“Do you want me to call him?”
“No, not yet. But he may call you. Depends on whether he gets any sleep tonight and how clear his head is tomorrow.”
“I’ll be here if and when he calls.”
“Good. Now, what about the others? I don’t know about Sully’s shield, how strong it really is, and I know he’s limited by distance, but there are a hell of a lot of very freaked-out people around here, and I’m fairly sure that’s going to be difficult for him, never mind the energy. I’m worried about Olivia because she’s so fragile; I’m worried about Reno because she’s so open; and I’m worried about Dalton because—well, I’m just worried about him.”
“So am I,” Bishop said wryly. “Miranda and I have done what we could in the little time available, but each of these people is pretty much coming to Prosperity with the abilities they had when they were summoned. They may well be affected by the energy, and their abilities could evolve to help them fight. Which I hope was the intent of whatever or whoever summoned all of you.”
“Bishop, be straight with me. What did you and Miranda see?”
He was silent for so long Hollis wasn’t at all sure he’d answer, which would be fairly typical of him, but when he finally did offer an answer, she almost wished she hadn’t asked.
“We saw . . . something of what could happen if the team isn’t successful at stopping this. It was a lot like Reno’s vision, except we saw the beginning. Saw the darkness spreading outward from Prosperity, destroying everything in its path. That’s the line your team has to hold, Hollis. If whatever it is escapes that valley, stopping it becomes pretty damned close to impossible.”
Hollis drew a breath and let it out slowly. “Next time, just tell me I really don’t need to know,” she said.
“This time you did. You can handle this, Hollis.”
“Yeah. Right. When are you going to send the others?”
“It’ll be late morning when they arrive. Since it sounds like Sheriff Archer has all he can deal with for the moment, I’ll have them meet up at your hotel. They can get checked in and then wait there for you and Reese. Plan to be there around noon.”
“Okay. What about Galen?”
“What about him?”
“You told me he wasn’t summoned, but he felt he had to be here. Fine. But what’s his part in all this? I’m not complaining, mind you, because I’m sure he’ll be an asset in any kind of fight—any kind of normal fight, at least. And he and Reese have the strongest shields against this energy, so another plus. Still, if he wasn’t summoned, does he have a part to play?”
“I expect you’ll all find why you’re meant to be there, including Galen. He may want to spend more time prowling alone, or he may be . . . drawn . . . to a member of your team.”
Hollis held the receiver away from her ear for a moment, staring at it, then put it back to her ear and said, “I knew Yoda had to come back sooner or later. Listen, do you think maybe this isn’t the time to be all cryptic and mysterious?”
“It’s just a hunch,” Bishop said calmly.
“One you’re not going to explain.”
“Best not. I could be wrong.”
Hollis absorbed that for a moment. “Um. Okay. Well, Reese and I have agreed it probably isn’t wise for any of us to be roaming around Prosperity at night, at least not until we get a better handle on what’s happening here. Which we need to do as quickly as we possibly can. We don’t know how many other people have already been affected, or are being affected now, and for all we know the voice could be telling half the town to shoot cops and feds. And it’s a well-armed town.”
“You expect to be targets? Specific targets?”
“I think we wouldn’t be smart if we assume otherwise. The whole town is so freaked out I haven’t been able to sort through all the emotions to sense whether anybody is struggling now the way Lonnagan did a few hours ago. Right now it’s just waves of emotion from just about everybody. Not fun. Reese wants to keep me inside his shields all night, especially since my iffy shield is even less dependable when I sleep.”
“A smart precaution, I’d say. Take breaks from the energy whenever you can, Hollis. I don’t believe your mind could be affected by it, not controlled by it; you’ve faced evil and negative energy too many times. But until you know what the source is, you won’t know what it’s going to take to transform or disperse that energy.”
“Transform or disperse. Step one is to find the energy source or sources. Step two is to seal those portals. And step three is dealing with the energy here in the valley, transforming or dispersing it. Because energy can’t be destroyed.”
“We know this. You know it better than anyone. And you can handle it, whatever it is. If the barrier over the valley is indeed holding the energy inside, then discovering the source, fighting it, defeating it, may not destroy that barrier. You may have to punch a few openings in it. But take care, Hollis. That energy must be rendered harmless before it’s allowed to escape the valley. Even without a guiding consciousness it could do an incredible amount of damage.”
“Right. Right.”
“Hollis, don’t think you have to handle it alone. You have Reese and you have the rest of the team. I have to believe you were all summoned because everyone does have a part to play. Don’t focus on protecting them.”
After a moment, she said, “It’s hard not to do that. This sort of thing is new to them. Using their abilities in a situation like this with so much at stake. Being a team. How can I not worry?”
“You’re bound to worry, just as any team leader would. But you can’t let worry pull your focus away from the source of the energy. And you have to remember they need to be there just as you do.”
She sighed. “Yeah, copy that. I take it you expect my instincts to kick in at the proper moment and tell me just how we can transform or disperse the energy.”
“They always have,” Bishop pointed out.
“But no pressure.”
“You can handle it,” he repeated.
“Right. Right.” Hollis paused, then added, “I had a moment to speak to Katie Cole, and she told me the slam of information she got included a warning for her to shore up her shield, to protect herself as much as possible. So she’s doing that, and she seems to have a fair shield. She agreed with me that the best place for her to be in all this is with the sheriff.
“He’s a good cop and doesn’t need his hand held, but Katie’s known him long enough and well enough that I believe she can help him accept all this. She thinks so too.”
“So do I,” Bishop said.
“Seven murders today. I’m counting Bowers, since he was forced to do what he did.”
“Yes.”
“I doubt all the killing just stops, Bishop. For all we know, tomorrow could be a bloodbath.”
“Yes, it could be. But you’re there, first, to find and deal with the energy source and the energy itself. Nothing stops until that’s stopped.”
Hollis wished that reassured her. She wished it very much. “Okay. I’ll report in tomorrow night. Sooner if anything breaks, or the situation changes.”
“Copy. Get some rest,” Bishop replied.
Hollis hung up the phone and looked at her partner. “You got all that, right?”
“Yeah. Handy thing, our connection.”
“Seems to be.”
“Bishop’s right. We need to rest while we can. You need to rest while you can, and take a long break from the energy. It could make all the difference when we find this thing.”
“And you have no doubt that we will find this thing.”
“Absolutely none.” He smiled faintly. “But it’s been a very long day, and ours started before dawn with packing and flying nearly a thousand miles. So, for tonight, I say we order room service, have a shower, and then go to bed.”
Hollis eyed him. “You’re planning on finishing what you started very early this morning, aren’t you?”
“I thought we could.”
“You’re trying to distract me.”
“Well, that too.”
“Not exactly restful,” she pointed out thoughtfully.