Drake Sisters 03 - Oceans of Fire

magic as you and your sisters.“
    “He had to have been born with the talent, Sasha. What do you know about his background? Did you ever see him do anything different? Anything you thought was strange? As a child did he tell you he was different?”
    Aleksandr tried to remember what Ilya Prakenskii had been like in the days before they were separated.
    “He kept to himself. We all did. He was fast and strong and at the top of the class so in a way we competed, but we were friends. He once told me he had brothers, but the children were all sent to different homes. I have no idea whether or not he ever found them and contacted them.”
    Aleksandr murmured a warning to Abigail when he saw the same Russian who had given Chad the lighter walk out onto the deck. The man looked around, shoved his hands into his pockets, and shifted closer to Chad. Chad pushed himself up from the railing as the Russian stopped beside him.
    “Thanks for the use of your lighter, man,” Chad said as he handed an object back.
    The Russian shrugged and took whatever it was, concealing it in his hand as he turned and walked rapidly toward the entrance of the bar. Chad made his way to a car in the parking lot. Aleksandr caught the flare of a match just before Chad slid behind the wheel. A cigarette glowed briefly and then the car pulled out of the lot.
    “That was a very sloppy drop,” Aleksandr said, puzzled. He kissed Abigail lightly and stepped out of the bushes. “Why would Prakenskii get me out of there just in time to witness a drop?” He shook his head as he opened the door of the car for her. “It doesn’t make sense. Ilya would know I would see the handoff.”
    “Maybe getting me out of there was more important to him than you seeing Chad do whatever he was doing,” Abigail said. “He tried a power play on me, trying to get me to trade a visit with Joley for the contract on you. I had to fight hard against the impulse.”
    “And you think Prakenskii put the impulse in your head?”
    “I know he did. And he couldn’t risk being susceptible to my talent. He has too many secrets, not the least of which is that he isn’t exactly enamored with this boss. He isn’t working for Nikitin. I’m not certain he’s capable of working for anyone but himself. His aura is very dangerous and violent. Death was very close to him, surrounding him.” She glanced at him. “Your aura is very similar to his.”
    “He doesn’t have to like who he works for.” Aleksandr turned the car around at the end of the road and backed it behind a shed before turning off the lights to wait. “He wouldn’t want Nikitin to know what he thought of him, but would that be enough for him to give up their local contact?” He paused for a moment, glaring at her. “And my aura, whatever that is, is nothing like his.”
    She flashed a brief smile at him. “If he had very strong feelings one way or the other, it might. I had the impression he detested the man. In fact, I’d go so far as to say Prakenskii is a very real threat to Sergei Nikitin. And yes, you do.”
    “How could you read all that in him?”

    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    “He used power a couple of times in there. He uses it when he moves through the crowd too. I didn’t catch it at first because it’s so subtle. He’s very strong and very disciplined. But power has a distinct fingerprint. I know when my sisters are casting and which sister did which spell. The use of magic leaves the caster somewhat vulnerable.”
    “This is so out of my realm of expertise I can hardly comprehend it.” Aleksandr picked up her left hand and stroked the bare fingers where his ring should have been. “I’m trying to remember Ilya as a child.
    Looking back, there might have been one or two odd things. Once I was talking to him and his drink was sitting on the table several feet away. I turned my head and when I looked back, it was in his hand. I had been working on noticing details. It was an exercise I not only enjoyed, but prided myself on. I knew the drink had been on the table and I couldn’t figure out how he’d gotten it.” He brought her hand up to his mouth and rubbed his lips across her knuckles, his tongue tasting her skin. “And you can’t possibly be all that good at reading auras because mine is filled with a rainbow of colors and Prakenskii‘s is black.”
    Abigail burst out laughing. “You don’t know the first thing about