element in phosphate rock.
It made Gray wonder: Could some ancient alchemist—using the phosphate rock here—have inadvertently enhanced this ancient recipe due to the uranium or some other radioactive contaminant found in these Moroccan deposits?
A loud, grinding scrape of the boat drew his attention back to the river. Charlie cursed and fought the cruiser away from a submerged rock.
“Getting too shallow from here,” Charlie said. “I can’t take you any farther.”
Gray checked his tablet. “There’s another spot we’d like to check. A quarter mile up.” He pointed ahead. “Around that next bend.”
Charlie throttled down. “I can’t risk my boat.”
“We’ll pay for any damages,” Gray promised, knowing Painter would make good on it.
She scowled at him for a long breath, then inched the throttle forward. “One more stop.”
The cruiser headed upriver, going half speed. It zigzagged around shoals of whitewater as Charlie stuck to deeper water. Even in those stretches, Gray could see the rocks and sand of the riverbed through the clear water. As they continued, the waters grew shallower. Rather than slowing further, Charlie sped the cruiser up.
He glanced over to her.
She never took her eyes off the channel, but she noted his attention. “Planing the hull,” she explained. “Faster I go, the more this lady will lift out of the water. Gives me a bit more clearance from the bottom.”
It looked like she needed every inch.
Gray gripped the rail along the starboard side of the cabin.
Charlie reached the bend in the waterway and expertly sailed her cruiser around it. Gray rechecked his coordinates on his e-tablet, then looked ahead.
“There,” he said and pointed to a deeper pool of dark blue water to the right, where another stream flowed into the channel.
“Got it,” Charlie said.
She sped her boat toward the bank, and with a final grind of the boat’s keel over rock, slid into the deeper pool.
“Nice,” Seichan said.
Charlie cut the throttle and glided the boat’s bow to a gentle stop, nudging the nose onto a cushion of sand. She turned to Gray. “Last stop, oui?”
Gray looked up the main channel, which ran with whitewater from one bank to the other. “I think we’ve pushed our luck as far as it can go.”
He turned to search up the tiny tributary stream. The clear water ran over polished black pebbles and stretches of brighter sand, passing through a fringe of cedar forest. Upstream, a cascade tumbled over a ten-story cliff.
He shaded his eyes and searched the rippling strata of red and ochre rock to either side of the falls, trying to read those pages of stacked stone.
“Is this the place?” Seichan asked.
“According to the radar data, there’s a cavernous pocket ahead, but it’s impossible to say if it goes anywhere. After thirty yards in, there’s too much mountain on top to get a good read.”
“So we go look,” Seichan said.
He nodded. “Let’s grab our packs and head out.”
In short order, Gray left Charlie and Aggie with the boat and led the others upstream. The low rumble of the waterfall grew louder. A fine mist hung in the forest air. By the time they reached the base of the cliff, their clothes and gear glistened with fine droplets.
Past a sandy strand, the fall—a twelve-foot-wide veil—cascaded into a cobalt pool that fed the stream. Afternoon sunlight refracted into a rainbow over its surface. Each breath felt cleaner, washed by the mists, and far cooler. A small grove of palms on one side leaned their fronds toward the spray.
“It’s beautiful,” Maria commented, staring along the length of the falls.
Kowalski grunted his agreement. “I wouldn’t mind a swim. Wash all this dust off me.”
“That’s not why we’re here.” Gray checked his e-tablet. “According to the scan, the pocket should be in this cliff face somewhere, but I don’t see any entrance.”
Father Bailey pointed. “What about behind the falls? Are my eyes playing tricks, or does it look like there might be a cave back there?”
Gray had also noticed it. “Let’s check it out.”
The group edged around the pool and ducked under the pounding cascade. The icy water immediately drenched Gray to his skin. He hurried through and into a cave behind the falls, taking care of the slick rock.
Behind him, Kowalski shook himself off like a wet dog. “Brr. Talk about a cold shower.”
They all gathered in the cave, lit by sunlight streaming through the falls.
Gray crossed to the back wall and made a full turn, searching around. The cave was high, but not deep.
Another dead end.
He turned to Mac. “Anything?”
The climatologist held the team’s