Read Online Curse of the Condor by Elizabeth Rose - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Elizabeth Rose
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"Maybe I could try doing it next time."
"I don't think so. Manioc root is poisonous if not prepared right. So I think I'll do the cooking. Maybe next time I'll make tapioca out of it if you'd like."
"Okay," she said. "Next time."
Her words led him to believe she no longer wanted to get away quickly. It almost sounded as if she were getting situated in her new surroundings. Conrado handed her some boiled water in a carved cup, and she took it eagerly.
She drank it, and smiled again, and he felt her warmth mixed with the coldness in his heart. He liked her. And he thought she was starting to like him too. He couldn't have that, as much as he wanted it. He had to remain distant from her so when he told her about her brother she could hate him the way he deserved.
"Eat up," he growled. "And we'll set off to find your brother."
She looked at him as he scooped up some of the chili onto his flat bread and brought it to his mouth. She hesitated, then smiled once more before sloppily trying to do the same. He held back a grin when it slipped off the bread and to the ground without ever reaching her mouth.
Chapter 6
Jetta held the photo of her family encased in the brass frame to her heart. Her mother, father and Ryder stood with her, arm in arm on the beach. It was one of the best vacations they’d taken. That was the summer they’d spent in Greece before Ryder left on his missions.
She missed him dearly and could only hope they’d get to his dwellings soon. She picked up the last letter he’d written, scanned it once more, then slipped it back into the envelope. Then she pulled from under her tank top, the flat crystal condor attached to her fourteen carat gold chain, fingering it, wondering how he was ever able to afford something like this when she knew he hadn’t much money. Her family was well-off, but Ryder took his vow of poverty so to speak, once he’d joined the missions. He refused to take money from her or her parents, and when he’d sent a token of his love for her, she knew he’d sacrificed much to do it.
But this gift was so different. It was a real treasure. It looked ancient, like some kind of artifact, though she knew it couldn’t be. Ryder would never have access to something like that. She felt her stomach twist, thinking something wasn’t right here. Her brother sounded troubled and wrote of danger, his message short as if rushed, his writing messy. And then he’d told her not to tell anyone about the letter or the trinket. She respected his wishes, but still she wished she could tell his friend, Conrado.
She sighed, telling herself to just be patient and ask Ryder about it herself. She slipped the condor back under her shirt and had just finished putting her things back into her straw purse when Conrado hoisted himself up the ladder with several boxes balanced on his shoulder. He marched into the room with his monkey at his heels. He placed the boxes on the floor next to a roughly carved purple wooden trunk she hadn't noticed the night before. He opened it and started to unpack the contents of the boxes into it. Chatter jumped up to investigate the top of the dresser.
"I never saw purple wood before. Did you make the trunk?" she asked surveying the piece.
"I did. It's called amaranth , or purpleheart wood. The dresser is carved from figueroa , or as you may know it, crabwood. It's kind of like mahogany, but inferior."
She looked at the dresser and noticed the cracks and splits in the wood that added to its character. "Is that why it's cracked?"
"It dries slowly," he explained. "This sometimes causes the wood to split."
"How did you put it together?" she asked. "I doubt you have a hammer and nails with the primitive way you live."
"We have gums and resins from trees that work just as good as nails," he explained. That’s how these are made, and the hut is mainly tied together with jungle vine and a little resin to hold it in place.”
"Resourceful," she commented, satisfied and
"I don't think so. Manioc root is poisonous if not prepared right. So I think I'll do the cooking. Maybe next time I'll make tapioca out of it if you'd like."
"Okay," she said. "Next time."
Her words led him to believe she no longer wanted to get away quickly. It almost sounded as if she were getting situated in her new surroundings. Conrado handed her some boiled water in a carved cup, and she took it eagerly.
She drank it, and smiled again, and he felt her warmth mixed with the coldness in his heart. He liked her. And he thought she was starting to like him too. He couldn't have that, as much as he wanted it. He had to remain distant from her so when he told her about her brother she could hate him the way he deserved.
"Eat up," he growled. "And we'll set off to find your brother."
She looked at him as he scooped up some of the chili onto his flat bread and brought it to his mouth. She hesitated, then smiled once more before sloppily trying to do the same. He held back a grin when it slipped off the bread and to the ground without ever reaching her mouth.
Chapter 6
Jetta held the photo of her family encased in the brass frame to her heart. Her mother, father and Ryder stood with her, arm in arm on the beach. It was one of the best vacations they’d taken. That was the summer they’d spent in Greece before Ryder left on his missions.
She missed him dearly and could only hope they’d get to his dwellings soon. She picked up the last letter he’d written, scanned it once more, then slipped it back into the envelope. Then she pulled from under her tank top, the flat crystal condor attached to her fourteen carat gold chain, fingering it, wondering how he was ever able to afford something like this when she knew he hadn’t much money. Her family was well-off, but Ryder took his vow of poverty so to speak, once he’d joined the missions. He refused to take money from her or her parents, and when he’d sent a token of his love for her, she knew he’d sacrificed much to do it.
But this gift was so different. It was a real treasure. It looked ancient, like some kind of artifact, though she knew it couldn’t be. Ryder would never have access to something like that. She felt her stomach twist, thinking something wasn’t right here. Her brother sounded troubled and wrote of danger, his message short as if rushed, his writing messy. And then he’d told her not to tell anyone about the letter or the trinket. She respected his wishes, but still she wished she could tell his friend, Conrado.
She sighed, telling herself to just be patient and ask Ryder about it herself. She slipped the condor back under her shirt and had just finished putting her things back into her straw purse when Conrado hoisted himself up the ladder with several boxes balanced on his shoulder. He marched into the room with his monkey at his heels. He placed the boxes on the floor next to a roughly carved purple wooden trunk she hadn't noticed the night before. He opened it and started to unpack the contents of the boxes into it. Chatter jumped up to investigate the top of the dresser.
"I never saw purple wood before. Did you make the trunk?" she asked surveying the piece.
"I did. It's called amaranth , or purpleheart wood. The dresser is carved from figueroa , or as you may know it, crabwood. It's kind of like mahogany, but inferior."
She looked at the dresser and noticed the cracks and splits in the wood that added to its character. "Is that why it's cracked?"
"It dries slowly," he explained. "This sometimes causes the wood to split."
"How did you put it together?" she asked. "I doubt you have a hammer and nails with the primitive way you live."
"We have gums and resins from trees that work just as good as nails," he explained. That’s how these are made, and the hut is mainly tied together with jungle vine and a little resin to hold it in place.”
"Resourceful," she commented, satisfied and
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