Chapter 36
The water was cold, but it barely registered. Gunnar’s fur was so thick, he didn’t even feel wet.
He oriented himself as the churn held him under. He wasn’t worried about it. A few kicks with his back legs and he could propel himself out of the plunging water and into a calmer part of the basin.
But the calmer part wasn’t where he needed to be. He needed to head down, but he couldn’t see the chem lights attached to the basket. He couldn’t see much of anything except the froth of the falls agitating the water.
Something light brushed against him. He grabbed at it, catching it in his massive paws. The paracord. He clung to it as the current shoved him into the rocks. He needed light.
He wedged one foot under an outcropping of rock to anchor himself, then pawed at the lanyard around his neck until he found the chem lights attached to the carabiner.
He separated one and used both paws to crack it. He miscalculated his strength and snapped it in two. A brief, faint glow lit the water before it dissipated into nothingness, swept away by the current.
He was gentler with the second one. Once it came to life, he snapped the third that was hanging off his lanyard. The unnatural emerald glow fractured the roiling bubbles around him. With his keen eyesight, that gave him a decent amount of light.
Now he could proceed. He planted his back feet and pushed off from the rocks, using the momentum to head down. He kept the paracord between his paws. He kicked, propelling himself deeper and deeper. The roar of the water narrowed to muted thunder.
A faint glow appeared in the murkiness below. He kicked harder. The depth pressure built against his body, but that was a minor factor. Adrenaline was driving him.
He reached the basket. It dangled free. It hadn’t hit the bottom of the basin, but it didn’t seem far away.
He realized two things. He needed more light.
And the cold water was slowing down the chemical process inside the light sticks, causing them to produce less luminescence.
The chem lights would last longer in the cold water, but that wasn’t as helpful.
He ascended enough to reach the next set of chem lights.
It took some doing, but he freed one from the carabiner and cracked it.
As soon as it bloomed with light, he released it, letting the stick sink slowly toward the rocky bottom, its wavering light painting shifting patterns across submerged boulders and shadowed crevices.
The light diminished as the stick sank lower and lower. Finally it stopped. Gauging distance in the murk was nearly impossible, but he understood that the basin was deeper than they’d thought. Maybe by another eight or ten feet, maybe more.
There was only one way to tell.
He pushed off and went deeper.
He tried to keep sight of the chem light he’d dropped, but the green-tinted haze barely pierced the murk. His front paws swept the rock wall in slow, methodical arcs as he went down, trying to be sure the amulet’s chain hadn’t snagged on anything when Alice had dropped it.
In the sooty depths of the water, it was nearly impossible to see anything. Another chem light might have helped, but a few more would be better.
His claws scraped stone with a grinding rasp that vibrated through his chest. The current tugged at his body, trying to turn him sideways, but he braced against the slick rock and searched.
He was sure that if his claws struck metal, he’d know by the feel.
And possibly the sound, if it was loud enough.
At least, that was what he hoped.
Somewhere in this black, bubbling hollow was the amulet. He knew it without a shadow of doubt because the faint metallic tang of old magic threaded through the water like a thin silver chain.
Even underwater, Gunnar’s extraordinary sense of smell worked. His nostrils picked up the scent as he nosed along ledges and into pockets of stiller water. He reached the bottom and planted his feet, using all four paws to feel the rocks around him for any sign of the amulet or the chain.
Occasionally, the chem lights’ glow caught on flecks of mica or quartz embedded in the rocks, but it also picked up on the silt that had been disturbed.
He pushed on slowly, trying not to upset too much of the muck to keep the water as clear as possible.
His massive frame moved through the frigid water, every sense tuned to the task.
The cold was still just a small aggravation, but it wasn’t about to stop him. A bear didn’t quit on a hunt. Not when the prize was this close.
His lungs began to burn. It was time to head up for a breath. That annoyed him. He felt like he’d only begun the search.
He shoved off the rocks, shooting toward the milky-gray froth of the surface. When he broke through, he paddled for the shore, hauled himself out, and instinctually shook the water from his fur.
“Did you find it?” Mattie was in a different spot, closer now, sitting on a large flat rock just a few feet away.
He shook his head, grousing internally that he hadn’t lasted longer. The light from the sticks around his neck cast everything in a green wash.
“It’s okay,” she said. “That was just your first try.”
He sat back on his haunches and gestured at the duffel bag resting on the rock beside her.
Blueberry flew over but stayed a safe distance away. “You want something?”
“More chem lights.” Even as he spoke the words, he knew all they would hear was a growl.
Blueberry flew back to Mattie. “He wants more glow sticks.”
How the imp had interpreted that, Gunnar had no idea, but he was glad. He nodded to show Mattie Blueberry was right.
“Glow sticks?” She slid off the rock and grabbed the bag. “Two enough?”
Gunnar shook his head and pawed the air five times.
“Five?”
He nodded. That should give him the coverage he needed. If it required more, he’d get them on his next breath of air. She unwrapped five sticks, stuffing the wrappers into the bag, and brought them over.
Maybe he was imagining things, but she didn’t come as close as he expected. He realized he was still on his haunches, which probably made him look intimidating. He cautiously went back to all fours and lowered his head.
“Do you want me to crack them?
Another shake of his head.
“No. Got it.” She pointed at his chest. “Do you want them on the lanyard? On the carabiner with the others?”
Again, he shook his head, then opened his mouth.
“In your mouth. Okay.” She held the five sticks by their ends and carefully placed them between his jaws.
He eased his teeth down on them, firm enough to hold them, but not so hard that he would accidentally puncture one. He gave a little snort, then turned and lumbered back toward the water.
This time, he climbed onto a nearby ledge and dove, letting gravity assist in taking him deeper. He swam hard, pushing against the current that so desperately wanted to carry him downstream.
The glow from the chem lights he’d already cracked came into view. He was nearly at the bottom again. He tucked his shoulder under a jutting rock and took the sticks from his mouth one by one. He cracked the first and dropped it into a dark spot.
He moved horizontally this time, toward another dark spot, and repeated the procedure until he’d positioned all five.
As the chem lights settled and his eyes adjusted, the bottom of the basin began to take shape. The basin was a long oval, and he was at the far end.
Rocks of all shapes and sizes littered the floor of it, along with pieces of wood and a few random bones. No doubt animals that had fallen in. There were all sorts of things the chain could have caught on.
Then a metallic glint caught his attention. Not mica or quartz this time but most definitely metal. He focused on it, about to launch himself in that direction, only to see another glint nearby. Then another.
And another.
A cold knot twisted his gut as he grasped what he was looking at.
Among the rocks and chunks of wood were coins, no doubt tossed in by tourists over the years in some misguided attempt at making a wish.
He almost laughed as coin after coin shone in the green glow of the chem lights. Wishes had gotten him here. And now wishes were making his task even harder.
With a soft growl, he plunged toward the bottom. He hadn’t expected finding the amulet to be easy, but he hadn’t expected it was going to take all night either.
In fact, if he had to look at every single coin, a night might not be enough.