Silver Master by Jayne Castle Page A

okay.”
    That was a flat-out lie. She had nearly been run down before his eyes, the bastards had gotten away, and he had generated enough silver light to melt amber, which meant that he was headed for the usual burn and crash. He was not okay with any of that. But given that the situation could have been a hell of a lot worse, he figured he was entitled to a little prevarication.
    â€œThank heavens.” She halted in front of him, surveying him anxiously. “I was terrified that you’d been singed, at the very least. I’ve never seen so much ghost light. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie.”
    â€œThey’re called doppelgangers. Twin ghosts. Not many hunters can generate them, especially such big ones and aboveground at that. The guy is good.”
    â€œAre you sure you’re all right?”
    â€œYes,” he said through set teeth. “What about you?”
    â€œI’m fine.” She brushed at her shapely rear with one hand. “But this dress is ruined.”
    She was safe. He was suddenly, overwhelmingly pissed. “What the hell did you think you were doing? That son of a bitch nearly flattened you. I told you to stay in the doorway.”
    She blinked, startled at his tone, and then angled her chin, clearly annoyed. “From where I was standing, it looked like you needed some help. I thought maybe I could distract the hunter. I’ve always heard that the ghosts break up if the person generating them loses focus.”
    â€œNext time you do what I tell you, understood?”
    There was a beat of silence.
    She cleared her throat very delicately. “Does this sort of thing happen a lot when you go out on a date?”
    â€œYou know, a question like that is a real conversation stopper. Come on, I’ll take you home.”
    â€œYou’re angry.”
    He started walking back toward the car. “You scared the hell out of me back there when you came flying out of the doorway and nearly got clobbered by that guy’s getaway driver.”
    â€œDo you think that man in the cap wanted to mug us or steal your car?”
    â€œDoubt if there are many garden-variety muggers or car thieves around who can pull that kind of heat. Any thug that strong should be running a whole damn criminal empire.”
    â€œDavis? What’s wrong? You’re not just mad at me because I didn’t stay put. There’s something else going on here. Are you sure you aren’t hurt? And what happened to those two ghosts, anyway? I didn’t see you generate any counter-ghosts. Did the guy just get scared and run off?”
    â€œNo.” He reached the car and gripped the door handle on the passenger side very tightly. He debated how much to tell her and then decided to go with a sanitized version of the truth. “I told you I’m from a family of hunters.”
    â€œYes, I know.” She searched his face. “But you said you turned out different.”
    â€œI did. But I’m still a hunter. Sort of.”
    She stared at him. “Are you telling me that those ghosts disappeared because you de-rezzed them?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œWith what? I didn’t see any ghost light.”
    â€œI work ghost energy from a different end of the spectrum. It’s almost invisible to the naked eye. They call it silver light.”
    â€œI didn’t know that ghost energy could be generated from more than one point on the spectrum.”
    â€œIt’s a rare talent, and the Guilds tend to keep it quiet.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œTradition, mostly,” he said, deliberately vague. He was not up to any more explanations. He studied the interior of the Phantom. “Looks like Max and Araminta are gone.”
    â€œWhat?” Distracted, Celinda whirled around and peered into the shadowy front seat of the vehicle. “Oh my gosh, they are gone. What happened to them?”
    â€œMust have squeezed out through the window I cracked