by Jayne Castle
“I’ll do my best.” Ella eyed her half-eaten doughnut. “This is absolutely fabulous, by the way.”
“Thanks.” Bob beamed. “Well, a pleasure to meet you. I’d better circulate these so that I can get back to the kitchen. Got to get breakfast on the table. You wouldn’t believe how this crowd eats.”
Ella popped the remainder of the doughnut into her mouth and rose to her feet. “I’d be happy to take the tray around if you would rather return to the kitchen.”
“Hey, thanks, I appreciate that.” Bob gave the lobby a cursory glance and lowered his voice. “Everyone’s a little stressed. They’ve been marking time here on Rainshadow for nearly a month waiting to get the all clear so that they can go down and start work in Wonderland. Thing is, this is an island and there just isn’t a heck of a lot to do at night except hang out at the taverns in town. First it was the dinos and now a murder. It’s like this job is jinxed or something.”
Ella took the tray. It was surprisingly heavy. Commercial kitchenware was probably built to last, she reminded herself.
“I’m sure Mr. Coppersmith and the operations people will get things on track very quickly,” she said.
“Oh, yeah,” Bob said. “The Coppersmiths know how to run a jobsite. And they don’t like wasting time. They’ll get things moving real soon.”
“How long have you worked for Coppersmith?”
“Awhile now. Worked a few different exploration and mining camps in my time. One thing about my line—there’s always employment for a cook who can put out three meals a day for a hungry team. But I’m hoping to stay with Coppersmith. Best benefits in the business.”
He turned and ambled off to the kitchen. Ella looked at Lorelei, who was studying the remaining heap of powdered-sugar doughnuts with a very focused air.
“Sorry, the rest of these are for the team,” Ella said.
Lorelei chortled, hopped down off the arm of the chair, and fluttered away in the direction of the kitchen.
“Don’t get any ideas about running off with the cook just because he knows how to make doughnuts,” Ella called softly. “We’re partners, remember? Besides, I’m the one who knows how to order pizza.”
Lorelei disappeared through the kitchen doorway. Ella sighed and set out to make new friends with her tray of warm doughnuts.
A short time later she concluded that she was pleased with the results of her cunning plan. She could still see a lot of curiosity and speculation in the eyes of the Coppersmith employees but the doughnuts had gone a long way toward bridging the awkward space that had opened up at approximately three fifteen that morning.
Okay, so the situation was still a little complicated, she conceded. And it was true that she had broken one of her own cardinal rules. But with luck, what happened on Rainshadow would stay on Rainshadow. She would go back to the old rules when she returned to Crystal City.
She was handing out doughnuts to a couple of grateful techs when Rafe and Slade emerged from the office. Rafe raised his brows at the sight of the tray in her hands but he did not remark upon it. Instead he beckoned her across the lobby.
“I’d like you to meet Slade Attridge,” he said. “Slade’s an old FBPI pal. Slade, this is Ella Morgan. She’s the new music talent consultant.”
“A pleasure,” Slade said. He smiled. “Good luck with the dinos.”
“Thanks,” she said, and gave him a polite smile. “I’m hoping to get started soon.” She held the tray out. “Two left. One for each of you if you’re so inclined.”
“I’m inclined.” Rafe snatched up one of the doughnuts and took a healthy bite.
“So am I.” Slade helped himself to the last doughnut. “Nothing like a murder investigation to work up an appetite.”
Rafe looked at Ella. “We’re going down into Wonderland with a team this morning. Slade will handle the murder investigation. He’ll coordinate with the Coppersmith Security people. He also offered to do a little research on those guys who tried to grab you before we left Crystal City.”
“The tats aren’t a lot to go on,” Slade said. “But the fact that they turned up on a bunch of guys using black-market Alien tech may give us what we in the cop business like to call a clue.”
“Let me know if you get anything,” Rafe said.
“Will do,” Slade said.
He nodded at Ella and headed for the door.
Rafe turned back to Ella. He paused, as though gathering himself for a leap off a cliff. “About last night.”
