Well, at least the rain would help hide the sounds of their approach.
Another few feet, and Cam started to get the feeling that someone was watching them. But since the tops of the trees were so thick, they’d never be able to spot someone hiding up there. All they could do was remain alert.
She pointed to the west, signaling Marco to stand at the ready. He gave a slight nod, and they pressed on. They finally reached the far edge of the pool, but she didn’t see any sign of Diego.
Maybe he’d abandoned them, or maybe he’d been captured. Either way, they needed to hide.
Just as she gave the signal to retreat into the trees, the water in the pool started to move. A foot-wide column rose from the surface and barreled toward them.
Before Cam could even suggest it, Marco created an ice shield just in time to stop the water from crushing them.
The water started pounding on the shield as if a person were knocking. Trusting Marco to protect them, she scanned the surroundings for any sign of the elemental water user. However, because the light was fading fast, she could only make out the trees and the pool of water.
When the water started banging harder against Marco’s ice shield, she noticed Diego making a beeline straight for them. Unsure if he’d drawn them into a trap, Cam extended the claws on one hand and cocked the gun in the other.
Marco must’ve noticed Diego running because the ice shield extended all the way toward the ground. In an effort to make it under before the ice touched the ground, Diego dove and rolled toward them.
But Marco was fast, and Diego didn’t make it in time.
Diego started knocking on the ice shield and said, “You need to get down and find some cover.”
Cam never broke eye contact with Diego. “Why?”
“We’re trying to save your asses. The cartel is coming.”
“Then why leave us without a word?”
“Because I didn’t have a choice.”
Cam kept her sights trained on Diego, but directed her question to Marco. “What do you think?”
As his answer, Marco melted the ice toward the bottom. Once Diego jumped up off the ground, the water stopped pounding the top of the shield and quietly retreated.
Diego motioned for them to move, and Marco melted the last of his shield before he said to Diego, “You go in front to prove its safe.”
“Fine.”
After about ten feet, Diego laid down on the ground inside some bushes, on his stomach, and Marco and Cam followed suit.
As the minutes ticked by, she started to wonder if this was a trap. Even when she heard voices, she didn’t know whether it was the cartel lackeys or Diego’s people. She kept her claws out, ready to use her super-speed if needed.
A high-powered light shone through the trees, moving around the area where they’d been standing minutes before. There was some more shouting before two men walked into the light and studied the ground.
The rain was coming down harder now, and with any luck, they wouldn’t see their tracks.
Marco waited beside Cam and Diego. No doubt they were holding their breaths just like him.
The light swooped from one side and back again before going out. The two men retreated into the cover of the trees, but that didn’t mean they were alone. Their retreat could merely be the set-up for a trap.
Marco might’ve grown up in Colombia, but Cartagena was far from most of the cartel and guerrilla skirmishes, and he didn’t know any of their plays or tactics. He might not know what Diego’s motives were, but he was their best bet for information.
Diego was on his left side, so Marco leaned over and whispered into his ear. “What should we do now?”
“Let me use my latent ability to scout the surroundings.”
Marco remembered Diego blurring back in the travel agency. “Blurring is nice, but it won’t make you invisible.”
“I’m a Concealer. Do you know what that means?”