by Jayne Castle
“You can save the sarcasm,” Zara said. “Because if it does blow, all of us, including you, are going with it.”
Alice glanced at Pete. His right hand was handcuffed to her left hand. A two-foot-long chain connected them. Egan gripped Pete’s upper arm.
Pete was probably even more frightened than she was, Alice thought, because he had been inside the pyramid and knew what they were about to encounter. But he was doing his best to appear calm and stoic. Maybe he actually had some faith in her promise that rescue was on the way.
Alice turned back to Zara. “That Chamber is big, and according to what I’ve been told, I’m not going to be able to see my hand in front of my face once I’m inside.”
“That’s correct,” Zara said. “You’ll be completely blind. One step past the entrance and you won’t even be able to look back and see the opening. The para-energy inside overwhelms light from the normal end of the spectrum. It’s like going into a cave.”
“How am I supposed to find the crystals?”
“Trust me, you’ll sense them. They’re so hot now that even someone without much talent can pick up the energy emanating from them.”
“So why don’t you send Egan in after them?”
Fury and frustration flashed across Zara’s face. “Because only someone with a strong light-oriented talent can get through the force field at the entrance without going unconscious within seconds. Back at the start, it was possible for any talent to come and go from the Chamber. It was similar to walking through the psi-fence that surrounds the Preserve. But now it’s a thousand times worse.”
“Because you heated things up with the crystals. You’re a real twit, aren’t you?”
Zara’s eyes were hot with rage, but she pulled herself together with visible effort. “Egan will put a rope around your waist. He’ll hold the other end. When you have the crystals, signal him by yanking on the rope a couple of times. He’ll pull you out.”
“We both know if it was that easy, you would have done it yourself. You’re a light-talent. But you can’t even get past the entrance, can you?”
Zara gave her a thin smile. She was still in control, but cracks were appearing in her icy composure. “You are wasting time, Ms. North. Egan will slide open the door for you.”
“What a gentleman,” Alice said.
She walked slowly toward the entrance of the Dream Chamber, drawing Pete with her.
“Shit,” Pete whispered. “I hate this place.”
Egan followed. He picked up the rope that was coiled on the floor at the entrance and looped the noose-like end around Alice’s waist. She shuddered in revulsion when he touched her. He did not appear to notice, let alone take offense.
Satisfied that the line was secure around her, he grasped the other end firmly in one hand. Then he used both hands to haul aside the heavy steel plate blocking the entrance.
Night and energy from the farthest end of the spectrum swirled just inside the opening. Fog-like tendrils of power stormed in the Chamber.
“Hurry,” Zara shouted. “There isn’t much time left.”
“Too bad you didn’t think of that before you started fiddling around with those crystals,” Alice called over her shoulder.
“This is your fault, damn you,” Zara shrieked. “Get those crystals out of there or we are all dead.”
A frisson of awareness whispered through Alice. Drake was somewhere nearby. She could sense it.
She glanced toward the vaulted opening at the far end of the cavernous room. She could not see anyone, but the certainty that Drake was close was growing stronger.
She was equally certain of another fact. Zara and Egan would not hesitate to use Pete and her as hostages.
Not yet, she thought. Too dangerous.
There was no such thing as telepathy, or so the experts claimed. But she shared some kind of psychic connection with Houdini. On stage he always seemed to get his cues right. As for her bond with Drake, that was a lot more complicated, but she no longer doubted that it existed. He certainly could not read her mind but he had a gift for strategy. If she gave him an opening, he would seize it.
Step one was to keep Zara and Egan distracted for a few more minutes.
“It’s going to be okay, Pete,” she said quietly.
She reached back for his hand, gripping his fingers tightly, and moved to the entrance. She needed physical contact for what she was about to do.
Pete looked as if he might be ill but he stumbled forward with her.
“Trust me,” she whispered.
“Not like I’ve got a lot of choice,” Pete said. “Sure hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I’m the box-jumper,” she said. “The magician’s assistant. That means I know the secret of the trick.”
“Yeah? So where’s the magician?”
She was careful not to look back over her shoulder. “He’ll be on stage any minute now.”
“What part am I playing in this performance?”
“You’re the volunteer from the audience.”
“I was afraid of that.”
She tightened her grip on his hand, kicked up her talent, and pulled him with her through the wall of midnight.
Chapter 36
THE GREEN GHOST FIRE BLOCKED THE QUARTZ TUNNEL, forcing all of them to a halt. The ball of Alien energy was fueled by the chaotic currents that burned at its core. It had no doubt been blazing just as fiercely ever since the Aliens had vanished.
Drake watched the ghost through his mirrored glasses. He could have removed the shades because all of the energy that emanated from the quartz catacombs was paranormal in nature. But he did not know what surprises Zara might have in store. Even a simple amber-rez flashlight could temporarily blind him.
Houdini, stationed on Drake’s shoulder, rumbled impatiently and blinked his hunting eyes.
“No way Egan could have made it past that ghost,” Fletcher said. “It’s possible that it drifted in from a connecting passage after he went through, but more likely he deliberately planted it here on the off chance that someone found the gravestone entrance and tried to follow him.”
