The Dragon's Descent (28 page)

Kane sat down on the ledge, about to slide in, when Vero grabbed his arm, stopping him.

“You're gonna need this . . .”

Vero handed Kane a waterproof flashlight as Clover grabbed his backpack. Vero then adjusted his headband flashlight.

“Thanks,” Kane said before pushing off the ledge into the pool.

Vero followed Kane into the water. After they'd swum down a few feet, Vero opened his eyes. He was surprised how well he could see. The water was completely clear. Swimming away from Kane, Vero began to explore. He noted that there wasn't a single plant growing in the lake. When he couldn't hold his breath any longer, Vero headed to the surface and broke through. Seconds later, Kane's head surfaced as well.

“See anything?” Tack yelled.

“No,” Vero answered, then nodded to Kane. “You?”

“Nothing,” Kane said.

“I think we need to go down deeper,” Vero said. “I wish I could hold my breath longer.”

“Push yourself,” Kane said.

Kane ducked back into the water and swam straight down. Vero sucked in a deep breath then kicked his feet up and shot down like a missile, deeper into the water. He swam down much farther than last time and was rewarded with a beautiful sight for his efforts.

Underwater stalagmites grew up from the floor and provided a breathtaking display. Each column was different from the other and all were stunning. Vero felt as if he was in a forest of tall rocks—so many that they seemed to form a maze. He twisted his body around them for closer inspection. Their beauty enchanted him to the point that he forgot that he couldn't hold his breath any longer. Silence began to fill his ears. He felt as if he would drift off into sleep.

Whack!
Vero felt a punch to his arm. He whipped his head around to see Kane motioning with his thumb to swim up to the surface. He suddenly became very aware that his body was running out of oxygen. Panic set in, and Vero kicked his legs so hard and fast that he lost sight of Kane. He needed air and quick!
Just . . . a . . . little . . . higher . . .

He felt life pour back into his lungs. He spotted Tack and Clover on the ledge, and knew he had made it back. He panted, taking in big gulps of air; stale air, but it would do. Kane popped up beside him.

“You all right?” Kane asked.

“Yeah,” Vero said. “Thanks.”

“What happened down there?” Clover asked.

“There is the most amazing group of stalagmites growing up from the floor,” Vero said, treading water.

“And Vero got a little too distracted by them,” Kane chimed in.

“Really?” Tack asked.

“Dude, couldn't you tell you were drowning?” Kane asked.

Vero shook his head, but then his face lit up as he put two and two together. “Maybe I was close to the book!” Vero said. “Maybe that's why I lost track of time, and didn't notice I needed to breathe?”

“You think the stalagmites are there to stop people from finding the book?” Clover asked.

“Maybe,” Vero said. “Or maybe proximity to the book causes an overwhelming sense of peace. Whatever, but nearly falling asleep on the bed of a freezing subterranean river isn't normal, so I think we're close.”

“You think it could be hidden in one of the pillars?” Kane asked, also treading water.

“Could be, but which one? There are dozens of them down there,” Vero said. “Tack, you need to get in the water with us. Maybe you'll feel something.”

Tack nodded and began to take off his shoes and socks. He handed his backpack to Clover.

“Don't eat all of my Ding Dongs,” he warned.

“Don't you want a flashlight?” Clover asked.

“Not for this,” Tack answered as he jumped feetfirst into the pool and swam over to Vero.

“Does it feel any different being in the water this time?” Vero asked.

“No, it's just as freezing!” Tack shouted, teeth chattering.

“You get used to it,” Kane said.

“Just let me concentrate,” Tack said.

Tack closed his eyes and spread his hands out over the surface of the water. Vero watched as Tack began to swim
toward the middle of the pool. When he appeared to be dead center, Tack stopped swimming and opened his eyes.

“It's right under this spot,” Tack said.

“Let's go diving,” Kane said as he swam to the center then dove down under the surface.

Tack turned to kick down into the water, but Vero grabbed his shoulder before he could descend.

“You should go back by Clover,” Vero said.

Tack nodded. He looked grateful to be getting out of the frigid water. As Tack swam back to Clover, Vero kicked his feet and dove below. Within several feet, the stalagmites came into view. Vero willed his mind to ignore their bewitching beauty and focused solely on finding the Book of Raziel. He swam to a pillar, which he imagined to be the exact center. Examining it up close, he saw nothing blue on the pillar—no sign of any sapphire. He began to feel out of breath, so he kicked his feet from off the bottom of the water's floor and bulleted up to the surface.

As Vero bobbed up out of the water, he saw Kane, who had also come up for air.

“You see anything?” Kane asked Vero.

“Not yet,” Vero said. “But keep looking. We gotta be close.”

Vero and Kane kept searching the bottom for any sign of a sapphire or other gemstones. It seemed like finding a needle in a haystack, but neither knew what else they could do. During one attempt, Vero touched the base of a pillar. His hand accidentally scraped the lake's floor. It felt warm, and when he looked at his hand, he could feel the current in the water—it was stronger down here at the bed. He got an idea. He swam back up to the surface, took a huge
breath of air, and swam back below. But this time, instead of heading to the center of the pool, Vero dove down to the bottom and swam his way across it. His hands swept against the floor as he let the current take him, allowing him to crawl across the bottom. He did this for about ten yards, until water suddenly shot up his nose. Vero's head unexpectedly tucked into his chest as he was pulled forward off what he had thought was the bottom. As he somersaulted off a ledge, Vero realized he was caught in a powerful current that was drawing him toward an opening in the sidewall of the cavern.

