“Yes.” She looked down at Araminta, who was munching a cookie. “There’s just one tiny little problem left.”
Chapter 43
AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER, CELINDA AND DAVIS SAT on the veranda of the Glenfield Institute. Araminta, perched on the arm of Celinda’s chair, was eating a lemon square that Dr. Phillips had given her. There were several more lemon squares arranged on a plate on a nearby table. Max had scampered off to investigate the gardens.
“You say these ruby amber relics might actually be able to counteract the effects of serious psi trauma?” Dr. Phillips studied the one he was holding in his hands.
Araminta had raised no objection when the relic that had been in Hollings’s possession had been turned over to Phillips. Celinda was still uncertain how she would react when the second one was handed to him.
“To be perfectly honest, I have no idea how effective they’ll be,” Celinda said. “All I know is that I was able to strengthen Davis’s psi waves the other night to keep him from sliding into a coma after he pulled ghost silver. I was also able to manipulate the waves of two of the men he fought underground.”
“I told you what Hollings did with that thing when he and I faced off underground,” Davis said.
“A double-edged sword,” Phillips said quietly. “Historically that has often been the case with many of the most significant advances in medicine. Antibiotics and drugs, surgical procedures, instruments, machines, and all the rest. They must be treated with the utmost respect because they can kill or cure.”
“Which is why we’re giving you the relics,” Celinda said. “I’ll do what I can to help you research the appropriate uses of the devices, but I think in the long run you’ll be better off if you can find some people in the medical profession who possess my kind of psi talent.”
Phillips continued to examine the relic. “We will begin a search immediately. I can’t tell you how excited I am by the possibilities. We have had so few effective treatments for psi trauma. Ultimately, as in Davis’s case, it generally comes down to whether or not the patient has the psychic strength to fight his or her way back to recovery. Sadly, too many don’t make it. These relics offer great hope.”
“Here goes,” Celinda said.
She reached into the tote and removed the relic that Araminta had insisted she purchase. Araminta went very still and alert on the arm of the chair, watching intently.
Celinda put the relic down and picked her up. She held her in both hands and looked straight into her baby- blue eyes. “I know you don’t understand what I’m saying, but I’m hoping you can sense that I really want Dr. Phillips to have the relic. It’s very important to me, Araminta. He’s a good man, a fine doctor. He’ll put this thing to good use. Okay?”
Araminta blinked a couple of times. Celinda put her back down on the arm of the chair. Then she picked up the relic and handed it slowly to Dr. Phillips.
Araminta followed the action with close attention. Then she gave what was evidently the equivalent of a dust bunny shrug and scampered up onto the table to help herself to a third lemon square.
“There you have it,” Davis said. “Another great moment in medical history made possible by a dust bunny and a plate of lemon squares.”
Chapter 44
“ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER WEDDING,” DAVIS GROWLED.
“What do you expect?” Celinda laughed. “It’s the season. Besides, you shouldn’t complain. You look terrific in a tux.”
They stood together with the other guests and watched the bride and groom take the floor for their first waltz as a married couple. The new Mrs. Boone looked spectacular in an old-fashioned wedding gown and a veil that fell all the way to her heels. Her husband, Cooper Boone, looked every inch the powerful Guild boss that he was in his formal uniform adorned with the insignia of his position as head of the Aurora City Guild.
The ballroom was filled with high-ranking Guild men and Guild families from all four city-states and a lot of the small towns in between. Everything about the wedding had been old-style Guild traditional, right down to and including the quartz-green and amber-yellow floral arrangements and the towering wedding cake trimmed with amber and green roses. Green champagne flowed freely from a half-dozen fountains scattered around the brilliantly lit chamber.
Elly and Cooper Boone circled the floor, clearly lost in each other.
A perfect match, Celinda thought. She dabbed her eyes. Other couples were taking the floor now, including Lydia and Emmett and Tamara and Mercer Wyatt.
“You just met Cooper and Elly today,” Davis said, amused. “You hardly know them. Why the heck are you crying?”
“I can’t help it.” She blinked away the tears. “I’m a matchmaker. It goes with the territory.”
“Are you going to cry at our wedding?” he asked with grave interest.
She sniffed and tossed the tissue into a nearby container. “No, of course not. Brides never cry at their own weddings. They’re too busy making sure everything is under control.”
“Good.” He caught her hand, gripping it tightly. “I wouldn’t want anyone to think you were having regrets at the last minute.”
“Never.” Satisfaction welled up inside. “You’re Mr. Perfect, the man I’ve been waiting for all of my life.”
He laughed and drew her out onto the dance floor. “I’m a long way from perfect,” he said, taking her into his arms. “But what I feel for you is absolutely perfect. I love you, Celinda.”
She glowed in the sweet certainty of his love.
“I love you, Davis,” she whispered.
A SMALL GROUP OF UNINVITED WEDDING GUESTS SUR veyed the happy scene from the cover of a buffet table draped with amber and green. Each was dressed for the occasion. Fuzz wore an amber-yellow ribbon. The bride’s special pal, Rose, glittered in a sparkling bracelet draped around her neck. Max and Araminta were adorned with gleaming paper clips that secured little tufts of fur on top of their heads in a rakish fashion.
From the perspective of a bunch of hungry dust bunnies, the glorious wedding cake loomed a mile high, and the champagne fountains flowed like rivers.
If the humans would rather dance than eat, that was their problem. Dust bunnies knew what to do with a fully loaded buffet table.
