Canyons of Night

and tucked him under one arm.

“Tonight,” Slade said to Charlotte.

There was a dark promise in the words. Charlotte stilled.

“What about tonight?” she managed to ask.

“I’ll take you into the Preserve after dark.”

Excitement flashed through her. She smiled. “Great, something to look forward to. Besides the zucchini bread, I mean. It’s been fifteen years since I last broke the law and did some trespassing.”

“I don’t want to spoil the moment but I have to tell you that, technically speaking, you won’t be breaking any laws if you go into the Preserve with me this time.”

“To say I’m disappointed would be an understatement. Why won’t I be doing anything illegal with you tonight?”

“As the duly constituted representative of the forces of law and order in these parts, I’m expected to deal with any illegal activities therein.”

“But there isn’t much in the way of illegal activity due to the fence.”

“Doesn’t mean I’m not obligated to go in and patrol the place once in a while.”

She laughed. “So I’ll be doing a sort of civilian ride-along tonight?”

“Except we’ll be on foot.”

He opened the door and went outside onto the street with Rex. She leaned on the counter for a moment, watching Slade until he was out of sight. Little thrills of anticipation splashed across her senses. You’re getting a second chance, woman. Whatever you do, don’t screw up this time. You can do this.

She straightened and went into the back room to finish unpacking the crate. Now that Slade was no longer around to distract her senses, she became aware once again of the dark energy leaking out of one of the bubble- shrouded antiques inside the shipping container.

She jacked up her talent a couple of notches and reached for the bundled object that she had been about to take out when Slade had interrupted her.

The instant she touched it, she knew that whatever was inside was the object emitting the strong energy. The object was surprisingly heavy for its size.

Carefully she started to unwrap the antique. As she got closer she could make out the dome shape. A chill of awareness and excitement shot through her. The antique was very similar to a snow globe in shape.

But when she peeled away the fine layer of bubble wrap, disappointment settled on her like a wet blanket. She was holding a paperweight, not a snow globe. The antique was made of glass but it was opaque, not clear. She shook it gently. Nothing happened. There was no scene inside, no sparkling snow.

The paperweight was quite old. She kicked up her senses again. Really old, she thought. It was almost certainly an Old World object. In addition there was a large amount of energy in it. The combination made it almost priceless to certain collectors and museums. The paperweight might be a dull-looking object but it held the potential to be the biggest sale of her career.

She put it on a table and picked up the itemized list that had accompanied the bequest. She had already examined it but she wanted to be certain.

As she had remembered, there was no gray glass paperweight with an Old World provenance on the list. Don’t get your hopes up, she thought. A mistake had no doubt been made when the museum staff had packed up Evelyn Lambert’s vast collection. It was easy enough to see how a simple, rather unattractive paperweight had been overlooked and put into the wrong box.

There was only one way to be sure that she had a right to the paperweight. She would contact the Lambert family lawyer to explain the situation. Meanwhile, the first priority was to find a secure place to stash the object. She remembered the old antique safe that her aunt had installed years earlier in the floor. It would be perfect.

She picked up the paperweight. Her senses were still a little jacked. She did not notice that the object was starting to lose its opaque quality until she was just about to set it on the shelf inside the old safe.

The first hints of a small scene appeared inside the glass dome. She had seen similar images in old photos in the Arcane Society Museum. The tiny, exquisitely detailed Old World cityscape was complete, with a stately clock tower and imposing buildings. It was familiar to anyone who had grown up within Arcane.

London, England. Late Nineteenth Century, Old World Date. The era was known to historians and antiquities experts as the Victorian Age.

Chapter 14

SLADE CONTEMPLATED THE ANTIQUE OBJECT FOR A long time. She watched him from the other side of the table, aware that he was running a little hot. So was she. It seemed to her that their jacked-up auras, combined with the radiation from the nondescript artifact that sat between them made the atmosphere inside the shop feel thick and ominous, like the energy of an oncoming storm.

After a while Slade looked up and fixed her with his cop eyes.

“You’re telling me that this might be the artifact that Gaines wanted you to find for him? The one he broke in here to steal?”

“I think so,” Charlotte said. “I know it doesn’t look like much but that’s not unusual when it comes to paranormal objects. Watch what happens when I generate a little energy.”

She put her fingers on the dome and heightened her senses. The glass cleared, slowly revealing the miniature landscape.

“Doesn’t look like any city I’ve ever seen,” Slade said. “Are you sure that’s the Old World town where Jones & Jones was founded?”

“I verified it on the computer. That clock tower was a chiming clock. The bell was nicknamed Big Ben.”

“Big Ben who?”

“Darned if I know who Ben was. But I’m positive that’s the city that was home to Arcane and J&J in what was known as the Victorian Era.”

“Who was Victoria?”

“An ancient queen, I think. She ruled during the period when J&J was founded.”

“You’re sure the snow globe is authentic and not a replica?”

“Trust me, it’s the real thing.”

“There’s no snow,” Slade said.

“Well, this globe is hundreds of years old. It’s hardly surprising that it no longer produces fake snow. But there is a lot of energy embedded in that thing. I’ve never come across anything like it.”

“Must be worth a fortune.”

“Oh, yes.” She smiled. “I sent an email to the lawyer who handled Mrs. Lambert’s estate. My main concern is that this is all a mistake. I wouldn’t be surprised if this object was supposed to go into the museum collection. I can’t risk putting it on the market until I know for sure that it’s mine to sell.”

“I can sense that it’s giving off some energy,” Slade said. “But I don’t recognize it.”

She understood what he meant. Power was power, and most sensitives could pick up on the vibes when there was a lot of it around. But by definition a talent could only recognize—and work—the ultralight currents that emanated from the distinct narrow bands on the paranormal spectrum to which he or she was personally sensitive.

“If we’re right about Gaines, he dealt in para-weapons,” Slade said. “Do you think this globe might be weapons-grade?”

“No,” she said, on firm ground now. “It’s certainly powerful but it doesn’t feel like any para-weapon I’ve ever handled.”

Slade smiled faintly. “How many have you touched?”

“Very few. One doesn’t come across them very often in my end of the business. But I have come in contact