Page 49

She came awake to the familiar radiance of green quartz. That answered two questions. She was alive and she was in the Underworld. Gotta think positive .

It took her a moment longer to realize that she was lying on the floor of a tunnel chamber. She pushed herself to a sitting position and looked around with blurry eyes, trying to orient herself. Hope sparked briefly when she realized she still had her nav amber in the form of her bracelets and earrings, but when she pulsed a little energy, she realized they had been flatlined.

Her crystal pendant was gone.

She looked around. “Roxy?”

Melody Palantine appeared in the doorway. She had a flamer in her hand. The fierce, volatile energy of her fury charged the atmosphere.

“Forget the fucking dust bunny,” she said. “I told Baxter to get rid of it.”

“If he hurts her—”

Melody snorted. “You’ll do nothing. And if you’re thinking of making a run for it, forget it. I used a handy little gadget fresh out of my company’s labs to flatline your amber and the yellow crystal in your pendant.” She pulled the necklace out of her pocket and held it up. “Your sister did a very good job of locking in the codes, by the way. She’s definitely a high-rez tuner—I’ll give her that—but she’s a failure as far as Uncle Willard’s experiment goes.”

“How do you define failure ?”

Melody dropped the necklace back into her pocket. “She’s not a multi-talent. A double, at best. Certainly not a triple.”

“Do you think I’m a triple?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to decide. But it’s difficult to measure psychic energy, especially if someone is concealing a third talent. And that’s what any smart, stable triple does, right? Conceal the full range of their profile? We all know how society fears people with high-rez talents. People like us.”

Leona managed to push herself awkwardly to her feet. A wave of dizziness almost overwhelmed her. She took a few deep breaths in an effort to steady her senses. “What makes you think I might be a triple?”

“No need to play dumb. According to my dear dead aunt’s journal, you and Molly are the results of her brother Nigel Willard’s experiments. He developed his own version of the enhancement process, you see. His goal was to create stable multi-talents. I need to know if he was successful with his approach. You and Molly are the only evidence available. He never got a chance to run any more experiments after he irradiated your mothers.”

“My para-psych profile is almost identical to Molly’s. You’ve already determined she’s not a triple, so obviously, I’m not, either.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“Why are you obsessed with finding out whether or not I’m a multi-talent?”

“Because you’re stable ,” Melody snapped, “like me.”

“Well, you’re not in an asylum, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call you stable.”

“I’m a direct descendant of Vincent Lee Vance.” Melody’s voice rose. “I inherited his enhanced talents and his para-psych profile—his quartz-solid, stable profile.”

“You’re sure about the stability thing?”

Melody’s face tightened into a mask of rage. She aimed the flamer at a point slightly to the right of Leona’s head and fired. The bolt of fire struck the wall, doing no damage to the nearly indestructible quartz, but the shot came so close, Leona felt the heat. She flinched and instinctively stepped sideways.

“Yes, I’m fucking sure I’m stable,” Melody rasped. “Just like Vance.”

Leona took a deep breath. “Right. In that case, why are you worried about me?”

Melody took a breath and appeared to steady herself. “There have been some minor setbacks with the approach to enhancement that my people have been using in our labs. I need to know if Nigel Willard’s methods were more successful.”

“I see. This is all about you trying to build Vortex 2.0.”

“Let me explain it to you in simple sentences,” Melody said. “Whoever controls a reliable, successful enhancement process will hold all the power.”

“And you intend to be the only one in control of that process, is that it?”

Melody raised her chin. Her eyes heated. “I am going to succeed where Vincent Lee Vance failed. I have a destiny to fulfill.”

“You think you can do that because you’re his descendant?”

“Yes, and because I am a stable multi-talent.” Once again Melody made a visible effort to regain control. “Back at the start I assumed I had the inside track. I discovered that the head of Spooner Technologies was working on a modern Vortex machine. When I realized that Spooner had it tucked away in a secret lab in the tunnels, I went to work for him. I became his trusted administrative assistant. Spooner is now in an asylum. I control the company and the Vortex experiments. I was certain we were on the right track until my aunt died and I got her diary.”

