Page 89 of It takes a Psychic

“Just so you know, I’ve never had any practical experience in car theft.”

“How hard can it be?” Oliver checked his locator, hitched his messenger bag on his shoulder, and started walking. “Let’s go.”

“Wait,” she said. “That’s the wrong direction. According to my locator, the entrance to the cave is behind us.”

“I don’t think it would be a good idea to exit the way we came in. If the locals are still pissed off at us, it would be the ideal location for an ambush.”

“Good point.” She hurried after him.

“The locator is showing another exit up ahead,” he said. “Maybe a half-hour hike.”

“There’s no way to know where it comes out,” Leona said, falling into step beside him. “It might be somewhere deep in the mountains.”

“Exactly. Which means that Burt and the gang won’t bother to cover it. They’ll assume we’ll do the obvious and leave the way we entered. After all, we’re not from around here, remember? We don’t know the territory.”

Roxy chortled, enjoying the new adventure. From time to time she catapulted off Oliver’s shoulder to briefly explore a glowing chamber or achunk of quartz that she spotted on the floor. But she never disappeared for more than a moment.

“Everything’s a game to you, isn’t it?” Leona said to her at one point when she tumbled out of a vaulted chamber waving a small unpolished crystal in one paw.

“Until it’s not,” Oliver said, watching Roxy dash ahead to check out an intersection.

Leona remembered Roxy sleeked out and ready to rumble when the three of them were confronted by the mob of townspeople. “They’ve definitely got a live-in-the-moment mindset. Humans could probably learn a lot from dust bunnies.”

“That mentality works fine for them, but humans need plans,” Oliver said. “And backup plans.”

Chapter Forty

Some twenty minutes later theystopped at a vaulted doorway that looked exactly like countless other doorways they had passed.

Oliver checked the locator. “This is the exit point.”

Leona followed him into a cavernous, high-ceilinged quartz chamber. She stopped and looked around. “This is amazing. But then, I say that a lot in my work.”

Oliver’s mouth twitched in brief amusement. “So do I. Hazard of the job.”

“Yes, it is.” She smiled. They really did have a few things in common.

A deep channel of crystal-clear water some nine or ten feet wide flowed out of an opening in one wall, curved gently across the floor of the vast space, and disappeared into a tranquil pool on the far side. Twin rows of quartz pedestals topped with faceted crystals lined both sides of the waterway.

Elegant little footbridges crossed the indoor river at various points. Blocks of quartz that looked a lot like park benches were placed near the edges.

A graceful, gazebo-like structure stood on the far side of the water feature. Inside, a tightly wound spiral staircase twisted upward and vanished into the ceiling.

A crystal-clear sculpture the size and shape of a one-person canoe was displayed on a platform anchored in the wall above the opening where the river emerged. Two sets of quartz steps, one on each side of the channel, led up to the artifact.

“This place looks like a city park or a space for contemplation,” Leona said.

Oliver walked toward one of the little footbridges. “I’d like to take a closer look at that crystal canoe, but we need to keep moving. Let’s find out what’s at the top of that staircase.”

She started toward the footbridge. Belatedly it occurred to her that Roxy had gone uncharacteristically silent. She looked around.

“Roxy? We’re leaving. Where are you? This isn’t a good time to play hide-and-seek.”

A faint chortle sounded from the far side of the chamber. Leona turned toward it and was just in time to see Roxy vaulting up one of the flights of steps that led to the crystal canoe.

“She’s got a thing for boats, doesn’t she?” Oliver said.

Leona ignored him. She hurried along the river’s edge, heading for the steps that led to the canoe.

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