Forbidden Quest (10 page)

hand
and the rope tied around his waist, Jack quickly found a rock to anchor the rope.  He then swam toward what appeared to be the back of the oval shaped cave. The area inside was small, no more than 6 feet wide and 20 feet deep. Jack was certain he would have no trouble quickly locating the object in such a confined space.

The water poured viciously over the falls after crashing into the newly constructed
dam
above. The seconds seemed like hours as the others watched and waited for Jack to emerge from the cave.

"How much time does that satchel give him ?
'
Hopper asked, bending so close to

the
water his nose touched the surface.

"Well it took five deep breaths to fill it . .
. "
Nicole answered, "I'd say about 45

second per breath considering his exertion
. Maybe three and a half to four minutes?"

“You mean you
didn't
figure that out before he went in the water?” Sarah glared at her.

“And just who’s watch would we have used to calculate that?” Nicole calmly met her gaze.

The trio stared into the water in silence, leaving their concerns unspoken,  Finally Hopper asked,  "How long has it been?
"
Hopper glanced up at Sarah as he pulled off his vest.

"At least three minutes."

Hopper pulled off his boots and dove into the water.

“It's just a game." Nicole whispered.

"Yeah and if they both end up out of it, it's over.'' Sarah turned to face her. "I

came
here to spend time with Todd, not you!"

"What is all this hostility, Sarah? I'm just trying to be nice, to offer some comfort." Nicole stared at her.”

"Why would you do that? You never cared before and it's too damn hard to believe you've started now
.
It's all just part of the game
.
You're attempting to be the friendly elf, lover of nature and all that it gives life to." Sarah moved menacingly closer. "You've never said a civil word to me the entire time I've known you Nicole. So don't think I'm going to fall for your manipulative bullshit now."

"Calm down, Sarah. You're just upset because Hopper's taking a chance
. He'll
be

back in a few seconds
.
You're worried for nothing
.
You haven't lost your Pa
ladin
.
He's not in any danger.”

"Todd is NOT my Paladin. He's simply a little over protective
.
Unlike you, he

was taught to treat people with respect
.
Now if you
don't
mind, I think Hopper and Jack

are more important than your return to humanity.
"
Sarah actually growled at Nicole before turning back toward the water.

Hopper reached the entrance to the cave. His large troll eyes adjusted to the darkness inside immediately. Following the rope, he located Jack's still lifeless form, floating less than a yard inside the entrance. Below Jack, lying on the stone floor of the cave was what was left of the burning torch and a
small jewel encrusted chest about the size of a deck of cards. Snatching Jack's arm, Hopper stuffed the chest into his mouth and headed out of the cave. Staying near the bottom of the pool, Hopper cleared the turbulent waters and raced for the surface.  Hopper shoved Jack out of the water above him and hit the surface at a fast swim desperate to get to the shore.

"He’s not breathing!" Hopper's deep voice boomed over the roar of the falls. Gasping for air, Hopper allowed Sarah and Nicole to drag Jack over the rocks and onto the grass. Sarah forced Jack into a sitting position and used the Heimlich maneuver to cleanse his lungs of water. She laid him on his back and forced air into his lungs. Nicole placed an ear to his chest.

"No heart beat!" She gasped.

Sarah pushed her away and started pumping his chest. Hopper appeared at her side and began puffing air into Jack's lungs.

"It's only a game." Nicole managed hugging herself as she watched them struggle to bring Jack back to life.

"It can't be safe to allow someone to think they've died. I don't care if it is
just
hypnosis, this is insane." Sarah said as she continued to force Jack's heart to beat.  Suddenly Jack coughed and his head jerked forward. Hopper roared with delight as his friend rolled to his side gasping for air. Sarah hugged the large troll, relieved they
didn't
have to wait until the adventure was over to find out if Jack had really suffered from the ordeal.

"What happened?" Jack squeaked, looking up at his three nearly hysterical
friends.

"You were dead." Hopper smiled weakly. "I pulled you out of the cave just in
time."

"Dead?
"
Jack coughed, rolled over onto his
back
and sat up.

"Absolutely," Hopper added
,  "
Sarah had to revive you."

“I guess I wasn't cut out for underwater spelunking." Jack forced a smile.

"Maybe not, but you're a great treasure hunter." Hopper's huge hairy face glowed with excitement as he offered Jack the small chest and added, "The honor's all yours."

"I saw you dive into the water and pull me out." Jack whispered softly, oblivious

to the chest
.
"Nicole grabbed my arms and Sarah kissed me . .
. "

"Are you all right?" Nicole moved forward. She stared at him with such

intensity, Jack could no longer meet her gaze
.
He fell silently back on to the grass.

"My chest hurts and I've got a massive headache." He sighed, clutching his head

in
both hands.

"Let's get him out of the sun." Sarah ordered, pulling Jack to his feet. "Can you

walk
?"

"I didn't get hit by a bus."
Jack frowned, but leaned against Hopper's hulking
form nonetheless. "How long was I out?"

"How long before you ran out of air?" The tall troll asked, leading Jack to

the
tree”.

