They watched as the Granddaughter took off to wait in the lower atmosphere in case the group needed a rapid pickup and then marched into the jungle single-file.
Nickie spat the sand out of her mouth. “What’s with the climate here? That’s a jungle, I’m breathing sand, and it’s hot as all fuck.”
Adelaide looked around with wide eyes. “The wind, it’s so hot! It feels almost alive.”
Keen offered an explanation. “It must be the volcanic system here. Most of the planet looked sandy from those schematics, but the volcanoes enrich the soil and make the abundance of life here possible. Of course, whatever lives or grows here has to be tough. When the volcano erupts, it wipes out everything in its blast radius.”
“Speaking of things that live here, keep your eyes peeled,” Nickie quipped as she and Grim broke a path through the thick foliage with the machetes they’d brought for the purpose. “John tells me there are giant mosquitos here.”
“I wasn’t joking about those,” John called from behind her.
Nickie laughed. “How far are we from the river?”
“About three klicks,” John replied. “We keep on in this direction, and then we have easy sailing all the way to the volcano.”
“As long as we don’t fall victim to the mosquitos,” Grim chipped in.
John chuckled. “Yeah, that.”
They made good time through the jungle and heard the water a good twenty minutes before they came to the source. They stopped for a brief rest and a quick drink before continuing on to the looming volcano in the near distance.
Nickie’s enhanced eyesight gave her a clearer view of what awaited them. The peak was obscured by a low-hanging cloudbank that descended to meet the spray that rose from a drop in the river as it coursed around the base of the volcano.
Nickie looked down the steep incline to the rushing waters below. “I’d love to know your idea of choppy waters if this is your ‘easy sailing.’”
John sucked in a breath. “I’ve never actually been here. All I had was second-hand stories to go on. This isn’t what I was expecting, either.”
Nickie shrugged unconcernedly. “At least there’s something like a drop pool at the bottom of the volcano. We should be okay.”
The others came to stand beside her.
Adelaide’s face drained of color as she contemplated the river. “I don’t know if this is such a good idea. It didn’t look this fast on the map.” She looked at the inflatable raft they’d brought along for the journey. “Is the raft even going to be able to handle that?”
Keen patted her on the shoulder and grabbed the rope to pull the raft toward the water’s edge. “There’s only one way to find out.”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “Maybe I should have stayed on the ship with Durq. This is a lot more dangerous than I thought it was going to be.”
Grim came to stand beside her. “Can I tell you a secret?”
Adelaide nodded distractedly. “Of course.”
Grim dropped his voice. “I’m afraid of heights. Terrified, in fact.”
Adelaide frowned. “But there are definitely going to be heights involved here. Why did you come then?”
Grim gazed at the volcano with a far-off expression. “Because it’s a challenge. Because it’s there, and a man’s life will be saved if this mission is successful.”
“Not to mention the war that won’t happen,” John added.
Nickie noticed that Keen was having trouble, so she took the rope from him and dragged the raft to the water. “If we could all get our asses into the raft before the volcano erupts and burns us all to cinders, that would be fantastic.”
They all piled in and pushed off with their oars. The current took the raft immediately. They were propelled along at high speed, only just able to keep the raft upright in the churning rapids.
Nickie whooped as she pushed her oar against a rock to avoid the raft hitting it. “This is a hell of a lot faster than walking!”
Grim leaned out a little to steer them around a cluster of floating logs. “How long until we hit the pool?”
How long, Meredith?
Approximately six minutes. But Nickie—
Hang on, Meredith, there’s something ahead.
That’s what I was about to tell you. The pool is at the bottom of a thirty-foot waterfall.
“Tie yourselves off!” she yelled. “Quickly. There’s a drop coming.”
They all hustled to secure themselves to the raft. The spray from the river got thicker the closer they got to the edge of the waterfall, obscuring their view. It was a tense minute or two as the questers waited for the fall.
They hit a log, or a log hit them, and the raft was suddenly unsupported in the air. Adrenaline stretched the second before it plummeted into an eternity for Nickie. She saw the individual reactions of everyone on the raft. Grim’s face was set in resigned determination, John’s and Keen’s held an equal amount of joy, which she suspected was mirrored on her own, Adelaide’s eyes were screwed shut as she clung to the side of the raft with everything she had.
The impact with the water threw them all to the ends of their tethers. Grim’s snapped, but he was an adept swimmer and trod water while he checked to see if any of the others needed help.
Only Adelaide remained on the raft. Nickie checked on her first, then swam back and hauled herself in. The others climbed back in, and they paddled to the edge of the pool.
They clambered onto the sandy shore and shook off what water they could before heading in single file once more toward the base of the volcano.
Rebus Quadrant, Planet Zuifra, Reinek, Base of Volcano
Keen fell toward the back of the group as the air became thinner. They’d climbed the lower slopes of the volcano with ease, and the ledge halfway up that John had insisted they aim for was within sight.
As they neared the end of their climb, John strode ahead. “We’ll find the plant growing somewhere in the center chambers, where the soil is rich enough in sulfur for it to grow. All we have to do is get there in one piece.”
