Dreams: Part One (12 page)

They reached the yawning mouth of Chained Lady Cave about ten minutes later. Diana stepped through the entrance with a sense of relief. The climb up hadn’t been too precarious, but the constant rush of water only inches away was disconcerting.

The cave was heavily shadowed but far from completely dark. Some of the bright sunlight outside managed to pass through the wall of water, illuminating the interior with a faint glow.

Colby switched on the flashlight he had slung on his belt and led the way several feet into the cavern. The farther they moved from the entrance, the darker the shadows grew. The noise of the falls faded somewhat, making conversation possible again.

Diana reached for the flashlight on her own belt, and stared at the damp cave walls. “So this is where he kept her chained. How ghastly,“

Colby glanced at her. “Take it easy, honey. It’s just a legend, remember?“

“In another hour the sun will be going down. I wonder what the water looks like from this side when it turns red.“

“It looks like several tons of blood pouring straight down in front of your eyes.“

“Your imagination is sometimes a little too vivid.“

“Occupational hazard for a writer of horror fiction.“

Diana glanced around. “Is this where you spent the night? On this wet floor?“

“No.“ Colby was walking toward the back of the cave.

“Where are you going?“

“Since I’m here, I thought I’d check and see if the place where I did spend the night still looks the same.“

She followed curiously. “You mean there’s more to the cave than just this one big room?“

“Uh-huh. Stay close. Remember I told you I was scared right down to my toes that night?“

“I remember.“

“Well, I stumbled around, trying to find a reasonably dry place to sleep, and I eventually wandered into a really weird little grotto. The entrance is hidden way in the back of the main chamber. I only found it by accident. Wait until you see it.“

“Colby, I don’t know if I want to go any farther into this place.“

“Stay out here in the main lobby, then. I’ll just be a few minutes.“ He was edging along the cave wall, heading deeper into the inky darkness.

“Oh, no, you don’t. I can do anything you can do.“

“Attagirl.“

Diana’s chin lifted. “Don’t be condescending.“

“Sometimes you’re too damn touchy, honey. Lighten up.“ Colby and the comforting beam of his flashlight vanished.

“Damn you, Colby Savagar.“ Diana hastened forward and flashed her own light into the deep shadows where he had disappeared. She could see nothing for a moment, and then she saw a section of darkness that was blacker than the shadows around it. Cautiously she stepped toward it. A moment later she found herself in a small, rocky antechamber.

“Take a look,“ Colby invited, as if showing off the Taj Mahal. “It’s really something, isn’t it?“

Her first impression was of warmth. A rocky pool filled a large portion of the room and the water in it was obviously very warm. Diana shone the beam of her light down into the depths of the pool and realized she couldn’t see the bottom.

“This is where I spent the night,“ Colby said quietly. “And I never told Eddy Spooner or anyone else about this hidden room. As far as I know, no one else has ever found it.“

“I think that warrior in the legend knew about it,“ Diana said with sudden conviction. “This is where he kept his poor wife. Not in the outer cavern.“

Colby gave her an odd glance. “Know something? The night I spent in here, I was convinced that this was where she stabbed him. Somehow I just knew it.“

“Why did you stay in here instead of in the main chamber?“

Colby played his flashlight beam on the walls. “Damned if I know. I just wandered in here and decided it was as good a place as any to spend the night. It was warm in here.“

“But it’s a lot creepier in here than it is out in the front part of the cave. If I had to choose, I’d sleep out there. Then again,“ Diana added wryly, “I doubt that I’d get any sleeping done at all if I had to spend the night in this place.“

He was watching her through narrowed eyes, the harsh planes and angles of his face thrown into sharp relief by the back glow of the flashlight. “Do caves make you nervous?“

She started to shake her head, then stopped. “I suppose so. I’ve never spent much time in them. But it’s more than that.“ She broke off.

“Go on,“ Colby urged softly.

“I don’t know how to explain it,“ Diana admitted. “There’s just something very strange about this particular grotto.

A feeling.“

“What kind of feeling?“ he persisted.

