Mosaic - Jeri Taylor [49]
He was ready to turn back, when his eye flickered to something high on the wall perpendicular to the dead end. It's a wonder he spotted it; it called no attention to itself and appeared only as a slight crack in the stone. But it was the shape that caught Harry's eye: it was exactly like the cobalt blue spires he had followed on the surface, which pointed the way from grave site to grave site.
"Kes, look at this." She moved to him and stared upward. "It's like the spires we saw up above."
He stretched out his arm and extended his hand so his finger could reach the small etched design. He touched it, applying only slight pressure. There was a sense of movement, and then a rush of chill air filled the corridor. They turned, shining their beacons, to discover that a panel had opened in the side wall. A set of stone stairs led downward into darkness, and a cool, moist breeze wafted upward. Curiously, Harry felt no apprehension. The dark stairway seemed inviting. He turned to Kes and saw that she was smiling, and then they began, without a word or a question, to descend.
CHAPTER 12
THEY HAD BEEN SWIMMING UNDERWATER FOR THREE QUARTERS of an hour, and things were getting worse all the time. In spite of the fact that he knew kicking up silt would greatly hinder their vision, Cheb seemed to keep bumping into outcroppings, or dropping a foot to the floor of the channel. A cloud of silt erupted from each of these intrusions, blocking Kathryn's vision and threatening to clog her breathing gilt. One small dark part of her mind wondered if he was doing it on purpose. Cheb had definitely not recovered from the devastating news that his admission to Starfleet Academy had been rejected. She had been accepted, along with their friends Blake and Anna, and a number of others from the Institute. But Cheb, although winning acceptance at any number of prestigious colleges and universities, didn't make the cut at the Academy. He had been stunned, then angry, then frighteningly withdrawn. Kathryn had tried to comfort him, but he was disconsolate, and frequently lashed out at whoever was in range. "It's because I got a disciplinary reprimand after we went to that castle last winter. It never would've happened if you'd left with the rest of us."
"Cheb, we were both reprimanded for that incident. Not just you."
"But you became some kind of heroine because you found that old woman."
"She was sick and confused. She needed help. I helped her. That's all."
"So you came out of it a saint, and I took all the blame."
Kathryn had stopped talking at that point. There was no point in reasoning with him when he was so upset; he could color anything with his revisionist view of the past. It was true Mrs. Klamer's family had been deeply grateful to her for finding their aged grandmother. The old woman, failing mentally and fascinated for years by tales of the Magruder Mansion, had somehow managed to leave her family home in Kentucky, travel hundreds of miles to southern Ohio, and take up a brief residence in the ancient castle, fantasizing that she was Mary Dugan Magruder. Kathryn's intervention prevented a possible tragedy, and the Klamer family was copious in its praise of her. But it was true the Institute had disciplined her, along with Cheb, for the unauthorized use of the transporter.
She didn't think the incident had anything to do with his rejection from the Academy; privately, she suspected he had been too arrogant in his interview, but she didn't feel like saying that to him. Now, she had begun to wonder if their cave-diving trip was a good idea. They'd had it planned for months Kathryn had been working on it since she was fourteen and it didn't seem right to cancel it just because Cheb was disappointed. In fact, she hoped the adventure would take the edge off his frustration and leave him more hopeful about his future.
But it didn't