CHAPTER TWO

PUSHING EVIE BACK WITH an arm, I submerged my entire consciousness into the current of my sixth sense, focusing on the triggered land mine beneath my boot. The initial click had been the creep spring giving way to the sliding gate. In the time it took me to respond, the spring-loaded striker had stabbed the detonator. The booster charge fired, initiating the larger reserve of TNT.

Slamming the force of my mind into the blossoming shock wave, I tore free from the flow of time. In slow motion, the plastic case and rubber pressure plate continued to expand outward from the detonation. The energy of the explosion overwhelmed my abilities. The only option was to move—quickly.

Eyes closed, I focused on the space between Evie and me, and I tossed us in opposite directions. In a flash, the shock wave of superheated gases washed past. I cupped my ears and bounced as I struck the ground. Flailing my thoughts outward through the current, I stabilized Evie, protecting her from the shower of shrapnel and debris.

I counted to three. The last of the dirt and gravel settled. With effort, I drew a deep breath and lifted my gaze toward Evie. “You okay?”

Through a trailing wisp of smoke, she nodded.

“Thank God,” I exhaled. The moment of relief aborted with a sudden realization. “Stay where you are, honey. Don’t move.”

Because I had not thought to look, I hadn’t noticed the fist-sized antipersonnel mines dotting every semiflat surface of the canyon. Floating in the current of my mind, I identified several dozen in our vicinity alone—dark cylinders against the mottled signature of earth surrounding them. “There’s another mine less than a meter to your right. Stay put. I’m coming to you.”

“Why does everyone want to kill us?” Evie spoke into the dirt.

I stood, double-checking our immediate surroundings. “To be fair, there have been fewer than fifty people who’ve tried to kill us in the last month. That’s hardly everyone.”

She snorted and then coughed. “Comforting.”

“Here, take my hand.”

She reached up without looking.

I gently pulled her to her feet and embraced her. “Besides, we can hardly assume the land mines are directed specifically at us. He’s just a little more paranoid than I thought.”

“Great. So he’s an equal-opportunity psycho willing to kill anyone who comes knocking.”

I shrugged. “I suppose time can change a man. The last time I saw him I was twelve.”

“And you still think this guy is our best bet?”

“Only bet, that I know of. But there’s always another way.” I looked her in the eyes, fairly certain she’d see through my phony sentiment. “We can always turn back.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” She shook her head. “We’ve come this far. Just promise me we won’t go kaboom.”

“How about this?” Without her noticing, I had lifted both of us a few inches off the ground.

“Whoa.” She flailed her arms before realizing her footing remained as stable as ever. “You mean . . . why haven’t we . . . I walked this whole way when we could have just floated?”

“Didn’t seem necessary.”

She stepped forward and back without touching the ground. “That’s my dad.”

“What?”

“Old-fashioned to the end.”

“Since when is walking—”

She pushed past me, still walking on air. “Come on. Let’s find this guy. It’s only getting hotter, and I gotta bone to pick with my long lost uncle—”

We both froze as a hovering aircraft the size of a bald eagle materialized directly in front of us.