Good, it turned out as I had hoped. Rick felt relief wash over him.
She ran up and hugged him.
She is affectionate now as well! He tried to hide his surprise, as the old Madeline was cold and certainly not affectionate.
Madeline kissed his cheek and pulled away. “It’s so great of you to visit!” She smiled hugely at him.
“He is here for more than just a visit.” Dev wore a serious expression on his face.
“What?” Rick was startled by the knowing statement.
“Where is it?” Dev stepped forward.
Madeline swung her eyes back and forth. “Where’s what?”
“In my horse pack.” Rick answered with amazement.
With her usual stubborn stance, she stepped back and folded her arms over her chest. “Are either of you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”
Dev smiled affectionately at her frustration, though his eyes looked troubled. “Did you show it to the Chief?”
Rick nodded.
“Show what?” Madeline dropped her arms.
“It’s something that is supernatural, you know?” Dev released a breath.
“Yeah, so they told me,” Rick answered with sarcastic humor.
“What?” Madeline shouted.
They swung their heads over to her.
“I mean it. The last time you two spoke like this?” She smiled. “I ended up in a shotgun sky- wedding!”
Both men looked startled, and then they laughed.
“Maddy, he has something that…” Dev turned serious again.
“I opened the box,” Rick announced as he released a nervous breath.
Madeline looked surprised. “You finally did it?”
“And, you were right. Phoebe did send me something.”
Dev looked alarmed. “It came from someone who passed over?”
Madeline peered closely at his face. “Dev?”
“I will go get it.” Rick turned away.
Madeline again stomped her foot.
Dev looked over at her. “This is serious, Maddy…really serious.”
She moved closer to him. “Well, I would take it more seriously if you two would just tell me…”
Rick showed up at the entrance again, carrying a small bundle.
“Have you touched it?” Dev whispered.
“Well, yeah, they asked me the same thing and I had to, in order to get it out of the box in the first place, you know?” he defended.
Dev stepped back a little. “So, how did they react when you explained who it was from?”
“They almost jumped outta their skins!” Rick laughed with no humor.
“Yeah, well I don’t blame them.” Dev sighed.
Rick sat the small bundle onto the dining table.
Eaten up with curiosity, Madeline stepped over to look.
Dev grabbed her arm.
“What?” she asked in a defensive tone.
He shook his head at her.
With slow and careful movements, Rick unrolled the small Indian blanket. The contents rolled out across the table.
Madeline heard the sound, and peeked around Dev’s shoulder.
It was a round, smooth rock with swirls of sparkling color running inside of it. “A rock?” Her voice dropped.
“Not just any rock.” Dev held her arm.
They all watched it as it rolled across the table and onto the floor.
“It’s moving on its own?” Madeline gasped and jumped back.
Dev released an uncomfortable breath and pulled her aside.
All three of them watched it roll around in circles.
“How is it doing that?” Rick whispered.
Dev took another step back as it stopped at his feet.
It rocked back and forth in front of him, and then rolled out through the entrance.
They all followed it out.
The two Indian guides gazed up and saw the rolling rock. Next, they observed Dev coming out, right behind it. They instantaneously dropped to the ground and covered their heads.
The rock started to give off light and it aimed straight for the lightning pool. It halted just at the edge.
“A lightning stone,” Dev stated flatly.
Madeline stared up at him. “But it can’t be?”
“Yes, it can.”
Rick stepped up next to him. “Can you explain what it means and why she left it for me?”
“It was kept in a shadow box?” Dev stood stock-still, his voice dropping low.
“Yes,” Rick whispered back.
“What does it all mean?” Madeline asked.
“It isn’t from this part of the world, you know?” Dev whispered.
He shrugged. “That’s what the Chief said, that it must be—”
“—from the Sun People,” Dev interrupted him.
“Yeah,” Rick replied.
Madeline stepped closer toward the pool.
“Oh no, you don’t!” Dev shouted and moved her back.
She was in a huff. “My mother left my father a stupid rock?” She looked at Dev. “And, I brought him a rock all the way here?” Her voice rose with disgust.
Dev chuckled. “Maddy, as you can see, it’s not just any...” He shook his head and glanced over at Rick. “They told you to bring it here, right?”
“Yeah, otherwise I would never have been allowed to see this holy place!” Rick exclaimed.
“Yeah, what did you call it, Maddy?” Dev smiled wickedly at Madeline.
“Oh, hush!” Her face flamed.
Dev laughed. “Holy shit, was the title.”
“So, what happens now?” Rick wondered aloud.
“It wants you to kick it in.” Dev’s smile dropped away as his gaze never left the stone.
Madeline blinked her eyes rapidly. “Kick it in?” She stared over at the pool. “Into the lightning pool?”
“Yes, Madeline.” Dev rolled his eyes with humor.
She looked flustered. “But you said that the pool was for...” Her voice faded away as she stared at her Dad. “Lovers.”
Rick looked away.
“Oh, no!” Madeline looked upset. “No! You are so not saying what I think you’re saying? Phoebe sent it because she…”
“Yeah, sent from the grave.” Dev put his hands into his jean pockets. “To the one whom she kept in the shadow box.”
