Quicksilver - Amanda Quick [89]
Nick frowned. “The mirror is a dangerous and no doubt valuable artifact, yet someone entrusted it to a common street ruffian to use against Owen this evening. Someone was very desperate to get him out of the way.”
“Well,” Charlotte said, “I’m afraid all we can do at the moment is wait and see if Mr. Sweetwater is strong enough to recover from the effects of the mirror.”
“He will recover,” Virginia vowed.
“We might have a better notion of his chances if we had some idea of just how strong the attacker was,” Charlotte said.
“We have no way of knowing that now that he is dead,” Tony said.
“He was certainly powerful enough to do serious damage with the damn mirror,” Nick said grimly.
Virginia gave him a sharp, reproving glare. “The one thing we know for certain is that Owen defeated him. That means Owen is the stronger of the two.”
Nick, Tony and Matt exchanged glances. None of them spoke.
“What is it?” Virginia demanded. “What’s wrong? Why are you looking at each other that way?”
Nick cleared his throat. “We don’t really know that Uncle Owen was the stronger in terms of talent, Miss Dean, not for certain.”
“What do you mean?” she said. “He is the one who survived the encounter.”
“But he used a knife,” Tony said, as if explaining a very elementary principle to a not-very-bright child. “Not his talent. The mirror rendered his psychical senses useless.”
Virginia frowned. “What are you saying?”
“Just that Uncle Owen did not survive because of his talent,” Matt said.
“I see,” Virginia whispered. She tightened her grip on Owen’s hand.
Nick looked at the unconscious man. “He is a hunter of a sort, but he is not a true hunter-talent like Tony or Matt. His reflexes, eyesight and coordination are excellent but not preternaturally so.”
“Is that why he carries a knife concealed in his boot?” Charlotte asked.
“No,” Tony said. “He carries a knife in his boot because all Sweetwaters carry knives in their boots.”
“Used to be a dagger,” Matt offered. “But we have moved with the times.”
“Family tradition,” Nick explained. “In keeping with the family motto.”
“Talent is useful, but keep your dagger sharp,” Virginia quoted softly.
“It sounds better in the original Latin,” Tony said.
Virginia gave him a weary smile. “No doubt.”
“Owen’s great talent is his ability to predict the behavior of the monsters,” Nick explained. “Not his speed or his night vision.”
Charlotte looked at him. “I can’t see how the ability to predict the killer’s behavior would have been enough tonight. I mean, he already knew that the footpad was trying to kill him.”
“You’d be surprised,” Nick said. “Owen has a knack for provoking people. He says that if a man can be prodded into losing his self-control, he can be manipulated quite easily, regardless of the level of his talent. I suspect that is exactly what happened tonight.”
Tony looked at Owen. “It does appear that Uncle Owen sliced things a bit close, so to speak, on this occasion, however.”
Virginia shivered. “Yes.”
“Usually he leaves no trace of violence,” Matt said. “But there was a lot of blood in the lane tonight. At first I feared that at least some of it was his.”
Virginia shuddered at the memory of the blood on Owen’s hands and clothes. “So did I.”
“Do you believe that Mr. Sweetwater deliberately provoked his attacker into some reckless move?” Charlotte asked.
“Uncle Owen has a gift for shattering nerves,” Tony said proudly.
Virginia looked at Owen. His profound state of sleep did little to soften the hard planes and angles of his face. Even unconscious, he managed to appear dangerous. His psychical senses had been blinded, but dark energy nevertheless whispered in the atmosphere around him.
“His aura no doubt unnerves some people,” Virginia said.
“Perhaps that is the reason he has never married,” Charlotte said.
Virginia realized that the three Sweetwater men were exchanging yet another mysterious look.
“What now?” she demanded.
Nick cleared his throat. “The reason Owen has never married is because he has yet to find the right woman.”
Charlotte blinked