Dark Descent (3 page)

“There’s a surprise,” Gabrielle said and rose to her feet also. The cool mountain air fairly vibrated with excitement. “You could always come and research hot viruses with me,” she invited, slinging her arm around her brother.

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that, Gabrielle, because I’m a crazy man and want to die a miserable, but noble, death,” Jubal said, ruffling his sister’s dark hair. “I think I’ll stick to my stocks and bonds and let you do your wacko research all by yourself. There it goes. Wow, look at that.” The crack widened when he placed the last rock in the sequence. “This is man-made, not natural. Damn it, Joie, don’t go in.” He snagged his backpack and pulled out a logbook, carefully entering the time. “We’re just doing a cursory exploration, and it’s nearly sunset. No one knows where we are.” Muttering, he hastily anchored the logbook near the crack where his sister had slipped inside.

Gabrielle shouldered her gear and followed. “It’s extremely tight, Jubal,” she cautioned. “Pass me your gear; it’s the only way you’re going to get through.”

Jubal took one last look at the sky, noting that the clouds that had been floating so lazily overhead were now spinning ominously, a gathering of a great force. His chest scraped as he maneuvered through the jagged crack and into the narrow hall. Behind him the wind rose in a sudden shriek, lashing at the mountain, while strange, haunting cries echoed off the peaks. Mist swirled around the mountaintop, a mini tornado that snatched the logbook and sent it skittering down the hillside to land in one of the many bogs, where it slowly sank beneath the dark waters.

Joie moved quickly through the narrow hall, well ahead of her brother and sister. The ceiling dropped with every foot, so she was forced to bend over, eventually crawling on all fours and then sliding on her stomach. She could feel the cool air coming from a subterranean chamber. Everything inside her demanded she keep going, even when she had to maneuver her body at odd angles to slither through the tunnel.

“Slow down, Joie,” Jubal cautioned. “Stay within sight of us.”

“I don’t like the way she’s acting,” Gabrielle whispered. “I’ve never seen her like this. She always obeys the safety rules, you know that, Jubal. Something is really wrong.” She felt sick, her stomach churning, her mind filled with dread. “Something terrible is going to happen if we don’t stop her.”

Jubal waited, but Gabrielle didn’t move; she remained wedged in the narrow hall, blocking him from continuing. “Keep going, Gabrielle,” he said. “We’ll catch up to her and talk sense to her. She’s been caving for years. She’s not going to forget everything she’s ever learned.”

“Ever since she was hurt in Austria, she’s been different,” Gabrielle pointed out. “Distracted. Driven.”

“She’s always very focused when she’s going into a cave. And this is a big discovery, an unexplored cave. We have no idea what we’re going to find. Of course she’s excited.”

“You know it isn’t just that; she’s been different this entire trip. Even before that. She’s quieter. Joie isn’t quiet. Now she seems to be somewhere else half the time. I feel like we’re losing her, Jubal—as if something is pulling her into another world where we can’t follow.”

Jubal sighed loudly. “I wish I could say I don’t know what you mean, but that’s why I came on this trip. I’ve been worried about her too.” He reached out and pushed at his sister. “Move it. I can’t even hear her now.”

“I can’t move, Jubal.” Gabrielle sounded scared. “I really can’t.”

“Are you stuck?” Jubal was very calm, but inside a dark dread was stealing over him.

“No,” Gabrielle whispered. “I just can’t move. Have you ever heard the term ‘paralyzed with fear’? I think I really am.”

Joie pushed forward as the ceiling lifted, allowing her to walk once again. Eventually the hall opened into a large chamber. “Hey, you two, it’s much better in here. There’s a large gallery.” She shone her light around the area, noting the fingerlike formations surrounding a large abyss that yawned in the middle of the chamber. She climbed into her rigging as she struggled to hold on to reality. “Gabrielle! Jubal! I’m going to begin my descent.” Joie tested her harness and glanced back toward the hall. “Gabrielle! Jubal! Are you two okay?”

“Wait for us, Joie,” Jubal ordered. “Gabrielle has a bad feeling about this and so do I. I’m thinking we should regroup for a few minutes and talk this over. This could be more trouble than we want.”