Exasperated, she stepped back toward the entrance. “Stop it, Colby. Are you deliberately trying to frighten me?“

“No. I just want you to tell me exactly how you feel about this place.“

He moved toward her, making no sound in his soft-soled shoes. He kept the flashlight pointed at her feet. His face was in shadow but his eyes seemed to gleam implacably in the darkness. He loomed over her – large, powerful, wholly male. She was suddenly aware of how vulnerable she was, here alone with him. If she screamed, no one would hear her.

Without any warning, Diana’s imagination slipped into high gear. She no longer saw a reasonably civilized twentieth-century male, but a bronzed warrior.
The muscles of his broad shoulders were sleek and contoured from
years of violence. She shuddered at the fierce strength in him and the utter determination that blazed in his eyes.

He was a great leader, a skilled fighter, a lord among his people, and she belonged to him as completely as his
war-horse or the lethal blade he wore at his belt.

He would take her. He thought he had the right to do so. He had been raised from birth to think he was entitled
to anything he wanted. And now he wanted a son.

If he had come to her with gentleness, if he had treated her with the respect that was her due, if he had
acknowledged her value as an equal, then perhaps, just perhaps, she would have given him willingly what he took
by force.

But the warrior knew only the ways of male violence and she would never surrender to such ways. She would
never give him a child to be raised in those ways.

There was no hope for either of them in this life. No chance to learn each other’s hidden secrets, calm each other’

s private fears, trust in each other’s strengths. No hope for love and gentleness and comfort.

There was no hope in this time and place.

But there would be other lifetimes.

“Diana? Are you all right?“

Diana blinked quickly, taking a frantic grasp on her wayward imagination and thoroughly ruffled nerves. Abruptly, she wanted nothing more than to get out of the grotto.

“What is it, honey?“

“Never mind how I feel about this place. I don’t want to talk about it.“ She whirled to slip back through the opening in the wall, stumbling with relief into the main chamber.

Colby was right behind her. “Diana, what the hell’s the matter with you? Are you sure you’re okay?“

“Of course I’m okay. I just don’t like that little grotto. Maybe your overactive imagination is rubbing off on me.“

“Take it easy, honey.“ He came up behind her, putting a casually comforting arm around her shoulders.

She looked at him, seeing the affectionate amusement in his eyes and the slight curve of his hard mouth. The last traces of her conjured-up image of a warrior vanished. Colby was tough but he wasn’t cold-blooded or violent. Smiling wryly, she leaned against him for a moment, seeking comfort from his lean, strong body. He nuzzled the spot behind her ear.

“Tm all right,“ she mumbled. “But I don’t think I was cut out for this. I can’t imagine how people can take this kind of thing up as a lifelong hobby. What do you think they get out of it?“

“The chance to comfort terrified lady friends?“ He bit her earlobe gently.

“Colby, why is it so dark in here? Is the sun setting already?“

He lifted his head abruptly, glancing toward the cave entrance. It was far darker here in the outer chamber than it had been a few minutes ago when they had first entered. The faint rays of sunlight that had shone through the veil of water no longer filtered into the room.

“No, the sun isn’t setting yet. Too early.“ Colby released her and walked toward the entrance with a frown. “The only thing that could make it get this dark so fast is a storm,“ he called back above the roar of water.

“A storm? But nothing like that was forecast, not even rain.“ She followed him to the cavern entrance and peered out. The wall of water falling in front of them had turned a deep steel gray.

“Stay here a minute,“ Colby shouted. “I want to see how bad it is out there.“ He stepped out onto the ledge and moved along the path to a point where he could see through the mist. Diana saw how the wind whipped his hair and the water drenched his windbreaker. He returned with a set expression on his face.

“What’s wrong?“ Diana demanded.

“It’s storming out there, all right. Must have come up out of nowhere. A real mean summer thunderbuster. The water’s coming down so hard, you can’t tell where the waterfall ends and the rain begins. Wind’s really howling, too.

