She looked at the lamp. Power whispered in the atmosphere around it. Jack is looking for you. She knew that in her bones. Her only hope was to buy some time.
“Stand back,” she said, trying to sound cool and authoritative, a woman of power.
“Certainly,” Hulsey replied. His eyes glittered.
Nash did not move.
She put one hand on the lamp and pulsed a little psi into the waves of energy trapped inside the strange metal. Only Jack could access the full power of the artifact, but she could make it glow. That might be enough to convince Hulsey and Nash that she was activating it.
Energy stirred and shifted within the lamp. She knew everyone in the room could sense it. Larry Brown groaned and closed his eyes again.
The relic began to brighten.
“Yes,” Hulsey breathed. “It’s working. It’s working.”
Nash shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat and moved a little farther into the room. His attention was fixed on the lamp.
She gave the relic a couple more pulses of power and managed to make it shine with the light of a pale moon. It did not become transparent, though. The gray gemstones remained opaque and there was no rainbow, but the transformation was dramatic nonetheless. Hulsey and Nash were clearly fascinated.
She switched her attention to Larry Brown. Carefully she probed for the currents of his dreamstate, bracing herself against the searing, disorienting waves of his drug-infused energy. The only thing that made her able to hold on was the knowledge that Larry would surely die if she retreated. Waves of dark dreamlight washed across her senses for a few seconds while she struggled to find some semblance of a normal, healthy pattern.
The taint of the formula was everywhere, distorting and disturbing Larry’s natural rhythms. The chaos was growing because he lacked the strength to control the energy that the drug had released from the dream-psi end of the spectrum. The heavy, erratic waves would soon destroy his sanity and his para-senses.
But deep in the chaos there were still traces of his normal currents. She found them at last and set to work, easing calm, soothing energy into the fractured wavelengths.
There was no way to know if she was doing the right thing for Larry Brown. The experience with Jack was not applicable. His mind and body had fought off the effects of the drug and because of his genetic twist he was able to handle the currents of power unleashed from the dreamlight end of the spectrum.
But Larry Brown could not control the wild river of psi that was flooding his senses with an excess of paranormal stimulation. The only way to save him was to close down the channels that the drug had opened. It would not be the same thing as easing the disturbing currents of psi produced by her street clients’ nightmares. What she was doing now would have far more profound effects on Larry Brown’s senses, possibly permanent effects. She was winging it, going with her intuition, but that was all she had to work with.
Gradually she gained control. The raging, spiking currents began to respond to her careful, cautious counterpoint pattern. The wavelengths grew more stable and steady.
“It’s working,” Hulsey crowed softly.
Larry was visibly calmer now. His breathing slowed to a more normal rate. He opened his eyes, revealing tears of exhaustion, relief and gratitude. His fingers closed tightly around Chloe’s hand.
“You’re going to be fine,” she said quietly.
“Thank you,” he rasped.
He looked at her with something approaching adoration. She’d seen that expression before. She wondered if he would be feeling quite so grateful later when he discovered that in saving his sanity and his life she had destroyed his formula- enhanced abilities. In addition, there was no knowing if his mind would be strong enough to repair the damage done to his original talent. According to Hulsey, Larry Brown had come to Nightshade as a three on the Jones Scale. When he awakened he might not have any of his psychic senses left at all. Such a loss could be psychologically devastating.
“You need to sleep now,” she said.
She gave him a little extra pulse. Larry closed his eyes and went to sleep.
With luck he would be out for a few hours. When he awoke Hulsey and Nash would realize that the experiment had failed. But she could not think of anything else to do. She needed to secure as much time as she could in order to give Jack a chance to find her.
Hulsey peered at the monitors on the wall. “Excellent, my dear. He is quite stable now. Precisely the effect I had hoped to achieve.”
Not quite, she thought. She glanced at the lamp. It still glowed faintly from the initial burst of energy she had used to ignite it, but it was dimming rapidly.
“Working the lamp creates a heavy psi drain,” she said. She did not have to fake the weariness in her words. “I’ve got to rest now. I’m ill.”
Hulsey gave her an approving look. “Yes, of course, my dear. I do hope you appreciate what I have accomplished here today. I have pushed the boundaries of para-biophysics beyond even what Sylvester and Nicholas dreamed of doing.”
“I’m thrilled for you.” She really did need to lie down and maybe take some aspirin. The feverish sensation was getting worse.
Nash frowned. “How many doses has she had?” he said to Hulsey.
“Just one,” Hulsey said absently. He was busy making notes. “But it was the new, experimental version. Quite potent. I gave it to her immediately after they brought her here. She was still unconscious. I’ll give her another in two hours.”
Chloe thought about the sore place on her upper arm. Panic slammed through her. “You injected me with the formula?”
“Yes, of course,” Hulsey said, not looking up from his notes. “Mr. Nash, here, was afraid that you might not cooperate otherwise. I agreed with him. We wanted to make certain you were committed to the organization, as it were. From now on, you will need to take a dose twice a day. The good news is that after the first week you can switch to the tablets.”
In the doorway, Nash smiled his reptilian smile. “Welcome to Nightshade, Miss Harper.”
51
“YOU CAN’T GO IN ALONE,” FALLON JONES SAID. “ALL I’VE GOT available are the two auras watching the gym. They’re not trained for this kind of thing. Give me time to scramble some backup.”
“Even if you manage to come up with a couple of hunters, it won’t do any good,” Jack said. “Your people would be outnumbered by the Nightshade freaks.”
“I know you’re something more than a strat now,” Fallon said urgently. “But you’re still just one man. What makes you think you can do this?”