Next morning they were up early, ready to take on the last lap of the journey. With their new burst of energy from being so close it didn’t take them long, only a few hours, so that by the middle of the day they had reached their destination. Slowly, almost reverently, Aurelio approached the waterfall.
“It is a special kind of fern,” he said, his voice hushed. “It grows in the caves behind this waterfall. We must approach it very carefully.”
“We have to go through the water?” Lani looked doubtful.
Aurelio shook his head. “No, there is another way. I know a path that goes behind it, but it is dangerous.” He glanced at Ridge. “You will hold her as we cross?”
“You bet.” Ridge reached out to take hold of Lani but she shook off his hand.
“Not yet. We’re not even there.” Then she cocked an eyebrow. “And I might have to be the one holding on to you. I’m not a novice at mountain climbing, you know.”
Ridge didn’t even bother responding to that one. He was just glad she didn’t seem scared at the prospect of climbing behind a pounding cascade of water.
After they’d refreshed themselves they started off toward the waterfall. The closer they got the louder the torrent sounded in their ears. The water was pounding as it fell to the rocks below, sending sprays of water high into the air, its deafening roar making it impossible for them to hear each other speak. They were left to communicate by hand signals.
Within minutes they were dripping wet from the spray but they kept going, Ridge staying close to Lani in case she stumbled.
Soon Aurelio was waving them on, directing them behind a wall of bushes so thick it was hard to see farther than a few feet ahead. Their guide did not slow his pace and Lani and Ridge had to hustle to keep up.
Then came the hard part. Aurelio signaled to them to be very careful on the rest of the path with its loose rocks along the winding trail. What made it worse, the trail led them onto a ledge which was little more than three feet wide with nothing but a drop of over a hundred feet on one side. It was along this treacherous path that they had to go to get to the entrance to the cave.
Signaling to Lani to press her back against the wall, Ridge went ahead of her, sidling sideways, holding her hand as she followed every step he took. He could feel her palm grow moist in his hand but he didn’t relax his grip on her until they had shuffled the four or five yards it would take to get them to safety. With the water cascading in front of them and water droplets flying everywhere it was hard to see but Ridge gritted his teeth and kept going until he was finally able to pull Lani to safety within the cavern that lay behind the waterfall.
As soon as she was in she fell to the ground, laughing. “Whew. That was exhilarating. Did you look down?”
Ridge drew his arm across his forehead, wiping away the water droplets, then he gave her a look of disbelief. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. I looked down.”
Ridge didn’t know what to make of that. The girl had a lot more backbone than he’d thought. Heck, she was braver than he was. He hadn’t looked down and he had no intention of trying it on the way back, either.
Aurelio was already far inside the cave and as soon as Ridge and Lani realized they’d been left behind they hurried to catch up.
“Come, Miss,” he called out. “It is down here.”
Lani picked up pace, breaking into a run until she’d caught up to her guide. “Is it much farther?” she asked, her voice breathless.
“No, we are almost there.”
They rounded a corner, disappearing from Ridge’s view, forcing him to pick up speed so he wouldn’t lose sight of them. It wasn’t easy going on the slippery surface of the cave floor and if he fell, a big man like him, it wasn’t going to make a pretty picture. So he hurried along, but gingerly.
Just as he turned the corner he heard Lani cry out. “At last. Oh, my Lord. There’s so much.”
He was just in time to see her gazing up at a huge wall covered from top to bottom with thick ferns, their leaves giant in size. She reached out a hand to touch one of the leaves.
“Wait.” Ridge hurried toward her. “There could be anything back there.” He shone the flashlight on the spot she was about to touch, training the beam on the leaves. “Let me check it out first before you touch anything.”
It took only a few minutes for Ridge to give Lani the all-clear and then she started plucking the leaves and dropping them into a big black bag she’d carried just for the purpose. Aurelio held the flashlight while she gathered her select specimens and soon the plastic bag was full. Then she forced the bag into her backpack.
Ridge watched her close it carefully then pass it to Aurelio to carry. He shook his head. “So you’re telling me we came all the way to Brazil, risking life and limb on the edge of a precipice, for this? A bag of weeds?”
“Not weeds. Ferns.” She threw him a caustic glare.
“And you couldn’t have hired someone to come do this for you?”
“No. I had to do it myself. There aren’t many people in Brazil who would take this kind of risk.”
“Of coming all this way and climbing behind the waterfall?”
“No, of touching a plant that’s bewitched.”
“Be…what are you talking about?”
“Didn’t you notice Aurelio hasn’t touched the stuff even though he took us here? Most of the locals consider it bad luck to touch it. That’s why I sealed it in the plastic bag before putting it in my backpack.”
Ridge expelled his breath then planted his fists on his h*ps as he glared down at her. “So the almost two hundred million people in Brazil see it fit to avoid this plant but you decide you’re too smart to follow their example?”
“Oh, come on, Ridge. It’s just silly superstition, plain and simple. Do you think I’m going to let that stop me?” She shook her head. “The healing potential of this plant is too great for me to let local folklore get in the way.”
“I see,” he said, drawing out the word. “Dr. Fearless to the rescue.”
She grinned. “If you want to call me that I’ll take it. I've been called worse.”
Ridge gave a snort of exasperation. Was this woman afraid of nothing? He turned, pointing the beam of light back the way they’d come. “Come on. You got what you came for. Now let’s get out of here.”
He marched forward, ready to get the hell out of there and back to civilization but he’d forgotten one critical thing. The slimy floor of the cave was as slippery as an oil slick. He took two steps and the next thing Ridge knew his left foot slipped and then his other leg shot out from under him and he was tumbling backwards, the flashlight flying out of his hand to slam into the cave wall. He only had time to let out a yell before he fell backwards to the cave floor.