Amaryllis

it.'

'You're a hell of a lot higher than a class ten. You must have rigged the test.'

'Impossible. Everyone knows the tests are infallible.'

A feverish excitement flashed in Sheffield's eyes. 'How did you do it?'

'I didn't do a damn thing, Sheffield. I just took the test and got myself certified a class nine.'

'Tell me how you did it.'

Lucas shrugged. 'Unlike some people, I have nothing to hide.'

'Listen to me, Trent, there's no need for us to be on opposite sides. I could take you with me to the president's office. I could name you as my vice president.'

'No thanks.'

'I'm offering you power, Trent. Real power.'

'I've got all the power I need.'

'It's Amaryllis Lark, isn't it? You don't want to give her up. I don't blame you. But there's no need to worry. Prisms can work for any talent. We can share her, Trent.'

It took every ounce of self-control Lucas possessed to keep his hands from Sheffield's throat. 'Touch her and I'll destroy you.'

Sheffield made a visible effort to regain control of himself. His composure settled over him, a slightly tattered cloak. 'The most you can do is accuse me of focusing a personality trait, and everyone knows personality traits don't count as true talents.'

'People don't like to feel that they've been manipulated, Sheffield. And the sort of contributor who gives big bucks to a campaign doesn't like to feel that he or she has been made to look like a fool.'

'Get out of my office. I don't have to listen to this.'

'Your power is limited by the strength of the prism who works with you. So long as you're getting your focus from a normal full-spectrum prism, I figure you're not much more of a threat than any other smart politician. But if you try to link with Amaryllis, your career is finished. Count on it.'

Lucas turned and walked out of the office.

Amaryllis wrapped her coat more securely around herself and surveyed the night-darkened street with grave misgivings. 'Are you certain that this Stonebraker person is a qualified private investigator?'

'Rafe Stonebraker is fully qualified.' Lucas locked the leer's door before he joined Amaryllis on the cracked, uneven sidewalk. 'The trick is to convince him to take the case.'

'I thought all investigators needed work. In mystery novels they're always hard up for clients.'

'Stonebraker only takes cases that interest him. He's a little eccentric.'

'You can say that again. Lucas, I don't like the look of this neighborhood.'

'What's wrong with it?'

'You have to ask? It looks like a cemetery.'

'Your imagination is running away with you.' Lucas took her arm. 'Come on, let's go see Stonebraker.'

Amaryllis glanced up and down the silent, empty street. It was not her imagination, she thought. The neighborhood did look like the sort of place where one might encounter a few specters.

The address of Stonebraker Investigations was located on a hillside overlooking the city. The district was an old one dotted with huge mansions built by the wealthy during the Later Expansion Period. Fifty years ago the heavy, somber architecture had been all the rage, an overreaction to the ebullience of the Early Explorations Period.

The style had quickly fallen out of favor. Most of the great, dark houses were empty these days. They crouched on the hill like so many brooding gargoyles frozen in time. Their windows were shuttered, and their doors had been nailed closed. Realtors threw up their hands whenever one came on the market. There were very few buyers for the old, decaying mansions. Even the Historical Preservation Society was not very interested in them.

Amaryllis shivered when Lucas brought her to a halt in front of a massive iron gate. 'I don't like this, Lucas.'

He grinned for the first time all day, his teeth white and dangerous in the shadows. 'If you think the neighborhood is spooky, wait until you see Stonebraker's home.'

'Why did we have to come here at night? Why couldn't we have made an appointment during regular business hours?'

'These are Stonebraker's regular hours. He only works nights.'

Lucas's warning about the house proved correct. Rate Stonebraker's mansion was an eerie mausoleum lit by old-fashioned jelly-ice flare candles that cast long, flickering shadows on the stone walls. Amaryllis had little opportunity to examine the interior closely, but what little she saw as she and Lucas were shown into a fire-lit library was enough to make her shudder. It was a house filled with darkness in more ways than one.

'You're really going to have to see about getting an interior designer in here, Stonebraker,' Lucas said as the library door closed. 'You may have pushed the atmosphere bit a little too far.'

'I'll take your advice under consideration, Trent.' The voice, as dark as the shadowed halls of the mansion, emanated from the depths of a deep chair that faced the fire. 'What brings you here tonight?'

'Business.'

'Naturally.' 'There was a laconic, soul-weary sigh buried in the single word.

'My friend Amaryllis here has a small job for you, if you're interested.' Lucas strolled over to a side table and picked up a crystal decanter filled with a clear, sparkling liquid. 'Might help you shake off a little of that pesky ennui for a while.'

'What sort of job?'

Amaryllis cleared her throat. 'I want you to find a missing file, Mr. Stonebraker.'

'Are you certain that it's missing?' Stonebraker asked.

Amaryllis scowled. 'Of course. I'm certain. Why would I be here if it weren't? The contents relate to an investigation I'm conducting into the matter of the death of a very fine man.'

There was a long silence from the vicinity of the chair.

'It has been my experience that such investigations generally reveal more than anyone really wants to know about the victim.'

'Are you or are you not interested in my offer of employment?' Amaryllis snapped.

'Tell me about it,' Stonebraker said at last.

She did, as succinctly as possible. It only took a few minutes during which time Lucas lounged against the side table and sipped the bright, clear brew that he had poured from the decanter.

Amaryllis finally got to the end of her tale. Braced for a rejection, she was surprised when Stonebraker gave her his answer.

'I'll look into it,' he said softly.

Amaryllis glanced at Lucas, who shrugged and put down his glass.

'You've got your investigator,' he said. 'Let's let him get on with his work.'

Amaryllis did not hesitate when Lucas started toward the door. With one last, uneasy glance at the back of the chair, she hurried after him.

A few minutes later she breathed a sigh of relief as they walked back through the iron gates. 'You said he was a little eccentric. You didn't tell me that he was downright weird.'

'Stonebraker is kind of difficult to explain.'

'He's impossible to explain. Lucas, I don't like him, I don't trust him, and I don't think he'll find the missing file. Hiring him is a complete waste of time.'

Lucas unlocked the car door. 'You're just saying that because you don't approve of him.'

'Who could possibly approve of a man who keeps bizarre hours, has no discernible work ethic, and who doesn't even use modern light fixtures?' Amaryllis glowered at Lucas as she slid into the passenger seat. 'I never even got a good look at him. The only illumination in that creepy old house was from the fire and a couple of old- fashioned jelly-ice candles.'

'Stonebraker has excellent night vision.' Lucas got behind the steering bar. 'It came in handy when we went pirate hunting in the islands.'

Amaryllis groaned. 'I should have guessed. He's another one of your acquaintances from the Western Islands