Deception Cove (A Rainshadow Novel)

by Jayne Castle

  He turned onto his side and looked at her. “No, not unless I jack up my talent a little. But I’m not doing that now. I’m just looking at you with what passes for normal vision for me.”

  “What do you see?”

  He looked at her with a sense of wonder and tried to find the words. “It’s as if you were lit by moonlight and shadow, but the hues and shades are all from the far end of the spectrum. You look . . . beautiful. Magical.”

  She twisted onto her side, facing him. Her eyes were open but he knew from her unfocused gaze that she could not make him out in the darkness.

  He sensed energy shifting in the atmosphere and realized that she had rezzed her talent. She looked straight at him with luminous eyes.

  “You can see me,” he said.

  “A little. You’re drenched in deep shadows.”

  “Just a big shadow, huh? Doesn’t sound too interesting.”

  She put out a hand and touched his bare shoulder. “You’re wrong. You look incredibly interesting.”

  Her fingers burned on his skin, thrilling his senses.

  “Is that a polite way of saying I look better in the dark?” he asked.

  “No,” she said, very serious now. “You are the most interesting man I have ever seen in the dark or in daylight. “You are . . . amazing, Drake. Last night was amazing. I will never forget it or you. I just wanted you to know that.”

  He stopped breathing for a beat. His pulse thudded in his veins. His whole body felt tight and hard and heavy with desire. He reached under the covers and put a hand on her thigh.

  “Alice?” he said.

  His voice sounded thick and harsh to his ears.

  But she levered herself up on her elbow, leaned forward, and kissed him. His talent spiked and the night was ablaze in dark light.

  The kiss ignited his senses, but he made himself hold back. Last night had been fast and hot. His intuition told him that tonight she wanted to explore him, learn him, discover more about what was happening between them.

  She moved her lips to his throat, his shoulder, and then his chest. Her soft, warm hand glided over him as if she were trying to memorize him with her sense of touch.

  He wanted to give her time and for a while he succeeded in his goal. He gripped her carefully, as if she were made of delicate porcelain. He flattened his palms on the contours of her sleek, elegant back. She was warm to the touch. Then he went lower, seeking the cleft between her legs.

  He found her melting and hot. He caught the scent of her arousal and it took him over the edge. He eased her onto her back and came down on top of her, making a place for himself between her legs. She welcomed him, lifting her hips to meet him.

  He entered her slowly, deliberately, intensely aware of the tight little muscles that guarded her core. She gasped, cried out softly, and sank her nails into his shoulders.

  “Drake. Drake.”

  He went deep and the night blazed around them.

  Chapter 29

  WHEN HE EMERGED FROM THE BATHROOM FOR THE second time that night, he automatically looked out the window. The unnatural darkness still cloaked the town.

  He started to turn away and go back to the bed but a flicker of light at the far end of the street made him pause. He took a closer look. The golden glow of an amber lantern appeared briefly again in the distance.

  “What’s wrong?” Alice asked.

  “Looks like someone is wandering around outside in the fog with an amber lantern,” he said.

  “That’s strange.” Alice got out of bed and made her way to the window. “I can’t see anything.”

  He draped an arm around her bare shoulders and rezzed a little of his talent. “How’s that?”

  “Much better. Okay, now I see the light bobbing around at the end of the street. It’s a lantern, all right. Whoever is out there must be terribly disoriented. Probably scared out of his wits.”

  “I’d better go see what’s going on.”

  “I’ll bet that accounts for the ghost,” Alice said.

  He turned away from the window and grabbed his pants. “What ghost?”

  “Today I heard a couple of the kids talking about the ghost that haunts Shadow Bay. I assumed they were just telling stories to scare each other as a means of dealing with their fears. But maybe one or two of them happened to see someone walking around at night with a lantern.”

  “I’ll check out our ghost,” Drake said.

  He dressed swiftly, took one of the fire-starters out of the pack, put on his glasses, and opened the room door.

  “Drake,” Alice said urgently.

