She raised an eyebrow. "And run around the tunnels topless? As much as you might enjoy that, I don't think so."
"As much as I definitely would enjoy that, that wasn't what I meant." He took off his coat. His shirt was relatively dry, and if he got too cold, he could always shift shape. "Wear this."
She hesitated, then handed him the pack and quickly exchanged her sweaters for his coat. Though it was loose everywhere else, the coat squashed her glorious breasts flat, and she glanced up with a grin. "Well, I guess this proves your chest is not as large as mine."
"I'd be worried if it was."
He handed her the pack and she got out several stakes, handing them back to him. She pulled out one more, shoved a couple of chains and what looked like stones into her pocket then tossed the bag aside. "Everything else is smashed."
Little wonder, given the small space the backpack had ended up in. "You ready to go?"
She nodded. He caught her hand and led her toward the exit, only to stop when the smell hit.
"That's not good," she said softly.
It certainly wasn't.
The cavern beyond was filled with dead men.
Chapter Fourteen
Kat swept her gaze across the cavern. There had to be at least ten of them, if not more. At least she now knew where all the dead men from the cabin had disappeared to — they'd been waiting in the shadows to see if she escaped the trap.
"No, they weren't." Ethan's expression was grim as his gaze met hers. "And I certainly would have smelled them if they'd been anywhere else close by."
She studied him for a moment, wondering if he realized just how well he was reading her surface thoughts.
"There'd be more than one exit from this place."
"Probably." His gaze went back to the zombies. "What do you want to do?"
"There's only one thing we can do."
He looked at her, concern deeper in his nut-brown eyes.
"You sure you're up to it?"
Given the fact it felt like there were a dozen madmen pounding away in her head, she was sure she wasn't . But it was either face the dead men or stay here shivering.
She forced a smile. "At least fighting will warm me up."
"I guess there's that." He glanced at the zombies again.
"I'll head left, you head right. Hopefully, we'll meet in the middle."
"Just remember those stakes won't kill zombies."
"That I remember." He shoved them through the belt loops of his jeans, gave her a quick, hard kiss that left her lips tingling, then jumped over the wall and ran at the zombies.
They reacted instantly, rushing at him with a deafening roar. She shoved the stake through her belt and followed him out. Two dead men charged at her, bony hands outstretched like claws. She swung and smashed a booted foot into the face of one. The other she hit kinetically, thrusting him back into the pack attacking Ethan, knocking down three of them.
The zombie whose nose she had mashed roared and swung a fist. She swayed out the way then dropped, sweeping with one leg, knocking the creature off his feet.
She hit him kinetically, twisting his neck until there was an audible snap. The madmen in her head did a weird little dance, making her eyes water. She blinked away tears and rolled out from under the rush of two more zombies. She jumped to her feet and lashed out at one, her hand smacking into its face. The zombie grunted and bit her palm, teeth tearing at her skin like a dog gnawing a bone. She yelped and with her free hand punched him hard in the gut. It didn't get any response.
The back of her neck tingled a warning. She twisted, kicking out at the dead man reaching to grab her hair. Her blow cracked against his knee but seemed to do very little damage. She swore and hit him kinetically, wrapping the energy around his neck, pulling until bone snapped and the zombie dropped.
Which still left the one gnawing on her hand. She reached again for kinetic energy, but it felt as if the madmen were shoving red hot needles into her brain and all she wanted to do was throw up. And that certainly wouldn't get rid of the zombie clinging to her flesh. She hit it again, then with as much force as she could muster, lifted her knee and buried it deep in the zombie's groin. It might be dead but it had once been a man, and its reaction was still instinctive.
The zombie yelled, clutched itself, and dropped like a stone to its knees. She wrapped an arm around its neck and twisted hard. Bone snapped. She released it and swung around.
Ethan stood in a pile of the dead. There were scratches on his face and his shirt was torn, but otherwise, he looked unhurt. She sighed in relief.
His expression was grim when his gaze met hers. "Didn't you say the soul sucker will sense their deaths?"
"Yep." She dragged the stake free of her belt. "And I think you were right before. I think we're better off getting out of here."
It was one thing being sore and cold when they had the element of surprise. Quite another now that the advantage had slipped the soul sucker's way.
He stepped over the dead bodies and held out his hand.
"If she's around, we'll have to make her believe we don't think the kids are here."
She nodded. "We couldn't fight her in this condition anyway."
"Especially given the fact you can't use your kinetic abilities right now."
She slipped her fingers into his. They felt so warm and solid and right against her own that she felt like hanging on and never letting go. But let go she would when the time came and he still refused to admit the emotions she could see in his eyes.
"How do you know I can't use kinetic energy?" she asked as he led her into another tunnel that sloped gently downward.
"From the fact that you killed the last zombie with your bare hands." He hesitated. "And because I can feel just how bad the pain is in your head."
So the emotion sensing was a two-way deal. She wondered if he realized just how rare it was for two non-
telepaths to connect so intimately. Wondered if he'd been able to feel Jacinta's emotions or read her thoughts. But she couldn't ask because she'd promised not to, so she simply said, "I'll be all right once I rest with my herbal pack for a few hours."
He nodded. The tunnel came to a junction. He hesitated, looking right. She followed his gaze, staring into the darkness and feeling the wisp of evil stirring the air. The soul sucker was in the shadows, watching them. If they stepped her way, she'd attack. And she wasn't alone.
There was another dead man with her, not a zombie but a vampire, and something else as well.
She squeezed Ethan's hand, and he looked at her. The grim set of his mouth told her he was aware of those waiting in the darkness.
"The fresh air is coming from this tunnel," he said, and she knew it was more for the benefit of the watchers than for her.
"Great," she muttered. "I've just about had enough of damn wet tunnels."
"There was nothing here to find anyway."
"No."
He glanced at her and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged lightly. If the soul sucker bought their retreat, then good.
If it didn't, well, hopefully they'd return fast enough that it wouldn't really matter. And when they came back here, they'd be coming back armed to the teeth. The only problem was the time they were giving the Mara to set more traps.
They retreated. Light began filtering into the tunnels, but it got no warmer. Thunder could be heard rumbling and an icy wind whisked around their legs.
They came out of the tunnel onto a ledge. Trees surrounded them, giving little hint as to their location. She shivered and glanced at the sky. The clouds were low, almost seeming to caress the treetops.