awe. He turned in a full circle, shining his light on the walls of the gallery. The descent had been a long one, well over three hundred feet. “I’ve never seen anything like it. What a find. The ice formations are incredible. I swear I actually saw a vein of gold in more than one place. There are so many halls and galleries to explore.”
The century-long hidden domain was breathtaking. Despite the urgency she was feeling, Joie allowed herself a brief moment of wonderment, looking around her into twisted corridors and tunnels, shadowed pools lined with gem-like crystals and a network of narrow crevices and grottoes. The gallery opened up into an entire underground world. If they hadn’t found that strange crack allowing them inside, they would never have seen the sparkling world deep beneath the earth.
Small ice balls and ice draped the ceiling and walls, shimmering all hues of blue; steep slopes and wide outcroppings marked the magnificent gallery. Inside the subterranean world were peaks and crags, the ice forming mountains and valleys, ridges and gorges. Underground rivers were frozen after carving out tunnels and shapes. “Windows” gave glimpses of moulins deep beneath them.
Gabrielle cautiously moved around an ice sculpture that rose like a living flame from the floor. “Look at this. When I shine my light on it from this angle, I’d swear the thing had gems in it. It’s as brilliant as a polished diamond but reflects the light as if it were red like a ruby.”
Movement caught her attention, and she turned her head to watch Joie as she examined the glacial ice that formed the gallery. “Be careful, I suspect that a good number of viruses previously unknown to us come from insects and even perhaps the fungi in caves such as this one. These microorganisms exist with no light and few nutrients, locked inside the ice, yet still capable of living. There’s such a wealth of information down here.” She gave Joie a quick, excited grin. “No one has probably ever touched this ice. Can you imagine the microbes living down here? This is a scientist’s dream.”
Joie took a long breath and let it out, looking around at each of the tunnels leading to other chambers. She was so close now, she could almost feel him breathing. Somewhere in this labyrinth of halls he was waiting for her. Smoldering. Angry that she had disobeyed him and put herself and her siblings in danger. He was real, not a voice in her head, not a part of a split personality. He was real and alive and in pain. She could feel his pain, throbbing through her body, beating at her head.
Tell me. She demanded it. Forced him to deal with who she really was, not who he thought she should be.
Tell the others to be quiet. They are in danger. I have battled the same enemy three times since you first found me in the cave weeks ago. I am a prisoner and wounded and extremely weak. I cannot aid you much in the battle, and the enemy has powers you cannot possibly comprehend.
Joie pressed her lips together, her heart suddenly pounding. His tone rang with truth. He believed in what he was saying. Joie tended to keep her cool with humor. She gave him a mental image of rolling her eyes in exasperation.
Sorry for the fluff in my head, but I’m usually found wrapped in cotton or bubble wrap to protect me from all the evil people in the world.
“Jubal, Gabby, we have to be quiet. Something’s in here with us and it isn’t good.”
She took the lead and Jubal dropped back to protect his sisters, neither sibling asking questions. They knew Joie, knew she was good at her job and she had switched easily into hunter/protector mode. She trusted Jubal. He was the steadiest man she knew in a fight, and she worked with a lot of good men.
“Tell us what’s happening, Joie,” Jubal demanded.
She shook her head and placed a finger to her lips. “He’s telepathic. I don’t want to chance communication he might overhear until we know what’s really going on.” She mouthed the words to her brother and sister and waited for them to nod in understanding before she continued. She was ready to trust the stranger in her head, but she wouldn’t risk Gabrielle and Jubal without knowing what they were getting into.
There were several halls and tubes leading away from the open gallery they had descended into. She