Jayne Castle: Dark Light

"One of you?" she repeated, going blank.

Simon grinned. "He means you weren't Guild. Now you are."

"So it's okay to tell me secrets?" She waved her hands. "What kind of crazy logic is that?"

"Guild logic," Jeff explained helpfully.

Mitch regarded Jake with a thoughtful expression. "You seem to be okay off the juice."

Jake grimaced. "Luckily the withdrawal doesn't last long. It's more mental than physical. You miss the dreamworld for a while, and you get the shakes for about a day, but then things return to normal."

Simon looked at him. "Think you'd go back on the stuff if you had a chance?"

"Not like that's going to happen now that Fontana and the government authorities have control of the source," Jeff said dryly.

"I wouldn't go back on it," Jake said. He frowned, very serious now. "I'm done with the juice."

"How do you know?" Andy asked.

"Had time to do a lot of thinking while I was filling up those bottles for the Riders," Jake said. "Something Sierra told me started to make a lot of sense."

"What was that?" Simon asked.

Jake looked at Sierra, intent and determined. "You told me I was an artist. Don't know if that's true, but I do know I get something out of making those miniatures. It's satisfying somehow."

"I understand," Sierra said.

Jeff grew thoughtful. "I'll bet Mitch and I could sell your miniatures for you in our shop. What do you say, Mitch?"

"Sure." Mitch said. "People love miniatures. There are collectors out there who will pay big bucks for fancy, high-end dollhouses and all the little things that go inside."

Sierra smiled at Jake. "Congratulations. I think you've found yourself a new career path."

"Thanks to you and Elvis," Jake said.

"Don't thank us," Sierra said. "Thank Fontana and Ray. They're the ones who went into the jungle to find you and the others."

Simon chuckled. "Fontana's First Rule: Never leave a man behind for ghost bait."

Jake looked at Sierra. "Well, he sure as hell married the right woman. She wouldn't leave a man behind, either."

IT WAS LATE MORNING. THE WEATHER REPORT HAD called for a slight lifting of the fog by noon, but Fontana had seen no signs of any lightening in the permanent twilight outside the windows of his office. He looked at the notes on his desk. There was a timeline and a rough sketch of the catacombs beneath what was left of his house. Ray sat in the chair on the opposite side of the desk.

"Patterson obviously knew about the hole-in-the-wall in the basement," Fontana said. "He must have also known that the closest exit was beneath the warehouse."

"In which case, it didn't take a genius to figure out that if you and Sierra went into the tunnels to escape the fire, you would head for the warehouse," Ray said. "What I find really interesting is that the Riders set their trap in the one short section of the tunnels where there was a blind curve and no intersecting corridors that you could use to evade them."

"That means that they had an accurate map of that sector of the catacombs." Fontana raised his brows. "But according to the former owner's journal, the chart he made was the only one in existence."

"Either he was wrong—"

Fontana leaned back in his chair. "Or somehow Patterson got hold of the journal and used the information in it to set up his ambush."

Ray's expression was grim. "You told me that you discovered the journal in a hidden wall safe in the art gallery. You said you never showed it to anyone else. How the hell would Patterson have known about it, let alone have a chance to study it?"

"Good question." The intercom buzzed. Fontana leaned forward and rezzed it. "What is it, Harlan?"

"I have the Foundation files that you requested, sir. Shall I bring them in now, or would you prefer to deal with them at another time?"

"Bring them in now. I want to look them over before I talk to Bonner."

"Yes, sir."

Ray's brows rose. "Why the sudden interest in the Foundation?"

The door opened. Harlan came into the room.

"I'm going to get rid of Bonner," Fontana said.

"You're going to put someone else in charge of the Foundation?" Ray asked.

"Yes. My wife."

Harlan set the files on the desk. "Here you are, sir."

"Thanks, Harlan."

Ray grinned. "Interesting choice. Sierra will clean things up in about twenty-four hours. You won't have to worry about where the money is going with her in charge."

Fontana set the file aside. "I figure my main problem will be explaining to her that I don't intend to increase her budget every time she decides to take on a new philanthropic project."

"THIS PLACE IS INCREDIBLE." KAY WHISPERED, HER VOICE hushed to the point of reverence. "I've never seen anything like it."

"No one else has either," Runtley declared triumphantly. "Not unless you count the gang that was bottling and selling the juice and the guards the Guild has posted here now."

They were gathered around the amazing fountains in the glowing jungle ruin. The psi levels were so high Sierra could feel the buzz across all of her senses. She could only imagine how it affected Fontana and the other hunters in the vicinity.

The trek through the rain forest had taken less than three hours. Fontana and his team had brought Sierra and the staff of the Curtain into the jungle through the previously uncharted gate that Troy Patterson and the drug runners had used. It was much closer to the ruin than the official gate where Fontana and Ray had entered when they went in to rescue the missing hunters.

"As far as the general public is concerned, the very first pictures of this place will be on the cover of the Curtain tomorrow morning," Phil said, rezzing off a few more shots. "These pics are gonna make me famous. Man, I am gonna be up for the News Photographer of the Year award. And the cool thing is, these fountains are real. I didn't have to build them out of doughnuts and discarded Curtain Cola cans the way I did the alien Temple of Love."

"All of the slick dailies and the rest of the media are going to be begging me for permission to use the shots," Runtley said, dazzled by the prospect. "This is the scoop to end all scoops, and the Curtain has the story."

Fontana studied him across one of the sparkling green pools. "Just make sure the Guild comes out looking good. Remember, we have a deal here."

"Absolutely," Runtley assured him hastily. "Don't worry, what with taking down that gang of juice dealers, rescuing the hunters who were abducted by aliens, and opening this place up for the para-archaeologists, the Guild will look downright noble and heroic in tomorrow's edition. Guaranteed."

Fontana nodded, satisfied. "Noble and heroic works. My PR people like noble and heroic."

Kay walked to the nearest fountain and looked into the effervescent green pool. "I wonder if the aliens came here to get drunk or stoned out of their weird little minds?"

"No way to know," Matt said, jotting down some notes. "The energy in those waters may have affected them a lot differently than it does humans. For all we know, this place could have been some sort of fancy, high-end health spa."

"A psychic health spa," Runtley said. "I like it."

A familiar whisper of shimmering awareness sparkled through Sierra. She left Fontana's side and circled the nearest fountain, contemplating its airy, otherworldly beauty.

"It doesn't feel like a spa," she said quietly. "And I doubt that they came here to get drunk or stoned, at least not for recreational purposes."

Fontana watched her, intrigued.

"What do you think went on here?" he asked.

She gazed down into the psi-green waters. Although the fountain pool did not appeal' deep, she could not see the bottom. The restless little tides, eddies, and waves sparkled and flashed and swirled in endlessly shifting patterns.