“I’m really lost here.” She shook her head.
“It carries a spirit in it,” Dev whispered low.
“No.” She looked pale.
“In our legends, there are different versions of the lightning stone. I know of others as well. The Mayans believed it would bring…” Dev’s words halted.
“Yeah, I know.” Rick spoke, but didn’t look up at them.
“What, Rick; what will it bring?” Madeline stared at him.
“Maddy, was Phoebe cremated?” Rick asked, as he stepped closer to the pool.
“What?”
He looked directly at her.
“Yes, she was,” she answered while wearing a pout.
“And, when she was?” Dev pulled her arm. “She had this rock with her.”
Madeline stepped away from him. “Are you guys saying my mother’s spirit is in that rock?” she shouted the shocked sounding question at them.
“Afraid so,” Dev answered.
“That’s crazy!” She stepped all the way back from him while looking pale.
Rick turned to look at them. “Explain this, Dev.”
“You know already.” He smiled back at him.
“Yeah, I guess I do,” Rick answered with a sigh.
“Well, I sure as fuck would like an explanation!” Madeline glared back and forth at the two men.
Dev chuckled. “Your mother was taken before her time, right?”
She bit her lower lip and nodded.
“And she had you, a blood member of her tribe, carry it to another of the same blood, right?”
“Yeah, I guess?” she answered with a shrug.
“It is so they can be...” Dev gazed over at Rick. “Together again.”
“What the hell are you saying?” Madeline gasped and she raised her hands to her mouth.
Rick turned back toward the pool. “But, you really don’t know exactly what will happen, right?”
“Only from legends, dear friend, only myths.” Dev took Madeline’s arm. “Let’s go.”
“Now just wait a God Dammed minute!” Her eyes flashed at him. “Will this hurt him?”
“Hurt?” Dev stared over at Rick.
“Yeah, like kill him or...?”
“Not that I know of.”
Madeline crossed her arms over her chest. “But, you really aren’t sure about this, are you?”
Dev shook his head while he looked at her stubborn stance. “I can see this will be fun.” With his usual abrupt way, he hauled her up, and threw her over his shoulder.
“Oh!” she shouted. “Devon Ananza, you put me down, right now!”
Dev ignored her. “Rick?” he called out as he strode over to the cave. “Give us a call when…” He chuckled. “Well, there are no phones here, so just holler.” He carried Madeline through the cave entrance.
Rick didn’t seem to hear him. He took another step toward the rock. “Did you do such a thing, Phoebe? I would give my life to see you again,” he whispered.
The young bucks rose up from the ground and stared over at the man by the pool.
With a precise aim, Rick pulled his boot back and kicked it in.
The Indian Bucks rounded their dark eyes at him.
There was a small splashing sound, as Rick placed his hands on his hips and watched.
The ever watchful Indians wrung their hands with worry, as all three men stood for several minutes and waited.
“It was some kind of a joke, after all.” Rick sighed. “That’s okay, I guess. Just the thought of it made me feel…” The pool started to bubble and a strange rainbow-colored light shot up from the water.
With fear pasted on their faces, the guides got on their horses and took off up the path.
The pool glowed brightly at Rick’s feet while the light from it reflected off the stone cliffs. Peering down at the rippling water, he noticed it had become the same glittering colors as the rock had running through it.
A face appeared beneath the surface of the rippling water. “Phoebe?” he gasped. It looked like her, he thought while his heart pounded wildly in his chest.
The shimmering shadowed face sunk lower.
Rick swiftly took his boots off, and without hesitation, he dove in.
After some strange swirling of water and a feeling of being disorientated, Rick broke the surface of the water. He took a gasping breath of air, and wiped the water from his eyes. He looked around and knew he was no longer in Arizona. There were ruins of stone lying everywhere on the landscape. It looks like Peru or Bolivia, maybe? Not a living soul. He winced at the thought. Is she here? Am I supposed to do something?
He sat down on a small boulder with a despondent sigh. Just sit and wait; after all, you have waited your whole life for her. He looked down, and was startled to realize that his clothes were dry already. What is this place?
There was someone standing inside of a tall stone archway. It was a man. He was dark skinned and looked very old.
A local Indian? Rick surmised.
The man pointed upward.
Rick gazed up at the arch above the man. The face of one of the Mayan Gods loomed out from the stone, sculpted into the ancient arch eons ago. It matched one of Phoebe’s photography layouts in a magazine of these same structures. I came up in Lake Titicaca? Rick swung his gaze back to the archway. The old man was staring at him. “What? What am I to do?” Rick called to him.
The man shook his head and pointed to the lake.
Rick turned back around to the water to see someone swimming around. Phoebe? He could see her red hair as her head went under. He ran to the shore and dove in.
CHAPTER TWENTY
MADELINE
Madeline peeked out of the cave. It had gotten dark and now the torches from above the pool illuminated everything. She could see all around it and there was no sign of her dad. Did he just leave and not tell us? Hands grabbed her around her waist, and she drew in a sharp breath.
