wretched.”
I shrugged. “You saw where I stayed in Kilmer. Growing up, I lived in places that were much worse.”
“With an important distinction. You left. Because you
“Did you want to discuss the why of that?”
His face closed. “No.”
“Then you should begin the research. There’s no guarantee how long I’ll sleep before Kel feels compelled to wake me.”
“Of course.” He opened a book and read a bit before adding, “It appears to be Aymara, very old. Just give me a while.”
Once he started, it was simply a matter of waiting. I perused a few of his tomes, not that I expected to be much help. As it turned out, I laid hands on the one he needed and placed it beside him so he could make notes on the paper. I couldn’t be certain how long the translation took, but I felt a tug, as if I might soon rouse naturally.
“Hurry,” I murmured.
“And that’s got it.”
Intellectual diversion burnt away his bitterness, so he was smiling when he handed me the sketch with the notes on the back. This time, the endeavor felt more natural, less an act of will and more a function of our shared reality. Because we were sure this worked, we were sure we had the power, it grew easier with each execution.
“Thank you.”
“Corine,” he said, as I felt a stronger tug. I had only seconds before I woke. “I
And then I opened my eyes to find myself on the ground, damp with morning dew. Kel had not slept. I could see it in the shadows beneath his eyes and the weary slope of his shoulders. Despite his great ability, his resources were not infinite. Tonight, I would keep watch over him.
Smiling, I sat up and examined the paper I held—translation on the back, as I’d known it would be. I read the words aloud. “ ‘Follow the serpent until fire eats the sky. In the hollow of the lady, unearth her bones.’ ”
“Directions,” he said.
“Can you walk?”
He cut me a scathing look, his gaze on my feet. “Can you?”
I dug up a clean pair of socks. As I’d noted prior, there were no clothes in my pack, just socks and underwear. Escobar’s test qualified as cruel and unusual in my book. Not that I wanted to haul a wardrobe through the jungle, so maybe his intentions were good. He was lean enough to have spent some time hiking around out here.
“You healed me, remember?” I could hardly forget.
My feet were filthy now, but they weren’t bleeding or blistered, and my boots had softened up enough that they shouldn’t inflict more damage. I put them on and laced them up. Maybe lucid dreaming was better than common sleep, because I felt stronger today, less sore and beaten down, even though our predicament was every bit as dire, and the day threatened the same swelter. I tightened up my braid, trying not to consider how badly I needed to wash my hair, and pushed to my feet.
Kel leveled an assessing look on me. “Don’t you want breakfast?”
“Not really.”
“Eat,” he insisted. “And take some water.”
God save me. Well, since he had to know more about this stuff than I did, I obeyed, downing a protein bar and some water from the canteen. “How are our supplies holding out?”
Finding clean water was going to be a concern if we went much deeper. Already I had no clue where we were, other than surrounded by wild animals and heavy green trees. I trusted Kel to guide us in, and he’d have to get us out again. If I focused on how isolated we were, how much danger stalked our every move, I’d freeze into a womanshaped lump.
“We have one more day, if we’re careful.”
He nodded. “I’ll look as we go.”
“Have you had anything today?”
“I can go without.” His tone made it clear the point was not up for discussion, and as I didn’t know his personal limits, he could judge that for himself. He wasn’t human.
“I’m guessing the river is the serpent. I think we should follow it for a day. ‘Fire eating the sky’ sounds like sunset to me, and I’d say the hollow is a valley.”
“The
“We’ll have to watch for a marker of some kind once we leave the river. Maybe you can go up and take a look around.” God, this was so far outside my usual purview it wasn’t even funny.
He gazed up at the canopy. “I can free-climb.”
“Then let’s go.”
And we headed deeper into the jungle.
Where Fire Eats the Sky
The river wound in slow undulations like a snake, bearing out my hypothesis about our path. Scarlet macaws and wild yellow-ridged toucans watched from the trees. As we walked, I kept an eye on the rippling water, watching for anacondas. It could also be alligators, I supposed, though that didn’t improve the situation.
Shannon liked to watch the nature channels, so after she moved in, I got cable TV. While I was okay living in the Dark Ages, I wanted more for her, knowing she’d grown up in Kilmer; I understood all too well what that was like. We’d seen a show one afternoon last month about how alligators stalked their prey, watching from beneath the murky water and learning their habits. Sometimes they would take days about it and then strike when the hapless campers were bathing or drawing water. I never dreamt I’d find myself in a situation like this one, where facts gleaned on Animal Planet could be useful. Unfortunately, it was also terrifying.
A few times I started at some small amphibian hopping in or out of the river.
Pygmy marmosets chattered in the trees. As long as they were around, I knew we didn’t have to worry about hunting cats . . . jaguars and ocelots mostly. If the monkeys scrambled away, we needed to worry. Along the route, I saw a capybara rump in distant undergrowth, but it lumbered away from us as only a giant rodent could. By clinging to the river’s edge, we avoided a lot of the need to cut our way through the jungle. Still, Kel had to swing the machete now and then. It would be easier if we had a boat, but that offered other risks.
By midday—or what I guessed was midday—my clothes stuck to my skin, sodden with sweat, and my whole body felt like fungus grew out of every pore. We paused for food and drink. Wading in the water would cool me off, but walking in wet clothes afterward sounded hellish, and I didn’t feel sanguine about stripping.
As I weighed the pros and cons, a weird cry rang out and then a creature launched from the branches above. I caught only a glimpse of striped, spotted dun fur, and I scrambled backward. My arms windmilled and I tumbled into the river. Kel called out, but the current snagged me and knocked me off my feet. Fear of what lurked beneath the surface had me thrashing wildly before reason reasserted itself. Sailing along, I assessed my predicament.
I’d managed to get farther from land with the flailing, so I oriented myself and tried not to think about piranhas. On Animal Planet, I’d also watched a special about how struggling, injured prey incited their feeding frenzy.
