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The sailor impressed Hattenel for not giving up in spite of the danger or her rank. The scar furrowing the length of her cheek protested when she smiled, but she still didn’t speak.
Voron’s voice turned into a growl. “Woman, give me my permission and go back to shuffling your papers like a good little officer.”
Remaining calm despite his display of temper, she said, “Your discovery lies outside the Marches … and my jurisdiction. I can’t give you permission.”
“The vortex grows and is three times as large as the last time I visited.”
With her curiosity rising to the lure, Hattenel spoke softly rather than in her drill sergeant’s voice. “What are you expecting to find when you go?”
“I don’t know.” Voron blinked when she didn’t shout. “Why do you think I need to explore it? I hadn’t expected the vortex to grow so large in such a short time, and my ship sails again in less than a ten-day for the Pashalands. I need to solve the mystery now … before it grows so big it engulfs the Marches.”
His jaw clenched. Frissons of energy from his mental curses raised the hair along her arms. His forward-leaning stance demanded she give him permission to investigate. She was tempted to destroy his glamour just to show she could, but her purring curiosity stopped the urge. The last decades had been filled with too far too many reports and not enough action.
If the danger is growing ... She bit her lip knowing that Linden, the lord high commander, would scour her hide if he found out what she was thinking. Before she debated any further, Hattenel stood. “You need someone at your back. I’ll accompany you.”
Beneath her shell, she grinned like a skipping child playing truant. A visit to the rookery’ll be more interesting than tickling trout ever was.
Voron sputtered. She’ll give up as soon as she gets sand in her boots.
Hattenel caught the thought without his using mindspeak and hid her amusement.
He grabbed his heavy pack and said, “Let’s get on with it, then.”
#
The two landed in the shadow of a slanting, two-column formation of black rock. The sea crooned in her ears as the breeze caressed her face. Hattenel turned on the low bluff to get her bearings. The ocean swept towards the island in long rolling swells until they crashed on the shelf to foam over the sand. Fog obscured the other islands in the chain.
Hattenel made a full circle, savoring the quiet until the alarms went off in her head. Her hand reached for her absent sword hilt. With a shock, she realized both of them were unarmed except for their boot knives.
Dolt, aren’t you a little old to jump without looking? Hattenel reviewed her options. Just as well. Someone would notice if your sword went missing.
The sighing of the wind and waves in her ears nagged at her battle senses. Most rookeries teemed with life. Here, no movement caught her gaze but the sea. Scattered clumps of yellowish grass replaced the usual shrubs and trees along the approaches to the beach. Not a single sand piper chased the waves as they retreated from the shore. No gulls, terns, or any other bird circled in the sky. The island was denuded of life.
“Where are the birds?” she asked, perplexed.
Voron shrugged. “They’re gone. No seals or anything else on the outer rocks either.”
“What’s the hum? It’s calling me ... promising me ...”
“You hear it too?” Voron relaxed with her confirmation. Hattenel thought it odd his belly no longer sagged. “The pull is stronger on the other side where the cave is.”
A smile teased her lips as she shook her head, but she squashed the impulse to laugh. When he scowled, Hattenel could no longer contain herself. She guffawed.
“You were going to explore a cave ... alone?”
“You think I’d endanger one of my crew here?” Hattenel grinned at him as he straightened. A leaner self flickered under his glamour but disappeared before she could capture the image. “You’ve had your laugh. Now, you can go back to the ranger headquarters and leave me alone.”
His control of the glamour flickered like a candle. Hattenel decided annoying him was much more fun than fishing. “Show me this annoying cave. The sooner we understand its secrets, the sooner we can both go home.”
The two lifted to the entrance with him grumbling under his breath. Their boots left dents in the loose bare soil. The cavern plunged so deep into a hill overlooking the empty beach that a cold waft of air encased them. The sound increased as it changed pitches. After all her thoughts about fishing, she realized the hum was a lure ... calling to them ... enticing them into the cave.
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