The Hot Zone (A Rainshadow Novel Book 3) (24 page)

“It’s for your own good,” Ellen said. For the first time there was a hint of anxiety in her voice. “And for the good of the family.”

Sedona wanted to scream her rage. She wanted to call to Cyrus. But she discovered that she could no longer speak.

She was vaguely aware of a door opening on the library balcony. Two figures wearing the uniforms of the catering staff came swiftly down the spiral staircase and crossed the room. One of them, a man, knelt beside Sedona and hoisted her over his shoulder.

“Got her,” he said.

His voice came from a long way off but Sedona recognized it. Buzzkill.

“Take her outside to the van,” Hannah Holbrook ordered.

Well, that certainly explained a few things, Sedona thought.

Hulk started toward a side door.

Sedona heard Hannah pause to speak to Ellen.

“Thank you,” Hannah said. “We’ll take care of everything now.”

“What will happen to her?” Ellen asked. She sounded even more uneasy.

“Don’t worry,” Hannah said. “We’ll take good care of her. She will get the medical treatment she requires to stabilize her, but I’m afraid her condition has deteriorated to such an extent that she will never be normal again. She will spend the rest of her life in a para-psych ward.”

“The family will pay for the best care,” Ellen said quickly.

“That won’t be necessary. She is the Guild’s responsibility. Miss Snow’s family will be free to visit her, of course, but please don’t expect a full recovery. That is no longer possible, according to Dr. Blankenship.”

“I understand,” Ellen said. “Please go. I must consider what to say when Robert and that . . . that Guild boss boyfriend of Sedona’s start asking questions.”

“There will be no need for explanations,” Hannah assured her. “I am going to give you an injection of a hypnotic drug, one that will induce amnesia. You will not be able to recall anything that happened in this room tonight. You won’t remember me or my associate. You may remember your meeting with Dr. Blankenship yesterday but that won’t be a problem.”

“No,” Ellen gasped. “Stop. You can’t do this to me. I’m a Snow.”

Sedona caught a murky, dreamlike glimpse of what proved to be a very brief struggle. Hannah clamped a hand over Ellen’s mouth and used a syringe to inject some substance into the back of Ellen’s shoulder near the neck.

Ellen fluttered and then went limp.

Buzzkill paused. “Everything under control?”

“Yes. Hang on, I want to check her for live amber.”

Hannah yanked the earrings out of Sedona’s ears, stripped off the amber-studded heels, and tossed them onto the floor alongside the clutch purse.

She reached for the pendant around Sedona’s neck. “This doesn’t look like regular amber but better to be safe than sorry.”

Hannah ripped off the necklace and dropped it on the library floor.

The door of the library opened. Sedona tried to cry out again for help. Then she caught a glimpse of the new arrival.

“What’s going on?” Gwen asked. “Where are you taking Aunt Sedona?”

“I’ll handle this,” Hannah said.

She grabbed Gwen and clamped a hand over her mouth.

“No,” Sedona managed to croak. “Don’t hurt her.”

Hannah paid no attention.

“Go,” she ordered. “I’ll bring the girl. She may prove useful.”

Buzzkill went up the spiral steps with Sedona.

She tried to hold off the darkness but it was no use. The old dreams closed in on her like sharks scenting blood in the water.

“I am aware that the Joneses have a long history when it comes to talent in the bloodline,” Robert said. “A history that goes back to Earth.”

“Yes, sir,” Cyrus said. “I believe the Snows also have a tradition of talent in the family that goes back to the home world.”

He tried not to look at his watch. It wasn’t easy. His intuition was stirring. He had the feeling that he should not leave Sedona alone with her relatives for too long. Most of those he had met that evening seemed merely curious. Only a few appeared actively hostile. When he had been introduced to Sedona’s aunt Ellen, however, the tension in the atmosphere had been electric. It was clear not all of the old guard in the family were in favor of welcoming Sedona back into the fold.

Robert went to the drinks cabinet in the corner and splashed scotch into two glasses. He carried both glasses across the room and gave one to Cyrus.

“You will understand that I am naturally concerned about your interest in my granddaughter,” Robert said.

“I could say it’s about time you took an interest in her welfare.”

Robert bristled. Then he downed some of the scotch and exhaled heavily.

“I had that coming,” he said. “You’re right, of course. But the fact that I am late in assuming my responsibilities toward her does not mean that I don’t intend to take them seriously. I will be blunt, Jones. I want to know your intentions toward Sedona.”

“I hope to marry her,” Cyrus said. “If she’ll have me.”

Robert looked at him for a moment. Cyrus felt a little energy sizzle in the atmosphere.

“Does she know that?” Robert asked.

“She’s leery of marriage. I don’t want to get no for my answer so I’m going to wait until the time feels right.”

Robert fixed him with a sharp look. “If you’re talking about a cheap Marriage of Convenience—”

“In my family we take marriage seriously.”

