As caves go, the one we stumbled upon seemed unusually bright. The source of illumination came from the far end, which was only a few hundred feet away. But the really unusual thing was in the way the light reflected off the walls.
“Dig this,” said Carlos. “I think this entire wall is one big diamond.”
“Impossible.” Tony stepped up to the wall for a closer look. Diamonds don’t form in blocks this large.”
“Maybe not on Earth.”
“Not anywhere.”
“No, I think he’s right,” I said. “Tony, look. There’s something strange going on here.”
“Like what?”
“I can see my shadow in the diamond.”
“Yeah,” said Carlos. “Me, too. Check it out.” He laughed. “Stupid shadow. Doesn’t even move when I do. There’s a delayed reaction.”
Tony stepped back from the wall, uninterested. “Very nice. Now what do you say we find Jerome and get the hell out of here?”
“There!” cried Ursula, pointing. “He stands out well against the light yonder.”
Carlos said, “It’s another entrance.”
“Or exit,” I said, confusing Ursula.
“My,” she mused. “How shall we know which?”
I nudged her on to get her moving. “We check it out. That’s how.”
Upon reaching Jerome at the cave’s opening, we discovered it was neither an entrance nor an exit. At least not for humans. It was simply a perfectly round hole in the side of a sheer cliff face.
“Gotta be a mile straight down,” Carlos remarked. He toed the edge of the drop and spat. The wind took it back in his face.
Tony laughed. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you about spitting into the wind?”
“It’s the ES,” I said. “There was no guarantee that would happen.”
“No guarantee it wouldn’t. It’s the same reason I wouldn’t jump from here.”
“Good point.” I toed the rocky edge next to Carlos and looked out. The view, although scary, was also amazing. From our extraordinary height, I could see the entire valley. It appeared lush, vibrant and unblemished in a primitive way.
In one direction, I could see the tips of the great conifers marking the edge of the Dark Forest, spiraling above a bed of orange marshmallow clouds. Further, a massive volcano belched out plumes of smoke and ash that carried on the leeward wind to a single point lost on the horizon.
It all seemed so dreamlike. Distant, yet tangible. I had always imagined the ES to be a hellish place, a barren, caustic wasteland inhabited by only the most evil creatures. Weighing the rush of experiences, absorbing the sublime magnificence of such sights as these, I resigned that beauty lies deep in every corner of nature.
“Remarkable. Isn’t it?” Tony said. He toed the rocky ledge and put his arm around me.
“It’s a cathedral,” I whispered. “Perhaps a place of redemption for those sent here.”
“A last chance?”
“Yeah, more purgatory than hell. Isn’t it?”
“Well, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.”
I turned to see him looking at me. “I love you, Tony. You know that, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“I don’t say it often, I know. It makes me feel...”
“Vulnerable?”
“Yeah. But you know it’s times like these that we take stock in what’s important in our lives.”
“Am I important?”
“You know you are.”
He smiled a boyish grin, his twinkling eyes arresting my heart and killing me softly inside. “Of course, I know that, Lilith. Do you think I’d put up with you otherwise?”
“Anthony Achilleo Giovanni Marcella.” I palmed his chest and pushed him back towards the cave. “You are sooo bad.”
“Achilleo?” Carlos laughed. “That’s your name?”
“Yes, Carlos Andrea Rodriquez.”
Carlos’ face grew serious. “Hey I’ll have you know that Andrea is a very macho name. It means man warrior.”
“Whatever. Just don’t get your skirt up in a tizzy.”
“It’s not a skirt. It’s an infantry kilt. Very manly.
“Yeah, shows off your pretty legs, too.”
“Better than that robe you’re wearing.”
“Boys, come on.” I inserted myself between them. “We should get going.”
We took one last look at the breathtaking view of the valley before heading back through the cave.
As we passed the diamond wall, Carlos noticed the same peculiarity about his shadow again. He was right about it not mirroring his movements. A closer inspection confirmed that all the shadows were in odd misstep with our motions.
