Midnight Crystal (31 page)

At the bottom of the stairs, an honor guard composed of twelve ghost hunters in full dress uniforms formed two rows facing each other. A reception line composed of high-ranking city dignitaries took shape. The representatives of the media surged forward, video cameras held high.

The very elderly Marcus Spearman, one of the few remaining Councilmen, stepped forward to make the official announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, the Frequency City Guild of Dissonance-Energy Para-resonators is pleased to present our new director, Mr. Adam Winters. He is accompanied tonight by Miss Marlowe Jones.”

The band surged to life, playing the soaring, triumphant music of the traditional “Guild March.” The crowd burst into wild applause.

Adam smiled at Marlowe, savoring the knowledge that she was the woman who was here at his side tonight, sharing the moment with him. She looked amazing, he thought. Her hair was pulled back into an elegant twist. Delicate amber and gold earrings cascaded from her ears. Her gown was a column of black silk that discreetly displayed her lithe, feminine body and fine shoulders to perfection.

You would never know that a few hours ago she had nearly been run down by some bastard in a Guild car or that just a short time after that she had been confronted with a mag-rez pistol and then gone on to save the life and sanity of a cheap con artist, he thought. And only a day before that, she had helped him save the underworld.

He smiled.

She gave him an inquiring look. “What?”

“Like I keep telling you, it’s no wonder they put you in charge of J&J.”

“And no wonder they put you in charge of cleaning up the Frequency Guild.”

“Ready to do this?”

“Certainly,” she said. “Hey, we saved the underworld, didn’t we?”

“We did. If we can do that, we can handle this crowd.”

She put on a serene smile and surveyed the sea of expectant faces at the bottom of the stairs. “Besides, what else could possibly go wrong today?”

He laughed and tightened his grip on her arm. Together they went down the staircase to greet the waiting crowd.

 

 

“SO, YOU TWO SAVED THE UNDERWORLD,” LYRA DORE said an hour later. “That sounds like an unusual date. Some kind of Guild boss thing?”

“I’m not sure,” Marlowe said. “Adam is the only Guild boss I’ve ever dated.”

Both women looked at Adam, who stood a short distance away, talking quietly to Cruz Sweetwater. The two men had a lot in common, Marlowe thought. Both were strong talents, and each, in his own right, wielded a lot of power. The Sweetwaters owned Amber Inc., a major amber mining and production company that controlled a huge chunk of the amber market. The firm’s only major competition was the RezStone corporation. Wilson Revere, CEO of the company, was also present tonight. At the moment he was on the far side of the room talking to the mayor of Frequency and a Guild Councilman.

“Cruz tells me that Adam Winters will be a little different from his predecessors,” Lyra said. “The betting was that Douglas Drake was going to get the CEO’s job.”

“Who told you that?”

“One of my best customers. She’s Hubert O’Conner’s girlfriend at the moment, although the last time she came to my shop, I got the feeling she was thinking of bailing. Gloria has very good intuition. Wonder if she has left town yet.”

“It’s no secret that the Sweetwaters would have preferred just about anyone other than Drake at the top of the Guild,” Marlowe said.

Lyra smiled. “They have a major stake in Guild politics. They do a lot of business underground, and whoever controls the Guild controls the underworld. The Sweetwaters, bless their hearts, are very pragmatic about that kind of thing, though. They worked with the former head of the Guild, and they would have worked with Drake if it had been necessary. But between you and me, I think they went a little out of their way to make sure it wouldn’t be necessary.”

“That doesn’t surprise me,” Marlowe said. “Although I didn’t know until tonight that Cruz and Adam were friends.”

“I think they have some connection through the Bureau,” Lyra said vaguely.

“Ah, yes, that explains it.”

So the Sweetwaters had done a little work for the Bureau. That was a very interesting tidbit, Marlowe thought. She filed it away for future reference. You never knew when that kind of information might be useful in the private eye business.

Lyra Dore was marrying into a family of strong talents, one that possessed a long history with Arcane. Although not officially registered with the Society, the Sweetwaters had, for centuries, maintained what could only be called a nuanced association with Jones & Jones.

