Authors: Kathy Reichs
Seizure (23 page)
Inhale. Exhale.
Long inhale.
Splash.
I dove, kicked hard for the bottom, and fired through the hole. Beyond was an underwater tunnel. I dolphin kicked, hauling with my hands. The flashlight slowed me, but I had no choice. Without it I’d be in total darkness.
Seconds ticked by in my head.
Eight...
Nine . . .
Ten . . .
The tunnel veered left, then angled downward. My beam barely dented the inky black. I dragged myself forward, arms aching. To my horror, another flooded channel stretched before me.
Fifteen . . .
Sixteen . . .
Seventeen . . .
Panic threatened, but I shoved it aside. Dribbling air from my lips, I struggled on. Ahead, the channel descended even more sharply.
Twenty-two . . .
Twenty-three . . .
Twenty-four . . .
Desperate, I kicked harder, arcing the light wildly. Ten feet ahead lay another bend.
My lungs burned. I was out of time.
Primal terrors howled full throat in my brain.
SNAP.
The flare blasted through me.
I coughed out my last remaining oxygen. Gagged on seawater.
The walls closed in.
I was done.
Then I saw it.
Just around the bend, the roof of the tunnel bubbled upward.
Dropping my flashlight, I thrust with both arms. When I broke the surface, my head nearly slammed into the low ceiling.
Air pocket!
Thank God!
I gulped greedy mouthfuls of air.
Inside, my powers raged. Images flashed from some hidden corner of my psyche. Thoughts burned in my skull.
Somewhere, I knew Coop howled.
More images formed. Shelton. Hi. Ben.
Underwater. Gripped with panic. Losing faith.
As I gasped and sputtered, my brain fired a message.
Airpocketat the thirdbend! Don’t give up!
I could feel the thought knife into each of them. Their minds latched on and their limbs paddled madly.
Shelton’s head broke the surface. I dragged him to me with one hand. Hi appeared next, hacking and spitting. Then Ben’s face erupted from the liquid.
“Everyone okay?” I yelled.
The boys were too shell-shocked to answer. Only Hi still held his flashlight.
We treaded water, clinging to projections from the tunnel wall.
I noticed that none of the boys were flaring.
“What’d you do?” Hi backhanded water from his eyes. “I heard you inside my head!”
“You saved me!” Shelton said. “I was all turned around!”
“Later.” Ben was still breathing hard. “We have to get out of here.”
“Follow me,” I said.
We swam down the tunnel, using a stone outcropping to pull ourselves along. I thanked the heavens for our last remaining flashlight, and prayed it wouldn’t fail.
Then we hit another dead end.
“Oh no!” Shelton wailed.
“Shh!”
My ears picked up a familiar sound. My nose identified a familiar scent.
Waves crashing. Sand.
“We’re near a beach!” I said. “I can hear the surf!”
“Promise?” Shelton sniffled in the darkness.
“Promise.” I glanced down. The water seemed deeper, but I couldn’t tell how much. “Wait here a sec.”
Holding my breath, I sank to the bottom of the channel. Through the murk, my glowing eyes detected a diffuse light. An opening, several yards ahead. I rose to the surface.
“We’re going to have to dive again,” I said. “Follow my light. I won’t let you down.”
“Just get us out of here, Tory.” Hi was near his breaking point. “Now, if you don’t mind.”
“Will do. Ready?”
“Ready.” Times three.
Inhale. Exhale.
Inhale. Exhale.
Long inhale.
Splash.
I kicked forward, then through the gap into a murky sea cave. The others were right behind.
The surface was twenty feet above. Beyond it, moonlight.
Treading in place underwater, I pushed Hi and Shelton past me. Ben was just behind. We fired to the surface as one.
My head struck something hard. Light exploded between my eyes. I sank, stunned. The flashlight slipped from my fingers.
SNUP.
The power fizzled.
My mind drifted. The world grew fuzzy.
A hand grabbed my arm, yanked hard, dragging me upward. Lightheaded, I allowed myself to be pulled.
My head broke the surface. I took a giant breath.
“Tory!” Ben’s face was inches from mine. “You okay?”
“Fine,” I said. “Dandy. I bonked my head.”
Ben looked at me oddly. “Let’s get to shore.”
“Shore?”
Ben smiled for the first time. “Look around.”
I did. Knew the place.
We were floating just off the Battery, at the very tip of the downtown peninsula. We’d traveled roughly seven blocks underground.
Hi and Shelton waved from a staircase embedded in the seawall.