“That’s creepy,” I said. “I don’t think these are our shadows.”
“Yeah, me neither,” said Tony, and then suggested we pick up the pace.
We did, and the strange black silhouettes did the same. So we entered into a full run.
When the stretch of wall ran out, the phantom shadows leapt from the rock, onto our path. There, they seemed slower, encumbered by terrestrial drag, but no less determined. They continued in a languorous run, each kicking up dust and rocks in blind pursuit of their individual targets.
“Listen,” said Tony, leading the quick parade down the narrow trail. “When we get to the waterfall, peel off to the side and hug the cliff wall. Maybe they’ll keep going and run right into the river.”
“What if they don’t?” I asked.
“Then we’ll initiate plan B.”
“Which is?”
“To think of another plan.”
“Great. I’m glad you don’t work for NASA.”
We exited the cave in quick succession and rolled off to the sides, alternating left to right.
As Tony predicted, the phantom apparitions splashed through the waterfall and ran headlong into the river. They floated there, defying the strong current as if anchored to the bedrock below.
“Hey,” I said. “Is it me, or do those guys look familiar?”
“Sí,” said Leona. “I see they have our look.”
“The outlines are right,” Tony observed. “You know, I believe they are our shadows.”
“Sure.” Carlos pointed at the two on the end, their silhouettes’ rolling softly on the surface waves like drifting seaweed. “That’s Lilith and Ursula. You can tell by the hair. And look, that’s definitely Jerome’s over there.”
Ursula giggled. “Methinks they await us.”
“But why?”
“I think they want us to join them,” I said.
“I’m not joining anyone,” said Carlos, backing up.
Jerome was less apprehensive. He jumped into the water and climbed up on his shadow as if mounting a surfboard. By straddling it, he found he could manage his balance and easily float.
The moment he lay flat, however, all bets were off. He and his shadow took off like a rocket, screaming around the lagoon in a wave-thumping ride that appeared both dangerous and exhilarating.
I didn’t know what we could do to help him, save for knocking him off the damn thing with a zip ball, but that was likely to kill him. I didn’t expect he’d like that much.
Then something amazing happened. He sat up, and the shadow stopped. He lay forward again and the two blasted off on the ride of a lifetime. He continued doing that, displaying his mastery over a phenomenon he likely never encountered before. We could hear his laughter echoing throughout the lagoon, as it bounced off the rock cliffs enclosing the falls.
“Look at that!” Carlos exclaimed, apparently changing his opinion about the mysterious shadows. “It looks like fun.”
Tony said, “Yes, but don’t you dare think of––”
Before the warning left his lips, Carlos jumped into the water, mounted his shadow and began racing Jerome around the lake.
Naturally, I couldn’t let them show me up. I jumped in and hopped onto my shadow as easily as if putting on my shoes.
Ursula, wh
o before the expedition wouldn’t climb on a bicycle without assessing every nuance of potential disaster, took to her shadow like a second skin.
Of the two remaining on the platform, I would have thought Leona too scared to try such a stunt. I was wrong. She beat Tony into the water and proved herself a little hell raiser on a jet shadow.
After buzzing around the lagoon for a while, it became obvious that we had acquired a method of transportation second only to portal jumping, which now seemed as far and few between as a Starbucks in the Antarctic. Ironic. I know.
We headed downstream in a wolf pack formation, only this time we let Ursula lead. She seemed like a natural at it, so we figured why not.
Before long, we had navigated into a shallow area of the river where the water got treacherously skinny. Worse, a dense fog had rolled in, swallowing the landscape and muting our shadows until they had completely disappeared.
Stranded and washed out, we waded onto the riverbank. Visibility was nearly nil, but with no other options, we joined hands and started back into the forest.
After bumping into so many trees, Tony decided to retake the lead. He found a stick and fashioned it into a sightseeing cane, which he used to feel his way along the ground as we walked.