“Did you know your father was the dead man we discovered in the Lost Creek Vortex machine? His name was Cyrus Willard.”

“I figured it out,” Melody said. “Believe it or not, I wasn’t even aware of that side of the family until I got the box containing Agnes’s personal possessions. In addition to the diary, there were several letters from Nigel and Cyrus. Lab notes, really. They were both obsessed with Vortex. They are what led me to Lost Creek and Thacker.”

“You were the elderly woman who made sure that Thacker found the fake Vance letter, the one about the so-called legend of the bride and the key. And then you used the pendants to manipulate half the town of Lost Creek with the Voice.”

Melody smiled. “I am, among other things, a very, very good hypnotist.”

“Obviously. You were also the mysterious acolyte. You found the Vortex machine in the Lost Creek tunnels, didn’t you? But you couldn’t open it.”

“Sadly, a talent for paranormal locks is not one of my abilities. But when I found Vance’s machine, I also discovered the key crystal. Cyrus Willard’s papers made it clear the pyramid was the secret to unlocking the machine, but I couldn’t resonate with it.”

“You were desperate, so you tracked down Molly and me.”

“According to Nigel’s notes, he had used the same kind of crystals in his own machine to irradiate your mothers and the babies they were carrying. When I realized that you and your sister both wear tuned Vortex crystals, I knew there was a high probability you could resonate with them. Neither of you is the type to wear untuned stones.”

“The Griffin sisters were on your psi-dar for two reasons,” Leona said. “First, because you wanted to know if we were stable triples. Second, you thought one of us might be able to use the pyramid key to unlock the machine in the Lost Creek tunnels. Initially you went after Molly, but when your overly complicated plan fell apart, you tried to set me up at the Antiquarian Society reception. But there was a serious flaw in your plan, right from the start.”

“There was no way I could have known about the fucking FBPI raid,” Melody shouted.

“That wasn’t the flaw. That was a twist, a glitch. Instead of letting it throw you off balance, you should have seen the flower of opportunity that was blossoming in the shadows.”

Melody was suddenly so enraged, Leona was afraid she might burst into flames.

“Don’t quote that stupid book to me,” Melody screamed. “ Achieving Inner Resonance is fucking ghost shit. Every fucking word.”

“You read it?” Leona asked. “I’m on chapter six. I admit I had my doubts about the positive-thinking theory, but—”

“It’s all a fucking lie. That crap about thinking positive is a cruel joke. I tried it. Look what happened to me. Someone should sue the author.”

“I’m not sure you can blame the author for your own screwup. That was just poor planning.”

“I did not screw up,” Melody cried.

“Your big mistake was stealing Pandora’s box from the Rancourt Museum. That got Oliver Rancourt’s attention.”

“I had no choice.” Melody managed to regain some self-control. “I had to have a suitable artifact to submit to the Society. I needed an object of power that the board would not be able to resist. When it comes to AUPs, no museum has a finer collection than the Rancourt. I had no way of knowing that Oliver Rancourt would be able to track down the missing artifact.”

“People tend to underestimate Oliver,” Leona said. “He was certainly right about you. You’re obsessed with the intricacies of your own plans. You make them so complicated that you can’t adapt them to unexpected twists.”

“That’s a lie.” Melody raised the flamer again. “I have Vincent Lee Vance’s talent for strategy.”

“He failed, remember?”

“Because the Guilds ambushed him,” Melody shrieked.

“And he had no backup plan. Right. Okay, you’ve got a talent for strategy and one for hypnosis. I’m assuming your third talent is your ability to rez some Alien artifacts.”

“Yes,” Melody said. “Like you.”

Baxter Richey appeared in the doorway behind her. His expressionless face and blank eyes made it clear he was still in a trance.

“Where’s Roxy?” Leona asked. “What did you do to her?”

