Hidden Fire (26 page)

With a blast of light, the tower of energy standing behind Jeremy disintegrated. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared, shattering into remnants of energy that floated above Jeremy. A whooshing sound filled the air and, as Gili watched, the stone on the seal ring glowed brighter and the fragments of darkness zapped downward, sucked back into the stone where they belonged.

Jeremy collapsed onto the floor of the cave. Curled into a foetal position, he jabbered incoherently, drool trickling from the side of his mouth. He lifted his hand and stared at the ring. A mixture of expressions crossed his face. Greed. Lust. But mostly horror, his eyes wide and his mouth stretched in a silent scream.

He flung his hand out as if shaking off something offensive. The ring that he couldn't budge earlier now slipped free. It fell in an arc towards the fire pit and ended up balanced on the top of one of the rocks surrounding the fire. The glow from the ring had totally dissipated, the stone now a solid black.

“Holy crap!”

Gili grinned as she heard Morgan's whispered comment from behind her. “I couldn't have said it better,” she whispered back to him.

The threat of Jeremy and his son had been dealt with. A feeling of lightness flitted through Gili, until she remembered her parents. Now she could only pray they were safe and Jeremy's comment was nothing more than an empty threat.

The cavern erupted with noise. Roy yelled orders to his men and Whitey screamed abuse as they escorted him from the mine.

The men from Morgan's station converged on Jeremy. The older man still lay curled up like a baby, alternately laughing hysterically and babbling like an idiot. John directed the men to pick him up and carry him outside.

As they headed into the tunnel, Charlie rushed up to Gili and Morgan, Piri clasped in his arms. “You alright, Missy Gili?”

“I'm good, Charlie.” She leaned over and hugged both Charlie and Piri. “What about you, Piri?”

The child grinned at her, his teeth flashing white in his dark face. He curled his little hand into a tight fist and threw a punch into the air. “Ooh, Missy Gili, that was good magic, but you should have hit him like the other bad man. That'd hurt him.”

Morgan burst out laughing. “You bloodthirsty little thing. I think it's time Missy Gili had a rest, don't you?”

Piri nodded and wiggled to get down from his grandfather's arms. Charlie set him on his feet and gestured to John before squatting in front of the child.

“I'm going to have John take you back to the village. Nan will be worried. I want you to stay with your grandmother until I get there, you hear me?” He leveled a fierce scowl at the child.

“I promise, Pa. I won't leave Nan.”

John picked the child up, but before he could exit the cave, Piri turned a serious face towards Gili. “Thank you,
Gili lubra
. Now it's time to complete your destiny.”

Charlie chuckled as John carried Piri from the cave. Gili just shook her head. The wise little man had returned.

“If I ever doubted that little guy was the next Guardian, that would have convinced me,” Morgan said over her shoulder. “It's like the spirits speak through him.”

Gili nodded in agreement. Piri was the real deal, destined to guard the opal when he was old enough. But one thing confused her. “What did he mean about me completing my destiny?”

Charlie pointed to the bulge in her top. “The
Dreamtime Fire
. That's your destiny. Story's not finished yet. The visions don't lie. It's your time,
Gili lubra
.”

When the men, with the exception of Charlie, departed, a sudden silence fell over the cavern. The moan of the didgeridoo subsided until it was little more than a ripple in the atmosphere. Gili sensed it more as a vibration than an actual sound.

The fire in the center of the cave had almost gone out. Now it was nothing more than a collection of grey rocks with the occasional flicker of red from the dying coals, and a faint wisp of white smoke.

Gili tilted her head back and stared at the ceiling. Beyond the flashing of the opal lights, there was nothing to be seen. “The spirits have gone,” she said, feeling a sense of bereavement.

Charlie moved to stand beside her, placing one hand on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “Nah, spirits still there. They be sleepin' for now. When you need them, they'll come to you.”

She smiled and sketched a salute to the invisible spectres. It was comforting to think they'd be there to assist Piri when he took over. The smile still in place, she turned to Morgan to see him kneeling beside the fire pit.

