The sudden, impatient rap on the door sent a jolt of adrenaline through his veins. He drew his pistol and staggered across the room. Trev and Ox watched, auras sparking and flashing with desperate hope.

Ink looked out through the peephole, pistol shaking in his hand. Overwhelming relief soared through him when he saw the man on the doorstep.

“It’s Barrow,” he announced.

“I told you he would come,” Trev gasped.

Ink opened the door. Barrow walked into the room.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said. “Got held up in traffic.”

Ink closed the door. “You cut it damn close.”

“I know, but I’m here now.” Barrow slipped off his small pack. “And I’ve got just what you three need.”

CHAPTER 39

The dreamer stands in front of the glass-walled chamber and watches the wild storm of paranormal energy inside. She knows she is dreaming. She does not try to write the script. She is open to whatever her intuition can tell her.

The forces at work inside the glass room are fearsome, but the more serious threat is the crystal pyramid in the center of the tempest. It seethes with a dangerous heat.

The dreamer understands she must enter the chamber and go inside the pyramid, but a blue mirror guards the heart of Vortex. She thinks she hears her grandmother’s voice—or maybe it is her mother speaking. “When the time comes you will know how to go through the mirror.”

The music slithers into the nightmare. Pure and piercing and powerful. It summons and compels, promising release from the disturbing dream. Promising answers.

The music grows stronger, more insistent. Perhaps it holds the key. All she has to do is follow it.

There is a weight on her chest. It is suddenly hard to breathe. Anxiety flashes into a rush of panic . . .

Olivia struggled to make the transition from the lucid dreamstate to the fully awake state. Emerging from the nightmare did nothing to alleviate the pressure on her rib cage. Breathe.

She opened her eyes and saw Agnes standing on top of her chest. The cat stared down at her.

“Agnes, you scared the living daylights out of me. Just so you know, you’re a lot heavier than you look.”

Agnes made the demanding whine that cats make when they are impatient with a human and bounded down to the floor. She padded to the partially open door of the apartment, stopped and waited. Her tail slashed back and forth.

The door should not be open. Before going to bed Harmony had closed and locked it.

Olivia pushed aside the covers and got to her feet. Automatically she reached for the camera.

“What’s wrong?” she said to the cat.

Agnes made another soft, impatient noise and slipped through the doorway.