Sleight of Hand - Softcover

Kallmaker, Karin; Adams, Laura

Softcover

ISBN 10: 096777537X ISBN 13: 9780967775371

Publisher: Bella Books, 2001

Synopsis

THE NIGHT AUTUMN Bradley died... ...she met the woman of her destiny: the fire-haired woman who sends Autumn back to her dying body and thereafter mysteriously haunts Autumn`s dreams. Getting by with sleight of hand and other quick-fingered magic tricks, Autumn has no memory of her life before the age of 17. In the years since only a medieval choral chant has stirred her memory. Life`s shadows reach for her. But she resists with the power that dances in her hands.

URSULA COLUMBINE begins a journey... ...to join Kelly, the woman she loves. Leaving the protection of a powerful circle that has sheltered her all her life, she is immediately exposed and threatened by a hungry darkness that craves something only the naive Ursula can give. Weakened and afraid, she finds unfaltering strength in Kelly and other women who are compelled to awaken the power in Ursula that can save them all. But she also finds Autumn in her dreams. Dreams that promise passion but may also lead to oblivion.

WHAT DARK FUTURE does the distant past hold? Dreams lead to nightmares. Autumn sees the faces of women she might know, women who have always stood by Ursula. But if her nightmares hold true, only she can save Ursula from the centuries-old darkness that made her a legend.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Ursula's body was shuddering with awareness--the momentary clasp of their fingers had unfolded the rest of her memory, of another time, another life, when they had completed each other. It was only a flash, but she had seen Kelly in a thick gray robe tied with deep red cording that blew into view when her long cloak was opened by the wind. A flash, then it was gone. It was enough. She looked into Kelly's eyes more deeply than before--they were a lovely golden brown, like a fawn's first coat. She knew those eyes, knew she had looked into them, just this way, long ago. The cold seemed to make the air between them crackle. Kelly finally said, with uncertainty welling in her eyes, "I don't--I don't believe this." "I believe enough for both of us," Ursula said. She drew Kelly into the sheltering privacy of the trees. She brushed Kelly's short hair behind her ears, then gently cupped the back of her neck. The kiss had felt like journey's end and beginning at the same time, and Kelly's moan of surprise and desire had stirred Ursula's pulse to a higher point. She slipped her fingers inside the collar of Kelly's shirt and began to unfasten her anorak with her other hand. Here, now. It was needful.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

She always closed with handcuff escapes. Because of the small venue and the closeness of the tables, the simple act of removing locked handcuffs from her wrists, and then the wrists of volunteers, always drew amazed response. There were no half-naked showgirls, shimmering mirrors or hungry lions to distract them. The cuffs would fall off right before their eyes, sometimes within inches, at the lightest touch of Autumn's fingertips. Leather Babe, whom Autumn chose because she looked as if she knew her way around handcuffs for recreational purposes, was delighted. Cynical amusement replaced Autumn's habitual contempt--that was quite a range of emotion for her in one night. She let Leather once again test the cuffs and spin the ratchets through, then Autumn cuffed her loosely and let her try to work her way out. Leather only succeeded in clicking the ratchets tighter. Autumn said aloud, "Given the leather bodysuit, I thought for sure you'd know how to get out of cuffs--you know, for when the key goes missing." The audience laughed, but Leather's blue-now-green eyes were not as amused as the smile she wore. Autumn found she had to blink to break her gaze. Leather was just another sucker, in spite of the way she carried herself, Autumn told herself. She thought she could show you up and she couldn't. C'est la vie, Leather Babe. Autumn put an index finger on the keyhole of each cuff and closed her eyes. They were trick cuffs, and simple to open if you knew how. The locks popped and the cuffs clanked loudly to the floor. "There are people I know who would love to be able to do that!" Leather Babe had decided to be a good sport, so Autumn gave her a rare smile. Leather arched one eyebrow and lips that seemed suddenly full and alluring curved into a suggestive smile. "Do you give private lessons?" Autumn caught her breath. It would never do to let the audience see her flustered, but flustered she was. The sensation in her stomach was utterly foreign and terrifying because she seemed to have no control over it. "My secrets are my own," she managed, which was what she always said when someone asked for lessons. This woman was suggesting something far more intense than lessons. "Why don't we try my cuffs?" The familiar and detested voice added to Autumn's consternation. It was Staghorn, the bastard. He had his police cuffs dangling from one hand and his badge in the other. The audience good-naturedly egged him on. Leather backed away a few feet, her presence suddenly neutral to Autumn's nerves. Never let a heckler get the upper hand, Autumn thought belatedly. Leather had thrown off her pacing, and now Staghorn was actually on the stage and reaching for her wrists. Possibilities for graceful escape were dwindling, but as he snapped them on--too tightly, the rat snake bastard--she knew this was probably not going to end well for her. She had labored for such a long time for such a small reputation, and Staghorn was going to ruin what there was of it. She suddenly knew his goal was to make her dependent on him for a living as a pickpocket. An anticipatory silence fell over the room. Autumn did not notice that Leather stepped closer to witness what did or did not happen. "Are you sure you want people to know how lousy Vegas P.D.'s cuffs are?" It was a feeble try, but all Autumn could think of. "I can handle it." Staghorn was smug. She wanted to boot his face around the room. Anger, again.

She flicked her wrists so her thumbtips were on the keyholes. They weren't trick cuffs, she reminded herself. This wasn't going to work. She closed her eyes. Open, damn it! It was just a thought, a plea of desperation. Then she felt the weights fall from her wrists and heard the hard thunk as the twin pieces of metal hit the stage floor.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bella Books
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 096777537X
• ISBN 13: 9780967775371
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256