Hidden Talents

everything it had. And in turn you're trying to save it. You're willing to sacrifice yourself for Witt's End. Talk about a myth that's woven into the very fabric of the community. It's perfect. Absolutely perfect.”
    Serenity eyed him uneasily. “Lloyd, I think you're cracking up. Maybe the pressure of trying to make department head is getting to you.”
    “No, I'm on to something here.” He slapped her desk with his palm. “I've felt it all along. It's dynamite. I recognized your unique role in this culture immediately.”
    “You mean my role as sacrificial maiden and magic princess?” Serenity asked politely. “Gosh, Lloyd, I wish you'd mentioned it to me earlier. I could have sent off for a mail order tiara.”
    “This isn't a joke,” Lloyd said through gritted teeth. “You're critical to this culture. You have to maintain your role in it, at least until I finish my study. You have to keep yourself pure and undefiled, like any good sacrificial maiden.”
    “I'm afraid it's a little too late for Serenity to play Vestal Virgin,” Caleb said softly.
    Lloyd glared at him. Then he turned to Serenity. He jerked a thumb toward Caleb. “Don't tell me you're sleeping with Ventress, here. I don't believe it.”
    Serenity's cheeks burned. “I have absolutely no intention of discussing my sex life with you.”
    “You're going to ruin everything,” Lloyd hissed. “Damn it, why the hell do you think I didn't take you to bed, myself? Why do you think I broke off our relationship when I realized things might get too serious? The last thing I wanted to do was disrupt the social dynamic around here by seducing you.”
    Serenity could feel herself turning a brilliant shade of red. She had never been so mortified in her life. “I see.”
    “It's bad enough if you're sleeping with him,” Lloyd said urgently. “But you absolutely cannot ruin all of my hard work and plans by marrying an outsider like Ventress.”
    Caleb's brows rose. “Think of it as a fairy-tale marriage, Radburn. Local princess gets prince.”
    “ Yes ,” Zone exclaimed suddenly, startling everyone in the office. Her voice rang with excitement. “Yes, that's the explanation for everything. I understand it all now.”
    Serenity, Caleb, and Lloyd turned to stare at her.
    “It has become clear to me at last.” Zone's eyes shone with something that closely resembled transcendental wonder. “The wedding of Caleb and Serenity is a cosmic event. Caleb is the mysterious intruder who has come to claim the sacrificial maiden of Witt's End.”
    “Told you so,” Caleb said.
    Zone's robes fluttered as she raised her hands above her head. “It will be a marriage of yin and yang, a soaring, metaphysical connection between male and female, a celebration of the renewal of the life force.”
    “Zone, I don't really think this is the time or the place for this kind of thing,” Serenity said.
    Zone ignored her. “I knew from the beginning that Caleb's presence here in Witt's End meant that some strong forces had been set in motion. I sensed it but I did not fully comprehend the meaning of the dark, dangerous aura that surrounds Caleb. Especially when it did not fade after the events involving Royce Kincaid.”
    “And now you've got my dark aura figured out?” Caleb asked with grave interest.
    “Yes,” Zone said. “It is the aura of raw power under the control of your masculine will. Only a man capable of channeling such power is suited to bond with Serenity, for she is a woman of equal feminine power. This marriage is fated to change the destiny of Witt's End.”
    “Wait a second,” Lloyd said. “I'm trying to tell you that I don't want Witt's End to change. At least not until I've had a chance to immortalize it in my study.”
    Caleb's smile was laced with cheerful malice. “Sorry about that, Radburn. But you know what they say, you can't halt progress.”
    Lloyd glared at him. “You're not going to be reasonable about this, are you?”
    “Nope,” Caleb assured him, “I'm not. Us mysterious intruders with dark auras aren't noted for being reasonable. Not when we're bent on claiming sacrificial maidens, at any rate.”
    “Son of a bitch.” Lloyd stalked toward the door. “You business types have no respect for intellectual research.”
    “And no particular desire to help you get that promotion to department head, either.” Caleb politely stood aside as Lloyd brushed past him.
    Lloyd did not bother to respond. He continued out through