Baxter did not react to the question.

“I had to put him in a very heavy trance,” Melody explained. “He can only respond to direct demands or questions from me.” She raised her voice slightly. “Baxter, what happened to the dust bunny?”

“Lost,” Baxter said in his flat voice.

“What the fuck?” Melody began. Then she gave Leona an amused smile. “I believe my exact instructions were, Lose the dust bunny . People in a trance take commands very literally.”

Leona knew a rush of hope. Maybe Baxter actually had lost Roxy and not murdered her. She glanced at the pendant around his neck. The stone in it glowed.

“You used those pendants to transmit hypnotic commands to the members of your Vance return cult,” she said.

“It was the same technique Vance used to control his Guardians.”

“Why did you murder the waiter, Astrid Todd, at the reception?”

“Turns out not everyone can be hypnotized. Todd had some serious talent herself. She actually tried to scam me . She pretended to be a true believer, but she figured out what was going on and just played along.”

“What happened at the reception?”

“I arranged for her to get the job on the catering staff that night because I thought it might be useful to have someone I could trust to handle the unpleasant stuff in the event I ran into a problem. I knew the Society would have a lot of security for the event.”

“You wanted someone to take the fall if things went wrong.”

“But the stupid woman turned on me. Tried to blackmail me— right there in the mansion . I couldn’t believe it. That’s when I realized she was not under the control of the Voice. She threatened to tell the head of the Society that I was a thief who was there to steal some of the artifacts. She demanded that I transfer a fortune into her bank account.”

“You panicked, grabbed the nearest weapon—a kitchen knife—and killed her.”

“I did not panic. I did the only thing I could under the circumstances. I had to kill her. She gave me no choice.”

“Nope, you definitely panicked.” Leona tut-tutted. “Oliver is right. You’re an overplanner. A juggler. One little spinning plate falls off a pole and you lose control.”

“That’s a lie.” Melody’s face was a blotchy red. “I had things under control. Then I heard someone coming down the hall.”

“Me.”

“I hid in the restroom. The next thing I knew, Rancourt was with you in the pantry. I was trapped and the raid was in full swing. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the Feds were swarming down that hallway. And then you actually came into the restroom to wash your hands. I thought you would never leave. When you did, I left the restroom, grabbed Todd’s pendant, and escaped through the kitchen door. There was an agent watching that exit, but I used my hypnosis talent to make him forget he had seen me. In the darkness, no one noticed the blood on my clothes.”

“When things settled down you realized that, in spite of everything, your plan had worked to some extent.”

“ Yes . Exactly.” Melody looked visibly cheered. “I knew the box had been stolen and opened, and that someone had been able to resonate with the pyramid because I put a tracker code on it. When I got the ping from your address, I realized you were the thief. Stealing the artifact was a very impressive move, by the way.”

“It wasn’t quite like that, but never mind. Details. Before you stole Pandora’s box from the museum, you knew that, sooner or later, Oliver Rancourt would become a problem because he would investigate the loss of the box. You wanted him out of the picture, so you set up a plan to lure him to Lost Creek.”

“The Foundation has been chasing Vortex clues much longer than I have,” Melody said. “Generations. I knew that once Pandora’s box disappeared, Rancourt would contact his connections in the gray market. He can afford to pay for information, so sooner or later, he would become a nuisance.”

“What you didn’t expect—didn’t allow for in your strategy—was that Oliver and I might join forces and work as partners.”

“When Richey and I saw him in your room that night at the inn, I figured he had seduced you so that he could manipulate you.”

“See, that’s your problem, Melody. You’re good at keeping a lot of spinning plates in the air, but you have a habit of miscalculating when it comes to people and their emotions and motivations. That makes you a failure, just like Vance.”

“I am not a failure. I found Vance’s Vortex machine and I found you, the one person who could open it.”

“That machine is now a useless lump of metal. The yellow crystals, including the key, have been destroyed. But the worst part is that you still don’t know if I’m a multi-talent—if I’m your competition. That’s why you haven’t killed me or dumped me into the tunnels without nav amber. You really, really need to know if I’m a successful multi-talent.”