  He paused in the doorway. “What?”

  “Be careful.”

  She looks so serious, he thought, smiling.

  “I will,” he promised.

  He let himself out into the lantern-lit hall, descended the stairs to the lobby, unlocked the door, and went outside into the foggy night. Eerie, menacing visions swirled in the atmosphere. Fragments of his dream of the endless hallway lined with doors that opened onto blinding sunlight as well as Zara’s laughter whispered to his senses.

  He removed his glasses, put them in his shirt pocket, and jacked up his talent to suppress the hallucinations. He started toward the spot where he had last seen the lantern.

  But there was no sign of the flickering light now. Whoever had dared the night with a lantern had disappeared. Probably gone back indoors, Drake thought.

  He walked the length of the street through the senses-chilling fog and turned the corner. In the dark light of night he could make out two stone pillars that formed an entryway.

  The words engraved in the sign above the gate read: SHADOW BAY CEMETERY.

  Chapter 30

  ALICE EMERGED FROM THE TAVERN IN MID-AFTERNOON after the lunch rush. The laughter at the end of the street drew her attention. She looked around and saw Houdini and Darwina playing yet another game of hide-and-seek with the kids. The dust bunnies were chortling happily and the children’s laughter rang true. She smiled. It wasn’t just the mood of the youngsters that seemed elevated today. The adults she had served at lunch were also in a more positive, optimistic frame of mind.

  Somehow Drake had managed to convince everyone that the situation on the island was under control and that progress was being made.

  Drake did his own kind of magic, Alice thought.

  She spotted Egan when she turned to walk toward the Marina Inn. He stood in front of the window of the Kane Gallery, gripping his Glorious Dawn sign. He was transfixed by whatever he saw in the darkened window.

  Curious, she walked toward him.

  “Hello, Egan,” she said when she got close.

  He did not turn toward her or acknowledge her existence. The picture on the other side of the window held his complete attention. She stopped beside him and studied the painting propped on an easel. The gallery lights were off but there was enough weak, gray daylight left to make out the landscape.

  The focal point of the picture was what appeared to be a frozen waterfall. The hot, seething brushstrokes and the surreal aspect of the image somehow conveyed the impression that the scene could only exist inside the Preserve.

  “It’s a very interesting picture, isn’t it?” Alice ventured after a while.

  Egan did not respond. He just stood there, staring at the image.

  A figure moved in the shadows on the other side of the window. The door of the shop opened. Jasper came out onto the sidewalk.

  “Hi, Alice,” he said. “Taking a break before the dinner rush?”

  “Yes. Just so you know, I think there will be hamburger on the menu again tonight.”

  “The last of the meat from the freezer?”

  “Don’t worry, it wasn’t anywhere near the body and Burt has big plans for it.”

  “The body or the hamburger?” Jasper asked.

  “Ha-ha.” She shot him a severe glare. “The hamburger. I think the recipe involves canned mushroom soup.” She gestured toward the painting. “Your work?�
�

  “Yes.” Jasper looked at the riveted Egan. “Hey, buddy, how are you doing today?”

  “The ghost that doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger,” Egan intoned. He did not take his eyes off the painting.

  Alice looked at Jasper. “An old hunter saying, I assume?”

  “Yeah.” Jasper blew out a long sigh. “Egan is a former Guild man—at least, that’s what Kane and I think. Once in a while when Egan is coherent and not rambling about the return of the Aliens, he talks like a hunter who spent a little too much time in the tunnels. We think maybe he got burned real bad somewhere along the line.”

  “By one of those energy storms Guild men call ghosts?”

  “Right. Ghosts are a hazard of the job. The new Guild bosses are shaking things up with stricter safety codes and security measures. But back in the day when Egan was working the tunnels, things were different. Guys took chances they shouldn’t have taken. A lot of ’em still do, come to that. Now there are the added risks of the rain forest work.”

  “It’s no secret that a lot of hunters get singed one time too many and end up on the streets,” Alice said.

