The Lost Night (29 page)

“At least one of those escaped recently, didn’t it?” she said.

Calvin gave her an uneasy look. “How did you know about the accident?”

“What accident?”

“Several of the tunnels that lead to the main aquarium chamber contain smaller aquariums,” Calvin explained. “The entire complex is linked to the sea via a network of caves that flood at high tide. There is a series of floodgates. The system has been functioning for centuries without any problem, but this genius”—Calvin jerked a thumb at Nathan, who ignored him—“tried to test fire one of the gadgets he found here in the complex. There was some damage to one of the gates. It failed to close when the tide came in. A lab tunnel flooded. After the tide receded we discovered that two of the small aquariums had shattered. The specimens escaped. I had hoped that they were all swept out to sea.”

“Why?” Rachel asked.

“Because they won’t last long in the wild. They have all been genetically
bioengineered for a heavy psi environment. I ran some experiments with some of the small specimens. They don’t survive under normal psi conditions. But if some of them got into the cave system here in the Preserve, they may do very well because of the high levels of paranormal radiation throughout the island.”

They walked out of the crystal chamber into what appeared to be a lab. The walls were lit with an eerie ultralight. An array of workbenches and tables—none of which were quite the right height for humans—marched down the center of the hall. The furnishings were constructed out of the familiar green quartz that the Aliens had used to build their cities and the catacombs.

Smaller aquariums lined the walls. More hideous examples of the Aliens’ experiments swam in the glowing waters. Sensing the presence of potential prey, the bizarre creatures came close to the crystal windows of their tanks, jaws and beaks open, tentacles and fins twitching.

Rachel turned away from the cold eyes, shuddering.

“You ran through this room and straight into that vault at the other end,” Nathan said.

She looked at the crystal vault at the far end of the chamber. The last of the misty images from her dreams coalesced into solid memories.

The transparent room was sealed with what looked like a solid wall of rain that had been flash-frozen into a crystalline form. But unlike the cold stones in the jar in her kitchen, the huge rainstone waterfall was infused with a chilling energy. Currents of ominous power swirled in the atmosphere. The
far side of the chamber was blocked by another, identical door of stone. Beyond that, a glowing tunnel extended into the distance. It was the route she had used to escape.

A vast number of crystal and quartz objects—some smaller than a human hand, others as large as a rez-screen—were stored inside the vault. The Alien devices were neatly arranged on a series of green quartz shelves that were stacked to the ceiling of the tunnel. One shelf contained several of the small flute-shaped devices that she had used to find her way out of the Preserve.

On the floor in the center of the vault was a murky gray crystal that did not resemble any of the other artifacts. It was just a chunk of stone, not a precision-engineered object. And it glowed psi-hot.

Harry looked at the hot crystal.

“Well, hell,” he said very softly.

“I’ve tried everything I’ve found in this place on that rainstone,” Nathan said. “Nothing has worked. Now you see why I need you so badly. Those relics inside that vault are hotter than a mine of ruby amber.”

“Probably in more ways than one,” Harry said. “You do realize that the Aliens may have had some good reasons for locking up those devices?”

“I don’t doubt for a minute that they’re dangerous,” Nathan said. He grinned humorlessly. “That’s what makes them so valuable on the black market. Don’t worry; I’m not going to try to take all of them. I’m just going to grab some of the small stuff. I had plans to haul everything out of here, but that’s not
possible now. I can only take what will fit in my pack, but that should be more than enough to set me up for life.”

“Something tells me that may not be the way it goes down,” Harry said.

“What are you talking about?” Nathan demanded.

“The potential customers for those gadgets will be just as dangerous as the artifacts. Think about it. The only people who will want to buy Alien technology will be those who can sense the power in the relics, folks who have enough talent to rez them.”

Nathan narrowed his eyes. “So?”

“High-end talents who deal in the black market tend to be a tough crowd,” Harry said. “They like to keep a low profile. And they like to keep their secrets.”

“Not a problem,” Nathan said. “I’ve been doing business with customers like that for a long time. I know the players.” He gestured with the device in his hand. “Open the chamber, Rachel, or I’ll start showing you what this thing can do. Dillard will provide the first demonstration. If that doesn’t impress you, I’ll use it on Sebastian.”

