Amazon Burning (A James Acton Thriller, #10) (19 page)

The
Woman of Light.

She was
of the Spirit World and so were the Panther People. She might know some way to
stop them, some way to defeat them. From the little he had seen his people were
no match for these cursed creatures. If he hadn’t have seen it for himself he
wouldn’t have believed it.

Panther
People!

The very
idea was insane, but there was no doubt at what he had witnessed.

He had
witnessed TikTik’s death.

He
suddenly stopped and bent over, emptying his stomach on the forest floor, his
retching continuing as he pictured TikTik’s body twitching on the ground then
unmoving. How she had been taken down, he had no idea. Her attacker had merely
held up its hand and she had dropped.

It was
magic.

And he
needed a medicine man.

And he
couldn’t picture a medicine man more powerful than someone from the Spirit
World.

Lau-ra-pal-mer
would save them.

Lau-ra-pal-mer
would save them all.

Laura Palmer stood in the middle of her prison. Overhead the sun
shone brightly through the tree tops, large swaths of warmth making it down to
her. She had removed most of her wet clothes, putting her bra back on, and had
slung her shirt and pants up over the wall so they hung down the side, the sun
shining on them. She used her makeshift latrine, burying her waste, then drank
as much of the water she could from the small holes she had dug.

Now
for food.

The idea
of using her shirt as a lure, rubbing it over her body then tossing one arm over
the edge like a fishing line occurred to her, but she didn’t know what she
might catch. If the creature were too big, it might simply tear her shirt away
from her, leaving no cover for nightfall.

Or worse,
it might fall in the hole with her, trapped and scared.

The
chance of it being a small creature was good, but not worth the risk.

No, she
would have to do with whatever Mother Nature would provide.

That
meant grubs, worms and insects.

The
thought wasn’t appealing, but she had eaten most things at least once in her
life, but never as a matter of survival. To understand cultures you needed to
experience their way of life, and the anthropologist in her insisted she try
everything, no matter how disgusting. Which had meant insects, spiders, worms
and grubs.

Even
many of them alive.

She had
wretched a few times, even tossed her cookies once, but in time she had learned
to stomach most anything.

And it
would keep her alive.

The pit
looked like it had been there some time, so she decided the ground she was
standing on may have begun to develop its own ecosystem similar to that above.
She began digging in the corners, along the edges, and was soon rewarded with a
few wrigglers, quickly swallowing them without thinking about it.

Ugh.

Well,
almost without thinking about it. She couldn’t help it, especially with the
knowledge that this might be all she ate for the next seven days.

Six
and a half!

She
sighed, shaking her head, wondering again why the hell Tuk had done this to
her.

And
where the hell James was.

She
admonished herself for getting mad at him, knowing that there would be almost
no hope of him finding her unless he had picked up the trail, and there was
little chance of that without help, help that was days away at best.

And they
had travelled over two days, fairly swiftly, Tuk clearly knowing the forest.

A branch
snapped, the sound echoing through the forest overhead. She froze. Was it
wildlife or man? Friend or foe? Was it a predator that wouldn’t hesitate to
leap down here and eat her, or a herbivore she could lure down and possibly
snap the neck of.

Or was
it a search party.

Or
worse, a group of cannibals.

She
heard something, what she couldn’t determine, but she moved to the center of
the pit, slowly spinning, her head monitoring the edge surrounding her as panic
began to set in, the image of a massive anaconda slithering into the pit and
crushing her to the point of near suffocation, then swallowing her whole—and
alive, to be digested over days, never to be found again.

More
sounds, another crack, making her think either the creature approaching was
huge, or careless.

And only
humans were careless.

If it
were members of a hostile tribe, she could find herself in a worse state than
she was now, but if it was a search party, they might walk right by her.

Do I
yell?

It was a
debate it hadn’t occurred to her she might have to have. Of course she had to
yell, she had to call out to let them know where she was. Anything was better
than here.