Nickie hauled herself over the ledge and turned to help Adelaide scramble over. “We made it to the tunnel entrance,” she called over the edge.
Adelaide unhooked the rope that attached her to Nickie and went to peer nervously into the dark entrance. “This isn’t the entrance we looked at on the map.”
John made it to the ledge and knelt to help Grim. “There’s a verified route from this entrance. It’s the safer choice.”
Keen puffed as he reached the edge and accepted Grim’s and John’s help to gain the ledge. “Is it supposed to be this hot?” He checked his suit readout and gasped. “That’s pretty damn high!” There was a low, deep rumble beneath their feet, and an explosion of beating wings came from the trees below as the birds took flight in fear. “Is it safe? I can’t see these suits protecting us from much more than the temperature.”
John pulled the hood of his suit up and locked the flexible faceplate in place. “It’s a volcano, Keen. What do you think?” He strode into the tunnel entrance with more than a little swagger in his step.
Nickie wrinkled her nose at the smell of sulfur that hung in the air. “It’s definitely not going to be safe if we waste time talking,” she remarked, pulling her own hood up. She switched on her flashlight and headed into the tunnel after John. “Just be careful, and you won’t get hurt.”
The dank tunnel ahead was lit only by John’s handheld device. Nickie hurried to catch up with him as the others followed with varying amounts of reluctance.
John led them through the labyrinth, ever down toward the center of the volcano. The tunnels were rough and almost impassable in some places. They picked their way through, carefully navigating the frequent rockfalls they came across while they followed the uncertain directions John had compiled.
The temperature rose steadily the deeper they ventured into the tunnels until even Nickie was glad of her suit’s protection despite the nanocytes that regulate
d her body temperature. She glanced at Keen, whose faceplate was now foggy from the sheer amount of sweat pouring off him.
“You okay?” she asked.
Keen nodded and pressed on.
They came to a larger rockfall, and this one blocked the tunnel. They began to look around for a way through. John opened his handheld and tried to find an alternative route. He swiped and tapped at it a couple of times, and frowned when it didn’t respond. He banged it against his hand in frustration.
Nickie shone her flashlight over the cave-in. “Is there another way around?”
John held up the device to show her. “Not one that I know for certain we can trust, especially now this thing isn’t working properly. We’ll have to dig through.”
Nickie shrugged. “Then let’s get to digging. Just wait while Meredith tells me where the best place to break through is. We don’t want to get killed because we took the wrong boulder out and collapsed the whole thing.”
“Good thinking.”
Meredith directed Nickie to a relatively safe place, and they got to work clearing a path. They were almost through when another rumble froze them in their tracks.
Nickie paused in the act of passing back the chunk of rock she’d just pried loose. “That tremor was stronger than the last one.”
“We’re a lot closer to the center,” John informed them. He held up his map device. “I got it working again. We’re almost at the end of this section of the labyrinth.”
“Oh, thank fuck for that,” Nickie exclaimed. She almost lost her footing on the loose scree but caught herself using the rock in her hands as a counterweight to regain her balance.
John scrambled up. “Here, let me help with that.”
Nickie handed him the rock without a word. The corner of her mouth lifted when John tried to hide his surprise at the weight. “What, no argument?”
Nickie smirked and tore a boulder twice as large from the rockfall with ease. There was the hint of a dull red glow in the space vacated by the rock. “Hey, I see the other side!” She skipped down the side of the rockfall to dump the boulder safely at the bottom and turned to climb up again.
John was still standing there with the rock in his hands and a look of shock on his face.
“What?” Nickie demanded. “Do I look like a fucking damsel?”
“At no point did I say you did,” John countered. He gave her his usual easy grin and ducked through the hole. “Damsels are rarer than dragon’s teeth these days.”
Grim watched the exchange with more than a little confusion. “Are you two flirting or arguing?” he asked.
“Yes,” came John’s reply.
Reinek, Labyrinth of the Dead
The temperature rose to even more uncomfortable levels on the other side of the rockfall.
Nickie ducked through, followed by Adelaide. Then the two women helped Grim and John through the hole, and finally Keen. They climbed down the loose slope and paused to take stock of their surroundings.
They were in a larger tunnel which led off toward the source of the faint red glow. That’s not fucking sinister or anything.
We are approaching an aperture, I suspect.
Adelaide and Keen began to cough as the group deliberated on which way to go next.
Nickie felt a little lightheaded for a moment until her nanocytes got to work to filter the impurities out of the air. “Everyone, get your respirators in. There’s something funky in the air.”
Adelaide coughed again, harder this time. “Mine isn’t working.” She swayed a little as the bad air began to affect her, and Keen rushed to steady her before she stumbled and fell. He lowered her gently to the floor. Nickie undid her faceplate, removed her respirator from where it hung around her neck, and quickly sealed it shut again.
“You need that,” Adelaide protested between hitched breaths.
Nickie took a deep breath to show Adelaide that she wasn’t affected by the toxicity. “Nope, see? I’m okay without it.” She handed the respirator to Adelaide and waited impatiently for her to switch them out.
