The Hot Zone (A Rainshadow Novel Book 3) (25 page)

The voices drifted out of the darkness that enveloped her.

“Is she awake yet?” Dr. Blankenship asked. Anxiety and tension vibrated in his thin, reedy voice. “Jones will be searching for her by now.”

“Take it easy,” Hannah said. “Arcane has been looking for the lab for days and hasn’t come anywhere close. It’s not likely they’ll suddenly find it in the next few hours. We’ve got time.”

Sedona opened her eyes and found herself looking up at a quartz ceiling that glowed with acid-green light. That answered one question. She was back in the catacombs.

She took a deep breath and pushed herself to a sitting position on the cot. Hannah, Blankenship, and Hulk all watched her as if she were an unpredictable lab rat. She ignored them and turned her head, searching for Gwen. The girl was hunkered down in the corner as if trying to make herself so small that no one would notice her. She brightened a little when she realized that Sedona was awake.

Sedona smiled reassuringly. “Hey. You okay?”

Gwen nodded, mute.

Sedona turned back to the others. “What a bunch of dumbasses you guys are. You’re starting to feel some of the side effects of the drug, aren’t you?”

“The good news is that you’re here to fix that little problem.” Hannah walked toward her. “You’re going to unlock that gate and let Dr. Blankenship get the extra vials of serum and the crystal.”

“And if I don’t feel like opening the gate?”

“Then we won’t need you or the kid anymore, will we?” Hannah said. “We’ll send little Gwen off into the tunnels in one direction and turn you loose somewhere else.”

“You’re going to cut us loose without amber, regardless, after I open that gate,” Sedona said. “I’m not seeing a lot of incentive here. You know us gatekeepers, we’re all about the contract terms.”

“If you do as we say, there won’t be any need to kill you,” Hannah said. “Blankenship and I will disappear into the tunnels.”

Hulk jerked in alarm. “And me. I’m coming with you. That was the deal.”

“Yeah, sure, you’re coming with us,” Hannah said smoothly. She did not take her eyes off Sedona. “Goes without saying.”

Hulk did not look particularly reassured.

“You’re right about one thing,” Sedona said to Hannah. “Cyrus will come looking for me. And when he finds me, he’ll go after you and Dr. Bozo, here. Don’t worry, Hulk, I’m sure he’ll find you, too. You do know there’s a reason they call him Dead Zone Jones.”

“No talent,” Hulk said quickly. “That’s why they call him that. He’s a Guild boss with no talent.”

Sedona smiled. And said nothing.

Blankenship’s eyes burned with fury. “You have no idea who you are dealing with, Miss Snow.”

“Actually, I do,” Sedona said. “You’re the latest in a long line of idiots who believed that they could perfect the old Sylvester Jones formula. But there are side effects with your version, as well. I hear that there are always side effects.”

“I’m almost there,” Blankenship said, his thin voice rising. “The key is the crystal. I’m certain that with the properly calculated doses, the para-radiation can be used to stabilize the serum so that the side effects of the formula can be tolerated.”

“What a dork you are. I survived the formula because I’ve got some natural immunity, not because of the crystal.”

“Yes, your unusual genetics were the reason that you were selected for the study,” Blankenship assured her. “The goal was to identify the exact frequencies in your aura that allow you to survive the drug and then use the crystal radiation to stabilize the serum so that it does not affect those particular frequencies. It was necessary to give you several large doses of the drug over time in order to calibrate the crystal.”

“You think you’ve found the secret to making the formula work without side effects but you’re wrong,” Sedona said.

Blankenship glared. “I’m on the right track. I just need a little more time.”

“And the stone,” Sedona said.

“Which you are going to get for us,” Hannah said.

Sedona remembered what Cyrus had said when he gave her the necklace.
If you ever disappeared, I would look for you and I would not stop until I found you
.

The fire gate seethed with hot psi. The heavy storm of energy roiled and flared like a miniature sun.

“Oh, wow,” Gwen said, wide-eyed with wonder. “That is so high-rez.”

“Thanks,” Sedona said. “Am I good, or am I good?”

“You’re good, Aunt Sedona.”

Hannah shot a disgusted look at Sedona. “What you are is a real annoying bitch.”

“You’re the one who goes around killing folks for fun and profit.” Sedona smiled. “And you definitely aren’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. You actually believed that Dr. Frankenstein, here, could turn you into some kind of Super Assassin, didn’t you?”

Hannah hauled back the flamer and lashed out in a short, vicious arc designed to catch Sedona on the side of her face.

“Shut up,” Hannah shouted.

Gwen screamed.

Sedona managed to move in time to avoid the full impact of the blow but the weapon caught her along the jaw and cheek. She staggered to one side but she managed to hang on to Gwen’s hand.

Blood dripped on the green quartz floor. Gwen stared at Sedona as if she had never seen blood before.

Sedona wiped some blood from her face and shook her head. “You’re really losing it, aren’t you, Hannah? I’m told that impulse control is one of the first things to go when you’re on the drug.”

