She picked up the faint but steady vibe at the core of the twisting monster. Working with the exquisite care of a surgeon following an artery, she felt her way into the heart of the violent winds.
She knew it as soon as she sensed it. She could not see it because of the violent winds of gray energy, but she had done enough weather work to realize that it was some sort of resonating quartz. She sent a quick, small shock wave of energy into it, shattering it internally.
Lightning sparked and flashed inside the tornado for a moment, and then the wild winds simply vanished.
The shimmering surface of the crystal lake was fully revealed. The waves quieted. An elegantly arched bridge fashioned of gray quartz stretched from the edge of the lake to a slender pedestal that projected out of the silvery liquid. On top of the pillar stood a gray quartz bowl.
Gabriel looked at Lucy and winked. “Goddess.”
She fought back exultant laughter, fixed a polite, professional expression on her face, and looked at Elias.
“That should do it, Mr. Coppersmith. Let me know if you have any more weather issues.”
Elias grinned. “Call me Elias, and don’t worry, we’ll be in touch.” He raised his voice. “Problem solved, everyone. Come on out.”
The Coppersmith people emerged from the quicksilver doorway and walked forward. They gathered at the edge of the lake and studied it, fascinated.
Otis chortled enthusiastically, bounded down from Lucy’s shoulder, and raced around the edge of the lake. Before anyone realized what he was after, he darted across the bridge, hopped up onto the pedestal, and reached into the bowl. He had to use two of his six paws to lift an object out of the artifact.
“Otis,” Lucy called, “come here.”
Otis was already fluttering happily back over the bridge. He bustled up to Lucy and graciously offered her the object he had taken from the bowl. The others gathered around her while she cautiously accepted the gift—a bar of silvery quartz that reflected light like a mirror.
“Thanks, Otis,” she said.
She rezzed her senses, but there was no vibe in the quartz. She handed it to Elias. He took it and examined it briefly.
“Shattered,” he announced. “This is what you flatlined, Lucy.”
“It must have been resonating with the energy from the lake and amplifying it,” she said. “The supercharged vibes drew the tornado and anchored it.”
One of the men shook his head. “Hard to believe something that small could cause that twister.”
Lucy smiled. “The butterfly effect.”
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
“I got your message, Dr. Peabody,” Gabriel said. “What’s the problem?”
“I’m not sure there is one, Mr. Jones.” Peabody adjusted his glasses. His gray brows were scrunched together. “But considering the events of the past few days, I thought I should bring the matter to your attention.”
“I’m listening,” Gabriel said.
They were in the Arcane Museum, standing in front of a tunnel ride. There was no sign over the entrance.
“You’re a descendant of the Jones family,” Peabody said. “I trust you are aware of some of the history of Jones and Jones on the Old World?”
“I know it was founded as a psychic investigation agency. One of my cousins, Marlowe Jones, runs a branch office of J and J in one of the other city-states. Why?”
“Jones and Jones and the Arcane Society dealt with a lot of odd and dangerous cases that all had one thing in common—there were always paranormal elements involved, elements that made it difficult or impossible for the regular police departments and investigative agencies to handle. In many cases the criminal work went undetected altogether, because the crimes were committed by psychic means. Murders appeared to be deaths by natural causes. Drug dealing was impossible to prove because the chemicals were paranormal and thus did not show up in forensic tests.”
“Marlowe says business isn’t what it used to be back on Earth because here on Harmony law enforcement not only recognizes crimes of a paranormal nature, it has the talent and technology to deal with them.”
“Yes, but back on the Old World there was one criminal organization that plagued Jones and Jones for decades. One of the legends of J and J in the twenty-first century, Fallon Jones, wrote in his journal that the group was run by individuals with particularly powerful paranormal talents. They concealed their operations behind a number of shell companies and had connections to the highest levels of government. Your ancestor notes that, while Arcane was eventually able to expose the group, they could never be sure it had been stamped out entirely.”