Jayne Castle: Ghost Hunter

"You think you can find another jungle under Aurora Springs?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if there are jungles beneath all of the ancient ruin sites. In fact, an underground rain forest may well connect every site."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. The aliens were obviously not at home aboveground on Harmony. They seemed to have lived beneath the surface in their catacombs or confined within the walls of their cities. I suspect that there was something about this world that was toxic to them. The psi energy of the quartz was probably an antidote of some sort."

"Interesting theory."

"But it is highly unlikely that they survived on psi energy alone. Like other living creatures, they needed a viable ecosystem. The one aboveground didn't work for them, so they engineered a modified version of it underground. I'll bet the rain forests provided the source of the oxygen, plant life, and everything else they required to keep their civilization going here."

"I think I see where you're going with this."

"There's another thing," she continued.

"What?"

"My guess is that the ability to resonate with plant psi isn't unique, no more unique than the ability to work blue ghost light. Sounds like Stuart Griggs had the talent, for example. But folks with abnormal parapsych profiles tend to keep quiet about it for fear of being labeled weird."

"Plant psi para-rezzes will probably start coming out of the woodwork once the news about Jordan's Jungle hits the media," Cooper observed.

"Probably."

"Hmm," Cooper said.

"Hmm, what? You've got that Guild boss look. What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that every botanist in every city-state on the planet and everyone who thinks he or she can work plant psi is going to want to head underground very soon."

"Wouldn't be surprised."

"Everyone knows you can't send a bunch of researchers and academics into the catacombs without hunters to protect them," Cooper said. "And that rain forest will very likely contain a lot of brand-new dangers. Can't have people running around in it without bodyguards."

She smiled. "I think I see where you're headed here."

"Any way you slice it, there's going to be a lot more work for the Guilds in the near future. We need to make plans to handle the situation. I'll make some calls to the other bosses first thing in the morning."

"Oh, my."

"Something else. The fact that the Aurora Springs Guild was involved in the discovery of Jordan's Jungle will be a major media bonanza for all the Guilds. We need to get the public relations departments of both the Cadence Guild and Aurora Springs going on this immediately."

"Spoken like a true Guild boss." She collapsed, laughing, onto the pillows. "We started out discussing our marriage and making plans for a life together, and suddenly we're talking about broadening the Guild's business opportunities. No wonder they gave you the job, Boone."

He pulled her into his arms. "I wouldn't give a damn about the future of the Guilds or anything else if I didn't have you."

She stopped laughing. "You really mean that?"

"You make everything worthwhile, Elly. Especially the future. I realized that the day you gave my ring back to me."

She kissed him on the mouth. "Works both ways, Boone. I've been waiting for you for six very long months."

"Yeah?" His eyes gleamed with love. "If I'd known that, I would have come here a lot sooner. But I thought I had it all figured out, see? I had a plan."

"I was wondering what took you so long. Now I know it was just a Guild boss thing."