Joie fought back laughter that bubbled up out of nowhere. “Talk it over? Nobody’s in more trouble than I am right now, Jubal. I can’t turn back. I have to make this descent or go live in a padded cell for the rest of my life. I am not kidding you.”

Jubal caught at Gabrielle’s leg. “She isn’t joking; she sounds on the verge of hysteria. Move it, Gabrielle. Right now.”

Jubal rarely used that tone with either of his independent sisters, but it had the desired effect. Gabrielle scooted forward, driven by the fact that her brother obviously shared her growing fears for Joie.

Joie sat on the edge of the precipice, staring down into the black abyss. She didn’t look up when her brother and sister joined her. Jubal rested his hands on her shoulders. Gabrielle sat cautiously beside her and took her hand. “So tell us. What’s going on, Joie? We always stick together. There’s no need to hide anything from us.”

“Does insanity run in the family?” Joie continued to stare down into the well of darkness. “Because if it does, someone should have warned us.”

“You think you’re insane?” Jubal struggled to understand. Joie was the one who laughed all the time, who found humor in everything. She lit up the world with her smile, and she certainly never seemed to suffer from depression. “I hear voices. Well...” she hedged,
“a
voice. One voice. All the time. We have conversations. Long conversations. Sometimes very intense and sometimes humorous.” She felt the color rise beneath her skin and was grateful it was dark in the gallery. “Sometimes sexy. I find myself staying up all night just to be able to hear his voice and spend time with him.” She shrugged her shoulders. “He even has a name. Traian Trigovise. How could I think up a name like that? He has an accent. A European, very sexy accent.”

Gabrielle tightened her fingers around Joie’s hand. “When did this start? When did you first hear this voice?”

Joie shrugged, remaining silent. Neither Jubal nor Gabrielle spoke, waiting her out. Finally she sighed. “When I was shot in Austria. You know how much I hate hospitals. When they took me there, I did my little disappearing act.” She looked at her brother and sister. “I thought I was dreaming when I first saw him, but I’d been experimenting for some time with astral projection. I guess I succeeded, I don’t know. I think we connected because we’d both been in a storm, in a battle and wounded.” She shrugged helplessly. “It’s the only reasonable explanation to me. He didn’t go away. I could hear him talking to me in my mind. He found something important in the caves. I was already planning a trip here with you two, so I figured I could see if he was real.”

“Joie,” Jubal reprimanded gently. “Telepathic communication? With someone else? I know we can use telepathy, but we’ve never met anyone else who can.”

“Is it really that far-fetched? I can take myself somewhere else. I know when I’m in danger. You’re weird with patterns, and Gabrielle can do all sorts of strange things. We’re all able to use telepathy with each other. Is it such a stretch to believe others can use it, too? I have to go down there. I have to know if he’s real, if he’s here, in this place. I feel him. I can’t explain it, but it’s like he’s crawled inside of me somehow and I
need
him. I need to prove this to myself.”

“Why didn’t you tell us right away, Joie?” Jubal asked.

“Because I don’t want the voice to go away,” Joie admitted with stark truth. “I saw a counselor. He said I was having a break with reality, schizophrenia, probably brought on by the trauma of being shot. I didn’t want to point out it wasn’t the first time I’ve taken a bullet; it wasn’t the worst injury and it won’t be the last. I didn’t take the medication the counselor prescribed. I thought maybe it wasn’t so bad to live in a fantasy world part of the time. I still function and do my job.” She managed a faint smile, her sense of humor rising even in the middle of such a serious conversation. “Do you think many people want a schizophrenic bodyguard? They get two for the price of one.”

“Come on, Joie, you can’t believe you’re going crazy. You’re...” Gabrielle paused in search of the right words. “You’re
you.
You can do anything. You excel at everything. You
can’t
hear voices.”

Joie smiled up at her sister. “I’m definitely hearing a voice. Right now he’s telling me to get out of here. He’s saying it’s dangerous and that we’re all in mortal danger. He actually used the word
mortal.
I don’t use that word. Do you think I have a split personality? I’ve always preferred male activities. I’ve always been such a tomboy. Maybe this is just my male side coming out. And just so you know how really screwed up my mind is, he’s sexier than I am.”