“I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that you’re just a double, like your sister. You’re an impressive locksmith, and judging by the way you were able to flatline that little bowl I used to take down Rancourt, you apparently have a talent for working some Alien artifacts. But I’ve seen no evidence of a third talent.”

“You want a demonstration? No problem. I’ll give you proof if you agree to hire me.”

Melody looked dumbfounded. “Why would I do that?”

“Because we both know you’re not going to quit until you’ve fulfilled your destiny. A woman in your position needs a reliable fixer, someone she can count on to handle the pesky little problems that are bound to crop up along the way. You’ve been trying to go it alone and it’s not working.”

“You’re serious.”

“Absolutely. You need me. Let me demonstrate my third talent and then we can talk.”

Melody snorted in disbelief but there was intense curiosity in her eyes. “All right, show me what you can do.”

“I’ll need a volunteer from the audience.”

“You’re expecting me to volunteer?” Melody laughed. “Don’t hold your breath.”

“Baxter, there, will be perfect. I’ll need physical contact, however. You’ll have to send him over here.”

Richey did not react. He continued to gaze at nothing.

Melody frowned. “What are you going to do to him?”

“I can flatline him for you. You’re planning to get rid of him anyway, right? He knows too much and eventually the trance will wear off. He’ll start talking—assuming he’s still alive.”

“Are you telling me you can kill someone with your talent?” Melody asked, her eyes widening.

Leona smiled. “You can see why I haven’t wanted to publicize that particular aspect of my para-psych profile. It’s not a great thing to put down on a résumé or a matchmaking agency questionnaire.”

“You’re lying.”

“Allow me to demonstrate.”

Melody hesitated and then shrugged. “All right.” She went into her hypnotic command voice. “Baxter, walk toward the woman. I will tell you when to stop.”

Baxter obeyed, crossing the chamber until he was close enough for Leona to touch.

“Baxter, stop,” Melody ordered. She did not take her eyes off Leona. “Go ahead, show me your third talent.”

Leona put her hand on Baxter’s arm. He appeared unaware of her fingers gripping him. Cautiously, she rezzed her talent to get a sense of his energy field. It was partially locked. No surprise. The first step was to free him. She sent out a little energy, just enough to counteract the trance.

It was as if she had flipped a switch. The tension evaporated from his body in a heartbeat. He looked around, bewildered.

“Where am I?” he said. He realized she was holding his arm. “Dr. Griffin? What are you—”

“You said you were going to flatline him,” Melody snapped. “You lied.”

“Not exactly,” Leona said. The physical contact with Baxter allowed her to focus through his nav amber. “I said I could flatline him for you. But I’d much rather flatline you.”

She sent a pulse of hot energy through Baxter’s tuned amber, channeling it through the heavy atmosphere of the tunnels, and aimed it at Melody’s energy field.

Melody screamed. Rage, horror, and panic twisted across her face as the intense currents hit her with the force of a flamer. She stared at Leona.

“Not possible,” she gasped. “No one can work Alien energy that way. No one.”

Her eyes fluttered. A terrible shudder went through her. She collapsed without another word.

Leona stared at her, wondering if she had just murdered another human being. Before she could process that possibility, Richey collapsed slowly, gently, to the floor. She crouched beside him and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that his pulse was strong.

A flash of bright blue appeared in the doorway. Roxy raced into the chamber, chortling madly, the ribbons of the fascinator streaming behind her.

“Roxy.” Leona scooped her up and held her very tightly. “I’ve been so worried.”

Oliver materialized at the entrance. He glanced briefly at Melody’s very still form and then looked at Leona.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

His voice was so cold and so controlled she knew he was channeling a lot of intense emotion. It was all there in his specter-cat eyes.

