2. Aurora
Aurora
I stretched as wide as I could. Everything around me took on a blue hue as faint rays of light filtered through the nylon of my zipped hammock. I adjusted to sit up and located my shoes tucked at the end of my sleeping bag. It was far from my usual accommodations, but being among the elements could only help me.
Yesterday was a blur of activity. I had woken up early enough to walk around the plantation, my heart content. Bits of dew dotted the grass around the historic house as I spent a few minutes feeling the air flow in and out of my lungs, hoping I didn’t screw this up.
At the appointed time, Auntie drove me to the airport. “You have your ring?” I held up my right hand. “Don’t take that off; it will protect you. Blood is the best protection there is.”
I chuckled. “You’ll have to explain that sometime since that is what they thrive off of.”
“It is what we thrive off, too, just in a different way,” she said, stoic. “It is where our magic comes from.” We drove in silence until we reached the airport curb. I alighted from the vehicle and grabbed my backpack from the back seat. It was the only thing I would have with me, but I needed very little for the surgical strike. Get in. Find the object. Get out.
“Do we even know what I’m looking for?” I asked, looking into Auntie’s eyes as she stood beside me.
She shook her head. “It could be anything. A weapon. An amulet. Maybe something that looks like it belongs in the cave, like a rock or a jewel. Use your pendulum if you need to.” Her eyes widened. “You do have your pendulum?”
I rolled my eyes, pointing at the chain around my neck. “Yes, Aunt Amara. I brought everything I could possibly need.”
Her forehead wrinkled as her eyes misted. “Don’t forget there are more dangerous things than bears in those woods.”
I pulled my aunt into a hug. “I won’t forget. I’ll be back in a few days, and we’ll be one step closer to this being over.”
“I love you, and be safe.” Her hand pressed into my shoulder blades, tighter than I remembered her holding me in a long time, as though she were afraid to let me go for fear I wouldn’t return.
“I will.” I smiled at her again and picked up my backpack. “Only a few days.”
I shivered in the early morning air, my fingers and toes tingling, my thoughts returning to the present. I put my shoes on and unzipped the protective cover over my head. Soft sunlight streamed through the green leaves that stretched above me. Birdsong surrounded me, bringing a smile to my face. It was like they could tell I was there. The woody aroma of the forest hit my lungs as I hopped from my hammock. Maybe I didn’t need a night in a four-star hotel.
I glanced at the undisturbed stones set in a circle around my campsite. At least those had kept anyone from finding me overnight. I suspected every vampire faction and lycan pack noticed the coven searching for something. I just wish I knew what it was.
I reached the stream that edged the campsite. I bent down, cupped my hands, and splashed the cold water on my face. A shiver ran through me as the cold stung my skin. From there, I walked to the fire I had arranged last night on the opposite side of the circle. Several embers glowed faintly. It crackled as I poked it with a stick and placed a few tiny twigs on the coals. I didn’t need much heat this morning, but some would be nice.
As the smoke circled from the mounting flames, I went to the center of the circle and nodded to each of the quarters: my backpack, my connection to home, in the north; my hammock hanging in the air to the east; the fire to the south; and the stream to the west. I would leave the rocks in their places in my absence.
I had no idea how many of the five hundred miles of caverns were walkable. If I ran into a spot where I needed more equipment than my own two feet, that could present a challenge. So could separating myself from a tour. If I failed, it would be a very short excursion.
Repacking my bag, I returned to the fire every few moments for heat. I condensed my hammock and sleeping bag as much as possible and shoved them into the bag in case I needed to spend the night in the cave. I rehearsed my plan for getting away from the tour group. Maybe I could just sneak in past the agents?
“Rory, that won’t work,” I muttered.
“ Aurora, calm yourself, ” said my mother’s voice as my heart raced.
She was right. I needed the tour to acclimate me to the cave system itself. I had Aunt Amara’s map, but it didn’t mean I knew where I was going. And if I messed up finding the artifact this time, there may not be another chance. I ran over my plan in my head again.
I would join the last tour of the evening, taking my camping gear with me. I had signed up for a ghost tour, knowing it was my best chance of a story that would have a sliver of truth in it. When I heard a story that sounded like a lead, I planned to fake an illness to stay behind. Then all I had to do was hide until I could search for the object.
I stamped out the fire before glancing around again. Only my stone circle and the fire’s remains showed I had been there. I hoped I wouldn’t be back.