Jordan by Susan Kearney

Author:Susan Kearney
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance, Paranormal, Fiction
ISBN: 9780446543330
Publisher: Forever
Published: 2009-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

The pessimist complains about the weather, the optimist expects it to change, the realist brings an umbrella.

—ANONYMOUS

25

Jordan held the Staff higher and peered into the cave. He hoped that Arthur hadn’t hidden the Key of Soil so well that even he couldn’t find it. While the ground maintained a gentle descent through a dirt tunnel braced with wooden beams, some caves wound underground for miles. “You ever been caving?”

“No, but right now it’s easier for me than you,” Vivianne said, her tone upbeat. “I can stand upright. You want me to carry the pack?”

“Maybe later.” He strode inside and inspected the dirt-packed walls. “There are no spiderwebs, no insects, no sounds of nocturnal creatures.”

“You think this cave is as artificial as Camelot?” she asked.

“Maybe,” he mused. She caught on quick. But he still would have preferred not to have had to bring her along. Arthur wouldn’t have sent a woman into danger unless he believed her presence was necessary.

Yet this was not Arthur’s decision, but his.

By now Jordan knew better than to try to talk Vi out of accompanying him, but if he found an opportunity to leave her safely close to the entrance, he would take it.

He glanced at her sideways, and when she showed no overt concerns, he walked deeper into the tunnel. “This cave was created by an intelligent being. But it’s as clean as if it had been swept free of dust.”

“Perhaps Arthur buried the Key centuries ago but only recently created this tunnel for us.”

Walking hunched over, he had to crane his neck to see in front of him. Yet even this awkward position was preferable to the sudden ninety-degree right-hand turn followed by a seeming dead end. Then he looked down to see a shoulder-width black hole in the dirt.

He shined the light over the opening. The shaft appeared to be a straight vertical drop into the bedrock. “The fun starts now.”

As he shrugged out of his pack, she peered into the hole, her brows furrowed. “How deep does it go?”

“Listen.” He tossed a rock down the hole. In a short moment, he heard a distinctive thud that sounded fairly close to the surface.

She grinned. “That didn’t sound so far.”

“Unless the rock landed on a protruding ledge and didn’t reach bottom.”

“Maybe this won’t be too hard.”

Nothing on this mission had gone easy, but he kept the thought to himself. Jordan set out lines, picks, crampons, boots, carabiners, and harnesses. He handed her a hardhat and the smaller pair of boots and knee pads. “See if these fit.”

She pulled on the knee pads, then the boots. “Exactly my size.”

“Yeah, Arthur always was good with supply details.” He adjusted the harness, clipped the carabiner into a bolt already driven into the rock, and tested the strength with a hard yank. “Feels solid.”

After attaching the other end of the line to his harness, he planted his feet, backed over the hole, and leaned into the harness. Balancing his body in an L shape, he prepared to descend. “I’ll take a quick look.

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