Chapter 11
Ransom smiled as he listened to Scarlett chattering nonsense to the Trolleris and Talon grunting back at her.
Neither understood the other, but the pair was enjoying their communication process.
Scarlett seemed stronger today. He did too.
Part of him had expected the prince to invade his sleep during the blacklight.
The prince remained silent.
A good thing, or not? Ransom hadn’t decided.
Ransom hoisted his pack onto his shoulders. “Ready to leave?”
“Let’s do this. Will we reach the right area this cycle?”
“I never got to show you the map, but yes. We’re close.”
“The smoke cloud is heavier today.”
As she spoke, the ground shuddered beneath their feet.
Ransom’s gaze went to the conical mountain top. “Tremors too. I guess we don’t need to panic until it spits lava and heated rocks. Should I carry your pack?”
“No, thanks. It’s much lighter now we’ve consumed most of our food.”
For most of the morning, they navigated a valley with little vegetation.
Green moss covered the rocks, giving the dip between two ridges a splash of brilliant green.
Slippery suckers though. Ransom breathed a relieved sigh when the terrain changed to scraggy trees.
They stopped to fill their water bottles before they followed a path that dissected the valley and gradually climbed to another peak.
“Are we there yet?” Scarlett asked.
Ransom stopped. “Time to rest?”
“Please. I might as well check out the map.”
Ransom nodded. “How about we stop at the top of this hill? That will give us a decent view of what lies beyond.”
“Works for me. Hey, Talon. Do you want one of us to carry you?”
Scarlett was right. The Trolleris trudged, his breathing hoarse and wheezy, yet Talon hadn’t complained about their pace.
“I’ll carry you,” Ransom said. “I’m taller, and you’ll get a better view. We’ll all check the map and decide if we can spot any more landmarks.”
Ransom stooped to let Talon clamber on his shoulders before continuing his climb at a slower pace. It was cooler now, despite the fickle heat of the nearest star. Some higher mountains bore traces of ice.
Finally, they reached the ridge, and Scarlett halted beside him. He scanned the horizon.
“Ransom! Look!”
A fiery red rock shot overhead. As one, they turned to stare at the volcano. The smoke pouring from the top had blackened. Another glowing rock missile shot through the smoke and crashed to the ground.
“Well, dodging those will be fun,” Scarlett said, understating the danger in a big way.
Ransom pulled out the map and unfolded the creased sheet. “Look at this. Do you recognize any of the landmarks? I thought I did, but now, I’m confused.”
Talon tapped his shoulder with his black claws and pointed. Ransom followed the same line of sight.
“Scarlett, what do you think?”
Scarlett stepped close enough for Ransom to savor her scent. She smelled of him now, their personal fragrances combined, and that brought him great satisfaction.
“Talon’s right.” Scarlett compared the landscape with their rough map. “Only one mountain is there… No, wait. It looks as if that might be an old volcano. Look at the shape.”
“I agree. We’re getting closer. Can we make it that far before blacklight?”
“Let’s try,” Scarlett muttered as a lava-heated rock whizzed overhead. “We’re right in the path of the rocks here.”
By the time blacklight approached, exhaustion dragged their footsteps. They made camp but didn’t bother with a fire. Instead, Scarlett added water to one of their remaining shrink-meals and they ate a cold meat stew.
Talon made his own bed on the other side of the clearing where they camped while Ransom and Scarlet set up their sleeping area together.
“Make love to me,” Scarlett said, busily skimming out of her clothes.
“You’re exhausted.”
“I am, and so are you, but my gut tells me we’ll find the place soon. I want to feel alive.”
Ransom understood all she wasn’t verbalizing. What would happen when they found the prince? He drew her closer and kissed her, then yanked off his footwear and clothes.
Naked, he lifted her and continued to kiss her before he kneeled and set her on the foil blanket. This time, their loving was slow and sweet, and when they finished, they curled their bodies together, neither of them wishing to lose contact with the other.
“Have you set your dragon on guard?”
Ransom yawned. “What?”
“I’m still telling my feline to guard the barrier I build in my mind before I sleep. My headaches haven’t been as bad this cycle. I’m not sure if the prince has given up trying to access my mind or if he’s too weak to try. Try it.” She yawned. “Tell me if it works when we wake in the morning.”
Ransom tossed and turned during the blacklight, but Scarlett wasn’t certain if it was nightmares or the visiting prince. Although healed now, her arm ached and throbbed, and she could’ve sworn it vibrated, but that might have been her imagination.
Something crashed onto the ground near to them, and she sat up, casting out her feline senses.
She stood and made her way to a point where she could see the volcano.
Ah! That might make their quest to find the prince more difficult.
Now, along with the tinges of smoke, lava poured in a river down the slopes.
It glowed—a scarlet ribbon twirling downward, flickering enough to tempt a curious kitty to bat it with her paw.
A snort escaped Scarlett, and she pushed her feline back.
“Not to touch,” she said. “It’s dangerous.”
She stared at the problematic volcano and sighed before searching for Talon. The wee Trolleris kept to himself, especially at night. Her arm itched, and she scratched it.
Eek! Scarlett darted into a patch of better light to study the healed scar. The two holes left by the Quito man now bulged and vibrated. What the what?
She gingerly touched one bump, and it quivered beneath her fingertip. She swallowed, fear writhing through her at the unknown.
