Torrent

CHAPTER 21

Like most of the other businesses in town, the kayak rental place was closed. While Simon tried the handles on the equipment lockers, I observed the scenery across the water, wondering if Eleriss and Jakatra were already out there, burning holes in rocks. Ducks floated in the shallows near the wetlands end of the lake, calm and undisturbed. I took that for a promising sign. At the other end of the lake, lumpy gray mounds of granite rose, the ancient bedrock eroded by wind and water. I’d called the mounds boulders, because I lacked a better word, but many of the formations would dwarf the buildings downtown and some loomed tall enough to entice eagles to roost on the tops.

Simon wandered over to investigate the building, though I’d already tried the doors and found it as locked as the library. Temi’s silver Jaguar was the only car in the parking lot. She leaned against the door, waiting for us. She was too polite to say, “Which one of you college-educated geniuses thought the kayaks would be lying out for anyone to take?”

According to Simon’s tracking app, the motorcycles were on the other side of the lake. The riders had driven past the parking lot over there and onto the no-motorized-vehicles-allowed trail, then stopped somewhere behind the formations. They had a head start on us; before driving out, we’d popped into one of the few open stores for rope, deciding duct tape might not be sufficient for this endeavor. We’d also stopped back at the van to pick up food and water along with our flashlights and my whip and bow. Taking the weapons made me feel silly-like I was my RealmSaga character, ready to travel into some monster-infested dungeon-but who knew what might be down there?

A jangle sounded, and Simon jogged into sight. He waved a keychain. “Here we go.”

“How’d you get those out of the building?” I asked.

“I downloaded a lock-picking app.” Simon stopped in front of an equipment shed and started trying keys.

“It taught you how to pick a lock in five minutes?”

“No, it showed me how complicated lock-picking is in five minutes, so I walked around the building and tried all the windows until I found one open. I wiggled inside, let myself out of a stinky bathroom, and found the keys.”

“You’re a real MacGyver, aren’t you?”

Simon winked at me as he pulled open the now unlocked door. “You’d be lost without me, admit it.”

“Only if you admit you’d be more lost without me.” I peered inside the windowless shed where rows of kayaks leaned against walls and racks.

“It’s true that a brilliant hero needs a trusty sidekick to do the grunt work.” Simon pointed inside. “I’d like the green one, please. Would you mind?”

“Locking you in the shed?” I grabbed his arm. “Not at all.”

“Are we ready to go?” Temi asked from behind us.

I released Simon. “As soon as everyone picks out a kayak and drags it down to the beach on his or her own.”

“Hm,” she said.

I’d meant my comment for Simon, of course, but remembered that her knee might preclude such activities. “Do you think you’ll be able to do this, Temi? Or will it hurt your leg?” If she couldn’t kayak, she’d have even more trouble scrambling over those boulders or into the bowels of a cave. Maybe it’d be best to leave her back as the support staff again.

“I’ll manage,” Temi said tersely.

There was a determined set to her jaw, so I didn’t mention my concerns. If she wanted to come, I wouldn’t stop her.

Simon dragged out a two-person green kayak. It might have been my comments or perhaps a desire not to appear puny in front of Temi, but he hauled it down to the water himself. I helped Temi tote a blue one-person model to the lake while Simon grabbed paddles for everyone. Before I could ask if she wanted to share the double or go on her own, she tossed her shoes and water bottle into the back of the single. She rolled her pants up to her knees. I caught a glimpse of nasty scar tissue and the bottom edge of a knee brace before she pushed the kayak into the shallows, and I decided I should be doing the same thing.

We soon had all our gear loaded and were paddling across the lake. I shivered at the chilly breeze sweeping across the water. The sun was shining, but it was starting to feel more like November than October. The leaves on the cottonwoods at the end of the lake had turned orange and yellow, and I bet Prescott would see snow before long. It was a far cry from Phoenix with its daytime highs still in the 80s and 90s.

