Thorn Fall (6 page)

When I rounded the bend, my mouth dropped open. The ledge
did
end and
was
narrow, but a wooden ladder leaned against the wall, leading toward a narrow crevice in the rock. The uneven width of the boards and overall crookedness promised it hadn’t been built in a factory—it probably hadn’t even been built in someone’s shop. The boards were split branches rather than planed wood. I jogged forward, almost slipping off the ledge again in my eagerness to check it out.

Rusty metal nails fastened the rungs to the rails, so it wasn’t any Native American leftover, but I hadn’t expected that. More likely, the same people who had set up the camp had built it. To check out that hole up there. The ladder was over fifteen feet tall, and from the bottom, I couldn’t tell whether a little niche waited up there or something deeper. I leaned against one of the rungs, wondering if the ladder would support a climber after all this time.

It didn’t break, but the wood
did
creak ominously.

“Temi.” I leaned around the bend. “Come check this out.”

She hadn’t left her spot at the edge of the ledge, observing the canyon floor, and she glanced that way again, hesitating, before coming to join me. I wouldn’t keep her long. I wanted her to hold the ladder for me, maybe catch me if I fell…

“You’re
not
going up there, are you?” were the first words out of her mouth.

“Don’t you want to know what’s up there?”

“I didn’t even know ‘up there’ existed ten seconds ago. My curiosity is somewhat muted.”

I felt a twinge of disappointment that the kid who had explored the desert with me, poking around abandoned homesteads and climbing into caves, had lost her adventurous spirit. Or maybe “grown up” was the term. Well I wasn’t ready to be a grownup, so there.

“My curiosity is humming. I want to know what these people were looking for.” I shrugged out of my pack and leaned it against the wall beside the ladder. Maybe it would help support it. As it was, the natural contours of the rock hugged the frame somewhat, so I didn’t think it would slide to the side. It was more a matter of whether it would break under my weight. I would come back down if it wobbled or creaked too much—we had to climb back out of here, so the last thing I wanted to do was fall and break my arm.

“Even if whatever they were looking for is the reason they left their perfectly good pots behind?” Temi asked.

I had started up the ladder, but I paused. “Whatever made them leave, it happened over a hundred years ago.” I would be more confident in feeling we weren’t in danger if Temi didn’t keep mentioning things she had seen and heard.

“I just think it’s odd that they didn’t take the minute it would have taken to pack up,” she said.

“If they were scavenging on someone else’s land, someone might have spotted them, forcing them to leave in a hurry.” I continued up, the rungs creaking and bowing under my weight. The frame shivered. Maybe this wasn’t that good of an idea after all, but I couldn’t just leave without knowing what was up there.

“Are
we
scavenging on someone else’s land?” Temi asked dryly.

“No, we’re scavenging in a national forest.”

“Which is allowed, right? I’m still a little sketchy on the business details.”

“Prospecting with a metal detector is allowed.” Prospecting for minerals and jewelry and trinkets without historical significance, anyway. For prehistoric and historic artifacts, that required a special permit, which we didn’t have, since they were granted for scientific research purposes only. But I had a big long list of what fell under the category of “archaeological and historic remains” that were supposed to be reported rather than collected, and mass-produced skillets and coffee tins weren’t on it. All right, maybe my list didn’t come from this particularly county, so I wasn’t 100 percent positive.

I returned to climbing. I didn’t feel like having this conversation while halfway up a century-old ladder that could break at any moment.

Fortunately, Temi didn’t quiz me further. She was facing toward the canyon again, an intent expression on her face, her ear cocked. Maybe a quiz wouldn’t have been so bad. Even though I hadn’t heard anything yet, she was creeping me out, like a dog that kept looking into the woods and whining. Maybe the sword gave her enhanced senses. Or was that some comic book sword I was thinking of?

I pulled myself up the final rungs to the hole, determined to investigate quickly, so we could get out of here. It was time to check on Simon and Alek, anyway.

One of the rungs broke off under my boots, and I gasped, grabbing at the rock lip of the opening. Fortunately, I’d had my feet on two separate boards, so the sudden loss of footing didn’t throw me too much, but I did crawl off the ladder and fully onto that lip. No need to strain the ladder.

