The tigers shook their heads. “Nothing. I last checked Spirit Cave about five minutes ago,” the male tiger said.
“We’re going to try another search,” Ari explained to them. “It’s this way, Ryan.” She walked briskly along the short passage to Spirit Cave and climbed through the entrance. Since Ryan couldn’t see the ley lines, he didn’t act very impressed. The cave drawing was another matter. As soon as she uncovered the symbol, he dropped on one knee to examine it, then stood and followed her to the wall niche marked by her stun.
“Do you see anything we’ve missed? We’ve been over the room several times, checking every crevice and depression.”
Ryan ran his hand around inside the small hole and walked around the perimeter of the small cave, stopping to peer in a couple of cracks. “Have you considered that it’s not in this room? There must be thousands of hiding places in that huge area where the guards are.”
“No, it’s here. The other magic is strong, but I can still feel the bloodstone.”
“But you can’t feel its exact location.”
Ari wrinkled her nose at him. “Would I still be looking if I could?”
Ryan ran his flashlight over the walls and ceiling. “So where’s this other magic you say is in the room?”
“I told you, you can’t see it.”
“Because I’m human, right?”
“Well, in a way. It’s because you don’t have sufficient psych ability.”
“Then how could Barron see it?”
“He couldn’t. Hawkson’s the only human exception I know, and that’s because he’s a shaman, a spiritual leader with an inner eye.” Ari stared at the vortex as they talked. “But the witches can see it. For now, they’re focused on the bloodstone, too fixated to think about anything else. But the High Priestess is obsessed by the O-Seven. She might use anything in an attempt to destroy them.”
“Too bad they didn’t stay across the pond and fight their damned war. It would have made my job easier. So how’d they get involved with Barron? Did he hire them to find it and then—”
Shouts rang out in the Chamber of Ages. Ari wheeled and raced in that direction with Ryan’s heavy steps pounding behind her. At the main chamber, she spotted only one of the weretigers.
“An intruder. Ran that way.” The tiger pointed down a side tunnel. “My partner is in pursuit. Andreas said never to leave the chamber unguarded, so I stayed behind.”
“Did you get a look at him?”
“Not a good one. Smelled human, but fast, and quiet. He or she—I couldn’t tell which—almost walked into the chamber before we caught the scent.”
Ari crossed to the tunnel, shining a light on the floor. It was dry here, unlikely to provide much of a track on the well-worn center of the path. She noticed scattered pebbles along the edges, as if kicked aside by one of the runners. Ryan joined her as she moved another five feet into the tunnel.
“Look.” She pointed to an imprint in the fine sand along the edge.
Ryan illuminated the area with his Maglite while Ari squatted for a better look.
Smooth, similar to a rounded heel but smeared sideways so it was hard to estimate the size. “Someone slid as they turned the corner.” Ari compared it to her own foot, shaking her head when she couldn’t hazard a guess whether it was male or female, large or small.
They continued to follow the path but stopped when confronted by three intersecting tunnels. Ari listened for sounds of the chase and heard nothing but silence. “They might have taken any of these. Rather than pick the wrong one, let’s go back to the Chamber of Ages. The tigress will return there, with or without the intruder. She could already be there.”
They backtracked to the chamber, and Ari immediately pointed to the male tiger’s shoes. “I see you wear trail runners. Is your partner wearing the same?”
“Yeah, they’re standard. All the guards wear them.” He held up one foot to show her the sole. “They have a good deep grip. Why do you ask?”
“I found an imprint, but it’s much smoother than that.” Ari bit her lip in thought. “A moccasin might leave that kind of print.”
“You think it was Hawkson?” Ryan asked.
“Could be, although anyone could buy a pair of moccasins. He wasn’t wearing them when I saw him, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he was back. I haven’t heard from him in days, which seems a little suspicious. He wants that bloodstone badly, and I don’t believe he’ll give up.”
“How’d he get in? All the cave entrances are blocked or guarded,” the tiger protested.
“Only the entrances we knew about,” she corrected. “The Indians lived here before the vampires. They may have their own secret passages.”
“Entrances the vampires didn’t find?” The tiger’s voice conveyed his doubts.
“Nobody’s perfect.” Not even the vampires, and the caverns included miles of caves and subterranean tunnels. She turned her head, listening. “I think that’s your partner coming now.”