“All right,” she said.

She did not look at Harry but she sensed the readiness in him. He would know what to do when the time came, she thought.

She raised her talent and waded through the ice-and-fire currents of energy until she stood directly in front of the frozen rainstone. She flattened her hand on the surface of the crystal. Energy stirred in response to her touch, thrilling
her senses. The charms on her bracelet clashed. The small stones glowed hot.

She got a fix on the latent energy locked in the rainstone and generated a counterpoint through her charms. It was no more difficult than the little magic tricks she did for Devon and his buddies when they brought rainstones to her.

The rainstone unfroze with astonishing speed. Suddenly a cascade of shifting energy filled the doorway of the vault. She walked through the shimmering torrent of liquid crystal. There was a tingling sensation, but she felt no ill effects.

She moved into the chamber and turned to look at Nathan.

“Like walking through a waterfall,” she said. “But you don’t get wet.”

“Son of a bitch,” Nathan said. “You do it with the charms, don’t you? Figured that out yesterday at the tea-tasting. Throw the bracelet out here, now. I’m not going to give you a chance to refreeze that stone.”

She tossed the bracelet through the liquid crystal doorway. It landed on the floor a few feet outside the chamber. She heard Darwina squeak from somewhere close by.

Nathan moved toward the doorway of the vault, careful to keep the Alien weapon aimed at Rachel. She looked at Harry and knew from the heat in his eyes that he understood that she was about to give him the opening he needed.

“Darwina,” she
said quietly. “Come here, sweetie. Bring Amberella to me, please.”

There was a low growl from beneath one of the quartz lab benches. Darwina, sleeked and in full combat mode, Amberella clutched in one paw, dashed across the floor. She zipped past an unheeding Nathan, and through the doorway. She bounded up onto Rachel’s shoulder.

“Keep the rat under control or I’ll kill it,” Nathan threatened.

But he was not paying any attention to Darwina. He stood in the entrance of the vault, the liquid crystal flowing around him and stared in wonder at the objects on the quartz shelves.

“So many relics,” he whispered. “So much power.”

Rachel reached up as though to pet Darwina. Her fingers brushed Amberella’s crystal-studded ball gown. The energy in the tiny gems whispered through her. She touched the edge of the doorway.

Nathan was so distracted by the wonders of the vault that he did not realize immediately that the waterfall in which he stood was starting to harden into its crystalline state.

“Shit.”

He yelped in rage and panic, dropped the weapon, and scrambled backward out of the vault. He barely managed to yank his leg out of the doorway a split second before the waterfall refroze.

“Damn bitch,” he shouted.

Rachel knew the exact instant when Harry sent the full weight of his coffin-cold talent slashing across Nathan’s senses. She
could feel the ice even through the now-solid rainstone.

Nathan screamed. He stared at Rachel with horror-filled eyes. He fell to his knees and continued to scream until he went limp.

Harry looked at Rachel. “You can come out now.”

She heard him clearly through the crystal. She unfroze the waterfall and emerged from the storage chamber. She rushed out to retrieve her bracelet.

“Are you all right, Harry?” she asked, securing the bracelet around her wrist.

“Yes,” he said. He went past her into the vault. “You?”

“I’m okay.” She turned to Calvin. “What about you? Are you all right, Calvin?”

“I’m not hurt,” Calvin said. He was not looking at her. His attention was on Harry. “What are you doing?”

“Retrieving an old family heirloom,” Harry said.

He walked out of the vault with the murky gray crystal in one hand.

“What is that?” Calvin asked.

“I’ll explain later,” Harry said. “We need to move now. Something happened when Grant dropped the Alien weapon inside the vault. Take a look.”

Rachel turned quickly and saw that the artifact was glowing with paranormal fire.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Grant probably rezzed the artifact with the energy of his panic,” Calvin said. “There’s a tremendous amount of psi-heat in raw fear, but it’s terribly chaotic and unpredictable. I think that a moment ago when the relic came in contact
with the overheated atmosphere inside that vault it set off a chain reaction. All of the relics are starting to overheat.”