Deep shadows waited inside the hole, and I blinked and peered inside, willing my eyes to adjust to the gloom. Up here, under the ceiling of our hollow, the sun’s influence was weak. I wouldn’t crawl farther in until I could see what I was dealing with. Thoughts of rattlesnakes came to mind again, even if I couldn’t imagine one climbing up the side of a cliff to find this cubby.

“Temi? There’s a flashlight in that outside pocket in my pack. Can you toss it up?”

She pulled her gaze away from the canyon. “Yes.”

While she hunted for it, I inched inside. My eyes were adjusting, and some darker spots on the wall next to the entrance demanded my attention. The floor seemed relatively flat and empty as well, save for a handful of rocks. No snakes, but no cool finds, either. Maybe those people had cleared everything out, leaving their own supplies, not because someone had scared them into running but because they’d had more valuable loot to cart down the side of the cliff.

A buzzing sound drifted to my ears. Nothing that emanated from the cave. It seemed to be coming from outside. Someone flying overhead, doing a private tour, maybe? It almost sounded like an R/C plane. I was more interested in what was on the wall. It was hard to make out, but I was fairly certain I was looking at pictographs. Authentic ones? Or something bored kids had scrawled to fool the tourists? Given our remote location, I was inclined to think the former, but I needed more light to be certain.

I was about to check on Temi when soft clacks sounded outside. It reminded me of hail. But there hadn’t been a cloud in the sky when we had hiked out here.

I leaned out and almost smacked into Temi. She had scaled the ladder, and the alarmed expression on her face told me to get back. A crack sounded, and she grunted, almost falling into the cave. I grabbed her arms, not certain if a rung had broken or the entire ladder had snapped.

She scrambled inside, grunting when the sword scabbard caught on the narrow entrance. She twisted, pulling the entire thing off her back, and slid in sideways. Before I could ask what she had seen, she had the blade out. Its silvery glow filled the little space, bathing the walls with its illumination.

“That wasn’t what I had in mind when I asked for a flashlight.” I kept my voice low, not knowing what had sent her racing up here.
Fleeing
up here?

“Something’s flying around up there.” Temi crouched, facing the entrance.

“I heard it. Thought someone might be flying a model plane.”

“A model plane that shoots at people?”

“Er, what?”

“I was leaning out, trying to see what was making the noise, but the cliff and the overhang were blocking my view. Then a shadow fell across the bushes, and I thought I’d get a look, but these little pellets or BBs—
something
—started striking the ground nearby. I didn’t know what they were, but I didn’t want to get hit.”

“No, I wouldn’t either.”

We crouched in silence, listening and staring out at the red rock wall on the opposite side of the canyon. From inside the cave, we couldn’t see much, but that buzzing was audible. It rose and fell, the source constantly moving. It lingered in the area, but nothing came into view. Was it waiting for us to come out where we would be easy targets? And what the hell was it, anyway? The next
jibtab
? What kind of monster flung BBs?

The buzz grew louder; it sounded like whatever was making it was hovering right above our cave.

“It definitely knows we’re here.” I glanced at Temi’s sword. Maybe we should have left it back at the campsite, locked in the trunk with the benzene. No, then whatever was drawn to it might show up there. I wouldn’t want the only girl to ever show an interest in Simon’s equipment to be mauled by a monster.

The buzz changed pitch.

“It’s moving,” Temi whispered.

A shadow fell across the shrubs on the ledge. A
big
shadow.

I leaned forward, hoping for a glimpse.

“Look out.” Temi gripped my arm and pulled me to the side of the cave entrance.

“But I want to—”

A weird sucking sound came from the ledge. A clatter arose outside, something striking the stone walls. A lot of somethings. One made its way through the cave entrance and
tinked
off the back wall. I ducked into a corner with Temi, burying my face in my arm. The thought of the kid who had died in the hospital jumped into my mind. That had been from a puncture wound, not BBs though, right? Except we hadn’t gotten a good look at what was being flung at us yet. Maybe they
did
puncture.

Another round of ammunition fired, clattering against the stone wall outside. At least two more projectiles breached the cave. One ricocheted and bounced off the floor nearby. I curled into a tighter ball in some vain hope that if the ammunition hit me, it wouldn’t do much damage if it struck an arm or leg.

