Page 81 of Sweetwater and the Witch

“Fuck it, I’m not going any farther into this damn cave,” the other man said. “Not getting paid enough to deal with this kind of heat. You’re the guy in charge, Joyner. If you want to go in after those two, that’s on you.”

“If I bring ’em out, I collect the whole fee, not a quarter of it,” Joyner warned.

“You’re welcome to it, but you’re wasting your time. You won’t be able to follow them, not through that energy. My guess is they’re both brain fried or dead by now. I’m out of here. The job is all yours.”

“Get lost, but don’t come whining to me when it’s time to get paid.”

There was no response from the second man. Ethan heard one set of footsteps beating a hasty retreat out of the cave.

He raised the flamer and waited.

Boots echoed from the other side of the narrow passage.

“Fuck you, Sweetwater. You’re worth just as much dead as you are alive. You want to stay alive, come out now.”

More footsteps. Joyner was inside the tunnel that separated the two caverns. In another few seconds he would be in the pool cave. Once he stepped out of the tunnel he would see his targets, assuming he looked in the right direction.

Ethan picked up a small rock and hurled it against the rock wall on the opposite side of the tunnel opening.

It clattered against the stone and tumbled to the floor. The noise was amplified and distorted by the thick currents of psi.

Joyner emerged from the tunnel, but he did not see Ethan, Ravenna, and Harriet. He was following the sound of the rock. But he was running hot in order to deal with the energy in the cave, and in his tense state he overreacted. He panicked and rezzed the mag-rez again and again.

There was a series of clicks, but nothing happened.

“Fuck it,” he shrieked.

He rezzed the pistol one more time. The weapon glowed with an ominous heat. Joyner yelled and hurled it away from himself. It landed near the entrance of the tunnel and exploded into flames.

Joyner screamed. The sound rang off the stone walls, adding more energy to the paranormal currents in the atmosphere. The flames of the burning pistol got brighter and hotter, feeding off the strong psi that swirled in the chamber. Within seconds the fire crossed the spectrum and became a wall of flames that blocked the tunnel and any possibility of escaping back into the outer cavern.

Joyner’s face twisted with shock and horror. He scrambled madly to put some distance between himself and the furnace of a tunnel. One of his boots skidded on the wet rocks.

Ethan realized what was about to happen. “Shit.”

He lunged forward. He was fast—all the Sweetwaters had excellent reflexes—but he was not fast enough. Joyner slipped on the rocks. He flailed, but he could not regain his balance. He went into the pool with a resounding splash. The water roiled and seethed as if some great creature was emerging from the depths in search of prey.

Joyner thrashed wildly, trying to get to the edge of the pool. He groped for and found the rocky rim but he could not maintain his grip. His hands slipped off. He looked up at Ethan, stark terror glittering in his eyes.

“Help me,” he shrieked. “There’s something in here. It’s pulling me down. Get me out of here.”

So much water had been splashed around the edge of the pool, it was more difficult than ever to see where the rock ended and the water began. Ethan stopped at what looked like a reasonably safe distance and stripped off his shirt. He gripped one sleeve and tossed the other to the struggling man.

Joyner managed to snag the sleeve. He clung to it with both hands. “Hurry. I’m telling you, there’s something in here.”

Ethan hauled on the shirtsleeve, drawing Joyner through the churning water until he was able to land him like a large fish. Joyner scrambled to safety and collapsed, unconscious, on the wet stone.

Ethan turned toward the wall of paranormal fire that blocked the tunnel.

It was gone. Ravenna stood in its place.

Ethan smiled slowly. “You’re good.”

“I can start a paranormal fire,” Ravenna said. “And as long as it’s not too big, I can put one out.”

Chapter Forty-One

Ravenna went to the mouth of the cave and watched the strange mist coalesce into thunderclouds above the mirage of the lake. The three other men on the hit team had waited outside the cave until it became clear that Joyner was not going to return. Not wanting to risk a night drive in the desert, they had departed a couple of hours before sunset.

---