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But Liana did not stop, knowing if she managed to get the Fohers inside, they would be safe.
“Stop or I’ll shoot! I know where Amatista is, I don’t need you anymore, Liana,” Lyle threatened. His words halted her as fast as a stroke of lightning directly on her chest, and she felt a big lump of emotion clog her throat as she looked at Kavi.
That instant, her gaze collided with his, his silver-gray eyes glowing with menace. His features had darkened with rage. The emphatic shake of his head told her all she needed to know—he didn’t want her to stop. He looked like he would make sure she didn’t stop.
The native Foher cry rang out, Kavi the first to shout it, and the sounds of fists, bodies and weapons against bones and flesh filled the air as the groups of men and Fohers charged and blended into one big mass of chaos.
Liana’s whole body shook, fear rendering her motionless for a brief second then spurring her to movement.
“Open!” she cried, now on all fours, her knees bit by the rough stones as she crawled, feeling for something, anything which might get the blasted portal to open.
Then it happened—her hand closed around a heavy, round rock that instantly heated her palm like a torch. She screamed, jumping to her feet from the shock, only to stumble.
It was like walking on marbles, the rocky, purple surface suddenly rippling under her, moving as if it were alive. Liana gasped, watching the amethysts swirl like waves beneath her feet, rocking her.
“Kavi!”
Light blasted up all around her, colors danced before her eyes—a massive whirlpool of light twisting up from the amethysts, refracted by each to create a huge, glowing sunlike spectacle spanning the width of the lake, blinding in its intensity.
“Inside, inside!” She heard Kavi’s voice from afar. Fohers came from everywhere, crowding around her, making her even more desperate for Kavi.
“Kavi!” she screamed.
She was grabbed, a familiar female voice filtering through her panic. “He is keeping the humans away.”
The rocks under her feet seemed to melt, her feet sinking into what felt like a thick, syrupy substance. “No, no, no! He’ll be killed—Kavi!”
She could not pull her feet out. She tried but she was being sucked in with amazing force, first to her ankles, then her calves, her whole body slowly
being dragged into a rich, purple pool of liquid. Amatista had come alive—and it had turned into a monster. The hungry gurgling sounds of the mass shook her to her core, the power of the river whipping around her with fury, smothering her will and energy. Liana strained to look around her. She knew Galina was nearby but failed to see her among the all-consuming, incandescent light. “Galina?”
“I am here, Liana. Kavi is keeping the humans away. If they follow us, the river will drown them.”
“What? Why? Galina, what have I done?”
“We are entering the portal and hold the key among us. Amatista is gaining strength, as are we. Can you not feel it? If the humans follow us into the river—they will drown. The portal will swallow them.”
“But…!” He could be left behind! He might not reach the portal—he could leave her when she’d just found him! “Kavi!”
The light was growing too hot to stand, the viscous substance reaching all the way up to her knees and still starved for more, its dimmed gurgling sounds turning into a soul-shattering, animal roar.
And at that moment Liana knew the river would swallow them too. Oh God, please don’t! Panic closed her throat, her lungs. She heard gun shots, the harsh, quick blasts exploding in her ears. “Kavi!” Liana screamed, covering her ears in an attempt to shut out the terror in her voice.
And then he was there, wading through the liquefying substance, pulling her into his arms and almost smothering her face as he pressed it to his dampened chest.
“Liana!”
“Kavi…!” She hugged him tight, inhaling his scent as the light grew brighter and brighter and they were sucked down to their waists, their chests. “Kavi, we’re going to drown!”
“We are not, Liana. Let it take you.”
It was the last thing she heard before she was swallowed, the breath knocked out of her as her head submerged and her body rocked in a tailspin. The steady arms that held her were ripped away. She screamed in silence, reaching out to nothingness. Her head swam, dizzied as the liquid vanished from around her, replaced by blackness and a fierce tornado of air. A distinct impression of being cleansed assailed her, but her fear was stronger, tightly wrapped around her belly, squeezing hard. Liana closed her eyes and helplessly thought, Amatista, is this your welcome for those you love?
Everything stilled with a sudden jerk, the feeling curiously resembling the jarring landing she’d experienced when arriving by shuttle on this planet.
Her heart thundered, her limbs feeling burdensome as they lay over a bumpy surface. Liana pried her eyes open and tried to make sense of where she was. She was sprawled on her back, barely able to move. Dazedly, and with painstaking slowness, she sat up, her hands testing the rugged amethysts beneath her—hardened once again.
Puzzled Fohers were littered across the river around her, some lying on their backs, others starting to sit. Galina tossed her hair from side to side, looking dizzy. It was as if the river had two faces, and they’d surfaced on the opposite side of it. Dried. Cleansed. And confused.
