Beneath the Fallen City, Jamie A. Waters [ebook reader .TXT] 📗

extended back into darkness. There was a distinct noise and she paused, trying to determine what it was. The sound was vaguely reminiscent of the waterfall in the towers.

The light cut through some of the oppressive shadows and illuminated large stalactites and stalagmites filling the cave. Kayla tugged off one of her gloves, unable to resist touching one of the rock formations. A cloud of moisture hung in the air and clung to the rocky surface. Trailing her fingers upward, she felt the dips and jags of the natural stone. She tore her eyes away from the rock and took a step away from the tunnel. The ground was slippery, forcing her to tread carefully as she approached the center of the cavern.

A large underground river flowed through the cavern at a steady pace. In all of her experience, she’d never seen anything like it.

“No freaking way.”

Carl’s voice came over the headset, breaking through her daze. “What’s wrong? Are you all right?”

Kayla swallowed, trying to form a coherent thought. “Yeah. Um, you guys close?”

“We’re in the ruins, and we’ve got the supports in place. Cruncher and I are clearing the debris now. It won’t take long until the tunnel is clear.”

“Uh, you’ll need to excavate a bit farther. I went through another tunnel.”

“Dammit, Kayla! We don’t know how stable that area is yet. We need to run a full scan of the ruins before you start crawling around.”

She laughed into the headset, unable to suppress the giddiness at her discovery. “Yeah, yeah, bitch at me later. You’re not going to believe what I found down here. You might need to widen the tunnel entrance a bit, but it gets bigger once you’re inside.”

Veridian’s voice came over the headset. “Huh. Found the problem. The earthquake must have loosened the connection. You should be able to track Kayla’s location and vitals now.”

There was a deafening silence over the channel. Carl’s voice, when he spoke, was strangely calm—a little too calm. “You’re telling me you just figured this out?”

“Come on, Carl,” she interjected before Veridian could say anything, “you know how sensitive some of our equipment can be.”

“Fine. Don’t move until we run further tests. By the way, we brought you your hydrating pack.” Carl’s voice cut off abruptly, and she could only imagine the swearing that must be going on at the other end. Guess they’d need a new code phrase.

He’d get over his irritation quick enough once he saw the cavern though. Kayla pulled off her helmet and took a deep breath.

The air was clear from dust but still felt thick and heavy on her skin. The different sounds, smells, and even the taste of the moist air in the darkened cavern gave the impression she’d stepped through to another world. The energy threads felt stronger here, too, but she ignored them. Her focus right now needed to be on scanning the dimensions of the cavern. Reaching down, she dug around in her bag to locate an image mapper.

Activating the device, Kayla moved closer to the river. The ground was even more slippery closer to the water. It was too deep to see the bottom, but the distance across the river was fairly wide. She glanced down the length of the tunnel where the rushing water disappeared into darkness. They’d have to bring down some equipment to cross the river and follow it to its source.

Her excitement was bubbling over, but she managed to keep the image mapper steady and focused on scanning the dimensions of the river and cavern. At least thirty minutes passed before she heard movement from the direction of the tunnel. Dropping the image mapper back into her bag, Kayla moved over to where Carl was climbing down into the room.

Kayla still felt that familiar flutter in her stomach whenever she looked at him. Even in his UV-protective gear, the OmniLab trader was a gorgeous hunk of man.

At the sight of Kayla, he pulled off his helmet. Long, dark hair was tied back away from his face displaying a strong jaw with just a bit of stubble, giving him a more rugged appearance. Although his brown eyes were full of frustration and concern, his expression quickly changed to one of shocked amazement at the sight of the cavern.

Another figure climbed through the tunnel and dropped onto the rocky ground. Kayla recognized Cruncher, Carl’s short and stocky right-hand man. A former ruin rat like herself, they’d both developed a deep respect for each other’s skills and abilities. He pulled off his helmet and let out a low whistle.

“Damn, girl. What the hell did you find now?”

“It gets better,” she promised and motioned for them to follow her toward the river. Stopping just a few feet from the moving water, Kayla turned to gauge their reactions. Both men stopped short and stared slack-jawed at the river.

Their stunned reactions mirrored hers. Underground rivers were extremely rare and critical to their survival. Most water sources were heavily contaminated and unusable. Using special water treatment techniques, they were able to purify and treat a scarce few to create safe drinking water.

