Fired Up

quietly. “In fact, you could say I never saw last night coming. I woke up in the middle of a sleepwalking episode and you were there, and then we were in bed. There was no thinking or planning involved.”
    She didn’t get it right away. Then he saw understanding hit. She turned pink and was suddenly very busy with the computer.
    “Yes, well, I’m sure there won’t be a problem. I mean, it was only the one time. What are the odds?”
    “Probably not a good question to ask in Vegas.” He folded his arms and propped one shoulder against the door frame. “You’re not using anything?”
    She cleared her throat. “Well, no. There hasn’t been any reason to use anything. I told you, I’ve moved on. I’m in a new phase.”
    “Right. The celibate lifestyle thing.” He waited. “So how is that working for you?”
    She turned very pink, gave him a frosty glare and angled her chin. “We were both flying on a lot of energy last night. There was a bed in the room. We’re both mature adults. Sometimes things just happen.”
    “Even in the middle of a celibate lifestyle?”
    “I think it’s time that you took a shower so we can go get some breakfast,” she said coolly.
    “One more thing,” he said.
    She looked wary. “What?”
    He held up the silken sheet. “What’s with the little sleeping bag?”
    At first he thought she wasn’t going to answer. Then she shrugged and turned back to the computer.
    “It’s hard for me to sleep in bedding that has absorbed the dream psi of other people,” she said. “Silk acts as a partial barrier to that kind of energy. I never leave home without that sheet.”
    “If you can barely stand to sleep in a bed that other people have slept in and if the energy given off by dreamers disturbs you, how did you manage to sleep with me?”
    She went very still, staring hard at the computer screen. Her fingers froze in midair.
    “I don’t know,” she said softly. “It was different with you.”
    He watched her for a long moment. “And if it turns out you’re pregnant?”
    This time the silence lasted for an eternity. And then her hand fluttered lightly over her slim belly.
    “That would be different, too,” she said finally. “I’ve always assumed that I would probably never have children.”
    “And now?” He didn’t know why he was pushing her. She was right. The odds were good that she wasn’t pregnant. But for some reason he had to know.
    She glanced at the carpet behind him and smiled a little as if whatever she saw there satisfied her. He knew she was looking at his psi prints.
    “You would make an excellent father,” she stated.
    She went back to work on the computer. Keys clicked madly.
    He couldn’t think of anything to say. He was, according to all the definitions of the Arcane Society, half monster. He carried a genetic twist that would go down through future generations. And she thought he would make a terrific father?
    Smiling a little, he went back into the other room and headed for the shower.

27
    HE WAS STILL FEELING GOOD TWENTY MINUTES LATER WHEN they went downstairs for breakfast. He carried the lamp in the leather duffel. His computer case was in his other hand. Chloe had stuffed her computer back into her black satchel.
    There was a fresh pair of white- haired senior citizens on the stools in front of the slots in the lobby. Neither of them looked up when he and Chloe went past. The front-desk clerk did not come out of his office.
    They walked through the weedy parking lot and crossed the street to the small café attached to the casino. The waitress working the morning shift was not the same one who had served them last night, but she looked like she could tell the same hard-luck story.
    He and Chloe sat down across from each other in the same booth they had used the previous evening. From his position he had a view into the dark cave of the adjoining casino. It was seven forty- five in the morning, but there were a few intrepid souls feeding the slots. The blackjack and poker tables were quiet. He knew that activity would pick up as the day wore on, growing brisker during the afternoon and evening. By midnight the place would be filled to capacity. The rhythm would be the same tomorrow and the day after and next year. The pattern of casino gaming never changed.
    There was always a pattern, Jack thought. Once you identified it you could figure out the strengths and weaknesses. He took some comfort from that. At least he could still think