I would have expected the two-person kayak to be faster, with Simon and me paddling together-I’d taken the back seat to make sure he paddled-but Temi’s strokes were effortless and powerful. Her craft surged ahead and she had to pause to wait for us. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she’d been kayaking all of her life, but we hadn’t grown up around water, and I doubted she’d had time for many hobbies during her tennis career. I might have been slightly pleased when she’d first shown up, needing my help, but watching her now, I had to admit that it was sad that the car accident had ended her career. She was meant to be an athlete.

“Veer left when we get close to the rocks,” Simon called to her. “We’ll have to get close to find a place to land.”

The granite mounds came all the way down to the water, but there were inlets here and there, and I remembered a few grassy spots accessible from the hiking trail. Of course, we didn’t want to go anywhere near the trail, not if it’d been booby-trapped.

Ahead of us, Temi stopped paddling and pointed to the right, back toward the wetlands. The ducks were taking off with a frantic batting of wings. I didn’t see anything in the trees and tall grasses behind them, but that didn’t mean much. I hoped our predator wasn’t making an exception to its preference for the night shift.

Temi pointed again, this time toward an inlet between two towering gray mounds. “In there?”

“Let’s try it,” Simon called softly.

We’d all lowered our voices since the ducks flew off.

We slipped into the cove and followed the rocks until we reached an area clogged with floating branches and logs. A faint animal trail cut across the grassy bank rising behind it. We picked our way through the deadwood and helped each other pull the kayaks out.

A great thrashing came from the tall grass a few feet away. I lunged for my bow-it was still in the back of the kayak. A splash sounded, then the grasses grew still. The whole cove grew still. I forced myself to loosen my grip on the weapon.

“I don’t know what that was,” I said, “but it wasn’t big enough to be our monster.”

“Nah, the monster would have jumped toward us instead of away from us,” Simon said. “It was probably a fat beaver.”

Despite his words, he had his phone out, probably with his camera app loaded. I hoped his obsession didn’t get us all killed. I was already beginning to think coming out here had been a mistake, the coolness of an undiscovered cave not withstanding.

Temi turned slowly, gazing up at the rock on all sides of us. “How are we going to figure out where Eleriss and Jakatra are?”

“We’ll have to climb up to a high spot and look for smoke,” I said. “If they use… whatever they used before, there’ll be some smoke or fumes at least. Though I admit, it’ll be hard to see outside.”

“In other words, we’re hoping to get lucky,” Temi said.

“That’s usually how our business goes.”

Simon grunted in agreement. As soon as we’d put on all of our gear, we hunted for a promising spot to ascend. The mounds were uneven, some tall, some low, and some in between, so we didn’t have to scale any cliffs, but the climb was challenging. Temi struggled because of her leg, I struggled because I was carrying the bow as well as my backpack, and Simon struggled because he couldn’t be bothered to buy a pair of real shoes. We were all sweating by the time we clambered onto the top of one of the higher rocks. The view was magnificent though, with the lake stretching behind us and the lumpy granite formations heading off to the horizon. I spotted the rail trail about a half a mile away. Unfortunately, I didn’t see any smoke or anything that would suggest our employers were in the vicinity.

“Where are we in relation to their bikes?” I asked.

Simon pulled out his phone. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean? They left?”

“No, I’m not picking up a signal any more. They were over there a half hour ago.” He waved toward the trail. “But now, I’ve got nothing.”

“Meaning they drove out of range?”

“Or finally found the tracking device and destroyed it,” Simon said.

“Oh.”

“We could wander around these rocks for days and not find a cave entrance,” Temi said.

“I know. Anyone have any ideas? Simon, would your program be able to show a newly constructed tunnel?”

His “uhm” didn’t sound promising, but he did start poking at his phone.

I sat cross-legged and watched the sky, still hoping to catch a wisp of smoke. An eagle that had a nest on top of one of the outcroppings took off, flying away from us. Maybe it found our presence intrusive. It flew straight, but it banked and did a few circles, rising higher with each revolution. At first, I simply watched, but then I bolted to my feet.

“That might be it.” I squinted, trying to note landmarks beneath it and pick out a route for us to take.

“What might?” Temi asked.

The eagle reached the altitude it wanted and headed out.

“A thermal?” Simon asked.

I nodded. “That’s my guess. If we’re right, something’s heating up the ground over there.”

“Let’s check it out then.”