“That fits,” Sierra said.
North looked at Marge. “Did you mean it when you said I could have the logbook?”
“It’s all yours,” Marge said.
“Thanks,” North said.
Harmony looked at the locator. She smiled. “It does look like a magician’s wand.”
North tightened his grip on the dowsing rod. His eyes burned with midnight fire.
“Yes,” he said. “It does.”
CHAPTER 33
For the record,” Dexter said, “I think this is one hell of a risk. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re sure you need to find some long-lost machine to save your dad, I would refuse to allow you to enter this sector. We haven’t even begun to map it. The energy in most of those tunnels is too damn hot and disorienting.”
They were standing at the entrance to the large cavern that marked the main entrance of the Fogg Lake cave system. Sierra sensed North’s impatience but she did not blame Dexter for issuing yet another warning. Dexter was in charge, after all. If she and North did not return from their foray, he would be the one who would have to explain things to headquarters. And he would no doubt blame himself, because he was a good team leader, and that’s what good team leaders did when things went wrong.
She and North and Dexter were not the only ones gathered at the cavern entrance. A worried-looking Larissa and most of the Foundation team stationed at the Fogg Lake site were there, too. In addition, Harmony, Marge and several residents of the town, including the mayor, Euclid Oaks, were present.
A member of Dexter’s team spoke up. According to the label on his shirt pocket his name was Jenkins. He was short and bald, and he looked worried.
“The only tunnel we’ve actually been able to map is the one that leads to what we think was the site of the explosion that took place here several decades ago,” he said. “The chamber was blocked by an energy gate of some kind. We finally managed to disable it but it took a while. Even if that dowsing tool works and you find the right tunnel, the entrance might be blocked by a similar gate.”
“Or a rockfall or an underground river,” Larissa added.
“I understand,” North said. “But I don’t have a choice. I have to try to locate that old lab and open it.”
“Are you sure you can work that locator device?” Dexter asked. “You’ve been through a lot lately.”
No one else spoke up, but Sierra knew what they were all thinking. As far as they were aware, North was psi-blind.
“This rod has my grandfather’s signature,” North said. “Don’t worry, I’ve got enough intuition left to handle it. I don’t need my night vision for that.”
Dexter drew a long breath and exhaled slowly. “Okay, then. Your call.”
“Don’t forget, I’ll be with him,” Sierra said. “I can identify hazards along the way and make sure we avoid them. I’m a go-between. I know what I’m doing when it comes to hot zones and artifacts.”
North had tried to talk her out of accompanying him but she had refused to back down, pointing out the simple truth that they had no idea what they would encounter once they entered the tunnels. While it was true that he wasn’t blind, it would take a lot of energy and concentration to work the dowsing stick. He needed someone to ride shotgun, and since she had a talent for identifying potentially dangerous relics, she was the obvious choice for the job.
Several members of the Foundation team had volunteered to accompany them, but Sierra had explained that it would be hard enough to guard North and herself. She did not want to be distracted by having to keep an eye on a large group of people while they tried to navigate the powerful, disorienting currents inside the caves.
“Got spare flashlights?” Dexter asked. “It’s not dark inside. There’s a lot of low-level radiation infused throughout the cave system, enough to see where you’re going. But you never know what you’ll run into. You’re looking for Griffin Chastain’s old lab. We know he had an amazing talent for magic. No telling how he protected his secrets.”
“I’ve got a few ideas on the subject,” North said. “And yes, we’ve got flashlights.” He glanced at Sierra. “Let’s go.”
He took a firm grip on the dowsing rod and walked through the cavern entrance. Sierra followed close behind, heightening her talent in anticipation of what Dexter and the others had told her to expect.
The interior of the big cave made her think of the ruins of some ancient cathedral. A river of crystal-clear water flowed out of the rocks on one side, twisted its way through a deep channel and vanished into the mouth of a side tunnel. They had been warned not to get near the edge of the river. The currents were deceptive and powerful.
Once safely out of sight of the crowd at the entrance, North stopped and surveyed the interior of the cavern.
“Lot of energy in here,” he said.
“You can say that again.” Sierra looked around at the rocky walls and floor. Unlike the black glass tunnel where they had spent the night, this cave appeared natural. “According to the team, it’s nothing compared to what we’ll encounter when we go deeper inside the cave system.”
Paranormal currents of energy issued from the side tunnels, creating a mildly disorienting but exciting sensation that aroused all of Sierra’s senses. Dexter had told them that when they entered one of the narrower passageways, the effects of the paranormal radiation would grow stronger. The deeper they went into the cave system, the more likely they were to encounter extremely disturbing hallucinations.
North moved to the center of the cavern, raised the dowsing rod and turned in a slow circle. Sierra was standing close enough to feel the raw power of his aura when he heightened his senses.
The metal rod began to glow, a deep, dark, paranormal blue.
“Got a fix,” North said. “That tunnel over there.”