“You just can’t mind me, can you?” Dev’s hot breath blew into her ear.
“Nope.” She bit her lower lip.
“I’ve always loved your stubborn defiance.” He latched onto an earlobe with his hot mouth.
Her knees grew a little weak while his hot mouth explored the skin around her hairline.
Dev nibbled at her ear, and then let go. “But if you continue to defy me...?” His whisper fell away.
“If?” she quipped with a sarcastic tone.
He chuckled and lowered his mouth to the skin at her neck.
With a sigh, she leaned back against him.
His hands came around to grasp her breasts. “I may just have to take you to back of the cave,” he threatened.
“Oh, yeah?” She visibly shivered when his hands rubbed over her nipples.
“Mmm-umm,” he answered as he looked down at her breasts and pinched her hardened nipples through the tee shirt. “So, you’d better be good.”
“Just tell me what I need to do.” A shiver ran along her neck. “To get you to take me down there.”
“So, you want to be punished by the Brave, eh?”
“Yes and no,” she answered with hesitation in her voice.
“Which is it?”
She turned, and looped her arms around his neck. “I love you so much and yet...”
Dev tilted his head at her.
“I react wildly to him, like out of control.”
“It’s only natural,” he replied. “Because underneath?” He shrugged. “We are both nothing but savages.”
“Yeah, I guess so.” She laughed.
Dev sighed in her ear and looked around her to the outer cliffs. “You won’t see him for a long while, Madeline.”
“Why?”
“The journey and the distance,” he whispered the answer to her cheek.
“To where?”
He scooped her up into his arms. “I’m not really sure; some call it the Gateway, and it won’t be easy.”
“It’s not like when you disappear, is it?”
“No, Maddy. He is going to another place. I stay linked to here and to you. Besides, I always come back to you, don’t I?”
Madeline didn’t answer the question. She’d never talked to him about the times he would disappear and how much it really bothered her. She remembered how angry she’d gotten when he disappeared on their honeymoon. She pushed the thought away as fear was not something she embraced in life. “He’ll be okay though, right?”
“As okay as anyone who crosses that barrier.” Dev carried her to the blue silk covered bed.
A couple of hours later, they rode up the river path through the canyon. Madeline held her arms looped around Dev’s waist. I could stay here forever. She sighed against his shoulder. Do we have forever? I don’t know if we even have tomorrow.
“Madeline?”
At his use of her full name, she was reminded of the fun they had when they met. She would call him Mister Ananza and he would call her Madeline or Miss Sayers. “Yes, Devon?” A smile tugged at her lips.
“Do you know why we’re going to the lodge?”
She raised her face from his shoulder. “No.”
“We have to put something right.”
“Dev, what are you talking about?”
He maneuvered the horse up the rocky slope. “Just try not to lose your temper, okay?” They were almost at the entrance of the lodge.
She stiffened a little on the horse. “Why would I get mad…” Madeline’s mouth dropped open.
Taylor Scott and Kami stood in front.
“And please close that sweet mouth, will you?” Dev released a familiar chuckle as he pulled the horse to
a halt. He jumped to the ground and pulled her down.
Kami stepped forward and lowered her head.
Taylor tilted his head at Dev, a curious light in his eyes.
“How dare you!” Madeline shouted at Taylor.
Taylor drew his head back and stared at her.
With a determined angry stride, she marched up close to him. “Try to kill me and Dev, and then show up here?” She raised her fist up and pulled her arm back. With fury directing her, she landed her fist squarely on his jaw.
Taylor’s head reeled back and he stumbled.
“You rattlesnake! You almost killed us!” She again lunged for him.
Dev came up, placed his hand over her mouth, and pinned her slugging arm to her side. “Shush, Maddy!”
Vehemently, she struggled against him.
Taylor shook his head to clear it and tested his jaw by moving it around with his hand. “I am sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“He doesn’t remember anything,” Kami announced.
Madeline stopped struggling.
“Are you gonna be good?” Dev whispered to her ear.
She nodded as she wickedly stuck her tongue out to his palm, and he pulled his hand away with a twinkle in his eyes.
Madeline glared at Taylor, furious at his audacity.
Taylor put his hands into his jean pockets. “I asked Kami to set up this meeting because I really don’t know who I am.”
“You’re my brother,” Dev stated in a flat tone.
Madeline’s rounded eyes flew up to his face.
“Biological, that is.” His voice sounded cold.
“We’re family?” Taylor blinked.
“As all the People are.” Dev’s expression remained emotionless.
Taylor looked puzzled by the vague answer and turned to Madeline. “Kami says that you knew me before.”
She nodded.
“From where?” he asked.
“From an ocean full of wealth, filled with power hungry sharks.”
“And I was...?” he prompted.
“The very biggest of greedy sharks,” her answer was laced with insult.
“Yeah, I gather you weren’t a fan of mine.” He smiled.
“We worked for the same barracuda firm.” She smiled back but it was cold.
“We were co-workers, then?”
“You really don’t remember?” Her eyes narrowed at him.
Tame Me: A Filthy Billionaire Romance Page 18