“Let’s not go there,” she said in her best client tones. “Breakfast is waiting.”
“You do realize that half the people in this lobby saw me coming out of your room this morning shortly after three a.m. The other half have probably heard the gossip by now.”
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “These things happen.”
“Not to me,” Rafe said. “And not to you. Ella, what happened is my fault.”
“It’s okay,” she said. “Stuff happens on a job. Let’s go get breakfast.”
Rafe started to protest but Lorelei appeared from the kitchen doorway. She dashed across the lobby, chortling with delight. The last time Ella had seen her she’d had a light dusting of powdered sugar on her fur. Now she looked like a small, snow-covered mountain peak.
“What the hell has she been into?” Rafe asked.
“Don’t ask. By the way, do you have any pals who aren’t connected to the FBPI?”
“Maybe. I’ll have to think about that.”
Chapter 20
“Welcome to Wonderland,” Rafe said.
Ella stood just inside the paranormal gate that was the entrance to the newly discovered sector of the Underworld and looked at the glittering, sparking, flashing scene. She was dazzled.
“This is amazing,” she said. “It’s like a vast fairyland.”
Wonderland was a surreal crystal-and-quartz landscape. Blue energy illuminated a world rendered in various shades of blue. A cobalt-blue crystalline creek wound through a forest of azure trees. Sapphire leaves glinted in the strange light. Masses of blue ferns sparked and flashed in the psi-heavy atmosphere.
All of it, from the silvery-blue rock formations to the cerulean-blue sky, looked as if it had been locked in the heart of an ancient glacier—frozen in time. Nothing moved. The leaves on the trees did not flutter. The creek was still. It was a jewel box of a world.
Lorelei, perched on Ella’s shoulder, chortled enthusiastically. She waved the somewhat-the-worse-for-wear wedding veil, vaulted down to the diamond-hard ground, and began rummaging among the blue pebbles.
Ella looked at Rafe. “What happened here?”
“We don’t know,” Rafe said. “There’s a theory that this was the Aliens’ first attempt at bioengineering.”
One of the techs, a tall, lean, sharp-boned woman who had introduced herself as Angela Price, studied the hard, sparkling landscape with a wary expression.
“The Aliens screwed up big-time down here,” she said. “They got the para-physics and the biophysics wrong. But to give them credit—they learned from their mistakes. After this they came up with the Rainforest, an elegantly balanced ecosystem that is still going strong.”
Another tech spoke up. “Down here, with the notable exception of the wildlife, the whole system seems to have turned into stone—solid quartz and crystal.”
Ella looked at him and remembered that his name was Jake. “Petrified, do you mean?”
“In a way,” Angela said. “But like Jake said, there are some exceptions. The dinos certainly aren’t stone. They evidently went into some form of long-term hibernation after the Aliens abandoned this lab. The beasts are waking up but their ecosystem has collapsed around them.”
“There’s nothing for them to eat down here except each other,” Rafe said. “So some of the critters are going aboveground to hunt inside the Preserve.”
“How are they getting out of Wonderland?” Ella asked. She glanced back at the entrance. “You and the local Guild au
thorities control the gate.”
“We control the one gate that was recently discovered,” Jake said. “Obviously there is another one—maybe several of them, including at least one that opens into the Preserve. All we can say for sure is that the dinos have found an exit from Wonderland.”
“The Rainshadow Preserve Foundation has put together a task force to try to locate the gate from the aboveground point of entry,” Rafe said. “But they haven’t had any luck so far. It’s very difficult to navigate inside the psi-fence.”
Duke, one of the Guild men who had accompanied the team, looked at Ella. “Fortunately, standard amber locators work down here in Wonderland. We can navigate this sector and that means we can map it—once we get rid of the dinos.”
Tanaka, the other Guild man on the team, spoke up. “The flamers work, too. The critters are afraid of fire so we’ve been able to chase them off so far. But we’re concerned that they’ll gradually overcome their fear. The dinos are too big to bring down with flamers. They’ve got those mirrored scales to protect them. They don’t seem to be real smart but sooner or later they’re going to figure out that they’re bigger and stronger than we are.”