“I see. I suppose I had that coming as well. But I hope you understand my concerns. I only recently discovered that Sedona had disappeared into the tunnels for an extended period of time. Her own husband believed her to be dead for a few weeks.”

“That would be her ex–MC husband,” Cyrus said. “And aside from Brock Preston, no one from either side of her birth families even noticed that she was missing.”

“She has never been close to her families,” Robert said coldly.

“You mean she never felt welcome.”

“Damn it, man, I am not going to continue apologizing for the past, not to you, at any rate. All you need to know is that I intend to do my best to protect my granddaughter. There is every reason to believe that she was badly burned down in the tunnels. She is probably still somewhat fragile.”

“Ghost shit. I spent a lot of time with her in a newly discovered, uncharted sector of the Underworld. We were stranded together. In the course of that situation we survived a psi-hot cave, an attack by a pack of predators that came out of some damn Alien biolab, and—just to round things off—your fragile, delicate granddaughter opened a tunnel gate twice and then sealed it with a psi-lock. If you know anything about psi-locks you know that gatekeepers have to be psychically stable to work that kind of energy.”

“I’m relieved to hear that, of course, nevertheless, Sedona may be delicate at the moment.”

A sense of knowing whispered through Cyrus.

“Who told you that she was so damned delicate?” he asked deliberately.

Robert frowned. “Is that important?”

“You may have spent the past few years pretending that Sedona didn’t exist but it turns out that a number of folks have developed a whole lot of interest in her lately. Someone recently tried to kidnap her.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Her former employer, a Guild boss named Kirk Morgan, was recently murdered on Rainshadow. Trust me, he didn’t travel to the island for a vacation. He came for Sedona but someone else got to him first. Sedona’s ex–MC husband also showed up on Rainshadow. And now we have all this sudden concern for her welfare from the Snows. You can see why I’m a little suspicious of everyone who is showing deep interest in Sedona. So, yes, it’s important that I know who told you that she was psychically fragile.”

Robert stared at him. Energy shivered in the atmosphere. No doubt about it, Cyrus thought, Sedona wasn’t the only talent in the Snow family.

“You’re serious, aren’t you?” Robert finally said.

“I’m a Jones. We take stuff like attempted kidnapping and murder very seriously.” Cyrus got to his feet. “Just like we take family responsibility seriously.”

Robert hesitated. “To think that I brought you in here to interrogate you on the subject of your intentions toward Sedona. Obviously you had your own plans for this conversation.”

“Who told you that Sedona might be fragile?”

“My sister-in-law, Ellen Snow, got a call from a Dr. Blankenship who is affiliated with the Gold Creek Guild.”

Alarm twisted through Cyrus.

“Blankenship called someone in your family?” he said. “When?”

“Quite recently.” Robert frowned. “Ellen was somewhat concerned.”

“Does Ellen have a history of being concerned with Sedona’s well-being?”

Robert shook his head. “To be honest, no. Look, I’m not blind to my sister-in-law’s faults. Ellen’s chief concern is to make sure that her son and daughter inherit their fair share of the family business. She’s not thrilled that I’m setting up a trust fund for Sedona.”

“Because she thinks that will mean that her son and daughter get a smaller piece of the pie,” Cyrus said.

“There is plenty to go around.”

“Not everyone thinks that way when it comes to money. You know that as well as I do.”

Robert exhaled slowly. “It’s no secret in the family that Ellen and my brother have not enjoyed a happy marriage. I’m afraid Ellen is a bitter woman. Years ago my wife informed me that my sister-in-law had hoped to marry me rather than Paul. But I assure you I never had any feelings for Ellen. I don’t see why any of this matters.”

Robert’s phone rang. He glanced at it with a troubled expression.

“My private line,” he explained. “It’s Gwen’s mother, Beatrice. It must be important. Please excuse me.”

He picked up the phone.

Cyrus got to his feet and headed toward the door. There was an oppressive sensation in the atmosphere. He would not be able to relax until he found Sedona.

“No,” Robert said. “Gwen isn’t here. Neither is Sedona. What do you mean, they’re both gone?”

Cyrus froze, his hand on the doorknob, and looked back over his shoulder. “What?”

“Hold on.” Robert took the phone away from his ear. “Beatrice says she just found out that Gwen left the ballroom to look for Sedona. Beatrice wanted to warn me that Gwen might interrupt my conversation with my granddaughter. But Gwen never got here.”

“And Sedona never made it back to the ballroom?” Cyrus said.

“Evidently not. She and Sedona probably met somewhere along the way.”

“Where is Ellen Snow?” Cyrus said.

“Ellen?” Robert scowled “What does she have to do with this?”

“Ask Gwen’s mother if Ellen is down there,” Cyrus said.

Robert spoke into the phone. “Is Ellen in the ballroom? No? Where? Ask someone, Beatrice. Yes, I’ll wait.”

Cyrus watched time stretch out to infinity.

Robert ended the call.

“Ellen is gone, too,” he said quietly. “Beatrice said a member of the staff saw her heading down the hallway that leads to the library.”