A shaft of intense fear drove through her psyche. Shrugging off Charlie's hold, she rushed across to Morgan and grabbed his arm as he reached out for the ring balanced on the nearest rock. “Don't touch it.”

Fingers still outstretched, Morgan halted, twisting his head to look at her. “What's the problem?”

Charlie intervened before Gili could say anything. “That thing's evil. You saw the dark spirit sucked back into it. Can't tell me that fella don't want out again now he's had a taste of freedom.”

Gili squatted beside Morgan and stared at the dark stone set into the gold band. “The legend written in the stone above the tomb? It's true. That mummy wants to get up and walk again.”

Morgan yanked his hands back and stood, pulling Gili up beside him. “Well, I'm sure as hell not going to help him. I know the legend said the ring had to be worn, rather than touched. And the wearer had to have some type of character flaw to let the spirit in, but you know something? I'm not about to test it.” He brushed his hands off and stepped away from the fire pit.

“When you think about it, we all have character flaws. We've all suffered from greed or jealousy on occasion. And as for lust?” Gili slanted a mischievous grin at Morgan. “Oh yeah, that too.”

Morgan smiled and gave her a wink before turning back to the ring. “But what the hell are we going to do with it? We can't just leave it here for some unsuspecting soul to pick up.”

Charlie shook his head. “Not going to be anyone in this here cave ‘cept you and Gili, and maybe Piri. But I think you're right. Shouldn't leave it here.”

He fished around in the pocket of his shirt and extracted the keys to Morgan's truck. Then he took off his hat and bent over the ring, using the keys to brush it into his hat. “So what we going to do with it now? Hey, maybe you can send it to one of those fancy museums to look after.”

“That's a good idea,” Morgan said. “It will at least be under lock and key then. Let's pray no one else of ‘weak character' ever gets hold of it again.”

Charlie made a move to leave, but Morgan called him back. “Wrap it up in a towel or something like that and shove it into the toolbox on the back of the truck. Make certain you lock the box so no one can get in.”

“You can bet I will.” Charlie chuckled. “That Piri's so curious, if he sees me hiding something in the toolbox he'd have to investigate just so he can find out what it is.”

Gili felt the tiredness creeping up on her again. She wandered away from the men and perched on a boulder about six feet from the fire pit, her mind fixated on Piri.

She had thoroughly enjoyed her time with the child and she wasn't surprised about Piri being the next Guardian. There was something unique about him. She'd seen glimpses of an age-old soul looking out from his eyes and had no trouble believing the old peoples' spirits were talking through him. And he
had
found the first half of the opal.

And thinking of the opal…

She looked down at where she still carried the precious gem in a fold of her shirt. Although it no longer emitted the red beams, it still felt warm against her stomach.

Actually, she was surprised Morgan, or even Charlie, hadn't taken it from her and put it back where it belonged. Wanting to see it one last time, she withdrew it and held it cupped in her hands.

The colors of the opal—blue and green, with a hint of fiery-red crouching in its depths—beamed out at her. She'd never seen anything more beautiful in her life and it belonged right here with the tribe. Thank God Jeremy hadn't managed to get his hands on it.

Too restless to sit still any longer, Gili cradled the opal against her breasts with one hand and used the other to push herself to her feet. She bit off a groan as muscles protested. She wasn't used to all this physical stuff. And after her boxing bout with Whitey, no doubt tomorrow would see her covered in bruises.

Wandering over to where the ledge jutted out from the side of the cave, Gili paused, her gaze running over the rock shelf. She was damn lucky Whitey hadn't pitched her over the edge. She hadn't known she was capable of the type of rage it had taken to stand up to Whitey, but when she'd seen him threatening Piri, it had been like a red rag to a bull.

She shook her head at her actions and silently thanked the Aboriginal spirits for their injection of power and energy. Without that, she wouldn't have been able to save Piri.

With a sigh at one man's greedy machinations, she glanced down at the cause of all Jeremy's woes. Somehow, she and Morgan still needed to find the male half of the gem.

With that thought, the gem emitted a flash of red. Where before it had been confined to the centre of the stone, now the fiery color took over, eclipsing the blues and greens.

