Forbidden Quest (9 page)

water just as they reached them and floated silently past
.
Jack yanked on the speckled

stallion's
reins and urged the horses up the embankment without a word.  Turning back to watch the serpents disappear downstream, Jack motioned for them to continue.

Sarah and Hopper came into view as they rounded the bend. Jack galloped up to the edge of the falls and dismounted to inspect the rocks. Hanging on to the flowering vines that cascaded over the edges of the falls, he peered behind the rushing waters. "No cave here." Jack announced, turning back to find Nicole gazing into the depth of the frothy pool.

"Nothing on this side.
"
Hopper's deep voice shouted across the water.

.
             
Climbing down from the giant white rocks, Jack stared into the bubbling water.
 
The image of the snakes came back to him. Glancing at Nicole's sober reflection in the
water, he spoke as quietly as the falls roar would allow. "I guess I owe you an apology."

"Why?" Nicole glanced up to meet his gaze.

"That song of yours, it kept me in the game." He smiled softly, studying the deep
green eyes that stared at him. "That's the third time you've come to my rescue."

"Let’s just stick to the activities of today.  Anyway, I'm sure you'll have a chance to repay the last two favors very soon
.
That is, if things pick up. I expected a little more excitement than a simple treasure hunt this has turned out to be."

"Find the cave. I bet there's plenty of excitement waiting for us inside." Jack said, kneeling beside the pool.

"It's down there." Nicole pointed to a shadow at the bottom of the water.

"Awesome." Jack grinned glancing across at Hopper and Sarah. They were also examining the pond, and arguing.  Jack and Nicole navigated the river once more.  The group unsaddled their horses and spread their saddle blanket on the ground. Sarah emptied the contents of the two leather satchels
she'd taken from Nicole's horse on to the blankets
.
Dining on cold leg of lamb, rye
bread
and hard cheese they discussed the churning waters of the pool.

"It's too deep and the waters too rough to make it down and back in one breath,
much less take the time to search for . . . whatever it is that's supposed to be down there. "
 
Sarah explained passing the leather flask of sweet wine to Hopper. "It's dangerous enough searching a cave with diving equipment, let alone one deep breath of air."

"Maybe it's not a
cave,
it could be a nook or crevice in the rock that just looks like

a cave
.
We have no idea what that dark area is down there. We could be on the wrong
path completely." Hopper added, draining the last of the red wine.

"Maybe we've got the wrong waterfall." Sarah suggested. "We've got the right
falls,
there isn't another one on this side of the mountains."

"I suppose a little birdie told you that?
" Jack grinned at her
,
his eyes sparkled

with
laughter.

“That’s right, big boy. You
wanna
make something of it?”  Nicole grinned wickedly at him.

"Okay, I'm a certified diver, why don't I swim down there and take a quick look around, then we can decide what our best option is.
"
Jack offered, stuffing the last
morsel of lamb in his mouth.

"I'm with Jack." Nicole declared rising. "But there's something we haven't

considered
.
There could be . . . complications."

The others rose and stared silently at her, waiting for her to continue.
 
''I can safely vouch for the lack of piranha or were you thinking more along the
line of a seven-headed monster?"

Jack shook his head and moved toward the bubbling
pool. "Let's get on with it."

"How can you be so sure Nicole isn't right?" Sarah followed him.

"Well for one thing, if there was some sort of beast about, the horses wouldn't be

so relaxed.
"
Jack called back to her. "And if there was a sea serpent, Nicole would have

located
it and sung it to sleep by now."

"No one hears a crocodile swimming toward them under the water." The

calmness
of Nicole's voice stopped Jack in his tracks.

"I'm not a wildebeest, I’m  an accomplished swimmer.
"
Jack turned to stare at her

and added, "With a knife.
"
He flashed a brilliant smile, sat on the glistening white stone at the edge of the pond and removed his dark leather vest. Dropping his sword on the side of the bank, Jack pulled off his boots and dove into the water.

Gathering at the edge, the others watched as he disappeared into the dark waters below. Jack swam easily to the bottom in the cool water. It felt good to be back in his element. This was his main reason for all those getaways. He strongly felt a great sense of freedom under the cool water. The entrance to the cave was evident from his vantage point at the center of the pool. Unfortunately the force of the pounding current kept Jack at bay
.
His lungs strained for air and Jack pushed off the rock bottom and fought to the surface, releasing what little air was left in his lungs
.
Gasping, he broke the surface of, the water, sullenly realizing the impossibility of their task.

"There is a cave down there." He explained, climbing out of the water and trying
to catch his breath. "The current is wicked. The cave is directly below the falls. Unless
I stay low, it could pull me in and roll me. I'd be out of the game before I got close
enough to see inside
.
The force of the water is just too great."

“We have to divert the flow." Sarah frowned, glancing up at the water tumbling over the cliff.

“That's impossible." Jack sighed, "There's too much water."

