by Jayne Castle
“What’s his name?” an older boy asked.
Sensing that he had an audience, Houdini went into high-rez cute mode. He bounced a little and chortled a greeting.
Alice found herself surrounded by a small throng of excited children. She took Houdini off her shoulder and set him on the back of a chair.
“His name is Houdini,” she said. “And I don’t think he would mind if you pet him.”
Drake looked at her. “You and Houdini entertain the kids. I’ll get us some food.”
He went to the counter to put in an order. There was a harried-looking cook laboring over an old-fashioned stove that was operating off an ancient amber-fueled generator.
The kids gathered around Houdini’s chair. The small girl reached out to give him a tentative pat. Houdini chirped encouragingly.
“Houdini is a magician,” Alice said. “He can disappear.”
“Yeah?” The boy who had been sitting with the police officers looked skeptical. “Will he do it for us?”
“I think so, if you ask him nicely. What’s your name?”
“Devin Reed. That’s my grandmother over there. She’s a police officer. Her name is Myrna Reed. And that’s Officer Willis with her. They’re in charge because the chief is gone for a while.”
Alice glanced at Myrna, who nodded and gave her a grateful smile. The adults in the room were quietly scared, Alice thought, and trying not to show it for the sake of the children.
She turned back to the small audience and put a hand on Houdini. “What do you say, Mr. Houdini? Will you do your vanishing act for us?”
Houdini chortled happily.
“That means yes,” Alice said.
She kicked up her talent, generating a little energy through her hand.
There was a collective gasp when Houdini vanished. He chortled again. The sound, coming as it did out of thin air, caused an excited murmur to run through the crowd. Alice realized it wasn’t just the kids who were watching now. Several of the adults in the room were also paying attention.
“How did he do that?” Devin asked. “Tell us how the trick works.”
“Professional magicians never give away their secrets except to students of the art who are serious about becoming professional illusionists,” Alice said. “Besides, if you knew how it worked, it wouldn’t be any fun. Houdini, please reappear.”
She lowered her talent. Houdini popped back into view.
“Can he make other stuff disappear?” one of the kids asked.
“Oh, sure,” Alice said. She picked up a spoon and held it out to Houdini. They had done the trick many times before. He gripped the end of the spoon in one paw. Alice kept her hold on the other end and generated a little energy. The spoon vanished.
A chorus of oohs and aahs swept through the crowd of youngsters. There were more suggestions from the audience.
“Make the dish vanish,” someone said.
“No, make the whole table disappear,” the dark-haired girl pleaded.
Alice and Houdini went to work. Together they made the saltshaker, the small bouquet of artificial flowers, and a paper napkin vanish. When Drake started back toward the table with a tray of pizza and a couple of beers, Alice decided to go for the wow factor. She positioned Houdini on the table.
“Mr. Houdini will now make the table vanish,” she intoned. “Leaving him suspended in midair.”
The kids waited, breathless with anticipation. Alice heard several chairs scrape on the floor as a number of adults moved closer for a better view.
“Are you ready?” Alice asked.
There was a chorus of yesses.
She touched the table. “Mr. Houdini, please make the table vanish.”
Houdini chortled and bounced up and down. He knew the applause line. Alice sent a heavy pulse of energy through her fingertips. The table vanished, leaving only Houdini and the artificial flowers.
The kids shouted with glee. Houdini was in the zone now. He dashed in circles around the top of the table, looking as if he was running in midair. He paused to pull one of the artificial flowers out of the little vase. He waved the flower madly at his audience, who responded with gleeful shouts.
Drake stopped a few steps away and met Alice’s eyes. He smiled.
“And the crowd goes wild,” he said.
Alice lowered her talent. The table popped back into view. There was a round of applause, much of it coming from the adults.
“But how does he do it?” a boy asked.
“I told you, Houdini’s a professional magician,” Alice said. “He has his secrets. But between you and me, I’m pretty sure it’s just a trick of the light.”
Drake set the tray of pizza and beer down on the table. He gave one of the slices to Houdini, who set to it with his usual enthusiasm for anything edible. Alice took her seat and reached for a slice.
She was about to take a bite when Devin’s grandmother stopped at the table.
“I’m Myrna Reed,” she said.
There was a short round of introductions.
“I’d say welcome to Rainshadow,” Myrna said, “but I imagine that, under the circumstances, you’d both rather be anywhere else but here. The chief told Officer Willis and me to expect you. He said the two of you were going to help out with the problem in the Preserve. I just wanted to say thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Alice said. “But I’m not the one who is going to fix whatever is going down inside the Preserve. Drake and his brother are the magicians on that job. I’m just the box-jumper.”
Myrna frowned. “Box-jumper?”
“The magician’s assistant.” Alice glanced at Houdini, who had devoured his pizza and was now table-hopping madly around the room, enjoying his stardom. “Pretty much the same job that I have with Houdini.”
Myrna smiled. “What you did just now with the kids, that was good. They loved it. The parents appreciated it, too. Things have been a little tense here. You can feel the difference in the mood now. You lightened up things for a while.”
