With Heart to Hear (6 page)

“Two.”

The guide shook his head. “They are close, the glyphs. An hour. No more.”

Resigned, Cele sighed. Now that she knew how to get here, she could come back and stay longer on her own. “Okay. One hour.”

Berto gave her directions, and she left him pacing on the other side of the stone markers.

Less than twenty minutes later, Cele was peering over the edge of a narrow defile. Distinctive, light gray petroglyphs decorated virtually every surface of the dark gray rock face, like some prehistoric message board. Her mother would have loved to photograph this site.

I have to get closer
. She was going to get the first pictures of the Fifth World petroglyphs. She’d share them with the archeologists at the University, but just as Tenen and Tufts kept the location of Kartchner Caverns secret for twenty years, she wouldn’t tell where she’d found them. From his behavior, she didn’t think Berto would either. Which was a good thing. She didn’t want these beauties defaced by souvenir hunters.

She looked for a way down.
It’s only about twenty feet
. Even better, it looked like weathered handholds were cut into the descent.

Cele carefully lowered herself over the edge and climbed down. When she stepped away from the wall at the bottom, she heard a low humming. She nervously looked around for a swarm of bees, but as her gaze swept the walls she forgot her fear. The glyphs were so clear, more distinct than any she’d seen before, as though they’d been carved only yesterday.

Is this a scam?
Had Berto carved these himself?

She moved closer to examine a spiral carving. Even though they were distinct and clear, the indentations of the pattern were weathered just like the surface of the rock. She’d bet that these petroglyphs were just as old as Berto claimed.

Amazing.
She stepped back to take in the panorama.

Decorated by long-dead hands, the rock face was alive with images in motion. Stick- figured gods danced over the walls with a huge boar, and the spiral of the universe swirled before her gaze. A man and a woman slithered up a rainbow spanning the handholds she’d descended.

Not trusting her eyes, Cele blinked and looked again. The images were quiet.

Of course they’re quiet. They’re stone
. She dug her camera out of her fanny pack.

The humming grew louder. It had a rhythm now, like a drumbeat.
Where’s it coming from?
She scanned the area, but saw only a raven sitting on the crest of the wall.
Where did he come from?
She hadn’t seen him fly in.

The raven regarded her with a sharp eye.

The raven cawed. She raised her camera to take his picture, but an odd urgency suddenly gripped her. She had to get out of there.
Climb out! Now!
The thought felt like a command. Cele glanced at her watch. She still had forty minutes left before she had to get back to Berto, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that time was running out. She had to leave. Cele slung the strap of her camera over her head.

Grabbing the handholds, she pulled herself up. The throbbing hum quickened, and her fingertips tingled in rhythm with it. She climbed faster, in time with the beat.

Her arms ached with the effort, but she didn’t care. She was almost there, almost to the top. Just a few more feet, and she’d be safe. Then abruptly, she was jerked away from the stone.

Cele clutched and scrabbled at the rock. She tried to cling to the cliff, but the ledge slipped from her outstretched fingers. Her stomach lurched as she fell, suddenly weightless.

The granite walls disappeared. A rainbow arc rolled out beneath her, and surrounded by shimmering color, she slid down the bow into the dark.

She fell in silence; even her scream made no sound.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Frankie Robertson writes horror, fantasy, and romantic fiction with an otherworldy twist. She brings a varied background to her writing, including experience as a paranormal investigator. She lives with her husband in the desert southwest and their backyard is visited by lizards, bunnies, bobcats, quail, and hawks.

For more information about what Frankie is up to, visit her website at:

http://www.FrankieRobertson.com
.

*

WITH HEART TO HEAR

Copyright 2011 Frances R. Gross

Cover: Rae Monet, http://raemonetinc.com

Editor: Adele Brinkley, http://www.withpeninhand.net

Formatting: Lucinda Campbell, http://www.lkcampbell.com

An earlier version of WITH HEART TO HEAR was previously published in SUM 3: The 2006 Zircon Anthology of Speculative Romance.

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions of this book, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, products, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Published by Castle Rock Publishing.

http://www.CastleRockPublishing.com

Table of Contents

Title page