Everyone on the team looked at Ella. Nothing like a major success on this project to add luster to the reputation of the Knightsbridge Institute, she reminded herself. She put on her best I’m an expert and I’m here to solve your problem smile.
“Right,” she said. “Singing dinosaurs. Can’t wait to hear them. Where do we find these critters?”
“That’s the easy part,” Rafe said. “They’ll find us.” He surveyed the gem-bright landscape. “It won’t take long. It’s daytime up on the surface inside the Preserve. That means the monsters are sheltering down here. They’ll be attracted to live prey.”
“The prey you refer to being us, I assume?” Ella asked.
“Yep.”
Rafe checked his flamer. The rest of the team, including Ella, did the same.
Duke looked around. “Listen up, people. Only a couple of rules down here, but those who don’t stick to ’em will probably get eaten. We stay together. We do not lose visual contact. If the monsters show up we form a defensive ring with the flamers and de-rez our senses.”
“Remember, the critters hunt by following our psychic spore,” Tanaka added. “You hear even the faintest music, you sound the alarm and go cold. We want to make the trail as thin as possible. Understood?”
Everyone muttered “yes” and searched the nearby landscape. Ella knew that none of them liked the idea of lowering their paranormal senses in the face of danger. It went against every survival instinct. All animals, including humans, intuitively jacked up all their senses—paranormal as well as normal—when confronted with a serious threat.
“What about storms?” Angela asked nervously.
“Protocol for a psi-storm is the same as that for dealing with an energy river in the Rainforest,” Duke said. “Make physical contact with the person next to you and seek shelter in one of the caves.”
“The dinos seem to become as confused and disoriented in the storms as we do,” Rafe said. “So as long as you’re in the middle of a blast, you’re not likely to become a snack. Everyone ready? Let’s move out.”
They set off in a tight formation, Rafe and Tanaka in the lead. Duke brought up the rear. Ella and the two techs, Angela and Jake, were in the middle.
The journey through Wonderland would have been a full-ride ticket at a world-class amusement park if it weren’t for the constant threat of storms and monsters, Ella thought. The stands of crystalline trees, the senses-tingling atmosphere, the eerie blue light, the dazzling rocks and gleaming quartz streams and ponds made for a stunning landscape—a dead landscape—but stunning.
The energy infused in the jeweled world was equally enchanting. Ella paused to examine a sapphire leaf. The sparkling heat inside the quartz made her senses fizz. She looked at Rafe.
“I can see why Coppersmith bid a fortune for the rights to this place,” she said.
“Oh, yeah.” His mouth kicked up at the corners. “Going to make several fortunes here in Wonderland—as soon as we get the dinos under control.”
They trekked through the blue forest, crossing streams and creeks made of solid crystal and quartz. At one point they paused to investigate a cave that glowed with a radiant blue energy.
“From what we can tell, the caves are the only sources of water down here,” Rafe said. The ones we’ve explored so far all have hot springs inside. The water is clean. The critters won’t enter the caverns, though—something about the interior energy seems to repel them.”
They moved on, walking a grid pattern that the Guild men and the Coppersmith techs had managed to map.
The first notes struck gently at first. Ella was astonished by the sweet, haunting lullaby that seemed to float, ghostlike, through her thoughts. It was the song that every mother since time immemorial had sung to her baby, the song the child would hear on some level all of his or her life: a ravishing song of maternal love.
Tears gathered in Ella’s eyes.
An instant later, shock flashed through her. She stopped suddenly and looked at Rafe.
“Oh, wow, is that it?” she asked. “Is that the dinos’ hunting music?”
Angela frowned. “I don’t hear anything. . . . Wait, there it is.”
Tanaka took charge. “Everyone—shut down your senses and move into the cave. Now.”
No one argued. Flamers at the ready, they retreated into a glowing blue cave. The Guild men positioned themselves at the entrance. The eerie music followed them, tugging at their shuttered senses.
