by A J Rivers
"So, you think he knew who I was when he invited me?"
"I think he knew before he ever started talking to you."
"Why would he do that?" Bellamy asks.
"They're offering drugs to their guests to give a boost to their resort activities," I say. "Who better to have on their side than crooked law enforcement? They must have brought Luke in as a connection. He comes here enough that he knows the clientele, and he has sway over them."
"So, they use him like a saloon girl," Eric continues my thought process. "He pays attention to the guys at the resort and chooses ones he thinks are good for wanting to enhance their stays, hangs out with them, and then brings them to the lounge. He probably gets a cut of the cost or his own drugs free."
"But why didn't he give you the code words?" I ask. "I can't imagine you would be the first person he would do that for, so he knows what he's doing. Why would he let it drop like that?"
"Distracted?" Eric suggests. "It's been a while since he was here at the resort, so he was getting antsy to get in for his own foot rub and enhanced cigar?"
"Or he changed his mind. Something about the way you reacted told him you weren't the kind of guy they wanted around to help," I add.
I look down at my phone, and Bellamy gives me a questioning tilt of her head.
“What are you checking?” she asks.
“The time,” I say. “There isn't anything on the hiking trails that says they close at a certain time, is there?”
“What are you up to?” she asks.
“I need to go back up to the cliff,” I say. “I need to check something.”
“It's really getting late,” Eric says. “You shouldn't be walking around up there in the dark.”
“I'll be fine,” I tell him. “This can't wait until morning.”
“Then I'm coming with you,” he insists.
“No,” I say. “If we're right about Luke considering you to be added into the drugs loop here, they already have eyes on you. You don't want to call more attention to yourself. All I'm going to do is walk up there and back. And I'm going to take a direct route, rather than the long twisted one Bellamy decided would be a good idea. It shouldn't take long.”
She’s pouting at me, but Bellamy looks relieved I'm not going to be adventuring around the islands all night.
“How about me?” she asks. “Do you want me to come?”
“No,” I tell her. “The two of you need to stay here and be visible. Make sure people see you. Get dressed up and go have cocktails in the lobby or go for a stroll on the beach. Swim. Do something and make sure you talk to people. Maybe even request a couple of things from the desk or one of the managers. Make it obvious that you are just having fun and enjoying the resort.”
“Why would we do that?” Eric asks.
“Because what kind of best friends would allow someone to go creeping around on barely tamed island hiking trails by herself at night?” I ask.
"That's not reassuring, Emma," Bellamy calls after me as I head to the door. "You're not making me feel better."
The door closes behind me, and I rush for my room before she can come out and argue with me. Grabbing the small day pack I brought with me, I toss a few supplies inside and leave. Just like it has been the last few nights, the resort is alive in the fragrant night air. Couples milling around, men making their way out to the lobby, women on the prowl going to the pool or the beach to try to make a catch before bed. A few glance my way, and I make it a point to smile at them, giving them a full view of my face and exchanging a couple of words when I can.
I'm planting seeds, dropping breadcrumbs. People will know where I am and when.
The path Bellamy took us on the other day was winding and complicated, giving us a meandering tour of a large section of the island. I go for a more direct route. It's still not a fast or easy trek, but it cuts the transit time down to a more manageable forty minutes, and I'm not as tired when I get to the top of the cliff. There is still a disconcerting twinge in my lower back that reminds me I need to get back to my jogging and maybe take my seasonal clothes off the workout machines where I hung them in my house.
I make my way to the edge of the rocks and look out over the water. The waves look like tiny slivers of silver and black, reflecting off dueling patterns of starlight and shadow. But the moon is nowhere to be found. The clouds have come in, and the moon only shows its face in short, quick flashes before peeking back under the cover of darkness.
I doubt the flashlight on my phone I used to help me get here is going to do much good, so all I can do is get closer and try to see what might be ahead of me. Everything is still too dark, and I look around to find an alternative. There's another outcropping of rocks to one side. It's not as high as the one where I'm standing, but it seems to push out further into the ocean. I get back on the path and orient myself, trying to figure out how to get to that spot without instructions.
It takes some trial and error, but eventually, I climb up a steep edge onto the top of the cliff. I'm slightly lower, but the angle takes advantage of the sliver of moonlight glowing under the storm clouds, and I'm able to get a glimpse of the spot I was trying to see across the water. The dark rocks jutting out far into the ocean look even more ominous, but it's the shape of the boat that catches my attention. It sits right where I saw it the first time, close to the rocks and not moving.
A sudden blast of lightning illuminates the angry waves washing up on the sides of the boat and the empty deck. With it comes a sheet of cold, soaking rain. Muttering under my breath, I walk away from the edge of the cliffs and start back down the path. The rain comes harder, and the forest around me gets dark to the point that I can't see further than a couple of feet in front of me. My eyes sting from the tiny, hard drops hitting them at a harsh angle, forcing me to look down. It makes it even harder to navigate where I am and what I'm doing.