“You guys wouldn’t happen to have a water testing kit with you, would you?”

“No, but we can quickly change that,” Carl replied before speaking into his headset. “Veridian, I need you to send down the water testing kit that’s in the compartment of my bike. We’ve got an underground river down here.”

“No way!” Veridian’s eagerness and disbelief were apparent, even through the headset. “I’ll send it down right now. Grab some images of the river. I want to see it.”

“I’ll grab the kit from the drop point,” Cruncher offered.

At Carl’s nod, the older man headed back to the tunnel. Carl turned away from the river and focused on Kayla. She smiled up at him, but it faded quickly at the intensity in his expression.

He took a step closer and abruptly pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. She stiffened, surprised by the sudden movement. Burying his face in her hair, he inhaled deeply. “I think my heart stopped beating when I heard about the earthquake.”

She felt a twinge of guilt at the realization he’d been more than worried. Uncomfortable with the thought, her initial response was to shrug it off, but she hesitated. Although he would never demand it, she could sense his need for reassurance.

The moment she acquiesced and relaxed against him, he let out a sigh and threaded his fingers through her hair. They remained that way for a long moment, and then he tilted her head back to look into her eyes. The depth of emotion in his expression floored her.

Without saying another word, he crushed his lips against hers. Sensations exploded as the heat between them ignited. She wound her arms around his neck, demanding more, and his kiss deepened in response. His hands traveled down her length until they reached the edge of her shirt, brushing at the skin beneath it.

How did this man get her worked up so quickly? The slightest caress seemed to set her off like a blazing inferno. The desire to touch his bare skin became consuming. As though sensing the direction of her thoughts, Carl reluctantly eased away. Damn him.

His eyes were clouded with passion, but his hands were gentle. He cupped her face and pressed a tender kiss against her forehead. “How long does it take to retrieve a water testing kit?”

“Not long enough, you two crazy kids,” Cruncher’s voice sounded over the commlink. Kayla bit back a groan and dropped her head onto Carl’s chest. They’d forgotten to disable the audio. Again.

“I’d take my time getting your kit, but seeing as we just had seismic activity down here, you two are going to have to wait to get your freak on back at camp.”

Carl chuckled and shook his head. Kayla squeezed her eyes shut, imagining the comments Xantham was making. Any day now, they’d probably see copies of Carl and Kayla’s greatest hits distributed throughout camp. She’d have to kill all of them if that ever happened. It wasn’t so much modesty she was concerned over, but rather Xantham’s tendency to assign a point system for performance.

“It’s safe to come back. I think we can manage to keep our hands to ourselves,” Carl said before focusing again on her. His eyes darkened in concern as they scanned over her. “Are you sure you’re not hurt?”

Trailing her fingers lightly over the rough stubble along his jaw, Kayla offered a reassuring smile. “I’m okay. I promise. I did some preliminary scans of the area while I was waiting for you guys.”

Carl took a deep breath and pressed his forehead against hers for a long moment. Pulling away, he let his gaze sweep the dim cave again. “All things considered, this is really incredible. We had no idea this river even existed. How did you find it?”

She debated whether to say anything about the trail of energy that led to the tunnel. It was hard enough for her to understand this energy stuff, but it was even worse for Carl. Even though he had some limited knowledge from living in the towers, Kayla suspected his reservations stemmed more from the fact she was permanently bonded to Alec than anything else.

OmniLab claimed she was a descendant of the Drac’Kin, those legendary creatures also referred to as dragons. Supposedly, they’d lost their shapeshifting abilities centuries ago, but they still retained some of their other supernatural powers. At least that was their basis for explanation when it came to her strange talents. In all honesty, the idea freaked her out. Up until a few weeks ago, she hadn’t known it was even possible to manipulate energy. If she hadn’t experienced it firsthand, she never would have believed it possible.

Deciding it would be better not to remind him of the shared connection with Alec, she shrugged. “The quake must have opened up the tunnel.”

Carl looked skeptical, and she turned away, hoping he would drop it. When she didn’t offer more of an explanation, he sighed. “I see. This is an amazing find, but you shouldn’t have taken the risk. You could have been hurt.”