by Dale Mayer
The sky was darkening when she finally reached the entrance to the cave system. Pulling out the large flashlight she’d packed in her bag before leaving the store, she turned it on and highlighted the entrance. It didn’t look like anyone had come this way recently. Low-lying brush covered most of the entrance, and moss crawled up much of one side. Pretty and effective.
“Let’s go, Remi.” No answer. She turned around to search for him.
No sign. “Remi.” Damn. “Come on, Remi, I need you.”
Instantly, he raced toward her from out of the underbrush, his mouth open in a huge grin. She’d often wondered if he smiled at his prey the same way before attacking, because that grin of his was sheer evil.
She laughed. “Come on, boy. Let’s go.”
He raced into the entrance.
She followed. Inside, the tunnels glowed a strange, dull yellow. Genesis stared at her surroundings as she walked past. The walls should have been bright with effervescence, not this sickened dark vomit color. Something was definitely off.
“What’s going on here, buddy?”
Remi didn’t answer. But he didn’t run off again. He walked on his hind legs at her side, his own bearing one of curiosity and confusion.
“Not so sure what’s happened, are you?” She kept walking. “That’s okay, neither am I.”
A hundred yards down the path, she found gum wrappers. That pissed her off, but the liquor bottles farther down really upset her. Six months ago, she’d never have found any garbage in the tunnels. So why now?
The problem as she saw it was complex. The thinner the energy, the more negativity was able to make its way in, making it harder to fix as the more negativity there was, the thinner the walls became. The energy barrier had obviously thinned to dangerously low levels. The decline had been so slow that she hadn’t realized how bad it had gotten so fast. She’d first noticed it after her sisters had left, but it had been minor so she’d considered it a normal ebb and flow of energy workers in the area. Now it was serious if it allowed for this activity. If the protective barrier was healthy, the equipment couldn’t have entered this sacred space. Hell, the drivers couldn’t have found the pools in the first place.
What kind of work were they doing in the forest? “Or,” she muttered under her breath, “are they working down here?”
That thought made her go cold. No one, under any circumstances, should be doing anything down here.
And then she realized she’d been walking parallel to a set of wheel tracks.
Not truck tracks, but wide and deep – more like heavy equipment. With fear clogging her throat, she raced forward. There were large underground pools up ahead. Pools and spaces that were sacred to the reserve, one that provided life force nutrients for the forest above.
Just like that, she came to the end of the path. At least, as far as the giant machine had made it. It was parked ahead in the middle of the road as if the driver had just walked away.
Fuming, she squeezed past the machinery. Having this metal, this negative energy here, was obscene. That anyone could be so careless of this spiritual space made her want to weep.
And then she saw the broken stones beside the pools. Someone had damaged the edge of the pool. There were now steps that went into the pool on the far side. Steps that hadn’t been there six months ago.
Someone appeared to be trying to open access – possibly to commercialize the sacred pools.
And that couldn’t be. No one had gotten permission. From the community. From the property owners. She should know. She and her sisters owned the land surrounding the entire forest, especially these pools, compliments of Granny. Except nobody knew that, did they? They’d avoided contact with any legal system here because of the obvious prejudice against Granny and the girls. But she’d spent a lifetime trusting in Granny, so she wasn’t about to lose faith in her now. If Granny said the documents gave them claim to the pools and the forests, possibly more, then she’d believe her. But what if no one else believed her? Then what was she going to do?
*
Connor stood in the silence of the cave and breathed the slightly mineral scent in deeply. The air, the energy, the space oozed with healing effervescence – something this area was famous for. Most people needed this air to heal. To feel good. But some of the special people, like Genesis, thrived on it.
In fact, he strongly suspected she and her sisters wouldn’t be able to live without it. They certainly wouldn’t be able to live away from here. He’d heard rumors of problems in the family in recent months but hadn’t had a chance yet to catch up on the latest gossip. Not that he knew who to ask. Matt had been involved with one of the sisters, but getting the head of the Paranormal Council to open up on personal issues was a lost cause.
He walked forward, listening to the echoes of his footsteps as the tunnel widened into a larger anteroom. There were several sacred pools underground, with corresponding sacred forests aboveground.
And in between them existed a complicated energy system that kept life flowing in abundance. The space was protected.
At least, it was supposed to be. Now, he could see signs of heavy traffic down here. Traffic that didn’t belong. At least, he didn’t think so. He hadn’t asked Grandfather about something like this.
Of course, Grandfather hadn’t offered anything more than the bare minimum in information, either.
It was no wonder no one liked the old man. He was a bull of a man with an attitude to match. Connor had long been suspicious that he had plans. Big plans.
And no one was going to stand in his way.
Chapter 3
Genesis froze as a weird tingle rippled down her spine. She wasn’t alone. Reacting quickly, Genesis slipped into the shadows and waited. Remi sat quietly at her side. Footsteps approached. Heavy, male. A little hesitant. Someone unsure of the way.
There weren’t many men who could come down here at night like this. Unless he was part of the construction crew. Or maybe there was a security detail. After all, the equipment was likely valuable.
