Harleigh Sinclair and the Ice Crusade (The Harleigh Sinclair Series Book 2) by Tamara Grantham

Author:Tamara Grantham [Grantham, Tamara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dream Garten Press
Published: 2024-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Are you sure?” Sienna’s voice echoed as we stood at the entrance to the chasm.

“Positive,” I answered. “I’ve only felt this way once before, and it’s when he attacked me. He’s in there.”

“Then…” Sienna said, hesitating as she spoke. “Does that mean my dad’s in there, too?”

“Possibly,” Jagg answered before glancing at me. “You’re confident we can stop this creature?”

“Yes,” I tried to answer assertively, but my voice wavered, and I wasn’t sure how confident I sounded. “Sienna.” I nodded at the girl. “At the first sign of trouble, use your ability to hide. We can’t allow the creature to try and control you, and staying out of sight is the best way to do that. Jagg and I will try to subdue it.”

“But what if my dad’s in there—and everyone else who’s gone missing? Shouldn’t I try to get them free?”

“Yes, but only after we’re out of harm’s way, okay? Just be patient. We can’t rush this, or we’ll make mistakes.”

Her hands shook, and she crossed her arms, then gave a slight nod.

I didn’t say it out loud, but I was grateful that, for once, she didn’t argue with me. We paced toward the cavern’s entrance. As walked inside, the sounds of our footsteps changed from being muffled by the sand, to echoing in the dome of the rock.

Although the cavern was large enough to fit a three-story building, the feeling of claustrophobia made me feel boxed in.

“I’m starting to hate caves,” I mumbled, and Jagg nodded his agreement.

As we paced deeper inside, the darkness swallowed us. A layer of wispy fog hung inches above the ground, and while it was warmer in here, the freezing mist gave me a chill I couldn’t shake.

Pebbles shifted underfoot. The sound was barely audible, but I flinched every time we moved. The ground sloped. Sounds of running water echoed ahead of us, until we approached a stream cutting a path through the rocks.

We followed the stream until the cavern opened to reveal a huge, domed chamber with a hole in the top of the cavernous ceiling. A sea of black water spread out before us. There, out in the water, floated an ancient sailing ship. A beam of moonlight glowed from above and shone on the ship. Its maidenhead stretched over the water, though from here, I couldn’t tell the shape—a mermaid, perhaps? Wooden planks were decayed in places. Nothing but tattered bits of gray cloth remained of the sails. Its masts stuck up like needles reaching for the cavern ceiling far above it. A narrow bridge of rocks led to the ship’s open hatch. I was forced to stop and catch my breath at the sight.

“That’s it,” I said. “The Santa Rosalina.”

“Yes.” Sienna bounced on her toes. “I can’t believe it! We found it.”

“Yeah,” Jagg said. “Almost seemed too easy.”

I cast him a sidelong glance. “Yeah…” I agreed, thinking of how we hadn’t been attacked once since leaving the caverns. Was there a reason for that? Was Kushtaka waiting for us to come here?

“Let’s not overthink this.

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