Read Online Illusion Town by Jayne Castle - Free Book Online

around her face. The dark energy called to her senses, sending wave after wave of intoxicating thrills through her. She wanted to laugh and scream with delight.
    She glanced at Elias and knew from the heat in his eyes that he sensed some of her own exhilaration.
    She focused intently, searching for the psi-lock frequencies. When she identified them she went to work, deftly de-rezzing the currents until they flatlined.
    The gate winked out of existence.
    Hannah walked through the opening and swept out a hand. “Welcome back to my inheritance, the Arcane Society’s legendary Lost Museum, otherwise known as the Midnight Carnival.”

Chapter 6

    The Midnight Carnival looked as if it had been trapped in time and preserved in another dimension. The rides, booths, and concession stands—all garishly illuminated in lights that generated colors from across the spectrum—were spread out around a vast green-quartz chamber. Here and there were entrances to halls and tunnels that held still more attractions.
    Although the carnival was lit up, thanks to the paranormal crystals used to decorate the attractions, nothing moved. There was a great stillness, a dreamlike quality about the scene.
    â€œIsn’t it amazing?” Hannah said. “It’s as if the crowds and the behind-the-scenes workers just walked out a few minutes ago and left the lights on. None of the paint has faded and there’s no dust anywhere.”
    â€œThanks to the paranormal forces down here,” Elias said.
    Hannah walked to a nearby concession stand illustrated with a picture of a giant slice of pizza.
    â€œThere’s no garbage or rotting food, either,” she noted.
    â€œThat would be thanks to the paranormal forces here, as well,” Elias reminded her. “The tunnels are self-cleaning, remember. Food and other organic garbage would have disappeared over time.” He whistled softly. “This is an incredible find. No wonder you rushed to file your claim on this sector. It’s going to be worth a fortune to the Arcane Society.”
    â€œI know. But I want to do a full inventory first to figure out exactly what I’m selling so I can come up with the right asking price. That’s why I’ve held off notifying the Society.”
    â€œDo you know who built this place?” Elias mused.
    â€œI’m still researching the history of the Lost Museum. But I did find out that it was created by a First Gen colonist who was a member of the Arcane Society. His name was Aloysius Jones. He was in charge of the artifacts that the Society brought through the Curtain. Essentially, he was the director of Arcane’s first museum here on Harmony. But when the Curtain closed and life got hard for the colonists, he was afraid the artifacts would be lost, stolen, or destroyed.”
    â€œAccording to the history books, life was tough for the colonists after the Curtain closed. Most of their Old World technology failed within months and there were no replacement parts coming from Earth. The FirstGeneration was focused on survival while they figured out how to use rez amber in place of the Old World technology.”
    â€œExactly,” Hannah said. “So they didn’t have time for civilized luxuries like museums. Aloysius Jones had every reason to believe that not only would the Arcane treasures be lost, but the Society’s history as well. He built the Midnight Carnival to preserve both. And then he asked a powerful dreamlight talent to lock the entrances with a gate that could only be opened by someone with a similar para-psych profile.”
    Elias smiled. “And that turned out to be you.”
    â€œI’m sure there are others who could unlock the gates.”
    â€œBut not many.”
    â€œI don’t think so.”
    â€œOkay, why a carnival?” Elias asked. “Why didn’t Aloysius Jones just hide the artifacts down here and lock the entrances?”
    â€œI think it