“I didn’t think that coolers really existed,” Sedona said. “Thought they were a myth.”
She was pretty sure she had her senses back under full control. She didn’t think there was any danger that she might set fire to the curtains. But who knew?
She sat on the sofa, feet slightly spread. She leaned forward, her elbows braced on her knees. She watched Cyrus pour hot water from the kettle into a cup. He was still dressed as he had been earlier when he had arrived on the island, but it looked like he had used his fingers to comb his dark hair straight back behind his ears.
“For obvious reasons, it’s not the sort of talent you advertise,” Cyrus said. “As a general rule, most people tend to run in the opposite direction as fast as they can. No one wants to get close to someone who can dampen another person’s talent.”
She gave that some thought. “Your men know about your talent. Doesn’t seem to worry them.”
“That’s because in our world, power of any kind gets a lot of respect. Why do you think I joined the Guilds in the first place?”
“Oh, I see.”
“Socially, however, I run into a few problems.”
She nodded in understanding. “Probably not the kind of thing you mention on a first date.”
“Or the third or fourth of fifth date. The matchmaking agency gave up on me.”
“Geez. Talk about the ultimate rejection.”
“Tell me about it.”
Coolers were so rare as to be relegated to the category of legend and myth—and not in a good way. It was impossible to measure a cooler-talent. What couldn’t be measured was hard to demonstrate in a scientific fashion. And there was no getting around the fear factor, Sedona thought.
When it came to paranormal talents, coolers were considered bad news. Stand too close to a high-rez cooler when he was using his talent and your own psychic senses were temporarily frozen; useless. It was said that really strong talents could permanently ice another person’s aura and stop his heart.
There were a lot of names for folks with Cyrus’s kind of talent—psi-zombies, flat-liners, and icers—but coolers was the most polite and also the oldest. It derived from Old World casino jargon. Got a player on a hot winning streak? Just send in the cooler. All he or she has to do is walk past the table, get a fix on the way-too-lucky player, and send out a little whisper of energy to neutralize any talent he was using to control the cards.
Back on Earth a lot of successful gamblers had probably never realized they were using a little psi-energy to count cards or influence the dealer. Here on Harmony, where almost everyone had some natural paranormal ability, casino managers had to take precautions to protect the natural house edge. Sedona knew that any of them would have paid a fortune to get the services of a genuine cooler.
Well, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally setting the cottage on fire.
Flat-liner or not, Cyrus looked surprisingly good in her kitchen. What’s more, he was acting like he had every right to be there. She was not sure what to make of that, but she was still too frazzled to think about it.
The bad news was that, although she was back under control, she was still in the midst of a serious post-burn buzz. It was a well-documented fact that using a lot of talent had some side effects, one of which was that the adrenaline rush spilled a lot of biochemicals, including some significant sex hormones, into the bloodstream. True, she hadn’t ever experienced a rush like the one that had her on edge at the moment. But, then, she’d never had an occasion to share the aftermath with a man as interesting as Cyrus Jones, either.
“So you think that whatever happened to you when you were kidnapped is responsible for this new fire-starting talent you’ve got now?” Cyrus asked.
“I suspect my new ability is a result of those experiments that damned Blankenship conducted on me. All I know is that when I went on that last contract job I was a gatekeeper. A really strong gatekeeper, but, still, just a gatekeeper.” She thought about it. “Now I’m something else, as well.”
“Multi-talents are very . . . rare,” Cyrus said quietly.
The soft, masculine timbre of his voice sent another frisson of sensual arousal across all of her senses. This was not going well. She made another effort to pull herself together.
“You don’t have to tiptoe around it,” she said. “I did my research. I’m aware that most multi-talents go crazy while they’re still young and end up dead or permanently hospitalized.”
“But you feel okay,” Cyrus said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Well, yes.” She wiggled her fingers. “Except for this little fire-starting talent I seem to have developed.”
“Interesting.”
He took a pretzel out of a jar and walked toward her across the hardwood floors, the mug of tea gripped easily in one strong hand. There was a very focused gleam of curiosity in his eyes but he did not sound concerned. Most strong talents would have been running for cover about now, she thought.
Then again, there probably wasn’t much that could make Cyrus run. Besides, given the nature of his own talent, he didn’t have much to fear from someone like her.
She was probably the one who ought to be running for cover.
She realized that Cyrus was still watching her closely. She could almost feel him weighing and judging; making decisions that could affect her new life here on Rainshadow. It occurred to her somewhat belatedly that she should have kept her mouth shut.
“Forget your new talent,” Cyrus said. “We’ll get to that later.”
That sounded ominous.
“We’ve got other priorities right now,” he continued. “Drink some tea and tell me what happened here tonight.”
