Eternal Nights by Patti O'Shea

could examine that thought, they rocketed from the hall into the secret room.
    Straightening away from the wall, she waited for the specks to return. They didn’t come back, and Kendall followed them.
    As she stood in the opening to the chamber, they reappeared. They swarmed on the stone doorjamb, putting on an extra-energetic show and her smile broadened. The particles almost looked like men and women—partners in a dance.
    Then, before she was ready for the waltz to end, they dove inside the stone and formed the outline of a hand. Bemused, she studied it. The inclusions pulsed, calling her forward. Slowly, Kendall raised her arm and pressed her palm inside the pattern.
    There was a moment of relief, a moment when she could feel something inside her find peace. Before she could think about that, the stone started to vibrate, as if the temple itself were coming to life after a long sleep. The buzz traveled up her arm and filled her body. Kendall’s eyes closed. It felt good.
    As the sensation continued, the energy of the temple seemed to shift, although Kendall couldn’t explain how, and there was a welcoming feeling that she’d never experienced before. In the past, she’d had a sense of possessiveness about the pyramid, but now, it seemed as if that claim were returned.
    Wyatt glanced over at Kendall to share his success with her, but what he saw wiped the satisfaction off his face. Her back was toward the encroaching stone and she was standing directly in its path, her hand pressed against the side of the jamb.
    “Bug, you need to move,” he told her.
    She didn’t seem to hear him. He called her name a second time, but she remained oblivious. Wyatt eyed the distance between her and that enormously heavy rock; he started to run. If she didn’t get out of the way, that thing would crush her.
    The slab began to move faster.
    Wyatt flat-out sprinted for her.
    The instant he reached Bug, he grabbed her arm. She shook him off. That rock was almost on top of her.
    He got himself a tighter hold and jerked her. Hard.
    And with a dull thud, the rock shuddered closed.

Chapter Six
     
    “For God’s sake, Bug! What the fuck were you thinking? ”
    Kendall stared at him. Wyatt rarely cursed in front of her, so hearing him use that particular word shocked her. And shook her out of her fog. She looked at him, but couldn’t make sense of anything. “What?”
    “What do you mean, what? You were standing right in the path of that fu—fricking wall.” The thickness of his drawl, and the fact that he’d nearly slipped a second time, told her how upset he was. “It was closing fast and it would have crushed you if I hadn’t pulled you out of the way.”
    A muscle began to tic in his jaw, and with a sound she couldn’t quite name, he hauled her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her. Fine tremors went through him and it left Kendall stunned. Wyatt was shaking?
    After the kiss they’d shared, she knew it was the last thing she should do, but Kendall returned his hug anyway. She hadn’t realized what was happening. Though she’d seen the wall moving, she hadn’t felt any danger. A shiver went through her. That had been too close for comfort.
    Kendall held him tighter as the knowledge sank in. The lower levels of oxygen must have caused her to hallucinate. She started to tell Wyatt what she’d thought she’d seen, but stopped before saying a word. He tended to be protective anyway, but if he believed she’d been out of it, he’d be watching her like a hawk. And he’d worry needlessly.
    She turned her head on his shoulder and looked at the wall. The flecks seemed to wink at her, and that unnerved her enough to want to get out of here. Kendall pushed free of Wyatt’s arms. “I think we need to get moving.”
    “Yeah, you’re right,” he agreed. While he looked around, Kendall glanced down at her still-pulsing hand. Although it was hard to be sure, she thought a slight pattern had been imprinted on the pad