Part 8 (1/2)

”I don't understand,” Faith said.

”Noah has a knack,” Kane explained. ”He calls it a bulls.h.i.+t detector. Icall it something more.” Before Faith could ask for more clarification,Kane addressed his friend again, and she forgot all about Bishop'sknack.

”It has to be Dinah,” Kane said, his voice tight.

-We can't know that,” Bishop insisted. ”It could just as easily beFaith. People have come out of comas with new and inexplicableabilities.”

”Maybe, but we know Dinah is psychic.”

”We know.” Bishop's voice was patient and careful, the tone of a manunwilling to a.s.sume anything or to raise false hopes. ”But her abilitiesworked a different way, Kane. She wasn't a telepath, wasn't able totouch someone else's mind. She was precognitive, able to ... tune in tofuture events, to predict the turn of a card or the throw of dice. Andit wasn't some- thing she could control with any reliability. Maybe shecould tell you the phone was about to ring, even who was calling, butshe couldn't project memories into someone else's mind. Even thestrongest psychic would find that virtually impossible.”

”If she were desperate enough, she might be able to. If it mattered, ifit meant the difference between life and-and death. She'd find a way, Noah. Dinah would find a way.”

”It isn't that simple. Psychic ability has its own kind of rules, Kane.

And a seer doesn't become a telepath. Not one psychic in a thousand hasdual abilities.”

Listening in fascination, Faith began to understand just what Bishop's”bulls.h.i.+t detector” was.

Kane said, ”So tell me where Faith's memories are coming from. EitherDinah is sending them, or Faith is somehow tapping in to them. No matterwhich way you look at it, it means Dinah's alive, Noah. Alive.”

His voice was exultant.

At that moment, Faith realized that deep down inside himself, Kane hadbelieved Dinah was dead- and hated himself for giving up hope.

There was a brief silence, and then, with obvious reluctance, Bishopsaid, ”Dinah visited Faith in the hospital a dozen times. Sat by herbed, read to her, talked to her for hours. We can't deny the possibilitythat she talked about her past with enough detail to plant those imagesin Faith's mind, even though she was unconscious.”

”But-”

”Kane. It's possible- Dinah is somehow able to transmit images to Faith.

It's possible Faith came out of the coma with psychic ability, and that,combined with their friends.h.i.+p, is enabling her to reach out to Dinahtelepathically. But the most likely explanation is that Faith'ssubconscious retained everything Dinah said to her with unusualvividness and in remarkable detail.”

Kane shook his head and opened his mouth to dispute, deny, refuse tobelieve-but then Bishop cut in, speaking very softly.

”Past, Kane. All those scenes are from the past. if Dinah was in directcommunication with Faith, don't you @ think she'd be trying to tell uswhere she is?”

His shoulders slumped, but Kane struggled to hold on to the newfoundhope. ”Dinah wouldn't have told her about the scar, dammit. How couldshe know that?”

”It's possible that happened in the hospital. Trying to wake up, andwith psychic ability she perhaps didn't know she had, Faith could havereached out telepathically and touched Dinah's mind. She could havegotten all the details and images that way. It's possible.” 'Possible,”Kane said savagely. ”Everything is possible except that Dinah is stillalive. Is that what you're telling me?”

”I'm telling you we can't take anything at face value.” And then, evensofter, ”G.o.dd.a.m.nit, Kane, don't you think I want her to be alive too?”

Faith, watching them in silence, realized with a stab of loneliness andenvy that Dinah Leighton must have been a remarkable woman to inspiresuch strong emotions 'in these men.

She didn't want to intrude on so naked a moment but was agonizinglyaware that she had to. ”There's ... something else,” she said a.s.steadily as she could.

Kane turned his head slowly, as if the effort took nearly everything hehad. His face was white, his eyes dark. ”What?”

She didn't flinch from the harsh question, but her voice began to shake.

'It's ... what made me come looking for you. I fell asleep late thisafternoon, and I- I had another dream. Only you weren't in this one. ButDinah was. I'm not sure, but I think it was a bas.e.m.e.nt ... or maybe awarehouse. Walls made of cement blocks, and they looked old, damp. Itwas cold.”

Bishop said, ”What was happening?”

Faith s.h.i.+vered; she really didn't want to say what she had to say.

”Dinah was in a chair, I think tied to it somehow. She could barelymove. There was more than one person in the room with her, she knewthat.

Somebody was watching, silently, from the shadows or just out of hersight. And somebody else, a man, was asking her questions, over andover. I didn't see his face and I don't remember what the questionswere. i've tried, but-but it's like there was a roaring in my ears and Icouldn't hear him clearly. Maybe she couldn't either, I don't know. AllI know is that he-he hit her.

Again and again.”

As though her hand were on him, she could feel Kane tense, all hismuscles knotting in a blind, instinctive response, and her voice shookeven harder as she finished. -Then everything went black ... and I-wokeup.”

Bishop drew a breath. ”You're saying she is, or was, being tortured?”

”I think so. No. I'm sure. It was too real, too hot- terribly vivid, tobe anything but the truth. They ... want her to tell them something, andwhatever it is, she won't tell them.” Faith swallowed hard. ”And it'sgone on a long time. The questions. The ... punishment. I could feel howexhausted she was. And her pain ... She's hurting so terribly ... Kanewas staring at her with the expression of a man dealt a mortal blow, andshe found it easier at that moment to meet Bishop's clearer-if slightlyless human-gaze.

”That entire scene, he said, ”could have come from some movie or book.”

Faith shook her head. ”It didn't. You don't under- stand. I wasn't observing. I was there. I was Dinah, was inside her body, her mind andspirit. I felt her pain and her fear and-and her determination.” Shelifted her chin and met Bishop's eyes. ”There's some- thing I'mabsolutely sure of. Dinah won't tell them what they want to know becauseshe's protecting somebody, or believes she is. It's more important toher than her own life.”

”And this is happening now?”

Her certainty wavered. ”I-I'm not sure. There was no way to tell.”

”A bas.e.m.e.nt, maybe a warehouse. But you have no idea where?”

”No, I didn't see anything but that room. And if Dinah knew where shewas, it wasn't something she was thinking about or feeling.” She paused,then said desperately, ”I want to help her. You have to believe me aboutthat. I have to try to help Dinah.”

”Why?” Bishop's voice was flat.

Faith felt the burning of tears but refused to shed them before thes.e.m.e.n. She drew a steadying breath.

”Because she's my friend. Because she did everything in her power tomake sure I could get my life back on track when I woke up. And because... she's all I have.”