The Reckoning Stones by DiSilverio Laura

Author:DiSilverio, Laura [DiSilverio, Laura]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Mystery, laura disilvero, mystery novel, reckoning stone, reckoning stones, laura disilver, Mystery Fiction
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD.
Published: 2015-08-31T23:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-SIX

IRIS

A BOULDER TORE FREE from the rim and hurtled downhill, gathering dirt and other rocks until a virtual avalanche of stones surged toward Iris. If they hit her, she was dead. She threw herself sideways toward a gnarled pine. Leaping, she caught hold of the lowest branch, knobby and sap sticky, and levered herself up, using all the power in her shoulders and back. Her feet scraped the trunk and then she was clambering higher, praying the tree would stand fast as the first rocks slid into it. Pebbles bounced up, peppering her bare arms where they clutched the tree trunk. She ducked her chin to her chest and squinched her eyes closed.

The tree shuddered and swayed with the force of the avalanche. Iris pressed herself against the trunk so tightly the rough bark imprinted on her torso and legs through her clothes. After what felt like a long time but was probably less than a minute, everything went still. A cloud of dust hung in the air and Iris blinked. Waiting long moments to see if the rocks would shift again, she forced her stiff fingers open. It began to rain, a mist that streaked her dusty limbs with mud. Gingerly descending the tree, which seemed to have shifted several feet, but was still upright, she patted the trunk and laughed weakly. She broke off mid-laugh when she thought of the figure she’d seen just before the avalanche. Someone had pried the first boulder loose—she was sure of it. Delayed reaction set in and she started to shake. Had someone tried to kill her? No, that was silly, paranoid. Scare her maybe, or hurt her.

Iris sank to her haunches until the shaking stopped. Then she stood, wiping damp hair off her face. The rain had picked up, slicking the rocks and drenching her. She ducked her head. She wanted to dash pell-mell down the hill toward the rental, but knew that would result in a twisted ankle or worse, so she forced herself to descend cautiously, gaining confidence as the landscape remained stable. A gentle susurration puzzled her, until she realized it must be rainwater forming rivulets beneath the rocks, coursing downhill unseen.

The memory of the movement she’d seen tugged at her. Someone had pushed the boulder down on her. She didn’t want to think it, but her mind latched onto Cade. She’d heard him drive away, but he might have come back. The possibility that he might have tried to hurt her made her limbs heavy and she stubbed her foot against a rock. Ow. Regaining her balance, she skidded down the last twenty feet to the dirt path and turned onto it with relief. She couldn’t think why he might want to hurt her, but who else knew she was here?

She lifted her head and peered through the rain wall to locate her car. The car! Anyone could have driven past and spotted her rental parked in the lay-by. Relief washed over her at the realization that

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