"Yeah, that's been bugging me."
"Have a theory you want to trot out?"
"Not really."
Jordan sighed. "I can't tell you how much I hate hearing you say that."
"Sorry."
"Uh-huh." After a moment, Jordan added, "We're just whistling in a graveyard here, aren't we?"
"Pretty much."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
Dani wasn't about to leave the hospital without seeing Paris. The doctors weren't crazy about her leaving at all, but since her vital signs were utterly normal and she politely but firmly insisted she was fine and was ready to leave now, they really didn't have much choice in the matter.
Once she was dressed, Marc and Bishop stuck close, escorting her to the IC unit, where Paris lay hooked up to the machines monitoring her faint life signs.
Bishop's "guardian" was already there, sitting in a chair by the bed, and rose to be introduced simply as Bailey. She was unexpectedly fragile-looking, a tall, slender brunette with large dark eyes so calm and deep they were almost hypnotic.
Dani felt a pang of doubt, but that was quickly erased when she and Bailey shook hands. Dani had never been especially sensitive to other psychics, but she could feel this woman's strength, feel the energy that was like a warm blanket enveloping her.
"Wow," she said.
Bailey smiled faintly. "I won't let anyone or anything get to your sister."
"I believe you." She glanced at the men, and added, "But if you guys wouldn't mind, I'd like a few minutes alone with Paris."
The men exchanged glances and then moved away with Bailey. But only as far as the doorway, Dani realized, where they could still keep an eye on her and Paris.
Paris…
Dani stood by her bed and looked down at her twin for a moment, then took one limp, cool hand in both of hers. "You said to stop by," she said. "At least, I think this is what you meant. Don't worry, Paris. I-"
It was just a tingling at first, barely enough to get her attention. But when Dani stared down at the hand she held, she saw Paris 's fingers tighten around hers, and the tingling became something else, something much more powerful.
Dani's first instinct was to pull away, but she fought that and held on, watching her sister's face, hoping to see some flicker of consciousness there.
Nothing. Paris 's face remained completely relaxed and without expression, even as her fingers clung to Dani's.
Clung and…
When Dani realized what was happening, she tried to pull free of her sister's grip, but it was impossible. There might not have been much more than a spark of consciousness left in Paris, but it was enough to do what she meant to do.
I've got something for you, something you can use. I think it was always supposed to be yours anyway.
It lasted only a few seconds, and then Paris 's fingers relaxed. Dani was afraid for a moment that it had been her sister's vital life force that had passed from Paris to her, but the machines monitoring her continued to beep quietly and steadily.
Dani watched her sister breathe for a few moments longer, thinking, remembering, then gently tucked Paris 's hand beneath the covers and stepped back away from the bed.
Bailey was there almost instantly, pausing before reclaiming her chair to eye Dani and say calmly, "Try to keep your distance from the machinery in this place."
"Why?"
"You'll see. Don't worry, I'll watch over Paris. Anything that goes after her has to come through me first. And I don't give way without a fight."
"Thank you." Dani didn't understand what she meant about machinery. But Bailey was right. She found out.
Hollis and Jordan sat companionably silent in the conference room of the sheriff's department, their solitude broken only when Dani, Marc, and Bishop arrived-with two newcomers.
Gabriel and Roxanne Wolf were so clearly brother and sister that the information didn't even have to be provided-though Jordan found out later that they were, in fact, fraternal twins. He was tall, lean but obviously powerful, and had shaggy pale-blond hair; she was also tall, slender without being thin, and had pale-blond hair cut shorter than her brother's. They were around thirty, were clearly athletic, and shared eerily identical green eyes of the very rare sort: a bright, almost primary shade that seemed iridescent.
After introductions, the group settled in around the conference table, and Hollis was the first to say, "Dani, I'm sorry about Paris. I hope she pulls out of this."
"I hope we can help her do that," Dani responded.
Jordan said, "You know we're willing, Dani. Anything we can do, say the word."
"It's a question of time." She looked around the table. "I know we're all committed to finding and stopping this monster as soon as possible, before he gets his hands on another woman, but the attack on Paris and me has… altered the situation."
"Altered it how?" Gabriel asked.
"Several ways. For one thing, when somebody reaches into your mind with theirs, you get a sense of identity. Or, at least, I did, especially since it wasn't his first visit. And one thing I'm sure of now is that whoever attacked us psychically has more in his game plan than killing women."
"Like what?" Hollis frowned. "By the way, now that I'm seeing auras, yours looks a little weird. Almost… metallic."
"I'm not surprised," Dani said.
Jordan was staring at Hollis. "You see auras?"
"Apparently. Seems like every case I'm on brings a fun new toy for me." She eyed him. "Your aura is surprisingly calm, mostly blue and green."
Jordan had no idea what that meant and decided not to ask. He had a hunch he was better off not knowing.
Dani was saying, "I caught just enough of a glimpse into his mind to know two things: He's brilliant, and he's powerful. And I got the sense that he's been planning this for a long time, months at least. Probably even before Boston."
"Planning what?" Hollis asked again.
"To get more powerful. And to get rid of an enemy he views as very dangerous." Dani nodded toward Bishop.
"Bishop made an enemy," Gabriel murmured. "Fancy that."
"Gabe," his sister said warningly.
Bishop shook his head. "No, he's right. I make plenty of enemies."
"Then what makes this one different?" she asked.
"Ask Dani."
Dani didn't wait to be asked. "All I can tell you is that his plan is somehow focused on Bishop-and the SCU. And that we're all here because he wants us to be."
Gabriel scowled. "I don't much like being a puppet."
"Then we have at least one thing in common," Bishop told him.
Jordan said, "Okay, maybe a dumb question. Granted, we need to find this bastard before he has time to do any more damage. What does the timeline have to do with Paris? Afraid he'll come back and try to finish the job?"
"I'm afraid he has to."
"Why?"
"Because she has-or had-something he wants. And I think he made his first real mistake in believing he could get what he wanted from her and attack me at the same time. It took more energy than he planned and left him without enough to get the job done."
"I'm still in the dark," Jordan complained.
"He wanted something he could use as a weapon," Dani explained. "Not many psychic abilities can be used that way, but Paris had one of them."
Gabriel sat up straighter. "Her secondary ability?"
Dani glanced at Marc, then nodded. "Yeah. And not so secondary anymore, at least not for me-as we discovered at the hospital. I think the doctors were much more happy about me discharging myself after I shorted out two of their machines."
"Say what?" Jordan's voice was a bit faint.
She hesitated, then held up her right hand, thumb and index finger touching. As she rubbed them together, everyone in the room could hear the crackle of energy, very obviously intensifying with the friction she was creating. When she abruptly separated the two fingers, a visible thread of electricity arced between them.