He instructed us all to fall in line single file and take hold of the shirttail of the person in front of us. In my case, being behind Tony, I held onto his rawhide belt.
It worked fine as far as keeping us from running into trees, but it proved painfully slow in the ground-covering department. It didn’t help matters either when Carlos questioned Tony’s sense of direction.
“What do you mean by that, Rodriquez?”
You can always tell when Tony’s angry with Carlos. He calls him Rodriquez. Better that, I suppose, than calling him Andrea, though there’s no guarantee I won’t call him that in the future.
“I mean how do you know we’re not traveling in circles?”
“We’re not traveling in circles.”
“But how do you know?”
“Because I’m following the chirps.”
“What chirps?”
“From the crickets. They’re chirping in front of us. They hear us coming and they scoot up a little further to stay ahead of us.”
“How do you know they aren’t going in circles?”
“Carlos, why would the crickets go in circles?”
“I don’t know, maybe they don’t want to wander off too far from home. Crickets are territorial, you know. I heard––”
“Whoo!” Leona shrieked. “What was that?”
“What was what?” Tony stopped us abruptly. “You okay, Leona?”
“Sí, Detective. Something cold touched on my leg and brushed me.”
“Blessed be!” cried Ursula. “What hath brush thee, hath slithered past me as well!”
Tony turned to grab my shoulder, but then let out a yelp. “Whoa! I felt that one.”
“You felt it, too?” I asked.
“Abso-fuckin-lutely! There’s something out here.”
“`Tis a Wyvern, methinks,” said Ursula, “for such be the way of the serpent.”
“Snake pass! Snake pass!” Jerome warned.
“All right, everybody, chill,” I said. “Let’s keep our heads. How bad could it be if it hasn’t bitten anyone yet?”
“Yet?” Carlos laughed nervously. “Couldn’t you have phrased that better?”
“Ooh! Methinks it did bite!”
“Ouch-ouch-ouch!” Carlos cried as he hop scotched across the forest floor. “We have nibble! We have nibble! Damn! Got me on the shoulder, too!”
“The shoulder?” I said. “What’s it doing up on your shoulder?”
Tony felt his way to the nearest tree and pulled on a lower branch. “One of us should climb up.”
“Why?”
“I’m thinking this might only be ground fog. Maybe we can find a way out by looking above it.”
“I’ll do it,” said Carlos. “Anything to get off the ground.”
“What if the snakes are coming from the trees?”
“Lilith!”
“Sorry. The thought came to me.”
“Ow-wow-wow!” Tony yelled. “It got me. Something got me. Something definitely took a nip out of me. Carlos. Get up the damn tree!”
“Which one?”
“Any of `em! Just pick one.”
Carlos put his hand out through the fog and started climbing the first tree he touched. He called to us. “Hey I can see! It’s clear for miles.”
“Seriously?” I asked.
“Yes. It’s the strangest thing. The fog is like a puffy quilt. Above it is crisp clear skies.”
“That’s great. Do you see a way out?”
“Yeah, I see... Uh-oh.”
“What do you mean, uh-oh? Carlos, talk to me.”
“Looks like Jerome was right. These things are unbelievable.”
“What things?”
“Snakes! Only they’re more like serpents. You should see this. They’re trolling in schools, porpoising above the fog line like dolphins. They’re huge with spiny fins running down their backs. Oh gawd! The teeth on that sucker!”
“That’s it,” I said. “Come down. I think I have an idea.”
Tony nudged me. “What are you thinking, Lilith?”
I pulled the witch’s ladder from my pocket and began untying knots. “I’m going to make one hell of a vortex and, hopefully, suck all this fog out of the area.”
“You think it’ll work?”
“Only one way to find out.”
I heard Carlos fall from the tree. “Son-of-a––”
“Hold that thought, Carlos, and grab onto the tree. Everyone, find something and hang on tight.”
“Sure this is such a good––”
He never got the chance to finish. I released the third knot on the ladder, unleashing a massive whirlwind worthy of anything the ES could throw at us.
