Cameron's skin paled as her face went slack. For once she didn't toss out a canned comeback, and Michael knew his message had hit home. He turned on his heel and walked away without so much as a backward glance.

"The cave is a great hiding place," Max said. "If Isabel managed to escape from Adam-or break free from something controlling her-that's where she'd go. She feels safe there."

"That makes sense," Liz agreed. She climbed out of the Jeep and helped Max cover it with the tan tarp he used as camouflage when he parked in the desert.

"Ready?" Max asked.

Liz nodded, and they started their hike to the crack in the desert floor leading to the cave. The sun was beginning to set, painting the mountains and pillars of clouds gold and pink. Looking at those clouds, Liz found it hard to believe that evil existed anywhere. But that was a sentimental thought. Foolish. No, more than that-dangerous. Refusing to believe that evil existed made it almost impossible to fight.

Max reached out and took her hand. His touch comforted her, reminding her that at least she wouldn't have to fight alone. His grip tightened when they neared the cave's entrance, and she realized that he was drawing strength from her, too.

"Let's just hope she's there," he said, then he released her hand and swung himself down into the cave. Liz scrambled after him, finding the big rock with her toes and jumping from there.

When she landed, it took Liz a moment to process what she saw. Isabel and Adam lay on the cave floor-and they both looked green. Someone stood over them, cackling. When the man turned around and faced them, Liz's mind reeled.

It was Elsevan DuPris-and he had the Stone of Midnight in his hand.

DuPris smiled at Max. "I've been looking for this for more than fifty years," he said, without a trace of his southern accent. "Who knew that your sister held the information I needed locked inside her little pinhead? Her memories led me right to the spot where you had hidden the Stone."

"Who are you?" Liz whispered. She felt as if her world had been turned inside out. She had spoken to this man so many times during her life and had always dismissed him as a harmless wacko.

"My guess is… he's not human," Max said.

"Very good," DuPris answered.

"And if he's not human, then he must be the… stowaway Ray told us about," Max answered, his voice shaking with anger. "The one who stole the Stone of Midnight and hid on board my parents' ship."

Liz let her eyes slide over him. Even the way he held himself was different now. He'd been walking around Roswell for years, letting everyone think he was a UFO-obsessed nut job. That took incredible patience, she realized. He must have wanted the Stone very badly.

Max took a step toward him. "The Stone doesn't belong to you."

Liz wanted to reach out and yank Max back to her side. Why was he challenging DuPris? Didn't Max know that all they could do right now was try to get themselves and Isabel and Adam out of the cave alive?

"Finders keepers, isn't that what they say here?" DuPris tossed the ring into the air and caught it, then slid it onto his finger. "I have plans for this. I could use some help, if you're interested. If you're not interested, well, help doesn't always have to be voluntary, if you know what I mean." He pointed his palm at Isabel and Adam. On cue, they opened their eyes and rose to their feet.

Liz forced herself to stare into Isabel's blank eyes, then Adam's. Izzy's eyes looked like they had yesterday when she had shoved Max against the wall. A rush of understanding swept through Liz. Had DuPris been controlling people from afar? Was he controlling Isabel when she shoved Max? Was he behind Adam killing Valenti-and that rabbit? Was there a way for Liz to help them break free of DuPris's control?

"What do you say, Max?" DuPris asked. "I can't offer you a partnership, but there is room for advancement in my enterprise."

Say yes, Liz thought. Say what you have to say to get us out of here. This wasn't the time to fight. They needed time to find the others and make a plan.

"You crashed that ship!" Max cried. "You killed my parents!"

"Don't take it personally," DuPris answered, strolling toward them. "They were going to take me back to our planet for judgment. I had no choice."

Liz saw Max's hands curl into fists. She knew he was going to launch himself at DuPris any second. She grabbed his arm. "Remember the compound, Max. Adam was being controlled by him." She jerked her chin toward DuPris. "It was his power that killed Valenti and started the fire."

"You understand me," DuPris told Liz. "I could use a girl like you, a human girl. I suspect that you would be easier to keep in line than those two." He gestured at Isabel and Adam. "They managed to slip away from me a few times before I got a firm enough grasp. But you, I'd like to see what I could do with you."

Quick as a snake striking, he grabbed Liz's wrist. "No!" she screamed.

Liz's scream echoed endlessly through the cave. The sound paralyzed Max, freezing his muscles. He had to get between DuPris and Liz, but he couldn't move.

No, that wasn't true. He could move-he was moving-turning toward DuPris, but so slowly, it was almost impossible to perceive. Liz and DuPris-they were caught in the same phenomenon. Liz's mouth was still open in the same scream. DuPris hadn't tightened his grasp on her wrist.

Max felt a drop of sweat begin to trickle down his cheek, slowly… absurdly slowly. Time, he thought. The movement of time has been altered.

At least his mind hadn't been affected. At least he had the ability to realize what had happened. Was slowing down time something DuPris had done to stop Max from interfering? Had DuPris already made a connection to Liz? If his brain was working as quickly as Max's, DuPris could be turning her into his puppet right now.

Max couldn't take this. It was making him insane. Liz was right next to him, and he couldn't do anything to help her.

Pressure began to build up behind his eyes, penetrating deep into his brain. He knew that sensation. It came from the collective consciousness, a call for him to connect.

He continued his minuscule movements toward DuPris, the drop of sweat maddening him as it slid another fraction of an inch. Maybe he should connect to the consciousness. Maybe then he'd find a way to manipulate time himself. He concentrated and soon felt himself expand outward-beyond the cave, beyond the realms of Earth.

This time there was no warm ocean of auras waiting to embrace Max. He felt as if he'd been hurled into the core of a volcano, lava boiling around him. Every being in the consciousness was seething with hatred and fury, all directed at Elsevan DuPris. They spewed out emotions they had been holding in for all the years since he escaped from their planet.

Traitor, they called him, although not in words but in rushes of jagged feeling that Max felt in his blood and bones. Traitor. Liar. Thief. Every being joined in the chant. Betrayer. Soulless. Murderer.

Max's mouth stretched open, and a howl of rage escaped, the beings of the consciousness using his voice as their own. Time rushed forward, and instantly Max was in the air, throwing himself at DuPris.

As soon as they hit the cave floor, Max rammed his fist into DuPris's abdomen. His hand sank in so deep that he could feel DuPris's stomach under his fingers. A wave of revulsion swept through him. DuPris's body was as soft as clay-or else connecting to the consciousness had given Max incredible strength.

A burst of power struck Max's temple, but it was as soft as a cotton ball. He had the strength of millions, DuPris the strength of one.