Gabriel looked at Lucy. “Do you have it?”
“No problem,” she said. “Tons of energy down here to work with.”
Ponytail glanced at her and scowled. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Just chatting,” Lucy said.
She rezzed her talent to the max and went to work. A glorious exultation swept through her. She summoned the energy that was infused into the atmosphere and channeled it.
Ghosts whispered in the lane. The whispers swiftly turned to shrieks and wails. The silvery fog thickened rapidly. Thunder boomed.
“Shit,” Ponytail muttered. “Storm. Big one. We need to get inside. Leave Jones and the woman out here. The weather will take care of them for us.”
“What about the doll?” Sweat-Stink said.
“Forget it.” Ponytail headed for a nearby door. He kept the flamer aimed at Gabriel. “It’s lasted this long. It will probably survive the storm.”
Sweat-Stink released Lucy and hurried after his pal.
Flashes of energy sparked. Lightning shattered the atmosphere. A senses-dazzling bolt struck Ponytail when he was a foot away from a silvery door. He stiffened, his face twisted into a monstrous mask.
Sweat-Stink collided with him. Another bolt flashed in the fog. For a moment both men looked as if they had been cast in a tableau straight out of a horror film. In the next instant they crumpled to the ground.
The thrill of raw power blazed through Lucy’s veins. So much energy. And she was channeling it. She was in control, a goddess unleashing lightning.
“Lucy,” Gabriel said quietly.
She laughed, because his hair was standing on end. So was Otis’s fur. She turned in a circle, savoring the wild storm she had created.
“Lucy,” Gabriel said again. Louder this time.
He walked toward her.
“Don’t you just love a good storm?” she said.
“Some other time, maybe,” he said. “You need to come down, Lucy.”
“Why? I’m flying.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” Gabriel smiled. “You’re high on psi, Lucy. Time to come back to the real world.”
“I feel real.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “You’re real, too, aren’t you?”
“I think so.”
A fierce excitement flashed through her.
“The first time I saw you I thought you were a hallucination,” she said.
“Did you?”
“But you’re not. You’re my very own Lord of the Underworld.”
“Uh, Lucy—”
She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him with all the energy flooding her body. He went very still.
“Damn it,” he said against her lips. “Wrong time. Wrong place.”
But he kissed her back, hard and fierce, and there was so much energy in the physical connection that she knew they were both flying. They stood in the eye of the magnificent storm that whirled around them.
Gabriel abruptly set her aside. “Lucy. Stop. Now.”
She took a deep breath. He was right. Wrong time, wrong place. Reluctantly she lowered her senses.
The otherworldly gale dissipated almost immediately.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “Things got a little out of control.”
“I’ll say.” Gabriel studied her. “I’ve never known a weather channeler who could pull a storm like that. There was lightning. The real deal.”
“Yeah, well, there aren’t many of us who can do the lightning thing. Those of us who have the ability usually keep quiet about it. It’s not good for business. Clients get nervous if they think you can turn that kind of energy against them.” She cleared her throat. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“My nerves will survive.” He looked surprisingly satisfied, as if she had just confirmed something he had suspected all along. “You’re not just a strong talent, you’re an off-the-charts talent. No wonder finding out that I’m a dual talent didn’t worry you.”
He turned and walked toward the men sprawled on the ground. She watched him pat them down, removing flamers, knives, and other assorted gear. Otis joined him, watching the process with deep interest.
Ponytail and Sweat-Stink did not move. From where Lucy stood they did not appear to be breathing. A tide of dread descended on her, sluicing away the last of the euphoria.
She cleared her throat. “Are they—？”
“Alive?” Gabriel removed an energy bar from Ponytail’s cargo pocket and gave it to Otis. “Yes. Amazing, really, considering they were struck by paranormal lightning.”