For generations the Sweetwaters had made their living as extremely discreet, highly professional assassins. On those rare occasions when J&J had found itself confronting an extraordinarily dangerous rogue psychic who could not be handled in-house, it had called in the Sweetwaters.

The official line from the Sweetwaters maintained that the reclusive, tightly knit clan was no longer in the traditional family business. The clan was, instead, wholly dedicated to its thriving amber empire. But on her first day on the job at J&J, Marlowe had learned that was not entirely true. Uncle Zeke had explained that, while the Sweetwaters now made their living in security work and a number of amber-related enterprises, J&J could still turn to the family when there was no other alternative. She hoped it would never be necessary to pick up the phone and call in the Sweetwaters.

“How are the wedding plans coming?” Marlowe asked.

“To tell you the truth, I’m not sure,” Lyra admitted. “I’ve turned the entire project over to my friend, Nancy Halifax. She’s in the art world, you know. Owns a gallery in the Quarter. She did tell me that this year’s wedding colors are blue and pink, which is unfortunate, because I’m not fond of either one.”

“Neither am I.”

“Well, you won’t have to worry about it,” Lyra said. “Everyone knows that a high-ranking Guild Covenant Marriage has a whole different set of rules. It will be a lot of amber and psi green for you, I’m afraid.” She waved a hand. “Sort of like this ballroom.”

Shocked, Marlowe almost spilled her champagne. “Adam and I have never talked about marriage.”

“Really?” Lyra appeared surprised.

“We’ve never even dated. Unless you count this reception.”

Lyra frowned. “Are you sure? According to the papers, you two are an item.”

“The press got it all wrong, as usual.”

Lyra’s expression became thoughtful. “Hmm.”

Time to change the subject, Marlowe decided. “I’ve got a professional question for you.”

“Great.” Lyra brightened. “I don’t get a lot of questions of a professional nature. Seems like very few people take a serious interest in amber tuning. Being a tuner is a lot like being an auto mechanic. Customers don’t really want to know about the psi-physics of flash-rock, they just want the car fixed.”

“I understand that those with your kind of talent can tune amber, but can you reverse the process?”

“Sure. Anyone who can tune amber can untune it.”

“How?”

“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“Well, the process would be exactly the same. You focus on the stone, rez a little talent, and channel energy in a way that would distort the tuned currents.”

“Like working dreamlight,” Marlowe said.

“I don’t know anything about dreamlight,” Lyra said, “but energy is energy, regardless of where it comes from on the spectrum. I’m sure there are similarities when it comes to channeling it.”

“Whenever I’ve seen an amber tuner at work, he or she holds the stone in one hand.”

“That’s right. There has to be physical contact.” Lyra paused. “Something I should know? Does this involve one of your cases?”

Adam and Cruz were walking toward them now, moving through the crowd with the easy assurance of a couple of very well-bred, very well-dressed, top-of-the-line predators.

“As a matter of fact, it does,” Marlowe said.

“Oh, wow, I get to consult for J&J. This is so exciting.”

Adam and Cruz were upon them. Cruz moved in close to Lyra, his arm brushing hers in a subtle act of intimacy. Marlowe opened her senses a tiny bit and glanced at their prints. The energy that burned between the two was clear and strong and radiant, powerful enough to send the ages-old message to everyone else in the room.
We are a mated pair, bonded by love, bonded for life.

I want that feeling,
Marlowe thought, oddly shaken.
I want it with Adam.
She looked at him and saw the heat in his eyes. It stirred her senses in the most intimate way. It would never be the same with anyone else. She did not want to be with anyone else.

He looked at her, eyes watchful. “Something wrong?”

“No,” she said quickly. “Lyra and I were just discussing how someone might de-rez tuned amber.”

Adam got it at once. “That is a very good question. And the answer?”

“The answer,” Marlowe said, “is that someone would have to have a talent for tuning. In addition, he would have to have physical contact with the stone that he wanted to de-rez.”