The tigress burst into the room, clearly out of breath. “I’m sorry, Guardian, but he got away. I heard the footsteps ahead of me and then, like that,” she snapped her fingers, “he was gone. I thought he was around the next turn, so I circled the area three times. At first, I could still smell him, but I couldn’t find anyone.”
“Him? You saw a man?”
The tigress gave a shake of her head. “It could have been either. I didn’t see anyone after that first sight. Whoever it was knew where he was going.”
“I suppose it’s too early for any of the vampires, right?” Ryan said.
“Oh, yeah, even for Andreas. It’s not even noon.” The vampire prince was usually up by 3:00 p.m. summer or winter, long before sunset, but none of the other vampires could do that. Except for Prince Daron, who was at least five hundred years old, probably much older. “This wasn’t a vampire or anybody who thought he had a right to be here. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have run.” She turned to the weretigress. “Show me where you lost him.”
Ari and Ryan followed her back through the tunnel. After a series of turns, the tigress slowed her steps and pointed ahead. “I was here when the footsteps stop. He should have been right around this turn.”
Rounding the corner, the tiger stopped and shrugged. Ari and Ryan checked the area for themselves, walking slowly along the narrow tunnel, examining the walls, looking under any outcropping of limestone. Remembering a high tunnel opening she’d seen in another area, Ari shone the light high on each wall. Making a second pass, she concentrated on the rock ceiling, stopping to peer at every shadow on the irregular overhead surface.
“Isn’t that a hole?” Ryan pointed. “There. I think it’s an opening. And it looks big enough for me to squeeze through.” Not waiting for any discussion, he handed the Maglite to Ari and jumped up, caught the edge and squirmed out of sight. His face appeared in the opening. “Can you give me the light now? It’s black as Hades up here.”
Ari tossed him the flashlight and listened as he scrambled around overhead.
“It’s a tunnel.” His muffled voice drifted down to them and became normal when his face reappeared. “Looks like the intruder is long gone. Shall we follow it to the surface? Only direction seems to be up.”
“OK. Wait for me. I’m coming.” Ari looked at the tigress. “Why don’t you return to watch Spirit Cave in case this is a false trail and the intruder circles back. We’ll follow the tunnel to the surface, and I’ll let Andreas know what’s happened.”
When Ari joined Ryan in the upper passage, she realized the tunnel was manmade. Not recent, but not the work of Mother Nature. Chiseled in the rock, with primitive instruments of stone perhaps, the tunnel was merely a crawl space preserved from ancient times. Since Ryan was already ahead of her in the narrow passage, he led the way, both of them crawling on hands and knees. It was dark, dirty, and stuffy. Ari hung back to avoid the choking dust stirred by her partner. She coughed, feeling grit inside her mouth. Her nose had begun to tingle on the verge of a sneeze when she spotted a dim light ahead. Although it seemed like forever, less than fifteen minutes had passed when they pushed loose, dried twigs and leaves out of their way and emerged into a thicket of live brush.
She held the branches away from her clothes and climbed free. Taking a deep breath of clean air, she wiped her face with her hands and tugged the debris from her hair. Then she joined Ryan outside the thicket, looking around. They were a good fifty to sixty yards north of the collapsed entrance, well away from the watchful dwarf and beyond the police barriers. Out of sight, virtually invisible, and yet somebody had been using it. Although extremely dusty, the tunnel had been clear of cobwebs and rocks. The dead brush stuffed in the end had been a deliberate attempt at concealment.
Everything pointed to Hawkson. He was familiar with the area, and the most likely to know about an ancient secret entrance. He’d gotten in before without being seen. Not an easy thing to do considering the vampires. Perhaps he’d entered today to check on the ghost.
She told Ryan her suspicions. “Actually, I hope it was him. At least I know he doesn’t want the amulet for personal gain or some evil purpose. We need to find the bloodstone before someone dangerous does. Which means, you’ve got to talk with Dyani.” She watched as he brushed the dirt off his jeans. “I can’t leave Riverdale because of Ursula, so it’s up to you. Dyani’s got to come clean with what she knows, even if you have to throw her in jail.”
Ryan flexed his back. “Better than crawling around in tunnels built for midgets. I’ll be sure to take my handcuffs. You know how much I like arresting people.”
Late that afternoon, Ari stood on the curb as Ryan drove away from the police station in his cruiser. According to the lawyers for Barron & Carmody Adventures, the prehistoric mammoth dig the crew was filming was in Iowa, less than a half day drive away. Ryan should be able to talk with Dyani by this evening or tomorrow morning at the latest.