"We need to slow it down, Just enough to allow Jack access to the cave.
"
Sarah explained, "Something temporary."

"Then what?
"
Hopper stared into the water shaking his head
.
"If whatever it is

isn't
right inside the entrance, whoever went in would drown searching for it."

"He's right, Sarah. It took everything I had just to get a look at the entrance."

Jack agreed. "Our friendly psychologist is making this too hard."

"No, we're just not looking at it from the right perspective." Nicole corrected,

coming forward
.
"What the Sorceress said earlier makes more sense. We need diving equipment."

"That's easy, just tell me where the nearest dive shop is and I just skip right down

there in a jiffy.
"
Jack snapped at her.

"I've got a better idea." It was Nicole's turn to flash the brilliant smile. "Sarah

and Hopper you work on the falls
.
Jack, come with me."

"One more boulder and we're finished," Sarah hollered from the edge of the cliff. 

“My back is killing me!"
Hopper growled as he chose another massive rock and

lifted
it onto his broad, hairy shoulders then started up the steep hill.

“I'll give you a massage before we go to bed
”  Sarah
smiled at her large,

disfigured
boyfriend.

"Bed, huh that'd be a neat trick." Hopper grumbled under his breath dropping the last boulder on top of the flowing water completing a partial barrier across one side of the spillway.

"Don't think of this as camping along a river bed. Think of that nice soft cot back

in the ballroom.
"
Sarah waited for him to reach her then dug into his massive shoulders with her knuckles and began kneading the tension away from his muscular back.

"Just how comfortable do you expect those cots to be, Sarah?" Hopper chuckled

as
he began to relax under her soft touch.

A shout from below drew their attention as Jack and Nicole appeared at the edge

of the woods, carrying a food satchel
.
The pair headed for the base of the rocks to

examine
Sarah and Hopper's handiwork.  The pair had succeeded in diverting nearly half of the rushing water away from the entrance to the cave. What spilled over was much more violent but the brunt of the force was to one side.

"Perfect!" Nicole shouted up to them.

"It looks great, but will it hold?" Jack

“It'll serve our purposes.
" Hopper,
jumped down from a large boulder then turned and gently lifted Sarah down beside him.

"What's that?" Sarah asked, reaching for the satchel.

"Fairyland's first air tank.
"
Jack answered, winking at Nicole.

"We lined it with pine tar. Hopefully it will hold as long as your dam.
"
Nicole Handed it to Sarah
.
"We were just about to test it." Moving to the edge of the pond, Sarah handed Jack the satchel. He blew it up like a large leather balloon and shoved it under the surface. After a few seconds a few bubbles appeared.

"Okay so it's not perfect. But I think it should last long enough to give me the air I need to check out the cave." Jack pulled the satchel from the water and emptied the small trickle of water from the bag.  “A little more tar and it will be perfect.”

“I'm not so sure this is a good idea.” Sarah frowned, "It could make you over

confident
.
You'll go in too deep and get lost."

"We've thought of that." Nicole said. She grabbed the satchel from Jack and

proceeded
to smear the dark pine tar she'd collected on a large oak leaf along the outer

seams
.
"We'll tie the rope from our climbing gear around his waist. He can secure it to a

rock near the entrance
.
Then follow it back if he gets confused or kicks up too much dirt.

And if he doesn't reappear in a sufficient amount of time, one of us can swim down and

pull
him out using the small wine skin as a secondary air tank."

“I don't know,
”  Sarah
stared at the satchel.  “It just sounds reckless . . ."

"Sarah, it's only a game, remember?" Hopper
added, putting his immense arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. 
"If we don't take some chances, we'll never win."

"Hopper's right, all we need is a good plan.
"
Jack smiled softly, touched by her concern, " Remember,  I won't really be in the water
.
It's all in our minds."

“Ok, so tell me then, how are you going to see in that cave?"  Sarah countered.

"That's where you come in babe." Jack slid in between her and Hopper, sliding his arm

around
her waist.

"Uh oh.
"
Sarah glanced at Hopper for assistance.

"Remember the spells I had to memorize?" Nicole moved closer. "One was a spell of light."

Nicole repeated the strange words to Sarah until she memorized them. Hopper

found a large tree limb and placed it on the rocks at the edge of the pond
.
Sarah directed

the incantation at the tip of the limb by staring at it and concentrating
.
Sarah felt like the queen of fools as she waved her arms for emphasis and shouted the magic words. No one was more surprised than
she
when the limb sputtered and sparked, then burst into flames.  Nicole snatched it up and thrust the burning end into the churning water. The flame continued to burn, unaffected. 

"Jack, hypnosis is a powerful thing." Sarah cautioned.

"Relax, if I'm in there too long, Strong will pull me out of the trance and you'll go

on without me.
"
Jack smiled and filled the satchel with air. "Wish me luck."

The three remaining adventurers stood at the edge of the pool and watched as

Jack disappeared into the darkness of the cave. With the torch in his teeth, satchel in one