It doesn't take long for me to realize I've taken a wrong turn somewhere. I'm no longer headed in the direction I took to get up to the top, and now I don't know where I am.
Another flash of lightning is no help. The shadows are shifting in the wind. And the rain keeps coming down.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Straining as hard as I can to see what's around me, I reach out and grab onto the trees on the other side of me to keep myself from slipping on the mud forming at my feet. Another flash of lightning accompanied by a tremendous clap of thunder startles me, and I take a step off to the side. The ground under me immediately gives way and my feet slip out from under me. The tree I'm holding onto cuts into my palms as I desperately cling to it, trying to regain my footing.
No matter how hard I struggle, I can't keep my grip. The rain is too hard, and soon my hands slip away. As I fall, I instinctively force my body around, so I'm sliding down a rocky ledge on my back rather than my more vulnerable stomach and face. I dig my heels into the ground to try to slow my progress, but it’s no use. The ground disappears from under me.
I fall through emptiness for only an instant before my body hits cold, churning water.
The loud sound of the storm around me has blended with the torrential downpour of a waterfall. The pressure of the water hitting the surface creates a strong pull that drags me down. I push myself back up, desperately grabbing for breath. But as soon as I open my mouth at the surface, only more raindrops are dragged into my lungs.
The waterfall pulls me down again. I flail to orient my body and struggle to clear my brain. Rising up one more time for another breath, I relax to let the water bring me back down. Now that I’ve oriented myself, I finally open my eyes under the water. It’s calmer somehow as if the storm cannot pass the thin line separating water and air. My heart is still racing, but I'm able to maneuver over and plant my feet on rocks positioned on either side of the waterfall. Pushing with every bit of strength I have, I propel myself away from where the waterfall drums down into the pool of water beneath it.
When I'm away from the force of the downpou
r, I surface and swim until my hands hit the edge, then pull myself up. Pain courses through me. My sinuses and lungs burn from the water I inhaled, but I'm on solid ground.
I drag myself painfully to my feet and look around as best I can. From what I can see, the waterfall flows down into an open area created by a horseshoe of rocks. It's not particularly high, but there don't seem to be any paths that lead up from where I am. There's no way my phone survived that, so I don't bother trying to fish it out of my pack.
Instead, I flatten one hand on the rocks and start to slowly walk around the narrow shoreline, hoping to find a pathway back to the resort in the darkness. I don't find a path, but after a while, I reach a large, flat rock sticking out from the wall a couple of feet up. Growling with effort, I drag myself up onto the rock. It's not much but it's progress.
It takes what feels like hours to climb up the side, going from rock to rock, occasionally slipping back down. By the time I get to the top of the cliff, I can hear voices somewhere through the pounding of the rain and the roar of the falls.
I scream out toward them, clawing my fingernails down into the ground to yank my body up. Hands clamp around my wrists and drag me up just as I feel like I'm going to fall again.
"Miss Griffin," a frightened voice says. "Are you alright? It's me, Joshua."
It takes me a few seconds to focus on the face in front of me. The rain has let up some, and I can open my eyes fully. It's the same older, friendly face that looked back at me through the rearview mirror on the drive to the resort. He has me by both arms, holding me up on my feet with more strength than I would have imagined from him. Relief washes through me, and I nod, resting my hands on the arms supporting me.
"I think I'm alright."
"Good, good." He turns his head over his shoulder to shout. "I found her! I have her!" He turns back to me. "What are you doing, Miss Griffin? Why would you come out here?"
"I didn't mean to," I tell him, shaking my head. "I went on a hike, and when it started raining, I got disoriented."
"You shouldn't be out here. Cascada Esmeralda isn't somewhere to come by yourself on a calm day. You come in weather like this, and you might just become a friend of the princess."
Before he can say any more, footsteps come crashing through the trees, and three people in bright yellow jackets appear. They guide me a short distance to a set of ATVs parked on a very narrow, rocky path leading down. Loaded into one of them, I rest my head against the roll bar and close my eyes, finally letting myself breathe.
Bellamy and Eric are at the infirmary when the vehicles arrive. They rush toward me, and Eric helps me out.
"What happened?" Bellamy asks frantically. "You were just supposed to go up onto the cliff and come back."
I nod painfully. "That's what I tried to do. But the storm started, and I got lost. I fell."
"When you didn't show back up, we called the lobby," Eric explains. "Catherine is the manager on duty, and she said they have a rescue team for the island. They sent them out looking for you."
"You need to get in and have the medic look at you," Joshua says.
I let him bring me inside, and while I sit on a table, drying myself with a stack of towels, the warm-eyed driver starts to leave.
"Wait," I say. He turns around with a questioning sound. "You're part of the rescue team?"
He's not wearing one of the bright yellow jackets of the other men. Joshua shakes his head.
"Not really. But I know the island like no one else. When I heard you were missing, I insisted they let me lead the search."
"Why?"
"There's something in you. I can see it. You're here for a reason."