Hostile
natives could kill you or eat you!

She knew
she could survive here seven days as long as she had rain at least every couple
of days. There was plenty of food to scavenge that would meet her minimum
needs, and as long as nothing entered the pit that was able to kill her, she
should be okay until Tuk arrived.

Who then
might kill her anyway.

The
sounds were getting farther away now, slowly fading.

What
do I do?

Then a
thought occurred to her.

Natives
would never step on a stick and reveal their position.

And she
committed.

“Help!”

Acton stared at the ground in frustration. They had lost the trail,
the overnight rain washing away many of the heel prints his Laura had been
leaving, their trackers only able to find every fourth or fifth imprint,
sometimes less, and now they had found none for the past five minutes.

He
stepped on a stick, it snapping loudly sending several birds from their
perches, silencing the immediate vicinity of some of its non-stop racket for a
few seconds. And it was a racket. What had been beautiful two days before was
now annoying. He hated the jungle. He wanted out of the jungle. He never wanted
to see a jungle again. He knew his hatred was irrational and linked entirely to
the situation, but his level of frustration, impatience and fear was so high,
he was ready to snap and tear someone’s head off.

Another
branch snapped, Sandro the guilty party this time, and Acton cringed. If they
were close to Laura’s captor then he would certainly hear their approach with
all the noise they were making. The native guides were silent in their
progress, their bare feet seeming to sense the ground under them, but the
inexperienced Westerners with their large boots and thick soles were blazing a
trail of noise.

“Help!”

Everyone
froze, ears cocked to detect where the cry had come from.

But
Acton already knew. He plunged through the trees to the right, running as fast
as he could toward what was unmistakably Laura’s voice. He knew he had to get
to her before she was silenced by her captor, or worse, killed for giving away
their position.

He
crashed through the trees, the jungle protesting at the disruption, branches
snapping and cracking loudly, and he didn’t care. Speed was what was important.
He could hear the others behind him, and he hoped it was because they agreed he
was heading in the right direction, not simply following him.

“Help
me, please!”

He
adjusted slightly to the left then burst into a clearing, skidding to a halt on
the wet grass that greeted him. In the center was a large pit, easily ten by
ten feet. He stepped up to the edge and looked in, the sun shining in his eyes,
the pit dark. He shielded his eyes and dropped to his knees in relief.

“James!”

“Laura!”

She was
the most beautiful sight he had ever seen despite her disheveled appearance. Standing
in the center of the pit, a pit which was at least ten feet deep, she rushed
toward him as he dropped to his stomach, reaching out for her. Their fingers
could barely touch, but it was enough for them both to know they weren’t
imagining things. Sandro and the others arrived and within moments a rope was
lowered as she dressed. They hauled her to the surface where she quickly leapt
into Acton’s arms, the two of them simply holding each other, sobbing in
relief.

Acton’s
chest hurt with the shock, the relief, the anger of the situation. What had
been intended for his wife? He could only imagine the worst, and his
imagination was running wild with images of leaving her there to die, to
tossing in wild animals for entertainment as she fought for her life.

He
sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, instead focusing on her.

“Are you
okay?” he asked gently, without letting her go.

Her head
nodded against his chest.

“No
injuries?”

She
shook her head.

“He
didn’t—you know…” He couldn’t bring himself to say it, he didn’t know how he’d
handle it. He knew it wouldn’t be her fault if he had raped her, and he would
think of her no differently, it was just something so alien to his experience
he didn’t know how she would want to be treated should it have happened.

She
vehemently shook her head, pushing back slightly and looking into his eyes.
“No, he never touched me.” She cupped his cheeks in her hands, wiping the tears
away with her thumbs. “In fact, Tuk was quite the gentleman for the most part.”

“Tuk?”

“That’s
his name. We learned to communicate a little.”

“Did he
say why he took you?”

