Page 19 of Whispers of Fortune (Golden State Treasure Book #1)

N INETEEN

“Brody!” Ellie scrambled faster, her heart thudding. Rocks and scrub brush that she grabbed to slow her descent tore at her hands.

Josh glanced up at her, but she only distantly noticed as she rushed down. She’d’ve tried to slow down, move with more care, but she didn’t have that much control of her descent. She slid suddenly and doubled her time, skidding right past Josh.

He reached out and snagged her by the back of her coat. “Ellie, be careful.”

She nodded, and with just a bit more control they continued on their way down.

Rocks pelted her head, and though she didn’t look up, she knew Thayne was coming. She’d probably get a face full of dirt if she looked up. She’d heard the cry of terror break from his throat when his whole family had vanished over a cliff. She’d screamed right along with him.

How could either of them be alive? But she’d seen Brody moving. Just a little, but that meant no broken spine, didn’t it? No broken arms and legs?

He’d knelt over Lock. Then he looked up at her. Never had she seen so much in another’s eyes as that moment when her gaze latched onto his. She was mindless to anything but speed and prayer.

At last, they reached the bottom of the treacherous slope. Distantly she heard water flowing and wondered where in the world they were.

Ellie was ahead of Josh. She saw him pause to make sure Thayne got down all right.

She ran for Brody and dropped to her knees beside him. He was facedown. Gently she rolled him onto his back and pressed a hand flat on his chest. His heart was beating solidly.

Josh reached Lock. “He’s alive.”

Brody moaned, and his eyes fluttered open. “Ellie, Lock, I-I checked. There’s a pulse. No broken bones. But he’s bleeding...” His eyes closed.

“Brody, no. Stay with me.”

“Lock seems to be knocked insensible, but he’s in one piece.” Josh was checking over Lock just as she checked Brody.

Ellie looked up to see Josh sit back on his haunches.

Thayne, beside his little brother, slumped to sit on his backside. “You think they’re going to be all right?” Thayne sounded like he might burst into tears.

Josh nodded. “There could be things wrong we can’t see, but let’s hope they’ve both just taken a pounding and will come around.” He shifted his gaze to Ellie. “It may be a while, though. I’m going back up to the horses. I’ll scout around and see if I can get them down here.” He pointed to the left. “There may be a more passable slope over that way. It looks promising. And there’s grazing here, with water aplenty sounds like.”

Ellie looked away from Brody, and it took all her strength. Water was definitely flowing somewhere nearby.

“If I can’t get the horses down here, I’ll tie them up and haul down bedrolls and such. We’d planned to camp out tonight. It looks like we’re going to make that camp right here in this spot.”

Brody moaned again but didn’t open his eyes or speak.

Ellie felt hope and fear in equal parts.

“Thayne, you’d better go up with me. If I can’t get the horses down, there’ll be a lot to haul. It’ll take us both to carry it all.”

Thayne’s eyes slid from one brother to the other. Ellie sensed him wanting to refuse to go. He wanted to stay with his family instead. Yet he would be more help by going with Josh.

He nodded and rose to his feet. “Be careful, little sister.” Josh’s words were simple, although they seemed to be something more than their most obvious meaning.

Josh’s eyes flitted between her and Brody. Then he and Thayne started heading back up the slope, leaving Ellie alone with two battered, unconscious men.

“Lock!” Brody’s eyes flew open with a start. “Lock! No!”

Ellie’s face filled his vision. “Brody, you’re awake.”

“Lock...” Brody rolled to the side and was hit with agony in every joint. “I have to—”

“He’s right here. He’s still unconscious.” Ellie helped Brody to sit up.

Brody blinked at the sight of his brother, who was tucked snugly under a blanket. A fire crackled on past Lock. Brody smelled savory meat and saw a steaming coffeepot. He looked overhead to the night sky, exploding with stars. “How long have I been asleep?”

“You fell in the middle of the afternoon. And the days are long.”

“You set up camp?”

“Yes.” Ellie came to his side as he looked down at Lock. As he struggled to focus on his brother, his head began to throb. There were two of Lock, then one, then two again.

A concussion. Any blow to the head bad enough to knock him out for hours was very likely to qualify as a concussion.

“Josh got a couple of rabbits,” said Ellie. “He’s had them cooking a long time now. The meat should be tender enough to chew, even with a terrible headache. First, you’d better check Lock over. I’ll fetch the canteen. Then if you’re up to it, you should eat something.”

Josh reached for the coffeepot sitting on the red-hot coals at the heart of the fire. “I’ll pour you a cup of coffee, fix up a plate of rabbit and biscuits.”

Brody nodded slowly, then slid his hands up and down Lock’s arms and legs. In the flickering firelight, he noticed a nasty gash on Lock’s forehead. Running his hands over Lock’s skull, he felt two bumps the size of chicken eggs.