“This is when a door-sized boulder would have been nice to find,” Temi said.

She sounded calmer than I felt. I peeked an eye over my arm. She was crouching in the corner with me, but she faced the exit, her sword at the ready. In case the monster got tired of shooting at us and decided to charge us? Was it small enough to fit in? I couldn’t guess, but from that drone, it sounded big.

“Sorry, I didn’t think to look for such a feature before climbing in here,” I said, finding some reassurance in the way Temi was facing the threat. Maybe I should be facing it, too, though I questioned whether my whip or multitool could do anything. Maybe I should have given Simon more support in his flamethrower-creation aspirations. “I won’t make that mistake next time I’m shopping for caves.”

Temi gave me a quick smile. We hunkered in silence for several moments, but the creature didn’t fire again. I supposed thinking of it as a monster or a creature was premature—at this point, it sounded more mechanical in nature than animal-like—but I couldn’t imagine this being anything except the next
jibtab
.

“Jakatra didn’t show me how to fight flying creatures.” Temi almost sounded apologetic. Did she think I was disappointed because she wasn’t charging out there and doing some ninja moves on the monster? Please, how was someone with a sword even supposed to reach something in the air? We needed… I snorted, wondering how much range Simon’s flamethrower would have.

She looked at me, her dark eyes hurt.

I waved away my snort. “That wasn’t—I mean, I’m sure there was only so much you could learn in a week. We’ll have to figure out a way to bring it down to the ground so we can get at it. Maybe Simon will have some ideas.”

“In the meantime, I guess we duck and hide.” Her lips thinned. Not pleased at the idea, was she?

“Simon’s
RealmSaga
character can deflect arrows with his sword,” I said, trying to lighten her mood. “Maybe you can practice that later.”

This time she snorted. I didn’t know if I had succeeded in lightening anything though.

The pitch of the buzz changed. The creature was flying around again. Looking for another way into our cave? There wasn’t one. Thanks to the glow of Temi’s sword, the entire space was visible now, an oblong room with rounded red walls, the edges worn away long ago by wind or water. It spanned about eight feet at its widest spot, and it was narrower in most places. In the center, I could stand up, but Temi would have to duck her head. The space itself was empty, save for a few potsherds in a back corner. I had a feeling I had been looting the campsite of the guys who had looted this cave long ago. At least the wall decor remained.

I considered the pictographs that had caught my eye earlier.

“Are they legitimate?” Temi must have noticed me looking at them.

“Given the remoteness of this cave, I’d guess so. There actually
are
a lot of real paintings and carvings on the rocks around here. See that angular, crooked snake? That’s representative of the Sinagua style, as well as this monochromatic look, glazed into the rock by fire.” I pointed to the markings closest to the door. “That’s one you don’t see often. A shaman at his fire, wearing his regalia and maybe having a confab with some spirits. Or maybe the rest of these paintings represent some vision he had. It’d be awesome to be able to date these. The Sinagua lived in this area from around 500 to 1400 Common Era, and they developed quite an extensive culture with a trade network that saw seashells brought from the Gulf of California and Macaws from Mexico. Lots of agriculture, thanks to the springs in the area, and they built extensive villages and cliff dwellings. Have you seen Montezuma’s Castle?”

Temi shook her head. She had an eye toward the canyon again. I didn’t know if she wanted a history lesson, but it wasn’t as if we had something better to do at the moment. I checked my cell phone, thinking to warn Simon of the buzzing creature, but there wasn’t any reception; we would have to get back up on top of the cliffs.

“We’ll stop to take a look on the way back to Phoenix,” I said. “It’s not far off the freeway. Cliff dwellings that are still in good shape. You can’t go anywhere near them, of course, since it’s a national monument. But anyway, the Sinagua had this good-sized civilization all through the Verde Valley, and then all of the sudden, they left. It’s one of the archaeological mysteries of the area. Why did they leave and where did they go? Some people say drought conditions, others say enemies, and I remember reading an article by one archaeologist who had figured out that they’d been burying a lot of babies, so something wonky was going on.”