Rafe looked at Ella. “Yeah, that’s it. We’re reasonably safe in here.” Angela’s fingers tightened on her flamer. “That music is scary strong, isn’t it? Even with my senses shut down I can still hear it.”
“This is what the sailors must have heard in those Old World stories,” Duke said. “You know, those tales about Sirens who used hypnotic songs to make the men crash their ships against the rocks.”
Ella froze.
“No such things as Sirens,” Rafe said easily. “Everyone knows that.”
No one responded. Ella gave him a sidelong glance and then cleared her throat.
“This is where I earn my very high fees,” she said. “But to get a fix I’m going to have to move out of the cave and jack up my senses.”
“I’ll go with you and cover you,” Rafe said. “Duke and Tanaka will stay with the techs. If we get into trouble we retreat back into the cave.”
“Got it,” Ella said.
Tanaka looked grim. Ella knew he didn’t like the setup but he also knew that this was why they were in Wonderland in the first place. He angled his chin.
“Go,” he said. “And don’t get in the way of our flamers if we need to use them.”
“We’ll sure try to keep that helpful tip in mind,” Rafe said.
The tension in the small group was palpable but everyone there was a pro, Ella realized. No one was going to panic. She reached up toward Lorelei, intending to hand her over to Angela. But Lorelei growled a warning and hunkered down.
“Okay,” Ella said. “Partners.”
Duke looked at her. “Don’t worry, the flamers are effective, at least for now.”
“It’s that damn music,” Angela whispered in a shivery voice. “It sneaks up on you every time.”
“Creepy,” Jake said. “We can’t work down here until we get a more efficient defense system.”
“I understand,” Ella said. “Let me see what I can do for you.”
She moved to the mouth of the cave. Rafe came to stand beside her.
Cautiously she heightened her talent.
The mesmerizing music exploded across her senses. The harmonies were piercingly sweet. They tugged at her, promising rapture. She knew that the beast had achieved a fix on her.
A few seconds later, mirrored scales flashed amid the crystal trees. The camouflage was so good that it was impos
sible to see the dinosaur clearly, but there was no doubt that it was very close.
Lorelei growled a low warning. Ella realized that Rafe was preparing to rez the trigger of the flamer. If he fired the creature would run and she would lose her opportunity.
“I’ve got this,” she said.
“Right,” Rafe said. He did not take his eyes off the stand of trees.
Lorelei perched tensely on Ella’s shoulder.
The monster was a clever hunter, Ella thought. But for better or worse, humans had a long-standing and highly successful history of defending their top-of-the-food-chain status.
She got a focus on the searing music and began to resonate with the wavelengths the creature was generating. Within a few beats she sensed the elemental life-force that powered the enthralling harmonies. There was a fathomless hunger in the energy waves that rode just beneath the music. The creature was driven by a blood lust that roared forth from the deepest recesses of its primitive brain. The need to tear apart flesh and bone and gorge on the soft, bloody entrails of its victim was its sole reason for existing.
There was another thread of even darker music beneath the blood lust. Ella did not have time to analyze it. At that moment light and shadow shifted again in the stand of crystal trees. Blue sunlight danced on silvery-blue scales. Rafe swore softly and leveled the flamer.
“Ella?” he said quietly.
She ignored him. She could not talk and sing at the same time. She was locked on to her target now. She had a fix. The small chimes on her bracelet shivered with energy.
She began to sing, pulling energy from the dark and light ends of the spectrum. She composed delicate counter-harmonies designed to disrupt the powerful waves that the creature was sending her way.
She knew the feedback was confusing the monster because its musical lures began to break up. There was no way to know how its primitive brain received and interpreted the human singing, but on a primal level it got the message. This prey could fight back.
The creature’s song ceased abruptly. Mirrored scales shimmered again, briefly, amid the trees. The dinosaur broke into a lumbering gallop, the sound of its heavy feet striking hard stone echoing in the eerie landscape.