“Has he been awake, even for a minute?” Brody looked over Lock’s abdomen, checking for swelling or bruises, watching for his brother to react in pain.

It wasn’t that he wanted Lock to feel pain; Brody just wanted Lock to react to the world around him.

Ellie was back at his side so quickly, Brody had barely noticed she’d left. “Josh and I have been watching over him,” she said. “Thayne too—that is, until he fell asleep about an hour ago.”

Thayne slept near the campfire, covered with a wool blanket against the chill of the mountain night.

Brody drank deeply from the ice-cold water in the canteen. It was fresh water, not the tepid water they’d been hauling on their journey. Again Brody heard the rush of water nearby. He saw their horse beyond the fire and heard the quiet cropping as they ate grass.

Thayne sat up, shoving aside the blanket. “Brody, how are you?” His brow furrowed as he crawled the few feet between them to rest a hand on Brody’s arm.

“Looks like I’m going to be all right. Tell me, has Lock been conscious at all? Even for a little while?”

Thayne shook his head sadly.

Brody frowned as they both stared at their brother Lock’s still form.

Ellie said, “I’ve been watching him closely. Josh and Thayne and I sat him up just a bit, and he swallowed a little water. I think his sleep is more normal, a true sleep rather than being unconscious. We haven’t tried to wake him up, hoping sleep was the best thing for him right now. But he’s breathing at a steady pace. He even snored for a while and shifted a bit, as someone who’s asleep is apt to do.” Ellie knelt between Brody and Lock, who lay to Brody’s left, with Thayne kneeling on Brody’s right. “Do you think we should try to wake him?” She rested a gentle hand on Lock’s shoulder.

Lock’s smooth breathing became uneven for a few seconds, then went deep and steady again. Brody got to his knees beside Ellie, closer to Lock’s head. Thayne came around until he was directly across from Brody.

Josh, who’d been handling everything involved in a night under the stars with two injured companions, stood by to watch. He hadn’t poured coffee or gotten Brody his food yet, leaving Brody to tend to his brother first.

“He must have a concussion,” said Brody. “I suppose I do, too.”

“I’ve never heard that word before,” Thayne said. “How serious is it?”

“It just means the brain is bruised. Like a blow to your arm will leave a bruise, a blow to the head leaves a bruise as well. Usually it heals right up, but a person needs to be careful. You can get dizzy. Your vision can blur, or you see double. Headaches can be a real problem. There are other symptoms, too. Some concussions have a few of them, others none. But with time they almost always heal up just fine.”

Brody checked Lock’s head again and winced at the two large bumps. One on the back of his skull, one on the right side. His face was scraped up badly. Just moving told Brody he was almost as battered as his brother.

“I’m going to see if he’ll wake up. It’s a good idea to interrupt even normal sleep after someone’s taken a blow to the head.”

Brody reached for the canteen, then pulled a kerchief out of his pocket and soaked it with cool water. Lock’s face had been washed. His cuts and scrapes looked clean but were unbandaged. There were enough of them it was hard to know where to start.

Pressing the cool cloth to Lock’s forehead, Brody said quietly, “Lock, can you hear me? Lock, wake up.”

Brody used his best doctor voice while pressing the cold kerchief to his brother’s face and neck.

With a quiet moan of pain, Lock’s eyes fluttered open. He lay there staring up at Brody.

“You’re awake. Good. You fell over a cliff. We’ve been worried about you.”

“W-we?”

Brody nodded. “Thayne and me, Ellie and Josh. We set up camp right here where you fell. You’ve been sleeping a long time. Would you like some food or a drink of water?”

“The water sounds good.”

“Thayne, can you help lift him?”

“I’m glad you’re awake, Lock. I’ve been powerful worried.” Thayne slid his arm under Lock’s shoulders on Lock’s right while Brody did the same from the left. They eased him into a sitting position.

Ellie got the canteen. “I’m here too, Lock. And Josh.” She held the canteen to his lips, and they all watched as he sipped from it, then drank long and deep.

“How about something to eat?” Ellie asked. “Josh cooked up a couple of rabbits, and there are biscuits. He also made coffee. A warm drink might suit you.”

Lock shook his head, then stopped and moaned. “Thank you, Miss Ellie. Josh, thanks for making the food, but none for me. I hurt all over, Brody.”

“It’ll hurt like you’ve taken a Saturday night beating, but it’s all bumps and bruises near as I can tell.” Brody prayed he was right about that. “You’ll heal up in time. Would you rather we left you alone so you can sleep some more?”

“More water first, please.”

After Lock took another drink from the canteen, Brody and Thayne lowered him gently to the ground. Instantly his eyes closed, and his breathing fell back into that same steady rhythm.