“An easy way up for once!” Shelton sounded ecstatic.
Ben and I paddled to the steps and slip-slid up to street level. The four of us crossed into White Point Gardens, found a park bench, and collapsed.
My watch was missing. I had no idea of the time.
But dawn was purpling the eastern sky.
Beside me, Hi broke into laughter, sides shaking with spasms of uncontrolled amusement.
“What?” The sound was infectious. I felt a smile tickle my lips.
“Say hi to our buddies.” Hi jabbed a thumb over his shoulder.
I turned, came face-to-face with a monument dedicated to Stede Bonnet and his pirate cronies. I nearly busted a gut.
Cackling, Shelton stumbled to the big hunk of granite. Kicked it twice. Hard.
“Thanks for nothing, you jerks! Tell your buddy Anne we don’t accept IOUs.”
Ben guffawed, reigniting the rest of us. We let the giggles flow, taking the tension with them.
“Do you guys have any idea how screwed I am?” Hi moaned. “My mother gets up in ten minutes.”
“I feel you,” Shelton said. “I’m just as toast.”
“No point worrying about it now,” Ben said. “We survived. We can take whatever comes next.”
Definitely. Kit was going to filet me, but at the moment, that seemed trivial.
“Let’s enjoy the fresh air for a while,” I said.
So we sat, side by side, and watched the sunrise.
PART THREE:
BULL
CHAPTER 37
“M
iracles can happen,”I joked.“You just have to believe!”
iracles can happen,”I joked.“You just have to believe!”
Noon. Bunker. We lounged in our clubhouse, still beat from the previous night’s insanity.
The boys were sprawled about the room, idly tossing a tennis ball. I was on the bench. Coop was gnawing a Frisbee at my feet.
Impossibly, no one had been caught.
Five hours earlier, I’d tiptoed through my front door, prepared for the worst. Already grounded, I had no idea how Kit would react to my sneaking out until dawn. For all I knew, a cop could be sitting in our living room.
So I’d slipped inside, nervous that Coop would blow my cover. Instead, much to my surprise, I’d found a Post-It stuck to the banister.
Early trip to LIRI. Back by dinner. Don’t leave the house. Kit.
He had no idea.
After executing a few of Hi’s best dance moves, I’d collapsed on the couch. I was exhausted, emotionally drained, and smelled like sewage and sea scum.
Coop had hit me like a Patriot missile, tail thumping, his pink sandpaper tongue slathering my face.
“It’s okay, boy. Mommy’s fine. Just had a little scare, that’s all.”
Coop continued bathing my face. From that moment, he hadn’t let me out of his sight.
A foghorn sounded in the harbor, scattering the seagulls roosting outside the bunker’s window slit. Cruise ship, headed to the peninsula.
Sunlight glinted off the tranquil ocean. The temperature was well past ninety.
“My mom caught me downstairs, but she thought I was going
out
.” Hi laughed. “Like I’m getting up that early on a Saturday. Thank God she’s groggy before her first three cups of coffee.”
out
.” Hi laughed. “Like I’m getting up that early on a Saturday. Thank God she’s groggy before her first three cups of coffee.”
“My parents were still in bed.” Shelton lobbed the tennis ball toward Ben. “They
never
sleep past six. I must have a guardian angel.”
never
sleep past six. I must have a guardian angel.”
“Will your Dad get after you?” I asked Ben.
Tom Blue’s workday began well before sunup, even on weekends. By the time we’d docked
Sewee
that morning, his ferry had already set sail.
Sewee
that morning, his ferry had already set sail.
“I’ll say I went fishing.” Ben caught the ball and flipped it to Hi. “He won’t ask a lot of questions.”
The tennis ball arced across the room, was caught, arced back. Then Hi voiced the question on everyone’s mind. “
So
. . . any guesses at who tried to kill us?”
So
. . . any guesses at who tried to kill us?”
“Honestly, I have no idea,” I said. “None.”
“It makes no sense!” Shelton spread his hands. “Who could’ve known we planned to break into the Provost Dungeon last night?”
“We didn’t know
ourselves
until a few hours before,” Hi said. “And what sane person would follow us down the rat hole we uncovered?”
ourselves
until a few hours before,” Hi said. “And what sane person would follow us down the rat hole we uncovered?”
“iFollow?” Ben ear-tucked his hair. “Maybe someone hacked our videoconference.”
“Is that possible?” The idea disturbed me.
Shelton shook his head. “We formed a new group with a new password. That program has tough encryption. Believe me, I checked. It’s extremely unlikely.”
