**A/N I would just like to tell my readers that I am sorry that it took so long for this chapter to get posted. You see, I had almost the entire chapter finished and saved to a floppy disk, my biggest mistake. Floppy disks are a fickle thing, for all of a sudden, it just decided to stop working for me. So I ended up re-typing all of it all over again!**

I would like to thank the following people for reviewing my story so far. I really appreciate the feedback! Serene's magick FrodoFever Amy Marymelon3

Chapter 2

I woke up the next morning and brushed my hair. It was fairly late when I woke up and went into the kitchen. There was no one there, so I went into the living room. Uncle Judson, Mac, and Gabe were interrogating the burglar from last night.

"Now, for the last time, what were you doing in my niece's bedroom? You had better tell me, or I'll call the cops on you!!"

"Look, sir," he spoke with a Cuban accent and there were tears in his eyes, "I was sent here to get the Idol of Demos. I was looking for it when you came back and I panicked! I hid in the girl's closet because her door was the only one opened!"

"Fine," Mac said, "Who sent you then?"

"I don't know his name!! He took me off the streets and blackmailed me! He said that if I wanted to remain in the US with my wife and son, then I had better do what he said. You see, I am an illegal immigrant and I don't want to be deported!"

"If you cooperate with us, we won't go to the cops and nothing will happen to you!" Gabe reassured the frightened Cuban.

"Cadence!" Mac had just noticed me. "Come with me into the kitchen and I'll fix you breakfast!"

"Okay."

"Do you want some eggs?"

"Yeah, sure. Fried, please, let me help!"

"Thanks, get me that frying pan and two eggs."

"Mac, what is going on? What is the Idol of...whatever?"

"It is just some artifact. Gabe, Judson, and I have been searching for it for a while. In fact, if this Cuban verifies our suspicions, we will be shipping out for the Bahamas later today. You, Gabe, and I will get to spend the day on the beach while Judson goes and checks out some leads!"

"Awesome! Hey, you can go back in there, Mac, I can fix my own eggs. I have got some stuff to do anyway, so don't worry about me!"

"Alrighty, only if you are sure, though."

"I'm sure!"

I fixed my eggs, made some toast, poured some orange juice, and sat down at the table. I tried to eavesdrop on the conversation, but it was too muted, so I gave up.

Once I finished eating, I put my plate away and went to my room to get dressed. I put on a pair of khaki shorts with a blue short-sleeved blouse.

I got out my laptop and emailed my dad. I told him about the trip here, the weather, going to dinner; however, I left out the part of the man in my closet. I told him that I missed him, I also told him that we were going to the Bahamas later today and I was so excited. I sent off the letter, altered it a little, and then sent it to Daniel.

Uncle Judson then came in to my room.

"Cadence, we put the Cuban off our boat and are prepping our engine. We'll be leaving in about thirty minutes for the Bahamas, okay?"

"Thanks, Uncle Judson. Hey, when we leave, let me know, I wanna come on deck with you!"

"Sure, baby."

It was around 1:00 when we departed. The sun was out, but it is always very cool on the waves. I stayed on deck all day reading another novel. This one was about a sea captain falling in love with a native princess. They ran away together and were lost at sea, very sad. Anyway, when we finally arrived at the Bahamas port, it was really late, so Mac told me we would go to the beach tomorrow.

"Cadence," Mac came into my room and said, "Tomorrow, you, me, and Gabe will spend the day at the beaches."

"Cool, Mac!"

"Judson has gone to run an errand, but he should get back soon."

"Is he trying to get that Idol something or other?"

"Sort of, he is going to talk to a Mr. Henderson about it. He is the curator of the local historical museum."

"Does he have the Idol that you want? I mean, what makes you think that he will give up the Idol?"

She pulled out a dollar bill before saying, "We just hope he isn't' a man of full substance!" She did one of her evil smiles and then winked at me.

"You guys are too sly!" "I know, but don't you love us?! Why don't you go to bed, huh? We will leave at around 10 tomorrow, okay?"

At that moment, Uncle Judson came into the living room.

"Hello, people, everyone in the living room, I got big news!"

Gabe came into the living room followed by Uncle Judson.

"Jacob Henderson, curator of the Historical Museum, is going to give us the Idol of Demos without taking our money!"

"What is the catch, Uncle Judson? I mean, come on, no one simply gives away a rare artifact for free, not in this world!"