Without any hesitation, he headed for a shadowed side cave. Sierra followed quickly, automatically sorting through the rippling crosscurrents of energy, watching for the heat that indicated the most dangerous riptides and storms. It was obvious that North was focusing exclusively on the sensations he was receiving via Griffin Chastain’s locator device.
Once they were in the side tunnel the rod glowed more intensely. So did the walls of the cave. Dexter had been right about the paranormal radiance infused into the rocks. The flashlights were not needed.
The Foundation team leader had also been right about the power of the currents that pulsed and seethed in the tunnels. The deeper they went, the hotter the energy became. At every juncture North waited briefly for the locator to point to the right tunnel.
Twenty minutes later they found themselves in the ruins of what had clearly been an engineered corridor. Broken tiles of black glass still clung to the walls. The paranormal heat levels rose rapidly. The evidence of disaster was everywhere. They had to wade through the wreckage of vintage metal desks, old telephones, lamps, chairs and smashed glassware that littered the floor. It looked like the aftermath of a hurricane or a tornado.
“The explosion that took place here must have been very powerful,” Sierra said.
“So powerful that it changed the lives of everyone in Fogg Lake,” North said. “Not to mention their DNA.”
“I wonder if the researchers who were working here at the time made it out alive or if one of these days the Foundation team is going to find a huge pile of bodies, like the archaeologists did when they excavated Herculaneum and Pompeii.”
“The authorities at the Foundation think most of the staff survived,” North said. “They got a warning before the explosion. But there was no time to warn the residents of Fogg Lake. The people in town didn’t even know there was a secret government research lab hidden inside these caves until after the explosion. That’s when the authorities arrived to assess the damage.”
Sierra smiled. “And discovered a town full of people who claimed they
were just fine, thank you very much.”
“Fogg Lake is one tough little town,” North said. “The residents had every right to be pissed off when they found out they had been the unwitting subjects in a government experiment that went bad.”
The dowsing stick abruptly changed color. The paranormal blue radiance took on an ultraviolet heat.
“What does that mean?” Sierra asked.
North stopped and surveyed the rock walls around them. “I think it means we’re right on top of the lab.”
“But there’s nothing here. We’re standing in the middle of a tunnel.”
North’s aura got hotter. So did his gaze. Sierra realized he was looking at what appeared to be a solid wall of rock and shattered black glass. He smiled a slow, cold, knowing smile.
“Just a trick of the light,” he said softly. “My grandfather was very, very good with light.”
Sierra felt more heat rise in the narrow confines of the passageway. North was pulling on all of his powerful talent. A storm of energy swirled around them.
The seemingly solid wall shimmered and dissolved, leaving what appeared to be a view into the depths of a starless universe. The sense of eternal nothingness was terrifying.
All of Sierra’s senses responded by slamming into panic mode. She felt the mirror crystal in her locket heat. It’s just an illusion, she told herself. But instinctively, she took a step back.
“The abyss,” North said. “Griffin Chastain’s most spectacular trick.”
Sierra’s pulse skittered wildly. “Is it real?”
North’s smile turned into a crack of appreciative laughter. “Real enough to do the job it was designed to do.”
“Which is?”
“Conceal the lab.”
“I see.” Sierra took a deep breath to steady her nerves. “Well, I can certainly understand why your grandfather thought it would protect his secrets. No sensible person would walk into that weird energy. It feels as if it could stop your heart.”
“It might just do that.”
“Then how do we get into the chamber?”
“I’ve spent a year studying my grandfather’s techniques, and I’ve got his talent.” North’s eyes burned with anticipation. “Stand back and let me show you how it’s done.”
“Go for it,” Sierra said. But she took his advice and moved back another couple of steps. She opened her locket and glanced at the reflection of North’s aura. It blazed dark, hot and icy cold. An aurora of paranormal light flooded the space.
When she looked up she saw that deep within the abyss, dangerous energy was stirring. Sierra’s palms prickled. The fine hair on the back of her neck lifted.
North did not appear to be unnerved by what was happening inside the chamber. Just the opposite. She sensed he was riding a high like no other, glorying in the rush of controlling the powerful currents of paranormal energy.
The abyss was suddenly illuminated in a thousand bolts of paranormal lightning. A fiery aurora appeared.
“You said the night was filled with light,” Sierra whispered. “You were right.”
“No other magician was ever able to duplicate Chastain’s abyss. No one could figure out how it was done.”
“Because it wasn’t really stage magic at all,” Sierra said. “Your grandfather used his talent to manipulate energy from the dark end of the spectrum. But it’s not just a trick of the light, is it? There’s real danger in that energy. I can feel it.”
“No one can enter this chamber without going mad or possibly dying—not until the abyss is gone.”
“So, uh, how do you plan to do this?”
North raised both hands in a grand, theatrical gesture.
“Shazam,” he said.