“Well,” Lyra said, hesitant, “there is one other possibility. Very unlikely, but technically feasible.”

They all looked at her.

“There is a rare kind of quartz that gives off energy that can disrupt standard rez amber. It’s called vortex quartz for obvious reasons.”

“Because it acts like a vortex down in the catacombs?” Marlowe said.

“Right. Vortex quartz can warp the currents in a tuned stone. But as I said, it’s quite rare.”

Adam looked at Lyra. “Would it take a special kind of talent to rez it?”

“No, but it would take a lot of power,” Lyra said. “I think any strong talent could probably do it. But the stuff is almost impossible to obtain. I don’t know any shop that sells it. There’s no market for it, really. Even if you got hold of some, you’d have to find a specialist who could tune it for you.”

Adam looked at Marlowe. “Got a hunch that when we finally track down Joey the broker, he’ll be able to tell us how to buy vortex quartz and locate a tuner who could handle it.”

Cruz looked from Adam to Marlowe and back again. “Anything you want to tell us? Or is this Guild business?”

Marlowe answered at the same time that Adam did.

“Actually, its J&J business,” she said.

“Guild business,” Adam said.

Cruz and Lyra smiled.

Marlowe cleared her throat. “But under the circumstances, I think we can tell you.” She paused a beat, glancing at Adam. “Unless the new Guild boss has some objection?”

He shrugged. “Nope, the new Guild boss is wide-open to suggestions tonight.”

He told Cruz and Lyra about the crystals and described how his amber had been subtly warped a few days earlier.

There was a short silence while Lyra considered the problem, frowning a little.

“You’re absolutely certain no one physically handled your tuned amber?” she said finally.

“I’m certain,” Adam said.

“Well, it sure sounds like someone got close enough to you to use vortex quartz on your good amber.”

“How close would he have to be?” Cruz asked.

Lyra thought about it. “If he is very strong, he could probably do it from a distance of ten, maybe fifteen feet.”

“Which means it could have happened anywhere,” Marlowe said to Adam. “Anyone passing you on the street could have destroyed your good amber.”

Cruz got what struck Marlowe as an expression that could only be labeled professional.

“Interesting way to get rid of a Guild boss, when you think about it,” he said. “De-rez his amber just enough to warp it but not enough to be obvious. Then make sure he goes underground. Tactically speaking, it’s brilliant.”

Adam looked at Marlowe, amusement gleaming in his eyes. “Works even better if you make sure he goes underground in a region where there’s an active vortex.”

Marlowe winced. “Just seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“I’ve got an even better idea,” Adam said. He took her hand. “Let’s dance.”

He led her toward the dance floor. The crowd parted magically, making a path for them. The bandleader saw what was happening and immediately struck the opening chords of the famous “Amber Waltz.”

The other couples on the floor stopped dancing and moved to the side to allow the new Guild chief to dance with his lady.

Marlowe went into Adam’s arms. His eyes heated and he smiled at her, an intimate, sensual smile that stirred all of her senses.

In that moment she was only distantly aware of the applause from the throng that surrounded them. The music somehow became interwoven with the energy resonating between Adam and her. Unconsciously, she rezzed all of her senses.

It was a mistake, of course. Opening her other vision in a crowded room was always unpleasant. Sure enough, murky layers of dreamlight covered the dance floor. It was as if she and Adam were dancing through a fog of psi.

She was about to close down her talent when she saw the hot, warped prints.

“Adam.”

His arms tightened around her. “Are you all right?”

“Yes. Sorry. Just got a good look at the floor.”

“Whatever you do, keep smiling.”

“Right.” She managed to keep her glowing smile in place while speaking through her teeth. “There are a couple of people here tonight who must have been using Keith Deene’s crystals. Whoever they are, they’ve been handling them a lot. The damage in both sets of prints looks bad.”

“Can you track the prints without being too obvious?”

“Yes, I think so. One set leads toward the southern corner of the floor. Over there by the flags.”

Adam drew her into another long, gliding turn that gave him a clear view of the crowd of guests standing near the flags.