“My middle name.”

“Liar.”

He ignored the observation, took out his flashlight and went back through the fence. He loped to the entrance of the building, eased aside the sheet of plywood and went along the corridor. The paranormal light from the box was no longer detectable with his crystal-clouded vision. Once again he took the chance of removing his glasses for a quick glance. The hot currents of exploding energy were definitely gone.

A ghostly image coalesced at the edges of his vision. Hastily he put on the glasses.

He went to the doorway of the little studio and stopped. There was a lot of residual heat in the room—paranormal energy hung around for a long time—but it was weak and diffuse, nothing he couldn’t handle.

The metal box was still on the cupboard shelf, its lid open, but there was no perceptible energy coming from inside. North studied the container for a moment. It was just a metal box. No buttons or switches. No wires. No timer.

He reached up with both hands and took down the artifact. There was a murky, colorless crystal inside. It was about the size of his fist. It was uncut and unpolished. Nothing special to look at. But there was energy locked inside—a lot of it.

It sang to his senses.

What the hell did you build, Griffin Chastain?

He lowered the lid and latched it. Now the energy was almost undetectable. Only someone with a lot of talent would sense it.

He did a quick circuit of the apartment, checking to see if he had overlooked anything that might tell him who had set the light grenade. There was nothing to find. Maybe Matt Harper would be able to provide some useful information.

North went back down the hall and slipped through the rip in the chain-link fence.

Harper was on his feet, leaning against the fender of Sierra’s SUV. He looked exhausted and dazed.

“Did he wake up on his own?” North asked.

“Yes,” Sierra said. “As far as I can tell he wasn’t injured, but something rendered him unconscious for a while. He can’t remember exactly what happened, though.”

“I’ll be fine,” Matt growled. He glanced at the box North was holding. “Bad burn from that artifact, I guess.”

“You touched it?” North asked.

“I—” Matt stopped, looking confused. He shook his head. “I don’t remember touching it. But I’m sure I saw it.”

“What happened here tonight?” North said.

“Beats me.” Matt scrubbed his face with one hand. “I remember parking the car around the corner and going through the fence. I went inside to wait for you two. Everything after that is just—gone. It’s like I went to sleep or something. The next thing I knew I was waking up out here.”

“You don’t remember seeing anyone after you left your car?” North asked.

“No,” Matt said. He frowned. “At least I don’t think so.”

North said, “Where were you before you got into your car to drive here?”