Claimed (The Flash Gold Chronicles, #4) by Lindsay Buroker Page A

doused her boots and trousers with the liquid and did the same to himself. Given the other stenches in the pit, the alcohol scent was an improvement.
    “Cedar?” Kali asked, a wince in her voice. “Is it my imagination, or did you just douse me in kerosene?”
    “Yes.”
    “Uhm, why?”
    “There are rattlesnakes everywhere. If I hadn’t been certain Cudgel was involved in this scheme before, I am now. The man’s got a fascination with reptiles. He hunts crocs and gators, and he even did an expedition to South America at one point, looking for evidence that dinosaurs still live in remote jungles.” Cedar was intimately aware of that expedition since he had followed Cudgel down there. That had been the closest he had come to killing the man, but the criminal was even slipperier than the snakes and lizards he kept for pets. “He didn’t find any, but he did bring back some deadly snakes for his personal zoo in California. Nobody else would send someone out to capture rattlesnakes and go through the trouble of bringing them up here to harass people.” Kill people, Cedar corrected to himself. Falling on a pile of rattlers was a sure way to get a lethal dose of venom.
    “That’s... an interesting side note,” Kali said, “but I don’t see how it answers my question. I’m powerful curious to know why we’re wearing kerosene, seeing as how it would be nice to light a lantern and look around about now, but I wouldn’t care to go up in a flaming bonfire if I did so.”
    “Snakes don’t like kerosene. I thought standing in the dark would be preferable to being bit by a dozen venomous rattlers.”
    “Huh. They’re also afraid they would go up in a bonfire?” Kali asked.
    From her lack of terror at the rattling sounds that continued to buzz from the periphery of the pit, Cedar judged she hadn’t encountered venomous snakes before. He couldn’t think of any that were native to the area. Just as well. He had been bitten once while chasing a criminal through rocky desert country and couldn’t recommend the experience.
    “I think it’s the natural oils on their skin,” Cedar said. “The alcohol sucks it up, and they don’t like the feel of it. I’d still be careful where you step.”
    “Something that would be easier with light. Although...” Kali sniffed, then coughed—or maybe that was a gag. “Judging by the smell of this place, I may not want to see what else is on the floor besides snakes.”
    “I had that thought as well. This must have been a sump for the original miners, but I doubt they were the ones to put a trapdoor on it.” He was surprised they weren’t standing in water. Maybe the water table was lower this late in the summer.
    “Someone must have wanted his snakes to stay put.”
    “And his prisoners.” Cedar shook his head. “I haven’t explored thoroughly yet, but from the echoes on those rattlers, I figure our pit is about ten feet by ten feet.”
    “The floor tilted away,” Kali said. “I saw it coming, but wasn’t fast enough to react and get off. That was worlds of stupid, getting caught in a trap when we knew this was a trap.”
    “Yes, I apologize. You wouldn’t have come back here if it weren’t for me. You were right. I should have left it to the Mounties to come poke around in here.” Cedar hoped Kali would say it wasn’t his fault and that it could have happened to anyone. She didn’t. This wasn’t the first time he had pulled her into trouble because of his obsession with Cudgel. He hoped that once he finally got his man, his tunnel vision would resolve into something less narrow. He didn’t mind taking risks and getting himself in trouble—that came with the job—but if something happened to Kali because of his choices...
    “At least you found the bodies,” she said dryly.
    “Yes. Any thoughts on ways to get out of here?” Cedar had a feeling they had dropped too far for him to jump and catch the ledge up there—if it were even accessible. He hadn’t