For the first time since they went into the tunnels, they were able to shut off Henry’s lantern. Rory found himself in a room twelve feet cubed with shiny metallic black walls. But the most astonishing things in the room were the lights.

At first, Rory was confused about where the power was coming from for all the individual lamps. But as soon as he looked towards the walls for more detail, he figured it out and gasped.

“Are those myst cells?” Rory asked in a whisper.

What he was looking at were tens of glowing objects on the left and right walls. Myst cells were power storage devices that could be filled with myst that was taken from creatures and Cursed as they were killed. The cells were used to power just about everything the human race used, and they ranged in size from those in this room which were about three inches in diameter and eight in height, to those many yards in height and girth that were used to run massive starships.

Most importantly to him though, was that he knew that they were worth a fortune. Even just one of the glowing objects in front of him could go for hundreds or even thousands of pounds. He wasn’t really sure because the amount of energy they held was the measure and he knew next to nothing about it. But these clearly had power so they were worth more than enough to get him and his mum out of debt and out of the worst of the slums. Maybe out of the slums entirely.

Rory walked towards a wall and stopped a few inches in front of one of the cells. Up close he saw that it was made of three parts that he could make out. The transparent cylinder in the middle that held the glowing myst and then at the ends were two metal caps with little bumps, nodules, and such sticking out.

Oddly, the one he was looking at had some sort of cable plugged into the top. Following the cable, he saw it went into the wall and that led to who knew where. He looked at another and saw the same. Stepping back, Rory saw that all of them appeared to be plugged into something.

When he turned to check the other side, he spotted Henry at the far wall where there were no cells. It was just a blank wall as far as Rory could tell. He walked up and said, “Hey Henry, what’s-”

He stopped speaking though when he reached him and looked over his shoulder at what the old man was looking at. It was a ball, but black, not white. At about four inches in diameter, it was sitting in a M-steel case inside the wall with a translumin side to see through. Henry was pressing his hand to the right of the case and tapping things. Rory had no idea what he was doing though.

“Umm. Henry?”

A clearly distracted Henry answered with a curt, “What?”

Putting his hand on the old man’s shoulder, Rory said “We’ve hit it rich. Let’s grab as many of the cells as we can fit into the bag and get out of here.”

For the first time in almost six years, Henry snarled angrily at Rory. “Don’t you dare touch those!”

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Rory jerked back from him.

What the hell?

Okay. Rory was getting a familiar feeling. One that brought back memories and he didn’t like the least bit. Something was definitely not right.

Rory decided he was going to leave. This felt way too familiar.

I can’t stay here. I’ll just grab a cell and run.

As he turned around to do just that, a loud humming filled the room and all the myst cells that were gently glowing before suddenly brightened to almost be blinding. Rory had to cover his eyes with his arm.

Over the humming, Rory heard Henry’s voice call out, “Finally! After all these years!” Then start laughing hysterically.

Rory stumbled to the wall and reached out to grab a cell, ready to get the hell out when he felt a blow to his chest. He felt cracking and a sharp pain. His feet lifted into the air and he slammed into the floor and rolled over until he slid into the wall with a smack.

“I told you not to touch those!” felt like it was yelled directly in Rory’s ear causing him to wince and move his hand to cover it.

Gasping for breath, Rory tried to roll over and sit up, but his chest hurt too much. Then all the lights dimmed and blackness returned to most of the room. All the myst cells that had been glowing before went dim.

Rory groaned out, “No!” through the pain of his cracked ribs. Those cells were his and his mother’s futures. Gone!

His devastated thoughts were broken into by Henry’s elated laughter. “It worked! Those fools thought I couldn’t activate it. But I could. I knew all along. They tried but failed. Now it’s my turn!”

The only barely-visible light in the room was at the far end where Henry’s voice came from. After a few gasps, grunts, and moans, Rory rolled over and, using the wall as support, sat up. He bent his knees and tucked his legs against himself slightly and that helped relieve some of the pressure on his chest.

From that position, he could better see what was happening against the opposite wall. He watched as Henry opened the case and pulled out the orb. At that action, the light increased dramatically and Rory could see it wasn’t black anymore. It was glowing white and the only source of light left in the room. Its glow reflected off the old man’s face allowing Rory to see that he looked absolutely obsessed. Madder than he ever had been in the past. He was stroking the orb while crooning to it something that Rory couldn’t make out.

Amidst it all, Rory managed to wheeze out through the pain in his chest, “Henry.”

But the old man didn’t pay any attention to him at all. He just kept talking to the orb and rubbing it.

Until suddenly he stopped. He placed his hands on both sides of it and his facial expression changed into that of someone exerting great effort. Nothing happened for a few seconds and Rory was wondering if was trying to break it. Was there something inside he wanted? What that what this was all about?

Rory figured his curiosity was about to be resolved when the orb changed colors. It changed colors to red, then orange, then brown, then green, and onward, matching exactly how the colors were on his awakening day all those years ago. Each of the elements was represented as they kept changing until all eight were seen and then faded.

All of a sudden Henry lifted his face and screamed a shriek of pain so horrible Rory put his hands over his ears. It reminded him of his own cries and his mind went back to when he was ten. Closing his eyes tight he shook his head. “It’s in the past. I’m here now. It’s in the past.” He repeated that mantra that had kept him sane time again. Eventually it helped bring him back, allowing him to return to the present. It was the only thing that ever stopped the memories and nightmares.

Exhaling a painfully deep breath and looking up, he saw and heard the horrible sound hadn’t stopped until Henry had run out of breath. But even after that, he hadn’t moved, his face still in a rictus of agony. The silent torment on Henry’s face was almost worse than the yell.

The lights faded from the orb and the room became utterly black. Just then Rory heard the cracking of broken crystal and the tinkering sounds of shattered pieces falling onto the metal floor.