it, too. Things have been a little tense here. You can feel the difference in the mood now. You lightened up things for a while.”
“Magic,” Drake said.
He wasn’t looking at Houdini. He was looking at Alice.
Chapter 19
THE SOUND OF THE DOOR OPENING AND CLOSING brought Alice out of a restless sleep. She came awake on a hot tide of energy, leaping from the bed and instinctively rezzing her talent.
By the time she was fully awake she was on her feet, facing the door.
“It’s okay,” Drake said. He spoke calmly, as if her over-rezzed reaction was perfectly normal. “Houdini wanted out. He was very clear about it. I assumed it was all right so I opened the door for him.”
She felt the energy level rise a little in the atmosphere and knew that Drake had jacked up his talent so that he could see her. If he found that necessary, it meant she was doing a fade.
She took a deep breath and dropped back into her normal senses. She had to give Drake credit, she thought. Most men would have freaked at the sight of a woman jumping out of bed and disappearing into thin air. But it would take a lot to make Drake freak.
“Sure, that’s fine,” she said. “I told you, he often goes out at night. He’ll be back before dawn.” She hesitated. “Sorry about the disappearing act a minute ago.”
“No problem.”
Drake rezzed the lock and moved toward the chair in front of the window. He was wearing the trousers and clean T-shirt that he had produced from his pack. For her part she was still in the long-sleeved black pullover and the black trousers she had stuffed into her own pack. In the morning she was going to have to do some hand washing in the bathroom sink.
Earlier she had stretched out on top of the bed to get some sleep. She had expected Drake to settle down beside her. The bed was certainly large enough for two. It should not have been any more complicated than sitting back-to-back until dawn last night, she thought. Then again, maybe it would have been more complicated. Something about a bed changed things. In any event, Drake had insisted on dozing in the reading chair, his feet propped on the small hassock.
He came to a stop in front of the window and looked at her. “Good thing no one can see either of us now. We’re not exactly dressed like honeymooners, are we?”
She wrinkled her nose. “No, but we’re not your typical honeymooning couple.”
“And Rainshadow is not your typical honeymoon destination.”
“It certainly is for me,” Alice said.
“There is a pattern developing,” Drake conceded.
They both smiled. Alice relaxed somewhat.
Drake looked at her for a moment longer and then turned away to contemplate the night on the other side of the window. “The fog has gotten a lot heavier in the past hour.”
“It’s midnight.” She came to stand beside him. “According to the legends, they used to call this time of night the witching hour on the Old World.”
“This is the paranormal equivalent of high noon. If you don’t understand the science of para-physics, the effects can look a lot like magic.”
They stood together in the sphere of golden light produced by the amber lantern and looked out at the darkness.
Alice folded her arms. “It’s not nearly as bad as it was last night in the cove,” she said. “It helps being indoors.”
“It also helps that this sector of the island isn’t nearly as hot as the Deception Cove region.”
“But this area will get hotter if we don’t find Zara Tucker and those missing crystals.”
“We’ll find her,” Drake said.
“Good.”
“And then we’ll take care of Ethel Whitcomb.”
“Excellent.”
“Alice?”
“Yes?”
“About that kiss in the garage after we got our MC papers.”
She went very still. “I thought we agreed to pretend it never happened.”
“That was your plan, not mine. I’ve never been very good at pretending. I’m more of a facts-on-the-ground kind of guy.”
“You’re the guy in the audience who can’t enjoy the magic because he’s always trying to figure out how it’s done.”
“Yeah, that’s me, the boring guy who just wants to know what’s real and what isn’t.”
She pursed her lips, uncertain how to react to the edge on his words.
“That’s not quite what I meant,” she said.
“That kiss in the garage felt real to me. Just wondered how it felt on your end.”
“It
In the shadows she could see that his mouth was etched with amusement. “Why does that sound familiar?”
“I have no idea. Look, what I’m trying to say is, it’s the
“Has it occurred to you that you’re the one who’s making it complicated? There is such a thing as overanalyzing.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “This from the facts-on-the-ground man?”
He put his hands on her shoulders. “Let’s just stick to what we know to be true.”
“Which is?”
“That kiss in the garage was a really interesting kiss,” he said.
“It was?” She was suddenly a little breathless.
“Very high-rez,” Drake said. “At least, that’s how it felt on my end.”
“It was sort of over the top, wasn’t it?” She frowned. “I really can’t explain that aspect of things. I mean, there was the stress factor and all, but, generally speaking, that’s not my usual style when it comes to kissing.”
“What is your usual style?”
“I’m not sure I’ve got one, to be honest. I’ve been told I’m repressed.”
“Repressed.”
“I’m unable to commit emotionally to a relationship,” she explained. “Therefore I can’t really enjoy sex. Something to do with a combination of abandonment issues and my weird para-psych profile.”
“Who told you that?”
“A para-psychologist. After I got rejected by three matchmaking agencies it was suggested that I seek counseling.”
“Did the shrink offer any guidance?”
“He suggested sex therapy. With him. I declined.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Drake said. “Can I ask why you declined?”
“There were little velvet handcuffs and small whips involved. I’m not opposed to little velvet handcuffs and small whips in principle, you understand. At least, I don’t think I am. I haven’t actually tried any of those things. But somehow in that particular context they did not appeal.”
“That particular context being the para-shrink’s office?” Drake asked.
