Jayne Castle - Bridal Jitters

He followed her around a bend and saw that she had come to a halt in front of what, at first glance, appeared to be a section of green quartz wall. But there was something not quite right about the center portion. He peered more closely, blinking to clear his jumpy vision. The wall wavered slightly before it came back into focus. Illusion dark.

"Big," he muttered.

"Yes. Very unusual. Also very, very old."

The thoughtful, decidedly academic tone of her voice worried him. The last thing they could afford to do was waste time while she analyzed the trap from a professional point of view.

"You can write it up for an article in the Journal of Para-Archaeology when this is over," he said roughly. "Right now, we need to get into the space behind it."

She gave him a disgruntled look. "I know. Give me a minute here, though. There's something different about this trap."

A new wave of concern washed through him, rezzing up the already fizzing effects of the afterburn just as it had started to fade. "Can you handle it? Because if not, we've got to find another—"

"I can handle it," she assured him. "It's just… different, that's all. I can't explain—" She broke off. "Never mind."

She went to work untangling the trap that barred the door. Restlessly, he watched the corridor in both directions while she de-rezzed the entrance.

"Got it," Virginia whispered softly.

There was a disturbing note in her voice, but he did not have time to question her about it. He swung around and saw that there was now an opening in the green wall. Virginia had already moved through it.

He followed her quickly, surprised that he had to give his eyes a moment to adjust to the shadowy interior of the chamber. His first impression was of a vast space filled with green-drenched shadows. His surroundings glowed, just as the tunnel did, but the light emitted by the quartz was much weaker and much dimmer in here. The effect was an emerald twilight.

The only thing he could tell for certain was that this chamber was large, much bigger than any of the others he had ever seen. In the gloom he could not make out the far walls or the ceiling. The space was filled with a number of structures of various sizes, all fashioned of the familiar green quartz. They were packed closely together and piled on top of each other, forming what looked like miniature city blocks crammed with a number of small apartments. The blocks were separated by narrow, twisting lanes.

He started toward the nearest of the apartments, assessing it as a potential hideout. He saw a narrow opening. It looked large enough to provide access to the interior of the building but small enough to be protected by a single man armed with a mag-rez gun.

Perfect.

"Hang on while I reset the trap," Virginia said behind him.

He paced restlessly while she worked. In a matter of seconds, illusion shadow once more obscured the entrance of the chamber.

"It won't deceive a trained tangler," she said as she turned back to face him, "but it might go unnoticed by a hunter or an excavation team worker, especially if he or she is in a hurry."

"With luck, there's no one out there looking for us."

"But you don't want to depend on luck, do you?"

"No." He scanned the dim chamber. "What the hell is this place?"

"Who knows? ' She walked slowly toward him, searching the narrow canyons between the apartment-like structures. "I've never seen anything quite like it. Maybe it was a zoo. All those little cubicles and small rooms might have once been cages for animals."

"Maybe. Could just as easily have been a storage locker facility or an office park or a prison."

"We'll probably never know."

He came to a halt in front of the nearest apartment structure. It appeared to be several stories high. He could see many rows of neatly marked openings on the side.

"There must be a hundred little rooms in there," he said. "We can use one of them."

"Sam?" Virginia sounded uneasy again. "Are you thinking of hiding inside that particular building?"

"Uh-huh. Is it trapped?"

She went closer to examine the nearest entrance.

"Yes," she said.

He frowned. "Well? Can you untangle it?"

"Yes," she said again very evenly.

He waited for a few seconds, but he did not sense any psi energy. She was staring at the trapped entrance, but she wasn't working.

"What the hell's wrong?" he asked. "It's not like we've got all day here."

She turned slowly to face him. In the green twilight her eyes were more shadowed than the interior of the cubicle.

"Not this one," she said. "Let's try another one."

He started to argue and then reminded himself that when it came to traps, she was the pro. "All right, pick another one, but hurry."

She was already moving down the narrow lane between two looming structures. He paced behind her, controlling his temper when she passed up three more trapped entrances. Silently he willed her to make her choice so that he could get on with the task of rigging up some sort of defense that would protect her while he slept off the afterburn.

She turned at an intersection and went down another lane. Just when he was ready to take charge and make the choice for her, she came to a halt.

"Here," she said. She sounded relieved. "This one is okay. We can go inside."

"About time," he growled. "Do what you have to do."

She glanced at him. "No problem. There's no trap at this entrance."

"Damn." He took a closer look. The doorway she had chosen looked more elaborate than the others. It was wider, more ornately carved. It was taller, too. He shook his head. If push came to shove, it would not be as easy to defend. He turned away, scanning the ranks of darkly glowing openings in the green walls.

"No good," he said brusquely. "Pick one with a trap that you can reset after we're inside. It will give us an extra level of protection."

"This is the only one I've seen that feels okay."

He scowled. "What the hell do you mean, it feels okay?"

"Just what I said. This one is okay." Stubborn determination gleamed in her eyes. "This is my area of expertise, and I'm telling you that this will be a safer place to hide than any of the other possibilities that I've seen so far."

"But it's not even trapped."

"There's something wrong about those traps on the other entrances," she said. "I could untangle them, but I don't think that I should."

"You don't think you should?" He wanted to shake her. Didn't she realize he was trying to protect her? "What kind of a reason is that? If we get cornered in this chamber by a couple of hunters trying to protect an illegal excavation site, we're going to need all the help we can get. I want a doorway that's well-trapped."

She wrapped her arms around herself and looked at him with unshakable conviction. "We can't go into any of those other rooms. Trust me on this, Sam. This is the only chamber I've seen yet that feels safe."

He hesitated. "Safe?"

"Yes." She unhugged herself and touched his cheek. She dropped her hand immediately when he flinched. "Sam, we've got to get you inside. You're in bad shape. You're scaring me."

"Just don't touch me," he warned. "Not until I've slept this off."

"Don't be ridiculous. How can it hurt if I touch you? Sam, you're not yourself. If you've got an ounce of sense, you'll admit that you're in no condition to be in charge of the firm of Gage & Burch at the moment."

She was right, but he did not want to admit it. Another wave of shivering swept over him. "Find a trapped room."

"We don't have time to keep looking. You need sleep."

"In a while. Not just yet."

"I'm officially declaring myself the boss of this partnership, at least for now. And I say you need sleep. Come with me."

She reached out without warning. Her hand closed around his arm, sending a tide of sensation screaming through his senses. This time he knew he was lost. The raging hunger roared past the last of his defenses. A great shudder of need wracked him. He no longer possessed the will to resist.