Chapter 1

Jade tapped on the dive light strapped to her forehead. The beam flickered again, and then shone at full strength. Shoddy university equipment. Drifting back to the wall, careful not to disturb the fine layer of silt that coated the floor of the subterranean cavern, she again ran her fingers across the striations in the rock. They were definitely man-made. Much too regular to be natural, and this part of the wall appeared smooth and level underneath the coating of plant life and debris that had accumulated over a half-millennia. She scrubbed her gloved fingertips harder against the rock, instinctively turning her head away from the cloud of matter that engulfed her.

Turning again to inspect the spot she had cleared, she waited with heart-pounding anticipation for the sluggish, almost non-existent current to clear her line of sight. With painstaking slowness, the haze cleared away, and her eyes widened. It was a joint, where precisely-hewn stones fitted neatly together. She could see the vertical lines where the blocks met end-to end. She scrubbed away another patch, revealing more worked stone.

Raising her head, she let her eyes follow the beam of light as it climbed the wall. About six feet above her head, the regular pattern of the ancient stones gave way to a rough jumble of broken rock and tangled roots. It was a collapsed well, just as she had believed she would find. Remarkably, the web of thick roots created a ceiling of sorts, preserving this bottom section almost intact. She made a circuit around the base, inspecting the rocks. They appeared to be solid, with no apparent danger of further collapse. Nonetheless, she grew increasingly aware of the mass of stone directly above her. It had obviously been in place for hundreds of years, but the thought of loose stone filling the shaft of a well made her feel distinctly vulnerable.

She checked her dive watch and was disappointed to see that she had exhausted her allotted time. She had carefully planned her exploration so that she would have time to return, plus two minutes, giving her as much time as possible to seek out the well.

Reorienting herself toward the upstream channel, she kicked out and felt resistance, like something tugging at her from behind. Cautiously she again tried to swim forward, and again she felt something pull her back. She was an experienced diver, and knew that she needed to move slowly and remain calm. A sudden movement could tangle her further, or worse, tear a hose loose. She turned her head back and forth, seeking out the obstruction, but to no avail. Whatever she had snagged was directly behind her. Reaching back, she felt for the obstruction but found nothing. A moment’s irrational fear rose up inside of her, but she quelled it almost immediately. She had to approach this rationally.

Reaching behind her head she ran her hands along the surface of her breathing apparatus, and soon found the obstruction. A root was wedged between her twin tanks. What were the odds? She tried moving backward, then from side-to-side, but to no avail. She freed her dive knife and tried to saw at the obtrusion, but it proved ineffective against the gnarled root. Besides, it was nigh impossible to accomplish anything while working blindly behind her back. She would have to unstrap her tanks and free them from the obstruction. The thought frightened her a little, but she had practiced the maneuver as part of her training. She again looked at her watch, and realized she was now well past time to be done.

Her heart thundered and her pulse surged. Stay calm, Jade, she reminded herself. Panic led to unnecessarily heavy breathing, which led to faster oxygen consumption which led to… Stop it! None of it mattered right now. She would work the tank free, and then she would make up the lost time on the return swim. Yes, that would work.

Taking two calming breaths, she methodically unbuckled the straps holding her tanks, and slipped free. With a last breath of sweet air, she took her mouth from the mouthpiece. Holding her breath and keeping a firm grip on the tanks, she turned about in the tight space. A few deft tugs and it was free. Putting the gear back on was awkward in the dark, confined space, but she managed nicely, and was soon breathing the blessed air again. No time to pat herself on the back, though.

She set out at a rapid clip up the dark, narrow channel, swimming against the current, and what had seemed like a lethargic flow of water now seemed to be putting up serious resistance. Particles of silt and bits of vegetation flew past her face as she shot recklessly up the channel. She passed through a twisting section a little too carelessly and scraped her shoulder against the edge. She felt her neoprene suit tear, but under the present circumstances that was no great concern.

