He scratches his head. “Yes. It’s always plugged in.”
I probably just broke it. But it’s not my fault he didn’t explain what’s happening. I hit the gas again, entranced at our speed. We go several miles in a short amount of time, until we reach the end of the tunnel with an obvious door. I stop. “Where are we?”
“Hologrid Hub.” He hitches painfully out of the golf cart.
I hop out and hurry around to look at his face. He’s gone pale beneath his bronze skin, and he’s partially bent over. “I told you we should go to a hospital.”
“Right.” He moves forward and flattens his hand against the top part of the door like he did before.
I squint my eyes and peer up. “Is that some sort of sensor?”
“Yes,” he says. “It’s a palm sensor that reads the fingerprints. My hand’s the only one that will open it.”
I don’t want to be impressed, but I am. That’s kind of cool.
The door slides open, and we walk into one of those fancy computer server rooms you see on TV. “Whoa,” I say. Computer consoles with blinking lights line all four walls except for a doorway opposite us, whereas in the center on a big pedestal sits an amethyst, raw and natural, bigger than a basketball. The stone’s cuts and valleys sparkle purple and slightly white in the dim light. The servers hum around us, so clean they reflect our images.
“Hold this.” Alexei hands me his gun, his gaze locked on the crystal in the center of the room.
“What are you doing?”
He moves toward the amethyst as if unable to refuse its draw. Taking a deep breath, he places both hands on either side of the precious gem. “I’m healing myself.”
I move to the side, watching as the crystal begins to glow a brighter purple. “Wow,” I whisper.
As one of the four major social media companies in the world, Hologrid Hub runs on amethysts. The three other companies run on either garnets, citrines, diamonds, or aquamarines. I know this because my best friend, Alana, is the person who actually charges the crystals at Aquarius Social. I’ve never quite understood what that means, and not once has she mentioned she can receive healing energy from a stone.
Alexei throws back his head, and electricity arcs through the air. I blink. Alana has explained how the four families learned to harness the power from crystals back in the stone ages, which gives them better health and longevity. They’ve taken that gift and amassed wealth and power through the centuries.
As I watch, the hole in Alexei’s shoulder begins to mend.
I stumble back. “Holy moly.” Alana never said that the stones could actually mend wounds.
Alexei’s eyes open and he looks at me, his gaze slumberous. “This is a secret.”
Holy crap. Crystal energy really can heal. “It’s sad that most people don’t know about crystals,” I blurt out. Alana taught me that I have an affinity with angelite, but it would take centuries to exchange this much power with crystals. “It really is quite unfair your families didn’t share this.”
He gives me a pointed stare and steps away from the stone, which is now glowing a brighter purple.
The opposite door opens, and Hendrix Sokolov walks in. “Well, hello brother.”
Alexei turns. They’re about the same height, but Alexei is cut sharper with more obvious muscles. “How did you know I was here?” he drawls.
Hendrix lifts a shoulder. “Please, I have sensors in this place.” He glances at the open doorway. “However, that’s news. I guess I’ll have that filled in.”
Alexei’s smile lacks humor. “This company’s mine, brother. You going to give it up?”
Hendrick smiles. He’s blonde with startling blue eyes and is quite handsome in a different way than Alexei. Where Alexei is dark, Hendrix is light. At least, he gives off that impression. “Not in a million years. I’ll kill you first.”
Alexei lifts his shoulder. “It’s a date then. We’ll go back the way we came.” He grasps my arm and pulls me toward the tunnel.
Hendrix snorts. “Alexei? Is this really your play?”
Alexei pauses. “Yes. Why do you ask?”
“There are rumblings of a new player with a new platform. Something with even more advanced AI than the rest of us put together. Could be gossip. But the internet is humming. You know anything about that?”
“No.” Alexei’s jaw hardens. “That’s a problem for another day.” He propels me toward the back door.