Hannah took a deep breath and seemed to steady somewhat. But her eyes were still unnaturally hot. “Close your damn mouth or I’ll use the flamer on your niece.”

“Stop it, both of you,” Blankenship pleaded. He was shaking. “We don’t have time for this.”

Hulk stirred anxiously. “The doc is right. Make her open the gate, Hannah.”

Sedona looked at Hannah. “I’ll need tuned amber.”

Hatred flashed in Hannah’s eyes but she reached into the pocket of her khaki shirt and took out a small chunk of amber. “Open the damn gate.”

“Sure, no problem,” Sedona said. She took the amber and drew a still-stunned Gwen forward until they stood in front of the gate. “You know, I usually charge a lot of money for this particular service. First lesson in the profession, Gwen. Nail down the terms of the contract before you sign on the dotted line.”

“Open the damn gate,” Hannah said. Her voice was fraying again.

Sedona considered her options. Unless Cyrus arrived in the next fifty or sixty seconds, she had no choice but to open the gate. Hannah, Hulk, and Blankenship were all exhibiting a lot of frantic desperation. With luck, once the chamber was open, they might temporarily forget about their hostages and rush inside to grab the extra vials of the formula and the stone. If that happened, there would be an opportunity to reseal the gate before they realized that she and Gwen were still outside in the corridor. True, without amber, they would be lost, but if they stayed put Cyrus and Lyle would eventually arrive.

Okay, she thought, it wasn’t much of a plan but it was a plan, which was better than having no plan at all.

Gwen gave her a sidelong glance, silently asking if there was hope. Sedona squeezed her fingers a couple of times.

“It will be all right,” Sedona said.

Gwen swallowed hard but she just nodded once, accepting the promise.

“Hurry, damn you,” Hannah snarled.

Sedona rezzed her talent, focused through the amber and set about unlocking the gate. It took just as much energy to unseal the chamber as it had to seal it in the first place. But she was much stronger tonight because she was not coming out of a waking dreamstate.

Just keep going,
she thought.
You and Gwen will either make it or you won’t but you can’t quit. Not an optio
n.

The hot currents of the gate slowly started to falter and fade, revealing the psi-lit green chamber on the other side. The gleaming lab apparatus came into view. The glass-and-steel strongbox containing the Alien jewel still glowed with an eerie inner radiance.

Everything in the room looked exactly as Sedona remembered. Another chill of nightmare-fueled dread iced her blood. She knew she had shivered because Gwen squeezed her hand very tightly.

“Looks like something out of an old horror flick,” Gwen whispered.

“Good description,” Sedona said.

“The stone,” Dr. Blankenship whispered. “It’s still here.”

He rushed into the chamber, heading straight for the glass-and-steel box.

Sedona held her breath and waited, hoping against hope that Hannah and Hulk would follow Blankenship through the open gate. Instead, Hannah waved the flame gun impatiently, motioning Sedona and Gwen into the chamber.

“Give me the amber and go inside,” Hannah said. “I’m not leaving you out here.”

Evidently comprehending something had just gone wrong with Plan A, Gwen cast another quick, searching glance at Sedona.

That was the problem with a really good plan, Sedona thought. It never worked the way it was supposed to work.

She surrendered the amber and walked into the chamber with Gwen. They halted near a lab bench.

Blankenship ignored them. He stared at the glass-and-steel strongbox. Anger and fear shivered through him.

“No,” he said. “No, damn it.”

“What’s wrong?” Hannah demanded. “Open the box. Get the stone and the extra serum.”

Everyone’s attention was focused on the strongbox. But Sedona knew there was no way she and Gwen could make it to the doorway. Hulk was standing guard.

“I can’t open the box.” Blankenship stared at Sedona, fury heating his eyes. “You locked it.”

“Yes, I did,” Sedona said. “Try to open the box on your own and your senses will get zapped. You might survive but you’ll spend the rest of your days in a nice, comfy para-psych ward. No telling what the explosion will do to the crystal.”

Blankenship studied the glass-and-steel box with horrified fascination. “She’s right. She set a psi-lock. Make her open it.”

“De-rez the trap,” Hannah ordered. Her voice was tight with fury. She tossed the chunk of amber back to Sedona. “Do it.”

Sedona caught the amber. “Right. Stand back, everyone. I’ll open that box for you.”

Hannah, Blankenship, and Hulk gave her some space. Blankenship was all but wringing his hands now.

“Hurry,” he said.

Sedona looked at Gwen. “These little psi-locks are tricky. Watch and learn.”

“Okay,” Gwen said.

Sedona smiled. “You’re very cool under pressure. You’re going to make an excellent gatekeeper.”

Gwen managed a shaky grin. “Like you?”

“Why not? It’s in the blood, thanks to Arizona Snow.”

Sedona rezzed her talent.

Flames exploded in the atmosphere, forming a psi-hot firewall between Sedona and Gwen and the others.

