He was already pushing her harder than he had ever pushed a prism. But she did not waver. He used a little more talent. He knew he was going beyond the range of a class ten now.
The focus stayed steady.
Lucas took a chance and eased more power through the prism. The illusion of a brick wall became increasingly solid. It blocked the entire entrance of the alley. Lucas could no longer see the street, which meant that their pursuers could not see the alley.
The nature of an illusion was such that even a good one could not completely block out direct light. The effect was that, viewed from the alley side, the wall glowed because of the light from the street lamps. But since there was no light from the alley to pass through the illusion, the wall would appear solid when seen from the sidewalk.
At least, Lucas hoped that it appeared solid.
The other potential problem with the effect was that the "wall" had no substance. If someone tried to lean against it, he would tumble straight through and find himself in the alley with Lucas and Amaryllis.
Lucas felt sweat trickle down his back. At any second he might overpower Amaryllis. If that happened, things were going to get nasty. But even in that dire moment, a part of him took a surging pleasure in being able to use the full range of his talent for an extended period of time. The experience was intense and incredibly satisfying. Lucas reveled in it.
Footsteps came to a halt on the other side of the illusory brick wall.
"Where the hell did they go?" a man growled.
"Must have ducked into a doorway or somethin'."
"They gotta be around here somewhere. I saw 'em turn down this street."
Lucas realized that some of the bricks at the top of his wall were partially transparent.
Amaryllis gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. She said nothing, but he sensed that she was trying to tell him that she was all right. He remembered what she had said when they had linked the night of the reception. I won't break.
Lucas eased a smidgen more talent through the prism, just enough to solidify the upper layer of bricks.
"These doors are all locked or boarded up," someone said on the other side of the illusion. "So are the windows. They didn't have time to pick any locks or bust any glass. Where are they?"
"Looks like they got away," a second voice declared in disgust. "I told you we shouldn't have tried to work with knife-happy Dancer and his pal. Guy's never been the same since the Western Islands Action."
"Not like we had a lotta choice. Wasn't time to hire reliable talent. The client's pissed off. Somethin' to do with gettin' even because Trent threw him outa the city. He wanted the Iceman taken out at the first opportunity. This was it."
"Yeah, well I guess your client's gonna have to stay out of the city a while longer. Dancer and Rand really screwed this one up. Come on, let's get outa here before someone calls the cops."
Lucas listened to the receding footsteps. He held the brick wall illusion in place until he was certain that the men were gone. When he was satisfied that he and Amaryllis were alone on the street, he cut the flow of energy.
The wall vanished. The empty sidewalk and street in front of the alley reappeared.
He heard Amaryllis exhale slowly and deeply. She did not say a word. The glorious satisfaction that he had experienced a moment ago vanished along with the illusion of the wall. Reality returned with a thud.
Now she knows, Lucas thought. A cold chill settled in his gut. Amaryllis was the first person to learn the truth about him since Dora had died.
Psychic vampire.
"Let's go," Lucas said wearily. "We need to find a cop. A real one."
Dancer and Rand were still lying on the street where Lucas and Amaryllis had left them. Their pockets were empty and they were not in a cheerful mood. They were more than willing to blame their companions who had been assigned to wait near the leer.
"We'll pick the rest of them up soon," one of the officers assured Lucas. "We know most of these guys. Any idea of why they targeted you tonight?"
Lucas rubbed the back of his neck. "I think a guy named Beech can answer that question."
"Is that a fact?" The officer gave Lucas a speculative look. "You must've pissed him off."
"I sometimes have that effect on people."
Amaryllis remained silent during the drive back to her little house. Lucas couldn't tell if she was angry, shocked, or horrified. He felt the cold feeling grow inside him.
This was the end. Well, he had known from the start that this would not be a long-term relationship.
A bleak desperation seized him when he found himself walking Amaryllis to her front door. He tried to tell himself that the feeling of impending loss was crazy. After all, it was not as though he and Amaryllis had ever had much of a future. A short-term affair was the most he could have expected. Perhaps even that prospect had been as much of an illusion as the brick wall that he had built tonight.
"I'm sorry." He stood on the step and massaged the back of his neck as Amaryllis deactivated the door lock. "I should have told you, but I've never told anyone except Icy Claxby and my wife, Dora."
Amaryllis stepped into the hall and turned to face him. "Who's Icy Claxby?"
Lucas stopped rubbing his neck. He was not going to get rid of the tension that easily. He braced one hand against the doorjamb. "Icy raised me after my parents were killed. He was an untrained prism. He recognized what I was. Warned me not to tell anyone. Said people would call me a vampire."
"Psychic vampire."
He closed his eyes briefly and steeled himself against the pain. "Yeah."
"But you were tested." She searched his face. "You're certified as a class nine."
"I didn't take the test until I knew I could control the talent."
"You've got more than one talent. You're not just a detector. You're also an illusionist."
"Yes."
"It's extremely rare to have two types of psychic power." She sounded curiously detached, as if she were giving an academic talk on the subject.
"Amaryllis, I realize that this has come as a shock."
"Yes, it has."
"I know that professional prisms are always careful not to work with strong talents who might bum them out. And God knows I've heard all the urban legends about off-the- scale talents. But you worked with me tonight. Nothing happened to you. I didn't take over your mind or anything."
"No, you didn't."
"Which proves that the myths are garbage. Nothing more than horror stories designed to give people a few cheap thrills."
"Is that right?"
"Of course it is." Why was he struggling against the inevitable, Lucas wondered. There was no point trying to convince her to ignore what had happened. He was wasting his time. "Besides, we're not likely to get into a situation like that again. I don't see why we need to let it get in the way of a relationship."
She contemplated him for a moment. Her eyes were wide and deep in the glow of the door lamp. "I've always known that I was a strong prism."
"For which we can both be grateful," Lucas muttered.
"But I've never thought of myself as a freak."
He frowned. "You're no freak. What the hell are you talking about?"
"Don't you see, Lucas? I was able to hold the focus for you tonight. You must have been operating at what would be the equivalent of a class eleven or maybe even a twelve."
"Look, I know how you must have felt, but--"
"If you're some kind of psychic vampire, what does that make me?"
He stared at her. "What did you say?"
"My power is as strong as your own," she said very quietly. "Technically speaking, when it comes to psychic energy, power is power, regardless of whether one is a talent or a prism."