Amaryllis (32 page)

The jungle waited.

“Lucas?”

“Yeah?” Lucas roused himself just enough to tighten his grasp on Amaryllis.

“I've been thinking about what happened at the Sheffield reception tonight.” Amaryllis propped herself up on one elbow. “We haven't talked much about it.”

“What's to discuss? Sheffield's a very strong talent, and he's got the ability to project charm and charisma. He's chosen a career path well suited to his psychic skills. His high school counselor would be proud of him.”

“Lucas, this is not a joke.”

He exhaled heavily. “You still don't have any proof that he or Unique Prisms is operating illegally.”

“Sheffield wasn't just radiating charisma tonight, he actually tried to manipulate us with it.”

“I hate to be the one to tell you this, but there's no law against that.”

“Because the issue has never arisen,” Amaryllis retorted.
“It's supposed to be impossible to use psychic energy the way Sheffield used it tonight.” She frowned. “Although Professor Landreth was always reminding us that there was still a lot we did not yet understand about the whole phenomenon. He said psychic powers were evolving so quickly in humans that there was no way to predict what directions the trend would take.”

“Amaryllis—”

“Professor Landreth said that the volatile evolutionary situation is just one more reason why the Code of Focus Ethics is important. The code is the only way to govern the effect of psychic powers in society.”

“Yeah, yeah, I've heard that rationalization before.”

“It's a justification, not a rationalization,” Amaryllis said. “And I'll tell you something else, the prism who worked with Sheffield tonight must have known that what she was doing was wrong.”

“True. But don't be too hard on her. Sheffield burned her out within a minute or two once he started pushing her limits. You see? Nature took care of the problem. You don't need to put Sheffield or Osterley in jail to deal with the situation. Furthermore, they're both smart enough to know that.”

“It's hard to believe.”

“What is?”

“That Sheffield burned out a full-spectrum prism trying to get through the wall of energy you created. How did you do it?”

“You want the truth?”

Her eyes widened. “Yes, of course.”

“I haven't got the foggiest idea how I did it,” Lucas said. “It was an experiment.”

“What do you mean? You deliberately created some kind of barrier by scrambling the talent you put through the prism. I felt it. Saw it happen on the psychic plane. It was very effective.”

“I guess you could say that it was all done with mirrors.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I'm an illusion-talent, remember?”

“So?”

“In the old days illusionists worked a lot with mirrors,” Lucas said. “Tonight I created a psychic mirror in an attempt to reflect Sheffield's own energy straight back at him.”

“What a concept.” Amaryllis was genuinely awed. “Sheffield went down under a concentrated dose of his own charm. Talk about having an inflated opinion of himself.”

“I think he sensed what was happening.” Lucas folded his arms behind his head. “That's why he tried to rev up his own output to break through my mirror. But he lost his prism when he went too far.”

Amaryllis frowned. “You've never done anything like that before?”

“Never.” He took a handful of her long hair and made a fist in it. He savored the silken feel of the stuff against his skin. “But, then, I've never encountered a psychic attack of that nature.”

“Psychic attack. What a scary thought.” A shudder went through Amaryllis. “That's something else that's supposed to be impossible, except in psychic vampire romance novels.”

“You know what they say about truth being stranger than fiction. But I'm not so sure it's as impossible as you assume. A very strong hypno-talent might be able to pull off something similar to what Sheffield did tonight.”

“Whatever it was, Sheffield's talent is not a form of hypnosis,” Amaryllis said with great certainty. “I've worked with hypno-talents. Trust me, I recognize the effects when I see them in action. Remember when you insisted that Miranda Locking must have been under the influence of a strong hypno-talent?”

“Don't remind me.”

“I told you then that even the most powerful talent
couldn't get her to act against her will or against her own
strongly rooted principles.”

“So?”

“Neither you nor I is a strong Sheffield supporter, yet tonight both of us responded to the effects of Sheffield's charisma. We had to actively resist him in order to keep him
from overwhelming us with his wonderfulness. Psychic hypnosis just doesn't work like that.”

“You're sure?”

“I'm sure. Furthermore, in the hands of a good hypno-talent, the subject either goes under completely or he doesn't go under at all. When it's successfully handled, the subject doesn't recall anything about the experience. You and I, on the other hand, were fully aware of everything that was happening.”

“Probably because we were prepared for it.”

“That was part of the reason, but it doesn't change the fact that Sheffield's power is different from ordinary psychic hypnosis. His talent is more in the nature of a blunt weapon. It's scary when you think about it.”

“We fought back,” Lucas reminded her.

“Only because you're such a strong talent and because we understood what was going on. I suspect that most people who get a full dose of the Sheffield charm are oblivious to the fact that they're being manipulated.”

“They start out liking the guy, and by the time he's finished with them, they think he's terrific.”

“Something like that.”

From out of nowhere an uneasy thought crept into Lucas's awareness. It squatted insectlike in the corner of his mind. “I wonder why he pushed me so hard tonight.”

“Good question. He must have realized very quickly that you were a talent and that you knew what he was doing because you deliberately erected a barrier to his focus.” Amaryllis drummed her fingers on Lucas's chest. “One would think that under the circumstances he would have backed off fast. He's not stupid. Instead he turned the whole thing into a battle.”

“Maybe he was just curious.”

“About your power?”

“He's probably never encountered anyone as strong as he is.”

“If Professor Landreth knew that Gifford was supplying prisms for a man of Sheffield's nature and strong talent, he would have been horrified.”

Lucas groaned. “We're back to Osterley again. I was
afraid of that. Amaryllis, I don't like this any better than you do, but I think it's time you got out of the prism detective business.”

“I have to do something.”