If she had anything to say about it, though, that machinery would be gone immediately. It was an eyesore. An insult. The machinery clashed with the organic nature of this place. Its presence was simply not permitted.
She nodded her head firmly. They would be gone soon. She’d make sure of it.
“Hello?”
The quiet call surprised her.
She slipped farther into the shadows. The white-blue beam of a flashlight glowed in front of her.
“Anyone here?”
Like she was going to answer. The footsteps continued past. She held her breath, waiting. If he turned and came back the same way, he’d see her. And then what was she going to do?
She couldn’t squeeze back any farther. But with limited options available, she had to try her whisper trick. Closing her eyes, she stilled and went inside of herself. Setting up gentle whispers to float throughout the cavern, she sent out the message, All is well. Everything is fine. No one is here.
The stranger walked around the large pools, his flashlight scanning the water. He held something small and dark in his other hand.
She didn’t know for sure, but it looked like a one of those high-res guns she’d heard about.
Then he was gone from her view.
Listening for sounds of his passing, she smiled as his footsteps softened, changing from a hard stride to a casual stroll within seconds. Brilliant.
She usually needed to preserve her energy; using her abilities drained much of her resources. Down here, though, she’d recharge almost instantly. So sending whispered messages was nothing. Her sister Tori could perform that trick from anywhere but for Genesis, it was harder and didn’t have much luck in working on people with paranormal abilities. Besides, any man carrying a gun meant nothing good. And someone was doing something illegal down here. If he wanted to keep it a secret, her presence might cause trouble. How much trouble was the big question. These caves went on forever.
/> Someone who didn’t know them well might assume they could hide a body in here. In theory, she could get lost down here herself and never get out. In theory.
The reality of the situation was much different. She could be lost down here for a while, true, but she had Remi. He’d have her out in no time, and even without Remi, she’d still get out on her own. It would simply take a little longer. There were a lot of passageways. She would need to explore to find the one that would lead to the surface. That wouldn’t bother her. She was one of the few people who was comfortable here. But then, she had an affinity to water.
She tilted her head and listened.
Blessed silence.
The intruder was gone.
Deeming it safe, she slipped farther into the tunnel, but her mind couldn’t move past the obvious intrusion. What was the equipment doing here? What exactly was going on? It would only take the slightest of changes to destroy the delicate balance of the forest. Especially with her sister Tori pulling energy from the forest like she was. And that was yet another question that needed an answer. How was she doing it from a long distance? Doing so while she lived in town was normal. Natural. But now that she’d disappeared – and was still drawing strength from the same source – the balance here was shifting. It had to.
Tori was just as integral to this ecosystem as Celeste, their youngest of them, and Genesis herself.
Genesis needed to find her sisters and help them to heal. After Granny’s death, everything had spiraled out of control. It was too much to hope they would return voluntarily – and soon. If they did, the energy flares would calm down, too. What a cosmic joke. The energy responded to major shifts in the owners’ lives yet did nothing to help the owners to heal.
Still, she couldn’t imagine that her sisters’ energy requirements were the cause of the strange, twisted energy patterns going on in the forest or the ones down here. That didn’t seem like a strong enough reason. So just what else was going on?
Was her sisters’ absence enough to cause this? Especially when combined with the loss of Granny’s powerful energy? Instead of stepping in to fill the void, the sisters had scattered and the energy barrier had thinned to the point of collapse. Fear spiked through her. She was just as responsible. She’d been avoiding even thinking about what was going on here – and look at how well that had worked.
The darkness deepened ahead, and she shivered. With the deterioration of the energy field and the presence of strangers, she felt a nervousness here she’d never before experienced. Just then, Remi bolted.
“Remi?” Genesis called out, a slight tremble in her voice. “Stay close, please.”
A slight scrabbling noise sounded beside her as he returned. He placed a long-fingered hand in hers. “Thanks, buddy, I could use the help.” She smiled down at him. He grinned, that wide, ear-to-ear splitting movement that made most people back away thanks to those major hooked teeth. Still, he’d never hurt a friend. Everyone else was fair game though.
And he was highly susceptible to Genesis’s moods.
And her people preferences.
Turning several more corners, she walked into one of the main caverns. Melancholy hit when she saw the worn spot where her grandmother had spent many hours – especially toward the end. It had given her great peace to be this close to the forest. Both directly beneath and also directly above the source. When her bones had ached, she’d visit, and the pain would ease for days.
They had the cottage in the woods for just that reason. Genesis had often stayed there when she wasn’t in town. The cottage had been Granny’s home.
Wandering through the large cavern brought tears to her eyes. She missed Granny and her sisters…and yes, damn it…she missed Connor. It’d been a very long year.
Granny had always told her to pick wisely because heartache was sure to follow if she didn’t. But she’d met Connor soon after Granny’s death, so the wise woman hadn’t been there to vet her choice. Not that the relationship had lasted more than a week, but that heartache followed by watching cool, capable, composed Tori have her life destroyed by a man and watching Celeste go to pieces with her own horrible relationship experience had made Genesis decide that relationships weren’t for her.
