Dangerous Depths (22 page)

Bane grinned. “Give it up, Malia. Call my cell if you need any-thing, and I’ll relay the message. We’ll leave Ajax with you.” He scribbled the number on a piece of paper and handed it to her. She stuffed it in her purse and waved them off.

“How are we going to do anything today if Ron tells us the court hasn’t intervened? OHA has forbidden us to excavate, and they’ll have boats out guarding the site by now. What if they have sonar to watch for underwater intrusion?”

Bane had been wondering the same thing. “I suppose Ron will have a plan. He generally does, and he knows we won’t go down without permission.”

“Have you heard if his appeal to the courts has done any good?”

“No, but I’m sure we’ll find out when we get there.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was like a warm tropical breeze blowing over the sea. He remembered the day his mother left in a vivid motion picture that played over and over in his mind. He, Mano, and Kaia had been playing in the tree house by the lagoon. He had taken a Cup of Gold flower to his mother with pride. She always smelled of ginger and sunshine. She took the huge flower and stuck it in her hair. It covered nearly the whole side of her head, and the fragrance of it enveloped him when she leaned down to hug him. “You’re my poet, Bane. Don’t ever change.”

He’d promised he wouldn’t, but when he woke up the next morning, she and Kaia were gone. She’d left the flower he’d given her behind, and he knew then that a poet would never win the heart of a princess. And the responsibility for his brother had fallen on his skinny shoulders. He’d sworn to broaden them enough to make sure he and Mano were never hurt like that again. He couldn’t let his guard down, ever.

He became aware that Leia was staring at him. “What?”

“You seem almost dreamy. What were you thinking about?”

For a crazy minute, he wondered what she would say if he told her she looked as beautiful as the sea. The words stayed clamped behind
his teeth. He nodded toward the deck of the ship. “Looks like they’re all waiting on us. You took too long on your makeup.”

She punched him in the arm, then undid her seat belt and grabbed her satchel of gear. “I don’t wear makeup and you know it.”

“You don’t need it.” She looked at him with surprise in her eyes, and he looked away. No woman respected a soft side. He needed to remember that. “You seem to have recovered from the break with your mom.”

She frowned. “It’s been coming a long time. Now I understand there’s something broken in her. It’s freeing, actually. I don’t have to worry about pleasing her anymore, now that I know it’s not possible.”

“I’m sorry.” He wanted to tell her his love was as limitless as the sea, but the words wouldn’t come.

“Don’t be. I’m fine.” She straightened her shoulders. “Let’s go. I’m eager to see what’s down there now.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay? I don’t want you getting narced again.”

“I’m fine. We’ll need to do this in short hops. Do you think Annie is right, and we might be getting ready to deal with a new seamount?”

“She might be. The crack was definitely widening. She brought along some equipment to test the water. Maybe that will tell her more.” He had swum near the seamount offshore the Big Island. It was very unpleasant with underground hissing and popping that was so loud it was hard to think. And the water was nasty—too warm and filled with ash that made visibility poor.

“I guess we’re going to find out.” She walked ahead of him to the boat. Kaia stood with Mano and Annie at the edge of the dock. The divers Tony had hired were already in the boat.

“I thought we were going to have to drag you both out of bed,” Mano said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

They climbed into the smaller craft that would take them out to the research ship. The steward guided the boat out on the choppy waves. He loved the sea—the smell of it, the feel and taste of the salt in the air. God was good that he had allowed Bane to do what he loved and get paid for it.

He glanced at Leia with her face in the wind as well. Her eyes were bright, and he knew she felt the same way he did about the ocean. The ship anchored above the site where they’d found the Spanish galleon. They all boarded the ship. Bane turned to find Ron. “I thought we’d be anchored a ways from the site. What gives?” he asked Ron.

Ron smiled, but the impression was that of a shark on the prowl. “Judge Hapo is a friend of mine. He saw the merit of my claim and has lifted the injunction for now. It still has to go to court, but until it does, we can proceed here. I’ve got Trimix gas in the tanks, so we’re all set.”

The boat pitched and yawed with the high surf, and he planted his feet apart to maintain his balance. “If Annie is right, we may not have much time anyway. There may be a volcanic event brewing.”