When she took the mug from him she got another little lightning jolt of awareness. She had known from the start that she was attracted to him and that the attraction was dangerous, but she had been in full control until now. Going to bed with a Guild boss was definitely not on her agenda. She had taken care to avoid that sort of complication from the start of her career.
“Before we get to whatever happened here tonight, I’d like to ask a favor,” she said. “I would really, really appreciate it if you would not mention the possibility of me having a second talent to anyone.”
“No problem,” he said easily. “You have my word on it.”
She raised her brows. “Just like that?”
Amusement flickered in his eyes. “Is there more to the business of making a promise?”
She thought about that.
“No, I guess not,” she said. “I’m not sure why, but I think I believe you.” Or maybe she just desperately wanted to believe him.
“Guild bosses are good at keeping secrets,” Cyrus said.
“Right.”
What they were really good at doing was keeping secrets that they figured would give them an edge. For all she knew, her secret might very well fit into that category as far as Cyrus was concerned. She must not forget that.
There was some hopeful chortling from the back of the sofa.
Cyrus handed the pretzel to Lyle who took it in one paw and fell to crunching with typical enthusiasm.
Cyrus lowered himself onto the sofa and sat a short distance away, not quite touching Sedona. He probably knew that she was still in the grip of the aftermath thing, she thought. He had no doubt been there on a number of occasions himself.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “You’re holding that blackmail material over my head, remember?”
She drank her tea and did not respond. As threats went, her vow to release the file on Blankenship’s lab was puny and they both knew it.
“Let’s get back to what happened in here tonight,” Cyrus said.
“Okay,” she said. “How did you know I was in trouble?”
“Lyle showed up at my window. He made a lot of noise. I got the impression he wanted me to follow him.”
“Sadly, this is not the first time Lyle has had to rescue me. If this keeps up, he may start looking for someone else to bond with, someone who doesn’t need so much help getting out of trouble.”
Cyrus gave Lyle a considering look. “Got a feeling that Lyle isn’t the kind who would leave a buddy behind.”
She smiled and inhaled the aroma of the tea. Something inside her started to relax. The tisane was a special blend of herbs that Rachel Blake, the owner of Shadow Bay Books, had mixed for her the day she had arrived on the island. Rachel was an aura reader with a talent for creating just the right individual blend for each client.
She drank some tea, savoring the warmth, and lowered the mug.
“I walked right into a small psi-trap tonight,” she said.
“Here?” Cyrus asked. “Inside the cottage?”
She could not tell if he believed her or not. It would be perfectly reasonable for him to conclude that she had hallucinated the whole thing. It took a special kind of talent to work trap energy. People who could do it were usually referred to as tanglers. Most respectable, reputable tanglers pursued careers in para-archaeology. But there were those who took different paths.
“Someone set it in the hallway.” She glanced across the room. “Whoever it was loosened the bulb in the fixture there and in the bedroom as well. I suppose the tangler wanted to make sure I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary before I blundered into the device. It was under the carpet. I stepped right on it.”
Cyrus looked at the darkened hallway. There was a hard, assessing expression in his eyes. She could almost feel him running scenarios and calculating odds.
“You think you used your new talent to escape the trap,” he said.
“I know I did.” She drank some more tea, cradling the mug in both hands. “I nearly set the cottage on fire.”
Amusement came and went in his eyes. “That explains the slightly smoky smell. Thought you’d burned something in the oven earlier. All right, tell me the rest, step by step.”
He looked intrigued, she decided, not shocked or horrified—just seriously intrigued.
“There’s not much to tell,” she said, trying to recall the details. “The dreamlight energy was generating a lot of hallucinations. I was totally disoriented. I went on autopilot. You know how it is when your intuition kicks in and all of a sudden you’re using your talent without consciously focusing it.”
“Been there,” he agreed.
She looked at the flicker on the coffee table. “Evidently, all I need is a spark or a flame of some kind to ignite my new talent. I used that flicker. Once I had a kind of shield around me, I got out of the cottage and hid.”
“Who were you hiding from?” Cyrus asked in that same neutral voice.
Sedona turned her head to look at him. “I was dazed from the force of the initial blast. But I figured that whoever had set the trap would come back to see if it had worked. I was right.”
Cyrus’s eyes were chips of ice now. “The tangler came back?”
“Yes. Shortly after I got outside I heard the footsteps and caught a few glimpses of light from a flashlight bouncing in the fog. Whoever it was went into the house, stayed there for a moment or two, and then left in a very big hurry.”
Cyrus did not speak for a moment. He just sat quietly, contemplating the fire. She exhaled slowly, deeply. Should have seen this coming, she thought.
“You don’t believe me,” she said. “I don’t blame you. Hey, I recently escaped from a secret Guild lab. What can you expect? I probably hallucinated the whole thing. All indications are that I’m an unstable multi-talent who has become a full-blown conspiracy freak. Thanks for making the tea. You can go back to your own cottage now.”
