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"Jonas, what if we're about to uncover a pile of Florentine gold coins or a basket of jewels?" Verity asked breathlessly "We'll be able to send the kid to Harvard"

"No kid ofto Harvard," Jonas vowed "We'll worry about how to spend the goodies after we find them You ready?" He ht into a small, square room

Verity caht She was i sense of déjà vu This was the roos, during the second psychic-awareness session

"Jonas, I know this room I've seen it There should be a black chest in here somewhere"

"Christ You're right There it is"

A massively carved stone chest squatted in the corner of the cell-like room Jonas went toward it cautiously

"It o up to it and come back" Verity didn't like the look of the black chest, though It reseainst her cheeks "It's the chest we see in the vision, isn't it? The one with the heaps of gold coins and gems in it"

Jonas reached the chest and exales "The lock is open Let's see what's inside"

"Jonas, be careful" Verity lost her nerve A rush of anxiety came over her "Don't touch it I don't think we should open it Forget Harvard, there are plenty of good state universities Let's get out of here"

She spoke too late Jonas raised the lid of the black chest In spite of her fear, Verity couldn't resist going closer to see as inside

"Eled disappointby cleaned it out"

"Probably Still, this chest alone will be worth a fortune to sonificent Too bad it belongs to Doug and Elyssa AH we're going to get out of this is a consulting fee"

Jonas looked up, his features stark in the glow of the flashlight "Let me have that sword hilt"

Verity's hand tightened around the broken sword handle "Why?" she demanded suspiciously

"I want another look at that vision of the man at the desk I want to see if this is the roo in"

"I'm sure it is But I'm not sure we shouldvery weird about it"

Impatiently he reached out and took the chunk of ood advice, Verity thought as the walls of the dark cell began to curve around theood advice

Verity held her breath as the iainst her skin She started to re at the vision of the man as she did so Whoever he was, he had been capable of violence, she thought suddenly She could see thatlines of his aristocratic features and the lare of his frozen eyes

The sently in the reflected glow of the flashlight But that was ies produced in the psychic corridor never reacted to outside illumination They existed independently in time and space

Verity cried out softly as her earrings becaers

And then she knew