Dark Light

Chapter 19

"HOW DID YOU KNOW?" FONTANA ASKED. HE SOUNDED interested but not alarmed.

That was not quite the reaction she had expected. She stared at him, aghast.

"You know he wants to kill you?" she finally managed in a low whisper.

"Let's just say I know he isn't fond of me. Smile. People will think we're arguing."

"What's going on here, Fontana?"

"Patterson was Jenner's man from the start. I'm almost certain that he was involved in Jenner's scheme, whatever it was."

"But you told me that every member of the Council voted to allow you to fight that duel with Jenner. That means Patterson agreed to it, too."

"The rumors circulating about Jenner's corruption were starting to cause real damage to the organization."

"You mean the Council actually took my stories seriously?" she asked, thrilled.

"You and your paper were considered a nuisance. What really had the Council worried was the fact that the Chamber was looking into the gossip."

"Oh." So much for her investigative reporting.

"Everyone knew we had to get rid of Jenner. Any Council member who tried to protect him would have run the risk of being viewed as being as corrupt as Jenner."

"In other words, Patterson threw his pal Jenner under the bus."

"Well, sure," Fontana said. "That's what guys like that do."

"I know I certainly wouldn't want to depend on Patterson in a pinch."

"He'd leave a man behind for ghost bait, all right," Fontana said.

She shuddered. "You're the head of the Guild now. Can't you get rid of him?"

"Forcing a man off the Council is almost as tricky as taking out a Guild boss. It can be done, but I'd rather have him where I can watch him."

"Ah, yes, the old 'Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer' rule."

"That's the plan at the moment." His hand tightened at her lower back, pulling her closer. "You haven't answered my question."

"What question?"

"You didn't meet Patterson until this evening, and you only exchanged a few words with him. How did you know he was dangerous?"

A little jolt of unease flickered through her. She'd known this was coming. Fontana saw far too much. He noticed the little things. Still, she might be able to finesse it.

"As I'm sure you're well aware," she said coolly, "I don't hold a high opinion of anyone on the Guild Council."

"Sorry, I'm not buying that explanation. You reacted to Patterson before you even saw him. I was holding your arm, remember? I felt the shock that went through you. You picked up something about him on the paranormal plane, didn't you? You're psychic."

"You say that so casually. As if everyone has some weird psi talent."

"At the rate para-talents are appearing in the population, that may soon prove to be true."

"Being weird is not, generally speaking, a good thing," she said crisply, "especially when it comes to psychic senses. In case you hadn't noticed."

"You're talking to someone who works dark light, remember?"

"Working dark light may be a rare and unusual talent, but it is, at least, a recognizable para-rez ability associated with alien energy. Furthermore, you need amber to use it."

"You don't use amber."

"No." She hesitated. "I can use it the same way everyone else does to rez a car engine or turn on a lamp, but I don't need it for my talent, so I don't carry it. My para-senses are different from yours and those of most other people, because they aren't linked to alien psi or something in the environment here on Harmony. There have been various kinds of psychic talents in my family for generations. The records indicate that some of my ancestors who came through the Curtain possessed them."

"What is your talent? Some kind of high-level intuition?"

"Yes." She frowned. "You seem to be taking this rather calmly."

"I'm a Guild boss. We're supposed to be unflappable."

"Do you actually believe me?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

He smiled. "What did you expect?"

"That you'd think I was either a little strange or that I was faking it."

"Is that how people usually react?"

"I don't go around advertising my talent. Historically, people in my family have kept quiet about their psychic natures."

"If your intuition is so damn good, how did you manage to get engaged to Pemberley?"

She made a face. "My intuition works very well, but it isn't always as simple to interpret a reading the way I just did with Troy Patterson. Some things, like immediate danger, come through loud and clear. Others are murky."

"Pemberley fell into the murky category?"

"I knew he wanted me. I sensed that he felt he needed me. I took that to mean he was in love with me. And since I was attracted to him…" She moved one hand a little on Fontana's shoulder. "It was easy to convince myself that we were a good match."

Fontana frowned. "You said he wanted you. Needed you. Sounds like love to me."

"The problem was that Jon's feelings for me were so closely interwoven with his passion for something else that I couldn't tell the difference. To be fair, I don't think he could, either."

"What was that something else?"

"What Jon wanted was my talent," she said quietly. "His real passion was his family's business empire. It's in trouble. He believed that he could use me to regain control."

Fontana understood.

"You would have made the perfect business wife," he said. "You would have been able to read his competitors and business associates. You could have told him when someone was trying to maneuver against him or when someone could not be trusted. You could have given him unparalleled insight into everyone he dealt with. Talk about having a competitive edge."

"Yes." She sighed. "Jonathan wanted to marry me because he thought I would be incredibly useful to have around."

"Whereas you know I find you to be a frequent pain in the ass, but I like having you around, anyway."