Torrent(66)

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.”






 
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