Are you sure you know what you’re doing, North?” Lucas Pine asked.
North got another cold chill of near-panic. If he screwed up he was probably going to kill his father. But his intuition was riding high. The tuning crystal on the mantel at Griffin Chastain’s big house had come to life when he poured energy through it. He had used it to reignite and retune the currents of power that had devolved into chaos in the night gun. The device would function as it had been designed to do, he was certain of it. He was also sure he could control it. The real question was whether it could actually reverse the damage it had done when it had been used on Chandler.
North looked at Lucas, who was standing on the opposite side of Chandler’s hospital bed.
“No,” he said. “What I’m sure of is that this is the only chance we’ve got to reverse what’s happening to Dad’s aura.”
The hospital room was crowded. Victor and Lucas were present. Lily gripped Chandler’s hand. Sierra and her parents were watching from a few steps away.
The medical team had been ordered out of the room. If the project went bad, North did not want to be responsible for any more collateral damage than was necessary. Half of the staff of Halcyon Manor appeared to be gathered at the observation window. Someone had asked him how he could operate the light gun now that he was psi-blind. He had explained that he still had the Chastain psychic signature, and that was all that was required to activate the device.
Sierra flashed him a reassuring smile. “Hey, no pressure. You’ve got this.”
“Right,” he said.
For some reason the exchange broke some of the tension. North took a firm grip on the crystal gun.
Lily looked at him. “Go ahead, North. We know it’s a risk, but I promise you your father wants you to try.”
“Of course he does,” Victor said. “The bottom line here is we don’t have any other options.” He glanced at Sierra’s mother. “Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Allegra said. “I might be able to keep him stable for a while longer, but that’s not a cure. I know he doesn’t want to be trapped in that dream state for the rest of his life.”
There was no point dragging it out, North thought. His father had suffered enough. Either the gun would work or it wouldn’t. The waiting wasn’t helping anyone.
He eased energy into the crystal weapon. It responded just as it had when he had retuned it an hour ago, as if it had been made for him. He could control it the same way he did the crystal tech gadgets in his grandfather’s mansion—intuitively.
The colors of midnight began to glow, illuminating the hospital room in the strange light of dreams. The auras of everyone gathered around the bed flared, bright and strong, a distraction he did not want.
“Step back,” he ordered quietly. “I need to focus on Dad’s energy field.”
Sierra and her parents retreated a few more steps. Victor and Lucas also moved away. Lily hesitated.
“Please, Mom,” North said. “I have to isolate Dad’s aura.”
Lily squeezed Chandler’s hand one last time and stepped back.
In the light of the night gun, Chandler’s aura was revealed in brilliant detail. North wielded the gun gently, raising the energy level bit by bit.
And suddenly he could see the power lines that affected every part of Chandler’s body. It was like looking at a human version of the grid of the legendary ley lines said to connect the sacred places on Earth; like viewing a chart of the meridians and qi in the human body described in ancient medical treatises; like a detailed illustration of the delicately balanced humors medieval doctors had used to diagnose their patients.
In the light of the night gun it was clear which wavelengths in Chandler’s aura had been disrupted.
Relying on his intuition, North concentrated on resetting the distortions in his father’s energy grid. He worked carefully, delicately, aware that if he made a mistake he could easily stop Chandler’s heart.
Gradually the disrupted currents began to oscillate in a regular, healthy pattern.
Chandler blinked a couple of times, sucked in a deep breath and lurched upright to a sitting position. For a moment he just stared at the room, as if he had found himself in another dimension.
Then he looked at North.
“Thanks, son,” he said. He managed a shaky grin. “I needed that.”
North shut down the artifact. He realized he was shivering a little—adrenaline and relief.
Lily flew into Chandler’s arms. “I’ve been so scared.”
Chandler hugged her close. “You and me both.” He looked at North. “I take it you found the dowsing rod?”
“Gwendolyn Swan gave it to me when Sierra and I interviewed her,” North said. “Took me a while to figure out what it was good for, though.”
Chandler nodded. “I got a message from someone claiming to be a go-between informing me a crate of artifacts that had been picked up at auction by Swan contained some items that might be of interest to me. At first I figured it was just one of the freelancers trying to put together a deal. But I suspected I was being followed. When Swan showed me the items in the crate I recognized the vibe in the dowsing rod immediately.”
