Shadow Cave (30 page)

“
From the sound of it, I don
’
t think that anybody
‘
wants
’
to find him.
”
I sighed.
“
But I am looking for my brother.
I think he went to find him
—
and kill him.
Although I
’
m not certain about that last part.
”

“
I see.
”

When I did not respond, she prodded gently.
“
You also asked me about a meadow.
”

“
Yes.
”
I told her about my dream and about the large gem that had mysteriously appeared in my bag.
When I finished, she was staring at me with a look of deep concern.

“
What?
”
I asked in a shaky voice.

“
Do you still have the stone?
”

“
Yes.
”
I gestured to the bag that sat beside me on the couch.
“
It
’
s right here.
”

“
Open the bag, child.
”

“
Ok
ay.
”
Her body became rigid across from me when I presented the stone.
“
Miranda?
”

“
Oh my…but it can
’
t be.
”

“
I wish everyone would stop doing that.
”
I ran a hand through my hair and lifted the stone up for a closer inspection.
“
What
’
s wrong with it?
It
’
s just a gemstone.
Isn
’
t it?
”

She took the stone from me and peered at it.
“
No,
”
she said finally.
“
This is no gemstone.
It
’
s a seeing stone
,
”
she
warned.

I shook my head helplessly.
“
I
’
m sorry
,
but I don
’
t know what that means.
Are you talking about a crystal ball?
”
I guessed.

“
No, it
’
s not a crystal ball.
It belongs to Kahn.
Someone took this from his meadow.
”

“
So the meadow is real?
”

“
Yes, it
’
s real.
”

“
But I dreamed it.
At least I think I did.
Do you think the guards would have taken me there while I was unconscious?
”

“
Perhaps,
”
Miranda mused.

“
Is that where he lives
—
in the meadow?
”

“
No, his tower lies just beyond the meadow.
The meadow is the portal to his world.
He and he alone controls who may enter his domain.
”

I tried to process that disappointing bit of information.
“
So I can
’
t get there?
”

Miranda shook her head sadly.
“
Quite the opposite; I think he
’
s expecting you.
”

A chill came over me at her quiet words.
“
Why would he be expecting me?
”

But Miranda only shook her head.
“
That I cannot answer; I
’
m sorry.
”

“
You can
’
t answer, or you won
’
t?
”
I had learned that there was a difference.

“
I do not know why he is expecting you.
”

“
Then how can you say he is expecting me?
”

“
The seeing stone…it is an invitation.
”

“
How do you mean?
And why is it called a seeing stone?
Oh, my God, can he see me through this thing?
”
The thought brought on a fresh wave
of
terror
,
and I hastily shoved it back into the bag and zipped it closed.

“
He can
’
t see you
...
not
physically.
But be warned that does not mean he cannot communicate with you.
”

“
My dream….do you suppose that it wasn
’
t a dream after all?
Or maybe it was, and I dreamed of the actual event
...
being in the meadow earlier.
”

“
Perhaps…
.
”

“
Do you think that it was him
,
and not my brother?
”

Miranda slowly nodded.
“
Yes.
Kahn is a shape shifter
,
among other things.
But the real question is
,
what has drawn his attention to you?
”

“
Well, ok
ay
, we can
’
t be sure that his attention is on me, really….
”
I trailed off.

“
The seeing stones can only be plucked from the trees by one hand.
You
’
ve been summoned, Annabelle.
”

“
Why?
”

“
You must have something that he wants.
”

“
So
,
my brother isn
’
t in the meadow or with Kahn?
”

“
Now, that I do not know.
He very well may be.
Then again he may not.
”
Miranda helped me up and held my hands between hers.
“
I
’
m sorry.
”

“
No, it
’
s ok
ay
.
Thank you.
”

“
What will you do?
”

“
I
’
m not sure.
I guess I
’
ll go see what he wants.
What choice is there?
”

“
No, you must not go to him.
To go to him is suicide.
You must know that.
”

“
Yes, I guess you
’
re right.
I think I
’
ll just go home and make a pot of tea.
Go to bed early.
”

“
Yes, that is a better idea.
”

“
Thanks again.
”

“
Be careful.
”

I waved one final time as I pulled out of her driveway and onto the road.
Some psychic she was, I snorted.
I flipped the radio on and steered the car towards the shore.

I had remembered seeing a small beach at the edge of the city on my initial cruise through Grandview.
A swim
is
just what I need to clear my head
, I thought with gleeful anticipation.
After that
,
a hot bath and a cup of coffee were in order.
I was determined to do nothing more strenuous then breathe and soak for at least the next hour.
And when I was done, I would chart a course for my next plan of action.

There were plenty of parking spaces at the beach when I pulled in and killed the engine.
I raced down the dark sand and kicked my shoes off.
Since I was alone, I stripped off my dress too.
The water would have ruined the suede and the gown had been my last gift from Faith
, not
to mention it was absolutely gorgeous.
I carefully set the dress and shoes on top of my bag
,
well away from the water.

The water was blessedly cool even if it was darker than I would have preferred.
It wasn
’
t dirty
, just
typical lake water.
The bottom of the lake was more rock than sand, so I turned onto my back and stared up at the sky while I floated along blissfully.

“
What are you doing?
”

I jumped at the noise and swallowed a mouthful of water before firmly planting my feet on the rocks below.

“
What are you doing?
Get out of there!
”
the
man from the shore yelled again.

I waved an arm at him while I coughed and sputtered.
My nose stung and wiped a hand over my face before I answered him.

“
Swimming!
”

“
Get out now!
”

The man was at least thirty feet away, by the parking lot, and it was impossible to make out his features at that distance.
He looked to be of average height and weight
,
though
,
and sounded younger.
Younger than Uncle Bob at least, I snorted.

“
Why?
”
I shouted back.
Was the beach private property?
Was I trespassing?
My second thought was that the beach was closed down for health and sanitation violations, like E Coli in the water.
I had not seen any signs posted, but then, who knew how they handled things like that here?
I
suddenly got
a chill.

“
Alright!
I
’
m getting out!
”
Except all of a sudden I couldn
’
t move, I realized.
I struggled for a few minutes before I figured out that it wasn
’
t the panicked exertion causing me to sweat
, it
was the water.
Where it had been cool and comfortable only moments before, it was now hot
,
bordering
on scorching.
The gentle waves I had been enjoying were churning around me.
The sky ahead was black.
In the distance, I saw a shadow moving towards me under the water.
It was huge
,
nearly the size of a house, and the water became increasingly hotter with its approach.

The man who had been on the beach was gone.
This is it then
, I thought
, because
how do you run when you can
’
t move?
And how to you fight something that you can
’
t see when you can
’
t even move
?
I closed my eyes and continued to thrash out at the waves.
There
’
s always a chance, I reminded myself fiercely…desperately.

I screamed when I felt the first pull on my legs.
Something was wrapping around my arms and legs and pulling me underneath the surface of the water.
I kicked out and tried to struggle but it was no use.
It was like wading through
Jello
.
Not that I
have
ever done that
, I thought dimly.
I was completely submerged and being pulled through the water.
My lungs burned from holding my breath for so long.
I knew that I would run out of air soon
, and
then I would die.
I was going to die without ever wading through a pool of
Jello
.
Without having done a lot of things.
Tears stung my eyes
,
but I refused to let them fall.
I could not breathe.
Spots appeared behind my eyelids
,
and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before I opened my mouth to gulp the air and got boiling lake water instead.
The fear of that moment was overwhelming and inevitable.
Survival instincts alone had me clinging to my last breath.