He made his way down, skipping the third stair out of habit so it wouldn’t creak and possibly wake Sidney, and found them hunched over the dining room table. A topographical map had been spread across the surface, its corners anchored by coffee mugs, and Finn was pointing to something while Rebecca studied a tablet in her hands.
They both looked up as he entered.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Rebecca asked.
“Too much to think about.” Ben pulled out a chair and sat down across from them, then leaned forward slightly so he could study the map. The Aetheris camp was marked in red, with Gregory’s drilling site a crimson circle at the center of Welling Glen. “What are you two working on?”
“Trying to find an angle,” Finn said. His dark eyes were shadowed with fatigue, but there was something alert in his expression, something that reminded Ben of a hunting dog that had finally caught a scent. “The Dragon’s emergence changes things. Look at this.”
He took the tablet from Rebecca and handed it to Ben. The screen showed a series of charts that followed electromagnetic fluctuations over the past three weeks, the same kind of data Eric had been tracking from Oregon. But the patterns were different now, chaotic where they should have been orderly.
“The lunar cycle,” Ben said slowly, beginning to recognize what he was seeing. “It’s completely disrupted.”
“Exactly.” Finn leaned forward and pointed to a specific section of the chart. “Under normal circumstances, the portals follow the moon — opening on the new moon, closing once it begins to wax, sealed tight for the rest of the moon cycle. That’s been the pattern for as long as Emily Thompson’s journals go back. But the Dragon’s awakening has scrambled the system.”
Ben studied the chaotic lines, the spikes and valleys that seemed to follow no discernible rhythm. “So the portals are opening and closing at random?”
“Not random,” Rebecca said. “Finn noticed something. The instability increases around certain dates — solar events, primarily. The autumn equinox caused a major spike.” She paused, and Ben saw something sharpen in her expression. “And the models predict an even larger one around Halloween.”
“Samhain,” Finn added. “The old Celtic festival marking the boundary between the light and dark halves of the year. It’s one of the traditional times when the veil between worlds was supposed to be thinnest. Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t matter, because the lunar cycle would override any solar influence. But with the Dragon disrupting the pattern….”
“The portal could be accessible on Halloween.” Ben set down the tablet, his thoughts already racing ahead to the inescapable conclusion. “We could reach Sidney’s mother and grandmother.”
“We can do even more than that.” Finn pulled the map closer and traced a line from the Lowell house to the portal site. “Emily’s journals mention other guardians — families like my ex-wife’s, protecting portals all over the world. Sidney saw them in the Dragon’s vision. If we could coordinate with them somehow….”
“We might be able to fight the corruption from both sides,” Ben supplied, excitement beginning to replace exhaustion. “We could hit Gregory’s operation here while the other guardians work to contain the spread at their own sites.”
Rebecca nodded. “It’s a long shot. But it might be the only shot we’ve got.”
Ben looked at her and then at Finn, the former DAPI agent and the shadow operative, two people who’d spent a good chunk of their lives working in darkness and secrecy. They made an unlikely team, but he could see the way they’d begun to sync up over the course of the day, their different skill sets complementing each other in ways that neither of them had probably anticipated.
“Halloween is in five days,” Finn said, his voice taking on a more businesslike tone. “If we’re going to use it as an opportunity, we need to start planning now. The chaos of the holiday will provide cover — trick-or-treaters everywhere, people in costumes, general confusion. We should be able to move through town without attracting attention.”
“And Gregory’s team?” Ben asked.
“They’ll be focused on their drilling operation. Eric’s readings show they’ve been running the equipment around the clock for the past week. They’re pushing hard for some kind of breakthrough.” Finn’s jaw tightened. “If we can disrupt their operation while simultaneously reaching through the portal….”
“We might be able to buy enough time to find a real solution.” Rebecca pulled the map closer so she could study the approach routes Finn had marked. “The question is how we coordinate. Sidney’s the only one who can actually use the portal, but she can’t be in two places at once.”
“She won’t have to be.” The certainty in his voice surprised Ben a little, but he went on, “When she uses her abilities, I amplify them. That’s what DAPI discovered — our bioelectric signatures resonate. If she’s opening the portal, I need to be with her. Which means the two of you would need to handle Gregory’s camp.”
Finn’s expression was unreadable, but Ben thought he saw something like approval in the older man’s eyes. “You’ve thought about this.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think about how Sidney and I work together.” Ben leaned back in his chair, feeling the weight of the past few months settle over him — the fear and the wonder and the strange, fierce joy of finding someone whose very presence made him more than he’d been alone. “During the phoenix merge, I was her anchor. I kept her connected to herself when the fire wanted to burn her away. If she’s going to reach through the portal and contact these other guardians, maybe even bring her mother and grandmother back….” He paused for a beat or two, wanting to make sure they understood. “She’s going to need me there.”
“And if Gregory’s people detect what you’re doing?” Rebecca asked. “They’ve got sensors all over that forest. The moment Sidney starts channeling serious power, every alarm in their camp is going to light up.”
“Then you’ll need to make sure they’re too busy to respond.” Ben met her gaze steadily. “Can you do that?”
Rebecca and Finn exchanged a glance. Neither of them said anything, but it still seemed as if they’d reached an understanding.
“We can do that,” Rebecca said. “Finn knows the terrain better than anyone, and I’ve got enough tactical experience to improvise when things go sideways.” A ghost of a smile crossed her face. “Which they always do.”
“Then we have the beginning of a plan.” Ben looked down at the map, at the red circle marking Gregory’s operation and the winding paths that led to the portal site. They’d be risking a lot, but they didn’t have any choice but to go forward and hope for the best.
Time and the Dragon waited for no man.
“We should get some sleep,” he said at length. “Tomorrow, we’ll start working out the details.”