makemy equipment even one percent more sensitive.And that whole time,you ve already known the answers to those questions. She stumbled on, rage coming off her in waves. Year upon year,my brothers and his friends have lived on the edge of battle, dying over205 and over to defend my world.You must think it was a riot watchingfoolish me trying to keep them safe. When a tear trickled down her face, she scrubbed it off with the heelof her hand. God, I slept with you! My brother s enemy, and I slept withyou! And the sad part is, I thought you were worth the cost. Her eyes burned with rage. And do you know the funny part? Ithought you were honorable! Can you imagine? Lacey s pain ripped his heart right out of his chest.Did she think hedidn t understand the cost of sacrifice?He caught up with his woman and blocked her stumbling rushdownhill. Yes, Lacey, I can feel the rock moving.Yes, I know when thevolcano is going to erupt.And yes, before you ask, I sometimes knowwhen and where the barrier is going to fail.And do you know what thatknowledge cost me? Everything, Lacey.It cost me everything. She flinched, but right now all he wanted was her hatred, because hehated himself as much as she did. I ve never told you why I abandonedmy home, where my talent was coveted because it helped those whowanted to leave.Fools thought they stood a chance of making it into thisworld of yours. He looked around them. Do you have any idea how itfeels to walk in the warmth of this world after living a lifetime in the colddarkness of my own? Imagine how proud I was as a young man, knowing I carried thisgift, this burden.I was insufferable. His lungs hurt with the need to lancethis festering wound deep inside of him. But imagine, too, how I feltwhen I found out that all they faced was certain death.I chose disgraceand refused to use my gift. I understand your pain, watching the way your brother s life mustplay itself out.But if I would not use my gift for my people, how could Ipossibly use it for yours? Then he stepped out of her way and let herpass.Since she wouldn t allow him to touch her, he picked up herprecious equipment and followed her slowly down the mountain.Lacey put the truck in park and let it idle.The grid-lock on theinterstate was the perfect ending to the day.All she wanted was to getBarak out of her truck and out of her life.Instead, they d been trapped206 together for an extra hour as traffic had crawled along a few feet at atime.His betrayal had clawed huge holes inside her that she wasn t surewould ever heal.She d given him her body, her heart, and, worst of all,her trust.He knew, he knew, what her work meant to her.Sure, his secret had cost him, but whatever price he d paid forwithholding his gift from his world had at least been a choice he d madefor himself based on all the facts.That he had also withheld that sameinformation from her, preventing her from making real progress towardsaving the Paladins, had been cruel and unfair.If she was being selfish,too bad.The cars ahead of her started moving again
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