She wondered if Saul knew something was amiss. Did he even know how long she had been gone, or when she should have returned? Probably not. He was not a diver. Great. No one to send in the posse. When I get out of here, I’m finding a dive partner.

The ceiling was low at this point, and her tank banged against a low-hanging rock. She kept going, certain that the distance had not been so great on the way in. What if I’ve missed the way out? What if I’ve gone too far? Panic again threatened to seize control, but she forced it down. She remembered this low spot: it was about the halfway mark. Halfway! Down to the dregs of her tank, and she was only halfway.

Her legs pumped like pistons, her cupped hands pulled at the water as if she were dragging herself through sand. She tried holding her breath for longer periods, but soon gave up on the idea. Her body needed oxygen that was no longer there. Her muscles burned, and the rushing of blood in her veins was now an audible roar. She tasted copper in her mouth, and her lungs strained against invisible bonds. Shadows appeared around the perimeter of her vision, and slowly crept inward. She was going to die.

Still biting down on her mouthpiece, she screamed in mute frustration. She tried to fight, but her desperate flailing and kicking quickly subsided as darkness consumed her. She released her bite on her useless air supply, and surrendered. As consciousness faded, she saw a light coming toward her.

What do you know? All the stories are true. She watched with detached awareness as the light grew brighter. She was drifting up to heaven… or wherever. The glare grew intensely bright, and then she could have sworn she felt arms around her. An angel has come to take me to heaven… A sudden tightness encircled her middle, pinning her arms to her sides, and before she knew what was happening, something was forced into her mouth. She tried to protest, and cool, sweet air poured into her lungs. A coughing fit immediately ensued. She had taken more than a bit of water into her mouth, and now it felt like all of it was in her lungs. She tried to twist free, but whatever it was held her tight.

Instinct took over, and she gradually regained control of her lungs, and spat the water free. With the fresh flow of oxygen came a renewed sense of calm and awareness. Someone had come to her rescue after all. He was holding her tight so that she would not, in her panic, drown both of them. She took few long, calming breaths from the pony tank her rescuer was holding in his right hand. At least, she hoped those thickly muscled forearms belonged to a he. Making a point to keep her body as relaxed as possible, she slipped her right arm down, and tapped him twice on the thigh. His grip relaxed a touch, and she raised her hand and she circled her thumb and forefinger to make the “OK” sign. He slid the mini-tank into her hand, and let go of her.

Turning to face her rescuer, she saw that it was indeed a he, but other than his blond hair, she could not tell anything about him. Giving him a nod and a quick wave of thanks, she led the way back up the channel. She could not believe how close she had come to dying. What’s more, she could not believe someone had rescued her.

Relief gave way to embarrassment and anger as she neared safety. She couldn’t believe how her own bad judgment had almost killed her. Stupid! She was a professional, not some weekend scuba diver. This guy, whoever he was, probably thought she was one of the dozen grad school bimbos working the dig aboveground. She was going to beat herself up over this for a long time.

The glow of sunlight flickered in the distance, and soon she was up the shaft, and breaking the surface. Strong hands grabbed her under the arms and lifted her free of the water. Her feet touched ground, and then she dropped down hard on her backside.

“Why were you down for so long?” Saul rounded on her, his square face marred by concern. “What happened in there? Are you trying to kill yourself? Because you nearly killed me from worry. Do I need to take up diving so I can keep an eye on you?”

“I’m fine, Saul. Really I am.” She shrugged off her tanks and grinned, reaching up to pat his short, neatly coiffed brown hair like she would a faithful pet. “Thank you for sending someone for me. I was wondering if you had even noticed.” She didn’t catch his reply because her attention was focused on her rescuer, who was clambering out of the water.

He wasn’t the tallest fellow, not quite six feet, even with the spiky blond hair, which was already sticking up as it dried in the hot Argentinean sun. He pulled off his dive mask to reveal a lightly tanned face, a friendly smile, and intense blue-gray eyes. Jade smiled back, taking a moment to admire the thickly muscled legs. The guy wasn’t the type she usually went for, but he was definitely cute. He took a step toward her, and she hauled herself to her feet to greet him, but Saul was quicker.

