Dark Light (36 page)
“How much do you know?”
“About the people you're involved with?” She raised one shoulder slightly. “Not a lot. Just that it's some sort of cartel run by very powerful sensitives and that they've seduced you into doing their dirty work.”
Martin's aura flared higher. “No one has seduced me.”
“Until recently I would never have believed that anyone could buy you,” she said. “I mean, what could a bunch of gangsters offer one of the most successful men on the planet that would make it worth his while to risk his freedom, his reputation, and his life?”
Martin's rage showed in his eyes now. “You don't know what the hell you're talking about. The organization isn't some mob.”
“Yes, it is, Martin. The first time you brought those two men to the Miami residence I told you that they were very, very dangerous.”
“So am I,” Martin hissed. He reached up and slowly removed his mirrored glasses. “More dangerous than you can imagine, thanks to my new business associates. And thanks to them, I no longer need you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The organization those two men represent is about much more than money.” Martin's eyes were unnaturally brilliant. The dark energy in his aura had a feverish aspect. “It's all about power, real power; the kind that world leaders and war lords and billionaires can only dream about.”
Suddenly she understood. She had not thought that she could be any more appalled than she already was, but she had been wrong.
“I guess this explains the changes in your aura in the past couple of months,” she said.
Martin looked startled.
“What changes?” he demanded.
“I thought perhaps you had become the victim of some kind of mental illness that affected your para-senses.”
“I am not sick, damn you.”
“Yes, you are, but not because of some natural disease process. You did this to yourself. With a little help from your new friends, of course.”
Martin took a step closer. He didn't look horrified. He looked eager. Excited. So did his aura.
“You can see the effects of the drug in my aura?”
“A drug,” she repeated. “Yes, that's the only logical explanation. Those two men supplied you with some sort of drug that affects your para-senses.”
“There's an excellent likelihood that it will also increase my natural life span, as well, maybe by as much as a couple of decades. What's more, they'll be good decades. I won't be weak and frail. I'll maintain my powers.”
“I can't believe I'm hearing this. Martin, you're a brilliant businessman. Don't you know when you've been sold a bill of goods? The promise of longevity is the oldest scam in the world.”
“The reason the researchers aren't certain about the extended life span is because the new drug hasn't been around long enough to test the theory. Those at the top have been using the stuff for only a few years. But the lab data look very promising.”
“You're a fool, Martin.”
“It's true,” he insisted. “Even if they're wrong about the drug's ability to lengthen my life, that doesn't alter the fact that the formula
works
. It can kick a Level Seven strategy talent like mine all the way up to Nine or a Ten.”
works
. It can kick a Level Seven strategy talent like mine all the way up to Nine or a Ten.”
“You're not a Nine or a Ten. I'd know. Something has changed in your aura, though. Whatever it is, it isn'tâ” She broke off, groping for the right word. “It isn't wholesome.”
“Wholesome?” He laughed. “Now there's a silly, old-fashioned word. Do you think I care how
wholesome
I am? For your information, you're right, though. The drug they gave me didn't elevate the level of my strat talent. It wasn't intended to have that effect.”
wholesome
I am? For your information, you're right, though. The drug they gave me didn't elevate the level of my strat talent. It wasn't intended to have that effect.”
“I don't understand.”
“The drug can be genetically altered in a variety of ways to suit an individual's psychic profile. The version I'm taking has provided me with an entirely new talent.”
“If you believe that, you really have gone off the deep end.”
“I am not insane,” Martin shouted.
The words seemed to echo around them. A few seconds of terrifying stillness followed. Then Martin's aura flared with a sickening heat.
She knew then, that the moment had come. He was going to try to kill her now. The only question was whether he intended to use a gun or his bare hands. One thing was certain: standing here at the end of the dock left her nowhere to run.
The mind-searing blast of energy came out of nowhere. It roared over her, bringing with it disorienting pain and the promise of an endless plunge into the abyss.
Not a gun.
She fell to her knees under the force of the lightning that slashed at her senses.
Not his bare hands, either.
A slight miscalculation on her part.
She fell to her knees under the force of the lightning that slashed at her senses.
Not his bare hands, either.
A slight miscalculation on her part.
Martin stared down at her, enthralled with his own power.
“They were right,” he breathed. “They told me the truth about the drug. Congratulations. You are about to become the first person to witness what I can do with my new talent.”
“Don't touch me.”
“I'm not going to touch you. It isn't necessary. I'm going to incinerate your para-senses. You will go into a coma and then you will die.”
“Martin, no, don't do this.” Her voice was steadier now. So were her senses. She had recovered somewhat from the initial traumatizing shock. She was getting a handle on the pain, which meant that she was pushing back the invading waves of energy. “Maybe it's not too late. Maybe some of the experts in the Society can help you.”
“You're pleading with me. I like that.”