Ron’s gaze turned to Annie, who clung to the railing. “Really? There hasn’t been an active volcano in this area for centuries.”

“That could change.” Annie’s voice was soft but full of quiet authority that made everyone look at her as she stood beside Mano and surveyed the area. “We’ve been recording earthquake swarms right here of the frequency and magnitude that preceded the last event at Mauna Loa. I’m going to take samples and check it out. But don’t get your hopes set on excavating this wreck. You need to stay smart about it.”

Silence greeted her words. Something lurked under the choppy seas, but was it fame and fortune or a nightmarish scene out of Dante’s
Inferno
? They needed to go down, but he knew none of them really wanted to do it.

“Let’s get down there now, then.” Ron began to pull on his wet suit. The rest of the crew hurriedly began to prepare for the dive. They trooped down to the platform near the water. Nani per- formed a leap off the bow of the ship and splashed Shaina as she was preparing to jump into the water. The dolphin rose and chattered in an agitated manner.

“Sounds like she has something she wants to say.” Kaia opened the backpack she’d brought down and grabbed the hydrophone contraption she used to communicate with Nani. “You remember how to use this?”

“Sure.”

She handed it to Bane. “You handle it. I need to leave tomorrow, and you’ll be on your own with her.”

He nodded and dropped the communication device into the water. He typed, “Hello, Nani.” The hydrophone picked up a series of clicks, then the computer display read: DANGER HOT. He looked up at his sister. “This doesn’t sound good. Is she serious?”

“I’m sure she is.” Kaia’s gaze met Annie’s. “Annie, could you call the observatory and see what they’re picking up?”

“I was just about to do that.” Annie went to her satchel and dug out her cell phone.

Leia’s blue eyes were wide as she stepped close to Bane. “Do you think it’s safe to go down?” She tipped a wide smile his way and fingered the tiny scar on her lip.

“I hope so. We haven’t even begun to figure out this thing. It would be a huge disappointment to have come this far only to have it all fall apart just as we’re about to investigate. What do you think? You tend to run tilting at windmills with no help.”

“I don’t like to be a scaredycat,” she admitted.

“It comes from being the oldest. We older siblings grow up believing we have to handle things. You take it to extremes though. It’s okay to lean on someone once in awhile. Like me, for instance.”

She looked away, and he wondered what she was thinking. When he stood outside with her after the luau, the electricity bounding between them had been enough to power the Molokai’i Lighthouse.

Annie interrupted his thoughts by shoving a printout in his face. “There has been a huge swarm of quakes overnight. They tried to call me, but I was out of range. Fawn says to be careful. It might be hot down there.”

Bane winced. “We’d better not all go down. I’ll check it out, and if it’s safe, we’ll take a team down.”

“You can’t go alone.” Leia pulled her face mask down and went to the exit ramp.

“I’m going too.” Annie followed her. “I need samples.”

“You’re not going into danger without me,” Mano objected.

“Well, I’m not going down.” Jermaine folded his arms over his chest.

“Count me out,” Shaina said. “Volcanoes scare me.”

“
Ho’olohe
. Just let me go take a look by myself. We don’t all need to be in danger.”

“Give it up, Bane,” Leia said. “We’re going.” She went into the water, and her bubbles rose to the surface.

He shook his head and got into his gear. Holding on to his mask, Bane jumped into the water. The warm waves welcomed him in a salty bath. Nani brushed against him, and he grabbed her dorsal fin and dove with her. At least he could get there before the rest and check out the level of danger. He located the mound of lobe coral to orient himself to his location. The water temperature seemed to stay level, and he took encouragement from the fact until he noticed how few fish were here.

He passed the cave but didn’t spare it a glance today with his focus on the state of the developing cracks. He located the one that ran from the cave toward the drop-off, then swam along it. It seemed to have stayed the same width. He noticed a crack that veered off from it and decided to follow it. Nani followed along beside him, but she was showing signs of agitation: rolling over in the water, darting
in front of him as though to bar his advance. He knew the danger must be along this crack, so he slowed his speed and peered ahead as far as he could see.

