Page 79 of Sweetwater and the Witch

“Ravenna.”

His voice sounded muffled to his own ears, as if he were speaking underwater.

Harriet, still sleeked out, all four eyes glittering, huddled close to Ravenna’s face and muttered encouragingly.

Ethan felt a shudder go through Ravenna, and then she opened her eyes. Relief flashed through him.

“Are we still alive?” she asked.

Her voice was slightly muffled, too. He shook his head in an instinctive attempt to clear his ears.

“Looks like it,” he said.

Satisfied that she was all right, he lifted himself away from her, got to his feet—and nearly lost his balance. The sea of swirling energy inside the cavern made it difficult to focus, let alone stand upright.

He recalled his first visit to the cave and raised his senses to suppress most of the effects of the paranormal energy. He went to the mouth of the cave and leaned around the edge of the opening to see what was happening down on the narrow highway.

The Slider was engulfed in flames. The SUV closed in slowly and stopped a safe distance away from the roaring fire. Four men in khaki and leather climbed out of the big vehicle. They were carrying mag-rez pistols.

Of course they were carrying the pistols, Ethan thought. Aboveground the weapons were far more effective than flamers. Greater range and more stopping power. No smart hit team would bother with flamers on the surface. But this was a hot zone, and that made all the difference.

“There are four of them,” he said.

He sensed a small movement at his feet and looked down. Harriet was crouched next to his boot. The dust bunny was in full battle mode.

“There are three of us,” Ravenna said.

He glanced at her. She was on her feet, bracing herself with one hand planted on the wall of the cave. She radiated an aura of grim determination. He almost smiled, remembering how he had described her to Gabriel Jones.Small but fierce.

“Yes,” he said. “There are three of us.” He took a few seconds to survey the cavern. His ears finally stopped ringing. “What’s more, we have a fortress.”

Ravenna followed his gaze, taking in the forbidding interior of thecave. She got a knowing look. “You’re thinking we can leverage the heavy psi in here.”

“Yes, assuming they are dumb enough to come looking for us. With luck, they may conclude we died in the Slider.”

Ravenna pushed herself away from the rock wall and moved forward to join him at the mouth of the cave.

The flames of the car fire were starting to falter. The members of the hit team moved in cautiously, two on either side of the burned-out Slider. It did not take them long to realize there were no bodies in the front seat.

“So much for luck,” Ravenna said.

There was some agitated shouting, and then the four men began searching the rough terrain. They spotted the cave and headed straight for it. One of the four, a muscled man with a shaved head, barked orders. The guy in charge, Ethan decided.

The gang clambered up the hillside.

“That’s our cue,” Ethan said.

“What’s the plan?” Ravenna asked.

“We move to the back of the cavern and keep out of sight. Unless they are all strong talents they won’t be able to spend much time in here. Their mag-rezes won’t function well, if at all, in this energy, and they aren’t carrying flamers.”

She glanced at the weapon in his hand. “But you are. What made you bring a flamer?”

“I knew we would be traveling through a hot zone. I like to be prepared. Let’s go. Tell me if it gets too hot in here.”

He led the way deeper into the cave. Ravenna and Harriet followed.

The energy rose rapidly and became more disorienting. Ethan had to pull more talent to deal with it. He knew Ravenna was forced to do the same. It wasn’t long before the hallucinations set in.Thingsmaterialized and then disintegrated, a parade of nightmares.

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