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“This should work,” Luke said.
Talia glanced at him and saw that he was holding a sturdy garden trowel. She stepped out of the way and watched as he used the tool to pry open the door. The lock groaned and snapped with a sharp, violent crack. The door swung open on old, squeaking hinges.
“See if you can wake her,” Luke said. “I’ll keep watch. Pomona Finch must be somewhere nearby.”
Talia slipped past him and leaned over the sleeping woman.
“Phoebe, it’s me, Talia March from theLost Night Filespodcast. Luke and I are here to get you out of this place.”
Phoebe muttered something and her eyelashes fluttered, but she did not awaken. Talia put a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.
“Phoebe. Please wake up.”
Phoebe stirred. Her eyelashes shivered again. “Drugs. Can’t stay awake. Help me.”
“Hurry,” Luke said. “If you can’t get her on her feet I’ll have to carry her.”
“Please,” Phoebe whispered. She moved her fingers in a shaky way. “Help me.”
Talia looked at Luke. “She’s aware of us and she’s trying to surface, but the drug is pushing her under. Maybe you can use your talent to counteract it.”
“What are you talking about? My talent is good for making people unconscious or worse. I don’t know how to pull someone out of a sedated sleep state.”
“Have you ever tried?”
Luke frowned. “No. It never occurred to me to try. There’s never been an opportunity to run an experiment like that.”
“Well, here’s your big chance to prove your new talent is not the bad news you think it is. Pull Phoebe back to the surface or you’regoing to have to carry her out of here while you hold on to a gun and fight off those plants. That’s not going to be easy.”
Luke hesitated and then he loped back across the room. He entered the office and crouched close to the cot. Talia felt energy lift in the already overheated atmosphere. Luke’s talent suddenly electrified the small space. Powerful currents swirled.
“Where are you, Phoebe?” he asked.
The compelling energy in the words shuddered in the atmosphere.
“In a dream,” Phoebe said. A shiver went through the words and her limp frame.
“It’s time to wake up.”
“Can’t. Tried.”
But she sounded a little stronger now, Talia thought. The energy in the room was still surging, but it felt steadier. More controlled. She realized that Luke was trying to locate the wavelengths he needed to manipulate in order to try to draw Phoebe out of the dream. There was probably a steep learning curve involved.
“You can wake up, Phoebe,” Luke said. “Follow my voice. It will lead you out of the dream. Just follow my voice—”
Phoebe shuddered violently and sat straight up on the cot. She stared at Luke as if she was trying to decide if he was part of her dream.
“Who are you?” she gasped. “Don’t hurt me. Please don’t hurt me.”
Luke glanced at Talia, uncertain how to handle the new development. She stepped forward and put one hand on Phoebe’s rigid shoulder. She held out the pendant in her other hand.
“It’s all right, Phoebe,” she said. “Luke is not going to hurt you. He and I are here to get you away from this place. I’m Talia March. Remember me?The Lost Night Files.”
Relief washed over Phoebe in a visible wave. She took the pendant with trembling fingers. “You found me.”
“Thanks to that pendant,” Talia said, easing Phoebe to her feet.
Luke went back to the doorway. “You can have that conversation later. Right now we need to get out of here. The light out there is changing. The violet energy is fading, turning more green. The plants are making a lot of noise. Doesn’t sound good.”
