She felt the sharp jab of a needle in her upper shoulder and tried to turn to confront her attacker. She caught a glimpse of an aura; she had time enough to realize it was not the energy field of the young man who had been playing the recorder the night before, and then she registered the truth.

She was looking at the man who had murdered her mother.

The night closed in around her.

CHAPTER 41

Harlan crushed the phone to his ear. “Do we have a last name for Ash?”

“He says it was Talbot back when he was living on the streets,” Lucas said. “After he became a student on the island he dropped it. None of the Piper’s students use last names, apparently. Typical cult indoctrination tactic. A symbol of leaving the past behind.”

“Looks like the Piper recruited his so-called students from the streets,” Victor said. “Ash tells us they all had some natural talent—aura readers for the most part. Once on the island they went through an enhancement process that involves a combination of paranormal radiation and a serum. Something, however, has gone wrong with the machine that delivers the radiation, so the Piper and his students are getting by on the serum.”

“Tell me about the serum.”

“Aside from the fact that the formula is based on paranormal-charged botanicals, we don’t have much information,” Lucas explained. “The lab people are working on it now. Ash tells us that, once started, you have to continue the injections on a regular basis. He says the Piper concocts the serum in a small lab in the old monastery building. Uses plants grown in a maze. Each student gets one auto-injector every day.”

“Olivia and I used Ash’s last auto-injector on him two nights ago,” Harlan said.

“Ash is amazed he isn’t dead,” Victor said. “He’s convinced he still might die. North says he thinks the kid will be okay but that only time will tell.”

“Talk to me about the machine that delivers the radiation that is part of the enhancement process,” Harlan said.

“Lucas and I think it’s the original Vortex,” Victor said. “You were right. Someone called the Piper has been using it for decades, possibly since the Bluestone Project was shut down. The current Piper is the second one, not the first. The radiation is essential for the enhancement treatments. Ash tells us the machine is failing and only the oracle can fix it.”

“You still haven’t located the island?”

“No,” Lucas said. “But we now know it’s within an hour’s boat ride from a private dock somewhere north of Seattle.”

“Somewhere north of Seattle?” Harlan said. “Doesn’t Ash know where the dock is located?”

“No,” Victor said, his tone even more grim than usual. “Evidently the students are given another injection when Barrow picks them up to take them back to the island. It induces a selective amnesia.”