Dangerous Depths

by Colleen Coble

  Tûtû insisted Leia cancel the arrival of the helicopter, and she reluctantly agreed. Her grandmother seemed fine now, and no one could force her into going in for treatment. Ipo agreed to tell her doctor about it at her visit later in the week, and Leia had to be content with that promise. Malia arrived to spend some time with their grandmother.

  “You’re sure you’ll be okay? I promised Candace I’d stop by the dive shop while Kaia is out sightseeing with Mano and Annie,” Leia said.

  “Go, go,” Malia said. “We’ll be fine. Leave Ajax with us. He’ll protect us.”

  They took Leia’s bike to the pier and took the boat around to Kaunakakai, where they got Leia’s car. There was a familiar van out-side the dive shop when they pulled up. “Hans is here.” Leia nodded toward the lettering on the side of the van. “He’s got a lot of nerve to bother her.” She jumped out and ran toward the front door. She heard shouting as she neared the door and put on an extra burst of speed. Before she could enter, the door flew open, and Aberg Hans barreled through. His face was even redder than usual, but he was smiling. He paused when he saw Bane behind her. Anger flashed over his face, and he brushed past Leia.

  Bane blocked his escape. “What are you doing here?”

  “I don’t see a badge on your chest. It’s none of your business.” Hans tried to go around him, but Bane sidestepped into his path again. “Get out of my way, Oana. This doesn’t concern you.”

  Candace came to the door. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were wet. “He came to tell me he’s bought the building.”

  “What?” Leia and Bane said in unison.

  Hans was smiling again. “I want you out by next week. It belongs to me now, and I’m going to bulldoze it down myself.” His voice was ripe with satisfaction.

  Leia directed a glance at Bane. “How could my mother do such a thing?”

  A worried frown crouched between his eyes. “Is she in financial trouble?”

  Candace leaned her head against the wall. “If she’d only told me it was for sale, I would have gone to the bank and tried to get a loan.”

  “Look,” Bane said to Hans. “Let her buy it from you. Have a heart. She has to have a way to raise her baby by herself.”

  Hans laughed. “I don’t think so. I heard you found the treasure ship. That will see to her needs. I’ve got all I want.” He stepped past Bane, and this time Bane didn’t block him. The big man strode to the van and drove off.

  As the sound of the motor faded, Candace wilted even more. “What am I going to do?” She put her face in her hands.

  Leia embraced her. “Maybe we can find you another building.”

  “You know how impossible it is to find a waterfront—and how expensive.” She shook her head. “It’s over.” Candace wilted against the doorjamb.

  Leia led her friend inside and made her sit down. Bane went to fix them all a cup of coffee. “I haven’t wanted to pry about your finances, but do you need any money?” She had a little set aside, not much, but enough to buy some groceries.

  “I’ve got enough for now, but it won’t last long.” Candace tossed a tissue onto the counter, where it joined several other wadded ones. She put on a brave smile.

  Money never lasted long here, not with the costs of living in Hawai’i. “Well, if you need some help, I’ll be glad to share what I have.”

  “You’re so sweet, Leia. But don’t worry about me.”

  A request that would be hard to grant. Leia curled her fingers into her palms. Tony’s death and Candace’s plight was yet another reason to wonder why God acted the way he sometimes did. What was the use of all these trials? “Let’s go talk to my mother,” she said to Bane.

  She simmered in silence as they drove to her parents’ house. Ingrid had to have been planning this when they talked last. A sale like that didn’t happen overnight. What could have possessed her mother to do it?

  Ingrid met them at the door. “Leia, Bane, what a nice surprise.” Her smile vanished. “Is something wrong?”

  “Why did you sell the Aloha Dive Shop building to Aberg Hans?” Leia’s voice vibrated with fury. “I didn’t even know you knew him.”

  Her mother turned and went down the hall to the living room. Leia and Bane followed. A light floral scent from the candle on the hall table permeated the air, confirming how her mother was all about possessing the right image, not real substance. “How could you?” Leia demanded. “That was all Candace had.”

