Under the Sunlight

Chapter 10

The case in Peru was not going well. Cassandra had tried but she just wasn't able to keep the boys from bickering. Now Ezekiel was gone. She tried not to worry about him, after all Stone was right, Ezekiel could take care of himself. She imagined he probably was on his way back to Portland, after a stopover somewhere exotic where he spent someone else's money. Hopefully not hers nor Stone's, though she didn't think either of them had the kind of cash flow that Ezekiel would be interested in.

When she wasn't worried over Ezekiel though, she was concerned about Stone's behavior. He was hovering in a way that he'd never done before. Admittedly she'd been having headaches and nose bleeds at a frequency he wasn't used to. They'd become infrequent events since she'd come to work for the Library, something she'd chalked up to learning to control her visions and just maybe the magic in the place. She'd had a nose bleed in the Annex right before the Serpent ambush and she'd wondered if that had opened the floodgates. Or if the added stress of going out on their own for the first time as Librarians had made them worse. At any rate, Stone was visibly worried and she felt bad for snapping at him on the fourth time he asked if she needed a break.

She was trying to figure out a puzzle but she found herself realizing she was going to have to tell Stone good-bye. When and if (at this rate), they finished this mission, she was going to have to go off on her own for a while. She liked having his company but they'd become too attached. And his constant worry over her health was going to get them both into trouble. He was distracted and if she'd learned anything from Baird it was that distractions could be deadly.

It was the perfect excuse anyway, she needed to distance herself from him and Max. Even though it pained her to do so. She couldn't completely break the child's heart, he was too young to understand. So maybe she'd just cut back on her visits, see him a couple a times a month. Enough that she wouldn't hurt him but enough to start to create distance. The boy was bright enough to understand that sometimes adults got really busy. And he had other females in his life as well as a mother whom Cassandra hoped for Stone and Max's sake would soon come out to Portland and make their family complete.

Even if the thought broke Cassandra's heart. At least Max and Jacob would be happy and that's all she ever wanted for them.

"Cassandra?" Jacob's voice broke through her thoughts and the worry in it made her realize he'd been calling her name for a while. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said distantly as the puzzle fell into place in front of her. "I've got it figured out." She turned and smiled at him, at last some hope in this mess of a mission. "I can get us there."

There was a lot of worry in his expression as he ran his eyes over her but he nodded with a hint of a smile on his face. "Lead on."

--

The floors shook and dust fell from the ceiling and Cassandra was having a hard time staying upright. She had no idea where Stone was. They'd gotten separated when the rumbling started. But she was on the right track and she could end this. Solve the mystery, stop the earthquakes, get everything back to normal. She just had to concentrate. Block out the shaking and follow her instincts and the map in her head.

"Oww!" she shouted as debris fell on her, leaving a cut on her face. She brushed it off, she could tell it wasn't that bad, she'd worry about the bleeding later. "Six . . .seven . . .eight. Yes!"

She'd found it and moments later, it was all over. The rumbling stopped and she could hear birds chirping in the distance. Which meant that the entrance that had sealed behind them had opened. Now, she just had to find Stone.

--

The rumbling had stopped. That meant Cassandra had reached the center. Stone breathed a sigh of relief and started shifting rocks out of his way. They'd gotten separated and then a cave in had partially trapped him. It was easy enough once the rumbling stopped to move the rocks out of the way so he could get free, but it had been nearly impossible during the shaking.