Read JCastle - H1 Bridal Jitters for Free Online Page B

breathing. She sighed. "Never mind.
    It's not important. Good night."
    Very gently, she closed the door in his face.
    He reminded himself to breathe.
    Two
     
    He did not sleep well   that night. It was not   the noise from the crowds   in
    the   street or the whispers of Dead   City psi energy that kept him awake. It
    was the realization that Virginia was getting ready to tell him that she did
    not   want to go through   with the marriage. He knew   it as surely as he knew
    that when she called off   the engagement, his world   was going to become   as
    bleak   and gray as the tide   of fog that had boiled   up out of the river. He
    rolled out of   bed at dawn,   shaved, showered, and   dressed for the   meeting
    with   Ewert. He was still mulling   over various means of convincing Virginia
    that the MC   was a   terrific idea   when he   went downstairs   to collect   the
    morning   edition   of the   Cadence Star.   He   opened the   front door   and was
    greeted by a wall of gray mist. The fog was so thick that it had blotted out
    the   early-morning sun, creating an artificial twilight that looked as if it
    would last all day. Perfect Halloween weather.
    He shrugged off the fog.   It would not affect   today's job. He and   Virginia
    would be working underground in the cata- BRIDAL JITTERS
     
    19
     
    combs. Down below in the endless miles of glowing green corridors, there was
    no day or night. He saw the small package on the step just as he started   to
    reach   for   the   newspaper.   A   faint hiss   of   all-too-familiar   psi energy
    whispered through his para senses in silent warning.
    "Damn." Hell of a way to   start the day. He crouched   on his heels to get   a
    closer look at the square object wrapped in brown paper. It was addressed to
    Gage & Burch Consulting. There was no return address. He did not pick it up.
    "Something wrong, Sam?" Virginia called out from halfway down the stairs.
    "An unscheduled delivery." He did not take his eyes off the package.
    "What is it?"
    "I think you'd better take a look at this. If I'm right, it falls into   your
    area of expertise, not mine."
    She   descended the   rest of the   stairs quickly and   hurried across the wide
    front hall to   the door. She   came to a   halt beside him   and looked at   the
    package. She pursed her lips thoughtfully. "Uh-oh."
    "I   hate it   when you use   that professional   jargon." He glanced   at her. '
    'What do you think?''
    "The same thing   you're thinking, I   imagine. It's an   illusion trap. I   can
    feel   the energy pattern. Someone left us   a nasty little trick. I'll bet it
    was some idiot   who had one   too many bottles   of Green Ruin   to drink   last
    night. Probably thought it would be a great Halloween prank."
    "I   think he'll change his mind when   I find him," Sam said softly. Virginia
    glanced at him, frowning slightly. "Don't worry, it's just a small trap."
    "Can you de-rez it?"
    "Does amber resonate? Of course I can de-rez it. But I'm 20 Cnarmed
    not going to   do it   out here   on the   front step.   Let's take   it into   the
    kitchen."
    She   reached down and   scooped up the   box with a   nonchalance that made Sam
    wince. He followed her   into the big   kitchen at the back   of the house   and
    watched her set the box down on the scarred counter.
    "You might want to stand back a little," she said as she clipped the string.
    "Just in case."
    "We're partners, remember?" He   moved closer to the   counter. She smiled   as
    she   began to unwrap the   package. ' 'Yes, but you've   never seen me work. I
    wouldn't blame you   for being a   tad cautious. Even   small, simple   illusion
    traps can be very unpleasant if they aren't untangled properly."
    "I've   spent   a lot   of time   underground and   I've worked   with some clumsy
    tanglers. I've caught the   flashback from an   accidentally sprung trap