Amaryllis Read Free Page A

readily accepted the fact that their paranormal gifts were useless without the assistance of a prism. It was that way with most things here on St. Helens. Complex synergistic principles governed the natural order. It was the toughest lesson the colonists had had to learn during the past two hundred years. On St. Helens the laws of nature could be summed up with the old Earth adage, It Takes Two to Tango.
    The first indications that true paranormal abilities were beginning to show up in the population had been documented less than fifty years after the colony had been stranded. It had taken another twenty years before the researchers had figured out that natural and necessary complements to the talents were also appearing.
    Ten more years had passed before the experts arrived at the obvious conclusion that prisms and talents were made for each other, at least in one very crucial sense. No talent, no matter how gifted or well trained, could focus his or her paranormal powers for more than a few seconds without the aid of a prism. Most could not focus their abilities at all without assistance.
    It was the general consensus that prisms were nature’s way of ensuring that talents did not become dangerous or predatory. The link between prism and talent required absolute, willing cooperation from both parties if it was to endure long enough to accomplish anything useful.
    The authorities who studied the phenomenon scoffed at the notion that an innocent, unsuspecting prism was at risk of being “enslaved” by a powerful, villainous talent. The scientific evidence had not stopped novelists and filmmakers from producing a host of popular tales involving mythical off-the-scale psychic vampires.
    There was also a wildly successful genre of romance novels featuring implausible talent heroes who were capable of seducing beautiful, feisty female prisms and turning said prisms into love slaves.
    Lucas had noticed the newest release of popular author Orchid Adams in the window of the bookshop across the street from the offices of Psynergy, Inc. The title of the novel was Wild Talent . He had no intention of buying it or reading it. It would only have depressed him. He was already too painfully aware of the limitations of his own abilities, psychic or otherwise, when it came to dealing with women.
    In spite of all the overheated excitement generated by fictional psychic vampire talents, real-life prisms were quite safe. They had natural, built-in defense mechanisms. Prisms could simply withdraw from an unwanted focus link. If they were accidentally matched with a talent who overwhelmed their focusing capabilities, they went psychically numb.
    Burnout, as the condition was called, was a short-term, temporary problem that was, nevertheless, extremely unpleasant for the prism. Those who had been through it described it as being as disturbing as losing one of their other senses such as touch, smell, or sight. It could take weeks for a prism to recover.
    For that reason, responsible, reputable focus agencies such as Psynergy, Inc. requested evidence of talent classification and certification from their clients.
    Lucas brought his attention back to the matter at hand. “I’m not looking for excuses. I’m looking for answers.”
    “Believe me, Mr. Trent, no one could be more sympathetic. I, myself, have occasionally been accused of being a trifle too obsessive about getting answers. When questions have been raised, what else can one do? However, in this instance, I feel that there are no real questions.”
    “If I’m deluding myself in order to avoid having to admit I screwed up by giving Miranda Locking the job with Lodestar, that’s my problem. Do you want to take the contract or not?”
    “If you’re absolutely determined to pursue this investigation,” Amaryllis began very softly.
    “I am.”
    “And if your only goal is to identify the person to whom Miss Locking sold the information—”
    “It is.”
    “Then that’s a perfectly