Vero struggled to fight the current, trying to go back to the ledge he had fallen off of. It wasn't easy, but he was making headway and putting some distance between himself and the hole in the wall. As he swam back toward the ledge, he noticed there was an underside to it, and it seemed as if there might be an air pocket there! Vero kicked with everything he had and made it to the underside of the ledge.

Suddenly, air came back into his lungs. Vero realized his head was no longer under the water; he had indeed found an air pocket under the ledge. He looked up and saw light above him, and it wasn't from his flashlight. He was under a dome-shaped ceiling. After he caught his breath, he understood that what he and Kane had thought was the floor of the cavern was actually a massive, curved dome of rock beneath the surface.

As Vero surveyed the inside of the air pocket, he noticed a flat outcrop of rock in the middle. Vero climbed up out of the water underneath the dome of rock. When he stood, his head nearly grazed the ceiling. But when he tilted his head back and looked up, he saw nothing but blue, and it wasn't sky.

22

BOOK OF THE ANGEL RAZIEL

K
ane's head broke through the water. A panicked Clover and Tack leaned over the rock ledge.

“Did you see him?” Clover shouted, her eyes full of fear.

“No,” Kane said. “I don't know where he is. I looked everywhere down by the stalagmites, but he wasn't there!”

Clover dove into the water, shoes and all.

“Clover!” Tack yelled, then jumped in after her.

Tack raced over to her and turned her around by her arm.

“Let me go, Tack!”

“Okay, but we'll search together,” Tack said. “You're not going there alone!”

“Fine,” Clover yelled. “But we have to go!”

They dove headfirst under the surface.

Vero stared at the dome's roof with his mouth agape. Inlaid throughout the craggy knots of the stone ceiling above him were ridge upon ridge of deep-blue sapphires as far as his eyes could see. The entire ceiling sparkled blueness as if one giant gemstone.

“The Book of Raziel . . .” Vero said aloud, smiling.

His smile turned to a frown when he realized that there must be thousands of sapphires embedded in the ceiling. How would he know which one was the book? He examined a few of them by running his finger over their surface. Nothing distinguished them apart from one another. His heart sunk. He had come so far . . .

But then one particular sapphire began to twinkle like a tiny star. Vero walked to it and stood directly underneath. As he stared up at the stone, no bigger than a small rock, he wondered how he would get it out of the rock ceiling. Why hadn't he thought to bring a pick?

He looked around the small cavern. There had to be something he could use to chip the sapphire from the rock. When he saw there was nothing, he took off his headband flashlight. Turning the light upside down, he carefully smashed at the rock around the sapphire, hoping to chisel it free. With the first thrust, the sapphire loosened and dropped to the floor of the cavern even easier than he would have hoped. Vero scrambled to grab it.

That was way too easy
, he thought as he looked upon the beautiful sapphire. Was this the Book of Raziel? Vero looked intensely into the stone, hoping somehow it would tell him. But all he saw was a pretty blue gem. He was
furious with himself. How could he not know if this was the right stone?

Vero sunk to the floor. His mind changed to thoughts of Tack and Clover and Kane. They must be worried about him, but he didn't dare leave the cavern—what if he couldn't find his way back to this location? Uriel had told him that he possessed the gifts to find the book. But how? Then a thought came to Vero:
Vox Dei
.

He recalled Chiko's story of the monk walking across hot coals. The monk had already visualized himself safely across the embers—the power of the mind. Vero tilted his head back and stared at the blue-speckled ceiling. He took deep breaths to relax himself, becoming very conscious of the air coming in and out of his body. Time and space gradually began to disappear. He became of one thought—
God, please show me the Book of Raziel
. As he continued to pray, Vero visualized himself holding the blue sapphire safely in his clutch.

The blue stones above began to twinkle so brightly that Vero felt he should have been blinded from their brilliance. But somehow he was able to stare straight at the stones, not even blinking. And then, directly over his head, flames rose and fell inside one of the blue sapphires . . . one about the size and shape of peach pit. The tiny flames began to form into shapes inside the stone. Ancient symbols appeared before Vero's eyes, archaic symbols that he had never seen before but he could somehow read.

“Book of the angel Raziel.”

His palm reached for the blue stone. It willingly released from the imbedded rock and into Vero's hand. He turned his palm upward and looked down at the stone. This wonderful,
magical stone held the secrets of the universe. The stone's power was infectious—Vero felt mighty. With what he held in his hand, he could accomplish so much! He started to have thoughts of grandeur, and felt all-knowing, invincible. The emotions began to frighten Vero. He forced himself to think about what his mission was—to return the stone safely to its rightful place. And then he remembered what the angel Rahab had said about the power of the book . . . Even wise King Solomon had begun to feel almost like he was a god himself. And Raziel, too, had warned him of its allure. Vero squashed all thoughts of greatness, and the rock's flames began to diminish as the symbols completely disappeared. The blue twinkling lights overhead dimmed. And moments later, they looked like ordinary sapphires. Vero quickly shoved the stone into his pocket.