JCastle - H1 Bridal Jitters by aka Jayne Ann Krentz Harmony Series Page B

Leon managed to   straighten himself   away
    from the office wall. He turned and sauntered out through the door without a
    word. Sam and   Virginia followed him   outside to where   the utility   vehicle
    waited. The eerie green glow given off by the emerald-hued quartz that lined
    the alien catacombs always had the same   effect on Virginia: It sent a   tiny
    chill   of dread and wonder down her spine. The sensation was not a thrill of
    fear exactly; more a deep, elemental   response to that which was not   human.
    She   had grown up in the very shadow   of the ancient ruins, and she had been
    aware of her   own psychic   response to   the peculiar   energy that   resonated
    within   its walls since childhood. But she did not think that she would ever
    be entirely comfortable in   the mysterious tunnels. Some   part of her   would
    always   feel like an   intruder here. No one   knew what the ancient Harmonics
    had looked like. No   pictures or records of   physical descriptions had   ever
    been   found. None of the art   that had survived depicted the vanished beings
    who had   created   it.   No   one   could   even   guess   why   Harmony's   original
    inhabitants   had built these   endless miles of catacombs,   most of which had
    never been charted. But   one thing was certain:   The business of   exploring,
    mapping,   and excavating relics from the   ruins was big. And the competition
    could be fierce. Virginia sat next to Sam on the second bench of the   small,
    open-sided utility truck. Leon Drummond took the wheel, piloting the vehicle
    through the maze   of intersecting   corridors with   the aid   of an   amber-rez
    locator.   He   had   remained sullenly   silent   since leaving   Ewert's office.
    BRIDAL JITTERS
     
    27
     
    Sam had not had much to say, either. Virginia studied him out of the   corner
    of   her eye.   He was   playing it   cool, she   thought. But,   then, Sam always
    played it cool. If he had any doubts about confronting a dangerous waterfall
    of unstable dissonant energy, he did not allow them to show. Virginia wanted
    to ask him   why he had   not mentioned the   illusion trap they   had found   on
    their   doorstep that morning to Mac Ewert, but she was not about to bring up
    the subject in   front of   Leon Drummond.   There was   another, more   personal
    matter   that   she had   not yet   gotten around   to this   morning, either, she
    reminded herself: marriage. She had promised herself that she would tell Sam
    about   her growing   doubts, but then   had come the   business of the illusion
    trap, and after that they'd had to   hurry in order to make the meeting   with
    Ewert.   What with one thing   and another, she had   found excuses not to deal
    with the issue of their marriage. She glanced at the glowing green maw of an
    intersecting corridor as Leon drove past. There was a warning sign posted at
    the entrance. Keep   Out. Unmapped   Zone. Sort   of like   her engagement,   she
    thought. Another little chill went through her, but this time it had nothing
    to do with   the alien catacombs.   She would   talk to Sam   this evening,   she
    promised herself. Right after they had finished this consulting project.
    She could not put it off another day. Her nerves couldn't take the stress.
    She   studied   the   quartz walls   as   the   utility truck   traveled   along the
    corridor. The endless green stone   passages were interrupted here and   there
    by   small,   slightly   less than   human-sized   openings that,   she   knew from
    experience, led to chambers. Most of   the rooms and anterooms discovered   in
    the   underground   regions of   the ancient   city were   small, but   some vast,
    exotic spaces had been found. Explorers had untrapped chambers so large   and
    elegantly   proportioned that many   para-archaeologists assumed they had been
    used