Happy January! If the sunny dry weather holds we'll have a pleasant winter but face water restrictions during the summer. It's unusual to still see the bottom of my driveway in mid-January. That doesn't mean anything to anyone but those who live in my house. One year we had mountains of snow there that equaled a mac truck, but most years it's only 3 - 4 feet deep. The weather forecast predicts smog settling in, but no snow. Breathing won't be fun for a while.
I snapped this photo of one of the first snowstorms last fall--back when the world was changing colors and snow hadn't ventured down from the mountains yet.
Hidden Secrets
by Leona Palmer Haag
Chapter 1
A soft breeze sifted
through palm fronds and lifted a wisp of hair from Natalie's shoulder. It felt cool and refreshing. A million stars twinkled so brightly overhead she
wondered if she reached out, would she be able to touch them? Maybe pull a string of diamonds from the sky to circle her neck? She didn't move.
Not even a finger. Her breathing was light and shallow, almost nonexistent.
Given her current circumstance it would be fatal to shift anything other than
her eyelashes more than a fraction of an inch. Her hands were securely fastened together in her
lap and her feet were latched tightly to them, forcing her knees nearly to her
chin. Attached to the line was a taunt cord that almost disappeared into the
night except where it was faintly lit in places like a glowing line of fire when
it caught the flickering flames cast from Tiki torches planted in the sand
along the beach dozens of yards away. At the end of the binding cords were
three trigger lines carefully strung to crossbows hidden among tropical
foliage.
Natalie's eyes ran
along the shimmering cords and through the riggings. She analyzed every
fraction of an inch—slight kinks and nearly invisible frays. She'd done it a
hundred times already, but inspected them once more to see if she might have
accidentally overlooked one slight flaw that offered even a slim hope for
escape. She found none.
Music drifted from
the cabana on the hillside above with a soft mingling of native stringed
and wind instruments and steel drums. Romantic might have described the night if her
situation had been different.
Now Natalie's gaze
traveled past the weapons holding her captive to a visible section of beach. She studied the scene and longed
for it. The white sun-warmed sand she had strolled across as if without a care in
the world only three days before glowed ghostly in darkness splattered by
orange tongues of fire. Beyond, gentle waves pulled inland and deposited foam
before rushing back into the sea. The glimmer of distant starlight, Tiki lamps
and the last sliver of moonlight posing like a deep sea diver on the horizon
were the only lights.
She blinked away beach
scenes before refocusing on the crossbow directly before her, staring straight
in her face. Despite being crudely set, it aimed squarely at her heart, with
added triggers fastened to second and third bows. One aimed to her left and the
other to her right so no matter how quickly she moved or which direction she
chose, a lethal arrow that she'd been informed was tipped with poison, would
sink deep into her flesh. Perhaps it would pierce her heart. She would die.
Probably not quickly enough, but eventually. Writhing in pain.
The stone patio
Natalie sat on felt nothing like the opulent bed she’d slept in the night before. It was
rock hard, made of huge flat stones with tiny cobblestones set in wide gaps
between them. The pillow beneath her had seemed soft hours before but had
flattened and grown as hard as the rocks. The wall behind her was worse.
Not cushioned. Firm. Upright and stiff like her. She longed to shift her weight
but her desire to live halted her. A lone protruding rock dug below her right
shoulder blade and she allowed it. Hour after hour after long torturous hour.
The breeze lifted
Natalie's hair again before releasing it. Loose strands settled against her
neck with one long strand brushing the side of her face and stopping at her
nose. Natalie concentrated on not moving as it tickled and teased as it tempted her to shake
her shoulders—a deadly mistake. She didn't sniff or sneeze. Not even flinch.
Her eyes zeroed in on the trees and her thoughts begged them to hold still.
Fronds defied her wish as they shivered too close to the trigger lines.
And then she saw
something move in the dark. Something worse than sharp poison darts. Two tiny
eyes peered from the undergrowth beneath one crossbow. A rat! It sat motionless
for a long moment that Natalie hoped would stretch into forever. It jerked and
disappeared, only to return, this time skittering toward her feet.
Prayer was not
something Natalie generally gave much thought to, however, as the rat studied
her, she considered it. For a moment the correct way to address God concerned
her, but when the rat scurried closer she forgot formality and whispered,
"Oh, God, spare me." It was the best she could do. The only thing.
She dared not move, not even twitch, but feared she might unless heaven
intervened.
The rat stopped.
Natalie wondered if God was involved or if it was a mere coincidence. Good
luck? She never gave luck credit where her life was concerned. She accomplished everything on her own. The rat turned
and retreated to the patio edge to forage among jungle debris before entirely disappearing.
Once more Natalie sat alone in the night. She contemplated whether she should
thank God. Had he really taken charge?
Her thoughts cut
short when she heard footsteps and laughter approaching. She tensed, preparing for death preceded by pain. A moment
later a man stood before her just out of arrow range with a teetering drunk
woman hanging on his arm. In a slurred voice the native beauty spoke.
"What are you going to do with her, Carlo?"
Carlo didn't
immediately answer as his eyes examined the riggings holding Natalie more
securely than any jail cell ever could. Finally, seeing everything was as he
wanted, he spoke. "Let her take the eternal sleep." With that he
chuckled and led the woman away adding, "But how soon sleep arrives is
entirely up to her." The woman giggled.
Natalie slowly
exhaled and closed her eyes. One misstep from that ignorant and inebriated
woman would have killed her. Now the task was left up to only her. If she
nodded off and slumped over she'd be responsible for her own death. Almost
instantly a yawn developed. She fought it, deciding now was a perfect time to
give herself the longest lecture she could create. She'd make it so enthralling
she'd hang on every word. It began with a sharp rebuke for being captured in
the first place, and went on to deride herself for not escaping before she
was tied up.
But she'd had no chance! Not with automatic weapons
pressing against her back.
For a brief moment Natalie allowed herself to wallow in self-pity
before she snapped back to attention. She knew there was a way out—there always
was—and she'd find it. Her eyes traveled the length of the cords again. Nothing
missed her careful examination. But once again she found no way to release
herself without letting arrows fly. It was infuriating.
And then Natalie's heart nearly stopped. Someone was
hiding in the undergrowth watching her. A man. How long he'd been there she didn't
know. Hours? She chastised herself for being so deaf, blind and caught up in
her own plight to have not heard or seen him coming. Was she losing her touch--the gift she relied on so much?
Despite the warm night, Natalie's blood ran chill. The
unknown man hadn't moved, made a sound or done anything to indicate his
presence. He was her match. Just as good as she was. Maybe better. But if
Ricardo, Carlo's boss, had sent him to watch her, they must be worried about
the riggings not holding her. There must be a way to escape.
But the unseen man would be right behind her. With a
gun? A javelin? Fully armed to take her down—an unarmed woman who had no idea
what she was up against yet?
She closed her eyes for a moment and her other senses took over. She knew he was
there, as if his presence disrupted vibrations in the air. He crouched not more
than twenty feet away on her left. Watching. Waiting. For what? Her
ultimate death? Her escape? His chance to pursue and gain victory? In her mind
she reviewed the cords, lines, riggings, crossbows and arrows.
Ricardo must fear her escape. There had to be a way to escape or the man wouldn't be
there.
End Chapter 1
Thanks so much for joining me for Hidden secrets. If you'd like to leave a comment, please do. As always, this book is copyrighted. Please do not copy all or part of it in any manner or method without my written consent. None of the characters or anything else in this novel are based on any person. This is a work of fiction from my own imagination. As always, I hope you enjoy my work.
~~Leona
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