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She felt a weight on her wrist and looked down. “How did that get on there?”
Lord Renith smiled. “It snapped into place when he grabbed you. They are sending a replacement to supervise this project.”
“Why?”
“Because his hand is black and charred, and he wants to blow your brains out with his sidearm.” He smiled at her. “That would end very badly for him.”
She was dazed, and her head pounded. “Huh?”
“I read that file while you were out. The bracelet is what we were looking for. Dr. Fitzgar was the last one to have it, but he passed away at home at the age of ninety-six. He had been the best in his field.”
“Oh. Wait. Aren’t you afraid of touching me?”
He shook his head. “No. I have no plans to attack you.”
“You think he planned it?” She grunted and moved her ice pack.
“No, I think he freaked out when you mentioned the location. The military considers this mansion a home of strategic importance. It is a matter of public record if you can find the records. This site has been the origin point of every incursion in recorded history. They removed it from the records six years ago and will put the records back in when the newest incursion is thwarted. Well, we hope it will be thwarted.”
She blinked. “So, we are in real danger?”
“We are if we can’t get the weapon working. Unfortunately, there are no instructions. Because there is such a long time span between incursions, we don’t have records left behind.”
“That seems like a lack of forethought.”
Lord Renith smiled and put her ice pack back on the lump with care. “Would you like to see the other items?”
“Is it safe?”
“As safe as the one on your wrist.”
“Uh, are the two guys in lab coats going to swallow their tongues?”
Lord Renith shook his head. “No. They are just nervous. They will wait outside the shielded area.”
“And you aren’t?”
He shook his head. “They are family pieces. They won’t hurt me, but I can’t use them.”
Understanding washed through her. “You tried.”
“When I was a teenager. It wasn’t until the general started sending in other shadowborn that they suffered that fate. They all died screaming and turned to ash.”
“Ew.” She slowly pushed to her feet with the pack still held to her head.
The moment she was standing, the researchers dodged to the other side of the glass.
She walked slowly toward the part of the lab where the man had turned to ash. An enormous necklace, a circlet, another bracelet, anklets, and a huge box to contain them all standing open.
Haley reached out to touch the strange ivory crystals in the necklace, and they swirled with flecks of rainbow. She kept the ice pack on her head and smiled at the bright sparkle of lights.
“What do you feel?” Lord Renith asked softly.
“A tremendous pull. It would like to be closer. They all would.”
He chuckled. “Put them on.”
She slowly lifted the ice pack. Lord Renith took it. She reached for the circlet and examined it. The metal wasn’t silver; it was highly polished, and she could see bits of her reflection in it. She turned it so that the largest stone was facing outward and set it carefully around the crown of her head.
