Page 50

CHAPTER 50

REDLEY

“You sure this is it?” Daniel asks.

I compare the natural markings with the compass and the gridlines in Great-great-granddaddy’s map.

“Not as sure as I’d like to be, but close enough to risk it,” I tell him, folding everything back up and slipping it into the front pocket of the jacket I got from the trading post. I climb out of the truck and make sure I’ve got everything. Finally zipping the jacket, I take a deep, steadying breath.

I’ll need easy access to all that as I hike the mountain and follow the line. Great-great-granddaddy died before he could finish mapping. There are nearly five hundred acres left to search, but the fact that Daddy was killed when he looked here, too, gives me hope I won’t have to look too far, but too far is relative.

The hike is smooth at first, but soon enough, I’m climbing steeply up. I take breaks more often than I would like, the weight of my cargo far more than I’m used to. An hour passes without any trouble, just taxing physical labor and a constant sense that I’m poking into the very thing that got my family murdered. Am I knowingly climbing toward the same fate, naively thinking my outcome will be better? The only difference between me and them is that I’m the last Little. Whatever Wolf’s plot is, if I’m gone, I think they win.

The light is beginning to fail, and I’ve decided to camp for the night. I light my lantern and start picking out a soft spot when something in the distance catches my eye. At another thousand or so feet up, at a slight leftward angle, and on a different line than the one I’m searching, is a natural opening in the rock. Large enough for a man or two to pass next to each other but stealthily tucked into the mountain.

I’ve seen the opening in the cliff face before. The one time I needed to dump a body that I didn’t kill. The shape of the cave tucked away, the feeling of endless curiosity, no way of knowing and no way of reaching it. I couldn’t have guessed from that angle just how easy it would be to approach from Wolf’s mountain. In fact, I have a perfect view of both his mansion and the cave from here.

This is Little land through and through, at the heart of it even. As far as I understand, our property is immense, though I’ve never seen the full maps to know the proper edges. But this part is definitely mine, and it’s supposed to be empty.

Hell, I don’t even know for sure if Daddy made it out this far or not before Carver killed him. I was always told it was lousy for rockslides and far too dangerous to test. There’s no way, though, that this area has been abandoned for years. Like I saw the day I dumped Porter in the lake, there's a worn footpath.

Thoughts of resting for the night lay abandoned as I realize this is it. The feeling vibrates my fingertips and makes my heart pound in my chest. Great-great-granddaddy’s survey line ended about a mile out from here. He didn’t have this book on him the day he died in the woods, and I’m awfully grateful for that right now.

I climb the side of the mountain, feet sticking to the narrow path leading straight into the cave’s mouth, and find the ground pretty sturdy. Confusion mixes with suspicion as my gaze travels far into the distance. The view is just too perfect. There’s a reason they built their home there. Are they watching me enter right now?

What the hell? This is my goddamn property.

My feet keep moving, carrying me toward that opening. My fingers wrap around the entrance to a cavern, and I thank my lucky stars that there’s enough light to see a few feet inside, but it’s so tight, I don’t think I can fit with my gun, and I need my hands to feel my way. I leave my gun with a nervous twinge before placing the pack next to it, then I tuck in. The only thing I keep is the oil lamp I’d already lit.

And if there are any people in here? It’s too late anyway. They’re going to get the jump on me long before I realize. The sun has nearly set now, and I hope the watching wolves won’t notice the light inside the cave they’re stalking, but why are they stalking it anyway?

I take a few steps through a very tight space, and much to my relief, it opens wide, and there’s no more rock at my back. The cave appears perfectly empty, though far deeper than I expected, and when I listen carefully, I realize there’s running water coming from somewhere within.

I'd be disappointed if I expected a rough cave dug into the mountainside. Fortunately for me, I had no idea what to expect. The walls are surprisingly smooth beneath my fingers, and I lose sight of the opening as I wind deeper inside. About twenty feet later, I feel safe enough to turn the flame up high, and the cave comes into fairly bright focus. The ceiling is higher than I could have imagined, and I’m surprised there could be so much open space inside the mountain without it caving in.

The walls are surprisingly black. That isn’t the coal West Virginia is so famous for, but if it’s not a coal seam, then what the hell is it? What really stuns me isn’t the natural beauty or the fantastic discovery of the majesty of my own land. It’s a giant circuit box on the wall, leading to a complex network of power paneling and a giant lever that appears to turn it all on.

What the hell?

I don’t dare flip it, in case it triggers some kind of alarm and tells Wolf and his dad I’m out here, but part of me fears that’s already happened, that they built their mansion right there for exactly that reason. But why? I look deeper, finding a series of lights anchored into the stone walls, and the farther back I go, I discover a cart on a small track.

Is there a mine?

I keep going until the sound of rushing water is everywhere, and the air is damp and humid in a way that it doesn’t get above ground, the cave feeling like it's its own subterranean world. It tightens again the deeper I go, and it takes me a little bit to realize what’s beneath my feet as I walk on the banks of an underground river. My boots soak through as I keep going, but I’m not ready to stop just yet.

When I step on something quite large, I look down and find a giant uncut stone. It’s white, with a hazy shine on top of it, and I’m not even sure what I’m looking at. The light of the lamp is enough to show me that it’s wet and dark, and whatever is in my hand glimmers like a grayscale rainbow beneath that crud.

“This can’t be a diamond,” I say out loud.

“But it is.” Wolf’s voice comes from somewhere in the immense darkness, echoing around me and making it seem like his presence is everywhere.