Horror and panic etched Riley’s face. He went to the nearest doorway and looked down into the bottomless well of ice and fog.
“Where are we?” he gasped. “What’s happening?”
“We’re in a dreamscape,” Gwen said. “I created it just for you.”
“That’s not possible.”
“It’s true that I usually need physical contact to do this kind of dream work,” she said. “But the mirror engine changes everything. It heightens my own talent. That’s what Evelyn designed it to do, you see.”
The feverish excitement rekindled in Riley’s eyes. “Then it must be strengthening my talent, as well.”
“No,” she said. “It doesn’t work like that. It’s tuned to my energy patterns, not yours.”
The ghosts of Evelyn and Louise appeared in two of the open doorways.
“About time you brought him here,” Evelyn said. “We’ve been waiting.”
“Sorry it took me so long,” Gwen said. “Things got complicated.”
“But you always knew that there was some piece of the puzzle missing, didn’t you?” Evelyn asked.
“Yes,” she said. “I did.”
“I thought no one could kill the demon,” Louise said.
“He’s gone now,” Gwen said.
“I told you that you were a witch like me,” Louise said. “But I was wrong. You are stronger, much stronger.”
“What’s going on?” Riley demanded. “Who are you talking to?”
“The ghosts of Evelyn and Louise,” she said. “Don’t you see them?”
“No.” Riley was sweating now. “But there’s something out there. What is it?”
“Hard to say. You’re seeing images from your own nightmares. I don’t know exactly how they appear to you, but to me your dreamscape is a hall of open doorways floating in midair above an ocean of fog. The jagged peaks of crystal mountains are visible in the mist.”
“Yes, yes, that’s exactly what I’m seeing now.”
“Excellent. That means I’ve got good control of your hallucinations. This engine really is amazing.”
“Make it all go away.”
“No,” she said. “If I do, you’ll murder me.”
“No, I won’t hurt you, I swear it.”
“Zander said that, too. But he was a liar. Like you. Runs in the family, I guess. The only way for you to escape is to run. That’s what Zander did.”
“Where?”
She waved a hand. “Pick a doorway, any doorway.”
“No,” Riley screamed.
“Your choice. There’s no other way out of here. I’m leaving now. This dreamscape is yours.”
She stepped through the nearest doorway—back into the reality of the lab and straight into Judson’s arms. Well, into one of his arms, she thought. He had his gun in his other hand.
She felt the brush of fur against her legs. Max bolted past her into the mirror maze. She never knew what the wildly hallucinating Riley saw when he saw Max, but she knew it must have been terrible.
Riley started to scream.
“What did you do to him?” Judson asked. He looked into the mirror engine.
She turned in the circle of his arm and looked into the glittering, sparking maze of mirrors. Riley had disappeared into the labyrinth of energy-infused glass.
“I put him into a dreamscape and I left him there,” she whispered. “The same thing I did to Zander Taylor. The only difference this time is that Riley ran into the heart of the engine, not outside into the river.”
“He was running from Max.”
Riley continued to scream for what seemed like forever. A shot rang out. The screaming stopped.
She heard the first sharp crack a heartbeat later. The hot mirrors started to shiver as though an earthquake had struck.
“Max,” Gwen shouted. “Max, come here. Please. You have to get out of there.”
To her surprise and overwhelming relief, Max trotted back out of the maze.
“Thank goodness.” Gwen scooped him up into her arms.
The tremors grew stronger and increasingly violent. The sound of splintering glass echoed from the heart of the engine.
Judson drew Gwen and Max away from the rainstorm of shattered mirrors. They watched the engine destroy itself.
And then it was over.
The body of Riley Duncan lay in a pool of blood in the middle of the pile of glittering shards.
Only then did Gwen see the blood on Max’s paws.
Forty-three
Judson closed the phone, rested one arm along the top of the mantel and looked at Gwen. “Oxley says the hospital told him that Lancaster has a mild concussion. They’re keeping him overnight for observation, but he will be released tomorrow. As for Riley Duncan, they’re calling it a suicide.”
“It was the dreamscape,” Gwen said. Absently, she stroked Max. The dozing cat was stretched out alongside her in the chair. He purred steadily. Earlier, much to his annoyance, she had washed the blood from his fur. “Whatever Riley saw drove him mad. Just like it did Zander.”
They were back in her cozy parlor room at the inn. It was late. A fire burned on the hearth. Judson had picked up takeout, pizza again. Mostly she was focusing on the glass of brandy that he had poured for her.
The shaky, edgy sensation created by a combination of bone-deep exhaustion and the aftermath of the heavy adrenaline and psi-burn was still rattling her senses. The recipe guaranteed a sleepless night.
Judson left the mantel and crossed the room. He lowered himself into the other reading chair and contemplated the flames.
“I’m glad that the mirror engine was destroyed today,” Gwen said. “I know you said that Sam and his lab techs would want to examine it, but I think it’s better that it’s gone altogether.”
Judson looked at her. “Even though it saved your life on two different occasions?”
“I’m really, really hoping I won’t need it a third time.”
“You won’t,” he said grimly. “From now on, I’m never going to let you out of my sight.”
She smiled. “Yes, you will, and we’ll both be fine.”
“No, we won’t both be fine. I’m going to have a few new nightmares of my own because of what nearly happened today.”
She reached over the arm of her chair and touched him lightly. “Good news, Coppersmith. I fix bad dreams.”
He smiled at that, caught her hand and kissed it. “I know you do, Dream Eyes.” He threaded his fingers through hers. “Have you decided what you’re going to do with the lab?”
“Your brother can have the equipment he thinks might be of interest to him and his techs. I’ll let Wesley have whatever is left and the lodge, assuming he still wants it for a set. He may not have any use for the place once some of Evelyn’s machines and devices have been removed.”
Judson nodded. “Sam will give you a good price for the equipment he takes.”
“I’m just glad that a few of Evelyn’s machines will be in the hands of people who will truly appreciate them. It means that her work won’t be lost.”
They drank the brandy in silence for a time. Max rumbled on, eyes closed.
“I wonder what Riley Duncan saw there at the end when he looked at Max,” Gwen said after a while.
Judson looked at the dozing cat. “His worst nightmare. Whatever it was, it must have been the final straw—so bad that he turned the gun on himself.”
“You know, I really can’t wait to leave Wilby.”
“I feel the same way about this town,” Judson said.
“It’s going to be a long night for me.” She stirred in the chair. “You might as well go to bed.”
“Not without you,” Judson said.
“I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to sleep much,” she warned.
“In that case, I won’t sleep, either.”
“It’s very kind of you to offer to keep me company, but there’s no need for both of us to sit here in the dark all night.”
He pulled her up out of the chair and down onto his lap. He cradled her close.
“Spending the night here in the dark together is exactly what we need to do,” he said. “And after tonight I want to spend tomorrow night with you and the night after that and the one after that and all the nights after that.”
Hope and longing whispered through her. “You’re talking about giving our partnership a chance to see where it goes?”