Darkness & Lies: A Brotherhood Novel (#1) Read Free

out.
    “You think it’s really there?” Kris paced her while he crammed his freeze-dried food back into his own bag.
    She sighed. “Hell if I know. Everything in the hist o ry books points to something being up there.”
    Noticing they had resumed their assent, the others moved quickl y to ca tch up.
    “How much you wanna bet it turns out to be not h ing more than old wives tales designed to scare kiddies when they wouldn’t go to bed at night, like the boogie man.” Sebastian wiggled his fingers in front of his face in mock horror.
    “Yeah, just like when we found out the real site of Atlantis was in the Aegean Sea last year. Not, ” Harold’s sarcastic voice chimed in.
    “I don’t know. I thought it had some promising a t tributes,” Hadley added. “I mean, the islands alone were a pretty big giveaway. And Plato did mention i s lands.”
    “I’m with Hadley,” Tabitha said. “Besides, isn’t all mythology and what not based on some fact?”
    Tim wrapped his arm around her waist and placed a chaste kiss to her lips. “I love your mind.” At which Tab i tha beamed. At which a collective groan ripp l ed through the group. At the rate they were burning the candle Kris might actually win the bet. The break up was going to be mammoth.
    “Fact or no fact, I’m siding with Edgar Cayc e. N ext year I say we go to the Bahamas and put this whole issue to bed once and for all.” Harold trudged through the snow with purpose, a broad smile breaking across his handsome face as the thought warmed him against the chilly air.
    Cheyenne shook her head, smiling at the friendly banter. Harold, who was always pushing for an excuse for an island getaway, was not one for letting go of an idea once it had settled in. And it was obvious to Cheyenne that it was settled. T his time next year they would no doubt be scuba diving off the coast of the Bahamas.
    Their trip to Santorini hadn’t been a total bust, ho w ever. Coupled with the great diving opportunity and the fantastic sites the gorgeous island provided, Cheyenne was able to bring back a few choice bottles of wine the city was known for. In anticipation of their coming discovery (cross fingers), she had tucked away a bottle of their famous vinsanto into her bag along with a few small plastic tu m blers. Known as the “holy wine," Cheyenne could think of no better way to commemorate the event than rewarding themselves with the sweet nectar of the gods.
    Casting her gaze heavenward and seeing nothing more than a blanket of white as far as the eye could see, Cheyenne had only one wish: that they were already at the top, so she could crack that baby open and taste the swee t ness of vino coating her tongue while nibbling on a choc o late bar.
    A chocolate bar that was currently sitting on the nightstand beside the bed back at the B & B in town. Damn! Talk about bursting bubbles.
    Thoroughly peeved, Cheyenne dug the spikes of her crampons into the ground and continued the trek up the mountainside with much less enthusiasm , allowing Kris, who grinned like a kid let loose in a candy shop at the a l lowance, to take the lead.

Chapter 2
     
    They finished setting up camp just before sundown. Tabitha and Tim chose to bunk together in their own tent while Harold, Sebastian and Kris bunked together in theirs , and Cheyenne, Cathy and Hadley opted for a little girl time in a tent of their own.
    Snuggled deep within their sleeping bags, Cathy was regaling them with tales from her adventures in bank telling while Cheyenne and Hadley listened intently , sha r ing a few well-earned laughs along the way.
    “I’m telling you guys, the man wrote a check for three billion dollars, and as if that wasn’t ridiculous enough, he asked for it all in twenties!”  The women broke out in a fit of laughter at the absurdity of it.
    “What happened then?” Hadley asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.
    “I told him I had to have the manager sign off since it was such a large amount , then I