“Magic,” Drake said.
He wasn’t looking at Houdini. He was looking at Alice.
Chapter 19
THE SOUND OF THE DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING brought Alice out of a restless sleep. She came awake on a hot tide of energy, leaping from the bed and instinctively rezzing her talent.
By the time she was fully awake she was on her feet, facing the door.
“It’s okay,” Drake said. He spoke calmly, as if her over-rezzed reaction was perfectly normal. “Houdini wanted out. He was very clear about it. I assumed it was all right so I opened the door for him.”
She felt the energy level rise a little in the atmosphere and knew that Drake had jacked up his talent so that he could see her. If he found that necessary, it meant she was doing a fade.
She took a deep breath and dropped back into her normal senses. She had to give Drake credit, she thought. Most men would have freaked at the sight of a woman jumping out of bed and disappearing into thin air. But it would take a lot to make Drake freak.
“Sure, that’s fine,” she said. “I told you, he often goes out at night. He’ll be back before dawn.” She hesitated. “Sorry about the disappearing act a minute ago.”
“No problem.”
Drake rezzed the lock and moved toward the chair in front of the window. He was wearing the trousers and clean T-shirt that he had produced from his pack. For her part she was still in the long-sleeved black pullover and the black trousers she had stuffed into her own pack. In the morning she was going to have to do some hand washing in the bathroom sink.
Earlier she had stretched out on top of the bed to get some sleep. She had expected Drake to settle down beside her. The bed was certainly large enough for two. It should not have been any more complicated than sitting back-to-back until dawn last night, she thought. Then again, maybe it would have been more complicated. Something about a bed changed things. In any event, Drake had insisted on dozing in the reading chair, his feet propped on the sma
ll hassock.
He came to a stop in front of the window and looked at her. “Good thing no one can see either of us now. We’re not exactly dressed like honeymooners, are we?”
She wrinkled her nose. “No, but we’re not your typical honeymooning couple.”
“And Rainshadow is not your typical honeymoon destination.”
“It certainly is for me,” Alice said.
“There is a pattern developing,” Drake conceded.
They both smiled. Alice relaxed somewhat.
Drake looked at her for a moment longer and then turned away to contemplate the night on the other side of the window. “The fog has gotten a lot heavier in the past hour.”
“It’s midnight.” She came to stand beside him. “According to the legends, they used to call this time of night the witching hour on the Old World.”
“This is the paranormal equivalent of high noon. If you don’t understand the science of para-physics, the effects can look a lot like magic.”
They stood together in the sphere of golden light produced by the amber lantern and looked out at the darkness.
Alice folded her arms. “It’s not nearly as bad as it was last night in the cove,” she said. “It helps being indoors.”
“It also helps that this sector of the island isn’t nearly as hot as the Deception Cove region.”
“But this area will get hotter if we don’t find Zara Tucker and those missing crystals.”
“We’ll find her,” Drake said.
“Good.”
“And then we’ll take care of Ethel Whitcomb.”
“Excellent.”
“Alice?”
“Yes?”
“About that kiss in the garage after we got our MC papers.”
She went very still. “I thought we agreed to pretend it never happened.”
“That was your plan, not mine. I’ve never been very good at pretending. I’m more of a facts-on-the-ground kind of guy.”
“You’re the guy in the audience who can’t enjoy the magic because he’s always trying to figure out how it’s done.”
“Yeah, that’s me, the boring guy who just wants to know what’s real and what isn’t.”
She pursed her lips, uncertain how to react to the edge on his words.
“That’s not quite what I meant,” she said.
“That kiss in the garage felt real to me. Just wondered how it felt on your end.”
“It was real.” She unfolded her arms and spread her hands wide. “I never said it wasn’t. But a kiss is just a kiss.”
In the shadows she could see that his mouth was etched with amusement. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“I have no idea. Look, what I’m trying to say is, it’s the reason I kissed you that’s complicated.”
“Has it occurred to you that you’re the one who’s making it complicated? There is such a thing as overanalyzing.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “This from the facts-on-the-ground man?”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Let’s just stick to what we know to be true.”
“Which is?”
“That kiss in the garage was a really interesting kiss,” he said.
“It was?” She was suddenly a little breathless.
“Very high-rez,” Drake said. “At least, that’s how it felt on my end.”
“It was sort of over the top, wasn’t it?” She frowned. “I really can’t explain that aspect of things. I mean, there was the stress factor and all, but, generally speaking, that’s not my usual style when it comes to kissing.”
“What is your usual style?”
“I’m not sure I’ve got one, to be honest. I’ve been told I’m repressed.”
“Repressed.”
“I’m unable to commit emotionally to a relationship,” she explained. “Therefore I can’t really enjoy sex. Something to do with a combination of abandonment issues and my weird para-psych profile.”
“Who told you that?”
“A para-psychologist. After I got rejected by three matchmaking agencies it was suggested that I seek counseling.”
