The soil poured over her bare fingers, and as it did, she felt the easing of her terrible grief. The lump burning in her throat lessened, giving her relief. As her fingers dug deep, searching for that last connection with her mother, she felt a ripple in the ground, a subtle echo of evil. Her mother's consecrated resting place pushed that whisper, that last gasp of evil away, but Riley's stomach lurched. Everything her mother had told her about her past and the volcano was true. Triumph permeated the soil, harsh glee that her mother had been brutally murdered, leaving evil to once again emerge and roam free, feeding on innocents.
Her heart stuttered. The evil faded back in the direction of the volcano. A sense of urgency assailed her. She had to get to the mountain and seal it before whatever monstrous thing was held prisoner could escape. Quickly she pulled her hands from the soil, and turned her head to look toward the smoldering mountain.
Riley reached down into the bed of white star flowers and lifted the heirloom from the blossoms, a gift given by Mother Earth to her long-dead ancestor. Her fingers trembled as she ran the pad of her thumb over the fine silver in the shape of a large dragon with eyes of fiery agate. The claws held an orb of obsidian. She stared down at the piece, remembering all the times her mother had shown it to her, hidden there like treasure around her neck, guarded beneath her clothing. The thin chain was gone, so Riley slipped the gift into her pocket and zipped the pocket closed.
Gary held out his hand to her and Riley allowed him to help her up. For the first time she looked around at her fellow travelers. They all wore sympathetic expressions and were watching her closely. She realized that the forest had obscured their vision of her and what she was doing, branches reaching out, both brush and trees, to hide the purification ritual from interested eyes.
"We need to tend to those wounds," Gary said.
"I have to go," Riley said. "There's no time."
Gary shook his head. "You know you can't take chances. Disinfect the bites and scratches and we'll gather everything and get going."
The others one by one filed past Annabel's resting place, touching Riley's shoulder, nodding at her, some murmuring a prayer. The three guides performed their own ritual. Riley, as Gary turned her battle wounds into streaks of fire, looked around for the porters.
"It wasn't his fault," she said. "Capa. It wasn't his fault."
Miguel turned to look at her. "Thank you for that."
"Don't you feel the difference? That awful droning buzz is gone," Riley pointed out. "Ouch." She pushed at Gary's hand. He ignored her and continued dabbing on some fiery liquid. "Don't you feel lighter? The dread is gone. All the tension. Two people just died and we should all be very tense, but instead, that horrible feeling of impending doom has disappeared."
Ben, standing close, answered her. "I noticed that, too. The professor and his students want to turn back. And the volcano is definitely waking up. I don't know how much time we'll have before it blows, and we won't want to be anywhere near it when it goes off."
Riley shook her head. "They can turn back, all of you can, but I have to keep going and I have to get there fast. There's no time to lose."
Ben frowned. "The volcano is a real problem we can't just overlook, Riley."
"I can't explain it, but I have no choice. If I have to, I'll go alone. I've been to this particular mountain several times and I can find my way if need be." She was no longer surprised that it was the truth. She glanced up at the swirling clouds. "Night is falling fast. We have about an hour, and we're going to have to hurry through some very dense jungle."
Gary and Jubal exchanged a long, knowing look. Riley wasn't going to ask. They knew, just as she did, that whatever evil was trapped in the mountain would get out if she didn't stop it. They accepted the truth, just as she did. If they had prior knowledge and weren't saying, she didn't care. She was going up that mountain and nothing was going to stop her.
"Weston and Shelton want to turn back as well," Ben said.
"The porters don't want to go, either," Weston defended, a little belligerently. "A couple of them may have bailed on us already. Two didn't come back after burying the other one."
"The ground is shaking constantly." Mack pointed out the obvious. "There's no doubt an explosion is imminent. We have to get as far from that mountain as possible."
Riley nodded. "I'm in complete agreement. You all should head out of here as fast as possible. I have no choice. I'm heading up the mountain." She pushed past Gary, strength and determination pouring into her. "I'm leaving now. I don't have time to argue with everyone."
Miguel let his breath out. "I'll take you. My brothers can take the others back."
Both of his brothers shook their heads in protest.
Miguel swept his hand toward Annabel's resting place. "I failed her. I will not fail her daughter."
Jubal lifted his pack and swung it onto his back. "I'll go with you."
Gary silently donned his pack as well. Ben Charger did the same.
Weston swore under his breath and not only caught up his backpack, but reached down and took Riley's as well. "I'll carry this for a little while."
Shelton shook his head. "Are you crazy? Damn it, Don, we're going to get killed if that mountain blows. We need to hightail it out of here as fast as we can in the opposite direction."
Don shrugged. "Let's just get it done, and then we can run like hell."
"Pick up the pace, Miguel," Jubal ordered. "We want to make the base of the mountain before nightfall if possible."
Miguel lifted a hand toward his brothers and set off without another word. The professor and his two students remained with the other two guides and two of the porters, who argued heatedly among themselves. At the last moment, Hector caught up a pack of supplies and hurried after Miguel, leaving his cousin shaking his head. Weston and Shelton followed the porter and guide.
Jubal fell in behind them, nodding toward the archaeologist and his students.
Riley caught up her mother's pack and eased it over her shoulders. She hadn't realized how battered and bruised her body was from the monkeys' knocking her around. She followed Jubal.
"Good luck," Gary called to the others as he paced behind Riley, clearly prepared to protect her.
Riley didn't look back. The sense of urgency grew in her even as she realized everything around her had changed. Her focus. Her awareness. Her feet seemed to find the right path of their own volition, avoiding every hazard. The forest breathed for her, providing oxygen to enhance her ability to move quickly through the narrow trails. She knew before she rounded a turn just what was ahead. She felt the forest living in her, whispering comfort, sharing information, advising her.