“That’s when you got suspicious?” North said.
“I knew a find like that wasn’t a matter of luck. I realized I was probably being watched. I bought the rod and another artifact.”
“The old radio,” North said. “We found it in Loring’s lab. He had smashed it. Guess he was pissed.”
“It was definitely vintage and definitely had some heat, but it was nothing special. I told Swan I would be back for the rod but that if you showed up instead she was to give it to you.”
“Do you remember anything about the person or persons who attacked you?” Sierra asked.
Chandler rubbed his temples. “Not much. A couple of men dressed as hotel maintenance staff were waiting for me in the hallway outside my room. One of them had that crystal gun you’re holding.”
“Not a gun,” North said. He hefted the crystal artifact, aware of the energy locked inside. And suddenly he understood. He smiled. “An aura-balancing device.”
Chandler winced. “Call it what you want. One of the men pointed it at me and that’s the last I remember.”
Victor and Lucas looked at North.
“Nice work,” Lucas said.
Victor regarded the artifact with a thoughtful expression. “Interesting. You’re sure it’s not a weapon of some kind?”
“Positive,” North said. “Although it can kill.”
A euphoric sense of discovery slammed through him. The experience of manipulating the artifact had charged him, energized him, in a thousand different ways. A whole new world had just opened up for him. He knew what the night gun really was, what it had been intended to do.
He now knew who and what he was; what he was meant to do.
He wanted to roar his discovery from the top of the tallest hotel casino in Vegas. He was intoxicated with the knowledge that the crystal device had worked.
Sierra went to him and wrapped her arms around him.
“You did it,” she whispered into his shirt. “I knew you would.”
And this, he realized, was exactly what he needed to make his new world absolutely perfect—Sierra in his arms.
“I found it,” he said.
Everyone in the room was looking at him, wondering what he meant. But Sierra understood. She smiled and stepped back to look at him.
“Your calling?” she said.
“I know this is going to sound a little over the top, but yes, I know what I need to do. I’m going to carry on Griffin Chastain’s research.”
Lily frowned. “You want to become a magician?”
North laughed. “That was just a day job for Griffin Chastain. I think he found his true passion when he designed and created the crystal devices that Rancourt eventually stole from the laboratory at Fogg Lake.”
Chandler eyed the crystal gun. “You want to design paranormal weapons?”
Lucas groaned. “We’ve got enough trouble as it is dealing with the fallout of the old lost labs research.”
Victor grunted. “The very last thing we need is to have more unpredictable weapons floating around.”
North shook his head. “You don’t understand. Griffin Chastain wasn’t inventing weapons. He was designing paranormal medical devices. His research was all about using dark light to help balance and heal the human aura, specifically the auras of people who have some extra senses. People like us.”
Victor looked dubious. “That may have been his intention, but it’s obvious the technology he created can be used to injure or kill.”
Byron Raines spoke up. “Hasn’t that always been true of the healing arts? Any medicine or medical device that is powerful enough to save a life is usually powerful enough to injure or even kill. From potent medications to a surgeon’s knife, it’s always about balance and intent.”
“Byron is right,” Lucas said. “In any event, we don’t have a lot of options here. We now know for certain the technology exists. It’s out there. No putting that toothpaste back in the tube. Who knows what dangerous devices will turn up from the era of the lost labs? There will be other people like Loring who will try to weaponize artifacts. We’re going to need defenses, including technology that can heal the damage done to auras. Our best bet is to take control of that research. It fits into our core mission.”
Chandler looked at Lucas and Victor. “There’s no one better qualified to take charge of the R and D of my father’s work than his grandson.”
Victor exhaled heavily and then nodded. “You’re right. The Foundation will provide you with a lab, North.”
“Thank you,” North said. “The first step is to find the rest of the devices Rancourt stole from the Fogg Lake lab.”
“Got a plan?” Sierra asked.
“Same plan I had back at the start of this thing,” North said. “Just haven’t had time to follow through on it.”
“What’s that?”
“Follow the money.”
Victor raised his brows. “The forensics accounting department may be able to help you out with that project.”