The water began to feel warmer. The clear visibility dropped to less than fifty feet, then to less than thirty. He checked his dive computer. He was at about sixty feet.

Then he saw it—a red glow deep in the billowing pillow lava. The soft, cushionylooking mounds would be anything but soft if he dared to touch them. Annie was right. An eruption had begun down here. There was no telling how long it would be before the eruption spread and endangered the site where the sunken ship sat. Ron wouldn’t like this.

Bane turned and swam back the way he’d come. He reached the mother crack and decided to follow it down into the abyss a short distance. Nani followed him, but she was still distressed. He pressed on anyway. He had to know what the conditions were. Checking his dive computer, he monitored his mental state as he dove past one hundred feet, then one hundred fifty. He could see the ledge ahead, but something more ominous caught his attention. Another red glow in the distance, on the same level as the ship.

Staying at about one hundred fifty feet, he swam above the ship and over to the red glow. It was about fifty feet beyond the ship. Much too close to allow them to work safely. Ron wouldn’t be happy. He had turned to rejoin the others when he saw the opening to a cave. He approached it and shone his powerful halogen light inside. It was mammoth, opening to about fifty feet in diameter. Interesting varieties of coral enticed him farther in. Nani zoomed around him. She bumped him with her nostrum and blocked his path. He patted her and started to rise.

From out of the darkness at the back of the cave, another diver emerged into Bane’s light. Bane blinked, not sure he was really seeing a person. Then he saw the knife in the diver’s hand. The man might not mean any harm. He smiled and lifted his hand in greeting. The diver came at him with the knife. Bane kicked out with his fins and managed to move enough to get out of the way. The diver came at him again, his green eyes behind the mask dark with menace. but Nani dove between them. She torpedoed into the diver’s stomach, and the knife dropped to the cave bottom. The diver was doubled over, struggling to suck in air through his regulator.

Nani came close, and Bane grabbed her dorsal fin. With a final glance at the man who was beginning to recover from Nani’s blow and swim away, he allowed the dolphin to pull him up to safety. She swam to where Leia was helping Annie take samples. Bane released Nani’s dorsal fin. He touched Annie on the arm, and Leia saw him. She shook her finger at him, and he could see the worry in her face. At a touch on his shoulder, Bane turned to see Mano. His brother squeezed his shoulder in a tight grip, and Bane knew Mano had been looking for him.

Bane motioned to the women and Mano to follow him. He took them to the site of the eruption. Annie and Mano began to take samples, and from their swift, efficient movements, he realized they might be in more danger than he’d realized. Could this slight eruption turn to something more? It was hot down here, and getting hotter.

Eighteen

L
eia had never been so close to molten lava. When visiting the Big Island, she had never managed to walk out to Kilauea and look at the lava flow. Today’s experience had been surreal.

“Any idea why someone would attack you?” Mano asked Bane. “What could be in the cave? And where did he come from? There’s no boat up here waiting for him.”

“I wonder if he was just narced and paranoid. Maybe he’d gone deeper than he expected, like Leia did the other day.” Bane’s voice was impatient. “Or maybe he wanted any treasure for himself.”

Ron scowled. “No one is taking that ship away from me. The eruption isn’t bad enough to overheat the water by the ship yet, you said. I want to get down there and get it out while we can.”

“We don’t even know there is a treasure on the ship,” Leia said. “Legend says the treasure was removed and buried somewhere on the island, and an old man I knew claimed his ancestors buried it on land. You could be putting lives in danger for nothing. I’m not going down again.” Leia watched Ron’s face to see if she was getting through.

He shrugged. “Even if that’s true, the ship itself is of value, and we have only a small window of time to preserve it. We’re too close to give up now.” He looked at Bane.

“You’ll be fine. Annie here can monitor the eruption and let us know when it’s too dangerous to go down. I’ve got deep-sea diving gear on its way, but the Trimix will work in the meantime if you don’t stay down too long.”

Annie shook her head. “It’s too dangerous
now
. The earthquakes haven’t slowed. We had a large swarm just this morning. I think a big event is imminent. My advice is to not go down there anymore, no matter where the treasure really is.”

Ron growled. “If the treasure had been taken off the ship and buried, surely someone would have come back for it.”