Canyons of Night

“Whatever is out there in that storm that I can see when I go hot is not my old talent. I don’t recognize it, Charlotte. The energy looks chaotic to me. That is never a good sign when you’re talking about human psi. You know that as well as I do. Chaos on the spectrum is one of the surefire indicators that a person is either going psiblind or mad.”

“It’s not chaos. I told you the bands of light in the rainbow are strong and stable.”

“Then why don’t I recognize the energy?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “You’re going to have to find out for yourself.”

“How the hell do I do that?”

“The same way you did when you first came into your talent back in your teens,” she said patiently. “The way I did it. The way Devin will eventually figure out his developing psychic nature. You work with it and you experiment until you understand how to focus and control it.”

He went cold. “Damn it to hell. Are you telling me that I’m coming into a new talent?”

She smiled. “Relax, you’re not becoming a Cerberus. You won’t go rogue.”

Cerberus was Arcane slang for those who developed more than one kind of talent. Such individuals were so rare as to be the stuff of dark myth and legend. True multitalents generally died in their teens or early twenties. The problem, according to the Society’s experts, was that the human mind could not handle the high levels of stimulation and acute sensory perception that accompanied multiple talents. Cerberus talents invariably went insane and self-destructed. Most of the handful of recorded cases took their own lives early but a few had survived long enough to become murderous para-psychopaths.

When it came to dealing with Cerberus talents, Arcane policy was simple and straightforward. Get rid of them. The corollary to that policy was by whatever means necessary. He happened to know from his time working for the Office that the FBPI and the Guilds had similar policies.

“You’re sure?” he said.

“Oh, yes.”

“Because I have to tell you that having Arcane, the Office, and the Guilds coming after me is all I’d need to make my life full, rich, and complete.”

“Well, you did indicate that you were a trifle bored with being chief of police here on Rainshadow.”

“I’m not joking,” he said. “How can you be certain that I’m not developing a second talent? No offense, but you sell antiques for a living. You’re not a para-shrink or even an aura-reader.”

“I know.” Charlotte’s voice went flat. She folded her arms around herself and started walking again, very quickly. “You’re right. You probably shouldn’t be taking advice from a low-rent talent like a rainbow-reader.”

He moved then, taking two long strides to catch up with her. He wrapped his fingers around her arm. “I didn’t mean that I don’t trust you.”

“I know. It’s my talent you don’t trust. Believe me, I understand.”

Coolly, she tried to pull free of his grasp. He wanted to hold on to her but he knew she would fight him. He let her go and clenched his hand around the barrel of the flashlight.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I’ve spent the past three months dealing with the fallout of whatever that gas did to me. I was told that my talent and my life would never be the same.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, I think the experts who told you that were right. I doubt if your talent or your life will ever return to whatever was normal for you before you were hit with the gas.”

He frowned, hardly daring to allow himself even the slimmest ray of hope. “You really don’t think I’m going to go psiblind?”

“No.” She hesitated. “But I think there is definitely the possibility of another, equally bad outcome.”

“What could be worse?”

“Living with a lot of powerful energy that you don’t know how to focus or control. That kind of situation truly will drive you mad.”

He took a deep breath. “You think that I should push my talent. Start working with the dark energy that I see at the end of my spectrum.”

“There’s an ancient Arcane saying that applies here. Learn to control your talent or it will control you.”

Chapter 17

“I DON’T BELIEVE IT.” DEVIN CAME TO A HALT IN THE trees and looked down the steep granite cliff at the rocky beach below. A small boat powered by an outboard engine had been drawn ashore. “Some jerks found Hidden Beach.”

Nate stopped beside him. “I don’t recognize the boat. They didn’t rent it from Dad.”

Nate Murphy had just turned thirteen. He was Devin’s best friend on the island. Nate had grown up on Rainshadow and knew all the hidden coves and secret inlets along the forbidding shoreline. Devin envied his knowledge of boats and all things connected to the water. Nate had worked around his dad’s marina his whole life and was really good when it came to that kind of stuff. He even had his own kayak and he was teaching Devin how to handle one.

Devin wanted very badly to tell Nate about his developing psychic senses but he was pretty sure the chief was right. Nate would probably think he was weird.

“How did they find this place?” Devin asked. “You said boaters hardly ever come to this side of the island because of the rip currents and the tides. You said there wasn’t any place to come ashore.”

“Except Hidden Beach,” Nate pointed out. “They probably found it by accident.” He lowered his day pack to the ground and sat down on it. “So much for hunting for Captain Sebastian’s treasure today.”

“Maybe those guys will leave soon.” Devin looked around. “Wonder where they are?”

“Probably trying to see how far they can get inside the Preserve. Every so often someone tries it on a dare or just to see what will happen. They’ll find out soon that they can’t get through the fence.”

“If they’re trespassing, Chief Attridge can arrest them.”

“He won’t do that,” Nate said with cool certainty.

“Why not? The chief used to work for the FBPI. Those guys are tough. They arrest serial killers and drug lords and really dangerous dudes.”

“I’m not saying he couldn’t arrest ’em, just that he won’t. Why bother? Everyone knows that the fence stops most folks from getting more than a couple of feet inside the Preserve. People who do manage to get inside don’t come out alive. Why put folks in jail for trying to get themselves killed?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“What do you want to do? Find another place to look for treasure or wait and see if those guys with the boat leave soon?”

Devin hesitated. The logical decision was to move on up the shoreline. There were plenty of other interesting locations to explore on the perimeter of the Preserve. But Hidden Beach was the one that intrigued him the most. He wanted another look at the cavern.

“We’ve been planning this trip for days,” he said. “Those guys will probably leave soon. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

“Okay.”

They took a couple of energy bars out of their packs and hunkered down to wait.

“Do you really think we’ll find Captain Sebastian’s treasure inside the cave?” Nate asked after a while.

“Maybe.” Devin wasn’t sure how much more to say so he decided to keep quiet.

The entrance to the cave down below on the beach was almost invisible, a narrow crevasse in the rocks that widened unexpectedly once you got inside. Devin had sensed something intriguing inside the cavern the last time they had explored it, something that needed to be found, but he had no idea what it was. Some part of him was certain that the secrets hidden inside the cavern were valuable. He could not explain how he knew that to Nate,