"i want to look around inside spirit cave. can one of you come with me and hold the flashlight?"

after a brief argument between the tigers over who stayed and who went, ari and the female tiger entered the cave and knelt on the floor. they brushed the dust and dirt away, its accumulation obviously unnatural now that she knew what to look for. the tigress held the flashlight in one hand and helped with the other, while ari explained she was looking for carvings in the rock floor or anything else that didn't belong.

ari found the first indentations, and they quickly uncovered the rest. the symbol was etched deep into the rock but was filled with sand and silt. she used her fingernails to dig out the fragments.

"looks like a pointy three." the tigress turned her head to view it from various angles. "from the sides, it looks like a slanted m or w. except they all have this extra straight line."

"or a z with two extra lines," ari mused, remembering her first impression at the diner.

"what's it supposed to be?"

"a sign left by chief blackhawk to lead to something he'd hidden. maybe the m or w stand for a native word. but z? or if it's a three, three what? could it be distance? as in steps, feet, or inches?"

"i doubt if an indian back in the 1800s would be carrying a tape measure, so i'd guess steps." the tigress looked around. "which direction?"

"maybe that's what the extra line is for. it's at ten o'clock on the m." ari stood and walked around the symbol. "about one o'clock, if the figure is a three. four o'clock on the w. the z seems to have arms at both one and seven o'clock. to be safe, let's search three steps out in every direction."

they ended up checking the entire cave floor. ari tried to keep their efforts away from the ley lines, but in truth the minor interruptions wouldn't be noticed. all ley lines simply re-drew themselves through inanimate objects and around living beings.

after an hour of examining and patting, attempting to pry up pieces of rock and cleaning more surface to looking for additional etchings, they were no closer to a solution than when they arrived. finally, ignoring the symbol, they conducted another search of the entire room, checking every niche in the walls that was large enough to hide something the size of a hawk's egg.

the male weretiger stuck his head into the cave entrance, asking questions and offering his own suggestions. when andreas suddenly appeared behind him several minutes later, the tiger's face reflected immediate guilt.

"fine job of guarding the chamber," andreas said dryly.

"sorry, andreas. i was just-"

"yes, i can see what you were doing. no harm done, but i suggest you return to your post."

"i don't think you need me either." the tigress brushed past andreas, ducking her head to hide a knowing smile.

"thanks for helping." ari rolled her eyes at the tigress's actions. why did everyone assume she and andreas always wanted to be alone?

"any luck?" he focused his attention on ari.

"we found the symbol, but it's done us no good. is this anything you've seen before?"

the vampire took his time, circling the crude etching twice. he finally crouched and ran his long fingers over the carving. "i have seen this before in other cave drawings. i think this part is a lightning or energy symbol." he traced the marks. "no doubt referring to the ley lines. this extra line is puzzling."

"lightning." ari blew out a puff of exasperation. "it's so obvious, when somebody points it out." she ruffled his hair with one hand. "think you're smart, don't you?"

"no, but i am glad you think so." he reached over to wipe a smudge from her forehead. "are you about through playing in the dirt?"

"for today, i guess. i don't know where else to look. we've searched everywhere. if the stone is in here, it's well hidden." she squatted and began to cover the carving.

"why are you hiding it? we have the guards outside."

finished, she stood, scuffled the area with the toe of her shoe, and dusted off her hands. "being careful. when black magic is involved, anything is possible, and i don't intend to make it easy for anyone else. he or she got in once before without being noticed."

two hours later, ari had put the puzzle of the cave aside in favor of a more personal issue. she watched gabriel and claris fuss over sneaky, the kitten that was so adept at laying traps for his unsuspecting siblings. the lively white male with the black nose and black tips on his ears was undoubtedly striking, and his loud purr signaled his contentment to be gabriel's selection. ari was glad to see they'd made a strong connection.

