Crystal Key — F. Jacqueline Hallquist

Jessica's breath caught in her throat as the slab of stone slid aside revealing a vault built into the temple wall. A strange scent disguised in honeysuckle, yet pungent and bitter, wafted through the room. She gagged, tried to turn away, to flee; but Alfredo, usually so gentle, so kind, dragged her forward. Everyone was silent, now, and in the stillness she could hear the blood singing in her ears, like far-off voices keening. When something in the vault began to glow, she tried again to turn away; but the soft glimmer of light was irresistible. Inexorably it drew her gaze and, in the end, she could only stand, transfixed, staring, aware of nothing except that shimmering thing resting there where it had remained for centuries, in the dark, alone, waiting....