Page 80 of Sweetwater and the Witch

“Shit,” Ravenna said. But she kept moving.

Of course she did, Ethan thought. This was Ravenna. He reached out and grasped one of her hands. She tightened her fingers around his. The hallucinations receded.

“Better?” he asked quietly.

“Yes.”

It was a basic rule of survival in a strong paranormal environment—two auras were more powerful than one when it came to suppressing the effects of heavy psi.

Ravenna reached down and scooped up Harriet. Ethan was surprised to feel the additional whisper of energy from the dust bunny’s small but sturdy aura.

They were a team.

The cave narrowed dramatically at one point, forming a tunnel that was wide enough for only one person. That was good, Ethan thought. It meant that if the men hunting them got this far, they would have to advance single file. He could deal with them one at a time.

Daylight did not reach far into the depths of the cave, but the paranormal radiance infused into the surrounding stone grew stronger in the darkness, illuminating the interior.

The tunnel abruptly opened onto a vast, glowing cavern. Glittering stalactites hung from the high ceiling, giant icicles made luminous by strange minerals. A forest of sparkling stalagmites thrust upward from the floor.

It would have been an ideal hiding place if not for the pool of crystal clear, utterly transparent water that covered most of the floor. Ethan almost stepped into it. He was holding Ravenna’s hand so tightly he knew that if he had fallen into the pool, he would have dragged her in with him.

It was Harriet’s warning growl that saved them. Ethan froze. He felt Ravenna do the same.

“What is it?” Ravenna asked in a hushed voice.

“A cave pool,” Ethan said. “Fed from a deep spring or underground river. No telling how deep it is, but the real problem is that there’s no way to know how powerful the currents are. If you fall in, there’s a good chance you wouldn’t be able to climb out.”

“It’s hard to see.”

“Optical illusion,” Ethan said. “The paranormal light in here doesn’t reflect off the surface of the water the way normal light would. We’ve got to move slowly and carefully so that we stay on the edge.”

He bent down and scooped up a handful of glittering pebbles. One by one he tossed them around the space. Some of them sank without a trace into the pool but a few landed on hard rock and bounced.

“It’s dry for a few feet near the wall,” he said. “But it looks like that’s as far as we can go.”

They followed the path that had been cleared by the pebbles and stopped to assess the situation. It was far from ideal, but some nearby stalagmites provided a little cover.

He flattened his back against the wall. Ravenna, with Harriet still perched on her shoulder, did the same. Voices rumbled in the outer cavern. At least some of the team had been strong enough to enter the hot atmosphere.

“Fuck, it’s hot in here,” one muttered.

“You inside,” another man yelled. “We’re Guild security. We’re here to help.”

Shaved Head, Ethan decided.

Ravenna looked at him, her eyes widening in a silent, shocked question. He shook his head.

“We’re chasing the guys who planted that bomb under your car,” Shaved Head continued. “We didn’t know the vehicle had been sabotaged. Glad you two made it out alive. Whoever is after you is not playing games. Come on out. We’ll provide protection for you and the woman until we get back to Illusion Town.”

When the offer was met with silence, Shaved Head shouted again.

“You don’t want to spend the night in here. Trust me. That sign you saw out on the highway is for real. This is a no-go zone after dark. You think this cave is bad now? Just wait until nightfall when the lake effect hits.”

Ethan listened intently. As far as he could tell, only two of the four men had followed them into the cave.

“I don’t see any sign of them,” the second man said. “Maybe they didn’t make it in here. Maybe they went in another direction.”

“They’re in here,” Shaved Head said. “There’s no other cover for miles. They must have gone through that tunnel. Let’s go.”

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