Although they were called ghosts, the balls of psi-fire that floated through the maze of Alien catacombs were not the remnants of sentient beings. The technical name for the phenomena was Unstable Dissonance Energy Manifestations, also called UDEMs. They were one of the many hazards of the tunnels and the primary reason for the enduring power of the Ghost Hunter Guilds. Only those with a talent for dealing with the unique psi of the UDEMs could neutralize the dangerous, unpredictable storms of psi that drifted randomly in the eerie underworld.
“Are we sure this is the right passage?” Jasper asked. “What if Houdini is wrong?”
Houdini bounced on Drake’s shoulder, agitated by the delay.
The vast array of green catacombs was a bewildering maze to human senses. Only a small portion of the Underworld had been mapped. No one knew how far the passages extended. The Guild did its best to guard the known entrances and restrict unauthorized access, but there were thousands of secret holes-in-the-wall that were used by illegal antiquities hunters, thrill-seekers, and the occasional serial killer.
“Houdini is leading us in the right direction,” Drake said. “He’s got some kind of psychic connection with Alice. Dust bunnies have no trouble navigating underground.”
He did not add the obvious point: Houdini’s guidance was their best hope—make that their only hope—of finding Alice in time to save her. His intuition told him that if Zara Tucker and Egan managed to get off the island, Alice would be dead within hours.
“We’ve seen how some dust bunnies bond with humans,” Fletcher said to Jasper. “Drake’s right, got to trust Houdini here. Not like any of us can track a man through the tunnels.”
Jasper stepped forward. “I’ll take care of this sucker. Haven’t done this kind of work in a while. Got to admit, sometimes I miss it.”
Drake felt energy shift in the atmosphere and knew that J
asper was raising his talent. A second, smaller ghost flashed into existence directly in front of the blocking storm. Jasper’s UDEM oscillated with hot energy at its core, but unlike the wild ghost it was under his control.
Jasper used his talent to maneuver the second ghost until it collided with the furnace of hot psi that blocked the tunnel. There was a flash of green lightning. Energy roared in the atmosphere. A moment later the wild ghost winked out.
Jasper quickly extinguished the ghost he had created. He was grinning.
“That was fun,” he said.
“Good to know you haven’t lost your touch,” Fletcher said. “Nice work.”
Houdini bounced up and down and rumbled ferociously, urging everyone forward.
They moved swiftly, but distances underground were difficult to gauge. Drake reasoned that the Chamber could not be too far from Shadow Bay via the Underworld tunnels because Egan had evidently come and gone frequently between the two locations. But there was no way to be certain how their position belowground related to the aboveground terrain.
They rounded a corner. Houdini abruptly stiffened on Drake’s shoulder and growled a warning that brought them to a halt in a large, high-ceilinged chamber. A dozen glowing passages branched off on all sides. Houdini was gazing intently at one of the corridors. He was tensed with the anticipation of a predator.
“We’re close,” Drake said.
Jasper glanced at Houdini. “Yeah, the little guy looks ready to go for someone’s throat.”
They moved along the corridor that Houdini appeared to favor. At the far end Drake could see more intersecting passages. Alice was not far away. The whisper of intimate awareness on the back of his neck told him that she was somewhere nearby.
Instinct prompted him to move as quietly as possible. He noticed that Jasper and Fletcher did the same. Their caution was probably unnecessary. The reality was that sound, like other kinds of energy, was always distorted and quickly overwhelmed by the Alien psi that emanated from the tunnel walls, ceiling, and floor. It was possible to be within fifteen feet of someone who was talking in a normal voice and not be aware of his or her presence if the person happened to be out of sight around a corner.
“I know the three of us have a plan,” Fletcher said. “But I doubt that Houdini understands human strategy. If we’re close to Alice, he’s liable to take off at any moment to try to get to her. If Egan spots him, he’ll realize that we might be in the vicinity.”
“Every plan has a weak point,” Drake said, glancing at Houdini. “The good news is that we know ours. That means that we can compensate. On second thought, that’s not the only good news.”
Jasper raised his brows. “But, wait, there’s more?”
“Oh, yeah,” Drake said. “We’ve got two ghost hunters on our team. Zara Tucker only has one.”
“One hunter who just happens to be armed with an Alien weapon,” Fletcher pointed out.
“I’m counting on your ghost-fighting talents to neutralize Egan’s weapon,” Drake said.
“Right.” Jasper automatically touched the amber he wore around his neck. “No problem.”
They hugged the wall of the tunnel as they approached the intersection. Drake took Houdini off his shoulder and tucked him under one arm, silently trying to convey the need to stay out of sight until the last minute. Houdini wriggled a little but he stayed put. Maybe he had gotten the message, Drake thought. Or maybe when it came to hunting instincts, all predators relied on the same basic strategy—don’t let the prey see you coming until you’re ready to make the kill.
Drake was in the lead, so he arrived at the vaulted entrance of the passage first. Now, at last, he could make out voices. He motioned Jasper and Fletcher to a halt. They all listened intently.
“. . . They’ve been inside a full minute and they haven’t collapsed,” Zara said. Relief and excitement vibrated in her voice. “It looks like Alice can handle the psi.”
