by Àìàíäà Êâèê
"Garnet Lane," Owen said.
"Aye, sir." The driver collected the reins.
Owen had wrapped the dragon in a quilt. He set the shrouded automaton on the floor of the carriage and sat down across from Virginia. His senses were still flaring. That was only to be expected, he thought. A close brush with danger or violence always resulted in an edgy tension that lingered, sometimes for hours or even days. But the events in the Ratford house had left him physically as well as psychically aroused. He knew that part of what he was feeling now was directly linked to Virginia's presence. Something had happened when they had held hands to battle the clockwork dragon, something as intimate as it was inexplicable.
He was certain the experience had strengthened the growing bond between them. He longed to ask Virginia if she was aware of the connection, but he was worried that the intimate question would alarm her. She was already wary enough about their association.
He did not know how much longer he could wait for her to acknowledge the link between them. For now the bond was of a psychical nature, but the need to seal it with the hot energy of physical passion was stirring his blood.
He looked at her. In the low glow cast by the carriage lamps he could have sworn that he saw some heat in her eyes.She feels it, too, he thought. But perhaps the energy he perceived in her was simply the remnants of the fever that had resulted from the use of her talent tonight. It always took one a while to cool down after such an intense burn.
"Are you all right?" he asked, unable to think of anything else to say.
"Yes," she said. She pulled her cloak more snugly around herself. "But I must admit that my senses are still rattled. I have never before encountered anything like that storm of hallucinations."
"Neither have I. If it is any consolation, my nerves are also badly frayed."
She smiled. "It would take more than a clockwork dragon to shatter your nerves, sir."
"Or yours. You are the one who slew the dragon tonight."
"I could not have done it without you." She looked down at the blanket-wrapped dragon. "It is very powerful. Unlike a human, it would not tire until it winds down. It is a machine, capable of radiating that high level of energy for a considerable length of time. No person of talent, regardless of the degree of that talent, could control such a device for long before exhausting the senses."
"It is astonishing that someone actually possesses the ability to construct such a weapon. I talked to my cousin Nick today. Thus far he has not had any luck finding the clock maker, but he has picked up a few intriguing rumors from some rather eccentric collectors."
The carriage halted in front of Virginia's town house. He opened the door, vaulted down to the pavement and turned to lower the carriage steps. Virginia gave him her hand and descended to the pavement. She had put her gloves back on, he noticed.
"I believe I need a strong dose of medicinal spirits tonight," she said.
He smiled. "I certainly plan to take the same therapeutic medicine when I get home."
She contemplated the dark windows of the town house for a moment, and then she turned back to face him. In the shadows cast by the gas lamp and the hood of her cloak it was impossible to make out the expression on her face. But he could sense the heat in her eyes.
"Would you care to share a glass of my tonic with me, sir?" she asked. "I have some excellent brandy."
His blood was suddenly several degrees warmer. He felt as if he had just received an invitation to enter paradise.
Chapter 12
Virginia held her breath. She could not believe what she had just done. The invitation had been an uncharacteristically impulsive act inspired by the edgy sensation that was generating a fever deep inside her. It was surely a mistake, one she was certain she would regret. If Owen hesitated for even a heartbeat she would change her mind.
He did not give her time enough to catch her breath.
"I would like that very much," he said.
The even, casually polite tone of his voice told her absolutely nothing. But his eyes heated a little in the darkness. She knew that he was in the grip of the aftermath of a heavy burn, just as she was. No one but another powerful talent could understand the sensation.
She pulled her cloak around her and started up the front steps. "It is not as if either of us will be getting much sleep tonight, is it?"
"No," he agreed.
He paused long enough to pay the coachman. Then he followed her up the steps.
She dug her key out of the small chatelaine purse she wore. "And like it or not, we appear to be colleagues, at least for a while. We might as well share a drink and discuss the case."
"It sounds like a very useful way to proceed," he said.
She fumbled with her key and managed to drop it.
Owen snagged it in midair with no apparent effort.
"Allow me," he said.
He inserted the key into the lock and opened the door. She moved into the dimly lit hall. Mrs. Crofton had taken herself off to bed two floors above, but she had left a wall sconce burning.
She'll know I'm home,Virginia thought.She'll know that I am not alone. Housekeepers always knew everything that went on in their domain.
Owen set the dragon on the floor, stripped off his leather gloves and reached out to help Virginia with the cloak. When his warm fingers brushed the sensitive nape of her neck, another flicker of awareness went through her. The feverish sensation got more intense, but she did not feel the least bit ill.
He hung her cloak on a brass wall hook and then he set his hat on the console table alongside his leather gloves.
It is as if we were two lovers coming home late after an evening at the theater,she thought.
Her imagination was running wild, and her nerves were still tingling with the icy-hot sensation. She desperately needed a shot of brandy.
She led the way down the hall and into the darkened study. Inside the small, cozy room she turned up a lamp and went to the little table that held the brandy decanter.
