Chapter Six
The Capture
I stood in front of the gate for at least ten minutes before deciding the best way to do what I needed to do—was simply to do it. “All of this thinking is going to drive me insane,” I muttered. I took a deep breath to steady myself.
“Into your hands, oh Lord,” I whispered a second before I crossed the threshold. I felt light headed and realized I was still holding my ‘cleansing breath.’ Sure I was probably being ridiculous, but I felt like a little kid waiting for the monster to pop out of the closet. Silly—I was grown woman; I was a doctor (when it suited me); but more than that, I had made it this far, and I had survived two attacks already. I would handle whatever happened to come my way, as I always had, and I would be fine. I will not disappoint Mike by chickening out now. Besides, there was no such thing as monsters. There were only men. Plain, ordinary men who were not bulletproof. Just immortal, a voice in my head whispered.
“Hell.” I shook my head and hitched my bag a little higher onto my shoulder. There was a path to my left, so I started there. This forest was not much different than the one I had woken up in the day before. Well, the lighting was not as good, maybe, I thought as I squinted up at the trees. That could have been my imagination, though. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and took another step forward…and promptly fell down a hole.
At first, I was too stunned to do more than blink. I had landed on my butt, and I stayed that way for several minutes while I checked for signs of injury. I flexed my toes and leaned back, bracing my arms on the dirt beneath me. I was sore, but otherwise unharmed, so I climbed to my feet and peered up at the trees.
The hole wasn’t very wide, but it was deep, and the dirt was well packed. Someone had dug it on purpose—it was a trap. Since there was no way I could climb out, I crouched down and waited for the ambush. Nothing happened. Well, how wonderful. I am trapped in a hole. If that isn’t just my luck. I wanted to bitch and moan out loud, but self preservation dictated I keep my mouth shut for the time being.
An hour later, I had discerned that I had two options. I could yell for help or try to climb out on my own. Well, there was a third option, too: I could sit down and starve to death in a hole. I really didn’t care for option number three, so this brought me back to options one and two, shouting or climbing. I felt along the hard packed dirt walls around me. I could try to dig out footholds up the wall, but it didn’t look like the earth was stable enough for that. I frowned when it occurred to me that I could not call the dirt ‘earth’ here. Soil, then, I mentally corrected. Anyway, at least it wasn’t rocky. I could try to dig myself out, but there would be no guarantees.
Shouting for help was starting to look like a great plan. I was pretty far from Lerna’s border, yet not so far that passersby could not hear me if I screamed repeatedly. That was assuming anyone was willing to cross the fence to come to my aid. Judging by Faith’s reaction, decent people did not come here. Then there was the chance that my screaming would attract the attention of the guards—or, worse, some of the creatures Mike had detailed in his notes. The more I thought about the grim scenario, the more likely it seemed than finding some he-man rescuer.
I began to quietly dig. I had to make quick work of the task since it would soon be dark. The last thing I wanted was to spend the night in a hole. Actually, the last thing I wanted was to turn the hole into a bathroom, which would definitely happen if I were forced to sleep there. I shuddered and ripped out an extra-large handful of soil. The only thing that would be more fun than sleeping in my own waste would be having someone walk by in the dark and fall on me.
The sun was still high overhead when I took a break for a cup of coffee. I wished I had thought to pack some water. A sandwich would have been nice too—or at least a couple of biscuits. I was embarrassed to admit that I had not given it so much as a passing thought.
“Damn it,” I grumbled while I leaned against the cool dirt and sipped my coffee from the thermos lid.
I sighed and tried to think positive thoughts. The situation was not really so bad; once a few more footholds were dug and their resilience tested, the climb would begin and with a little luck, freedom would be mine within the hour. My brother would be located, we would go home that night, and John would do five to ten.
I was still thinking positive when the first head popped up above me. To my credit, I did not scream. Maybe it was the Welcome Wagon? When five more stern faces appeared around the rim of the hole and peered down at me, I ditched the power of positive thinking and went for my gun.
“Don’t move!”
“Okay. Okay.” I very slowly put my hands up. When nobody spoke, I assumed they were waiting for an explanation.
“I fell down this hole.” Way to go Claire, I thought lamely. I stared back at the small group. The first thing I noticed was that they were all female. Amazons? I took a chance and extended my hand.
“Would you please get me out of here?”
The five women glanced at me briefly before conferring amongst themselves. Finally, they nodded. Three of them leaned over and pulled me up. The job was made considerably easier when I braced my feet in the holes I had dug into the wall. The other two stood by a cluster of trees fifteen feet away. Each was armed with a bow and arrow.
I stretched and took a deep breath while I took stock of my rescuers. I had been right. All five were women, but Amazons they were not. They were all muscular, but on the short side of average and basically slender. The two holding the weapons were a bit smaller than the other three. The women all had black hair, wore minimal clothing, and were very pretty. I thought back to the notebooks and scanned my memory. Finally, I smiled.
“You’re the sprites, aren’t you?” I looked them over once more and was certain they had to be. One of the books had an old black and white drawing of them that was a near-perfect likeness.
I took an eager step forward. The sprites were not supposed to be violent. “You are, aren’t you?”
