"We still need allies, Mom," Riley said. "Those men have helped us so far, and they're armed to the teeth. Both carry all kinds of weapons on them, some I've never seen before. They didn't seem to care, when they strapped them all on this morning, that the guides and porters could see them. In fact, they wanted them to see-I think to help protect us."
Annabel frowned and rubbed sweat from her forehead. She pushed back the damp curls corkscrewing around her face. "How would they get any weapons through customs? Through the airport? Don't you think it's strange they even have weapons on them? As if they already knew something would be wrong and they came prepared?"
Riley leaned in close to her mother. "I honestly don't care how they got them, or why they brought them. They saved your life last night and we need them. Something bad is going to happen soon. We both know that. We need these men and their weapons. In fact, I'm going to see if they'll lend me one." She infused determination into her voice, daring her mother to disagree with her. Clearly Annabel wasn't thinking straight, or she would see they couldn't do this task alone.
Annabel simply shrugged, wiping her face again, hanging her head, shoulders slumped. Riley bit down hard on her lip. Her mother was definitely giving up and she couldn't have that. She had to find a way to make her feel as if they were empowered-as if whatever this evil entity was they had a chance against him.
"Mom, if this Arabejila is our ancestor and she was able to lure this evil killing machine into a volcano and hold him there, and keep the volcano from erupting for years, and then my great-great-grandmother, all the way to you have done it, then together, we can do it, too." She infused confidence into her voice. "We aren't less than they are. We have the same blood. The forest reacts to you, and now to me. I feel the earth's heartbeat ..."
Annabel rocked gently and shook her head. "I don't. I can't anymore. Before, her heart beat with mine. My blood ran with the sap in the trees and underground rivers. She's lost to me. I could feel her fading after your father died."
Riley leaned close to her mother. "Stop it, Mom. I mean it. Pull yourself together. You're giving up because Dad is dead. I saw Grandma do the same thing. You can't leave me here in Peru, surrounded by danger. I need you to be strong. You're the one pulling away from the gifts you have, pulling away from me. I'm your daughter. Your only child. What do I do if you just give up?"
She put her hand on her mother's knee and softened her voice. "You taught me to be a fighter, to never give up. Now, whatever this is, no matter how bad, you say we have to succeed, that innocent lives depend on us. So let's get the job done, no matter the cost to us. We do this thing all the way, and we succeed."
Annabel looked up, her eyes meeting Riley's. For a moment there was that spark of absolute determination Riley recognized in her mother. And then she blinked back tears. "I know I haven't been myself, honey. It's just that your father and I were so close. I can't breathe right without him. We just fit together more like one person and without him, I'm having a hard time functioning."
"Mom." Riley leaned close. "Of course you feel that way. Dad's only been gone a short time. You haven't had time to come to terms with his death. Neither have I. We just lost him and we're supposed to be home grieving, not out here in the rain forest, climbing a mountain surrounded by strangers and dealing with something profoundly evil."
Annabel swallowed hard and shoved at the damp curls springing around her face. The humidity and heat had sent her hair into a frenzy of brown frizz and corkscrews all over her head.
Annabel reached out to touch Riley's thick, long hair, straight as a bone, not a frizz in sight in spite of the humidity. She wore it in a long braid to keep it off her neck and away from her face. "You're so beautiful, Riley, and so different. You belong here. Your soul is here whether you know it or not and the land is calling to you. I can feel it. I'm certain you can as well. Listen to what it says to you. Trust your instincts."
Riley's heart jumped. Her mother sounded like she was saying good-bye all over again. Her hands trembled as she smoothed Riley's hair. She looked so fragile Riley's heart ached. Clearly, Annabel wanted to help Riley, but in her defeated state she felt incapable. That small surge of determination faded far too fast.
Riley let her breath out slowly. "You need to drink more water, Mom," she advised, giving up on trying to rally Annabel's defenses. The best she could do was get her mother up the mountain and keep anyone from killing her. And that required a better weapon than the one she had.
Jubal was off to her left, not far from them. Gary was on their other side, a discreet distance away, and Ben had found a resting place in front of them, as if guarding them from the others. Riley couldn't count on her mother, and she needed these men to help keep her mother safe. She needed to plan every step carefully and prepare for any emergencies. That meant her pack as well as her mother's needed extra supplies.
She always carried rations and her own water filtration system. She'd been backpacking for years and knew how to survive, but she needed weapons. "Mom, rest here. I want you to eat this." She held out a high protein bar to her mother. "You need to keep up your strength. I'm just going to go over there"-she indicated Jubal-"to talk to him for a minute."
"You can't trust them," Annabel hissed, her eyebrows coming together. "You really can't. Evil looks beautiful and good can look quite rough and terrible. You can't know who is on our side."
"Maybe not, Mom," Riley said, forcing the protein bar into her mother's hand. "But at the moment, I need a weapon and he's got one. Eat this and just wait for me to come back. Don't move."
Suspicion slipped into Annabel's eyes. Her hand closed around the protein bar gingerly, as if her own daughter might be trying to poison her.
Riley's heart sank as her mother turned away from her, hunching her back and rounding her shoulders. She actually felt Annabel pulling away from her, distancing herself. The look in her eyes was both defeated and accusing.
Riley shook her head and squared her shoulders. Her mother was obviously ill, her grief overcoming her ability to function. Riley set her teeth and marched over to Jubal. She couldn't help glancing over her shoulder often to make certain no one dared approach her mother while she was away.
"Riley," Jubal greeted with a slight nod. His gaze was restless, moving over the camp, up into the trees and along the ground. "Is your mother all right?"
Riley shook her head. "She's exhausted, but she wants to get up the mountain. Maybe if we make it to the site, she'll feel better. That's my hope."
"How far up the mountain?" Jubal asked. "The tremors are getting worse. The mountain hasn't blown in hundreds of years, but that doesn't mean it won't. I'm not certain we're going to be entirely safe on that mountain. Gary's trying to get us some data. He's got to wait for the satellite, but we should be able to find out if there are any changes to the shape of the mountain. Photographs of all these volcanos are regularly taken from space."
Riley sighed. It wasn't as if the tremors hadn't gone unnoticed. "One more thing to worry about. Do you really think the volcano will explode?"
Jubal frowned thoughtfully. "It feels like it to me. I'm not certain it's such a great idea to go up, although the plants we're looking for are supposed to be close to the ruins. If those plants are really there, we need them."
"Look." Riley made up her mind to lay her cards on the table if she had to. She didn't have much of a hand, but she was going to get the job done and protect her mother no matter what. The determination grew in her that she had to go and stop whatever was inside that mountain from getting out. "I know you and Gary are armed to the teeth. You're not exactly hiding the fact from anyone."
"I thought it might help deter anyone thinking they could use a machete to hack up members of our party," Jubal pointed out.
She winced, feeling she deserved the slight reprimand. She shrugged it off. "I don't like anyone prying into our business so the last thing I want to do is pry into yours ..."
Jubal smiled at her, although there was no humor in his eyes. Maybe understanding. "But?" he encouraged.