evening that something had changed. Where did you find the crystals?”
“Long story,” Drake said.
“Can’t wait to hear it,” Harry said, smiling. “I knew you’d make it here to the island.”
Drake nodded. “Knew you’d make it out of the Preserve.”
Slade brought the whiskeys to the table and sat down. He eyed the Glorious Dawn crowd.
“Idiots,” he growled. “I should lock ’em up until I can put them on the ferry.”
Alice smiled. “It might be hard to stuff all those Glorious Dawners into your little jail. It’s sort of full at the moment.”
Slade’s brows rose. “My jail is full?”
“Kirk and Myrna are taking turns keeping an eye on the new residents,” Drake said.
“Is that so?” Slade nodded once and downed some whiskey. He lowered the glass. “Then I’m with Harry. Can’t wait to hear the story.”
Chapter 42
ALICE AWOKE ALONE IN THE BED. SHE OPENED HER EYES and glanced at the clock on the table. Dawn was still an hour away. The room was dark because the amber lamp had not been lit. For the first time since they had arrived on Rainshadow, the space was flooded with moonlight.
She had not expected to sleep at all that night, but after reading several pages of Nicholas North’s bad handwriting she had fallen asleep.
Alice could see Drake standing at the window, his broad shoulders silhouetted against the silver glow. He was naked except for his briefs. Houdini was with him, perched on the ledge. Man and dust bunny gazed pensively out into the night.
Alice levered herself up on her elbows. “Everything okay?”
“Everything is fine,” Drake said. He turned to look at her. She saw that he was not wearing his glasses. “What about you? Catch up on your sleep?”
“Yep.” She studied him. “You don’t mind moonlight?”
“I can tolerate it but it’s the equivalent of high noon for me.”
She pulled the covers aside, stood, and reached for the robe that Rachel had loaned her. She crossed the room to the window. Drake put an arm around her waist and drew her close. She allowed herself to settle into his warmth and strength.
“What did you see today?” she asked after a while.
“When I walked into the Dream Chamber?”
“Yes,” she said.
“The inside of a pyramid made with hot crystal.”
“No nightmares?”
“No,” Drake said. “No nightmares. But there is something important locked in the stones of that Chamber. We need to find out what it is.”
“How do we do that? You’re the only one who can actually see inside that place. Even with the energy levels lowered it’s still filled with dark light.”
“We’ll go back tomorrow and I’ll take a look around,” Drake said. “I think I can handle the energy in that Chamber.”
“Do you think that whatever is concealed in the pyramid crystals is dangerous?”
Drake hesitated. “What I sensed was something powerful and important. Powerful, important forces are always dangerous to some degree. But it did not feel destructive.”
“Should be interesting. Well, congratulations to us, huh? We found the missing crystals. Mission accomplished.”
Drake tightened his arm around her, pinning her close. “This thing isn’t over yet. We still have to deal with your ex-mother-in-law and Aldwin Hampstead.”
“Hampstead shouldn’t be a problem. Zara Tucker has already implicated him. You heard her this afternoon. After she stopped blaming me for everything that went wrong, she started in on him. Slade said it won’t be hard for the Federal Bureau of Psi Investigation people to tie him to the conspiracy. Zara turned on Egan Quinton, too.”
“And he turned on her. Took him long enough to realize what she really is,” Drake said. “That leaves Ethel Whitcomb.”
“Once she’s confronted with the facts, she’ll have to accept the truth,” Alice said. “I didn’t murder her son.”
“Obsessed people don’t usually pay much attention to facts. Exhibit A would be Dr. Zara Tucker.”
“Good point. So, have you got a plan to convince Ethel to leave me alone?”
“I’m working on it. Meanwhile, we stay married.”
“You really think that’s the best way to deal with the Ethel problem?”
“For now.”
Alice took a deep breath. It wasn’t the answer she wanted to hear, but it was a good plan for the near term. She’d never had much luck with long-range planning, anyway, she reminded herself.
“Okay,” she said.
“Okay?” He turned to face her, his hands closing around her shoulders. “That’s all you can say about staying married to me? Okay?”
The low-burning fires of anger in his words and the heat in his eyes startled her. Bewildered, she flattened her palms on his chest.
“I said okay as in, I’m okay with going along with your plan,” she whispered.
“And as in you’re okay with staying in an affair with me?”
“Well, yes, I guess so.”
“You guess so?”
Her bewilderment flashed into anger. “Stop throwing my words back at me. Why are you trying to start a fight here? It’s been a really long day. If you want to argue, could we save it until some other time?”
“Okay.”
“Okay?” She was suddenly incensed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You tell me. You’re the one who started this argument.”
“Don’t you dare blame me,” she snapped.
Drake’s eyes got hotter. “You’re right. We’ll save the argument until some other time.”
His mouth came down on hers, silencing her before she could figure out where to go next.
The kiss acted like a catalyst, transmuting the smoldering flames of the incipient quarrel into the hot fires of passion. Energy flashed in the atmosphere. Alice felt the heat arcing through her blood, arousing all her senses.
The next thing she knew the room was spinning around her. Instinctively she clutched at Drake’s shoulders to steady herself. It took her a heartbeat to realize that he had scooped her up and was carrying her to the bed. He dropped her onto the tumbled sheets and blankets. For a few seconds he loomed over her, his broad chest and shoulders blotting out the moonlight.
An urgent chortle and a scratching noise interrupted the scene.
Drake turned away from the bed long enough to open the door. Houdini disappeared out into the illuminated hallway.
“Damn,” Drake said. There was irritation and pain in the single word. He closed the door very quickly and locked it.
“Your eyes.” Alice sat up. “Are you okay?”
“I will be in a minute.” He remained where he was near the door, gripping the knob. “Forgot the lights were back on out there in the hallway.”
