Orchid

'Happens all the time in psychic vampire romance novels.'

He smiled ruefully. 'Is that a fact? Maybe I'd better read one.' He drew a breath. 'Five hells. No wonder the folks at ParaSyn wanted to run a few experiments on you.'

Orchid fussed with her T-shirt while she collected herself. Then she drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. 'I'll let you in on a little secret.'

'What's that?'

'The ParaSyn researchers knew that I was an ice-prism, of course, but I never let them see how much I could do with my prism construct.'

Rafe's gaze sharpened. 'What do you mean?'

'I allowed myself to get talked into doing the study for the sake of science. But once I started I realized I didn't want to demonstrate the full range of my abilities. Some instinct made me limit what I showed the researchers.'

'You don't have to explain. You're talking to an off-the-chart strat-talent, remember? I don't go around telling people how strong I am, either.'

She smiled wryly. 'No, I can understand that.'

Rafe reached out to catch her chin on the edge of his hand. He turned her head so that her eyes met his. 'The last thing I wanted to do was scare you so badly you had to resort to using your secrets.'

Annoyed, she lifted her chin away from his hand. 'Will you please stop apologizing? You didn't frighten me. You made me angry. Big difference.'

'Right. Big difference. I'm sorry that I made you angry.'

She raised her eyes to the ceiling. 'If you say you're sorry one more time, I'll get really mad. I think you're only apologizing because you don't want to admit what really happened.'

'What do you think really happened?'

'You lost control for a few seconds. Losing control bugs the heck out of you, doesn't it?'

His mouth thinned, but he said nothing.

She patted his knee again. 'Don't fret about it. I'm sure it won't happen again.'

His eyes gleamed. 'It might if you continue to pat me as if I were a cat-dog.'

She paused in mid-pat and hastily retrieved her hand. 'Sorry.'

He got to his feet with languid grace and stood looking down at her with a thoughtful expression. 'You know, psychically, I'd say we're fairly well matched.'

She rose, ignoring his outstretched hand. 'I suppose this means that we do have something in common besides the fact that we can't get a date. Well, it's been an interesting evening, but it's getting late. I'd better be on my way.'

She scooped up her jacket from the high back of the old Later Expansion period sofa and started toward the door.

'Where do you think you're going?' he asked.

'Home. Are you going to drive me or shall I call a cab?'

'What about Theo Willis?'

She stepped out into the hall and paused to look back at him. 'I've decided that you're right.'

'About what?'

'Working with you will be the most efficient way of proving that Theo didn't steal the missing relic.'

'Willis is dead,' Rafe said evenly. 'He won't care whether or not you clear his name. From what I learned today, he doesn't even have any close family who will give a damn if he was guilty or innocent.'

'I care. He was an ice-prism. There aren't very many of us. This sort of thing gives my kind a bad rap. Makes us look even more weird than we are. For the sake of ice-prisms everywhere, past and future, I'm going to prove that he was innocent.'

'Damn,' Rafe said as he followed her toward the door. 'I hate it when this happens.'

'When what happens?'

'When naive, amateur investigators set out to solve a case for the sake of a principle.'

'Really?' One hand on the doorknob, she glanced back at him over her shoulder. 'Why do you set out to solve cases?'

'I do it for the money.'

'Liar.' She opened the door and walked out into the night.

The dream bore down on her with the relentless, heart-stopping power of a jungle storm.

The psychic vampire sent forth the questing probe from the heart of the night. Talons of strange, unnatural energy lanced across the metaphysical plane, seeking, groping, clawing for a prism.

All of her instincts, psychic and physical, fought the terrible summons. She knew that if she weakened, she would be trapped forever in the eerie embrace.

Darkness howled across the psychic realm. Paranormal power crackled like lightning. The vampire was closer, closer than the last time. She must awaken. If she did not, she would see the creature's face. She did not want to confront the predatory thing that sought to imprison her. Her only hope was to wake up before it was too late . . .

Orchid's eyes snapped open with shocking abruptness. She sat straight up in bed, aware that she was soaked to the skin with perspiration. Her nightgown clung to her breasts and the place between her shoulders, yet she was chilled to the bone.

This was the worst it had ever been. The vampire had been so close this time.

The jarring warble of the phone broke through the last remnants of dazed, mindless fear. Orchid blinked and reached out to turn on the bedside light. At the same time she forced herself to do some meta-zen-syn breathing exercises.

The phone rang again, an imperious summons. She realized that it had been ringing for some time. She glanced at the clock as she picked up the receiver. Nearly three in the morning. She had been asleep since shortly after Rafe had brought her home sometime after midnight.

'Hello?'

'Orchid?' Rafe's voice came through the line with the bracing impact of a bucket of cold water. 'What's wrong? Are you all right?'

'Yes.' Orchid fell back against the pillows with a sigh of relief that she sincerely hoped Rafe did not hear. It would probably not be a good idea for him to know how grateful she was for his call. 'Yes, of course. I'm fine.'

'You don't sound fine.'

'You awakened me in the middle of a bad dream.' It occurred to her that his timing could not have been better. 'I'm all right now. Why in the world are you calling at this hour?'

'I don't know. You tell me.'

'This is not a good tune to go cryptic on me. I don't think very clearly at three in the morning.'

'I'm telling you the truth. I woke up out of a sound sleep with the feeling that I had to call you right now. So I did.'

Orchid shivered. 'Weird.'

'Yes.'

'I'm glad you did,' she confessed. 'I've had that particular dream before. Several times during the past week, in fact. I don't like it very much.'

'I could tell. What's the dream about?'

'I'm sure you've got better things to do than listen to me tell you about my stupid nightmare.'

'No, as a matter of fact, I don't have anything better to do. I'm just lying here looking up at the sky.'

'The sky?'

'I've got a window in my bedroom ceiling. Both moons are out tonight.'

'Oh.' She had a sudden, disturbing image of what it would be like to be in his bed gazing up at the twin moons.

'Tell me about your dream.'

Orchid knew that she should say goodnight and hang up the phone. Dreams were very personal. Much too intimate to discuss with a business client.

But the impulse to confide in him was overwhelming. Perhaps it was the hour. Three in the morning was a