Adelaide gave them a thumbs-up a minute later as the respirator cleared her lungs. She got to her feet as the color returned to her face.
Nickie stalked off as soon as Adelaide was functional again, determined not to waste another minute. She gave John a little shove as she passed him. “You can quit thinking we’re flirting. Unless you get off on disappointment; then you’re golden. Just leave me out of it.”
She didn’t wait for him to reply. She moved onwards to scout ahead and make sure their route was clear, using the copy of John’s map she’d had Meredith upload to her HUD. They were getting close to the end of the mapped area now, and she wanted to see what they were facing next without anyone seeing her reaction. It would also give her time to think of how to tackle it while the others caught up.
Is it getting hotter?
It is. Your suit is operating at optimum levels. I can divert a little more energy to your nanocytes to compensate if you need me to, but it should be a last resort.
She dialed up her suit’s temperature control. The suit is fine. I’ll save my energy since we don’t know what’s ahead.
The tunnel widened as she walked, opening up until Nickie found herself in an enormous cavern. The expansive walls were lit with the red glow. Nickie ventured toward the source, a gaping fissure in the rock of the cavern floor. She peered over the edge at the river of magma churning sluggishly below.
Well, shit.
That’s one way to put it.
She stepped back and scratched her head, fazed by the enormity of the challenge. If she had been here alone on this mission, the problem would be nonexistent. In fact, she probably would have been wrapping this up around about now and getting the hell out of there.
This was the downside to working with other people—the lost time spent holding their hands to help them keep up. A part of her was wistful for the days when she could lone-wolf her way through whatever situation she found herself in.
Only for a moment. She remembered that she’d also had no one to laugh with and no one to light the dark along the way. A little handholding might be a fair exchange for that.
“Wait up,” Grim called as he and the others entered the cavern.
“I wasn’t going anywhere,” she shot back. She leaned against a boulder while the others got their bearings.
John gazed around the cavern in wonder. “Wow, this place is huge. I wonder what the test is.”
Nickie pointed at the tear in the rock. “I’d say the impasse we’re at qualifies as a test. One that not just anyone can pass.”
Grim glanced over the edge, then took a quick step back and gulped. “I’m doubting my ability to pass the test right now. That’s a big fall.”
“It’s okay. The lava would kill you before the fall could.”
Grim freaked out at that. “It doesn’t matter how I would die, only that I have to get over…that.” He pointed at the crevasse.
Adelaide came over and patted his arm. “It’s okay. We can do this.” She shielded her eyes from the glow and strained to see the other side of the fissure. “I can’t see a way across. Looks like we’ll have to make our own.”
Nickie squinted, judging the distance. “I’m pretty sure I can make it across. I just don’t know how to get the rest of you over there.”
John shucked off his pack and began to rummage around inside. “We don’t need to make a way. Here.” He produced a thick coil of synthetic-looking rope, which was secured to the end of itself with a clip, so it didn’t unravel. He handed the rope to Nickie, along with a mesh bag that contained the bolts to fix the line to the rock when she got across.
Adelaide eyed the rope skeptically. “How are we going to get across using just a rope?”
John stuck his hand in his pack again and came out with a zip line harness. “Easy, I thought of every eventuality.”
Nickie hooked the rope over her body and walked to the edge of the tear to look for
a suitable landing spot. There was a protrusion in the cliff opposite that looked wide enough to take them if they crossed one at a time and took care when they landed.
She backed up and prepared herself to take a running jump.
“Be careful!” Adelaide cried, shattering Nickie’s focus.
Nickie ground to a halt before reaching the edge. “No distractions,” she told Adelaide. She returned to the same spot and started again, this time without interruption. She landed on the opposite side of the crevasse with a jarring crunch and a flood of relief. She shook off the shock to her joints and got to work securing the line to the cliff wall.
She gave the line a tug when she was done, and it went taut. A couple of minutes later it dipped, and then Adelaide came flying toward her on the improvised zip line with her legs pedaling frantically in the air.
Adelaide landed awkwardly just as Nickie got out of the way. She let out a little screech as she ran to a stop before she hit the wall.
“You okay?” Nickie asked.
“Yeah, I’m good. Keen’s next.” Adelaide removed herself from the harness and brushed herself down to remove the dust she’d raised with her landing.
Nickie hooked the harness back onto the rope and John pulled it back across. Keen got into the harness and paused on the edge to talk to Grim. He pushed off and landed neatly beside Nickie and Adelaide a moment later.
“What’s going on over there?”
Keen wriggled out of the harness and handed it to Nickie. “Grim is asking to be left behind.”
Nickie sighed. She’d had a feeling he would refuse to cross. She turned to Adelaide. “Stay here. I’ll be back.” She grabbed the rope with both hands and jumped to wrap her legs over it. Suspended upside-down, she pulled herself hand over hand to shinny back to the other side.
When she got there, she took the hand John offered and clambered back onto solid ground as another tremor shook the cavern.
Nickie handed the harness to John. “Just get over there. I’ll take care of Grim.”
John looked skeptical, but he pulled the harness on and clipped it onto the rope. “Are you sure?”
Deuces Wild Boxed Set Page 56