  “It was a business decision. He offered me more than anyone else would pay. She can relocate to somewhere else.”

  “Where? Mama, she’s pregnant, alone, and scared. This will crush her.”

  “Always looking back and never forward, isn’t that right, Leia? You always think with your heart and not your head. My investments are what have paid for the boat you use and the car you drive. Before you question my judgment, remember that you all rely on me for food to eat and a roof over your heads.”

  It was all Leia could do not to physically flinch. “You always extract a price for your generosity, don’t you? You give, then expect us all to kowtow to your demands.”

  “What demands? Is it unreasonable to want you to live up to your potential?” Her mother spread out her hands with the palms up. “You could have been the best doctor in the country, Leia.”

  “It’s not what I want, Mama! I can’t be the perfect daughter you always wanted.” Leia touched the scar on her lip. “I can’t control who I am inside. I don’t trust drugs, scalpels, and anesthetics. I want to help the body heal naturally. Why is it so wrong to pursue my own path?”

  “It’s another way you look back, Leia, another way of not facing the future and the reality of modern life.” Her mother turned with a jerky movement. “I’m done, Leia. Do whatever you want, but don’t come crying to me to pick up the pieces.”

  Leia flushed hot then went cold. Her auntie was right—her mother wasn’t capable of unconditional love. “Very well, Mama. Sell the building, stick the money in the bank. I don’t think it will make you happy. And certainly none of us can. We can’t live up to your expectations.” Her fingers were cold as she dug in the pocket of her shorts. “Here, you can have the keys to the car and the boat.”

  Her mother waved away the keys. “The car was your graduation gift.”

  “And the boat is my gift to you from this minute on.” Her father spoke from the doorway. “What’s going on here, Ingrid?”

  “Just your daughter being unappreciative as usual.”

  Leia had never been so happy to see her father. He stepped next to her and put his arm around her. She sagged against his bulk and wished she could disappear under his arm. “It’s fine, Makua. Mama and I have finally come to an understanding. I won’t expect her to love me, and she won’t expect me to be perfect.”

  Akoni turned to his wife. “What have you been saying to Leia?” he demanded.

  “Let’s end this discussion right now. I’m going to make some tea. Anyone want any? Bane?” Ingrid’s smile was brittle as she turned to Bane.

  He shook his head. Leia’s gaze met his, and she looked away from the sympathy in his eyes.

  The sun was just barely peeking over the edge of the horizon. Bane stepped outside while Ajax did his business. He watched the mist rise in the warmth of the morning. Ipo was clear-eyed this morning and was happily gathering orchids in the garden to make leis with Malia.

  Leia slung her backpack over her shoulder. “Call me if you need me,” she told Malia.

  Malia tried to hand her a cell phone, but Leia pushed it away. “It would be so much easier if you’d take my cell phone.”

  “I can call on the ship-to-shore phone.”

  Bane grinned. “Give it up, Malia. Call my cell if you need any-thing, and I’ll relay the message. We’ll leave Ajax with you.” He scribbled the number on a piece of paper and handed it to her. She stuffed it in her purse and waved them off.

  “How are we going to do anything today if Ron tells us the court hasn’t
intervened? OHA has forbidden us to excavate, and they’ll have boats out guarding the site by now. What if they have sonar to watch for underwater intrusion?”

  Bane had been wondering the same thing. “I suppose Ron will have a plan. He generally does, and he knows we won’t go down without permission.”

  “Have you heard if his appeal to the courts has done any good?”

  “No, but I’m sure we’ll find out when we get there.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. She was like a warm tropical breeze blowing over the sea. He remembered the day his mother left in a vivid motion picture that played over and over in his mind. He, Mano, and Kaia had been playing in the tree house by the lagoon. He had taken a Cup of Gold flower to his mother with pride. She always smelled of ginger and sunshine. She took the huge flower and stuck it in her hair. It covered nearly the whole side of her head, and the fragrance of it enveloped him when she leaned down to hug him. “You’re my poet, Bane. Don’t ever change.”

