Don't let go of me.
"Abigail? We must go."
She wiped the tears away with the back of her hand. There was so much she wanted to say to him. So much to tell.
I love you. How could three small words like that become lodged in her throat?
Jess had been right. The hardest words to live with were the ones you didn't say that you should have.
Summoning her courage, she pulled away and went to Choo Co La Tah.
Jess couldn't breathe as he watched her vanish into the landscape. How could you let her go?
Duty. Honor. He could come up with "noble" reasons all night long. But none of them made this tolerable.
One life to save the world. It was a fair exchange. The only problem was that one life had become the entire world to him.
And he'd just sent her off to her death.
Alone.
* * *
Abigail clutched Jess's watch to her heart and held it there as she followed Choo Co La Tah into a cave that looked like something other than nature had hand-carved it out of the hills. Once the darkness had swallowed them whole, he clapped his hands together three times, and on the last one, a fire ignited between his palms. He spread his arms wide, allowing the light to arc between his hands. It grew taller, stretching for the earthen ceiling far above them. Blues, greens, reds, and oranges burned in the fire, entrancing her like a melody for the eyes.
Then it shot around the room, lighting sconces she hadn't even known were there. A living entity, the candlelight danced against the walls in a way that made it appear the myriad of petroglyphs were moving.
The one on the far west side drew her attention. It showed a man with a buffalo skin holding the hand of a woman with butterfly wings. But what kept her spellbound was the design of the wings.
She'd seen that before.
Where?
Choo Co La Tah moved to stand behind her. "Open your mind, Abigail. Don't be afraid."
Something about his voice lulled her senses. Suddenly her eyelids were heavy. So heavy, it was hard to keep them open.
Stay awake.
She couldn't. Against her will, they closed and the images continued to play behind her eyelids.
Cool wind blew on her face as she ran by a small pond, searching for something.
No, she was searching for someone.
"Where are you?" she called in a loud whisper.
When no one appeared, she became frantic with worry. Where was he? Had something happened? He was never late. Terror flooded every part of her body. What would she do if he was gone?
"I would never leave you, precious."
She laughed at the deep, resonant voice that breathed in her ear. "You know not to do that to me."
He laid his lightly whiskered cheek against her smooth one, then enveloped her in his arms. Ahh ... This was what she'd been craving all day. Smiling, she allowed him to rock her while they listened to the waves lap against the edges of the pool and the birds serenade one another.
He kissed her neck. "Have you told him yet?"
That question pierced her happiness with an arrow of sorrow. "No. I dare not."