"claris told me you were worried about his care when i'm not home," gabriel said, glancing at ari. "so we agreed he'd come to visit here at the shop at least twice a week. claris would be around, and he'd also have cat time with hernando." he sent her an impish look. "sound good?"

ari hid her dismay behind a feeble smile. actually, it sounded awful. that meant gabriel would be here twice a week, amusing claris with his flirtatious manners. what mere mortal could resist that?

when had they come up with this solution? gabriel must have arrived very early for his appointment. she had almost moved the meeting to andreas's house and even mentioned the odd arrangement to andreas, but he'd said there was nothing to worry about. right. at least she'd arrived in time to monitor part of the visit, although it appeared she'd missed a lot.

no, she wasn't at all happy with twice-a-week play dates. gabriel's open interest in her friend was bad enough, but ari was more alarmed by how claris was flirting back. with claris's steady boyfriend, brando, out of town way too often, ari had a nasty suspicion gabriel was thinking about stepping in. and claris wasn't ready to handle the vampire scene-would never be ready.

"um, well, he could come visit bella," ari said. "there's always someone at our place."

"great idea. that would mean even more company for him. time with both of his parents." gabriel grinned at her, and ari was sure he knew she'd meant instead of coming to claris's. "this will work out fine." the kitten turned his head and rubbed against gabriel's chin. "see, edmund thinks so too."

"edmund?" despite her annoyance with him, ari chuckled. "wasn't that your given name?"

"it was. named after my maternal grandfather. doesn't he look like an edmund?" gabriel held the cat aloft. "there was supposed to be an edmund in every generation. this is the best i can do." a cloud flitted across his face and quickly disappeared.

ari looked to see if claris had noticed. on rare occasions gabriel acted as if he still regretted his vampire life, even after two centuries, but ari hadn't seen him so transparent before. something had triggered those old regrets. was it claris who was making him think about what could have been? her friend seemed oblivious to gabriel's fleeting mood. a moment later, the vampire was again laughing at edmund's antics.

"so, where's andreas?" he asked. "i thought he'd be here. i wanted to talk with him about the dwarves guarding the cave entrance. it's drawing attention."

"can't be helped. we have to have them. when we left the caves this afternoon, i think andreas went straight to the club. some problem with the chef's staff."

"why were you in the caves?" gabriel's tone was curious. "are the rumors true about a buried treasure?"

"goddess, no. there's no hidden treasure. well, an indian artifact could be hidden there, but it may not be worth much except to the indians. a few trespassers have been looking for it, or maybe just messing around." she decided not to mention the ley lines in front of claris. it wasn't a trust issue, but claris would be safer if she didn't know. ari tried to shelter her best friend from otherworld matters whenever she could. she gave gabriel a pointed look, hoping he'd understand not to mention spirit cave. as andreas's second in command, he must have known about the ley lines before she did. "one of the trespassers may have been jase barron. i'd like to find and remove this artifact before someone else gets hurt." she suddenly grinned. "i guess you heard about the ghost."

his eyes twinkled in response. "woo woo. i wished i had seen it. any idea who put it there?"

"what ghost?" claris broke in. "nobody said anything about a ghost. is it real?"

"no, of course not. real ghosts don't appear as white apparitions."

"how was i to know?" claris muttered. "you come up with some strange things."

ari explained the enchantment they'd found and how she'd gotten rid of it.

"so, who put it there?" gabriel repeated.

"i don't know, but whoever it was, they're very skilled at magic."

"you mean another witch?"

"maybe. or a wizard. i've felt...something in the air around town, and the lab at the magic council has noticed fluctuating energy readings. i don't like it. it's creepy." she twitched her shoulders.

claris turned to stare at her. "you think it's creepy? now i'm worried."

"don't be." gabriel put a playful arm around claris's waist. "edmund and i will keep you safe."

claris giggled. yes, giggled, and ari suppressed a groan. gabriel was too damn charming.

thirty minutes later, ari gave up waiting for gabriel to leave first and stood to go. when he said he'd walk with her, she hid her surprise and waited while he put the kitten in a box.

edmund complained so loudly at this indignity that they covered the first two blocks without any conversation. the kitten finally quieted.