***
Kaitlyn flew off the end of the slide into the pile of sand that was at the end of the chute. “Thank god, no molten lava!” she yelled, as she jumped to her feet, looking at everyone. “What?” she asked, as they laughed at her.
“Kaitlyn, you’re such a drama queen,” Kevan told her.
“Kevan, thank god you’re fine,” Kaitlyn threw at her, as she gave her sister a hug. Stepping back, she looked around them. “So where are we?”
“We’re somewhere in the middle of a mountain,” Marcus growled at her.
“But we must be close to the grimoire,” Kevan stated, as she brushed the sand off Kaitlyn’s back.
“Why do you say that?” Kaitlyn wanted to know, and Kevan pointed to Leila. She stood off by herself, her head cocked to the side, listening to someone that only she could hear.
“Is she okay?” Kaitlyn questioned to them.
“I believe so; she’s been like this from the moment she got here.”
“I’m fine,” Leila spoke up, turning to look at them. “We’re really close. I can’t tell you if it’s happy or mad that were here, but I can tell you that we need to be careful. The power that is within those pages is immense.”
“Could it be dangerous to us?” Kevan asked.
“I don’t know, maybe,” she admitted.
“Lovely,” Kaitlyn muttered. “This just keeps getting better and better by the minute.”
“Kaitlyn, knock it off,” Kevan hissed at her sister, and moved off to take a better look at the cavern in which they found themselves, her eyes taking it all in. The cavern was eerily beautiful, with the walls shimmering, making it seem surprisingly bright in the darkness of the mountain. Looking up, she took in the glistening stalactites hanging off the ceiling, and everywhere she looked, the floor was covered with the stalagmites.
“Have you looked at this place?” Kaitlyn whispered to Kevan, not sure why she was whispering, but it seemed appropriate.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” Kevan agreed, “Come here and look at these!” She pulled Kaitlyn over the closest stalagmites. Squatting down, she picked up a pile of stones, holding them up for Kaitlyn to see.
“What is it?” Wren questioned, as she joined them. Kaitlyn reached out, picking up a couple the stones in Kevan’s hand. She looked at them, and then back to Kevan, who stood up. Kaitlyn’s hand went to the pendant that she wore under her shirt. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked Kevan.
“I think so,” Kevan told her, the excitement ringing in her voice.
“Uh, you’re talking in riddles,” Wren told them.
Marcus walked up to see what they were looking at. “Okay, talk to us, what are they?”
“I’m not positive, but they sure look like raw diamonds to me,” Kevan stated.
“What, you’re joking?” Wren took a closer look at the pile of stones in Kevan’s hand.
“There are piles of those everywhere in here,” Wren stammered.
“I know,” Kevan agreed, as she looked to Kaitlyn. “Look really close.”
“I see it Kevan, even with my untrained eye.”
“The stones from your necklace,” Marcus stated.
“Yes, but how did we end up with a necklace made of diamonds that come from Elden?” Kevan questioned.
“Who knows, but it doesn’t matter at the moment,” Marcus instructed her. “We need to keep moving.” Kevan nodded as she scooped up three handfuls of the stones, dropping them into her backpack. She would look at them later.
“So, which way do we go?” Ronan questioned. Leila stepped up, and she studied the five tunnels that led off the cavern that they were standing in.
“This one,” she informed them, as she headed into the tunnel without waiting for them.
“That one,” Kevan stated, as they hurried to catch up with her.