“All three of them are missing at the same time.” Cyrus opened the door. “Talk about your amazing coincidences.”

“Where are you going?” Robert called behind him. “I assure you, Sedona is in no danger in this house. I have state-of-the-art security.”

“I think Sedona is in more danger here than she was on Rainshadow,” Cyrus said.

Cyrus walked out of the study and went swiftly down the stairs. The need to find Sedona had become overwhelming in the short span of time that he had spent with Robert Snow.

Mentally he put the pieces together in his head. It was no secret on Rainshadow that Sedona had decided to attend the birthday reception. Blankenship and whoever was working for him had concluded that the easiest way to get to her was to find a way into the Snow clan. The one person on Rainshadow who might have had that kind of insider information was Brock Preston. Odds were that he had either wittingly or unwittingly provided Blankenship with the name of a weak spot in the Snow clan—Sedona’s aunt Ellen Snow, the wife of Robert’s younger brother.

When he reached the first-floor hall he started toward the ballroom. His intuition was flaring, rezzing all of his senses—which was why he became aware of the presence in the corridor behind him.

He swung around, telling himself that whoever was there probably had every right to be in the corridor. But the psychic side of his nature overrode the logical, reassuring explanation. He had not survived in the Underworld by ignoring his intuition.

The seriously bulked-up man who emerged from a darkened doorway was dressed in the black uniform of the catering staff. He had short, razor-cut hair and an amber stud in one ear. He had an empty serving tray under one arm. He came quickly toward Cyrus.

“Can I help you, sir?” he asked.

Energy shifted in the hallway. Heat burned in the waiter’s eyes. Psi-light sparked in the narrow space. A split second later a hot ghost flashed into existence behind Cyrus, blocking any retreat.

The waiter produced the mag-rez that had been concealed behind the serving tray.

“Looking for the Snow woman?” he asked. His voice was harsh with a dark excitement that bordered on lust. “Forget it. She’s long gone.”

The intense, violent energy flaring around the waiter was echoed in the green fire that burned at Cyrus’s back.

“Where is she?” he asked quietly.

“By now she’s down in the tunnels. Won’t be long before she’s back in Dr. Blankenship’s lab where she can continue making her contribution to science, as Blankenship likes to say. Me, I was never much for science classes in school but I’ve got to admit Blankenship’s wonder drug has made a new man out of me.”

“How long have you been on the formula?” Cyrus asked.

“Couple of months now.” The waiter paused. Uncertainty flickered in his eyes. “You know about Blankenship’s formula?”

“More than you will ever know about it,” Cyrus said. “Out of curiosity, what are the side effects with this new version? The usual instability and addiction problems, I assume? You do know that if you don’t get regular doses you’ll go insane and die, don’t you?”

Rage laced with panic flashed across the waiter’s face. “How do you know about all that shit?”

“Long story,” Cyrus said. “We don’t have time for it now. You’re probably due for another dose soon and I’ve got a feeling you’re not going to get it. Unfortunately, I don’t have any more of the antidote so I need answers from you before you start to go crazy.”

“You’re wrong, you son-of-a-bitch. I’ve got enough of the drug to last me for a month.”

“You’ve probably got a supply of something,” Cyrus said. “But I wouldn’t count on it being Blankenship’s formula. See, the thing is, whoever left you here to deal with me is just using you as a distraction to buy time for your associate to escape with Sedona.”

“You’re lying, you SOB.”

“You can bet your Guild pension that your associate spiked your next dose of the formula with something lethal. Hell, she wouldn’t have needed to use poison. A shot of tap water will be more than enough to make sure you don’t survive.”

“Shut your damned mouth. Never mind, I’ll shut it for you. I hear they call you Dead Zone Jones. Well, now you’re going to be dead for good.”

The energy ghost started to close in on Cyrus.

Cyrus jacked up his talent, neutralizing most of the energy in the corridor. The ghost winked out of existence. The shock of having his talent iced transformed the waiter’s face into a mask of terror. He dropped the mag-rez. Clutching his chest, he sank to his knees and then sprawled, unconscious, on the floor.

Cyrus shut down the dead zone, collected the gun, and then crouched beside the waiter to do a quick search. He found a small plastic case containing a syringe filled with a clear liquid and a Guild ID in one of the man’s pockets.

Cyrus went to the doorway where the waiter had been concealed and rezzed a light. A woman was sprawled unconscious on the floor. Bits of amber jewelry glittered on the floor.

Robert appeared in the doorway. He took in the scene in a glance.

“What’s going on?” he demanded. “What happened to Ellen?”

“Somebody tied up some loose ends,” Cyrus said.

Robert picked up Sedona’s amber earrings and bracelet and the clutch bag.

“They stripped her of her amber,” he said. He stared at Cyrus, stricken. “How will we ever find her?”

Cyrus reached down to collect the blue amber pendant.

“I’m going to need a fast car,” he said.

“I’ve got one. Where are we going?”

“To find Sedona.”