Deception Cove

Chapter 36

THE GREEN GHOST FIRE BLOCKED THE QUARTZ TUNNEL, forcing all of them to a halt. The ball of Alien energy was fueled by the chaotic currents that burned at its core. It had no doubt been blazing just as fiercely ever since the Aliens had vanished.

Drake watched the ghost through his mirrored glasses. He could have removed the shades because all of the energy that emanated from the quartz catacombs was paranormal in nature. But he did not know what surprises Zara might have in store. Even a simple amber-rez flashlight could temporarily blind him.

Houdini, stationed on Drake’s shoulder, rumbled impatiently and blinked his hunting eyes.

“No way Egan could have made it past that ghost,” Fletcher said. “It’s possible that it drifted in from a connecting passage after he went through, but more likely he deliberately planted it here on the off chance that someone found the gravestone entrance and tried to follow him.”

Although they were called ghosts, the balls of psi-fire that floated through the maze of Alien catacombs were not the remnants of sentient beings. The technical name for the phenomena was Unstable Dissonance Energy Manifestations, also called UDEMs. They were one of the many hazards of the tunnels and the primary reason for the enduring power of the Ghost Hunter Guilds. Only those with a talent for dealing with the unique psi of the UDEMs could neutralize the dangerous, unpredictable storms of psi that drifted randomly in the eerie underworld.

“Are we sure this is the right passage?” Jasper asked. “What if Houdini is wrong?”

Houdini bounced on Drake’s shoulder, agitated by the delay.

The vast array of green catacombs was a bewildering maze to human senses. Only a small portion of the Underworld had been mapped. No one knew how far the passages extended. The Guild did its best to guard the known entrances and restrict unauthorized access, but there were thousands of secret holes-in-the-wall that were used by illegal antiquities hunters, thrill-seekers, and the occasional serial killer.

“Houdini is leading us in the right direction,” Drake said. “He’s got some kind of psychic connection with Alice. Dust bunnies have no trouble navigating underground.”

He did not add the obvious point: Houdini’s guidance was their best hope—make that their only hope—of finding Alice in time to save her. His intuition told him that if Zara Tucker and Egan managed to get off the island, Alice would be dead within hours.

“We’ve seen how some dust bunnies bond with humans,” Fletcher said to Jasper. “Drake’s right, got to trust Houdini here. Not like any of us can track a man through the tunnels.”

Jasper stepped forward. “I’ll take care of this sucker. Haven’t done this kind of work in a while. Got to admit, sometimes I miss it.”

Drake felt energy shift in the atmosphere and knew that Jasper was raising his talent. A second, smaller ghost flashed into existence directly in front of the blocking storm. Jasper’s UDEM oscillated with hot energy at its core, but unlike the wild ghost it was under his control.

Jasper used his talent to maneuver the second ghost until it collided with the furnace of hot psi that blocked the tunnel. There was a flash of green lightning. Energy roared in the atmosphere. A moment later the wild ghost winked out.

Jasper quickly extinguished the ghost he had created. He was grinning.

“That was fun,” he said.

“Good to know you haven’t lost your touch,” Fletcher said. “Nice work.”

Houdini bounced up and down and rumbled ferociously, urging everyone forward.

They moved swiftly, but distances underground were difficult to gauge. Drake reasoned that the Chamber could not be too far from Shadow Bay via the Underworld tunnels because Egan had evidently come and gone frequently between the two locations. But there was no way to be certain how their position belowground related to the aboveground terrain.

They rounded a corner. Houdini abruptly stiffened on Drake’s shoulder and growled a warning that brought them to a halt in a large, high-ceilinged chamber. A dozen glowing passages branched off on all sides. Houdini was gazing intently at one of the corridors. He was tensed with the anticipation of a predator.

“We’re close,” Drake said.

Jasper glanced at Houdini. “Yeah, the little guy looks ready to go for someone’s throat.”

They moved along the corridor that Houdini appeared to favor. At the far end Drake could see more intersecting passages. Alice was not far away. The whisper of intimate awareness on the back of his neck told him that she was somewhere nearby.

Instinct prompted him to move as quietly as possible. He noticed that Jasper and Fletcher did the same. Their caution was probably unnecessary. The reality was that sound, like other kinds of energy, was always distorted and quickly overwhelmed by the Alien psi that emanated from the tunnel walls, ceiling, and floor. It was possible to be within fifteen feet of someone who was talking in a normal voice and not be aware of his or her presence if the person happened to be out of sight around a corner.

“I know the three of us have a plan,” Fletcher said. “But I doubt that Houdini understands human strategy. If we’re close to Alice, he’s liable to take off at any moment to try to get to her. If Egan spots him, he’ll realize that we might be in the vicinity.”

“Every plan has a weak point,” Drake said, glancing at Houdini. “The good news is that we know ours. That means that we can compensate. On second thought, that’s not the only good news.”

Jasper raised his brows. “But, wait, there’s more?”

“Oh, yeah,” Drake said. “We’ve got two ghost hunters on our team. Zara Tucker only has one.”

“One hunter who just happens to be armed with an Alien weapon,” Fletcher pointed out.

“I’m counting on your ghost-fighting talents to neutralize Egan’s weapon,” Drake said.

“Right.” Jasper automatically touched the amber he wore around his neck. “No problem.”

They hugged the wall of the tunnel as they approached the intersection. Drake took Houdini off his shoulder and tucked him under one arm, silently trying to convey the need to stay out of sight until the last minute. Houdini wriggled a little but he stayed put. Maybe he had gotten the message, Drake thought. Or maybe when it came to hunting instincts, all predators relied on the same basic strategy—don’t let the prey see you coming until you’re ready to make the kill.

Drake was in the lead, so he arrived at the vaulted entrance of the passage first. Now, at last, he could make out voices. He motioned Jasper and Fletcher to a halt. They all listened intently.

“. . . They’ve been inside a full minute and they haven’t collapsed,” Zara said. Relief and excitement vibrated in her voice. “It looks like Alice can handle the psi.”

“What if they don’t find the crystals?” Egan asked.

“She’s still conscious. This is going to work.”

“But if it doesn’t?”

“You had better hope that it does,” Zara said. “Because if this fails there is only one last option.”

“You never said there was another option.” Egan sounded uneasy. “What is it?”

“We’ll have to send someone else in,” Zara said, impatient now.

“Yeah? Who?”

“You.”

“Are you crazy? I’m not going in there. I can’t handle that kind of energy. I’m a ghost hunter, not a light-talent.”

“According to my calculations, there is a seventy-percent possibility that a non–light-talent can survive the experience for a short time. Hopefully, long enough to bring out the crystals.”

“But you said the energy buildup inside the pyramid would drive a non–light-talent mad.”

“That is a complication,” Zara said. “Let’s hope that Alice can pull off one last magic trick.”