Owen crossed to the hearth, struck a light and lit the fire with the easy familiarity of a man making himself at home. When he was finished he rose, peeled off his coat and tossed it over the back of a chair. He was not wearing a waistcoat, Virginia noticed. He unknotted his tie and left it hanging loosely around his neck. Next he opened the collar of his shirt. With deft movements of his fingers he removed the cuff links that secured the sleeves of his shirt, and tucked them into a pocket.
Virginia caught her breath. Oh, yes, he was definitely making himself at home.
She splashed brandy into two glasses. The decanter clinked lightly against the rim of one glass. She realized her hands were trembling. She set the decanter aside and gave Owen one of the glasses.
"To both of us getting some sleep tonight," she said, raising her glass.
"To us."
Not quite the same toast, she thought, but she did not think it would be a good idea to correct him.
His eyes never left hers as he downed some of the brandy.
She took a more cautious sip and lowered the glass.
"May I ask what you saw tonight when that storm of hallucinations struck?" she said.
"I saw the victims of the murders that I have investigated over the years," he said. "The ones I failed."
She exhaled slowly. "You mean those poor souls for whom you could not find justice?"
"And those I arrived too late to save. They are the ones who haunt me." He went to stand in front of the fire. "What did you see, Virginia?"
She crossed the carpet to join him at the hearth. "My visions were not unlike your own. Like you, I saw the ones I failed, those who died by violence. The ones for whom there was no justice because the killer was never caught."
He nodded once, understanding.
For a long moment they stood side by side, gazing into the fire.
"Do you ever wonder why we have been cursed with talents such as ours?" she asked after a time.
"There is n
o such thing as a curse," he said. "That is superstitious nonsense."
She almost smiled. "I was speaking metaphorically, Mr. Sweetwater."
"Of course. My apologies." He drank some more brandy. "I tend to be quite literal when it comes to matters involving para-physics."
"I understand."
"I will tell you the truth, Virginia. The reason I responded so sharply just now is because there have been many times when I have asked myself the very same question."
He had used her first name again. But she now thought of him as Owen, she reminded herself. It was astonishing how sharing danger had a way of injecting a degree of intimacy into the atmosphere between two people who were otherwise barely acquainted.
"I am a modern thinker, sir," she said. "Like you, I certainly do not believe in the supernatural. But have you ever come up with an answer to the question?"
He gripped the edge of the mantel and contemplated the fire. "I can give you an answer that conforms to the laws of para-physics, at least what I know of those laws. There is, as I'm sure you know, a great deal left to be discovered in the field."
"I am aware of that. Well? What is the scientific answer to the question?"
"A person who commits murder or an act of violence generates a heavy surge of psychical energy. Even the coldest of killers leaves a hot trail."
"Yes," she said. She shivered at the memory of some of the images she had seen in the mirrors.
"The same is true of the victim if he or she has time to react to the assault," Owen continued. "Strong energy does not simply evaporate. It continues to oscillate in the atmosphere of a space and is absorbed into the surfaces of furniture, walls and floors."
"And looking glasses."
He inclined his head. "Yes, although I cannot perceive what you do when you look into a mirror. The physics of looking glasses are quite unique."
"I comprehend that both of us are sensitive to the residue of the energy that is laid down by violence. But why do we both feel the need to find answers for those who are left behind?"
"I cannot answer that."
She swirled the brandy in her glass. "Do you think that all of those who possess talents like ours experience the compulsion to seek justice and answers?"
"No, far from it." He downed the last of the brandy and set the glass on the mantel. He did not take his attention off the flames. "There are people endowed with talents similar to our own who savor the atmosphere of murder in the manner of connoisseurs who appreciate fine art and great wine."
She nearly dropped the brandy glass.
"What?"she said, and gasped.
Owen's jaw hardened. He looked at her. A cold fire replaced the other kind of heat that had lit his eyes only a moment ago.
"There are those who seek out the scenes of murder and horrific violence in order to indulge their senses in the sensations that were generated in the moment of death," he said.
It seemed to Virginia that the room chilled. "That is difficult to believe."
But she had sensed the unwholesome excitement of the killers when she had looked deeply into the mirrors, she thought. She had witnessed that terrible thrill through the eyes of the victims. Owen was right, there were those who savored the act of murder.
"Some with talents similar to ours revel in violent energy to such a degree that they become addicted to it," Owen said. "In order to satisfy their craving they do not merely seek out murder scenes, they create them."
"They kill."
"Again and again. With their talents." He looked at her. "Those are the ultimate predators."
Comprehension flashed through her. "Those are the killers you hunt."
"Yes."
"It is the desire for justice that drives you."
The faint curve of his mouth held no trace of humor. "I cannot claim any such noble excuse, Virginia. I do not understand the need within me. I only know that I cannot escape it." He paused. "It is an addiction of another kind."
She knew then that he was not seeking absolution. He was telling her a truth about himself, waiting to see if she could accept it.