"Nothing gets past you, Cadence!" Uncle Judson smiled, "He wants us to research it, find out how it got here, where it came from, its history. He has hired us to find out about it!"

"Wow, that is great news, Judson! But, where is it?" Gabe questioned.

"Well, he wants us to research it first, he doesn't have it yet, but his exact words were, 'I am in the process of acquiring it right now', so he will call us when he gets it." He looked at the clock and said, "Whoa! Is it really 1 am? Cadence, honey, I think that you should get to bed, now, okay? We have a really early day tomorrow!"

"Alright, you'll get no complaints from me, Uncle Judson!" I went to my room and fell asleep almost before I got to my bed.

I woke up the next morning, still in my clothes, and took a shower. I put on my simple black bathing suit with my lime green cover up. I wore my beach flip-flops and went into the kitchen. Mac and Gabe were in their beach outfits as well; Mac was in her black bikini and wrap around silk skirt, and Gabe was in his swimming trunks with a white t-shirt. I never really wore bikinis, my body wasn't quite small enough, since I was slightly larger-boned, I didn't quite look right in a bikini. I always made a point of keeping in shape though.

"Morning Cadence!" Gabe was an early person just like me; however Mac was a different story.

"Mac, are you alright?" I asked.

"Me, oh, yeah, I am just not a real morning person, let me have my coffee, and I will be as good as new!"

"Oh, hey do I smell blueberry pancakes?"

"Yup, with blueberry syrup as well, your favorite!" Gabe was so proud that he had remembered my favorite breakfast.

"Wow, now, let's eat so that we can hit the beach!"

Uncle Judson had already left before I came down to breakfast, so after we ate; we walked down to the beach. Never in my life have I ever seen such beautiful sandy beaches! The water was so crystal and pure. I couldn't wait to jump into it.

"Alright, now, let's find a spot and set up the umbrella before everyone gets here!" Gabe went down closer to the water and set up the huge blue umbrella.

"Hey, guys," I asked, "Would it be okay if I went swimming?"

"Sure, hey, Mac, I am going to go with her!"

"I don't need a chaperone, Gabe!"

"Who said anything about a chaperone? I want to get wet!"

We raced each other down to the water; I think it was a tie. We splashed each other and had a swimming contest. I hadn't told them that I was on the swimming team back in Seattle. Gabe went to see about renting a jet ski, while I went to the concession stand for some water.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" This muscle bound surfer bum with probably no brain capacity whatsoever came up to me and started talking to me, "What is your name, baby?"

"Go away." I said calmly, ignoring his eyeing and continued to wait in line.

"What kind of name is that? I mean, why would your parents give you such a name?" He was trying to give me a hard time, so I simply replied.

"You wanna know they my parents named me that, huh? Well I'll tell you, and I will use single syllable words so that your puny little brain can process all of the information: My parents named me that so that jerks like you would leave me alone! Got it?" He just stared at me for a moment before realizing that I had insulted him at least three different times.

"Hey, I don't like it when girls talk to me like that!"

"Oh really? Well, get used to it, it is gonna happen a lot more often!" He tried to grab me, but I was too quick; I gave him one of my mean left hooks and he stumbled but didn't quite fall. "Why you little..." He was interrupted when Gabe and Mac came to my rescue.

"Excuse me, sir, but what are you doing to my little sister?" Gabe put a comforting arm around my shoulders and I felt better.

"Hey, man, she started it, I was just talking to her!"

"Oh yeah? Well, unless you want another girl to punch you out, I suggest you clear this vicinity stat!" Mac took a threatening step toward him.

"What?" He was so stupid; I almost felt sorry for him, well, almost.

"Move it!" I love it when Mac puts the fear of God into people.

Once he was clear away, Gabe said, "You girls want a hotdog?"

"Yeah, sure." Mac and I said in unison.

We went to the hot dog stand and ordered three, one with relish and mustard, and two with just plain ketchup. Gabe and I only liked ketchup, but Mac loved her relish and mustard; I will never understand why.

After lunch, all three of us went swimming and jet skied. Gabe insisted that he ride with me, that I wasn't old enough to handle it, and when sunset finally came, we walked amongst the rocks and coral. Halfway through, I slipped on some algae and fell. I had to hop halfway back to The Vast Explorer, but Gabe pitied me and carried me damsel in distress, sortof charming prince riding off into the sunset, princess style the rest of the way back. Uncle Judson was waiting for us when we arrived.

