As Bridget walked into Amanda’s lab, the first thing she noticed was that there was no one at the stations where postdocs and other lab assistants should have been busy at work.

She smiled at Syssi. “Did you guys get rid of everyone for us?”

“Not because of you, darlings.” Amanda walked out from her small office at the back of the lab. “My hulking brother and his matching pair of number one and number two would have caused quite a stir among my mostly female workforce.”

She pulled Bridget into a quick hug then offered her hand to Turner. “I’m so excited that you agreed to get tested. I can’t wait to see what you can do.”

With a tiny grimace that only Bridget noticed, Turner shook Amanda’s hand. “I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed. My talents are of the normal variety, not the paranormal.”

“We’ll see about that.” She waved a hand. “Come on, let’s start with the random images.” She showed him to a chair facing a computer screen.”

Syssi threaded her arm through Bridget’s. “Would you like me to run a few tests on you?”

“Out of solidarity with Victor?”

“That too. But also for yourself. Don’t you want to know if you have any special talents?”

“I can make a killer kale salad.”

Syssi made a pouty face. “And you didn’t invite me to try it? Not nice.”

Even though it was meant as a joke, Bridget winced. Syssi had invited her on more than one occasion and treated her to cappuccinos and cocktails. She should reciprocate. “You’re right. I’ll check with Victor when is a good day for him and invite you guys to dinner. It's long overdue.”

Syssi waved a hand as she led Bridget to her desk. “Nonsense. You are way too busy to waste your time on cooking.” She pulled out a chair and motioned for Bridget to take it.

“Victor and I need to throw a housewarming party. Ingrid is going to be disappointed if we don’t. She wants to show off her work.”

“As if she needs any more showing off. She furnished and decorated the entire village.” Syssi pulled out a deck of cards and handed it to Bridget. “Flip through them, so you’ll know what to expect when I pull one up.”

Bridget made quick work of it and returned the cards. “Regardless. I want to invite a few people to our place. I’m still getting used to living outside the keep. Having some of you come over will make me feel like I’m still connected.”

“I can check with Okidu and see if he has time to cook for you. That would solve the problem.” Syssi lifted a card, showing Bridget the blank back. “What’s on the other side?”

“A flower,” Bridget said. “I would love to have Okidu for a day.”

“It’s a ladder.” Syssi flipped the card to show Bridget that it looked nothing like a flower. “I’ll let you know about Okidu.”

“Thank you.”

Syssi pulled out another card. “And this is?”

“A beach ball.”

“Close. It’s a balloon.”

Bridget clapped her hands. “Yay, I was close.”

“Not really. Do you want to see how Turner is doing?”

“Yes, I’m sure his results are more interesting than mine.”

Bridget jumped as the lab door opened with a bang, relaxing a moment later when she saw who it was.

Kian strode in with Anandur and Brundar in tow. “What did I miss?” He looked at Syssi as if there was no one else in there but her.

“Nothing, we just started.” She stretched on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

Obviously, that wasn’t enough for Kian, and he wrapped his arms around her middle, picked her up, and kissed her mouth.

Anandur snorted. “Do you guys want to go home? Or should I find you a room?”

“Shut up.” Brundar flicked the back of his head. “Show some respect.”

Anandur smirked. “I’m not going to retaliate because it’s not your fault you suffer from a serious disability—absolutely no sense of humor.”

Shaking her head at the brothers, Bridget walked up to Turner’s station.

He was so focused on his task that he didn’t even notice that she was standing right next to him.

“How is he doing?” Bridget asked Amanda, who was watching over his shoulder.

“Spectacular. Even those who have talent start strong and then falter as time goes by. It’s a boring, repetitive task. Victor just gets better.”

“That’s because I figured out the machine logic.” Clicking away, he didn’t shift his eyes to look at either of them.

“It’s called random images because it's randomized. You can’t figure it out.”

“That’s what you think.”

They watched him guess everything correctly for a few more minutes before Amanda stopped the test. “I don’t think we can learn anything more by continuing. Let’s try something different.”

Bridget glanced at Syssi, who was still busy with her husband. Obviously, Kian hadn’t come to watch Turner take his tests. He’d come to visit Syssi at work, using Turner as an excuse.

Amanda beckoned Victor to follow. “The telepathic testing is usually done by Syssi, but my assistant seems to be busy at the moment.” Amanda motioned for Victor to take the seat Bridget had vacated a few moments ago, and picked up the same deck of cards.

“I’m going to pick up a card, look at the picture, and try to communicate the image to you.”

Turner rolled his shoulders as if he was getting ready for a sparring match. “Go for it.”

Amanda made a big production of shuffling and reshuffling the cards, then pulled one out, looking at it for a long moment before raising her eyes to Victors.

He squinted, and then shook his head. “I have no idea. Whatever it is, it’s not something you associate with pleasure. That’s all I know. Your pupils didn’t dilate.”

Amanda showed him the same drawing of a ladder that Syssi had shown Bridget before. “You’re right. I don’t like ladders. It’s bad luck to walk under one.”

Victor seemed uncomfortable. Her guy had an obsessive need to excel at everything. But even though it was an unhealthy attitude, and he should be able to deal with disappointment, Bridget knew Amanda had made it unnecessarily difficult for him. “Syssi showed me the pictures so I would know what to expect. You didn’t show Victor the cards.”

“Right. I told you this is not one of the tests I do.” Amanda pulled another stack out of the drawer. “These cards have pictures that are more emotionally charged. A weak telepath might have difficulty with inanimate objects and specific words, but he or she can sometimes sense the feelings behind the images.” She handed Victor the cards. “Flip through them but don’t look for too long.”

“Okay.” After a few moments, he handed her the cards back.

She pulled one out and lifted it up.

“A sunny day at the beach.”

“Correct. Next.”

“A boat on a stormy sea.”

“Correct. Next.”

“A plate of chocolates.”

“Wrong.”

He leaned forward. “What is it?”

She showed him.

“I was right.”

“No, you weren't. This is a goblet filled with ice cream and berries.”

“But it was something that made your pupils dilate the most. It was something you craved.”

“Is that how you guessed the other cards?”

He nodded. “I knew what was in the selection. The next thing was to watch your reactions to what was pleasing or conversely disturbing to you and to what degree. Your pupils and your breathing pattern told me the rest.”

Amanda put the cards down. “I’ve never encountered someone who was too smart for testing. I think I need to invent new ones for smart alecks like you.”

“There is no one like me.”

“And modest too.”

“I’m being honest.”

“Yes, you are.”

Finally letting go of his wife, Kian walked over and put his hand on Turner’s shoulder. “Anything interesting to report?”

Amanda looked up at her brother. “Victor is not normal, but I’m not sure it is in a paranormal way.”

If Kian was confused by what she was trying to say, he hid it well. “Nothing conclusive then, I assume.”

“Not yet. There are a few more tests I want to run, but I don’t expect different results. Victor has a way of deducing things by using his observational skills and his logic. It’s going to be difficult to ascertain what exactly helps him solve the problems, a paranormal ability or a superhuman one.”