Page 85 of It takes a Psychic

“It was part of the legend,” Harp said. “Over the years plenty of folks have searched for it. But once something disappears into the tunnels with no tracking device, it’s lost forever unless someone stumbles over it by accident. The Voice told us that Vance’s bride could resonate with the key and use it to lead us to the machine.”

“And only the bride can open it and awaken Vance,” Baxter Richey said. His voice thrummed with anticipation. He aimed the video camera directly at Leona.

“All of which means we don’t need Rancourt anymore,” Burt announced. “I’ll strip his amber and dump him in the tunnels.”

Oliver regarded him as if the threat was mildly irritating but not particularly relevant.

“No, wait,” Leona said quickly. “You’ve got what you wanted. I led you to Vance’s machine. Trust me, you do not want to kill anyone. I can guarantee you that if either Rancourt or I vanish here in Lost Creek, our families will make sure the FBPI and the Guild turn this town upside down until they find out what happened.”

“She’s got a point,” Oliver said in the same deceptively mild tone.

“You don’t even know for sure if I can unlock the machine,” Leona continued. “If I really am the bride and if I do awaken Vincent Lee Vance, he can decide what to do with Oliver.”

Oliver looked at her, brows slightly elevated. She was certain she saw the edge of his mouth twitch in one of his silent laughs. In that moment she knew he had a plan. That was a good thing, because she did not have one.

“She’s right,” Baxter said. “Let’s see if she can unlock Vortex.” He swiveled the camera toward the machine and back to Leona.

“Yes,” Darla Price said eagerly. “Let’s find out if she can unlock it.”

The crowd rumbled agreement.

Edith and Harp exchanged looks and then Harp nodded once. Decision made.

“Do it,” she ordered.

Well, shit,Leona thought.Now what?

She looked at Oliver. He inclined his head in the smallest possible nod.Go for it.

Evidently, unlocking Vortex was part of plan A.

Another unnerving possibility occurred to her. Maybe his professional curiosity had gotten the better of his common sense. Maybe he couldn’t resist finding out what was inside the machine.

She shot him a warning glare. He did not seem to notice. Shestifled a sigh and turned to the audience gathered at the entrance of the chamber.

“I would like to remind everyone that this situation began when someone opened an artifact known as Pandora’s box,” she said.

“The Voice said you’re the one who opened it,” Harp reminded her.

“Ah, but I wasn’t the first one to open the artifact.” Leona held up a finger. “Someone else did that before me. Whoever it was put the pyramid crystal inside. I have been assured by an expert that the stone was not part of the original collection of objects inside the box. Someone screwed around with Pandora’s box. That was probably not a good idea.”

“Shut up and open Vortex,” Burt shouted. He was sweating heavily now and his eyes were feverish.

“Awaken our leader,” the bartender shouted from the back of the crowd.

The others took up the chant.“Awaken Vincent Lee Vance.”

Leona glanced at Oliver one last time, searching for some indication of a plan.

He shrugged. “Might as well see what’s inside Vortex,” he said. “We’ve come this far.”

“Fine,” she muttered. “But when this is over, you and I are going to have a serious conversation about the importance of having a backup plan.”

“Count on it,” he said.

She tightened her grip on the pyramid crystal, clapped one hand against the side of the machine, and rezzed her talent. For a moment she was confronted with a storm of chaos. But it was human psychic chaos—not Alien. There was nothing particularly complicated about the vibe that had been used to lock Vortex. But there was an element of violent madness.

If it was Vincent Lee Vance who had designed the lock, he had, indeed, been insane.

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