The Enchantments: Book 2 - The Key of Gandar

Chapter 9: Sweltering

"Clarissa, you'll be teamed with Grant on this one. Now I must warn you that your journey might be the most difficult of the lot. The others are all carved in stone, but your search will be shrewd in mystery. We only have a possible location for this piece of the urn. You will be instructed to go down to the equator and a small town called Nungdar. It's situated a few hundred miles from the mouth of the Amazon River. There you will meet with a man named Salu Negra; he will be your guide in the search. Mr. Negra is a very mysterious man so watches him carefully. He knows that area more than any man alive, so heed his advice and be prepared. You're going into some of the most dangerous areas in the world so watch your step. If you get in trouble, you'll be on your own. The jungle can be relentless and very, very demanding, so don't do anything that could get you hurt, or heaven forbids killed! Take care the both of you; Fin and I will be joining you as soon as we can. The doctor will be in touch with Mr. Negra and inform him of your arrival.

Day 12- The Amazon River

The endless summer along the equator can be relentless. The sun beats down upon the landscape like a hammer on hot steel. Shade and cool spaces are few and far between on the waterways, but every so often a broken tree can hang over the edges giving welcome relief for those unlucky to be on the river during the hottest parts of the day.

Clarrisa Gobel, a beautiful in her rights sat at the far end of the small boat fanning her pretty brown face. Her long dark curls are flapping gently with the newspaper she was using to cool herself.

Grant Messimer sat at the far end splashing dirty brown water onto his burnt red face and then grabbing a bowl from the bottom of the craft to pour more over his head. "How long until the arrive?" He asked welcoming the coolness under the shade of the tree. They had been sailing for hours, and they relished the respite for as long as it would last.

"We have another hour until their boat arrives so enjoy the rest while you can. I have a feeling there won't be much of a chance to in the next little while." She said as Grant hung his long blond hair over the edge of the boat. "Didn't Mr. Negra tell you not to stick any part of your body outside the boat?"

"Poppycock, what could happen?" He cut off as the water thrashed around where his hair was hanging from the boat. The small crocodile clamped on hard to the mass of hair pulling Grant's head closer to the water to get a closer look. Grant sat up quickly screaming in terror as the creature held tight, its jaws like a vice against his long hair.

It was almost comical as Grant flung his head around like a child trying to rid themselves of pesky bees around their head. Clarissa made her way over to him the boat swaying back and forth in the muddy water as Grant tried to shake the creature lose. Clarissa crossed to the other side of the boat with difficulty as Grant was making the boat rock in his panic. She positioned Grant to the best possible position, reached out quickly and grabbed the crocodile by the midsection. With a struggle, she was finally able to get the creature to release its vise-like grip and toss it thrashing and snapping back into the muddy water.

"Serves you right!" She snapped at Grant who was now hiding at the bottom of the boat. "Guess you'll think twice before you 're that foolish thing again... eh?"

Grant was still shaking as he pushed himself to a sitting position again. "Alright... uh, this indiscretion stays between us, right?"

"Mums the word." She said watching him lie back down, this time keeping his long hair inside the boat.

Forty-five minutes had passed as Clarissa peered over the side of the boat. "They're here." She excitedly said as she slapped Grant on foot to wake him. They watched as the larger boat pulled up along side with Simeneon and Fin smiling boldly at them.