Drake Sisters 04 - Dangerous Tides

first thing that really struck him about Joley was the way she looked at her sisters. They all looked at one another with tremendous affection and a secret kind of mischief. He was fairly certain he was going to take the brunt of whatever joke they might be concocting.

    "Good to meet you. I'm Tyson Derrick."

    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    "The scientist." Joley made it a statement.

    "That would be me."

    "Tyson doesn't believe in magic," Libby announced. "He has a theory, which, by the way, is a very good one and makes perfect sense. I think it's very sweet of him to worry about me."

    "I don't blame him for being worried about you," Sarah said as she entered the room. She sat on the floor with her sisters. "You still need to rest, Libby."

    Tyson could see that they were comfortable on the floor, sitting in a loose semicircle, relaxed as they faced him.

    Before he could reply, Sarah waved her hands toward the curtains at the windows and they danced across the glass. He shook his head. They were really determined to put on a show, but after he discovered how they did it, he might rig the house he shared with his cousin to do the same, just for the convenience of it. "A remote control on the drapes? I've heard about it, but haven't seen one quite like that. I particularly like the moving chair. I could use one in my lab to follow me around."

    "Do you take milk in your tea?" Libby asked.

    "I've never tried it that way, but I'm certainly game." No matter what she was planning, he could take it.
    She wasn't going to scare him off, not with a remote control device for the living room drapes and a moving chair. "Libby tells me you were at the hospital with Jonas, Hannah. How is he doing?"

    Joley and Elle both reached over and put a hand on Hannah's legs. She lifted her chin a little and managed a small, strained smile. "He's breathing on his own, although he isn't really fully awake. They've been keeping him unconscious." There was a small hitch in her voice.

    Tyson looked quickly at Libby. "He will be all right, won't he?"

    Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    Sarah answered, "Yes, of course. We wouldn't allow anything to happen to Jonas. He's family. We love him very much."

    Tyson sighed and looked down at his hands. Maybe they all believed they were magic. They'd been tricking the public for so long, they had convinced themselves, just as he suspected. It wasn't just Libby, it was all of them. "When will he be able to get out of ICU?"

    "Maybe another week," Hannah said.

    Tyson caught movement out of the corner of his eye and turned his head to see several steaming mugs floating through the air. His breath caught in his lungs. There didn't seem a way to rig mugs of tea to glide through the air. He watched as each sister held out her hand to catch the handle of a cup floating past.
    The last mug came toward him, a slow lazy drift through the air. He narrowed his eyes, observing the air around the mug, studying it to see if it stayed on the same course or moved up and down.

    He wasn't going to be intimidated by mere tricks. Trying to look casual, Tyson caught the steaming mug of tea by the handle as if he'd been doing it every day of his life. He shifted forward so he could sweep around it with his right hand, testing for hidden wires. His hand went through the air with ease and when he pulled the mug to him, there was no slight tug that he could feel that might indicate it was being released from a hidden mechanism. He settled back and took a blasé sip, his mind whirling with possibilities.

    He eyed Libby. She seemed to be engrossed in her tea, nodding to something Sarah said that he missed.
    His mouth had gone dry and his heart beat that little bit too fast. He had watched more than one magician performing on a stage and never once had he thought it was real. He was aware of mirrors and illusions, but he had just plucked a floating mug right out of the air. He had tested for wires, for any kind of hidden device and there hadn't been one.

    "Would you care for a cookie to go with your tea?" Hannah asked politely.

    Before he could say no, a plate drifted out of the kitchen. Piled high with cookies, it didn't even take the same route as the teacups had. He shrunk back a little in his chair, choking on tea. It nearly went up his nose. There had to be a rational explanation. The plate hovered right in front of him, the