Several of the relics inside the vault were now glowing with various shades of paranormal fire.

“You’re right, Harry, this is not good,” she said.

“Let’s get the kids and get the hell out of here,” he said.

“Can you wake them up?” Rachel asked.

“Yes, but they’ll be groggy. Calvin, you handle one, I’ll take the other.”

“I’ve got a better idea,” Calvin said. “Wake them up. I’ll be right back.”

“Where are you going?” Rachel called after him.

“There’s a small utility sled in one of the side tunnels,” he shouted over his shoulder. “The same kind of vehicle that they use down in the catacombs. It can function in this heavy psi. I brought it in piece by piece a few months ago. We won’t be able to use it to get through the Preserve because it wasn’t designed for rough terrain, but it will get us out of the aquarium complex.”

“Get it,” Harry said.

Rachel looked back at the unconscious figure of Nathan Grant.

“What about him?” she asked.

“Can’t save everyone, Rachel, you should know that by now.”

“We can’t leave him here.”

“Give me one good reason why we should save that bastard?”

“You know
the reason,” Rachel said. “We’re the good guys.”

“I hate it when you pull that HE philosophy crap.”

“Okay, here’s another reason,” she said. “When this is over, we’re going to need answers and he’s got some of them.”

“Good point.”

He went back to where Nathan lay sprawled on the floor and did something that made Nathan stir. Harry got him to his feet and hauled him forward into the crystal tunnel.

Rachel heard the faint whine of a simple, amber-based motor. A few seconds later a small, open-sided utility sled emerged from the tunnel. Calvin was at the wheel.

Rachel ran toward the sled, Darwina clinging to her shoulder.

Harry pushed the half-conscious Grant into the rear of the sled. Then he roused the two youths and dumped them in with Grant. Rachel hopped up onto one of the bench seats.

“I’ll drive,” Harry said.

Calvin didn’t argue. He shifted to the far side of the front seat.

Harry got behind the wheel, put his foot down hard on the pedal, and drove back toward the entrance to the cave.

Nathan levered himself to a sitting position in the rear of the sled.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his voice slurred.

“You ignited
the contents of that vault, you damn fool,” Harry said.

“The para-radiation levels are getting too high,” Calvin said. “I think the vault’s going to blow and it will probably take most of this complex with it.”

“But the artifacts,” Nathan said.

“If you want to go back for them, feel free to do so,” Harry said. “Hauling your ass out of here was not my first inclination.”

Rachel glanced back toward the far end of the crystal tunnel and saw that the lab room was now glowing with a fierce paranormal radiance.

They were almost through the crystal tunnel now. The creatures on the other side of the transparent wall seemed more agitated than they had been a short time ago. They twisted and turned in the glowing waters.

“They sense the heightened energy in the atmosphere,” Calvin said.

“Poor things,” Rachel said.

“Any one of those poor things would just as soon eat you as look at you,” Calvin said.

“I know. But they aren’t responsible for what they are.”

“I think they are all the products of some experiments that the Aliens conducted centuries ago,” Calvin said. “They survived for the same reason the underground rain forest did. The Aliens were clearly brilliant bioengineers.”

“Not brilliant enough to survive here on Harmony, apparently,” Harry said.

A sharp, ominous crack echoed through the transparent tunnel. Rachel
turned quickly in her seat and saw a jagged fracture line appear in the crystal. It grew longer with startling speed. A spidery web of smaller cracks developed on either side of the original fissure.

“It’s the fire in the vault,” Calvin shouted. “It’s generating so much energy it’s starting to affect the crystal aquarium.”

Harry powered the sled out of the crystal tunnel and along the corridor that had been machine-bored centuries ago by the Aliens. When he reached the raw cave with its glittering stalactite and stalagmite forest, he slammed on the brakes.

“This is it,” he said. “Can’t take the sled through that maze of rocks. Everybody out who wants to get out.”

Gil and his pal were paying attention now. They stumbled out of the sled with the others and looked to Harry for direction.