A sharp snarl had her stilling, and she whirled to find Talon watching her with bright eyes.
“I let the Quito tend my wound because you intimated it was a sound idea.”
Talon gave a strangely reassuring squeak.
“If this kills me, I will come back to haunt you.”
“Haw-haw-haw.”
“You laugh,” Scarlett muttered. “That is not a threat. It’s a promise.” She scowled at Talon for a beat longer. “Are you sure I shouldn’t take to my arm with a pointy knife?”
Talon growled a toothy warning.
Scarlett bared her teeth and gave him attitude in return. “I’d make an excellent poltergeist.”
“Haw-haw-haw.”
“You laugh now.” Scarlett lifted her gaze. “The volcano is spewing lava, and that’s the direction we’re traveling.”
When she glanced at Talon, the wee monster had disappeared.
“Huh! Ungrateful wretch.” Scarlett stomped to where Ransom slept and tried to get more rest.
When she awoke again, it was whitelight, and she was alone. A pity. She’d hoped to enjoy lazy morning lovemaking. Perhaps she’d suggest it once they—if they got out of this jam alive.
She rose and pulled on her clothes. Her arm—she yanked her gaze off the pulsing bumps, not wanting to think about what was going on beneath her skin. Hopefully, they’d come to a stream or lake soon because she wanted a bath.
Scarlett folded the foil blankets, shoved them in her pack, and stalked to where Ransom and Talon sat beside a small fire.
“The volcano is spewing lava,” Ransom said.
“I know.” She lifted her tunic sleeve. “Check out my arm.”
As Ransom bounded to his feet, she studied him. His color was more natural, and the shadows under his eyes weren’t as pronounced.
“They’re moving.”
“Yup. I informed Talon I was going to get a pointy knife and excavate. He snarled and showed his teeth.”
“Haw-haw-haw.”
Scarlett growled at the Trolleris. “Enough with the attitude, buddy.”
“Is your arm painful?” Ransom asked.
“No, I’m hungry, and I want a bath, but apart from that, I’m fine. You?”
“The prince didn’t visit me last blacklight.”
“I woke up, and you were mumbling and tossing and turning.”
“Yeah, I had weird dreams about my family dying.”
“The prince having a tantrum?”
“I don’t know. Before I drifted off to sleep, I built a fence with my dragon outside instead of behind it.”
Scarlett drank the hot soup Ransom had heated before they hoisted their packs on their shoulders and started their trek for the day. Each step took them closer to the volcano. The route they followed twisted and wove through yet more valleys. Talon scampered ahead, moving at a fast clip.
The trail came to an incline, and Scarlett groaned. “I’m so tired of hills and mountains.”
“Me too. I miss being able to fly.”
“Have you tried?”
“Yeah, I hurt my nose on the bad landing.”
“Ouch. I hate not being able to shift,” Scarlett said. “And these throbbing things scare the bejeebers out of me. What do you suppose they are?”
A growl sounded. Talon.
“Where did you come from?” Scarlett muttered. “He’s determined to protect whatever is in my arm.”
She slogged up the incline and paused to catch her breath. “At least my fitness levels are improving. My recovery time is better.”
“Scarlett. Look.”
A substantial rocky mound, so perfect, it screamed artificial and man-made. Massive square blocks of rock sat in a stacked row, some two blocks high and others three. Gigantic stone heads sat at a distance, but it was simple to imagine the carved figures sitting atop the square blocks.
She sucked in a quick breath. “That must be the place.”
“Creepy,” Ransom said. “It reminds me of a burial mound.”
A sharp pain stabbed at Scarlett’s temple, and she held her head while she hastily strengthened her mental fences. “The prince knows we’re here.”
Ransom winced, the color bleeding from his cheeks. He inhaled and pushed out his breath with a strong puff. After repeating this breathing exercise, he sent her a weary grin. “The prince is not a happy man.”
“You fought him off?”
“I did. Or at least he didn’t persist.”
“The exercise and food have helped. He entered your mind when you were weak from the resonance.” A thought occurred. “Why didn’t he use resonance on this side of the planet?”
Ransom shrugged. “According to the Elevenoss, he did. He killed most of them and only a few escaped. Perhaps their system failed? I don’t know. It could be any number of reasons.”
“Is there resonance here?”
“After I woke from my coma, the resonance didn’t seem to affect me as much,” Ransom said. “But no, it’s not active in this region.”
Scarlett frowned. “How do we cross the lava river?”
“We’ll have to go around.”
“Which way? Left or toward the volcano?”
“Left. If the lava started running during the blacklight, it might not have gone far. For all we know, another lava river is pouring out that side of the volcano.”
“True,” Scarlett said. “At least it looks like a lake in that direction. I might get my bath, after all.”
They were skirting the lava hours later, although the stream was thinner. The lava gave off a constant heat, crackling and popping during its slow conveyor-belt journey down the valley.
Talon scampered toward them. He gave off excited shrieks and pointed.
“Ah!” Ransom said. “The end of the lava trail.”
“And water,” Scarlett said.
“It’s not long until blacklight now. I suggest we ensure we’re safe on the right side and find a place to camp. There’s no point trying to work out how to release the prince when we can’t see what we’re doing.”
“Makes sense. Do you know how to enter the chamber?”
Ransom sighed. “No idea. I might have to let the prince into my mind to learn more.”
“Crap,” Scarlett said in an understatement.