Shadow Cave (Shadows #1)

  ***

  The rainforest was literally on the other side of the tree border. I pushed a branch out of my way and had crossed the threshold into the rainforest almost before I knew what was happening. But suddenly, there I was. The heat was the first thing that hit me; the blonde was the second. A flash of platinum hair was the last thing I saw before I was knocked into the tree behind me. I clutched my bag to my chest, raising it to shield my face. Strong hands gripped me and pulled me to my feet. Another pair of hands was busy dusting off my back. That is, unless I had just been knocked down by the octopus lady. The idea was all too possible out here.

  “Sorry, friend! Did I hurt you?”

  I stared into what I thought were the bluest eyes I had ever seen and blinked. Well, it wasn’t the octopus lady. The tall blonde who stood before me had an open, friendly face and a fast smile. She also had two hands.

  “I think she’s in shock,” she whispered to the overdeveloped redhead next to her.

  “Well, she did hit her head.”

  “Juliette! Tara! What’s going on down there?”

  “We found someone!”

  “It’s a girl!”

  I had recovered enough to take note of my surroundings. Everywhere I looked, I saw color. Deep green foliage was lush and abundant. The land was everywhere. It was all around me—above me and below me. The light was dim with the approaching night and the canopy of the trees overhead. Even though the treetops looked to be a good thirty feet above my head, there wasn’t much light. It was like being in an endless tropical dome. Wide-leafed ferns dotted the landscape and colorful flowers grew in enormous sprays. In the distance was a massive waterfall that drained into a large pond. The water glittered like diamonds caught in a sunbeam. Beyond that, I could see the telltale shimmer of the fence. I breathed a sigh of relief. This area was protected.

  “Hey, are you okay?” The blonde was waving her hand in front of my face. There was a loud splashing sound as the people who had been at the top of the waterfall came down to join us.

  There were ten of them, counting the two standing next to me. One by one, they swam to the edge of the pond and leaped gracefully from the water. Like the sprites, they were all women, and all very beautiful. I didn’t remember reading about them, though. They gathered around me and absurdly I wondered how their clothing had managed to survive the swim. They wore what looked to be loincloths and bras fashioned from leather and leaves.

  “I don’t know. I think she hit her head,” someone was saying.

  “She just came out of nowhere. I didn’t even see her,” the blonde whispered.

  “I’m sorry,” I interrupted hastily. “I’m okay, just stunned is all. I was looking around.”

  “What is your name?”

  “Claire.”

  Murmurs went up all around me and the blonde put a slim arm around my shoulders and led me to a large boulder.

  “Sit down a minute, Claire. I bumped into you awfully hard. Are you certain that you aren’t hurt?”

  I touched a sore spot at the back of my head, but didn’t feel a bump.

  “I think so. You came out of nowhere too,” I laughed.

  She grinned. “Sorry about that. Juliette and I were swinging.”

  “Swinging?”

  “Sure, on those.” She pointed to several thick vines that hung from a nearby tree.

  “By the way, I’m Tara.”

  “This is the rainforest?”

  “This is part of it.”

  The rest of the group had gathered around the boulder.

  “I’m looking for my brother. He came through here four months ago.”

  “Mike?” a brunette with curly hair asked.

  “Yes! You’ve seen him?”

  “I never forget a handsome man.”

  The redhead slapped her lightly on the arm.

  “What Aries is trying to say is ‘Yes, we remember a young man coming through here.’”

  “We don’t get many visitors out this way,” Tara explained.

  “But this is a protected zone,” I argued.

  “Not the entire rainforest. Only this section of rainforest is protected.”

  “Oh. I didn’t see a fence at the border though,” I remembered.

  “The border is protected. Don’t worry, you’re safe here. Did you have a run in with the guards?” The question brought a collective intake of breath from the group.

  “No. Not yet, anyway. Sephora brought me here.”

  “Oh.”

  “Did my brother stay long?”