She stared around the massive space, hating the sense of wrongness that permeated the sacred cave.
Remi chittered, his voice faint, farther up and off to the left. She followed the sound. “What’s the matter, boy?”
His chitters turned to cries of distress.
Oh, crap.
She ran forward, trying to sort through the energy that had swelled up in front of her. She couldn’t see much, thanks to the brilliant glow of energy in the space, but Remi was certainly nowhere to be found. That was normal and almost made her feel better. Almost.
But when he didn’t come when called – that was a different story.
Quietly, she checked out the corner and realized that the only place he could have gone was down a tunnel that lay directly in front of her. She frowned. Since when had that tunnel been there? She knew every nook and cranny of this cavern, and that tunnel hadn’t been there before. She crept up to it, letting the waves of energy hit her full on.
“Remi.”
No answer.
Remi had gone down there. But why?
“Genesis.”
She hesitated, stumbling slightly, straining to hear what sounded like a familiar voice. Connor? No. Not possible. She paused, considering, then shook her head.
With a backward glance at the empty cavern, she followed her pet down into the darkness.
*
Connor couldn’t see any sign that someone had come this way. In fact, he couldn’t see much of anything. But then, he was operating with the barest of his abilities. Working alone and traveling a lot had helped him hide that fact, but he knew others were starting to suspect. That wasn’t good. But given his plans to get back together with Genesis, a career change was definitely in the cards for him.
In the distance, he saw a glow, like a sweeping flashlight. Who could that be?
Instinctively, he called out, “Genesis?” Then realized he had no basis for that assumption. With the machinery, equipment, and the signs of work going on, it could easily be someone other than her. The flashlight stopped moving. Then it winked out. In a way, that seemed to confirm it was her.
And, hell, she was still pissed at him. He agreed she had some right, but damn it, he needed her to understand.
“Genesis, please don’t take off. It’s hard enough to see with a flashlight. Without it on, you’re likely to get lost.” The instant the words were out, he wished he’d kept his mouth shut. As if she could get lost. He could almost hear a disdainful sniff in the air. He rolled his eyes and walked toward where the light had been.
Only to find she hadn’t stayed in one place.
She’d taken off.
Or hidden from him.
Either way, it was bad news. He stood there with his hand in his hair in frustration. “What now, Genesis?”
No answer.
Damn it. “Don’t do this because you’re mad at me. I’m not here to hurt you.”
Still no answer. Now he was becoming really pissed. He spun around, hoping she would step out of the shadows.
Nothing. Now what? What in the hell was going on?
“Genesis, can we talk? Please come o—”
Something slammed into the back of his head, and pain exploded in his skull. He collapsed to his knees, his fighting instincts warring with the pain. Training had him spinning to one knee and flipping back and around to face his attacker. Half expecting Genesis, he was startled by the sight of a huge man wielding a flashlight as a weapon. Shit. As the attacker lifted his flashlight for a second blow, Connor kicked his legs out from under him and pounced. His first punch hit the man in the jaw and the second one in the nose. The man bellowed, threw Connor to the side, and jumped to his feet. But rather than coming after Connor again, the stranger bolted into the darknes
s.
Connor scrambled to his feet. He could go after his attacker, but he didn’t know his way around, and neither did he have a flashlight like his opponent. And now that he realized Genesis wasn’t down here alone, his first concern was for her.
She was here – he could sense her. He had always had been able to know when she was close. He was grateful that hadn’t diminished along with his talent.
Had this guy found Genesis? Had he hurt her? His head ached from the blow. Gently, he touched the back of his head, swearing when his fingers came away sticky.
“Damn.” He peered into the darkness. “Genesis, are you here? If you’re hiding, please come out. The guy’s gone.”
No answer. Realizing she was so much more capable of being alone down here than he was, he slowly started back the way he’d come in. After several careful steps, he knew he’d lost his way.
He groaned, his head starting to pound.
He took another step. The cavern wavered. He blinked and tried to clear his vision. He staggered forward and fell to his knees. Shit. Blackness filled his mind, and he sprawled on the ground.
Chapter 4
Genesis hadn’t gone much farther in the dark tunnel when Remi came running toward her out of the darkness, squealing an alarm.
“Remi? What the hell happened?”
Remi chattered at her side, but he ran up and grabbed her hand and pulled her in his direction. She went to step forward but Remi yanked her hand back, stopping her. “Remi?”
Then Remi started to tug on her hand some more. Backwards. “You brought me down here in the first place. Now what?”
But he wasn’t interested in anything but pulling her backwards. She knew better than to argue. There was something up ahead that he didn’t like. Or was scared of.
“Fine. Let’s go. Lead me back, then.” But they’d walked most of the way already. She came into the large cavern where she’d seen the man walking and stopped. “Are you sure, Remi? What about that guy with the gun?”
Remi chattered. When she didn’t move fast enough, Remi snapped at her, his tone more aggressive than she’d heard in years. “Okay, fine.”