container.
When it was ready,
she filled the two cups he held, then settled down to sip the hot fragrant brew. “What time is it, anyway?”
“After three. You slept for twelve hours straight.”
“I wish you’d woken me.” Tory clasped the warm cup between her hands, settling the container on her
drawn-up knees. “I had a dream last night.” Her dark hair fell over her shoulder and she set the cup
down on the sand, absently fiddling with the long strand. “Alex is badly hurt, Marc. He’s almost dead. I
can feel it.” She gazed over his shoulder without focusing, swallowing hard.
In her dream, her brother’s face had been beaten so badly it was totally unrecognizable.
The dream had
left her shaken and frightened to death that they might be too late.
“I’ll go in after dark and bring him out.” His lips tightened. “I did a quick reconnoiter this morning in
Pescarna. If that’s where they’re holding Lynx, then they’re doing a damn good job of covering their
tracks. It’ll save hours of time if you can pinpoint exactly where he is.” Marc swallowed the last of his
coffee and poured the rest of the pot into his cup. “Whatever his condition, I’ll get him out. Angelo will
be waiting for my signal.”
She didn’t like the way Marc said, “whatever his condition.” Her throat was tight when she spoke.
“How long do we have to wait before we can find him?”
“Can you give me his exact coordinates?”
She shook her head.
“How about a specific location?”
“Pescarna. I need to be closer…”
“No.”
“You brought me all this way for exactly that purpose.”
“That was before I knew they’d already gotten hold of you and beat the shit out of you.”
“Oh.” Did she think he couldn’t figure that one out?
“Yes.Oh. Can you make contact with your brother and get an accurate location?”
“I’ll try again.” She closed her eyes, using every shred of concentration to reach out for Alex. Nothing.
She tried again. And again. Finally she opened her eyes. “N-nothing. I’m sorry. He must be very weak
not to pick up my call. I need to be closer.”
“I hate like hell having to take you at all. Once you locate him, I’ll bring you back here.
We have a few
hours to kill until dark.” He tossed her a towel and a small bar of soap. “If you turn left and go about a
hundred feet you’ll find your hot bath. Take your time.” He pulled her to her feet. “I’ll be at the main entrance, keeping a lookout.” Tory set her cup next to his on a rock ledge. “To tell the truth, I’d be more excited if you told me there
was a bathroom around here.” Flushing, she picked up the wet, folded clothes, adding them to the soap
and towel.
“Your every wish is my command. Follow me.”
The cavern was about the size of two football fields, the walls pale in the eerie glow.
The sapphire water
was crystal clear, casting shimmering waves on the walls.
Tory walked beside Marc as they circled the lake on the far side. “How do all these plants live in here?”
she asked as they passed a shrub covered with tiny white flowers. Ferns and moss grew right to the
water’s edge.
“There’s plenty of natural light and freshwater.” Marc plucked one of the flowers and stuck it in her
braid. “Let me know if you want to swim, though. The water here is over forty-five feet deep. Its clarity
is deceptive.”
Circling around a huge fern that was as tall as he was, he turned back to look at her.
“See that whirlpool
at the end?”
In this light, with the reflection from the lake, his eyes were crystal clear and looked blue. “What is it?”
“A natural drain.” He pointed back the way they’d come. “The hot spring is back there in the gut of the
mountain. The water pools in the depression near camp and then runs into this lake. By then it’s cold.
The water drains down a forty-foot tunnel directly into the sea below. Don’t swim here unless I’m with
you.
When it was ready,
she filled the two cups he held, then settled down to sip the hot fragrant brew. “What time is it, anyway?”
“After three. You slept for twelve hours straight.”
“I wish you’d woken me.” Tory clasped the warm cup between her hands, settling the container on her
drawn-up knees. “I had a dream last night.” Her dark hair fell over her shoulder and she set the cup
down on the sand, absently fiddling with the long strand. “Alex is badly hurt, Marc. He’s almost dead. I
can feel it.” She gazed over his shoulder without focusing, swallowing hard.
In her dream, her brother’s face had been beaten so badly it was totally unrecognizable.
The dream had
left her shaken and frightened to death that they might be too late.
“I’ll go in after dark and bring him out.” His lips tightened. “I did a quick reconnoiter this morning in
Pescarna. If that’s where they’re holding Lynx, then they’re doing a damn good job of covering their
tracks. It’ll save hours of time if you can pinpoint exactly where he is.” Marc swallowed the last of his
coffee and poured the rest of the pot into his cup. “Whatever his condition, I’ll get him out. Angelo will
be waiting for my signal.”
She didn’t like the way Marc said, “whatever his condition.” Her throat was tight when she spoke.
“How long do we have to wait before we can find him?”
“Can you give me his exact coordinates?”
She shook her head.
“How about a specific location?”
“Pescarna. I need to be closer…”
“No.”
“You brought me all this way for exactly that purpose.”
“That was before I knew they’d already gotten hold of you and beat the shit out of you.”
“Oh.” Did she think he couldn’t figure that one out?
“Yes.Oh. Can you make contact with your brother and get an accurate location?”
“I’ll try again.” She closed her eyes, using every shred of concentration to reach out for Alex. Nothing.
She tried again. And again. Finally she opened her eyes. “N-nothing. I’m sorry. He must be very weak
not to pick up my call. I need to be closer.”
“I hate like hell having to take you at all. Once you locate him, I’ll bring you back here.
We have a few
hours to kill until dark.” He tossed her a towel and a small bar of soap. “If you turn left and go about a
hundred feet you’ll find your hot bath. Take your time.” He pulled her to her feet. “I’ll be at the main entrance, keeping a lookout.” Tory set her cup next to his on a rock ledge. “To tell the truth, I’d be more excited if you told me there
was a bathroom around here.” Flushing, she picked up the wet, folded clothes, adding them to the soap
and towel.
“Your every wish is my command. Follow me.”
The cavern was about the size of two football fields, the walls pale in the eerie glow.
The sapphire water
was crystal clear, casting shimmering waves on the walls.
Tory walked beside Marc as they circled the lake on the far side. “How do all these plants live in here?”
she asked as they passed a shrub covered with tiny white flowers. Ferns and moss grew right to the
water’s edge.
“There’s plenty of natural light and freshwater.” Marc plucked one of the flowers and stuck it in her
braid. “Let me know if you want to swim, though. The water here is over forty-five feet deep. Its clarity
is deceptive.”
Circling around a huge fern that was as tall as he was, he turned back to look at her.
“See that whirlpool
at the end?”
In this light, with the reflection from the lake, his eyes were crystal clear and looked blue. “What is it?”
“A natural drain.” He pointed back the way they’d come. “The hot spring is back there in the gut of the
mountain. The water pools in the depression near camp and then runs into this lake. By then it’s cold.
The water drains down a forty-foot tunnel directly into the sea below. Don’t swim here unless I’m with
you.
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