The Dark and Hollow Places; Book Two

The Temple of Indra

            I wake up with a sense of urgency and dread. Garth was on our trail and he knew we were close. Did he know our exact location? How the hell did he know where is was? I feel fur on my hands and my sense of urgency disappears. I am in the middle of a Ren and Will sandwich here. I sigh and hold on tighter to Ren. Something about him felt reassuring like everything would be okay. I go back to sleep for a little while longer before Will starts moving around. I get up shortly after him leaving Ren without a sleeping buddy.

            “Good morning.” I say wrapping arms around Will. He grabs my hands and kisses them. I smile. Ever since we left Arcadia, things have been good.

            “Morning to you too.” Will murmurs. I head over to Mortain who was sleeping on a nest of leaves. I nudge him with my foot and the cat wakes up quickly. He rolls his eyes at me and hisses.

            “Sorry but we need to get to examining this waterfall.” I say looking at it. I felt like giving up. It seemed impossible that a temple was underneath all that water and rock. Mortain nods and we all huddle around the fire. Ren comes over by me and rubs his head against my side. I smile at pat his huge body.

            “I don’t know why the animal keeps staying here.” Will says. I shrug my shoulders. It wasn’t a problem with me as long as Ren didn’t eat me.  

            “I will float to the top of the waterfall and search there.” Mortain says. I nod. Will walks over to the rocks too test them. Maybe there was a spot we could get through or something. After a while of me just playing with Ren, Will and Mortain comes back looking tired.

            “Nothing. Not even behind the waterfall.” Will says. Mortain curls up by the fire and shuts his eyes. He obviously found nothing of interest. I sigh and look at the water. The pool where the waterfall fell was so calm compared to the rest of the river the flowed throughout the preserve.

            “I have an idea.” I say standing up. Things were never what they seemed. Looking at the pool of glistening water made me think of the time I almost drowned from retrieving the stone. I had to think and try many things before I found my escape. Maybe we should look under the water or something like that. Will sits back and gestures to the waterfall.

            “Take a whack at it.” Will tells me. I wink at him. I had a feeling I was onto something and I think Ren knew too because he was nudging my back with his forward towards the water. I bend my knees, jump  and attempt a dive in the water. Under the surface, I open my eyes. The water was so blue and clear. I come up for a breath and go back under. It was about a twelve foot deep area. I swim down and my ears start to pop a little bit. I open my eyes and look around. It was a lot harder to see when I was so deep. I swim back up and gasp for a breath.

            “Can I get a light?!” I yell at Will. I knew we had a waterproof one. Will searches through the bags and then walks over to me with a smile. He hands me the huge light and I grin at him. I could have just kissed him right then and there.            

            “Don’t drown on me.” He says oozing with sarcasm and playfulness. I roll my eyes.

            “Wouldn’t dream of it baby.” I say equally as playful back. I dive back under the water and quickly swim down to the darker deeper end. I shine the light and turn three-hundred and sixty degrees. Something out of the corner of my eye makes me stop. The dimension of the wall didn’t look right...I make a mental note of the spot and swim back up. I gasp again when I break the surface.

            “I think I found something.” I say to anyone that is listening. I see Will lying on his back. He was exhausted and I guess I would be to if I climbed rocks all day. He was just passed out and so was Mortain. I look at Ren who is watching me intensely.