"The bag sprung a leak, after my second breath. I was pretty far in . . ." Jack

stammered, trying to remember
.
"There was a side tunnel near the back. I had just

entered
it after searching the main area and finding nothing."

"Two minutes tops." Hopper answered firmly, moving Jack inside the tree line.

"I found you inside the main entrance."

"Two minutes, I guess that's okay."

"Of course it's okay," Nicole said. "Do you really think you stopped breathing?"

"It sure seemed like it to me." Hopper offered, lowering Jack onto the soft grass

beneath
a large tree.

"It's just part of the game. We wanted some excitement. So Strong gave it to us.

He'll be as good as new in a few minutes, then we can head out.
"
Nicole grinned, holding

out the jeweled chest to Jack
.
"It's not locked."

Taking the chest from Nicole, Jack set it on the ground before him. Using the

small knife, still stuffed into his belt, Jack pried the rusted latch open
.
Inside was a

bundle wrapped in a thick layer of wax
.
Turning the chest over, he let the bundle fall on

to the grass
.
The others knelt beside him gazing at the lump of hardened wax. Using his long

black
claws Hopper gently poked at it.

"It's solid." Hopper said.

"Think your seven headed monster is hiding inside?" Jack smiled wickedly and slammed his fist into the package. The wax cracked and splintered apart revealing a leather wrap secured tightly with burlap straps. Jack's small knife quickly cut the straps then pulled back the leather to reveal its contents. Jack frowned and said
,  “
l thought it'd be some kind of potion or a magic wand."

"So did I.
"
Sarah said reaching for the worn, brown leather book. Two thin ornate silver snakes served as binders. The eyes were tiny sparkling rubies and the winding bodies
were adorned
with tiny blue and yellow gems that sparkled like crushed glass in diamond shaped clusters.

"Is that it?" Hopper stared over Jack's shoulder. "There's got to be something else."

"Conjuration," Sarah said, looking up at him.

"Well . . . yeah, that's a given, Sarah." Jack smiled weakly.

“No, that's what it says." She shook her head at him.

"What says?" Hopper stared at her. "You mean the book is talking to you?"

"No, silly.
"
Sarah giggled and shoved at Hopper's massive shoulder, which didn't

budge him an inch
. "The title, on the cover."

"You can read it?" Jack asked running his fingers over the strange runes that

ran
across the top of the cover.

"Duh," Sarah stared at him, uncomprehending. "It's English, Jack."

"No, it's not." Hopper chimed in.

"It's not?" Sarah stared at the writing. "It is to me."

"Then I guess it belongs to you." Nicole smiled, grabbed the book and tossed it to

Sarah.

While Jack slept, exhausted from his ordeal.
  The others dove into the book. Sarah read the titles of the spells and incantations aloud as she flipped through the pages.  Hopper insisted on earmarking certain spells for easy future access.  Tiring of the search, Nicole left them to their work. Deciding her time was better spent in examining the map
they'd
gotten at the Inn.  She grabbed the satchel and headed over to sit next to Jack's sleeping form just
as
Hopper and Sarah began to work on a levitation spell.

‘Okay, raise your arms out in front of you and command it to rise." Hopper instructed as S
arah
concentrated on the spell.

The words were unnatural and hard to form, much more difficult than the spell

Nicole had taught her. She
wasn't
entirely sure she was even pronouncing them 'correctly.

The book contained no instructions, simply the incantations.  Nothing happened as she stood over the small block of cheese, her hands stretched out above it.  Sarah frowned and wiggled her fingers at the loaf of bread on the grass before her as if that would aid her spell.

"We
l
l, you cast a spell over me long ago and you didn't even have a book then."

Hopper grinned, his booming voice deepening further as he gazed into her deep blue

eyes
.

Sarah glanced up and met his gaze. "That was cupid. He got us both with the

same arrow that day.
"
She smiled, forced away the blush that threatened and turned back

to the bread
.
Lowering her hands to inches above the cheese, she repeated the phrase over and over again until everything around her faded from view
.
Her fingers, then hands began to itch, then tingle
.
The sensation moved up her arms. Then, ever so slowly the loaf began to rise off the ground, stopping to
hover
nearly a foot above the grass.

"I did it!" She squealed jumping into Hopper's arms and kissing his massive mouth.

"I knew you could!" He spun her around then quickly deposited her back in

place
.
"Now, try something else." He added pulling back slightly and running his huge hand across his gruesome maw.

"There's a hiccup incantation. Let's
try
it on Jack." Sarah smiled mischievously,

heading for her first victim
.
The strange words flowed from her, dancing on her tongue.

The sensation was tantalizing, invigorating. She felt the power of the magic rise inside

her
.
Then, suddenly, Jack bolted upright and hiccupped.

Giggling with glee, Sarah and Hopper fell onto the grass unable to contain their

Delight Jack glanced around as the hiccups quickly worsened then suddenly subsided.

Studying the two wriggling forms on the grass before him and judging from Nicole's

large
grin, he grew suspicious.