“Thank you again for helping us.” Saul stepped between them, clasping the man’s hand in both of his. “She had been down for so long, and I always tell her she takes too many unnecessary risks. Thinks she’s immortal, she does.” He suddenly seemed to realize that he was still shaking hands with the fellow, and let go.

“It’s quite all right.”

She liked his voice. It was cheerful yet firm, and had a rich timbre, like one of those guys who reads audio books. What was she thinking about? She hadn’t even spoken to the guy and already she was mentally babbling.

“I’m just glad I was nearby. It was a close thing getting her out of there.”

Saul was about to say more, but Jade pushed him to the side and offered her hand.

“Thank you so much for your help, Mister…”

“Maddock,” he replied, looking her directly in the eye. “Dane Maddock. And you’re welcome.”

“I’m just so embarrassed that I let myself run out of air like that. I’m really an experienced diver. I just pushed it a little too far.” She stopped, realizing she was on the verge of babbling for real. He was still looking her in the eye, though, which scored him a few points in her book. Most guys would have let their gaze drift a little lower by now.

“You know what they say,” he replied, waggling his finger like a grade school teacher. “One third of your air going in, one third going back out…” He was grinning ear-to-ear.

“…and one third in reserve in case of an emergency, one of which I did arise. I’m well aware of the rule of thirds, Mr. Maddock. I just…” she felt her face grow warm. “I just didn’t follow them this time.” She wanted to be annoyed at his condescension, but his grin told her he was only joking.

“Understood. I would tell you to call me Dane, but I still don’t even know your name.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I’m Jade Ihara.”

“A beautiful name. “You don’t have a Japanese accent.”

“My father was Japanese,” she said. “My mother is Hawaiian. I was raised on Oahu.”

“Well, that explains it.” He cupped his chin and looked thoughtfully into her eyes. “I was trying to figure it out, but I couldn’t place it.”

“Explains what, may I ask?” She resisted the urge to squirm like a schoolgirl under his cool gaze.

“You have the traditional Japanese beauty, with just a touch of the robust splendor of Polynesia.”

“I don’t know whether to be flattered or totally creeped out.” He had her laughing — another point in his favor. “Where did you get that line about ‘robust splendor of Polynesia’ anyway?”

“From a coffee commercial,” he said, grinning.

“So, what are you anyway? Some kind of professional ‘damsel in distress’ rescuer or something?”

“I’m a marine archaeologist,” he said. “We were working nearby. The discovery of this outpost has been a great opportunity for us.”

Saul cleared his throat loudly, reminding them of his presence. He stood with hands on hips, tapping his foot. His mouth was twisted in a sour frown.

“Saul, if you will please pack up my equipment, I’ll be with you in a moment.” She cut off his protest with a raised hand. “Thank you, Saul. I’ll join you shortly.” She met his stare with a level gaze until he turned away, muttering something under his breath. He snatched up her dive gear and stamped off through the tangled growth. “I’m sorry,” she said, turning back to Dane. “Saul is very protective of me. He means well.”

“Not your boyfriend, I hope.”

“No, he’s definitely not my boyfriend. He’s my assistant.” That was technically true, she supposed.

“Well, I need to get going,” Dane said. “By the way, did your mother ever teach you about the old Hawaiian tradition? When someone saves your life, you have to have dinner on his boat that evening.” He made a show of checking the time on his dive watch. “At exactly 18:00 hours. Give or take a few minutes, of course.”

“Is that so?” She really didn’t have time to socialize with this, or any guy. But he had saved her life. Besides, an idea was forming in the back of her mind. “Who am I to flout tradition? Six o’clock it is. I’ll need directions to this boat of yours.” What was she getting herself into? “And Dane? Dinner had better be spectacular.”

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