The Devil's Heart — Carmen Carter

The Devil's Heart -- a legendary object of unsurpassed power and mystery. Worlds that believe in magic consider it Darkness's mightiest talisman; worlds of science consider it a lost artifact of some ancient and forgotten race. Some say the Heart enables its possessor to control people's minds and to amass wealth enough for a dozen lifetimes, while others think it capable of raising the dead, perhaps even changing the flow of time itself. But to all, the location of this fabled object has remained a mystery-- until now.

An isolated archaeological outpost has suddenly stopped responding to repeated requests for information. Sent to discover why, the U.S.S. Enterpriser"' crew finds a devastated outpost and a dying scientist, whose last words fall on disbelieving ears: the Devil's Heart has been found.

Now, as the quest for the Heart unfolds, Captain Jean-Luc Picard discovers the awful truth behind all the legends and age-old secrets: Whoever holds the Devil's Heart possesses power beyond imagining....