Sierra felt a powerful wave of energy shift in the atmosphere. As she watched, enthralled, the endless well of night abruptly winked out of existence. The sense of dread and doom vanished at the same instant. She found herself looking at a vintage research laboratory. Over the years the walls, ceiling and floor had absorbed enough background paranormal radiation to illuminate a half dozen workbenches covered with old-fashioned, clunky-looking instruments and machines.
She smiled. “Show-off.”
North flashed her a triumphant grin. “Not my first abyss.”
She moved closer to the entrance and looked around. “This is incredible. There isn’t even much dust. It’s as if whoever was working in this lab just went down the hall for a meeting and never came back.”
“Not everyone,” North said. He moved through the entrance and walked toward what appeared to be a bundle of old clothes on the floor. “He never left.”
Sierra followed North. When she got a little closer she could see what remained of a white lab coat and a green uniform. The front of the lab coat was stained with old blood.
The bones inside the clothes shifted and rattled when North gently turned the skeleton onto its back. The skull gazed sightlessly up at the ceiling.
North picked up the lanyard that had once hung around the dead man’s neck and read the ID.
“Griffin Chastain,” North said. He reached gently into the bone pile and picked up a couple of bullet cartridges. “He didn’t sell Bluestone secrets to the Soviets and get executed behind the Iron Curtain. He died trying to protect whatever he and Rancourt invented in this lab.
“He was trying to keep it out of the hands of his research partner, Crocker Rancourt.”
CHAPTER 34
North got to his feet and crossed to a wall where a badly yellowed lab coat dangled from a hook. He took down the coat and returned to the skeletal remains of his grandfather. He arranged the coat as a makeshift shroud to cover Griffin Chastain.
“I’ll be back for you, Granddad,” he vowed. “But first I have to save Dad and recover those weapons.”
He rose again and surveyed the old lab, aware that Sierra was waiting for him to decide how to proceed. The rush he had experienced a short time ago when he defeated the abyss was fading fast. The overpowering need to keep moving was back in full force.
“We need to find the other tuning crystal, the one that was made for Crocker Rancourt,” he said. “It’s got to be here. It’s the only explanation that fits. With luck it will still be live.”
Sierra walked slowly down an aisle formed by two long stainless steel workbenches. She looked across the room and saw the door of a vault.
“Maybe it’s in there,” she suggested.
North went to the door of the vault, prepared to pull out his lockpick. But when he tugged on the handle the heavy steel door swung open on rusty hinges.
The interior of the vault was lined with glass and steel shelving. There were no artifacts.
“Empty,” he said. “Looks like Rancourt managed to grab all the prototype weapons. That’s probably what triggered the final confrontation. Give me a minute to see if I can figure out exactly what went down in here.”
Sierra stopped at the far end of the two workbenches and looked back at him. “You can work out what happened at the scene of the crime?”
“It’s what I do as a cleaner. No one except you and me has been in here since my grandfather sealed the entrance. I should be able to read the psychic prints.”
He went back to the door of the chamber and heightened his senses. Immediately old footprints began to glow on the floor of the chamber. He sorted through them, separating Griffin Chastain’s tracks from those of the other person who had entered the room.
Even after so many years both sets of prints still seethed with violence, rage and panic.
“It went down hard and fast,” North said. “The killer was standing where I am now when he fired the gun. I can see the heat of his excitement. He’s about to get exactly what he wants but he’s taking a terrible risk and he knows it. He’s nervous. That energy changes at the entrance.”
; “Meaning?” Sierra asked.
North concentrated, trying to piece together the story told by the hot prints.
“The killer wasn’t able to get more than a few steps into the chamber after pulling the trigger,” North said. “He’s shocked. There’s a lot of rage and frustration out here in this hallway. He realizes he’s not going to get what he wants after all. He panics and runs.”
“Your grandfather must have generated the abyss and sealed the doorway even as he was dying.”
“Yes.”
“To protect the second tuning crystal?” Sierra asked.
“As far as I can tell, there is nothing else left in here to protect.” North walked slowly through the laboratory, opening doors and closets. He stopped in front of the vault and contemplated the empty shelves inside. “Rancourt had already stolen the weapons and, probably, the tuning crystal he thought was his. Later he must have realized he had grabbed Griffin’s crystal instead. He returned to get the one that was made for him. That’s when Griffin confronted him. But this is your area of expertise. Picking up any artifact heat?”
Sierra moved slowly through the space and shook her head. “This whole place is infused with energy. Everything in this lab is an artifact.”
“Keep looking. Griffin concealed this chamber for a reason.”
Sierra stopped halfway along a workbench and studied what looked like a vintage radio.
“Hmm,” she said.
North watched her strip off one leather glove and gingerly reach out to touch the radio.
“Damn.” She gasped and jerked her fingers off the radio as if it were red-hot. “If this isn’t your tuning crystal I’d be happy to take it off your hands. Whatever it is, it’s worth a fortune on the underground market.”
“Everything in here is technically the property of the Foundation, remember?”