The spectral figures moved in the fog. Their silent panic charged the atmosphere.
“Shit,” Twin Number Two rasped. “We didn’t sign up for this.”
“No,” the other twin agreed.
Both women holstered their weapons and ran for one of the two doors.
Whitley shrieked in rage and then fled into the control room. He slammed the door shut, locking himself inside.
“You stupid fucking bitch,” Victoria screamed at Sophy. “You’ve destroyed everything. I spent two years planning for this moment.Twoyears.”
Sophy struck another pealing note on the chimes and rode the currents out of the dreamstate. She got hit with the familiar flash of fear, afraid that she might be forever trapped in the terrible in-between state…
…and then she was safely on the other side, flying on the dark wings of an adrenaline rush that was unlike any post-trance ride she had ever experienced.
Victoria froze, horrified. “Who are you?Whatare you?”
Sophy remembered that she was not wearing her mirrored sunglasses. She smiled.
“You may be the secretly sexy librarian,” she said. “But I’m the librarian from hell.”
Fifty-Five
Victoria whirled and fled. Sophythought she moved with impressive speed, considering the pencil skirt and the pumps.
There was a reverberating clang as the massive steel door slammed shut behind her. The other heavy door closed a second later, sealing the chamber. Sophy heard the muffled thuds of dead bolts sliding into place. She and the others were trapped in the battery room. The energy levels were so intense she knew they had only a couple of minutes left before the inevitable explosion occurred.
“That’s enough, dear,” Bea said. “Time for some housekeeping.”
“Your aunt’s right,” Luke said. “This has all been damned entertaining but we need to move. Can you neutralize the energy levels long enough for us to get out of here and back to the surface?”
“Sure,” Sophy said.
In that moment she was a goddess.
She knew at once that she would not be able to calm the seething vortex currents with her core talent alone. Human energy simply wasn’t strong enough to tame the powerful forces of nature.She picked up the unlocked crystal and set about channeling energy through the stone.
When she had identified the currents she needed she went to work. The job required strength and subtlety. No one would thank her if she accidentally triggered the explosion that was waiting to happen.
Technically the task was no different than scrubbing the psychic stains of trauma that had soaked into a residence. She just needed a lot more power.
“I really hate housework,” she grumbled to no one in particular.
When she was finished an eerie calm settled on the chamber. Satisfied that she had done all she could, she lowered her talent. The crystal went dark. She relocked it, aware that her fingers were shaking. This was not a good time for the ice fever, she thought.
She set the stone on the pedestal with the other crystals, dusted off her hands, and looked around.
“We should leave,” she said. “The power levels have been temporarily neutralized, but that situation won’t last long. There’s too much energy embedded in this place. Too much heat. Something very bad is going to happen soon.”
“We’ll go out the way we came in,” Luke said.
The door of the control room opened. Whitley stood in the entrance. He looked thrilled.
“I knew the crystals could control the forces of the vortex,” he exclaimed. “I was right.”
“No,” Luke said. “This place is going to blow in a matter of minutes. Your only chance is to leave with us.”
“I am not going anywhere. This is my masterpiece.”
