Kendra and the Flooded Stairs

She glanced back over her shoulder and saw a waterfall streaming down the side of the mesa.

  The sight made her pause. The water was not falling straight; it was coming at an angle, leaping and rolling, the lively rapids of a steep stream. Not a natural stream-the water was tumbling down a steep stairway, carved into the face of the mesa.

  "Stop," Kendra called, pointing. "Look at that waterfall!"

  The other three turned and stared at the mesa. "Waterfall?" Warren asked.

  "Not a true waterfall," Kendra amended. "Water racing down a stairway. "

  "You see stairs?" Neil asked.

  Kendra pointed from the base of the mesa to the top. "Looks like they run all the way up. They're so obvious now, I can't believe they were hidden before! You'll want to wait until they dry off. It would be a tough climb with all that water. " "The Flooded Stairs," Mara said with wonder in her voice.

  "I still don't see anything," Warren said.

  "Neither do we," Neil replied. "Take us to the foot of the stairs. "

  The others followed Kendra as she led them back to the base of the mesa. Reaching the stairs did not take long. Just b
eyond the end of the stairs, the water slurped into a dark fissure in the ground. Kendra edged up to the crevice and peered down. There was no end in sight. She could hear water churning in the distant depths.

  "I'm surprised we didn't fall in the hole when we were circling the mesa earlier," Kendra said, turning to the others.

  "I don't see a hole," Warren said.

  "Can you lead me onto the stairs?" Neil asked.

  Taking his hand, Kendra led him around the opening in the ground and along a rocky shelf until they stood together at the bottom step. Cold water gushed around their shins.

  "Do you see it now?" Kendra asked.

  "Lead me up a few steps," Neil said.

  Treading carefully, for though the water was not deep, it was coming fast, Kendra placed her foot onto the first slick stone step. With Neil in tow, she climbed four stairs before she slipped, plunging a hand and both knees into the frigid stream before Neil hoisted her up.

  "Enough," Neil said.

  They carefully returned to the shelf, then walked around the crevice to rejoin Warren and Mara. "I didn't see the stairway until you started climbing," Warren said. "And then it only seemed to go about five steps beyond the point you reached. I had to focus hard to keep my eyes on you. "

  "I saw fifteen steps ahead of me before the stairs ceased," Neil said.

  "It keeps going and going," Kendra verified, "turning here and there, reaching landings or ledges in some places. The stairs lead all the way to the top. Will the storm be over by morning?"

  "When the rain ends, the stairs will be gone," Mara said.

  "That is why, even with your gifted sight, you did not perceive the stairs or the fissure earlier. None have found the Flooded Stairs in centuries. Many assumed the pathway existed only in lore. "

  "You have to climb the stairs in the rain?" Kendra asked. "That is going to be tough!"

  "This could be our only opportunity," Neil said to Warren.

  Warren nodded. "We should get the others. "

  "We'll need Kendra to guide us," Neil said. "I felt the strength of the spell. It took all I had to follow her lead. Without her, we have no chance. "

Chapter 9