Amaryllis Read Online Free PDF

be any problem focusing his talent. But he’s looking for answers, and I don’t think he’s going to get the ones he wants.”
    “So?” Byron frowned. “He has to pay the same fee, whether he gets his answers or not.”
    “Yes, but he probably won’t go away happy,” Amaryllis said. “You know how it is with high-class talents. They tend to be arrogant and difficult. When they don’t get the results they want, they usually blame the prism who worked with them. They claim the focus was of poor quality or not strong enough to handle their psychic energy.”
    Clementine’s gaze sharpened. “You said it was a security job. What’s Trent looking for?”
    Amaryllis sighed. “Brace yourself, because you’re not going to believe this. He thinks a strong hypno-talent has used psychic suggestion to force one of his executives to steal proprietary information from Lodestar Exploration.”
    “A hypno-talent?” Byron’s eyes widened. “Are you serious?”
    “That’s ridiculous.” Clementine scowled. “That kind of thing never happens except in films or an Orchid Adams novel.”
    “Psychic vampire,” Byron whispered in a voice laced with theatrical dread. “Able to seduce innocent lady prisms and turn them into love slaves.”
    Clementine grimaced. “Sounds like Trent may have spent a little too much time out in the jungle.”
    Amaryllis regarded the contract with morose foreboding. “I tried to talk him out of it.”
    “What?” Clementine nearly fell off her perch on the corner of the desk. “You tried to talk him out of the contract? Are you crazy? He’s the most important client we’ve ever had.”
    “I’m afraid he’s going to be the most dissatisfied client we’ve ever had,” Amaryllis said. “That’s not going to be good for business, Clementine.”
    “Damn.” Clementine pursed her lips, obviously weighing the pros and cons of the situation.
    An air of gloom settled on the small office.
    “Hey, look on the bright side,” Byron said after a moment. “They call Trent the Iceman. He’s a living legend. He didn’t become one by being stupid. He must know the hypnosis thing is very improbable. Maybe he just wants to check out all possibilities before he makes his move. A superstrong hypno-talent who could force someone to act against his or her will is at least a theoretical possibility, isn’t it?”
    Clementine grimaced. “Sure. And it’s theoretically possible that the Return cult kooks are right when they say that the curtain will reopen one of these days and we’ll all go back to Earth.”
    “Get serious, Clementine, Trent’s not crazy the way the cultists are.” Byron turned back to Amaryllis. “I know he’s a class nine. He told me that much when he made the appointment. But what kind of talent is he?”
    “He’s a detector,” Amaryllis said. “He can sense when other talents are working.”
    “Is that all?” Byron was clearly disappointed.
    “According to his certification papers.” Amaryllis straightened the forms on her desk. “A class-nine detector.”
    “Class nine.” Clementine whistled in awe. “What a waste. All that psychic power and no useful talent to go with it. Sort of like putting a hot engine in a big, souped-up ice-cycle and then putting it up on blocks.”
    “Bad synergy, all right.” Byron shook his head. “Just imagine what it would be like to know that you had a high-grade talent, but the only thing you could do with it was detect other people when they used their talents.”
    “Must be frustrating for him,” Clementine agreed. “No wonder the news reports have never said much about his psychic abilities. He probably doesn’t like to talk about them.”
    “You know,” Byron pursed his lips. “I thought for sure he’d have some really interesting talent.”
    Amaryllis glanced at him. “Such as?”
    “Well, they call him the Iceman because he’s so good at finding jelly-ice, right? I thought maybe he’d at least have a talent for