“I told you, I’m a Jones,” Cyrus said. “Got a long history of conspiracy buffs in my family. Got a few ancestors who were rumored to be multi-talents, as well. I’m not going anywhere, at least not until dawn.”
She choked and sputtered on her tea. “What?”
He did not respond. His attention was fixed on the hallway. She was still trying to wrap her mind around the concept of him spending the night when he got to his feet.
He crossed the room and stood looking down the short, dark hallway into the darker bedroom. Experimentally he rezzed the wall switch. When the light didn’t come on, he took the small flashlight off his belt and walked slowly, deliberately into the hall.
Ever hopeful of a new game, Lyle hopped down off the back of the couch and scurried after Cyrus.
They both disappeared. A low growl emanated from the hallway. Probably Lyle, Sedona decided. She had a hunch that Cyrus’s growl would sound a little different—a whole lot sexier.
She drank some more tea and waited.
Cyrus reappeared a short time later, Lyle bouncing along at his heels.
“Someone was here, all right,” Cyrus said. “There are partial footprints on the carpet that don’t match yours. Remnants of psi-trap energy in the hallway, too.”
She raised her brows. “You can sense that?”
“One of the side effects of being a cooler. Don’t worry; the residue isn’t strong enough to give you nightmares. But what’s really interesting is that there are some traces of the tangler’s energy. Fear, I think. Maybe even a little panic. Must have been caught off guard when he didn’t find you lying unconscious in the hallway.”
Sedona made a face. “Nice to know I may have made him a tad nervous, at least.”
“You probably scared the hell out of him. He couldn’t be sure that you weren’t hiding somewhere waiting to attack whoever came to see if the trap had worked.”
She exhaled slowly. “If only. Unfortunately it was all I could do just to get myself out of the cottage without setting fire to the place. I was the one in a panic. Sure you’re not picking up my vibes?”
“I can sense some of your energy, too. For the record, it doesn’t feel unstable.”
She stilled. “You’re sure?”
“Positive.” Cyrus regarded her with a considering air. “You were fighting for your life but you were in control. I can tell that you’re an off-the-charts talent. You’re right; I think you could do some actual damage if you tried.”
She looked down at the flicker. “I gotta tell you, that’s scary. Who knows what I might do if I got really mad and lost control altogether?”
Cyrus’s smile was startlingly sexy. “Excellent question. I think it explains why whoever came after you used a trap to try to catch you instead of a mag-rez pistol.”
“That means that, whoever it is, he has some idea of what I’ve become,” she whispered.
“I think so, yes.”
“Blankenship.”
“Or someone working for him.”
“Buzzkill and Hulk,” she said. “His so-called assistants. I wouldn’t have thought either of them could work trap energy, though. They seemed like traditional hunters who were jacked on steroids. Setting a trap requires a certain finesse, to say the least. One false move and the tangler gets caught in his own trap.”
“True.” Cyrus waited a beat. “Any idea why Blankenship would go to the trouble of trying to kidnap you? From what you’ve told me, it sounds like it would be simpler to find himself a new research subject.”
In spite of everything, she managed a grim smile. “I’ve got a pretty good idea of why he wants me back.”
“I’m listening.”
“Blankenship was using some kind of paranormal radiation to prepare the serum. I don’t have a lot of clear memories of the time I was locked in the dreamstate, but I do know that the crystal that he used in his experiments was vitally important to him. He kept it in a steel-and-glass strongbox. I sealed the container with a little fire lock before I escaped from the lab. Sealed the doorway of the lab, as well.”
Cyrus’s eyes sharpened. “Are you telling me that Blankenship needs you to unlock both his secret lab and the strongbox?”
“Yep.” She finished the last of the tisane and set the cup down. “Looks like I may have shot myself in the foot, doesn’t it? Now he’s out to kidnap me. And he’s got Kirk Morgan, the boss of the Gold Creek Guild, to help him.”
“You’re sure Morgan is his accomplice?”
“All I know is that Morgan left me behind after I diverted the river for him and his men. The kidnapper was waiting at just the right place in the Rainforest to grab me. What are the odds that was a coincidence?”
“I agree the kidnapper had help, but it could have come from someone else who was on that exploration team that day.”
Sedona wrinkled her nose. “I suppose so. But I saw Morgan’s face just before the gate closed. He knew what he was doing when he left me behind. I’m sure of that much.”
“Maybe.”
She shook her head. “None of this makes any sense, does it? Everyone knows that the Guild bosses do favors for each other all the time. Why send someone to kidnap me when it would be so much simpler to just ask the new Rainshadow Guild boss to pick me up and transport me back to Blankenship’s lab?”
“Another good question.”
