Eye of the Beholder

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    Farther along the path were booths featuring books purporting to reveal the secrets of Alchemy, Atlantis, Stonehenge , and Roswell . Learn how to access alien energy sources to gain control over your financial affairs.
    There were a number of costumed street musicians wandering through the crowd. Alexa noticed one dressed as a medieval court jester complete with pointed cap and mask. He held a flute to his lips. She could not hear the music above the general din.
    "I can't believe the size of this crowd," Trask muttered. "There must be several thousand people here tonight. I knew this metaphysical junk was a big draw, but I didn't realize it was this popular."
    His scorn made Alexa feel oddly defensive. Avalon was her home, after all. "Metaphysics isn't junk philosophy to a lot of people. It's been around in one form or another for several thousand years. What you see here is a manifestation of the innate human desire to seek meaning in the universe and to explore the unknown dimensions of the mind."
    "Uh-huh. You get that out of one of the Institute's brochures?"
    "How did you guess?" She watched a woman dressed in flowing robes deal from a pack of tarot cards. "But it's true, you know. Humans have been into metaphysics one way or another for eons. Probably part of what makes us human."
    "I'll stick to spreadsheets and laptops."
    She glanced at him. "What makes you think your business software isn't just another form of metaphysics?"
    He eyed her. "You're joking, right?"
    "Maybe." She smiled. "Maybe not. Think about it. You use your business applications programs to give yourself the illusion of control, don't you?"
    "It's not an illusion, it is a form of control."
    "Hah. If that were true, no business today would go bankrupt. All CEOs and corporate honchos would make the right decisions all the time. There would be no surprises when the Asian markets fluctuate or when the dollar goes soft. This fancy computer I'm toting around for you is nothing more than our generation's version of the old alchemists' equipment."
    "Come off it, Alexa. You're too smart to actually believe in any of this garbage."
    She looked around at the milling fair crowds. "You don't have to believe in something in order to respect the power it generates."
    He paused to sweep the crowd with a considering glance. "Okay, you've got me there. Anything or anyone who can attract this many people and their money has power."
    "And you don't have to believe in something to respect the impulse that prompts belief in others," Alexa concluded softly. "The bottom line, Trask, is that we don't have all the answers."
    He raked a psychic reading booth with a disapproving glance. "You're right. But no one is going to find them by going to a fortune-teller."
    "That may be true." She smiled. "On the other hand, sometimes it's fun to get your fortune told. Ever tried it?"
    "Hell, no. If I want to read my fortune, I pick up a copy of the Wall Street Journal. "
    "That certainly sounds entertaining."
    "I suggest we move on to a different topic," Trask said evenly. "Give me a rundown on which Dimensions building houses what."
    "All right." She looked up at the brightly lit glass walls of the Institute's structures. "The large one in the center is the main seminar complex. As I told you, it's divided into classrooms and offices."
    "Anything else in there?"
    "It's been several months since I was last inside." She tried to recall the exact layout. "There's a reception desk in the lobby area. And a bookstore that stocks a lot of metaphysical titles and the Dimensions publications."
    "What's the long, low building to the left?"
    Alexa glanced at the structure nestled into the hillside. "That's where the people who come here on retreat stay."
    "Basically, it's a hotel."
    She nodded. "Right. A pretty pricey one at that."
    "You said Bell 's home is here on the grounds?"
    "It's that house on the hill just above the retreat. The building with all the glass."
    "Got it."
    Something whispered across the back of Alexa's neck. Instinctively she glanced over her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the jester again. He disappeared behind a booth before she could get a close look.
    Trask looked at her. "Something wrong?"
    "I don't know." She shrugged her shoulders to loosen the tension coalescing there. "Ever have the feeling that you were being watched?"
    "Yeah." He gave her an enigmatic look. "Are you telling me you've got that kind of feeling now?"
    "Yes. Sort of