Shadow Cave (23 page)

“
Why is it a shame that it
’
s dark?
”

“
Oh, that.
”
I smiled.
“
I wanted to go for a swim, but I can do that in the morning.
”

Juliette laughed.
“
Why wait for the morning?
”

“
Agreed,
”
the
other girls sang out in a chorus.

“
Iris, go put the lights on.
Tara, you help her.
Leia, take Chloe and light the pond.
”

“
What is going on?
”
I whispered to Juliette as everyone seemed to spring into action.

“
We are going for a swim, friend.
”

Tara and the small champagne blonde called Iris each grabbed a vine and took a running start.
They swung
from
tree to tree, and one by one, the leaves began to glow.

“
Juliette, how are they doing that?
”
I exclaimed.

Juliette uncrossed her legs and leaned over to grip the branch of the tree that grew next to the pond.
I noticed a large circle in the center of the big leaf that hung from the branch.
She blew a long slow breath onto the leaf and the circle came to life, pulsing neon blue and gradually solidifying into a soft and steady aqua glow.

“
How did you do that?
”
I whispered reverently.
I was on my feet in an instant, spinning around as the trees lit blue, green, red, yellow, and pink.

“
There is magic here.
”

Leia and Chloe stood next to the pond and each kissed the fingertips of their right hand.
They leaned over the pool, opened their palms, and blew the kiss into the water.
The lights began to form under the water and intensified until the pond was glowing with the gentle blue light.

“
Apparently,
”
I managed to reply.

Tara swung her vine in a wide arc and jumped, landing on her feet in front of me.

“
There.
”

“
Wow
!
”
I breathed, trying to take in everything at once.

“
Well done, ladies.
How about we take that swim?
”

I stripped to my underwear and dove headfirst into the pool.
Concrete
formed
the
smooth
sides,
and
they were
covered in the same smooth glass-like circles that I had seen on the leaves.

Time slowed as we glided endlessly through the cool shimmering blue water.
The temperature in the air had cooled enough to be considered balmy
,
and for a blessed few hours, I thought of nothing
; not
fear, pain, trouble, or the journey that still l
ay
ahead
...
and especially not science.

***

We dozed on the ground that night.
It was surprisingly soft and comfortable
,
and I woke up the next morning feeling ache-free and replenished.
Juliette and the others had agreed to take me to a spot at the
north
end of the rainforest
,
the last place they had seen Mike.

“
How long do you think it will take to reach the end of the rainforest?
”
I questioned Aries as we gathered at the fence to leave.

“
It is fifteen miles, give or take.
Not long at all.
”

I smirked.
“
What are we going to do? Fly?
”

Aries winked.
“
Something like that.
”

“
Oh good,
”
I muttered dryly.

“
Come on, it will be fun.
”
Tara was grinning as she came up behind me.

“
Absolutely,
”
Juliette agreed.
“
Remember to stay close
,
ladies.
”

Aries brushed the warning away with the casual wave of her hand.
“
The guards never come out this early.
They
’
re too lazy.
”

“
The guards
...
wait, you never said anything about the guards
!
”
I accused Juliette.
“
No, you can
’
t go.
”
I told my new friends.
“
It is too dangerous.
Just point me in the right direction.
Please.
”

“
Shut up and climb the fence, Claire.
”
Tara dealt me
a
playful shove.

“
I
’
m serious.
I don
’
t like this.
”

But if they were listening to me, they did not show it.

“
Grab a vine.
”
Aries instructed.

“
Oh, I don
’
t know.
”

“
It
’
s much faster, trust me.
”

“
Ok
ay
, I
’
ll try.
”

I took hold of the thick vine and got a running start like I had seen Iris and Tara do the night before.
I hung from the vine like dead
weight after I swung a grand total of five feet.
Oh, yes, much faster.

The girls laughed heartily at my expense before Juliette sauntered over to me.

“
She is going to need a little help
,
”
Iris decided.

“
Yes
,
”
Juliette agreed as she blew a kiss my way.
“
There.
”

“
I
’
ll fall behind.
I
’
m no good at this
,
”
I warned.

“
We
’
ll see
,
”
she
said.
“
Let
’
s go.
”
She grabbed a vine and was gone before I could say anything more.

“
What the hell.
”
I shrugged and took hold of the vine one more time
, throwing
my head back and laugh
ing
when I caught up with the group
, swinging
far and wide from one vine to the next with ease.
The feeling of
flying through the air while
the
wind whipped my hair back
was incredible
.
Early
morning sun
shine
warmed my face
and my body twisted
to the left
in order to
grab the next vine, the full force of my weight
going
into the jump.

Cheers went up around me when I leaped from the last vine to the ground
, stumbling
a bit but
managing
to stay on my feet.

“
That was amazing!
”
I was breathless but grinning.
The other girls were not the least bit winded, I noticed.

“
This is it, Claire.
We took him this far
,
”
Juliette said evenly.

I quickly sobered.
“
Which way did he go?
”

“
East,
”
Aries pointed
.

“
Good.
Thanks for everything guys.
”

“
Let us know if you find him?
”
Aries asked hopefully.

“
I will.
”

They turned to leave.
The bushes rustled behind them
, and
I saw the men too late.

There were twelve of them and before we could move, they surrounded us.
I screamed anyway.

“
Get out of here.
Now! Go!
”

“
Don
’
t move!
”
Three of the ugliest men I had ever seen barked in unison.

“
Stay close.
It will be ok
ay,
”
Juliette whispered.

“
Shut up!
”
A gremlin looking thug shouted.
They carried large machetes and wore puke green uniforms.
The ones that were not towering over us had potbellies.
They were all unkempt
...
the guards.

“
Oh, Lord.
”
I didn
’
t know if I was praying or cursing.
Probably a little bit of both.

“
Sit down, all of you.
”
The leader stepped forward
...at
least, I assumed he was the leader.
He carried a wicked look
ing
spear instead of a machete.
There was dried blood on the tip.
I closed my eyes.

“
Which one, Carlo?
”
a
short balding man asked him with a leer.

“
It
’
s my turn!
”
another
fat man whined.

“
Shut up!
”
the
tall dangerous looking man rasped.
He stopped in front of us, I could tell.
My eyes were still closed, but I could smell him.
It was not a pleasant experience.

“
Restraint,
”
he
murmured smoothly.

“
I want that one.
”

“
Take her.
”

My eyes popped open.
Oh, God.
Aries…
they
were taking Aries.
She disappeared behind a cluster of trees several yards away.
She did not scream or struggle.
I saw Juliette grab Tara
’
s hand and squeeze it until her knuckles were white.
Iris was shaking.
I felt like I was about to fly apart any second and a sharp metallic taste flooded my mouth.
Fear, I thought hysterically.
I tasted fear.

We
have
to do something
, I thought, leaning forward.
Someone has
to help her.
They
can
not be allowed to do this to her
, I thought vehemently.
There was my gun
.
I eyed the men.
There were too many of them
...
obviously
.
I had known that
even before counting
the ones left guarding us.
At most, three or four would be taken out before we were
mobbed
and
probably
killed
for
the
effort. Sure, a few
of our terrified group
might escape.
But even that was a long shot.
There were just too damned many of them.
I would not risk everyone
’
s life on what was in all likelihood a losing battle.
That was not fair to
my companions
.