  Egan stirred, hoisting his sign. “Those who do not seek the third level of Enlightenment will be swept away when the Aliens return.”

  He turned and walked down the street. Alice glanced at Jasper.

  “Egan seemed quite taken with your painting,” she said.

  “I’ve noticed him checking it out a few times.” Jasper watched Egan move down the street. “I don’t know why it fascinates him so much.”

  “The picture is stunning,” Alice said. “I can feel the energy in it even out here on the sidewalk. A scene from inside the Preserve, I assume?”

  “To be more precise, it’s a scene of a dream about the Preserve,” Jasper said.

  “One of your dreams?”

  Before Jasper could answer, Fletcher emerged from the gallery.

  “Not in this case,” he said. He looked at the picture with a critical eye. “It’s an interpretation of one of Rachel’s dreams. She says Jasper got it pretty much right.”

  “It looks like a frozen waterfall,” Alice said. “Or maybe a waterfall made of crystal.”

  “That’s close,” Jasper said. “It’s actually a dream vision of what turned out to be an Alien storage vault made of frozen rainstone.”

  “Rainstone?” Alice asked.

  “It’s a kind of stone that has the properties of both a crystal and a liquid. It’s harder than mag-rez steel in one state, but if you can work the currents locked in the rock the way Rachel does, it can be transformed into a liquid.”

  Alice shivered. “That rainstone vault is where Drake’s brother, Harry, and Rachel found one of the missing Keys, isn’t it?”

  “That’s right,” Fletcher said. “They nearly got killed in the process, but at least they bought us some time to find the other two Keys.”

  “Do they have any idea how one of the Keys ended up in that rainstone vault?” Alice asked.

  “Nope.” Jasper shook his head. “It’s a mystery, like so many other things here on Rainshadow.”

  Fletcher gave Alice a sympathetic look. “I’ll bet you didn’t expect to spend another honeymoon on Rainshadow.”

  Alice winced. “I’m really hoping this one goes more smoothly.”

  “Way I heard it, this honeymoon couldn’t be as bad as the first one.” Jasper snorted. “Rumor has it your first husband tried to kill you.”

  “Word gets around,” Alice said.

  “That’s the way it is in small towns,” Jasper said.

  “I know,” Alice said.

  “You don’t need to worry about history repeating itself here in Shadow Bay,” Fletcher said quickly. “Not with Drake Sebastian.”

  “Hell, no,” Jasper said. “We’ve seen enough of the Sebastian men to know they take care of their own.”

  “I’m sure they do,” Alice said politely. “But I’m not a real member of the Sebastian family. As I keep explaining to people, Drake and I are in an MC, not a CM.”

  It dawned on her that Fletcher and Jasper were not looking at her. Instead, they were focused on something over her shoulder. She heard boot steps approaching behind her.

  Drake came to a halt and looked at her. The gray light glinted somewhat ominously on his mirrored glasses.

  “Did I hear my name?” he asked very softly.

  She raised her brows, refusing to be intimidated.

  “Jasper and Fletcher were assuring me that my second honeymoon on Rainshadow would end on a more upbeat note than the first one did,” she said.

  Drake studied her for a long moment. She could not see his eyes but she knew there was some heat in them. She could sense it in the atmosphere. Her intuition warned her that he was recalling hot sex and damp sheets.

  After a couple of beats, Drake’s mouth curved slightly in a sensual, deeply satisfied smile.

  “Oh, yeah,” he said. “This honeymoon will be different.”

  Alice narrowed her eyes, shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her windbreaker, and started walking toward the three men who blocked her path.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” she said crisply, “I need to go help Burt get ready for the dinner rush.”

  The three men got out of her way. None of them said a word. There was no need. Jasper’s and Fletcher’s hastily suppressed grins said it all.

  Alice kept walking. Men.

  Chapter 31

  BURT EYED THE GLOOMY VIEW FROM THE FRONT WINDOW of the tavern. “Looks like that damn fog is already starting to roll in. I swear, it comes in earlier every day.”