It roared like a freight train and ripped at our clothes with the force of a Boeing jet engine. At one point, I heard Leona cry she couldn’t hang on. Tony offered to help her. I hollered for him to stay put, and for her to rotate around the trunk if she could and put the wind at her back.
The mayhem grew louder. The sound of snapping branches raked in waves along the forest floor. The howl of wind grew deep, and soon the fog began to lift.
I buffered my eyes with my shoulder, as white swirls of convection whipped by us in a maelstrom of blistering air. I saw hundreds of serpent-like beasts, their bellies fat with prey, fighting against the pull of the wind and losing.
Others, those that Carlos saw swimming in the fog, defying gravity and trolling in schools, had either been sucked up by the vortex, or wrapped around trees in flattened ribbons of snake skin.
When it was over, all but the smallest in a nest of thousands were gone. Only those closest to the ground had escaped the fury of the vortex. They quickly slithered away in desperate retreat for the river, perhaps expecting refuge in the shallow waters there.
Jerome, excited beyond words to see so many snack-sized treats, gave chase to the lot of them. I hoped they were his favorite food. The thought of any of them getting away pissed me off.
“You did it!” said Tony. He pulled me into a bear hug. “I don’t believe it.”
“Yeah, nice work,” said Carlos, slowly picking himself up off the ground. “But you could have waited for me to get up first.”
“Boo-hoo. Get over it. Ursula, Leona. You girls all right.”
“I am fine,” Leona reported. “Much thanks to you for asking.”
“Aye,” said Ursula. “Thou art blessed with presence of mind and skills to match. What hath we but thanks for you, for `tis surely not enough.”
“Aw, shucks, don’t mention it,” I said, dismissing her in my naturally humble way. “All in a day’s work for an awesome witch like me.”
“No. she’s right,” said Tony. “Some of those snakes were as big as crocodiles. It wouldn’t have
taken much for them to swallow any one of us whole.”
“I hate snakes,” Carlos grumbled.
“Hey, look!” I pointed to an unusual break in the trees not a dozen yards away. “What’s that?”
Tony squinted through the lazy swirl of dust still settling on the ground. “I don’t know.”
I narrowed my focus and took a step toward the break. “Something’s happening over there. Isn’t it?”
Carlos unsheathed his bolo. “Are the snakes coming back?”
“No.” I shook my head doubtfully, still not sure if what I thought I saw was the real thing or not.
Tony said, “Lilith?”
I pointed at the area in question and rolled my finger in small circular motions. “Tony, do you see to the left of that big tree there? Does that look like a wave or disturbance of some sort?”
“Yes, it does.”
“Tell me. Am I seeing things, or is all that dust stirred up by the vortex funneling into an invisible hole there?”
“Yes, I... I think I see what you mean.”
“Aye!” said Ursula. “`Tis a hole for certain and a portal, mayhaps.”
“A portal?” said Carlos. “Well, what the hell are we waiting for? Come on. Let’s check it out!”
We ran, giddy with excitement and confident that our luck had changed for the better. To be certain we weren’t observing a more common phenomenon, such as a dust devil or an atmospheric anomaly, Tony picked up a handful of dirt and pitched it into the hole.
“It doth fall in, but not fall out,” Ursula noted.
Tony’s smile stretched ear-to-ear. “You did it, Lilith. You found our portal. We can go home now.”
“Whoa, there cowboy.” I splayed my hands to play down his excitement. “We’re not home yet. We don’t know where the closest portal to town is, but that’s about as far as this one will get us.”
“Doesn’t matter. That’s far enough. We can figure it out from there.”
Carlos said, “What about Jerome?”
Tony avoided the question by looking at me. “Yeah listen, Carlos.” I softened my tone some. “About that. Jerome can’t come with us this time.”
I watched his face age with pain. “What do you mean? We can’t just leave him here. How will he get by?”
8 Gone is the Witch Page 30