  “He stayed a short while,” Aries informed me.

  Of course he did. “I don’t suppose he told you where he was going?”

  “No, I’m sorry.” Aries looked sympathetic. “He did not tell you where he was going?”

  “No.” I looked down, unwilling to go into detail.

  “He said he would come back, if that helps,” Aries volunteered.

  “He did?” I frowned. What was Mike up to? I wondered. I took a closer look at Aries. Was it possible he had fallen for the woman? She was gorgeous, yes, but really how long had he been here? That did not sound like my brother at all. But why else would he promise to come back? It was possible he had simply made a polite comment in passing, like telling someone ‘I’ll see you later.’ “That’s all he said?”

  “Just that he had something to do and would return soon.”

  “But he has not come back,” Tara said with regret.

  “Yet,” Aries said defensively.

  “Ari, it’s been almost four months.”

  “You’re welcome to wait for him,” Juliette told me, turning her back on the dark-haired girl.

  “I don’t know…” The last thing I wanted to do was kill Aries’ dreams, but I was pretty sure that Mike would not be returning, not if he’d already been gone four months.

  “Why don’t you at least spend the night?” Tara suggested. “It’s already dark.”

  “Good idea.” I bit back the frustration and disappointment that was steadily welling up within me and nodded to my newest set of companions. “Thank you.”

  Introductions were made and someone brought out a large platter of fresh fruit, cured meat, and cheese. We stretched out and ate the light meal by the edge of the pond. Tara stretched along the wide, bleached concrete ledge of the clear pond and closed her eyes.

  “It’s a shame it’s already dark.” Night had fallen and I cast a longing glance at the water.

  “Why’s that?”

  “Why’s what?” I quickly snapped out of my daydream. You know, the one where I’m in a bikini sipping a margarita.

  “Why is it a shame that it’s dark?”

  “Oh, that.” I smiled. “I wanted to go for a swim, but I suppose there’ll be time enough for that in the morning.”

  Juliette laughed. “Why wait for the morning?”

  “Agreed,” the other girls sang out in a chorus.

  “Iris, go put the lights on. Tara, you help her. Leia, take Chloe and light the pond.”

  “What is going on?” I whispered to Juliette as everyone seemed to spring into action at once.

  “We are going for a swim, friend.”

  Tara and the small champagne blonde called Iris each grabbed a vine and took a running start. They swung from tree to tree, and one by one, the leaves began to glow.

  “Juliette, how are they doing that?” I exclaimed.

  Juliette uncrossed her legs and leaned over to grip the branch of the tree that grew next to the pond. I noticed a large circle in the center of the big leaf that hung from the branch. She blew a long slow breath onto the leaf and the circle came to life, pulsing neon blue and gradually solidifying into a soft and steady aqua glow.

  “How did you do that?” I whispered reverently. I was on my feet in an instant, spinning around as the trees lit blue, green, red, yellow, and pink.

  “There is magic here.” Her eyes danced, and her smile was full of mystery.

  Leia a
nd Chloe stood next to the pond and each kissed the fingertips of their right hand. They leaned over the pool, opened their palms, and blew the kiss into the water. The lights began to form under the water, weaving and intensifying until the pond was glowing with the gentle blue light.

  “Apparently,” I managed to reply.

  Tara swung her vine in a wide arc and executed a flawless jump, landing on her feet in front of me.

  “There.”

  “Wow!” I breathed, trying to take in everything at once.

  “Well done, ladies. How about we take that swim?”

  I stripped to my underwear and dove headfirst into the pool. The same bleached concrete formed the smooth sides, and they were covered in the same smooth, glass-like circles I had seen on the leaves.

  Time slowed as we glided endlessly through the cool, shimmering blue water. The temperature in the air had cooled enough to be considered balmy, and for a blessed few hours, I thought of nothing; not fear, pain, trouble, or the journey that still lay ahead…and especially not science.