  Alice did not look up from refilling the row of empty ketchup bottles that she had arranged on the counter. She had already added an inch and a half of water to each bottle and was now in the process of pouring in actual ketchup from another jar. She used a funnel to get the thick stuff into the bottles.

  “Maybe it just seems like the fog is earlier today because it’s been so dark and gray all day,” she said.

  “Nope.” Burt turned away from the window. “Pretty sure it’s darker out there over the bay than it was yesterday at this time. Means the dinner crowd will be arriving earlier, too. They’ll probably stay longer and eat more food.”

  “Don’t worry, you said the Foundation is picking up the tab.”

  “I’m not concerned about the money, it’s the supply end of things that’s starting to worry me. We’re going through food like crazy. I’m telling you, we’ll have to start rationing.”

  “Already on it, Boss.” Alice fit the narrow tip of the funnel into the first bottle. “Starting with the ketchup.”

  Burt watched her use a spatula to push the thick ketchup into the bottle. When it was full, she removed the funnel, set it aside, and screwed the cap back on the bottle. She picked up the bottle and shook it vigorously until the water was thoroughly mixed with the ketchup. When she was finished, she held up the bottle for inspection.

  “There you go, a nice full bottle of ketchup,” she said.

  Burt took the bottle from her and examined it with an expression of deep admiration. “Good work. No one will know that you thinned it with water. You are a pro. Where’d you learn the trick?”

  “I told you, I’ve worked in the food-and-beverage business off and on my whole life,” she said. “But I must admit that I picked up the ketchup-stretching trick in the orphanage.”

  Burt’s forehead furrowed. “You were an orphan?”

  “I know, we’re a rare breed.” Alice smiled ruefully. “We’re not supposed to exist. There is always supposed to be some family around to take in a kid who finds herself alone in the world. But once in a while you get someone like me, someone with no next of kin, at least no kin that the authorities can find.”

  “But you’re Nicholas North’s great-granddaughter.”

  “True, but I didn’t discover that until last year. And come to find out, I’m the last of the line.”

  “Geez, that
’s gotta be tough,” Burt said. He brightened. “But you’ve got a new family of your own now. You’re a Sebastian.”

  “It’s just an MC,” she said lightly. “The family thing is temporary.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “The ketchup will pour a little more easily now, but I doubt that anyone will notice the difference.” Alice eyed the row of bottles. “I estimate that with a couple of inches of water in each bottle we can make the ketchup supply last another few days. By that time, Drake will have sorted out the problems in the Preserve.”

  At that moment Drake was in a meeting with Jasper, Fletcher, Charlotte, and Rachel. They were holed up in the Kane Gallery, going through the list of men in town, searching for a possible spy. Acutely aware that there was nothing she could do to help, she had returned to the tavern.

  “Sure hope you’re right.” Burt put down the ketchup bottle. “Now if you could just do something about the hamburger supply. I’m using up the last of the meat from the freezer tonight. Tomorrow we start in on the canned goods.” He hesitated. “Sure as hell hope that nothing has happened to Harry Sebastian and the chief.”

  “They’re okay,” Alice said.

  “Yeah?” Burt cocked a bushy brow. “What makes you so sure of that?”

  “Rachel told me she would know if something bad happened to Harry,” Alice said. “Charlotte said the same thing about the chief. I believe them.”

  Because I would know if something bad happened to Drake, she thought.

  The sudden certainty of that knowledge stopped her cold—literally. A true chill of deep awareness shifted through her, stirring all of her senses. For the first time she forced herself to face head-on the fact that she had been avoiding since she had met Drake in the alley behind the theater. There was a powerful, very vital, very intimate connection between them. It had been there from the start. The sex had simply intensified the bond, making it so much harder to ignore.

  Until now she had tried to tell herself that the connection she felt was a product of her imagination. She had made up all sorts of plausible explanations, seeking logical answers—any answers—other than the obvious. But there was no longer any way to avoid the truth. She was in love with Drake Sebastian. He was the one man in the world who could break her heart.