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CHAPTER EIGHT
LILY - MIA
The cool, moist air of the cave washes over me as I step inside. The rough rocks cling to my feet as I walk. The part of me that trained at Homeland wishes I had my gun, and maybe some body armor.
Definitely not naked and unarmed walking in here.
I know the mountain god won't attack me, or at least IthinkI know that. Fabien and the others wouldn't just bring me here to feed me to some creature would they? What a crazy thought. I wish I hadn't thought about it.
And what if I screw this up? What if I make a mistake and he eats me or tears my arms off or nibbles off all of my toes? The thought of it sends giggles rippling through me. My hands shake. The air in the cave turns colder the further I go.
I wonder if I'm supposed to be able to see in the dark. They didn't give me any torches or a flashlight or whatever so as the moonlight fades it gets real darkrealfast.
Walking naked through the dark is a lot worse.
Something in the distance grunts.
"Oh, fudge! What the heck was that?"
My hands instinctively go to cover all my bits. I don't think the mountain god would eat a nipple, but who knows? Or maybe, he's not home and there's just a friggin bear in here?
Whatever made that noise was big. It was a deep, guttural grunt. It echoed. I felt it in my chest.
"Um, excuse me? It's really dark and I can't--"
Blue light flares around me. Shadows flutter in every direction and I drop just in time to avoid the swarm of bats that squeal and cut through the air like little black knives.
"Bats are fine. Bats don't hurt people."
I don't know if that's true, but it feels right in my head and I feel better for saying it. I wish I'd paid more attention to the documentaries I watched in college. I was so focused on law enforcement. Who knew I'd be naked in a cave surrounded by bats and...maybe snakes?
Something slithers across the floor nearby and I let out a squeak. I can't help it. No one is around to make fun of me anyways, so why not? If I see a rat, I'm screaming full blast for sure. I don't care if the mountain god finds out I don't like critters.
It takes a second for my eyes to adjust, and then I look for the lights. The mountain god doesn't have a Bluetooth setup in here, so what is it?
Then I spot it.
Some weird mold or something grows along the rocks and crevices of the cavern, and it glows blue. But how’d he make it turn on like that?
Duh, he's a god. Or he has Bluetooth.
Now the cavern ahead of me widens and gapes, a massive structure. Before, all I felt was the empty space around me, but now I can see, and I somehow feelmorenaked.
"Hello?"
Something scrapes in the darkness, like massive claws. Another grunt echoes from the deep. A long, low,rrooooowwwrrsound makes my hair stand on end. I hear something moving, but more than that, Ifeelsomething moving. The stale air of the cave shifts and a breeze blows past smelling of rot and decay, and a little like my aunt's garden back in Georgia. Probably great fertilizer down there, if anyone has the guts to go haul some out.
God manure.
The thought makes me giggle again, mostly from the nervousness.
"I'm sorry! I'm not laughing atyou, Mr. God. Do you have a name? Of course you have a name! But they didn't tell me. Everyone just calls you the mountain god. Notamountain god, which would imply others, butthemountain god, like you're the only one. Which is great for you probably. I'm sorry, I'm rambling...it's weird how naked I am. You don't do bikinis, huh?"
I put a hand over my mouth before I apologized again. Olivia would threaten me with a spanking by now if she'd heard. Mafia princessesdo notsay sorry. But I was raised in Georgia and taught to be polite.
When I seeitcoming closer, I freeze. It's like a small hill moving towards me. So large I can't even tell what it is. I wondered if it’d be a creature of some sort. A bear or a wolf or a giant...tiger or something, but it's bigger than that. Bigger than a bull elephant.
And it moves slowly, plodding its way along.
