“Marlowe says they were able to get to Blankenship, Hannah Holbrook, and the assistants you called Hulk and Buzzkill in time to give all of them the antidote,” Cyrus said. “They’re in jail, sleeping off the effects of what the authorities assume was just one more designer street drug gone bad. But some serious damage was done to their para-senses. The Arcane experts don’t expect any of them to make a full recovery, but they will be able to stand trial for a whole lot of charges, including kidnapping and drug dealing.”
“Well, that’s something, I suppose,” Sedona said.
It was the following afternoon. She and Cyrus were together with Robert and Gwen in Robert’s study. She decided that with the exception of Gwen they all looked somewhat the worse for wear.
It was becoming evident that in Gwen’s mind the entire affair was going down as a grand adventure. Sedona had a suspicion that her niece was already envisioning a career of daring exploits as a gatekeeper in the Underworld. Who knows? Sedona thought. Maybe that’s exactly what awaited her. After all, she was a descendant of Arizona Snow.
Unfortunately, although the house was quiet once more, the gaggle of tabloid reporters and Guild paparazzi out in front had doubled in size. The morning papers had been filled with variations on the theme of how a visiting Guild boss had busted up a drug ring in the tunnels.
The photo on the front page of the paper on Robert’s desk showed Cyrus looking quite dashing in his tux, his black tie undone around his neck, shirt collar open, jacket hooked over one shoulder.
The image showed her as well, but somehow she did not appear nearly as elegant and dangerous. Her hair was a mess. She was barefoot. The cut on her face had stopped bleeding but she looked like she’d been in a bar fight. She had Lyle tucked under one arm. He bore a striking resemblance to a rather tatty stuffed animal.
“What will happen to Aunt Ellen?” Gwen asked.
Robert glanced quickly at Sedona and then turned back to Gwen. “Your aunt seems to have suffered what the doctors sometimes call a nervous breakdown. Don’t worry, she will be properly cared for. How are you doing today?”
“Great,” Gwen said. “Aunt Sedona says I can visit her on Rainshadow if Mom and Dad agree.”
“I’ll talk to your parents,” Robert promised. He turned to Sedona. “What are your plans, if I may ask?”
“Cyrus wants to introduce me to his family and then we are heading back to Rainshadow on the first available ferry,” Sedona said.
“A little too much excitement here in the big city,” Cyrus said. He smiled at Sedona. “We’re used to the laid-back island lifestyle.”
“Right,” Sedona said. “On Rainshadow all we have to worry about is the odd prehistoric monster, weird Alien labs, and paranormal storms. Life is simple.”
Robert looked at Cyrus. “You’ll be staying on as the CEO of the Rainshadow Guild, then?”
“I think the job is going to be interesting,” Cyrus said.
Gwen looked at Cyrus. “Last night, Aunt Sedona said you would find us down in the tunnels. How did you do that?”
“We followed Lyle,” Cyrus said. “Caught up with him in the tunnels under the hotel. He was on his way to find Sedona but I convinced him we could make better time in your grandfather’s car. So we drove to the ruin site and went down through that entrance.”
“But how did you find Lyle in the catacombs?” Robert asked.
“The usual way. He was wearing amber. I plugged his code into a standard Guild locator.”
Robert’s silver brows rose. “You gave a dust bunny tuned amber?”
Sedona smiled. “Shows how much you don’t know about Guild men, Granddad. When it comes to amber, if it’s tunable, they make sure it’s tuned.”