“Stop!” This from the largest of the group. The other women looked at me with open suspicion, and the two by the trees now had their weapons drawn. The one who had spoken wore a green jewel in her hair and another on her belt. I assumed she was the leader and chose to address only her for the moment.
“My name is Claire Roberts and I have just come from Lerna. I’m on a journey to find my brother. I mean you no harm. Can you help me?”
“How do you know of us, stranger? Are you with the guards? Have they sent you here?”
“The guards? No. I’m just a woman traveling alone.”
“Women are not wise to do such things.”
I shrugged. “You are.”
She said nothing, but for a moment, she appeared to relax a bit.
“Can you help me find my brother?”
She cocked her head and seemed to assess me before nodding.
“First, give me your bag.” She thrust out her hand and I took an involuntary step back.
“No. I need it.”
“I mean to search it, not keep it,” she said impatiently.
“Oh. Okay. Here.” I stepped forward and held it out by one strap. She had long fingernails that scraped lightly against my hand when she retrieved the bag.
“Be careful.” The woman standing to her left warned. “She could still be one of the guards.” I noticed that she never took her eyes off of me. She’s scared, I realized in shock, of me.
“She’s no scout. She speaks the truth.” The one who had taken my bag had finished her search and handed it back to me with a meaningful look. Too bad I didn’t know what it meant. “She is not with the guards.” Her eyes held mine before she turned and gestured to the rest of the group. They seemed to relax and gathered around me in a loose circle.
“My name is Sephora. This is Megalia, Annora, Lesha, and Kaila.”
“Pleased to meet you, Queen.” I wondered if I should bow. I shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other instead. Yeah, that will wow them…
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“Sephora will do fine. No need to add the ‘queen’ every time you address me.”
“Thank you.”
“Tell me about your brother,” she insisted with a toss of her dark hair.
“His name is Mike. Michael, really, but no one has ever called him that. He is 5’10” with blue eyes and brown hair. It’s light, like mine. He’s of average build. Picture me, only as a man with lighter eyes.” My eyes were brown and he was a lot bigger than me, but other than that, we could have been twins. “He would have been here close to six months ago, I think.”
“He was.”
My eyes went wide and I had to restrain myself from grabbing Sephora’s shoulders. Somehow, I didn’t think she was used to being manhandled.
“You saw him? He was here?”
“He was here four months ago. He carried a bag similar to yours.”
The key and the gun. That was what she had meant before when she’d given me the look.
“Where did he go? What did he say? Is he okay?” I asked in a rush.
“The last we saw he was unharmed. I cannot speak for now.”
“What do you mean? What happened? Where is he?”
“We don’t know where he is now. This land is not always safe.” Annora interrupted gently.
“We took him to the rainforest.”
“And after that?”
“He continued alone.”
I sighed and rubbed my eyes. Of course he had.
“Did he say where he was going?”
“No.”
Damn. “How far is the rainforest?”
“It is not far. Come, we will show you.” Sephora turned toward the path.
“Wait!” I protested.
She stopped and raised one eyebrow in question.
“There might be more traps. Maybe we shouldn’t take the path.”
“The path will be fine.”
“But…” I thought fast. “You dug the holes, didn’t you?”
All five women smiled.
“We don’t like outsiders,” Lesha said simply.
“Most of them, anyway; now follow me,” Sephora commanded.
We stopped an hour later to rest, and Sephora took us off the path and led us to a small creek.
“The water here is very clean. Drink and rest for a moment. We are near the border.”
“We’re near the rainforest?”
“Yes. Now rest.”
I knelt before the creek and dipped my hands into the water that was rushing past me. Fat white rocks lined the creek bed a few feet below the surface. Sephora was right—it was clean. It was also icy cold.
I cupped my hands and drank four handfuls of the cool liquid. It tasted wonderful, and I even used a bit to wash the dust from my face and neck. I’d already brushed most of the dirt off of my jeans and top, so I didn’t bother with them. Besides, I would have only made mud if I had tried. They were not that dirty, anyway. Plus, I still had the dress in my bag if I needed to change clothes.
“Ready?”
“Yes. Let’s go.”
Twenty minutes later, we reached the edge of the forest. Sephora stopped in front of a line of trees that stretched as far as I could see. The border? It must be, I thought.
“The rainforest is through here.”
“Through the trees, you mean?”
“Yes.”
“How far is it?”
“Not far at all. Just cross through the trees,” Sephora assured me.
“You’re not coming?”
“No, Claire. I am sorry, but it is too dangerous—both to leave the forest unguarded and to walk the rainforest.”
I felt a chill at her words.
“Where are you going, then?” I was stalling and I knew it.
“Our camp is west of here.”
“All right.” I squared my shoulders and stuck my hand out to shake hers. “Thank you.”
“Step lightly, my friend.”
I swallowed but could not seem to speak.
Sephora gave me a none-too-gentle push. “Go now. Find your family.”
They were gone by the time I turned around. I stood in front of the line of tall trees and felt small and very alone. It was getting dark. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted.
“Just do it,” I ordered myself. I darted through the trees before I could change my mind.