Chapter Forty-Seven
Forty-Seven
She dutifully stuffed a bottle of water into the day pack and made sure she had her phone.
By the time she was ready, Luke and Bruce, wearing their own packs, were waiting at the door.
Tension shivered in the atmosphere around them.
Their eyes were molten gold. A couple of hellhounds, she thought, but they were her hellhounds—for now.
She was about to join them when she remembered the books.
She grabbed An Investigation into the Fool’s Gold Canyon Vortex and Tobias Harper’s journal and added them to the pack.
Talk about excess weight, she thought. But she was a librarian.
The books held dangerous secrets. She could not risk leaving them behind.
Out in the hall, chaos reigned as most of the guests rushed for the elevator or the lobby stairs with their suitcases. Several opted for the emergency exit at the end of the hall.
“We’re using the emergency stairs,” Luke said. “It empties out into a service lane, not the front entrance.”
He headed toward the fire escape. Bruce and Sophy dashed after him.
They reached the first floor along with a handful of other people and moved out into the service lane. The guests who had chosen the emergency exit rushed down the lane and disappeared around the corner. A few minutes later Sophy, Luke, and Bruce found themselves alone.
“All clear,” Luke said. “Let’s go.”
The desert night was filled with the rumble of cars coming and going in front of the inn, but the narrow strip of pavement in back was empty. It was also unlit except for a dim light over the exit door. In the shadows it was easier to detect the vortex energy that shuddered in the atmosphere.
“The levels are still rising,” she said quietly. “It’s as if we’re sitting on top of a volcano that is getting ready to blow.”
“That is a visual I could have done without.” Luke reached the end of the service lane and stopped. Bruce halted beside him. “I don’t see anyone in the sculpture garden. Looks like everyone, including security and the staff, is heading for the front gate.”
Man and dog went forward. Sophy followed.
“In hindsight, we should have called in the Foundation back at the start,” she said.
“In hindsight, that might have been a good idea. But back at the start we were just trying to find Deke and Bea and retrieve some old Bluestone artifacts.”
No one tried to stop them when they crossed the sculpture garden. As far as Sophy could tell, there was no security left.
By the time they reached the Maze Gallery they appeared to have the entire art colony to themselves. Sophy looked back at the main gate and watched the taillights of the last vehicle disappear.
“This is just so weird,” she whispered. “The place is deserted. We’re the only ones left.”
“Don’t bet on it,” Luke said. He stopped in front of the main entrance of the dark house and tried the door. It opened easily.
“Unlocked,” Sophy said. “Someone left in a hurry.”
“Looks like it.” Luke pushed the door wider.
Sophy expected a sea of night inside the house.
She had been prepared to heighten her other senses.
But the lobby was illuminated in the subdued light of a wall sconce, just as it had been on the night of the exhibition.
The doors that separated the entrance from the antechamber where she and the others had been hit with the first hypnotic suggestion were open, and so was the second set of doors.
The floor lighting was on, marking the path into the display area.
Bruce rumbled softly. His attention was focused on the gallery path.
Luke studied the dog for a few seconds. “Find.”
Bruce went forward at a quick pace. Luke followed. Once again Sophy found herself rushing after them. She reminded herself that they were the experts when it came to security matters.
“You know, maybe one of us should have brought a gun,” she whispered.
“I don’t think Bruce is warning us of a threat,” Luke said. “This is his there’s something interesting up ahead look.”
To Sophy’s surprise, it wasn’t just the path into the gallery that was illuminated. So were the installations. But the mirror tiles were silent.
“The tiles have flatlined,” she said.
“Evidently Grant hasn’t recharged them.” Luke rounded a corner. “Maybe he can’t.”
“Because he’s deteriorating?” Sophy said.
“Yes.” Luke followed Bruce around another corner and stopped. “Or because he’s dead.”
“What?” Sophy turned the corner and froze when she realized they were in the hallway where Vincent’s Succubus was displayed.
The witchy female figure was illuminated just as it had been on the night of the exhibition.
The eyes glittered with a demonic light.
Succubus loomed, triumphant, over her victim.
But the original sculpture figure at her feet was no longer visible.
Vincent Grant was sprawled across the base of the installation and he was very dead.