"Hey guys, I was beginning to worry about you. Cadence O'Neill, what did you do to yourself?!"

"Oh, you know me, we were walking on the rocks and I had a klutz attack on a stupid patch of algae. It's not too bad, Uncle Judson, just a deep bleeding gash running the length of my calf. I'll be fine, really."

"Cadence, jeez, you really have got to learn to be a little more careful!"

"Sorry, Uncle Judson, but can we please clean this wound before some infection finds a new home and decides to redecorate the inside of my leg?" Mac had already gotten out the first aid kit and had practically cleaned the wound and bandaged it in less than forty seconds.

"Wow, Mac, that is a record!"

"Thanks, now, Judson, what did you find out?"

"Well, Mr. Henderson did manage to acquire the Idol of Demos, and he is kindly lending it to us for as long as we need it!"

Uncle Judson revealed a wooden crate not much bigger than a 36-count egg crate.

"Sit down everyone!" He commanded and I sat next to him while Mac and Gabe took the couch facing us.

Once we all were situated, Uncle Judson unlocked the box and revealed a small statue made of some sort of bronze-ish metal. The statue was about maybe 10'' long and 6'' wide, it was shaped into a woman with an outstretched hand. The hand appeared disproportioned to the rest of the body by the fact that the hand was larger than the head.

'Wow!" I said in awe as I gazed at the intricately carved statue. "What was it used for?" My curiosity level was increasingly dramatically fast.

"Well, it is legend that there was a civilization older than the Mayas and larger than the Incas. This civilization, called the Kihentu, was a theocracy, and the high priest held all the power. Now, this high priest would perform a sacrifice every two years to their god of power and strength, Alyak. The sacrifice was a young girl about 13-15 years old, and most importantly, she would be a virgin. She would be placed on an alter after first being given some sort of paralytic drug, then her heart would be cut out and placed in the hand of the Idol. The Idol was placed then on a sacred, holy altar and a fire was created under the hand and the heart was burned. If the girl was pure of heart, then Alyak would be pleased and would grant the high priest godlike strength and power." When Uncle Judson had finished his tale, I said,

"Oh. Well, it is a good thing I didn't live back then!" All four of us laughed at that and then we had a midnight snack of carrot cake with extra cream cheese icing.

It was around 2 in the morning when we finally went to bed. I don't think that I even got my bathing suit off.

When I woke up, I could smell bacon and fried eggs; Uncle Judson sure cooks the best breakfasts. I also could smell fresh roasted hazelnut coffee, my favorite, which actually was what got me out of bed. I put on some shorts and a tank top before brushing my hair and going into the kitchen.

"Morning, sweetie! How did you sleep?" Uncle Judson was in one of his happy moods this morning.

I went up to him and gave him a big hug. He kissed the top of my head before I said,

"Pretty good Uncle Judson, how about you?"

"Great! In fact, I have got a surprise for you!" Mac and Gabe came into the kitchen at this point and we all sat down at the table.

After we ate, Uncle Judson asked me, "Hey, Cadence, how would you like to take the skip out with me today. I have discovered an underwater cave a few miles off shore, and we could explore it together, we would use scuba gear and everything!"

"Would I like to go? Well, let me think about it for a minute. Okay, I have thought about it, absolutely!"

"Great! It'll be just the two of us! All day, no one to bother us, the salty air..." He was interrupted at this point when his cell went off.

"Cross...hhmmm....hhmmm...yeah, just a sec...." He motioned for a pen and pad and quickly jotted down an address and a time, "uhuh, yeah, bye. No, thank-you Mr. Henderson, yeah, yeah, okay, bye now!"

"Don't tell me, Uncle Judson, cave excursion scrubbed, right?"

"Jacob Henderson wants the three of us to check a lead for him about the Idol's recent history. We can go tomorrow, baby, I promise!''

"Well, why don't I just come with you guys? I won't get in the way, promise!" Gabe and Mac quietly exited stage left to avoid the infamous, dun, dun, dun...puppy eyes of doom!!

"Cadence, I'm sorry, but some of the places we might end up in won't be considered, technically, public property. I just don't want you getting hurt!"

"But, Uncle Judson, I am 14 years old! Why can't I come on an adventure too?"

"I am sorry, Cadence, I love you way too much for anything to happen to you!"