"I think," she said, choosing her words with great care, "that we can turn to Mr. Darwin and the theory of evolution for guidance here."
Owen looked first startled and then he frowned, his eyes narrowing. "What in blazes does evolution have to do with this?"
"Well, it occurs to me that nature has a way of keeping things in balance, and so does society. We have criminals among us, so it follows that there are those who are drawn to stop them. Such people perhaps become policemen or detectives, or they choose to study the criminal mind."
"I am not a policeman," Owen said in a voice of stone.
"If human predators with strong psychical powers have evolved, which is clearly the case, then it is also logical that there are those like you who have evolved to hunt them," she concluded.
Owen said nothing. He just watched her with his hunter's eyes.
She cleared her throat. "It is the way of the natural world."
"That is an interesting theory."
"I certainly thought so."
"Why are you bothering to search for a scientific explanation for the existence of a man like me?"
She finished her brandy and set the glass on the mantel, alongside the one he had placed there.
"I suppose it is because I would like to find a similar rational explanation for my own talent and the compulsion I experience whenever I am summoned to the scene of a violent death," she said quietly.
"We are not two of a kind, Virginia. I can kill with my talent, and I have done so."
She stared at him. "Truly?"
"Yes. Do you think that makes me one of the monsters?"
She took a breath, very certain now. "No. You are a dangerous man, Owen Sweetwater, but you are not one of the monsters."
"You are sure of that?"
She met his eyes in the mirror. "You would not have risked your own life to rescue Becky as well as me the other night at the Hollister mansion if you were a monster."
Owen drew her into his arms. She caught a fleeting glimpse of their reflections in the mirror and was quite certain that she saw lightning flash deep within the looking glass.
"Virginia,"Owen whispered.
Her name sounded as though it had been dragged from the very core of his being. His kiss held the same raw power. It ignited the fires of passion that flared between them. Whatever came tomorrow, she would never forget, never regret, this night.
With a soft, muffled cry she wrapped her arms around his neck, abandoning herself to the storm that swirled in the room. He kissed her long and hard, drinking deep.
When she was breathless and shivering with need, he started to undress her. He undid the hooks that fastened the bodice of her gown with fingers that trembled with the force of his own desire. Knowing that he wanted her as badly as she wanted him filled her with a rush of soaring, feminine confidence. She began to unfasten the buttons of his shirt.
He got the bodice of the gown open, revealing her thin chemise. He tugged the dress away from her breasts and pushed the heavy folds of fabric down over her hips. The gown crumpled to the floor and pooled around her ankles. He untied her petticoats. The yards of white linen splashed on top of the dress. She stood before him, knee-deep in the heap of discarded clothing, clad only in her chemise, drawers, stockings and low-heeled walking boots.
She reminded herself that this was not the first time he had seen her partially undressed. She had been in a similar state two nights ago when he had discovered her in the mirrored room beneath the Hollister mansion. But tonight everything was different.
Owen looked at her as though she were a creature of magic come to life.
"You are so beautiful," he said. He sounded awed, even worshipful.
She was no great beauty, she thought, but in that moment she felt like a goddess.
"So are you," she blurted, without thinking.
His laugh was a low, husky growl. "
I don't think so."
"Yes, you are." She got the last of the buttons on his shirt undone and flattened her palms on his bare chest, fingers tangling in the crisp hair she found there. His skin was warm to the touch. The feel of the firm contours of his sleekly muscled body intensified the stirring deep inside her. "You are magnificent."
"You are the magnificent being here in this room."
She smiled. "Are we going to argue about our mutual magnificence?"
He laughed again, sounding somehow younger, almost lighthearted, like a man who, for a time, at least, had shed a great burden and the responsibilities that accompanied it.
"Not tonight," he said. "This is no time to argue."
He crouched in front of her and undid the buttons of her walking boots. She gripped his shoulders while he eased the boots, one by one, off her feet. He slid his hands up under the chemise and drew the drawers down to her ankles.
"Owen," she whispered.
He got to his feet and kissed her again, silencing her. He moved his thumb across her nipple, caressing her through the delicate fabric of the chemise.
She was so sensitive that even the light touch sent tiny shock waves through her. She sucked in a sharp breath, not certain if what she felt was pain or pleasure. His hand stilled instantly.
"Did I hurt you?" he asked against her mouth.
"No." She pulled back a little and then leaned close again to drop a feather-light kiss on the side of his hard jaw. "It is just that I have never felt anything quite like this sensation."
"Neither have I."
The earnest declaration amused her. "There is no need to pretend that you are inexperienced in such matters, Owen. You are a man of the world."
"This is different." The statement was flat, categorical, not open to debate. "You are different. You are the one."
In spite of the currents of passion that had inflamed her senses, the familiar flicker of intuition tingled through her.This man is dangerous.
"The one?" she repeated, baffled. "I do not understand what you mean."