Sedona went very still, her imagination conjuring a horrible possibility, one she had not even considered until now. Her pulse skittered. Her breath tightened in her chest and her senses flared. Cyrus watched her, waiting calmly for the verdict.
Lyle hopped into her lap and rumbled in concern. She put one hand on his furry body, taking comfort. With an effort of will, she forced herself to think logically.
“You’re wondering if I’m the one who set the trap, aren’t you?” Cyrus asked. “Or if I arranged to have someone else do it for me.”
She did not take her eyes off him. “It wasn’t you who set that trap tonight.”
“What makes you so sure?”
She moved one shoulder in a small shrug. “Among other things, it doesn’t seem like your style, for some reason. I think that if you wanted to take me down and ship me back to the lab you would be a little more direct and discreet about it.” She sighed. “I’d probably be on my way there, as we speak, in a private charter plane.” She looked down at Lyle. “And then there’s Lyle. He’s a pretty good judge of character. He seems to like you.”
“Good to know I’ve got him as a reference,” Cyrus said. “Getting back to your question, I think the reason that Morgan didn’t call on me for any favors—assuming Morgan is involved in this thing—is that he knows I would not be inclined to do one for him.”
“Why not?” she asked.
“The short story is that I’m a Jones and I’m Arcane. There’s a longer version but it’s complicated, and this is not a good time to go into old history. You need to get some sleep.”
Sedona got to her feet. She studied the hallway for a moment. “Not much in the way of evidence, is it?”
“No.” The corner of Cyrus’s mouth kicked up in a cool smile. “But I’m a Guild boss, remember? According to some folks, we don’t need much in the way of evidence. We make our own rules.”
She looked at him, trying to read his sorcerer’s eyes. “Do you really believe my story of what happened here tonight?”
“Yes.”
That was all he said but it was enough.
“Thanks.” She paused. “I know I need sleep but I’m not sure I will be able to get any tonight. I haven’t been sleeping well lately.”
“Bad dreams?”
“Nightmares about my time in Blankenship’s lab,” she said.
“You used a lot of energy tonight fighting off the trap. It won’t be long before you crash. You’ll sleep and I’ll keep watch while you do. You’re safe, Sedona.”
She wasn’t sure where to go with that. She was dreading the deep sleep of the crash that always followed a major psi-drain. She did not like the idea of being vulnerable.
She went to the window and watched the waves of aurora light shift restlessly through the fog.
“Thanks,” she said. “I mean it. I appreciate your offer to act as a bodyguard tonight.”
He came to stand beside her at the window.
“No problem,” he said. “As a contract employee, you’re entitled to Guild protection.”
She started to remind him that she had not actually signed a contract but at that moment, the aurora flashed especially bright, illuminating the fog with a dazzling brilliance. Another shiver of intense awareness swept through her. The nervy, edgy sensation grew stronger.
Cyrus touched her shoulder. It was a slight, fleeting touch, meant only to calm her, but her senses reacted as if some of the aurora fire had sparked right through her. She went very still.
Cyrus watched her closely in the ghostly light. “Are you all right?”
She took a sharp breath. The fear she was trying to suppress was abruptly swamped by the cleansing fire of anger.
“Yes, damn it, I’m fine,” she said through set teeth. “But I sure as hell am not looking forward to crashing, especially not now that I know that Blankenship has found me and that he sent someone to take me back to that lab.”
Cyrus cupped her face between his hands.
“Take it easy,” he said. “I told you, I’d stay until dawn, remember?”
“I appreciate that but I hardly know you, and Blankenship or one of his people is out there somewhere in the night, waiting to grab me. I was just getting to the point where I could sleep again, thanks to Rachel’s tea and the fact that I felt safe here on Rainshadow. Now I’m back to square one.”
“I’ll deal with Blankenship.”
She hesitated, wanting to believe that Cyrus could do exactly what he said he could do.
“But what if Blankenship has the backing of the Chamber?” she said.
“I don’t think that’s the case but if it is, I’ll deal with the Chamber, too.”
“Really? And just how do you plan to do that? No offense, Jones, but it’s not like you’re the head of one of the big city-state Guilds. Rainshadow is a very small territory. Heck, the island itself isn’t even on most maps.”
Cyrus’s mouth curved slightly in a secretive smile. She could have sworn that there was a little more heat in his eyes.
“Trust me,” he said. “I can handle the Chamber.”
“The weird thing is that I do trust you.” She searched his face in the shadows. “Why is that?”
“Maybe because one of your ancestors, a woman named Arizona Snow, and one of my ancestors, Fallon Jones, had some history back on Earth.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter now. The important thing to remember is that the Joneses have a very long memory. You can consider me an old friend of the family, Sedona Snow.”
His mouth closed over hers before she could ask any more questions.
And suddenly her senses were on fire.