The Vanished

Adam smiled. 'I've just been practicing longer,' he said.

'Okay, Izzy, it's your turn,' Max said.

Adam hopped up and headed downstairs. 'I'm going to go see what Liz is doing,' he said.

Isabel took his seat, her heart pounding with apprehension.

'Ready?' Max asked.

'Sure,' Isabel answered, trying to sound calm, even though she knew Max was the last person on earth she could fool. But he didn't call her on her false bravery. He simply took her hand gently, and they were instantly connected.

Isabel felt Max's emerald green energy mingling with her own rich purple, and they headed for Isabel's memory centers. Their memory center. The connection between them was more than a simple attachment-it was a true sharing of souls.

The first image they uncovered was completely familiar. She was shopping at Victoria's Secret for something that would make Michael's mouth water. She'd taken the bus back to the museum, and then DuPris had used her to hurt Michael. Isabel watched in shock as the memory replayed in their mind. DuPris had made her betray one of her best friends. The very idea of it filled her with fury.

Max sent soothing images of family dinners with their parents at her until she calmed down. When Isabel had relaxed, she sensed Max asking her if she was ready to continue. Yes, she was ready. Go for it.

Her brother dug deeper, unleashing a torrent of memories of her time under DuPris's control. Isabel transformed into a child, hiding out with DuPris at the ranch. DuPris touching her face in the most loathsome way. DuPris laughing as Isabel raged against his hold on her. Isabel using her powers to fling Max against a wall.

There had to be something in her that would let them find DuPris. How she would love to rip out his lungs and use them as bagpipes!

Max soothed her again, willing her to stay calm. They'd learn nothing if she broke concentration.

Then Max poked at a dark, unformed image. Isabel concentrated on the black memory, curious despite her fear of what it might contain. There was no visual to it, only a sound… the sound of a car… and the smell of exhaust and oil.

Max encouraged her to replay the memory. DuPris had locked her in the trunk of his car. She'd felt so claustrophobic and terrified. Then DuPris opened the trunk, but the recollection remained hazy and dim.

DuPris was making her walk through the darkness. Isabel stumbled over loose rocks and held on to a guide rope to assist herself down the cavern path.

Cavern?

Yes, Isabel realized with a rush of excitement. They were in a cave. Her eyes were adjusting, and she'd seen stalactites, stalagmites… swooping bats. What cave was it? She just had to remember a little more, notice a landmark-

But then the memory went black. Something had knocked her out.

Max let go of Isabel's hand. 'Do you have any idea where that cave was?' he asked.

'Not a clue,' Isabel said, her mind still reeling. 'But we have to figure it out.'

'There are a million caves like that around here,' Max said, rubbing his forehead.

Isabel grabbed his hand and looked him directly in the eye. 'I know it's practically hopeless,' she said. 'But it's the only chance we've got to save Alex.'

***

I should have thought of coming here myself, Liz thought as she climbed through the first-floor office window of the Astral Projector, the tabloid newspaper DuPris had published before he disappeared. She fell through the window and landed on the floor at Adam's feet.

Adam had found a copy of the Astral Projector, with its pages of doctored photographs of alien encounters, in Ray's museum. Apparently Ray subscribed-probably to give himself a good laugh every month. As soon as Liz explained to Adam what the newspaper was, he'd been sure the tabloid's office was the perfect place to search for clues to DuPris's whereabouts. And he didn't want to wait for Max and Isabel to be done upstairs.

Liz didn't want to wait, either. She was glad to have something to do. Anything that might lead to getting Alex back home.

'Where should we start?' Adam asked.

'You take the desk,' Liz said as she looked around the dark office. 'I'll go through DuPris's file cabinet.' She shut the blinds and flicked on the overhead light.

Adam started rifling through the desk, and Liz opened the top drawer of the file cabinet, marked Abyss- Humidity. She pulled out the first file and scanned it.

'Abyss' turned out to be a bunch of articles about a hole in Colorado that led to the center of the earth, where an alien race had built a civilization. This was according to some questionable sources that DuPris had interviewed. It sounded insane to Liz, but then the Astral Projector's stock-in-trade wasn't exactly reality. DuPris had just used the newspaper as a cover for his investigation of Michael, Isabel, and Max and his search for the Stone of Midnight. Liz was amazed that he'd kept records at all.

Diligently Liz skimmed every article in the drawer, even though there were hundreds of them. She didn't want to miss anything that might help Alex. By the time she reached the file titled Humidity, she was struggling to contain her giggles over the ridiculousness of it all. 'Humidity' was an article about how aliens from some planet called Neutron-6 needed to keep their skin moist at all times or they'd shrivel up like worms on the sidewalk after it rained.

'The scary thing is that people believe this stuff,' Liz muttered to herself as she replaced the file. She had just closed the top drawer of the filing cabinet when she heard footsteps in the hallway outside the office.

The hair on Liz's arms rose as the doorknob started to turn. She glanced at Adam, and his eyes were wide with fear.

'Quick!' Liz hissed. 'Under the desk!'

A second later the two of them were smashed together in the small space in front of DuPris's desk chair. 'The light,' Adam whispered as the door creaked open.

Liz squeezed her eyes shut. There was nothing to do about it now.

Liz strained her back until it hurt and peered under the metal edge of the desk. She stretched and managed to glimpse a pair of sensible shoes and a set of wheels on a cart. An odor of disinfectant wafted through the room.

It was the cleaning service. Liz's heart calmed in her chest. Although it still wouldn't be good to be discovered, she'd take the maid over DuPris any day.

'Always leaving the light on,' the cleaning woman mumbled to herself.

As the cleaning lady emptied a garbage can near the door, Liz started to become very aware of Adam's arm lying across her stomach and his cheek pressed up against her shoulder. She could feel his heart beating… and it was thumping pretty rapidly, too.

She glanced at his face, and in the moment before he looked away, she saw that he was staring at her with wide, amazed eyes. Liz tried to shift away, but the space under the desk wasn't exactly roomy.

Adam's obvious crush on her had always seemed kind of sweet… from a distance. But up close, it was making her nervous and tense. Liz held her body taut, trying to prevent any skin contact whatsoever, trying to send out an anti-attraction vibe. She listened to Adam's ragged breathing and felt her face flush.

Liz stole a peek at Adam again. It wasn't that he wasn't cute-quite the contrary. He was muscular and sleek. But Adam wasn't Max, and that was that.

The cleaning woman finally left, shutting off the light and closing the door behind her. Liz scrambled out from under the desk as fast as she could and brushed herself off. The darkness in the office seemed far too intimate, so Liz hurried to turn the overhead light back on.

Adam didn't emerge for another minute, lingering as if he'd hoped their uncomfortable situation didn't have to end. He smiled awkwardly at her as he climbed to his feet.

Liz needed to take control before Adam said or, even worse, did something they'd all regret later. 'Okay,' she said. 'Back to work.'