“Maybe your intuition is telling you not to make the descent, Joie,” Jubal cautioned. “We haven’t planned this out adequately.”

“I don’t have a choice,” Joie said sadly. “Not this time. We have the rigging. We have the supplies. We’re all dressed warmly enough. I can go down and look around. If I’m not back in a couple of hours, you can go for help.”

Gabrielle shook her head. “We all go. We stick together, Joie. If you have to do this, then we do it together like we always have.”

“Then we should stop talking and get moving,” Jubal said decisively. Joie wasn’t going to change her mind. Whatever was compelling her into that black abyss was too strong to fight. Worse, the dread was still growing inside him. He glanced down into the dark hole. Evil lurked close by, and he had the feeling they were going to come face to face with it.

Chapter Three

“Joie, this is out of this world,” Jubal said softly, in awe. He turned in a full circle, shining his light on the walls of the gallery. The descent had been a long one, well over two hundred feet. “I’ve never seen anything like it. What a find. The ice formations are incredible. I swear I actually saw a vein of gold in more than one place. There are so many halls and galleries to explore.” Gabrielle cautiously moved around an ice sculpture that rose like a living flame from the floor. “Look at this. When I shine my light on it from this angle, I’d swear the thing had gems in it. It’s as brilliant as a polished diamond but reflects the light as if it were red like a ruby.” Movement caught her attention, and she turned her head to watch Joie as she examined the glacial ice that formed the gallery. “Be careful, I suspect that a good number of viruses previously unknown to us come from insects and even perhaps the fungi in caves such as this one. These microorganisms exist with no light and few nutrients, locked inside the ice, yet still capable of living. There’s such a wealth of information down here.”

Joie ignored both of her siblings. She was so close now, she could almost feel him breathing. Somewhere in this labyrinth of halls he was waiting for her. Smoldering. Angry that she had disobeyed him. He was real, not a voice in her head, not a part of a split personality. He was real and alive and in pain. She could feel his pain, throbbing through her body, beating at her head.

Tell me.
She demanded it. Forced him to deal with who she really was, not who he thought she should be.

Tell the others to be quiet. They are in danger. I have battled the same enemy three times since you found me in the cave. I am a prisoner and wounded and extremely weak. I cannot aid you much in the battle, and the enemy has powers you cannot possibly comprehend.

Joie gave him a mental image of rolling her eyes in exasperation.
Sorry for the fluff in my head, but I’m usually found wrapped in cotton or bubblewrap to protect me from all the evil people in the world.
She signaled her brother and sister to silence, switching easily into hunting mode. She moved through the halls with confidence, recognizing the feel of him now. Knowing she was moving toward him.
I doubt very much if I’ll need your aid, Mr. Brawny, but I’ll keep it in mind. How many?

There is one with me now. The others will return well fed and high with a lust for killing. You do not want to meet them.

Then I guess I’d best pull your butt out of trouble and get the heck out of Dodge.

You do not act like any of the women I know act.

Thank you. I appreciate your saying so.

Joie dropped to her knees and crawled through a narrow, tubelike passage. Jubal and Gabrielle followed close behind. The steady drip of water reminded Joie of the clicking of the branches at the theater the night she was shot. There was a peculiar rhythm to the drops, almost as if some unseen hand, not nature, guided the water’s descent. The tube began to widen until she could once again stand.

A strange, growling noise assaulted her ears. It sounded like a cross between a hyena laughing and a dog growling viciously. Immediately she held up her hand behind her, signaling Jubal and Gabrielle to stop while she scooted closer. She used the tall columns of rock and ice formations as cover.

Traian was literally pinned against a wall of ice. Blood ran down from each shoulder and leg where sharp, twisted stakes had been thrust through his body to pin him like an insect on a board. Joie held her breath to keep from crying out in dismay. It was no wonder she could feel the pain radiating from him. She knew Traian was aware of her presence, but he didn’t make the mistake of giving away her position. He watched the creature hovering over him with cool eyes.