in the twilight zone between sleep and wakefulness. Don’t bother trying to move. You can’t even twiddle your thumbs.”
The hot acid of adrenaline splashed through her. She struggled desperately to get to her feet and managed to twitch, if not actually twiddle her thumbs. Her left foot jerked an inch. That was more than the intruder expected but not nearly enough to get her out of bed and through the sliding glass door to safety.
Damn it, Fallon, why didn’t you stay? This wouldn’t have happened if you’d been here with me where you belong. You see where those old-fashioned notions of discretion get you?
She stared fixedly at the open window, fighting the terrible panic so that she could concentrate on her psychic senses. They seemed to be fully functional. She had no problem perceiving the river of hot fog that seethed and roiled across the floor and past the foot of the bed.
“You can talk,” the intruder said, “but if you try to scream, I’ll have to use more energy to silence you. You won’t like it, trust me.”
“What do you want?” She tried to speak as loudly as possible, testing her voice. But the words emerged as a thin whisper.
“I won’t hurt you. I don’t do that kind of work. I’m staying out of your range of vision because that’s one of my policies. Clients and those who receive the message never see my face.”
“What are you talking about?” she hissed in the same reedy whisper.
“They call me the Messenger. I consider myself a go-between. I’m here to make you a very handsome offer.”
“And if I refuse it?”
“Let’s not go there. It will be more profitable for both of us if we start on a positive note.”
Beneath the bedding she succeeded in getting one hand clenched into a fist. The gesture of rage was useless. Her only hope was to somehow find the strength to roll off the edge of the bed onto the floor. If she got out of the intruder’s line of sight for even an instant, he would likely lose focus for a couple of seconds. That might give her enough time to scramble out the door into the night. At the very least she would be able to scream for help.
“I’ll keep this short,” the Messenger said. “I represent an individual who is extremely interested in acquiring inside information about Jones & Jones. You are uniquely placed to provide that sort of data.”
“Forget it,” she mumbled.
The fact that the intruder could hold her virtually paralyzed was extraordinary on its own. That he could do so without making physical contact meant that his talent was truly off the charts. Nevertheless, he had to be using a great deal of energy to control her movements. He could not go on for long generating power at such a rate.
She had to find a way to make him touch her. If he put a hand on her, she was sure she had enough power to disorient him.
“Listen to the rest of the pitch before you make your decision,” the Messenger said smoothly. “First, the money will be excellent. A hundred thousand dollars has already been wired into an offshore account just to show my client’s good faith. There will be more as soon as you start to forward information to a certain e-mail address.”
She poured everything she had into moving one leg an inch closer to the edge of the bed. She succeeded but the effort cost her. She was drenched in sweat.
“No,” she said hoarsely.
“I put a slip of paper with the number of the account and details for accessing it on the console.”
“No.”
“You really do want to think about the offer before you make up your mind.”
“There’s nothing to think about. The answer is no.”
“Your decision, of course, but I have been instructed to inform you that turning down the offer would not be a wise move in terms of your future health and well-being.”
THE OLD DREAM Started out in the usual manner.
He was lost. He had traveled too far out on the multidimensional grid. He had gone too deep into the dark zone. This time he would not be able to find his way back.
The endless night was illuminated here and there by small galaxies composed of points of light. Each tiny sun was important; each was connected to another but he could not quite grasp the patterns.
The clusters of stars were like swarms of fireflies in an endless garden of night. He was well and