Authors: Angie West
“
Well, it looks like we are safe enough for now.
Let
’
s get out of here.
”
“
Do you remember the way in case we get separated?
”
I nodded and adjusted the purse strap around my neck and looked down at the little girl.
“
Can you walk?
”
“
Yes
,
”
she
whispered.
Michael and I both stopped and stared down at her before continuing.
It was the first time she had spoken since we had run from the guards.
Her voice was soft and still had the high
-
pitched tones of early childhood.
“
Good.
It
’
s not very far to the end of the cave
,
”
I assured her with a smile.
After the cave was another matter entirely, I realized.
She would have to be carried back to the hotel.
She would also need regular water and something to eat along the way.
Her skin was very light, I noted with growing concern.
She would burn under the scorching sun within the hour
,
and we had no blankets or sunscreen.
I brought this up to Mike as we made our way through what I had come to think of as
‘
the tunnel of spiders
.
’
“
You
’
re right.
”
He frowned.
“
I didn
’
t think about that.
This is bad, Claire.
”
“
Well, it could still be worse.
And we had no choice but to take her with us.
”
I chewed on my bottom lip as we walked.
“
Do you suppose there is a town or a settlement that would be closer than going back to the hotel?
”
“
There might be.
Once we reach the end of the cave we can stop to rest and I
’
ll check the map.
”
“
Sounds good, but I should tell you that I buried some of your documents.
”
“
How far?
”
“
A few miles.
”
“
Damn.
Well, if we have to, we can just leave them.
”
“
Are you sure?
”
“
Yes.
I don
’
t plan on using them again.
”
His tone was dark.
“
I guess that would be the smart thing to do.
”
I sighed.
“
It is.
”
We made it to the end of the cave in remarkably good time considering we were tired, depressed, injured, and had a five year old in tow.
We sat in the archway of the cave for a few minutes to rest and check the map.
The good news was that Mike found a city on the map that was only two miles away.
The bad news was that the little girl had hunkered down next to a rock and fallen fast asleep.
“
Are you ready?
”
“
Yes.
Should we wake her up?
”
he
whispered.
“
No, I can carry her.
”
I bent and scooped her slender body up without disturbing her.
“
Here, give her to me.
”
I passed her to my brother and we set out for civilization once more.
***
The airport in Seattle was crowded.
The one good thing about Seattle though, was that after trekking through Africa for hours on end, it didn
’
t feel so hot.
The three of us were weary down to the bone by the time we pulled into the driveway of my house.
Mike insisted on doing a thirty minute walk through of the house before we went in.
I figured it was safe enough, given the length of time that we had been gone, but stranger things had happened
—
literally.
So I sat patiently in the car with the little girl while he searched closets and corners.
“
All clear?
”
I called out when he poked his head out the front door.
“
Looks that way.
”
“
Come on, honey, we are finally home.
Well, at my house anyway.
You
’
ll be safe here, I promise.
”
She followed without question.
Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings.
Mike cleared his throat and shot me a pointed look.
“
Yes, I know.
We need to talk.
Why don
’
t you go take a shower in the guest bedroom while I get her something hot to eat?
”
An hour later, I had fed my new houseguest
and
had her snoozing contentedly on my bed.
I even managed to get a little bit of information from her.
Her name was Ashley and she was six years old.
Both of her parents were dead
,
killed by the
‘
bad men
’
when she was five years old.
She lived in an orphanage in town.
Mike was waiting for me in the kitchen.
“
Is she asleep?
”
“
Yes.
Just now.
”
I dropped into the chair across from him and cradled my head in my hands.
“
Good.
I didn
’
t want to say too much in front of her.
”
“
Neither did I.
”
“
Claire…
.
”
“
Yes?
”
“
Why did you come after me?
”
he
asked quietly.
“
You were supposed to find the key and destroy it.
Why didn
’
t you?
”
“
That
’
s simple.
Would you have left me to die?
”
He smiled ruefully.
“
No, of course not.
”
“
Well, there you go.
”
“
What happened after I left?
”
“
Well, first John and his bunch of jackasses called me into a meeting and told me that you swindled a bunch of money from them for a fake expedition.
I decoded your notes and ran.
It took some time, but I figured out how to get to Terlain.
And then I…found you.
And here we are.
”
“
Huh.
Did you get the package I left you in the yard?
”
“
Yes, I got it.
”
I filled him in on that little adventure too.
He paled visibly when I got to the part about the attack.
“
Good God, Claire.
What did you end up doing with the package?
”
I grinned at the memory.
“
I turned it in to the police on my way to the airport.
”
He hooted with laughter and hugged me.
“
Are we bad people, Claire?
To be laughing at a man losing his freedom?
”
“
Hey, who said we were laughing at a
‘
man
’
?
”
“
True enough.
”
“
So is it true
—
what John said?
Did you take money from them?
”
“
No.
I had a man working with me.
He was an associate.
It was never my intention to find Terlain on my own.
But my partner was in with John Hanlen the whole time.
He was paid handsomely to feed him information about what we were doing.
”
“
What happened to him?
”
“
John killed him after he had what he needed to threaten me.
”
“
Why did he want to find you so bad?
”
Mike shook his head.
“
It was never me he was after, not directly at least.
He wanted the key.
”
“
But why?
”
“
Why else?
Money.
Terlain is not only the find of the century
—
it
’
s a gold mine.
”
I thought back to the seeing stones and the spun gold on the leaves.
“
Is that why you went there?
”
“
Not for the money.
The fame?
Maybe.
At first I had these ideas about changing the world…
.
”
He trailed off into a lengthy silence.
“
And now?
”
He looked at me
then
with the most tortured expression that I had ever seen.
“
Let
’
s just say I have seen the error of my ways.
”
“
What do you mean?
What happened over there?
”
“
I…it
’
s too dangerous over there, Claire.
It
’
s just too damn dangerous.
We had no business going there.
There was a reason the key was buried deep in the Earth.
There was a reason why the elders of the time wanted it destroyed.
”
“
The elders.
I read about them, while I was looking for you.
Do you think that they were connected somehow to the band of men that appeared in Terlain during the last year of the war?
The Racanes?
”
“
The Racanes?
”
“
Yes, they were a band of men that appeared near the end of the war.
They were very active in the revolution.
Before they disappeared, they predicted that a talisman would be the key to Kahn
’
s downfall.
”
“
Racanes?
Are you sure they were called Racanes?
”
“
Yes, they were foreign.
”
“
Racanes…racanes…Africans?
”
“
Oh my God
,
”
I whispered.
Mike and I exchanged wide
-
eyed stares as comprehension dawned.
“
No, it doesn
’
t matter.
”
He blinked and shook his head vehemently.
“
It
’
s done now.
”
“
Except for Ashley.
”
“
Ashley?
”
“
The little girl.
Her name is Ashley.
”
“
What else did she tell you?
”
“
She
’
s six years old.
The guards killed her parents last year and she has been living in an orphanage ever since.
”
“
Oh, hell, we kidnapped a child.
”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and began to pace.
“
Not really.
Besides, what choice did we have?
If I had not gone after her, she would be dead now.
And we couldn
’
t very well have left her in the woods at the mercy of the guards.
They have no mercy
—
you know that.
They would have sold her to a brothel or killed her.
Or worse.
”