Night of the Magician by Stephanie James, Jayne Ann Krentz

his shoulder, burying her face in the fabric of his jacket Immediately his arm came around her in a protective motion that was also somehow very possessive.
    But Ariana wasn’t concerned with such fine nuances just then. She wanted only to hide from the magic that was fraying her nerves to an extent she would never have believed possible. She was horrified not only by what she had seen but by her own reaction to it!
    “Let’s get out of here,“ Lucian ordered abruptly. He leaned over to catch Philomena’s attention. “Come on, Phil, I want to take Ariana back to the inn. She’s had enough.“
    “Of course,“ Phil whispered back, rising immediately to her feet. “But I can’t see a foot in front of me!“
    “Here, take my hand.“ Lucian extended his free arm to catch hold of Philomena’s wrist. His other arm was still wrapped around Ariana, who was shivering uncontrollably as she crowded close to his warmth.
    As she lifted her head from the security of his shoulder another light appeared on the floor at her feet, allowing her to see the carpeted aisle. The addition of yet another inexplicable light made her suck in her breath.
    “Flashlight,“ Lucian whispered dryly. He was holding the pencil-slim object in the hand that was wrapped around Ariana’s shoulders, and he used the light to guide his two charges to the curtain through which they had entered earlier. On the other side an assistant in the usual flowing robes hastened to open the door.
    “Is the lady all right?“ the man asked in solicitous tones.
    “She’s fine. Just a little nervous,“ Lucian said blandly, shepherding Ariana and Philomena out of the room and into the wide hall beyond. Without pausing, he led them outside to the lot where Philomena’s Mercedes was parked. The keys to the car, which he had driven earlier, appeared in his hand, and in a matter of seconds he had Philomena and Ariana safely inside.
    “Ari, dear, are you all right?“ Philomena leaned over the seat as Lucian drove back toward the inn. “What’s wrong?
    There was absolutely no danger, you know. Krayton would never harm a soul!“
    Ariana shuddered and stared fixedly out the window. It was Lucian who succinctly explained what had happened.
    “She’ll be okay, Phil. Ariana just forgot to make allowances for the power of suggestion on the human mind. Some people are more susceptible than others. It can be a shock to find out you don’t have all the control you think you have over your own senses.“
    Ariana found her voice. “It was magic, wasn’t it? All of it Stage magic.“ She knew then that she was asking for reassurance. Her voice was a harsh whisper.
    “Yes, it was magic,“ Lucian said quietly. “The man’s good and he has a hell of an ability to handle an audience. But it was all stage magic. With a little practice and a skilled lighting technician anyone could have done what he did tonight“
    “What!“ Philomena swung around to stare at Lucian. “Are you saying it was all trickery?“
    “I’m afraid so, Phil. A lot of sleight-of-hand, invisible wires and lighting effects. Nothing unduly complicated.“ He smiled gently.
    “I don’t believe you! The man’s a direct conduit for Krayton! Everything we saw was an example of Krayton operating through Fletcher Galen!“ Philomena exclaimed.
    “Phil,“ he said patiently, glancing at her in the rear-view mirror. “I could duplicate any one of the effects you saw tonight and have you believing that you were seeing Krayton in action.“
    “I’m not saying a good magician couldn’t find ways to imitate Krayton’s powers, but that doesn’t mean that what we saw tonight wasn’t real! I’ve seen it done before, don’t forget! I’ve seen people in the audience go into trances and actually have visions of Krayton’s home world!“

    “People in a hypnotic trance can be persuaded to have all sorts of interesting visions,“ Lucian explained quietly.
    “Look, Phil, let’s talk about this in the