“Yes,” she whispered. She took a breath and tried again. “Yes, I’m okay. I’m burned out for now. It will take me a few hours to recover, and I’ll probably have a panic attack later, but right now I’m…okay.” She looked down at Melody. Another rush of horror zapped through her. “I may have killed her. I didn’t mean to, but I’ve never done anything like that before and I—”

“You didn’t kill her,” Oliver said. “Trust me, you would know if you had.”

He was right. She pulled herself together and reminded herself that the energy of violent death was unmistakable. There was no hint of that vibe around Melody Palantine.

Oliver crouched near the unconscious woman and checked for a pulse. “She’ll definitely wake up. Not sure what kind of shape her para-psych profile will be in, though.”

A familiar figure appeared at the entrance.

“Assassin,” Burt roared. He had a flamer in his hand. He aimed it at Leona. “You killed Vincent Lee Vance and now you’ve murdered the acolyte.”

“Put the flamer down,” Oliver ordered quietly.

Burt did not acknowledge the command. It was as if he didn’t even see Oliver, Leona thought, and this time Oliver was not trying to be invisible.

She tightened her grip on Roxy, who was sleeked out and trying to escape her grasp.

“He’s still in a trance,” she said quietly. “With Palantine unconscious it will eventually wear off, but at the moment—”

“It’s a problem,” Oliver said. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Leona felt energy shift in the atmosphere and knew that Oliver had just cloaked himself in his talent. He glided up to Burt, snapped the flamer out of his grasp, and then moved back.

Burt whirled around and launched himself at Oliver. “You can’t be allowed to interfere with the Vance destiny. With the future.”

“No,” Leona shouted. “Stop.”

But it was clear Burt had no intention of stopping. His trajectory and his crazed determination combined with the raw power of his heavily muscled body should have ensured that he slammed into Oliver. And he would have if Oliver hadn’t sidestepped him.

Burt scrambled to a halt and circled around his target, preparing for another charge.

“We don’t have time for this,” Oliver said quietly. “We’ve got dinner with Leona’s parents tonight. My first time. I need to make a good impression. You know how it is.”

Leona sensed lightning-hot energy crackling in the atmosphere. With it came a thrill of stark panic so overwhelming it left her unable to move. She could barely breathe. In that moment she could not have run or even screamed if her life had depended on it.

She knew she was only getting the backwash of the terrifying currents that struck Burt. He stared at Oliver, horror shattering his entranced aura.

“Monster,” he rasped.

Leona was suddenly stricken with a panic unlike anything she had ever known.

She was locked inside a transparent coffin that was being slowly propelled into a furnace of blazing blue fire…

In the next instant Burt collapsed, unconscious, next to Melody Palantine.

Oliver looked at Leona. It was clear he was braced for her reaction.

She broke free of the dreamscape, damp with perspiration. Relief descended on her with such force it was all she could do to remain on her feet. She planted one hand against the nearest quartz wall.

“Okay,” she said, drawing a deep breath. “That’s one hell of a talent you have, Rancourt. Do you have any idea what Burt just saw?”

“He saw what I wanted him to see: his worst nightmare.”

She frowned, trying to process that. “But what, exactly, did he see?”

“I don’t know. Everyone has their own nightmares. I just rez them. I don’t see them.”

“That explains it, then.”

“You saw a nightmare, too, didn’t you? I tried to focus on Burt but you were not that far away, and the energy down here is so strong and so unpredictable—”

“It’s all right, Oliver.” She took her hand off the wall and rezzed up a shaky smile. “I can handle a bad dream. Griffin women can take care of themselves.”

Some of his tension eased. “Yeah, I can see that. I know you’ve been through a lot, but the Guild and the FBPI will be here at any minute. We need a good story to explain three unconscious people, one that doesn’t involve us being scary monster talents.”

“Right. But first I want my pendant back. Molly can retune it.”

She crossed the room to where Melody lay sprawled on the floor, reached into the pocket of the woman’s jacket, and retrieved the yellow crystal.

She slipped it over her neck and looked at Oliver.

“Now we can work on our story.”