wrath of the Sea Queen (269 page)

"
Well, it seems we
ha
ve been washed up somewhere in the depths of Max's cave,
" Vin observed.

"
I agree.  How are we going to find our way out?
"

"
That shouldn't be too difficult.  I can probably latch onto an air current that we can follow.  The important thing is that we did it, C
a
eli.  We s
topped the storm
and survived.  Did you feel it?
"  Vin leaned over and kissed her as if they were newlyweds.

"
I
certainly
felt that, and yes, I could tell that we succeeded,
" C
a
eli smiled.

At that moment, the ground began to shake.

"So much for being quiet and not disturbing anything," Vin grabbed C
a
eli's hand and began to move toward an opening in the cave wall opposite the one he presumed they had come through.

"Is that what I think it is?"
C
a
eli asked with a touch of fear in her voice.

"It's a mild earthquake, but I think that is only part of the problem.  Look over at the far corner where the ceiling is cracked."

C
a
eli glanced up where Vin indicated and saw a thin line of bright orange about a foot long across the edge of the ceiling.

"Is that…"

"Yes, it's magma.  This is a volcanic island, and I think we got washed deeper in than we realized.  We need to get out of here as fast as we can."

"Why don't we just go out through the water?  Wouldn't that be safer?"  C
a
eli wondered.

"There is no air moving over there.  The tunnel
ha
s
to be
completely submerged for a
good distance
.  The only reason we made it this far was because you protected us." 

The ground shook more violently beneath their feet, and large chunks of rock fell away from the ceiling near the entrance on the far side of the cave, as if in warning.

"I can do
it
again,
"
C
a
eli
said confident
now in her ability.

"But can you also move us against the strength of th
e
current and watch for falling rocks or areas where the magma has superheated the water?  And what happens if we
get
trapped in a place with no means to surface?  It's not a bad idea,
Honey,
but it
i
s very risky.  I think it will be safer to follow the air current on solid ground.  We must be relatively close to an outside opening to be able to feel
the air
from here," Vin explained.

"I can't feel it."

"Trust my senses, then.  I can feel it.  Come on.  We need to get moving."

C
a
eli followed Vin closely as they stumbled through dark passages for what seemed like hours.  Vin bumped his head more than once, and she tripped a few times
when the
ground
made unexpected dips
.  They only saw a few more slivers of magma and the shaking of the ground did not get any worse as they traveled, which Vin took as a good sign that they were moving
away from the danger
.
  After several hours
, there was still no evidence of an exit.
 

"Vin, I need to stop for a minute." 

The warmth of the caverns they traversed had already dried out their clothes, and C
a
eli was sweating with the extended physical exertion
of their trek
.

"That's ok. 
You rest. 
I think we have come to an impassable point, but I see a tiny spec of light above
that I'm going to investigate
.  Why does everything have to be so complicated this week?  For once, I would like to be able to get from point A to point B without having to fight my way through."

The frustration in Vin's voice vented itself in the form of a spark as he pounded his fist once against the stone wall in front of him.  To help relieve his stress, Vin repeated the process four more times, attempting to intentionally call up the spark with each impact.  He was successful every time.

As he watched the little flames slide down the stone and approach the floor, Vin caught a glimpse of something moving on the ground.  However, the sparks went out before they got close enough for him to determine what he was seeing.  Vin concentrated on his newest talent and sent several sparks flying from his hand to the ground near the wall in front of him.  After a few seconds, the little embers became flames, and the flames began to spread.

"Grass!  C
a
eli, there is grass growing in here," Vin said excitedly.

As he watched, the flames spread in a thin row from right to left along the wall, and then turned a corner that Vin had not realized was there.

"Come on.  Hurry, before they go out."

Vin grabbed C
a
eli's hand and pulled her along, following the trail of flames along the floor.  After turning the corner, it ran straight ahead for approximately fifty feet before dying out.  When they reached the end of the flames, Vin found another left turn.  But, by now, there was enough light in the tunnel for them to discern the shape of the walls.  Continuing
forward
, the light increased rapidly, and C
a
eli began to feel the coolness of a draft brush against her heated skin.

"Air.  Vin, I feel a breeze
.
"

"
T
he exit must be very close."

After another turn, an opening suddenly appeared twenty feet in front of them.  Vin let out a huge sigh of relief as C
a
eli impulsively hugged him.

"Let's go see where we are."

Looking out from the opening, they could not see much.  The entrance to the cavern was seclu
ded and lower than ground level
.  They climbed up the
incline and stepped out onto a
road to face a clear, moonlit night sky full of stars.  There was no traffic on the road
.  However
, on the other side, there were several military vehicles beginning to pull out of a parking lot.  The couple stayed clear of the jeeps as they drove off.

Only one jeep remained.  Two men in uniform stood conversing with a group of several other people in the parking lot.  The mood seemed somber, and none were looking their way as Vin and C
a
eli slowly approached.  When they were about fifteen feet away, a young voice cried out above the rest.

"Pretty
Aunt
C
a
eli!  Mr. Vin!  You're back!"

************

Join Vin and C
a
eli in their continuing adventures in
Plague of Heritage
.

Read
sample
s
and find links to other books at:
  
www.WoodsBookshelf.com

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