Клэр Донелли - Hiss And Tell

Well, Cale should be happy, Sunny thought, peering out through the screening brush. She tried to remember the poem Dad and his fishing buddies always quoted:

Red sky in the morning, sailors take warning.

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight.

There was a whole scientific explanation for the folklore, something about atmospheric conditions foretelling the weather, Sunny wasn’t sure. But for Mike and his pals, a sky like this evening’s meant a pleasant journey for the next day’s fishing. Maybe we can persuade Cale to take us out on the Merlin again tomorrow .

She was just turning to find her way out again when she spotted something that didn’t belong: a box attached high up on one of the roof supports, smaller than a pack of cigarettes, but thicker—because of the lens. In fact, she might not have even noticed it if a breeze hadn’t shifted the branches on the trees, letting in a shaft of sunlight that caused an orange reflection on the lens.

This was a camera. Sunny had been researching extreme sports for an article on the MAX website, things like BASE jumping, skydiving, and paragliding. Part of the fun for the participants was recording their particular death-defying stunts, so to meet the market, cameras like this one (small enough to mount on the adventurer’s gear or helmet, and that used a Wi-Fi signal to send images to a recorder) were now widely available.

Somehow, Sunny didn’t think this particular camera was part of the Neal’s Neck security surveillance shield. That was supposed to be on the perimeter, aimed outward, not into a secluded rendezvous location. But a camera like this would make a dandy addition to a blackmailer’s bag of tricks, Sunny thought as she slowly made a circuit around the ruined gazebo. Now that she was looking for them, Sunny spotted three other cameras, enough to capture all angles on the floor.

Rohypnol, sex tapes, and a young guy about to get married and maybe make a run for the presidency. It all created an unpleasantly clear picture to Sunny.

She left the gazebo and began pushing her way through the overgrown path. Then a flare of light ten times brighter than the setting sun exploded behind her eyes as sudden pain screamed from the back of her head.

And everything went black.

*

Shadow skulked inthe underbrush around the big trees. It smelled different in here than around the rest of this place, more rank and wild. He wasn’t sure he liked that, especially when Sunny pushed her way through the bushes. Unpleasant things could hide in places like this—like the time he’d investigated a thicket and found himself nose to nose with one of those masked critters with the big claws and teeth. It was a good thing that both of them had been surprised enough to back away. That animal had been half again my size, Shadow thought. It would have been a bad, bad fight.

He had another problem. In a confused place like this, he might wind up nose to nose with Sunny. What if she was playing a trick on him? She’d left him very confused, ignoring him, chasing him, ignoring him, and now sneaking into a wild place. So he’d decided not to follow, just to stay on the outskirts and wait for her to come out.

She won’t stay long, he told himself . There’s no food in there—at least, nothing Sunny would like.

That reminded Shadow of his own empty stomach, so he decided to try and find something he could eat. He ranged around the circle of trees, looking for something to stalk, sorting out the smells of wild growth and damp earth, scenting for prey. . . .

The wind brought a new aroma, faint at first, then stronger, becoming more distinct over the wild scents. This was a made smell, sweet and spicy. The scent of Smells Good!

Shadow retraced his steps, circling round the little forest, but when he got to where the scent was strongest, no one was there. He raised his head, sniffing. Smells Good had gone through the bushes! Had he come here to find Sunny? What would they do in this quiet place?

A thought came to Shadow and made him blink. Could they have come here to mate? It didn’t seem like a comfortable place. Shadow considered human beds one of the best things they had.

But then, two-legs were always doing crazy things. He set off through the underbrush to investigate. There was Sunny’s scent, and the stronger aroma of Smells Good. Up ahead, he suddenly heard an odd cry. Was it pain, or something else?

Shadow began shouldering his way through the brush more forcefully, not caring now if he might be heard. Any sound he made would be drowned out by the weird creaking noises that came to his ears anyway. He burst out into an open place, where wooden steps ran up to a platform—and where part of the floor had swung up. A two-legged male was carrying Sunny down into darkness, her head lolling on his shoulder.

He smelled blood!

Desperate, Shadow leaped into the opening, going down, down, down into the dark.

One thing he knew for sure. This was definitely Not Good.

19

Sunny’s eyes flutteredopen—to a blackness as complete as the one behind her lids. Consciousness brought pain and a feeling of dampness in the back of her head. She tried to raise an investigating hand, and found her wrists were joined somehow. When she tried to twist them apart, the bonds stayed stickily put.

She slowly made sense of it. Duct tape? I’m tied up with tape?

Sunny realized she was lying on her side, and there was tape around her ankles, too, which made things even more clumsy.

A second later, she felt something tugging at the tape on her wrists. Something biting at it. Instinctively, Sunny jerked away. Her fingers felt the brush of a large, fur-clad body, and a moment later it was back, saying, “Meow” before biting at the tape again.

“Shadow?” Sunny tried to sit up—an extremely bad idea. Her head suddenly felt like a giant gong, the kind they ring by banging big logs against them. The pain exploding from the back of her head made her feel giddy, and the meal she’d recently eaten made a sudden concerted effort to escape from her stomach. She couldn’t keep it in, but Sunny at least managed to turn away so she didn’t get sick on herself or Shadow. But the cat disappeared.

Great, Sunny thought, Shadow gets to barf all over Lee Trehearne and that’s fine. But when I get sick after being knocked cold, he scampers away? I guess it’s a little late to say, “Lassie, get help!”

She tried to worm herself away from the foul-smelling puddle she’d created, not easy in the darkness with her arms and legs bound and a head that still vibrated painfully at the merest motion. Taking a deep breath, she tried to call out, “Hello! Can anyone hear me?”

It came out as a low croak, more of a moan than words.

“Don’t bother,” Cale Kingsbury’s voice came back. “We’re pretty well soundproofed down here.”

A glow in the darkness came toward her, resolving itself into the image of Cale with a flashlight in one hand and a plastic bottle of water in the other. He knelt, holding it to her lips. “Here. You can wash your mouth out.”

Sunny swished the water around and spit the acrid taste away. “Somehow, I don’t have the feeling that you’re here to rescue me,” she said.

Cale’s usually insouciant face looked very serious in the dim light. “I’m afraid not. Are you in any danger of puking again?”

She carefully shook her head with no worse effect than paralyzing pain. “No,” she said.

“Good.” He produced a roll of duct tape, tore off a piece, and slapped it over her mouth. “The next part takes us to a place where you might be heard.”