“Did the shrink offer any guidance?”
“He suggested sex therapy. With him. I declined.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Drake said. “Can I ask why you declined?”
“There were little velvet handcuffs and small whips involved. I’m not opposed to little velvet handcuffs and small whips in principle, you understand. At least, I don’t think I am. I haven’t actually tried any of those things. But somehow in that particular context they did not appeal.”
“That particular context being the para-shrink’s office?” Drake asked.
“And the fact that he was in a Marriage of Convenience,” she said. “That sort of pissed me off, if you want to know the truth. Sure, it was just an MC, not a full Covenant Marriage, but an MC is supposed to be some sort of a commitment, isn’t it? At least while it lasts?”
“Yes,” Drake said. “It’s supposed to be a commitment while it lasts. Mind if I turn off the lantern?”
She stilled. “Okay.”
He de-rezzed the lamp, plunging the room into darkness. But this was normal darkness and with her talent she could see well enough to make out shadows and shapes. She knew exactly when Drake removed his glasses and set them down on the table because she could see his eyes. They were psi-hot with a silvery energy that made her catch her breath.
“And while we’re on the subject,” he said, “I’d like to say that you’re wrong about not having a style. Judging by that garage kiss, your style is very high-rez.”
“Thanks, but I’m pretty sure it was just an anomaly.” Her voice sounded husky, even to her own ears. “I mean, I’ve never kissed anyone like that before in my whole life. Doubt if I ever will again.”
“Let’s run an experiment and see what happens.”
She stared at him, dazed. “You really want to do this?”
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “More than anything else in the world.”
“Well, okay, but just so you know, according to my para-psych profile, I’m not a very passionate person by nature.”
“A number of people have labeled me as cold-blooded.”
“Your competitors and business rivals, no doubt.” She braced her hands on his shoulders. “That’s not quite the same thing as sexually repressed.”
“You know what? I don’t give a damn about our para-psych profiles right now.”
She sucked in a deep breath and took the leap.
“Neither do I,” she said. “I mean, how bad could it be if we had sex?”
“That’s it, think positive.”
He took her mouth, slowly, deliberately, completely. This time he was fully in charge of the kiss. He was not asking for a response; he was seducing one from her.
This was not the reckless wildfire of a kiss that she had ignited in the parking garage when she had gone a little crazy. This was an intense, smoldering kiss infused with the energy of Drake’s talent.
There was definitely nothing cold-blooded about this kiss, she thought. A thrilling rush of heat swirled in the atmosphere and sizzled in her blood. This kiss was warming all the cold places inside her, setting fire to her senses. That made it a truly dangerous kiss, and the full measure of the peril in which she found herself was that, in that moment, she did not give a damn about the potentially disastrous aftermath. She would worry about the fallout later.
There was always time to regret a mistake, but a woman did not often get an opportunity to make a mistake as exciting as this one promised to be.
She closed her hands very tightly around Drake’s shoulders and let the raw power of the kiss sweep through her.
Drake tightened his hold on her until she was pressed so intimately against him she could feel the fiercely rigid outline of his erection through the fabric of their clothing. Everything about him was hard and compellingly male. His scent stirred things deep inside her. She wanted him in ways she had
never wanted any man. Most of all she wanted to leave her mark on him. When this was over she wanted him to remember her.
Maybe in the future he would think of her as that woman in the parking garage, the one he’d zapped giant bugs with one memorable night. But that was better than having him forget her.
She felt his hands slide down her rib cage until his fingers settled around her waist under the pullover. He was so much bigger and stronger than she was. More to the point, he could see her even when she did her disappearing act, rendering her primary defense mechanism useless. She was here with him tonight only because he believed she could help solve the problem on Rainshadow—a problem she had helped cause. It was hardly the most romantic reason for a one-night stand.
All things considered, she probably should have locked herself in the bathroom. Instead she was locked in a senses-searing embrace.
There would be a price to pay later but not tonight. Tonight was about learning to fly.
He seized the hem of the black pullover and hauled it upward, tugging it over her head. He tossed the garment over the back of the chair, then reached behind her and unsnapped the clasp of her bra. He added the lingerie to the growing pile of discarded clothing.
At that point he paused, closed his powerful hands around her waist, and looked at her.
“You are perfect,” he said. His voice was rough around the edges and his eyes were molten. “So perfect.”
That was not true, she thought, but it was very sweet of him to say it. No one else had ever said those words to her.
Tears filled her eyes. She blinked them away and managed a misty smile. “Not perfect, but thank you.”
He tightened his hands around her waist and lifted her straight off her feet and into the air. Suddenly she was dangling above him, looking down into his blazing eyes. Startled, she instinctively clutched his shoulder with one hand to steady herself and used her other hand to push her hair out of her face.
“What the heck?” she gasped.
“You are perfect,” he repeated. “Perfect for me.”
The words sounded more like a vow than a simple statement.
Delight flooded her senses. She loved the feeling of his strong shoulders. She laughed and kicked her feet a little in midair.