The stone vibrated in her hand, the sensation driving through her top and into her chest. It suddenly heated up, hot enough to burn her fingers, and she dropped it in reaction.

She winced. “Hell, what if I've broken it?”

“You okay, Gili?” Morgan called out.

Squatting, she grabbed the opal, turning it over to make certain she hadn't chipped or fractured it. “Yeah, I…”

Her voice trailed off as the opal grew even hotter and started to hum. “Holy crap,” she whispered, borrowing Morgan's earlier comment.

She was vaguely conscious of Morgan hunkering down beside her, but couldn't pay him any attention. Her entire focus was on the gem in her hands, on the uncomfortable feeling of the heat seeping into her fingers.

With a brilliant flash of light, the opal tumbled from her hands again and rolled about a foot away from her. Before it came to a final halt, it spun about so the fractured end faced the rock wall.

The humming rose. So, too, did the phantom didgeridoo music. The two sounds blended, each one a perfect accompaniment for the other. A ghostly melody that defied description, but made tears gather in Gili's eyes.

“It's calling to its other half,” she whispered.

Morgan drew in a shaky breath beside her. “It's magical.”

Charlie stepped up behind them. “No, it's the old ones calling to their Creator. You need to complete it,
Gili lubra
. The old people wait and the moon is full tonight. It's time.”

Gili placed her hand over the opal. It felt alive. As alive as the pelican tattoo that right now fluttered on her shoulder. Following the direction the gem pointed, she pulled aside a flat slab of rock leaning against the rock wall.

Her hands trembled and excitement fizzed inside her when she saw a small drawing of a pelican. A sense of reverence settled deep inside her and Gili knew that this was where the opal belonged.

Fitting her palm over the rock painting, she pushed, not surprised when the area gave way as if melted from within. Behind the rock was a hollowed-out cavity the size of a man's clenched fist.

“Look, Morgan,” she whispered.

Green and blue light beamed out from the hole, pulsing in time to the fiery flashes of the female half of the stone. Gili slipped her fingers in and pulled out the slightly larger part of the opal.

The humming vibrations from the individual parts increased. Gili's hands shook as she palmed both sections and turned to pass them to Morgan.

He shook his head and smiled. “Charlie finally convinced me. You have to be the one to do it,
Gili lubra
. This is
your
destiny, to join the two halves of the whole.”

“But—”

Morgan kissed her gently, running the tip of his tongue over her sore lip. “Charlie's vision was correct. It's your destiny to guard the fire of the people, but hopefully, you'll be willing to share it with me.”

A different kind of fire sprang to life deep in Gili's stomach. It flared into a raging conflagration inside her. She searched his eyes. Did Morgan mean that how it sounded?

“I can feel it. Moon's up now,” Charlie muttered behind them. “Time to unite the
Dreamtime Fire
.”

With Morgan's hands cupping hers, she fitted the two parts of the gem together. A burst of light surrounded her fingers and the two halves fused into one. Heat flared and then subsided, although the humming continued.

Gili frowned. “Something's not right. It isn't happy yet.”

She stared at the opal, turning it round and round as she studied it. It now looked like one stone, as if it had never been fractured. But why was it still reacting? Surely joining the two halves were all that was needed?

Then she remembered. With a chuckle, she handed the gem to Morgan and dug into the back pocket of her shorts. Extracting the sliver of opal she'd found in the mullock heap outside the mine, she waved it aloft. “It's not complete yet.”

Taking the opal back, she balanced it on one hand and fitted the fragment into a gap on the side of the stone. With a satisfied-sounding hum, the slice of opal fused with the main stone.

Now the greens and blues intertwined with the red and the whole stone glowed like a beacon. The humming dropped in intensity until only a soft murmur of what Gili could have sworn sounded like contentment remained.

“Wow.”

“Yeah, it's pretty heady stuff.” Morgan cupped his hands under hers. “Let's put it back where it belongs.”

Gili guided it inside the small hole. The moment she and Morgan removed their hands, the rock walls of the cavern rumbled. Gili stared at the roof. A lump of dread formed in her stomach.
Oh God, not another cave-in
.