Claimed by the Desert

Chapter Four

Vera nodded; pleased that he at least conceded she had a point. Now if she could just convince Halsten she wasn't a child, maybe he might let her go into town on her own. She snorted.

"Like that will ever happen," she said to herself as she retrieved her satchel from her father's tent and made her way toward the cave.

Dr. Peters was standing nearby, meticulously brushing off a piece of stone with a look of intense concentration on his wrinkled face.

"Good morning," she called to him with a wave. "What have you got there?"

He beamed at her and held out the artifact. It was a piece of stone with carvings of hieroglyphics on it.

"Isn't it just fantastic?" he asked. "In less than three weeks, we've found a considerable amount of important artifacts in this place!"

She nodded. "That's great! I'm on my way to check out the cave again. I didn't really get that good of a look at it last time."

He bobbed his head enthusiastically. "Good idea, good idea. Since this is your first dig you need to learn as much as possible. I have no doubt if you keep learning one day you will be a better archeologist than even me!"

Vera smiled at him. He was probably the only person who actually believed that, but it was nice to hear anyway.

"Thank you. And keep up the good work finding those artifacts!" she said as she grabbed a torch and walked away toward the cave.

It was even cooler inside the cave than she remembered and the smooth stone under her hands was a nice change from the gritty sand outside. Vera paid close attention to where she was stepping, just in case her father was right and the snake had returned. The last thing she needed was to get hurt while she was alone, then they would never let her out of the house again.

The torchlight bounced along the walls as she walked, creating eerie shadows that she tried to ignore. Once she was in the main room the small crack in the rock allowed more light in and she could see more easily.

The markings on the wall still mesmerized her and Vera pulled rubbing paper out of her satchel to make an impression. She had forgotten to ask her father if the words had been translated yet. She wondered if perhaps it was something really significant, like directions to gold or the location of a buried mummy.

Vera froze in the middle of tracing the markings. What if she were the one to translate it? It would prove to everyone that she was more than capable of doing this job. But how would she do it?

If the markings were as old as her father claimed, it would be nearly impossible to figure them out. She puffed out a breath and squared her shoulders in determination. Complaining and making excuses would get her nowhere. She would just have to buck up and do it. There had to be a book somewhere she could use to figure it out.

"I will figure this out," she said to herself. "Even if it kills me."

"Be careful what you wish for," a voice whispered in response.

She whirled around, expecting to see one of the workers, only to find the room completely empty.

"You're imagining things Vera, that's all," she said as she closed her eyes and reopened them several times.

The hidden voice snickered in response. "Perhaps you are, but what if you aren't?"

Her startled shriek echoed through the cave and she glared into the dark corners of the room. "Who's there?"

It felt like ice had filled Vera's veins as the voice whispered from right behind her ear, "I think the question you should be asking is where am I?"

Another scream caught in the back of her throat as invisible fingers tugged her hair hard enough to rip a few strands out. It was then she realized she hadn't been imagining anything. There had been someone tugging on her hair all day. He had been watching her.

"What is it you want from me?" she whispered, trembling in fear. "Why are you bothering me?"

Suddenly the cave felt much, much colder.

"Oh am I bothering you? Excuse me, dear princess, but you came down here to my dwelling. If you don't like it then. Get. Out."

Vera swallowed hard and tried to keep her composure. "You live here? In this cave?"

The invisible voice sighed, almost impatiently. "You see a cave because you are limited. My dwelling rests on a higher plane of existence that you could never comprehend with your inadequate human brain."

"My brain is not inadequate! How dare you say such a thing!" she shouted in the general direction of the entity's voice.

"I'm over here, dearest," the voice said from the area near her left shoulder. "And do stop shouting, you'll draw attention to the fact you're talking to yourself."

She jumped away from his voice and said, "But I'm not talking to myself, I'm talking to you!"

"And I happen to be invisible to humans in this form, ergo it looks as if you are talking to yourself."

Vera took a few deep breaths to calm herself. This was bordering on ridiculous. The voice was right; if anyone happened to see her like this they would think she had gone mad. Or maybe she had gone mad and she just hadn't realized it yet.

"But I don't feel crazy," she mused.

"That's because you aren't," the voice responded.

"Then how am I talking to you? Why can't I see you?"

"I've already told you. I exist on a separate plane of existence. You can't see me, touch me, or hear me - unless I want you to, of course."

"So what exactly are you? An angel, a demon?"

"Neither of those. But I am similar to them, at least in your mind I suppose."

Vera shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense and you didn't answer the question."

"I didn't, did I?" the voice replied.

"So why me then? Since you won't answer my other question."

The voice seemed to be getting quieter, as if he were walking away from her. "Why you what? Now who's not making sense?"

"Why did you choose to speak to me? There are dozens of people coming down here all the time. Why not speak to them?"

"Perhaps I have," the voice replied. "I don't see how it matters. I get bored. You were entertaining. That's all."

Vera rolled her eyes and pretended not to be hurt. Being entertaining wasn't her goal in life. She wanted to be known for something important, something brilliant. So far all she had managed was to earn concern from her father and Halsten and scorn and ridicule from everyone else – including this new invisible man. Creature. Thing.

"Well I'm afraid you're just going to have to go back to being bored now," she snapped. "I'm leaving."

The voice chuckled. "You really think I couldn't follow you if I wanted? You think I haven't already?"

Shock and fear stopped Vera in her tracks. He had been there the whole time - the door, the tea, her books.  It had been his laugh she had heard in the kitchen. She swallowed and tried to pretend she wasn't bothered.

"So? Now that I know you're there I won't be so easy to fool," she said, surprised when her voice came out even and calm. "You'll have a lot harder time getting any entertainment from me."

"I think," the voice began in a sinister whisper. "That you will find I have been quite pleasant up until this point. Don't try my patience, Vera."

To afraid to utter another word, she raced from the cave and out into the blistering sun. Once she was safely free of the cave and away from the invisible man Vera made her way determinedly toward her father's buggy. The sooner she could find out what the markings said the sooner she could figure out how to get rid of the being in the cave.

...

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