It's more of the whimsical way he talked when we were on the drive to the resort, but it's strangely comforting.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Sure, you can."
He comes closer and sits on the chair next to the hard infirmary bed.
"That waterfall where you found me. What did you mean that I’d become a friend of the princess?"
"Yes. Cascada Esmeralda. Emerald Falls. The most beautiful falls on the island, but with the saddest story."
"Why?"
"Do you remember I told you about the people who once lived on this island?”
“You said they were frightened away by the ocean spirits. I thought that was just a tall tale you told for tourists.”
“To the contrary, Miss Griffin. Those spirits have their roots deep in history. Long ago, this island was the home of a peaceful people. They once had a princess, beloved by the tribe. The language they once spoke is lost to us now, but she was named for the waterfall because her hair was long and beautiful and shimmering. We would call her Cascada now. She was beautiful and kind. Her father lavished her with attention. But her cousin, the daughter of the king's younger brother, was envious. She believed it should have been her father, who was in power. She wanted the attention, beauty, and adoration of the people.”
“Sounds almost like a fairy tale.”
“But the role of the princess was very highly prized in this tribe. She was not just ceremonial. Her duty was to maintain the flame on the edge of the island, so passers-by from other islands would not crash into the rocks at night or in bad weather. This flame was always kept lit, rain or shine, no matter how bad a storm got. It was a princess’s sacred duty to the people to watch over this flame.
“Shortly before she came of age, strangers arrived on the island. They were not from the surrounding islands but had come from far away. They were unusual, but they didn't try to hurt anyone and seemed interested in being at peace with the people of the island. One was a handsome young man who took a liking to both girls. The competition between the princess and her cousin was fierce, but the young man fell for Cascada. They fell in love. Her cousin was furious. Their romance was swift as the winds but as beautiful as the open sky. But he had to leave for his homeland. So when he departed, he gave her a beautiful emerald, with the promise that he would marry her upon his return."
"He left?"
"Yes. And he would never see his princess again. She stood on the cliff every day waiting for him to return to her, the flame lit both on the shore and in her heart to guide him back to her. She loved that emerald. She wore it on her forehead. She became the Emerald Princess. But months passed. Years passed. One day, Cascada saw his boat approaching. He had returned and would marry her! A sudden storm rolled in, not unlike the storm tonight. And the flame showing the way to safety had gone out.”
“What happened?”
“She tried to get to it and relight the flame, but before she could, her sweetheart's boat smashed onto the rocks. She ran out onto the rocks just in time to see him drawn under the waves. Devastated, she went to her waterfall and threw herself in, wanting to join her love in the grottos. Many say her cousin was responsible for extinguishing that fire. Since then, the princess has sought to populate her new kingdom with any who may venture too close to her falls. That almost included you."
"What happened to the princess's cousin?" I ask, drawn into the story so much I barely notice the doctor checking the cuts and bruises on my arms, legs, and back.
"Everyone knew what she had done. Or at least wanted to punish someone for the loss of their beautiful princess. They brought her out to those rocks where the boat had crashed and killed her, then tossed her down into the water."
"The angry water spirit," I murmur.
Joshua makes a confirming sound and nods.
"You look long enough at those rocks; you'll see her trying to rise up out of the water. They say she's tormented by the princess and her love, able to see them but kept from them."
"What about boats?" I ask.
He looks at me with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Did you see a boat out there?"
"Yes," I nod. "At least, that's what it looked like. But nobody seems to know why it was out there."
Joshua shakes his head.
"You be careful, Miss Griff
in. Boats don't go out there. They can't. Seeing a boat out there means you are seeing the crew of the princess's lost love, returning for vengeance against the island that killed them. None have seen that image and found a happy path off this island."
The doctor instructs Joshua to leave the room so I can undress, but before he leaves, the driver looks into my eyes.
"Be careful," he says. "Don't keep looking for the spirits, or they'll find you. The ocean spirits have claimed enough already."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
An hour later, I'm finally back in my room, propped up in my bed with Bellamy sitting beside me. I tell her the story Joshua told me.
“It sounds like a fairy tale,” she says.
“That’s what I said. But almost every culture has them,” I say. “And a lot of them sound really similar because they're based on the same themes. But he really seems to believe it. Like it's part of his understanding of the world around him. He says he knows the islands like nobody else does, that he comes from nearby. These must be stories that he's heard as he grew up.”
“What do you think they mean?” she asks.
“I don't know. Obviously, I don't think it was a ghost of a distraught princess who killed herself that tried to get me down into that waterfall. But when I was standing on a cliff and looking at those rocks, the way the water moved was scary.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“The waves crashed into them, and the water jumped up. That's the only way I can really describe it. It wasn't like it moves when it hits the other rocks. I can understand why people would be frightened by it,” I explain. “What he said about the boats is what's really getting to me. I know I saw the boat out there. Twice now. But he says boats can't go out there.”
"And you asked the manager about them?"