“I'm not going to beg for my life. But there is one thing you should know before you do this.”
“What?”
“If you hadn't come along, I would have owned that florist shop by now, a whole chain of flower shops.”
“That was always your greatest flaw,” Martin said. “Your dreams and ambitions were so much smaller than mine.”
He heightened the psychic heat of the dark energy he was generating, his face tightening with effort. She pushed back harder, pulling energy from her own aura. The pain lessened some more.
“Die, damn you,” he hissed. He took another step closer. “Why won't you
die
?”
die
?”
Her strength was coming back. She was able to focus clearly on maintaining the energy shield that her aura had become.
Martin staggered but he did not seem to notice that she was fighting him. Instead, he appeared disoriented.
Angrily, he pulled himself together and took another step toward her, almost touching her. He forced more energy through the murky bands of dark lightning he was generating.
“You're supposed to die,” he shouted.
He reached down to seize her by the throat. She raised her arms in a reflexive, defensive gesture. He grabbed her hands. She gripped his wrists.
Her palms burned. The world exploded, sending jolt after jolt of shockwaves through her senses.
Martin Crocker convulsed once. He looked at her with the eyes of a man who is peering into hell.
“No,” he screamed.
He reeled, lost his balance, and went over the side of the dock into the water. His aura winked out with terrifying suddenness.
She rose, heart pounding. For the second time in her life she had killed a man. Not just any man this time; a very powerful, influential multibillionaire who just happened to be involved in a dangerous criminal enterprise.
And her hands still burned.
Titles by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Jayne Castle
DARK LIGHT
SILVER MASTER
GHOST HUNTER
AFTER GLOW
HARMONY
SILVER MASTER
GHOST HUNTER
AFTER GLOW
HARMONY
AFTER DARK
AMARYLLIS
ZINNIA
ORCHID
AMARYLLIS
ZINNIA
ORCHID
Â
Titles by Jayne Ann Krentz writing as Amanda Quick
THE THIRD CIRCLE
THE RIVER KNOWS
SECOND SIGHT
LIE BY MOONLIGHT
THE PAID COMPANION
WAIT UNTIL MIDNIGHT
LATE FOR THE WEDDING
DON'T LOOK BACK
SLIGHTLY SHADY
WICKED WIDOW
I THEE WED
WITH THIS RING
AFFAIR
THE RIVER KNOWS
SECOND SIGHT
LIE BY MOONLIGHT
THE PAID COMPANION
WAIT UNTIL MIDNIGHT
LATE FOR THE WEDDING
DON'T LOOK BACK
SLIGHTLY SHADY
WICKED WIDOW
I THEE WED
WITH THIS RING
AFFAIR
Â
MISCHIEF
MYSTIQUE
MISTRESS
DECEPTION
DESIRE
DANGEROUS
RECKLESS
RAVISHED
RENDEZVOUS
SCANDAL
SURRENDER
SEDUCTION
MYSTIQUE
MISTRESS
DECEPTION
DESIRE
DANGEROUS
RECKLESS
RAVISHED
RENDEZVOUS
SCANDAL
SURRENDER
SEDUCTION
Â
Other titles by Jayne Ann Krentz
SIZZLE AND BURN
WHITE LIES
ALL NIGHT LONG
FALLING AWAKE
TRUTH OR DARE
LIGHT IN SHADOW
SUMMER IN ECLIPSE BAY
TOGETHER IN ECLIPSE BAY
SMOKE IN MIRRORS
LOST & FOUND
DAWN IN ECLIPSE BAY
SOFT FOCUS
ECLIPSE BAY
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
WHITE LIES
ALL NIGHT LONG
FALLING AWAKE
TRUTH OR DARE
LIGHT IN SHADOW
SUMMER IN ECLIPSE BAY
TOGETHER IN ECLIPSE BAY
SMOKE IN MIRRORS
LOST & FOUND
DAWN IN ECLIPSE BAY
SOFT FOCUS
ECLIPSE BAY
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
Â
FLASH
SHARP EDGES
DEEP WATERS
ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY
TRUST ME
GRAND PASSION
HIDDEN TALENTS
WILDEST HEARTS
FAMILY MAN
PERFECT PARTNERS
SWEET FORTUNE
SILVER LININGS
THE GOLDEN CHANCE
SHARP EDGES
DEEP WATERS
ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY
TRUST ME
GRAND PASSION
HIDDEN TALENTS
WILDEST HEARTS
FAMILY MAN
PERFECT PARTNERS
SWEET FORTUNE
SILVER LININGS
THE GOLDEN CHANCE
Â
Anthologies
CHARMED
(with Julie Beard, Lori Foster, and Eileen Wilks)
CHARMED
(with Julie Beard, Lori Foster, and Eileen Wilks)
Â
Titles written by Jayne Ann Krentz and Jayne Castle
NO GOING BACK
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