Free The Lost Night by Jayne Castle

counter. “This is a test, isn’t it? You want tofind out if I really can use crystals to read auras or if I’m a fraud.”
    “A lot of people can see auras or at least sense the energy of them,” Harry said gently. “But reading them and interpreting them is a very different level of talent.”
    “Is that so?” she said very politely.
    “Can you really do it?” he asked. “Read and interpret auras?”
    “Mmm-hmm.”
    “How about mine?”
    “What about it?” She was all innocence now.
    “Can you read it?”
    “Nope. I can see it but not very clearly.”
    He frowned. “So the whole aura-reading thing is just a sales gimmick to sell tea?”
    “The reason I can’t read your aura at the moment is because it’s still daylight outside. You’re a true shadow-aura. That means it’s a lot easier to read you at night.”
    Harry looked amused. She had to hand it to him—he didn’t miss a beat.
    “Nice try,” he said. “But we both know that there is no such thing.”
    “I admit that you’re the first one I’ve ever encountered, but we studied the phenomenon at the Academy. The para-bio-physics involved is fairly simple. The ultra-light in your aura simply comes from the far end of the spectrum, which makes it very hard to detect. Only a very strong aura reader can perceive it.”
    Harry did not stir but there was a sudden chill in the atmosphere. “What makes you think I’m a shadow?”
    “Well, among other things, I didsee your aura quite clearly last night,” she said, exasperated.
    “Shadow-auras are supposed to be invisible.”
    “To most people, maybe, but not me.” She realized she was getting irritated. “Look, I’m not in the mood to be tested. I don’t have to prove anything, certainly not to you. If you aren’t convinced that I’ve got the kind of ability you need to assist you in your investigation, just say so. No hard feelings on my part, believe me.”
    “I’ll take some of your special blended tea,” he said quietly.
    She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not giving it away for free, you know.”
    She winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth.
    But Harry merely inclined his head politely. “I understand.”
    “I’m running a business here,” she added somewhat gruffly.
    “I know.”
    “There’s an extra charge for one of my special blends.” She gestured toward the fine print on the menu board.
    “I think I can afford it,” he said.
    It was a challenge. She knew she could not resist.
    “Okay,” she said. “All right.”
    She turned, rezzed a little talent, and began selecting jars from the array on the back counter. There was no recipe for what she was about to do because shadow-auras were so rare that no one at the Academy had been able to run any experiments. But her intuition and training guided her toward someof the more exotic psi-infused ingredients in her extensive collection.
    She went to work, putting pinches of dried herbs from several different jars into a glass pot. She was aware that Harry was watching her every move.
    “I’m not planning to poison you,” she said, not bothering to turn around.
    “But you could if you wanted to?” He didn’t sound worried. He sounded interested.
    “Sure.” She took the kettle off the stove just before the water boiled. The herbs she had chosen were delicate and subtle. Boiling water would shock them and lessen their restorative effects. “But I’d have to deal with the psychic fallout afterward and that would be a real pain. No telling how many hours of crystal meditation it would take to rebalance my harmonic energies.”
    “Good to know you’re not real enthusiastic about slipping me a little poison.”
    “I’ve got better things to do. At least at this moment.” She poured the hot water carefully into the glass pot. “You do realize that when the word gets out that you’re looking for suspects among the locals you’re going to run into a few issues. There are some very odd and reclusive residents