"I love you too, Uncle Judson, but love has no limitations, right?"

"Nice try baby, but maybe next time."

"Uh, hello, Uncle Judson, this is the next time!"

"Oh, right again, but you are still not going and that is that!"

"Huh?"

"We're ready, Judson! Do you want us to pack?"

"What Mac? Oh, yeah, lightly, just in case. Now Cadence, I'll see you tonight. You can make what ever you want for lunch, just don't leave the ship, okay?"

"With a note of genuine defeat in my voice, I said, "Oh, all right. I guess I'll just go back to bed!"

"Okay, I'll have my cell in case you need me, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, sure. Bye guys! Have fun on your adventure! Be sure to send me a postcard!"

"Bye Cadence!" Uncle Judson said as the three of them left.

Once they were gone, I washed the dishes and put them away. I hate dirty dishes, I' m just one of those people that cleans when I get bored, mad, or worried. This time I was bored. Once I had straightened the living room, made Mac's, Gabe's, and Uncle Judson's beds, I decided to take a hot shower.

As I began rinsing out the conditioner from my hair, I thought I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. At first I thought that it might be Uncle Judson, Mac, and Gabe coming back early, but then I heard the shuffling of papers and drawers being opened and closed. I finished rinsing my hair and got out of the shower.

Since my bedroom had a connecting bathroom, I left the water running so the intruder would think that I was still unaware of his presence. I quickly put on a pair of khaki pants with a red t-shirt. I put on my white tennis shoes before quietly peeking out of my room.

When he was not visible, I made a quick, quiet dash to the other side of the ship, and just as I was about to dash upstairs to the helm and radio for aid, he grabbed me from behind.

"Where do you think you're going, missy?" He said in a crisp, sophisticated, British accent. He smelled like aftershave and his grip wasn't exactly, well, evil. Still, I said,

"What can I say, I needed some air, now, I'm gonna give you the five-second warning!"

"The what?' By now he had dragged me into the living room and was preparing a cloth with a liquid on it.

"Too late!" At this point I slammed my head back and made contact with his nose.

"Owww! What the h**l is wrong with ooh?!" At this point, I slammed my elbow hard into his gut and wriggled out of his grasp and made a dash into the kitchen.

"Please, don't make me hurt you!"

I ran behind the countertop and threw a ceramic plate at his thick head. Bull's eye!!

"Ow! What is wrong with you?!" He had to duck in order to avoid a cookie sheet grenade. OOHH, too late!

"Oww! That hurt! Look, I don't want to hurt you miss, really, I am just following orders!" After tossing more of Mac's hand made ceramic bowls at his head, I stopped to say,

"Following orders? Well, who the h**l would want to kidnap me?"

I ran out of reachable dishes by now, so I opened the silverware drawer and started launching forks at him.

"Well, ow, apparently, ow, you are very valuable to someone, ow!"

"Well, they are just going to have to be disappointed!"

Now I had run out of useful missiles, having thrown all of the spoons and knives at him as well, so I made a dash to the storage closet. I ran in and slammed the door and safety-bolted it. I turned on the light and hunted desperately for some sort of weapon.

Bam, bam, bam, bang, bang, bang. "Hey, open up!"

"Why, so you can kidnap me? I don't think so!" I said in a singsong voice.

"I told you, I don't want to hurt you, but this is getting really old, really fast! Now, come out or I am going to break the door in!"

Then I saw it; my escape, a nice bottle of lemon-fresh Lysol. I held it behind my back, counted to three, and unbolted the door.

"I give up! This is useless, I could never overpower you!" I said in my most defeated voice possible. Man, I was good!

"You? Give up? I find that hard to believe!" God! Why did his voice have to be so wonderful? Whoa!! Hello!! Wake up!! Him bad, me good!!

He cautiously opened the door and as soon as his eyes were in range, I sprayed the Lysol straight at them.

"Holy s**t!! Ow, god, my eyes!!" While he was cradling his head in his hands, I pushed my way past him and quickly dashed for the stairs. I kept telling myself, 'get to the deck, get to the deck and scream as loud as you possibly can!'

As I ran up the stairs, something grabbed my ankles, causing me to stumble down. A pair of sturdy arms caught me as he said,

"I'm really sorry about that, and I am really sorry about this, too!" At that point a sweet-smelling cloth was placed over my mouth and nose.

Right before I passed out, I remember cursing that man's name. What was his name?