A Touch Of Lightning (COMPLETED!)

Chapter 73 The Seventh Island 2

Chapter 73 The Seventh Island 2

The air seethed with a hard line, like invisible bands of steel woven throughout. It was so unusual, so complex, that Callin felt his animal instincts rise up the moment he set foot on the island. He knew his features, his eyes, even the way he moved right now, were reflections of how close that primal side of him was to the surface. He didn't care. He wasn't here to make others feel comfortable.

"Well, if we've ever wondered if there really was something off about this island I think we can say that yeah, it's really...wrong." Miya said, looking around with sharp, cautious eyes.

"Yeah. And Michael was right, there's no life here. Nothing. I've never scented anything so barren before. It's very creepy." Callin said.

"We going to stand around talking or are we going exploring? I think we should climb that little ravine." Arianne said, pointing towards a small crevasse that led up the hillside in front of them.

They moved towards it slowly, with both Miya and Callin stopping occasionally to scan their surroundings carefully. For both of them, their warrior instincts were clearly warning them this was dangerous territory. Arianne seemed frustrated by their slow pace at first, then seemed to detect how dangerous this place was herself, and she quietly fell in place behind them. Letting them lead the way.

As they climbed the rocky slope the little trail seemed to twist back and forth like a snake. Occasionally it would curve around far enough that they could see down to the shoreline, where they could see the huge cruise ship. Callin paused at one of them, noting Michael, Elaine, and a crew of soldiers on the beach. Elaine was sitting on a rock, her head hung down, with Michael standing protectively over her. He wondered if she were using whatever kind of telepathic power this disturbing island granted her. He wondered what she could be doing with those powers.

"I think she's preparing herself to use her powers on you and I, when we get back." Miya said, noting the focus of his gaze.

Callin nodded. He suspected Michael was one to use whatever resources he had available to get what he wanted. And right now, what he wanted to know, was his background. Where he really came from. He shook his head as he thought about the lethal threat the labs represented, and how Michael shouldn't be trying to learn anything about them. He should be running away, if he valued his life.

"He'll learn where you're from. And he'll come to regret ever learning that, won't he?" Miya seemed to have read his mind, even though Callin knew she wasn't that type of telepath.

"Yes." He said simply, turning to continue climbing up the rocky ravine. He didn't miss the frustration on both Miya's and Arianne's face. They both were intensely curious about where he came from, although he suspected for very different reasons.

After an hour of climbing they came to a cave opening along the cliff face. It was large enough that four adults could walk side by side into it. The floor was quite flat and smooth. Smooth enough that Callin crouched down and ran his fingers along the rocks, wondering what could have caused the strange patterns on the stone.

"Looks like something heavy and flat was dragged through here, heading back down towards the beach, and also off towards the trail that continues up from here." Miya said.

Callin closed his eyes and systematically addressed each of his senses, then dismissed them. All except his nose. Then, when he felt like he was floating in a nearly limitless storm of scents, he bent down and put his nose a few millimeters above the stone, and scented carefully. And he was completely unprepared for the vicious onslaught of raw memories the scent there brought down on him.