  He’d promised he wouldn’t, but when he woke up the next morning, she and Kaia were gone. She’d left the flower he’d given her behind, and he knew then that a poet would never win the heart of a princess. And the responsibility for his brother had fallen on his skinny shoulders. He’d sworn to broaden them enough to make sure he and Mano were never hurt like that again. He couldn’t let his guard down, ever.

  He became aware that Leia was staring at him. “What?”

  “You seem almost dreamy. What were you thinking about?”

  For a crazy minute, he wondered what she would say if he told her she looked as beautiful as the sea. The words stayed clamped behind his teeth. He nodded toward the deck of the ship. “Looks like they’re all waiting on us. You took too long on your makeup.”

  She punched him in the arm, then undid her seat belt and grabbed her satchel of gear. “I don’t wear makeup and you know it.”

  “You don’t need it.” She looked at him with surprise in her eyes, and he looked away. No woman respected a soft side. He needed to remember that. “You seem to have recovered from the break with your mom.”

  She frowned. “It’s been coming a long time. Now I understand there’s something broken in her. It’s freeing, actually. I don’t have to worry about pleasing her anymore, now that I know it’s not possible.”

  “I’m sorry.” He wanted to tell her his love was as limitless as the sea, but the words wouldn’t come.

  “Don’t be. I’m fine.” She straightened her shoulders. “Let’s go. I’m eager to see what’s down there now.”

  “Are you sure you’ll be okay? I don’t want you getting narced again.”

  “I’m fine. We’ll need to do this in short hops. Do you think Annie is right, and we might be getting ready to deal with a new seamount?”

  “She might be. The crack was definitely widening. She brought along some equipment to test the water. Maybe that will tell her more.” He had swum near the seamount offshore the Big Island. It was very unpleasant with underground hissing and popping that was so loud it was hard to think. And the water was nasty—too warm and filled with ash that made visibility poor.

  “I guess we’re going to find out.” She walked ahead of him to the boat. Kaia stood with Mano and Annie at the edge of the dock. The divers Tony had hired were already in the boat.

  “I thought we were going to have to drag you both out of bed,” Mano said. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

  They climbed into the smaller craft that would take them out to the research ship. The steward guided the boat out on the choppy waves. He loved the sea—the smell of it, the feel and taste of the salt in the air. God was good that he had allowed Bane to do what he loved and get paid for it.

  He glanced at Leia with her face in the wind as well. Her eyes were bright, and he knew she felt the same way he did about the ocean. The ship anchored above the site where they’d found the Spanish galleon. They all boarded the ship. Bane turned to find Ron. “I thought we’d be anchored a ways from the site. What gives?” he asked Ron.

  Ron smiled, but the impression was that of a shark on the prowl. “Judge Hapo is a friend of mine. He saw the merit of my claim and has lifted the injunction for now. It still has to go to court, but until it does, we can proceed here. I’ve got Trimix gas in the tanks, so we’re all set.”

  The boat pitched and yawed with the high surf, and he planted his feet apart to maintain his balance. “If Annie is right, we may not have much time anyway. There may be a volcanic event brewing.”

  Ron’s gaze turned to Annie, who clung to the railing. “Really? There hasn’t been an active volcano in this area for centuries.”

  “That could change.” Annie’s voice was soft but full of quiet authority that made everyone look at her as she stood beside Mano and surveyed the area. “We’ve been recording earthquake swarms right here of the frequency and magnitude that preceded the last event at Mauna Loa. I’m going to take samples and check it out. But don’t get your hopes set on excavating this wreck. You need to stay smart about it.”

  Silence greeted her words. Something lurked under the choppy seas, but was it fame and fortune or a nightmarish scene out of Dante’s Inferno? They needed to go down, but he knew none of them really wanted to do it.

  “Let’s get down there now, then.” Ron began to pull on his wet suit. The rest of the crew hurriedly began to prepare for the dive. They trooped down to the platform near the water. Nani per- formed a leap off the bow of the ship and splashed Shaina as she was preparing to jump into the water. The dolphin rose and chattered in an agitated manner.

