“Oh, crap,” she whispered softly.
She tucked the crystal under her arm and tugged slightly on the rope. There was no resistance.
“He let go of the rope, didn’t he?” Pete said in the voice of doom. “He might as well have dropped us down a bottomless mine shaft.”
“There’s only one reason why Egan would have dropped the rope,” Alice said briskly. “Drake is out there.”
“Even if you’re right, it doesn’t matter now. No one is going to be able to find us before this place blows.”
“The trick isn’t over yet,” Alice said.
“Got any ideas?”
“It’s up to the magician now,” Alice said. “I told you, I’m just the box-jumper.”
Chapter 40
“KEEP AN EYE ON BOTH OF THEM,” DRAKE SAID.
“No problem,” Jasper said.
He sent his ghost closer to Egan, who opened his mouth on a soundless scream when the fierce energy brushed against him. He crumpled to the ground and lay very still.
“Is he—?” Drake asked.
“Just unconscious,” Jasper assured him. “Easier to keep an eye on him this way.”
“Same treatment for Dr. Tucker?” Fletcher asked.
“No,” Zara shrieked. “You can’t do this to me. You don’t understand. This was important research.”
“Just tie her hands behind her back,” Drake said. “Unless she starts to give you any trouble. In which case, feel free to zap her.”
Fletcher took a length of leather cording out of a pocket and went toward Zara.
“Please,” she entreated. Energy shivered in the atmosphere around her. “You must help me. Drake Sebastian hates me. He wants to kill me. You’ve got to stop him. Together you and I can save this island.”
“Forget it,” Fletcher said. He snagged one of Zara’s wrists and then the other. “I’m married to that guy over there.” He angled his head toward Jasper. “We’re both gay.”
Houdini chortled excitedly, fully fluffed once more with all four eyes still open. He dashed through the entrance of the pyramid and disappeared.
Drake went swiftly to the opening and looked into the thick, impenetrable darkness that barred the way.
“You’re psi-blind,” Zara taunted. “There’s no way you can enter that pyramid. One step inside the door and you’ll be lost. You’ll never find her or those Keys.”
Drake ignored her. He took off his dark glasses and slipped them into the pocket of his jacket. He jacked up his senses and walked through the gate of midnight energy and into a brilliantly lit crystal chamber that glowed with the dark light that came from the farthest end of the spectrum. Dazzling waves of energy stirred his senses.
Somewhere in the distance he thought he heard Zara scream in rage, but he paid no attention. The scene inside the pyramid riveted his full attention.
This was a world lit by the energy of darkness. Walking into it was the equivalent of waking up to a new dawn. The crystal walls of the Chamber were radiant with energy—energy that he knew intuitively he could channel. And when he did focus the currents in the walls of the pyramid, he knew he would see wondrous things.
Alice stood in the center of the Chamber, illuminated in the enthralling light. She clutched a glowing crystal in one hand. Houdini was on her shoulder, chattering happily. With her other hand Alice gripped the fingers of a young man. Pete, Drake decided. The kid looked scared but hopeful. He, too, held one of the crystals.
Drake realized that neither Alice nor Pete could see him. They stood close together, shoulders touching, and gazed blindly into space.
“I’m here,” Drake said.
“I know.” Alice turned partially toward him, relief and joy on her face. “I could sense your presence.”
“He’s really here?” Pete asked. “That voice isn’t a hallucination?”
“He’s here,” Alice said. “The magician pulled off the trick. Told you he would.”
“Alice,” Drake said.
He took her into his arms. It was an awkward move because she did not drop Pete’s hand or the crystal. And then there was Houdini bouncing around as if they were playing some new game.
But Alice rested her forehead against Drake’s shoulder. “I knew you would come for me.”
“You’re sure this guy is your husband?” Pete asked.
Alice raised her head, smiling, even though Drake knew she could not see him.
“Yes,” she said. “This is really my husband. Trust me, I’d know him anywhere.”
Chapter 41
AT TEN THIRTY THAT NIGHT ALICE AND DRAKE SAT AT A table in the Marina Inn Tavern. Alice had Nicholas North’s diary safely stowed in a bag that she kept close to her side.
She and Drake were not alone. Rachel, Charlotte, Jasper, and Fletcher were with them. They were the only people left in the restaurant. Houdini and Darwina had disappeared shortly after the kids had been sent upstairs to bed. Alice was fairly certain that the dust bunnies had gone hunting inside the Preserve. She wondered where they got the energy. She was exhausted but still too worked up to sleep. She doubted that she would sleep at all that night. She wanted to read her great-grandfather’s diary.
Earlier, Burt had fixed her a large bowl of canned vegetable soup accompanied by crackers. She had eaten everything he put in front of her and asked for seconds.
The power had come back on an hour ago. There was no sign of the dark fog. A few brave souls who had been staying at the inn had returned to their own homes, but many of the Marina Inn rooms were still occupied and the B&B was doing a brisk business. There were those who did not entirely trust that the threat was over.
But the lights were on and phones and computers were functioning. Communications with the mainland had been restored. Ferry service was scheduled to resume in the morning, conditions permitting. The proprietor of the service had promised to bring supplies, including toilet paper and groceries, on the early run.
Alice studied the two crystal slabs on the table. “So much trouble for such dumb-looking stones.”
“Not very impressive, are they?” Charlotte observed.
The crystals no longer glowed. Shortly after being removed from the pyramid they had reverted to a murky, unremarkable gray.
Rachel looked at Drake. “What are you going to do with them?”
“I’m tempted to drop them offshore into a deep-sea ravine but I’m not sure that would neutralize them,” Drake said. “It might have the opposite effect. These damn rocks have an affinity for geothermal energy. Be my luck they’d land in an undersea volcano and cause an eruption. For now they’ll be safer in a mag-steel-and-glass strongbox where the energy levels can be monitored.”
“In hindsight, it’s a wonder that the crystals were dormant for decades, sitting in a box in a cave here on the island,” Rachel mused. “Rainshadow is a nexus, a real hot spot where geothermal psi-forces intersect.”
“That’s probably why the Aliens chose it to set up their bio-research labs in the first place,” Alice said.
“According to the Old Earth records, the crystals have never caused any problem as long as they were properly stored aboveground in a strongbox,” Drake said. “But taking them underground into a hot psi environment was a hell of a mistake.”
Charlotte folded her arms on the table. “I assume you’ll store them in one of the Foundation labs?”
“Right,” Drake said. “We’ve got special vaults for the volatile specimens.”
Jasper looked thoughtful. “Think there’s any way to destroy them?”
“I don’t know,” Drake said. “It might be possible to pulverize them and scatter the bits and pieces over a large stretch of the ocean. Theoretically that would limit the resonating power of each individual shard. But I’m not even certain that would work.”