“What if they don’t find the crystals?” Egan asked.
“She’s still conscious. This is going to work.”
“But if it doesn’t?”
“You had better hope that it does,” Zara said. “Because if this fails there is only one last option.”
“You never said there was another option.” Egan sounded uneasy. “What is it?”
“We’ll have to send someone else in,” Zara said, impatient now.
“Yeah? Who?”
“You.”
“Are you crazy? I’m not going in there. I can’t handle that kind of energy. I’m a ghost hunter, not a light-talent.”
“According to my calculations, there is a seventy-percent possibility that a non–light-talent can survive the experience for a short time. Hopefully, long enough to bring out the crystals.”
“But you said the energy buildup inside the pyramid would drive a non–light-talent mad.”
“That is a complication,” Zara said. “Let’s hope that Alice can pull off one last magic trick.”
Chapter 37
THE NERVE-SHATTERING DARKNESS SCREAMED AROUND them. And this is with my senses at full throttle, Alice thought. No wonder Zara Tucker and Egan had not been able to get through the storm. It took everything she had to forge a path. She did her best to protect Pete as well as herself but she could tell from the death grip he had on her hand that he was struggling.
A few more steps and they were through the psi-barrier. Alice realized she had been holding her breath. She finally managed to inhale. Not that the situation was greatly improved.
A storm of dark light roared and crashed and churned around them. There were occasional flashes of paranormal lightning, but they did nothing to illuminate the interior of the pyramid. Bizarre images appeared and disappeared in the depths of the seemingly impenetrable night.
The utter darkness was disorienting. No normal light filtered in past the narrow entrance. They had taken only a couple of steps inside, but Alice could not see anything, not even Pete standing so close that his shoulder brushed against hers.
“Oh, shit,” Pete said. Dread edged his words. “It’s gotten even worse than it was yesterday when she sent me in here, a lot worse.”
“It’s okay,” Alice said with a cool certainty she did not feel. “It’s just light—really, really dark light—but light is light and I can work with that.”
“I used to think I could work with light, too. But this stuff isn’t like anything I’ve ever seen.”
She kept her grip on Pete’s hand and focused on altering the currents of her aura so that they formed a shield, forcing the dark wavelengths of the nightmare energy to bend around the two of them.
“What’s happening?” Pete whispered.
“We just went invisible. This is my one big trick. We’re standing in the eye of the storm now. Too bad we don’t have an audience. How are you doing?”
“Okay.” Pete sounded vaguely amazed. “I’m okay, at least I think so. Or maybe this is one of the hallucinations. I’m aware of the intensity of the energy but it’s as if we’re in a bubble that’s protecting us from the forces.”
“That’s a good way to describe it.”
“How long can you keep this up?”
“Long enough.” I hope, she added silently. Never let the audience see you sweat. “Let’s find those crystals.”
“Not a good idea. Once Dr. Tucker and Egan get their hands on those damn stones, you and I are both toast. Well, I am, for sure. They might keep you around until they’re safely off the island, but I’m a goner as soon as I step out of here. I doubt if you’ll last much longer.”
“I know, but those crystals are the only bargaining chips we’ve got,” Alice said. “Once we have them, we might be able to buy a little more time.”
“Time for your husband to arrive?” Pete sounded dubious.
“Yes,” she said. “Trust me, he’ll get here eventually.”
“Okay, it’s not like I’ve got any plan at all.”
“Can you sense the crystals
?”
“Not anymore,” Pete said. “The bitch sent me in here one too many times. I haven’t had time to fully recover between sessions. I’m pretty burned out.”
Alice went still, probing cautiously. A thin trickle of energy that felt very different from the currents of the storm danced somewhere in the darkness.
“I think I’ve got a fix on them,” she said.
She moved forward, keeping her grip on Pete. She put her free hand out to ward off an encounter with a sloped wall.
She was walking blind but that did not stop the fractured images from swirling around her.
“It’s like moving through a dream,” she said.
“Yeah, a nightmare,” Pete said. “But I don’t feel as disoriented as I have in the past. Usually by now I start to pass out. Your light-bending trick is working.”
The delicate trickle of energy was growing stronger.
“We’re getting closer,” she said.
The tension on the rope around her waist remained steady as Egan let out the line.
“They must be getting real excited out there,” Pete said grimly. “They’ll know we haven’t collapsed yet. Hell, I’m excited because I haven’t passed out.”
Alice did not reply. There was no point letting Pete know that she was having to pull harder and harder on her talent to keep the shield around both of them. She was approaching her limits.
The trail of crystal energy brightened. For the first time she could perceive a pale, shadowy light flickering in the utter darkness, a weak paranormal candle flame. As she and Pete moved closer a second current of eerie radiance appeared.
“The crystals,” Pete said. He sounded stunned. “I think I can see them.”
Alice stopped. Pete stumbled to a halt beside her. They looked down. At least Alice thought they were looking down. In the disorienting darkness it was impossible to know.
Regardless, she could make out two flat slabs of crystal, each slightly larger than a man’s hand. They glowed with paranormal energy.
