She took several steps backward. “It’s too wide,” she said calmly. “I don’t think I could cross it.”
“No, it’s far too wide. I couldn’t even cross it,” he said.
It was then that she seemed to look up and realize where he was. Her eyes widened—and she pointed. “Graeme, your arm. Are you bleeding?”
“A little. It isn’t that bad. It’s barely engaged my skin.” Not completely untrue, though he would lose more blood when he pulled the damn thing out. While the stalactite was not that large in circumference, it was brutally sharp, and had it fallen a few inches over, it would have gone straight through his heart.
He gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, and pulled up on the stalactite with all his strength. It tore through his flesh on the way out, and he knew that echoing sound filling the cavern came from his throat. But finally he was free.
Blood oozed from the wound, running down his arm. He struggled to sit up, the pain swirling nausea through his stomach.
“You’re bleeding faster,” Vanessa said. “You need to stanch the bleeding. Create a tourniquet.”
He nodded, knowing what she said was true. He was thankful she said it aloud to remind his clouded mind what to do. He ripped his other sleeve off and wrapped it around his arm, then used his teeth to help tie it off. The fabric strained as he pulled it tight, and the blood slowed to a trickle before eventually stopping.
Graeme didn’t move for several moments, merely concentrated on inhaling and exhaling. Breathe in, breathe out.
Then he looked across the gap to where his new wife stood, her face concerned, but without fear. Injured or not, he couldn’t leave her over there. He came to his feet, using only his good arm as leverage. The empty chasm was far too wide for him to jump. If he had two good arms, he might risk it, but even then, it would be a stretch.
Graeme looked around. “I’m going to have to find another way to get you out.”
“I don’t think you’re in any state to rescue me,” she said. “You just sit still and don’t touch anything.” He glanced around them, surveying their surroundings once more. Several other stalactites had also fallen, and the blast could have caused additional structural instability. “I don’t want to cause any more shifts, or else we’ll never get out of here.”
She nodded, but continued to look around her.
“I’m serious, Vanessa; don’t move. The caves here go down so deep, if you fall down there”—he pointed at the gap between them, then shook his head—“I’d never be able to save you. But I think I can circle around and find another tunnel that leads to you.”
She took a steadying breath. “I’ll be safe. You just work on a way of getting me out of here. And concentrate on not bleeding to death.”
“I’m working on it right now.”
CHAPTER 8
Niall made haste returning to his home. He knew The Raven had been following him, had heard his steps near. Had the bastard followed earlier, Niall might not have accomplished his task. But he’d heard the explosion. The man had stepped around his barricade to appease his end- less curiosity, had fallen into Niall’s trap, and now was trapped himself.
Niall would wait a while to allow The Raven to take in the gravity of his situation. Then Niall would return to the cave and do a little blackmailing of his own. He had leverage now, and soon he’d be able to walk away from all of this. There had been a day when he’d longed to find the Loch Ness Treasure, but the quest had brought him nothing but pain and grief. No more.
The only thing that he wanted now was for his family to be safe. And he had The Raven right where he wanted him.
Vanessa surveyed her surroundings, knowing that Graeme was out there looking for a way to save her.
Thank goodness that Niall had had the foresight to leave a lit lantern in this area. She assumed it meant he would be returning soon to his work, whatever that might be.
Graeme’s wound had been a nasty one, but the stalactite had missed any organs or arteries, so in time he should be fine. It seemed likely, though, that he’d need stitches. She considered this, and in the meantime decided that while she waited for him, she might as well use this time to explore. Perhaps she’d find something useful. She did not think she was in the precise cave where Mr. McElroy had discovered his fossil, but that did not mean there weren’t discoveries to be made here. Or perhaps she’d even rescue herself.
She made her way over to the wall that had crumbled, hoping she’d find something buried within the stone. Fossils had a way of showing up inside of rocks. The crumbled wall dissolved into a pile of rocks about three quarters of the way down on one side. The only opening was considerably narrow. She reached into her bag and retrieved a candle and lit it. The flame sputtered to life, and she held it in between the narrow opening to see what was beyond.
It was yet another cavern, but because of the fallen rocks, the opening was far too narrow for her to pass through. It might be a way out, but in its current state she’d never be able to fit through the passage, not even by turning sideways. She needed to remove more of the rocks to widen the opening. She extinguished the candle.
She took one glance behind her, but Graeme was nowhere in sight. He’d told her to stay where she was, but what if his wound had started bleeding again? What if he’d passed out somewhere and needed her help? There was no waiting in a situation like this. There was only action.
Vanessa set the lantern aside to give herself free use of both hands. She bent to retrieve the first stone, lifting it to cradle near her body. The chalky exterior flaked against her skin, making the rock difficult to hold on to. Then she picked up another. This one scraped against her fingernail until it tore off so close to her finger’s tip that she fully expected it to bleed. But her tiny injury shrank in comparison to Graeme being impaled by a stalactite.
One by one, she removed rocks, setting them off to the side behind her. Though the air surrounding her was chilled, her exertion caused sweat to bead and roll down her back so that her dress began to stick to her skin. Almost there, the passageway was almost wide enough. She worked to pull some additional rocks out of the way. Finally she’d removed enough that she’d be able to squeeze through.
Retrieving her lantern, Vanessa sucked in her breath and climbed through to the other area. Gingerly, she stepped into the other tunnel and waited for another explosion. Only the sound of her own breathing filled the space. So she took another step, the ground firm beneath her feet. She only hoped where it led her wouldn’t bring additional danger.
Chalky dust filled her lungs as she inhaled, and the chill emanating off the stone walls seemed to close in on her. But she’d never been one to allow fear to stop her. She would simply walk down this way for a few meters and see if she could detect a way out, a way back to Graeme. If nothing came of her search, she’d return and wait until Graeme found her.