  “Sounds like she has something she wants to say.” Kaia opened the backpack she’d brought down and grabbed the hydrophone contraption she used to communicate with Nani. “You remember how to use this?”

  “Sure.”

  She handed it to Bane. “You handle it. I need to leave tomorrow, and you’ll be on your own with her.”

  He nodded and dropped the communication device into the water. He typed, “Hello, Nani.” The hydrophone picked up a series of clicks, then the computer display read: DANGER HOT. He looked up at his sister. “This doesn’t sound good. Is she serious?”

  “I’m sure she is.” Kaia’s gaze met Annie’s. “Annie, could you call the observatory and see what they’re picking up?”

  “I was just about to do that.” Annie went to her satchel and dug out her cell phone.

  Leia’s blue eyes were wide as she stepped close to Bane. “Do you think it’s safe to go down?” She tipped a wide smile his way and fingered the tiny scar on her lip.

  “I hope so. We haven’t even begun to figure out this thing. It would be a huge disappointment to have come this far only to have it all fall apart just as we’re about to investigate. What do you think? You tend to run tilting at windmills with no help.”

  “I don’t like to be a scaredycat,” she admitted.

  “It comes from being the oldest. We older siblings grow up believing we have to handle things. You take it to extremes though. It’s okay to lean on someone once in awhile. Like me, for instance.”

  She looked away, and he wondered what she was thinking. When he stood outside with her after the luau, the electricity bounding between them had been enough to power the Molokai’i Lighthouse.

  Annie interrupted his thoughts by shoving a printout in his face. “There has been a huge swarm of quakes overnight. They tried to call me, but I was out of range. Fawn says to be careful. It might be hot down there.”

  Bane winced. “We’d better not all go down. I’ll check it out, and if it’s safe, we’ll take a team down.”

  “You can’t go alone.” Leia pulled her face mask down and went to the exit ramp.

  “I’m going too.” Annie followed her. “I need samples.”

  “You’re not going into danger without me,” Mano objected.

  “Well, I’m not going down.” Jermaine folded his arms over his chest.

  “Count me out,” Shaina said. “Volcanoes sc
are me.”

  “Ho’olohe. Just let me go take a look by myself. We don’t all need to be in danger.”

  “Give it up, Bane,” Leia said. “We’re going.” She went into the water, and her bubbles rose to the surface.

  He shook his head and got into his gear. Holding on to his mask, Bane jumped into the water. The warm waves welcomed him in a salty bath. Nani brushed against him, and he grabbed her dorsal fin and dove with her. At least he could get there before the rest and check out the level of danger. He located the mound of lobe coral to orient himself to his location. The water temperature seemed to stay level, and he took encouragement from the fact until he noticed how few fish were here.

  He passed the cave but didn’t spare it a glance today with his focus on the state of the developing cracks. He located the one that ran from the cave toward the drop-off, then swam along it. It seemed to have stayed the same width. He noticed a crack that veered off from it and decided to follow it. Nani followed along beside him, but she was showing signs of agitation: rolling over in the water, darting in front of him as though to bar his advance. He knew the danger must be along this crack, so he slowed his speed and peered ahead as far as he could see.

  The water began to feel warmer. The clear visibility dropped to less than fifty feet, then to less than thirty. He checked his dive computer. He was at about sixty feet.

  Then he saw it—a red glow deep in the billowing pillow lava. The soft, cushionylooking mounds would be anything but soft if he dared to touch them. Annie was right. An eruption had begun down here. There was no telling how long it would be before the eruption spread and endangered the site where the sunken ship sat. Ron wouldn’t like this.

  Bane turned and swam back the way he’d come. He reached the mother crack and decided to follow it down into the abyss a short distance. Nani followed him, but she was still distressed. He pressed on anyway. He had to know what the conditions were. Checking his dive computer, he monitored his mental state as he dove past one hundred feet, then one hundred fifty. He could see the ledge ahead, but something more ominous caught his attention. Another red glow in the distance, on the same level as the ship.