Someone screamed on the other side of the flames. Hulk, maybe, Sedona decided. She thought she caught a glimpse of him running toward the door of the chamber.

Hannah and Blankenship retreated from the flames, shouting in panic and rage. But they could not bring themselves to leave their crystal and the stash of serum behind. They were still there a short time later when Cyrus came through the door with Lyle on his shoulder. Robert and half a dozen hunters followed him into the chamber. One of the Guild men had Hulk.

“Shit.” Hannah raised the flamer, aiming it at Cyrus.

But it was too late. Cyrus had already rezzed his talent, enveloping Hannah and Blankenship in a dead zone. For a moment or two, Sedona could have sworn that even the ever-radiant energy of the quartz walls dimmed.

Blankenship gasped and collapsed, unconscious.

Hannah dropped the gun and lurched to one side, trying in vain to keep her balance. The heat went out of her eyes. She fell to her knees and stared at Sedona.

“Bitch,” Hannah whispered.

She sprawled, unconscious on the floor of the chamber. One of the hunters moved forward to collect the flamer.

Sedona shut down the firewall.

Robert started across the room, “Gwen. Sedona. Are you both all right?”

“Yes, I think so,” Gwen said. She threw herself into Robert’s arms.

Lyle chortled, fully fluffed once more. He bounded off Cyrus’s shoulder and dashed across the chamber.

Sedona leaned down to scoop him up and tuck him into the crook of her arm. She watched Cyrus come toward her, aware of a sizzling sense of certainty. She smiled.

“I knew you’d come looking for us,” she said.

Cyrus’s eyes burned. “Yes. Always.”

“Marlowe says they were able to get to Blankenship, Hannah Holbrook, and the assistants you called Hulk and Buzzkill in time to give all of them the antidote,” Cyrus said. “They’re in jail, sleeping off the effects of what the authorities assume was just one more designer street drug gone bad. But some serious damage was done to their para-senses. The Arcane experts don’t expect any of them to make a full recovery, but they will be able to stand trial for a whole lot of charges, including kidnapping and drug dealing.”

“Well, that’s something, I suppose,” Sedona said.

It was the following afternoon. She and Cyrus were together with Robert and Gwen in Robert’s study. She decided that with the exception of Gwen they all looked somewhat the worse for wear.

It was becoming evident that in Gwen’s mind the entire affair was going down as a grand adventure. Sedona had a suspicion that her niece was already envisioning a career of daring exploits as a gatekeeper in the Underworld. Who knows? Sedona thought. Maybe that’s exactly what awaited her. After all, she was a descendant of Arizona Snow.

Unfortunately, although the house was quiet once more, the gaggle of tabloid reporters and Guild paparazzi out in front had doubled in size. The morning papers had been filled with variations on the theme of how a visiting Guild boss had busted up a drug ring in the tunnels.

The photo on the front page of the paper on Robert’s desk showed Cyrus looking quite dashing in his tux, his black tie undone around his neck, shirt collar open, jacket hooked over one shoulder.

The image showed her as well, but somehow she did not appear nearly as elegant and dangerous. Her hair was a mess. She was barefoot. The cut on her face had stopped bleeding but she looked like she’d been in a bar fight. She had Lyle tucked under one arm. He bore a striking resemblance to a rather tatty stuffed animal.

“What will happen to Aunt Ellen?” Gwen asked.

Robert glanced quickly at Sedona and then turned back to Gwen. “Your aunt seems to have suffered what the doctors sometimes call a nervous breakdown. Don’t worry, she will be properly cared for. How are you doing today?”

“Great,” Gwen said. “Aunt Sedona says I can visit her on Rainshadow if Mom and Dad agree.”

“I’ll talk to your parents,” Robert promised. He turned to Sedona. “What are your plans, if I may ask?”

“Cyrus wants to introduce me to his family and then we are heading back to Rainshadow on the first available ferry,” Sedona said.

“A little too much excitement here in the big city,” Cyrus said. He smiled at Sedona. “We’re used to the laid-back island lifestyle.”

“Right,” Sedona said. “On Rainshadow all we have to worry about is the odd prehistoric monster, weird Alien labs, and paranormal storms. Life is simple.”

Robert looked at Cyrus. “You’ll be staying on as the CEO of the Rainshadow Guild, then?”

“I think the job is going to be interesting,” Cyrus said.

Gwen looked at Cyrus. “Last night, Aunt Sedona said you would find us down in the tunnels. How did you do that?”

“We followed Lyle,” Cyrus said. “Caught up with him in the tunnels under the hotel. He was on his way to find Sedona but I convinced him we could make better time in your grandfather’s car. So we drove to the ruin site and went down through that entrance.”

“But how did you find Lyle in the catacombs?” Robert asked.

“The usual way. He was wearing amber. I plugged his code into a standard Guild locator.”

Robert’s silver brows rose. “You gave a dust bunny tuned amber?”

Sedona smiled. “Shows how much you don’t know about Guild men, Granddad. When it comes to amber, if it’s tunable, they make sure it’s tuned.”