“A
little, darling, a little. Like yes, no, toilet, food.” She wiped her own face
dry. “If I had to guess, however, I’d say he was taking me back to be his
mate.”

Acton
felt a flash of jealousy, his cheeks flushing.

Laura
grinned at him, patting his cheek. “Now, now, dear, I only have eyes for you.”

“Uh huh.
Your Tuk boyfriend better hope I don’t see him.”

“I don’t
think we have to worry about that. He’s not coming back for another six days.”

“Six
days!” Rage again surged through his body as he tried to fathom what possible
reason this Tuk bastard could have for leaving Laura in the bottom of a pit for
a week.

“I’m
guessing some kind of purification ritual,” replied Laura to Acton’s unasked
question. “Leave me there for all the evil and impurities to leave, and if I
survive, I was found worthy by their gods.”

Acton
nodded, still refusing to let her go. “Sounds plausible.”

Sandro
approached, everyone having given them a few moments alone. “Senhor, we should
be leaving now. If we hurry, we can maybe make the village before nightfall.”

Acton
looked at Laura. “Are you able to walk?”

“Try to
stop me!”

“Good,
then let’s go.” He motioned for their guides to lead the way and Skip soon had them
racing back through the jungle. As they proceeded Laura drank some fresh water
and ate plenty of the food they had brought. Acton fished out the satphone. “I
better give Leather a call, he’s supposed to rendezvous with us by nightfall.”

Laura
swallowed a bite of her granola bar. “He got here quick.”

“Yeah,
apparently they parachuted in at night, straight into the river!”

Laura
tore off another chew from the bar. “Intentionally?” she mumbled, covering her
mouth.

“Yup.
And Hugh’s girlfriend saved the life of one of the men who missed the hook
line.”

“Girlfriend!”
Laura nearly choked, beginning to cough, some granola going down the wrong pipe
due to her sudden inhalation. She drank some water, her cough subsiding. “What
are you talking about?”

“Her
name is Kinti. She pretty much seduced him the first night in the village they
went to for help. They’ve been inseparable since, apparently.”

Laura
shook her head, a smile on her face as she resumed chewing. “Good for him. I
hope he doesn’t get his heart broken though.”

“He’s a
grown man.”

“Who
hasn’t had a serious relationship in almost twenty years.”

Acton
frowned. “True. You don’t think he’d actually fall in love?”

“Is she
cute?”

“Beautiful.
Not as beautiful as you, of course!” he added quickly for the save.

“Good
one. Sex?”

“Absolutely.
Here?”

“Not
you, you pervert! Hugh.”

“All
damned night from what I heard.”

“You
were there?”

He
nodded, describing his incident with the tribe’s hunters.

“Well, I
think I should meet this Kinti, see if she’s worthy of our friend.” The smile
disappeared from her face. “In all seriousness, I hope he doesn’t fall for this
girl. He has to know there’s no future.”

“He
knows. Just let him enjoy the moment.”

“If the
moment goes on too long, the heartache afterward will just be that much harder
to get over.”

“But
it’s his heartache to get over, and none of our business. Let him have his fun,
and when we leave here tomorrow—”

“Tonight!”

Acton
laughed. “Okay, tonight, we’ll help him forget her. Who knows, maybe it will
open him up to the possibility of finding a woman back in civilization.”

Laura
seemed pleased with that idea. “That would be nice. I always feel sorry for
him. He must be so lonely.”

“Some
men are confirmed bachelors.”

“Some.
But I think Hugh has so much to offer.”

“So do
I. If I were a chick, I’d be all over him.”

Laura
smacked him. “Be serious.”

“I am. I
would
be all over him.”

She
shook her head and put her arm around his waist, laying her head on his chest
for a moment as they slowed their pace. “I’m so happy to see you,” she
whispered.

Acton
stopped and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her deeply. When the kiss
finally broke, he held her tight, his chest giving a single heave as he fought
his emotions. “I thought I’d never see you again.”