“And why bother?” I said. “Who’d want to spy on us?”
“
Kill
us,” Hi corrected. “Whoever followed us underground was willing to create a pile of dead bodies. Chew on
that
for a second.”
Kill
us,” Hi corrected. “Whoever followed us underground was willing to create a pile of dead bodies. Chew on
that
for a second.”
“We sure know how to attract psychopaths,” Shelton muttered.
“It’s connected to Bonny’s treasure somehow,” Ben said. “That’s the only logical explanation.”
“There’s another possibility.” Hi sat forward, face tight with concern. “What if someone else knows about our flares?”
“What?” Shelton pulled his earlobe. “How?”
“I don’t know, but we can’t just discount it.” Hi avoided my eyes. “Not every move we’ve made has been private.”
I opened my mouth, but Shelton spoke first.
“You did the mind thing again, Tory.” Fingers tugging double time. “In the tunnels, underwater, I heard your voice inside my head.”
“Me too,” Hi said.
Ben hesitated, then nodded. “You flared a second time, too. How?”
“I don’t know.” Thinking back, I shuddered. “I was panicking. Couldn’t find air. Then something twitched in my brain and the flare exploded through me. It was more unconscious than anything.”
“How come only you can touch minds?” Shelton asked.
I shrugged. Of course I had no answers.
The room fell silent.
“Well, you saved our lives,” Ben finally said. “That’s all that matters.”
“Excellent point.” Hi shuffled over, grasped my hand, and deposited a sloppy kiss. “I’m in your debt, milady.”
“Quit being a spaz.” Shelton’s eyes met mine. “Thanks, Tor. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
“Done.” I smiled. “Should be easy, since I have no idea what I did.”
Tensions eased slightly, but the good vibes didn’t last.
“Now what? Should we call the cops?” Shelton sounded unhappy with his own suggestion.
“With our track record?” Ben scoffed. “We can’t report
another
ancient skeleton and
another
mysterious gunman. After the monkey-bones fiasco on Loggerhead last May, we’ve got zero credibility with the police.”
another
ancient skeleton and
another
mysterious gunman. After the monkey-bones fiasco on Loggerhead last May, we’ve got zero credibility with the police.”
“Hello Officer Hates-Our-Guts,” Hi mimicked. “You remember us! Last night we used a stolen artifact to break into a historic city landmark. Which cell will be mine?”
“Hi and Ben are right,” I said. “We’d be arrested, then committed.”
“Someone’s gonna find that gap in the dungeon wall.” Shelton tapped his watch. “It’s a matter of hours.”
“Then we need to hurry,” I said. “The Exchange is closed on weekends, so that buys us some time.”
The boys glanced at each other, but not at me.
“What?”
“Tory, it’s over.” Ben’s voice was firm.
“Over?” I was caught by surprise. “Of course it’s not
over
. We have the next clue!”
over
. We have the next clue!”
“Shelton’s right,” Ben said. “On Monday, someone will notice the stone we dislodged. By lunchtime, everyone in America will know about Charleston’s secret tunnels.”
“Crap!” Shelton sat upright. “We still have the treasure map!”
Bonny’s drawing lay upside down on the table. A little worse for wear, but nothing too dramatic. Amazingly, the Ziploc kept it dry during our aquatic escape. The foreign words I’d copied onto its back were still visible in bright blue ink.
Hi rubbed his forehead. “We have to return that, pronto. It’s about to be
very
popular, and it won’t take the Fletchers five seconds to figure out who stole it.”
very
popular, and it won’t take the Fletchers five seconds to figure out who stole it.”
“We’re screwed anyway,” Shelton griped. “Tory wrote on it.”
“I was a little short on options.”
“When the news breaks,” Ben said, “treasure hunters will flock to Charleston from all over the world. One of them will find the stash.”
“No!” I said sharply. “Think! The pool chamber flooded. No one else will have Bonny’s last poem.”
“Which we can’t read,” Hi mumbled.
“I’m working on that!” Their constant resistance was starting to irk me. “Quitting is
not
an option. Don’t you see? We’re the only ones with the final clue to the treasure’s location. We can find where Bonny moved it!”
not
an option. Don’t you see? We’re the only ones with the final clue to the treasure’s location. We can find where Bonny moved it!”
“What makes you think it’s still there?” Ben asked. “Maybe the pirates divided up the loot and skipped town.”
“Then why leave a clue at all?” Snap decision. I’d share my pet theory. “I think Bonny left the poem for Mary Read.”
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