“Yes. They look a lot like mirrors.” She paused. “There was a crystal behind the one in the doughnut sculpture.”
“I know.” Luke turned back to watch the morning sun top the canyon walls and flood the valley. “This answers one question—the natural energy currents in the area feel stable. The instability we sensed in the art colony is localized.”
“Do you really think Hatch is trying to build some new Kaleidoscopes?”
“More likely they are trying to scale up the basic concept and make a much more powerful version of the guns.”
“But according to your grandfather that wouldn’t be possible without the six crystals—” Sophy broke off, shocked by her own words. “Wait. Do you think that Hatch and his pals have Pandora’s box?”
“It would explain why Bea went missing. Anyone trying to use those crystals would need a strong talent from the Harper bloodline to unlock them.”
The terrible irony of the situation struck her like an ice bath.She clapped a hand over her mouth because she did not know whether or laugh or cry.
“Oh, shit,” she got out. “I don’t believe it. I mean, I do believe it, but this whole thing is unbelievably screwed up.”
“What am I missing?” Luke asked.
She managed to pull herself together. “You’re right, if they have Pandora’s box it explains why they went after Bea. But they must have been downright thrilled when I showed up.”
“Why?”
“Bea is a Harper in every way that matters, but not by blood. She has no DNA connection to the family. She was adopted at birth. She doesn’t have the family talent required to unlock the crystals in Pandora’s box.”
Thirty-One
“I did not see thatcoming,” Luke said. “I never thought to verify the Harpers in the genealogical records at the Foundation. Didn’t think it was necessary. Our families have always kept an eye on each other.”
“You wouldn’t have found anything in the official records. No one outside the family knows the truth about Bea. She’s a Harper. To her and the rest of us that’s all that matters. You know, if Wells, Inc. had taken stronger security measures to protect those old Kaleidoscopes and the documents, none of us would be in this mess.”
“Are you going to bring this up on a regular basis?”
“Probably.”
“Let’s go back to the inn. You can continue the lecture on the way.”
“Okay,” she said. “But before we leave this place I want to try something.”
“What?”
“Humans have always found ways to connect with the forcesof nature. One of the techniques is with music. I may never have another opportunity to experience vortex energy like this.”
She unzipped a pocket and took out the chimes and the mallet. Luke and Bruce watched, very intent, as she went still and prepared herself. When she was ready she tapped one of the metal bars.
The clear, bell-like note went out into the world. She listened, waiting for the tone to fade. But for a time it grew stronger. The clarity became crystalline-sharp. The purity was exhilarating and almost painfully intense. There was nothing fragile or delicate about it.
The note began to resonate with the currents of the vortex. A shock of desire ignited all her senses. Luke’s eyes heated. With a soul-deep groan he reached for her. In that moment she knew she had been waiting for him for a very long time. She threw herself into his arms.
His mouth came down on hers in a dark, primal kiss. Without warning they were locked in the embrace. Their need for each other could not be denied. It was elemental, vital, a force of nature.
Luke’s hands were inside her trench coat and under her T-shirt, tightening around the bare skin of her waist, gliding upward to find her breasts. She slipped her hands inside his leather jacket. Her fingers brushed the small case that held his auto-injector. And then she was tugging the black pullover out of the waistband of his trousers.
He broke free of her mouth and worked his way to the curve of her throat.
“I could come just thinking about how good you feel,” he rasped.
He shifted his hands to her hips and pulled her lower body tight against his fierce erection.
She flattened her palms against the muscles of his chest. “You’re not afraid of me.”