“No, you don't What would you tell the cops? That Sheffield tried to overwhelm you with charm? They'd laugh themselves silly. Tonight we witnessed something that a court of law would consider impossible but not illegal.”

“But if Sheffield is focusing with intent to defraud—”

“You'd have to prove it. Hell, Sheffield didn't even get around to asking me for a campaign donation. All he did was try to convince me that he would make a heck of a governor.”

Amaryllis straightened her elegant spine in a gracefully resolute movement. “I still think there's a possibility that Professor Landreth's death may be connected to all this.”

“It's not your job to clean up city-state politics. How many times do I have to tell you that, technically speaking, there is no crime involved here?”

“The missing file.”

Lucas did not like the new note in her voice. “What about it?”

“If only I could figure out how to go about locating that missing file that Irene Dunley mentioned. There must be a clue in it.”

Lucas sat up fast. “Oh, no, you don't.” He closed his hands around her upper arms. “This has gone far enough. Listen to me, Amaryllis, you are not to pursue this investigation any further.”

She regarded him with wide, troubled eyes. “I have to do what I feel is right.”

“Even if it's stupid?”

“There is nothing stupid about trying to determine the truth,” she said with frosty hauteur. “I'll understand, naturally, if you'd rather not be involved. After all, you've got your position as one of the foremost business leaders in this city-state to consider. You wouldn't want to jeopardize your reputation and standing in the community.”

“That's enough,” Lucas said through his teeth. “If you're going to insult me, do it fair and square. Don't try to
manipulate me with your self-righteous founders' values blather.”

“Then stop calling me stupid just because I feel I have to find out what happened to Professor Landreth,” she said fiercely. “I'll bet you would do the same if you were in my shoes.”

“You just don't know when to back off, do you? Use some common sense. There is no crime here, just a little dirty city-state politics. Business as usual. Stay out of it.”

“I can't do that,” she said with passionate intensity. “I feel a responsibility to get to the bottom of this situation. There are questions that must be answered.”

“Responsibility, hell. You're just being stubborn.”

“It's no different than the way you felt when you rescued Dillon Rye from the clutches of that dreadful casino owner. We both know that you don't owe the Ryes anything, but you had to help Dillon anyway, didn't you?”

“That was different.”

“No, it was not. Professor Landreth was my friend and my mentor. He taught me everything I know about my craft. I owe it to his memory to find out if his death was an accident.”

“It
was
an accident.” Lucas forced himself to release his grip on her shoulders. “Can't you get that through your head? The only person who had even half a reason to want him removed from the scene is Gifford Osterley and you told me yourself that Osterley isn't the kind to commit murder.”

“He isn't. At least, I don't think he is. But what about Sheffield?”

“Any politico who wants the governor's chair as badly as Sheffield does might be willing to kill for it, I'll grant you that much. But there was no need to murder anyone in this case. Landreth was not a threat to Sheffield.”

“He could have exposed Sheffield's connection to Unique Prisms.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that there is nothing illegal going on between Sheffield and Unique Prisms.”

“There is a question of ethics,” Amaryllis insisted.

“I can't see Sheffield risking a murder charge simply to avoid an investigation into his use of some very discreet prisms. Any such inquiry would be bound to find him innocent.”

“Some of the prisms might be willing to testify against him.”

“Then he would be far more likely to murder a few of them, wouldn't he? Come on, Amaryllis, think about it. Sheffield isn't killing prisms for the same reason that he didn't kill Landreth. He's got no reason to commit murder. You saw him in action tonight. He's headed straight for the governor's office.”

“This whole situation feels wrong, Lucas.”

“Damn. I can't believe I'm arguing with you about something so obvious.” Lucas flexed his hands. “I suppose this is one of the reasons why the conventional wisdom holds that full-spectrum prisms and strong talents don't make good marriage partners. They'd likely spend all their time quarreling with each other.”

The second the words were out of his mouth, he wanted to recall them, but it was too late.

There was a very long silence before Amaryllis answered.

“Yes,” she said. “It would be a pretty miserable existence, wouldn't it? Thank heavens for the marriage agencies and all of their tests and interviews.”

Lucas felt as if he had just fallen into a bottomless well of jelly-ice. The cold was endless. “Yeah. Right. Lucky us.”

“Mr. Trent, you have a visitor.”

Lucas glared morosely at the intercom. “Who is it, Maddie?”

“Mr. Calvin Rye.”

Just what he needed, Lucas thought. As if things weren't bad enough today. He was still feeling bruised and battered from the midnight quarrel with Amaryllis. Now Dillon's father wanted to see him. “Send him in, please.”

Maddie ushered Calvin into the inner office and then quietly closed the door behind him.

Lucas rose. The old habits of politeness died hard. “Have a seat, Rye. What brings you here today?”

“I think you can guess the answer to that.” Calvin settled into a chair with statesmanlike composure. The outward assurance was belied by the expression in his eyes. “Dillon told me everything.”

“Everything?”

“About his losses at that damned casino. About the way you came to his rescue and covered his debts. The whole sordid tale.”

“I see.” Lucas sat down, unable to think of anything else to say. “I had a feeling he might do that.”

Calvin's mouth thinned with disgust. “Yes, I'm sure you did.”

“Rye, what is this all about?”

“I'll be blunt. What do you want from me?”

“I don't want anything from you.”

Calvin narrowed his eyes. “We both know you didn't rush to Dillon's aid out of the kindness of your heart. You took advantage of the situation for your own purposes. I would like to know what those purposes are.”

“I don't want anything from you, Rye.” Lucas was aware of a great weight of weariness descending on him. Absently, he rubbed the back of his neck. He wished he could lose himself in an illusion of the hidden grotto in the islands. But he would need a capable prism for that sort of talent project, he reminded himself. A full-spectrum prism. Hell, he needed Amaryllis.