We’ll have to wait until it lightens up before we try to go down that ledge.“

“But the ledge is already wet from the mist of the falls. What harm will a little more water do?“

“It’s not just the rain, it’s the way the wind is driving it. If it caught you just right, it would be strong enough to make you lose your balance. Even if we got down the path in one piece, I’m not anxious to be walking behind that water when the lightning strikes.“

As if to confirm his opinion, thunder crashed outside, louder than the falls, and an instant later a flash of light glittered on the other side of the cascade. The lightning faded instantly, leaving the pouring water darker than ever.

“You may have a point,“ Diana said reluctantly. She backed away from the entrance. “How long do you think it will last?“

“Shouldn’t last too long. These summer storms are wicked but short-lived,“ Colby said easily. “Come on, let’s find a place to sit down and wait it out.“ He guided her toward the back of the main chamber where it was easier to talk.

Colby seated himself on a convenient outcropping and arranged the flashlights so that they provided illumination without having to be held. Diana sank down beside him, aware of a chill from her damp feet.

“Since we’re going to have to entertain each other for the next few minutes,“ Colby said smoothly, “why don’t you tell me the real reason my son came to visit you today?“

She threw him a disgusted glance. “I hate nagging men.“

Colby’s gaze hardened. “He’s my son, remember? I’ve got a right to know what’s going on.“

“Nothing’s
going on,
as you put it.“ Diana shifted a little on the hard rock, trying to get comfortable. She stared out at the barrier of roaring black water.

“Now, listen, Diana…“

“Do you want some free, unsolicited advice, Colby?“

“No, damn it, I don’t.“ He hesitated and then flung a handful of pebbles across the floor of the cave. “What advice?“

“If I were you, I wouldn’t push Brandon very hard right now. You may force him into a decision he doesn’t really want to make.“

“He’s already made a decision. Or thinks he has. I’m going to change his mind if it’s the last thing I do.“ Colby hurled another fistful of pebbles.

“I don’t think he’s talked himself completely into marriage,“ Diana said thoughtfully. “I think he’s being pushed into it by Robyn. He obviously cares for her. He’s worried about her because of her relationship with her parents. And he’s attracted to her. He wants to please her, but I don’t think he really wants to marry her. At least, not at this stage.“

Colby gave her a sharp look. “I agree little Robyn is probably pushing, but what makes you think Brandon’s not eager?“

“He’s a lot like you,“ Diana said simply.

“Too much like me, apparently. He’s dead set on making the same mistakes I made at nineteen. But what the hell’s that got to do with it?“

“Colby, that’s not what I meant,“ she said patiently. “When Brandon showed up a couple of days ago, all he said was that he and Robyn were
thinking
of getting married.“

“So?“

“So, is that the way you would have handled the announcement if you were determined to get married? Even at the tender age of nineteen, 111 bet once you’d made up your mind to marry Cynthia, you didn’t announce it in such a wishy-washy fashion. My guess is that you just came right out and told everyone you were
going
to get married, like it or lump it. You wouldn’t have stood around arguing about it, and you certainly wouldn’t have worried too much about getting parental approval.“

Colby stilled. His eyes gleamed reflectively. “You’re right.“

“As I said, I think your son is a lot like you. If he had been hell-bent on marriage, he would have announced the fact that he was going to marry, not that he was thinking about it and if he got any grief from you, he wouldn’t have stuck around to argue. He and Robyn would be on their way to Reno by now.“

Colby stared at her in silence for a few seconds. “So why is he sticking around trying to convince me he’s ready for marriage?“

“Possibly because he’s looking for a way to get out of the situation and doesn’t know how to do it without hurting the woman he cares so much about. He feels trapped. His instincts undoubtedly sent him to you because he’s hoping you’ll help him figure a way out. You’re his father and he’s learned a lot from you over the years. He respects you. But yelling at him that he can’t possibly marry Robyn won’t work. It’s the wrong approach.“

“Why not? If he wants an out, let him tell her his father won’t approve the marriage.“

Diana sighed. “And be forced to admit to himself and to Robyn that at the grown-up age of nineteen he can’t do anything without his father’s permission? Come on, Colby. You know what a male ego is. You’ve got one yourself.“