Obsidian Prey

Chapter 30

" SOMETHING I'VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT," CRUZ SAID.

"Just something?" Lyra settled down onto the lounger and took a sip of her wine. "Funny, I had the impression that you've been thinking about a lot of stuff lately. You know, finding the artifact, hunting a killer."

They were sitting on her balcony, a bottle of wine and a plate of cheese and crackers on the small table between them. Vincent was on the railing, munching on a cracker. The night was balmy and warm, and the great wall cast its eerie green glow over the Quarter.

"The particular stuff I'm thinking about is the way the gate of the amethyst chamber closed, trapping five people inside," Cruz said.

"You're back to wondering if it was something other than an accident?"

"I am." He ate a cracker. "You said the gate could have been closed by either stray waves from a psi river or a storm. You also said that someone working certain nonstandard amber could have done it deliberately."

"Right. In addition to amethyst, I'm pretty sure diamond or silver amber would do it. My grandfather told me that they have some distinctive properties. He said they could disrupt the currents generated by most of the other ambers. But both are extremely rare. I've never come across a single specimen of either in my work. So even if the killer could work one or the other, how would he get hold of a chunk to use on the gate?"

"I can think of one place. The vault at the lab."

"Wow." She raised her brows. "You've actually got some diamond and silver at the lab?"

"Sweetwaters and their employees have been collecting specimens and artifacts of rare amber for decades. Everything goes into the vault, but almost nothing comes out. It's like the basement of a big museum in there. Things go into storage and get forgotten."

"But presumably access to the vault is limited."

"Sure."

"Got a list?" she asked.

"It's a short one." Cruz drank some wine. "Felix Webber was right at the top."

"Well, that fits. He was at the ruin when it closed." She paused. "Assuming he could work diamond or silver."

"If he was able to work it, he sure as hell kept the information to himself. It wasn't in his file."

"Wouldn't be the first time someone with an unusual talent kept the data out of an employment file."

"True."

She considered for a moment. "Originally you thought that whoever triggered the gate did it to frame me."

"That theory still fits. But I'm starting to wonder if there was an additional goal."

"What?"

"Another murder. I have a feeling that one of the five people trapped inside that chamber was the real target."

"You sound very sure of that," she said.

"I am."

"But how can you know something like that with such certainty?"

"The same way I know we were meant to be together."

"Your talent?"

"Uh-huh." He ate another cracker.

She pursed her lips. "You know, I can buy the idea that you have a talent for hunting bad guys. But this thing about the men in your family being able to know when the right woman comes along? Not so much."

"You get used to it after a while."

"Me, I'm going to sign up with a professional matchmaker."

"Why bother? Just be a waste of money."

"Maybe," she said. "But now that I'm going to be getting this big check from Amber Inc. as my fee for opening the ruin, I can afford to experiment with a really high-end matchmaker."

"This is all about making me suffer isn't it?"

"No," she said. "It's about me being really, really careful the second time around."

"Okay," he said.