Jayne Castle: Ghost Hunter

John scowled. "What do you mean by that?"

"Let's just say this incident isn't one of the Guild's better kept secrets, Dad. I'm amazed you managed to hush it up this long." She turned back to Cooper. "But now that everybody's talking, I wouldn't be surprised if the story hits the tabloids this afternoon or tomorrow. Better warn that nice little man in that broom closet downstairs that you like to call your public relations department to brace himself. He's going to be a little overwhelmed when the local media starts calling."

"What, exactly, did you hear?" Cooper asked. His voice didn't sharpen, but his eyes did.

I definitely have his attention, Elly thought. But it didn't take parapsych senses to figure out that this was probably one of those be-careful-what-you-wish-for situations.

She was committed now, though. There was no turning back.

"Everyone is saying that the reason Palmer Frazier disappeared for several days a while back was because he needed time to recover from the psychic injuries he received in a duel with another hunter. They're also saying that's why he resigned from the Guild Council to- How did your PR department put it? Oh, yes, to pursue other interests in Frequency City."

"I see." Cooper looked thoughtful.

She wanted to scream, but she clamped her back teeth together, instead. She would not lose it here in front of this overcontrolled man. She had her pride.

"They say that you were his opponent, Cooper, and that you won."

Cooper continued to look meditative.

"This is most unfortunate," John murmured.

"Certainly struck me that way, Dad," she said. "According to the gossip that's going around, the only witnesses allowed were the other members of the Guild Council. That means you were there."

John winced uneasily. "Now, see here, my dear-"

She switched her attention back to Cooper. "Guess what, Cooper. Gossip flows through the Guild Hall as quickly as it goes across the campus. In fact, the news is all over town. And this is a small town, in case you've forgotten. Do you know what that means? It means I can't even go grocery shopping without people talking about me behind my back."

"This will all blow over in a month or two," John announced in forceful tones. "Frazier is fine. It was his decision to leave town and move to Frequency City."

"He would hardly want to hang around Aurora Springs after he'd been humiliated by losing a duel and being forced off the Council," she shot back.

Cooper studied her with a considering expression. She knew that he was trying to decide just how much of the truth to reveal.

"I regret that there has been gossip and that it got back to you," he said slowly.

"For heaven's sake, you could have been seriously injured or even been killed."

Cooper's brows drew together above the rims of his glasses in a slightly baffled expression. "There was no danger of anyone getting killed."

"A sanctioned ghost-hunter duel is a formal ritual," John said quickly. "It's used only as a last resort to deal with challenges to the existing power structure of the organization. The strongest hunter wins. The members of the Council witness the results, and that's the end of the matter."

"You make it sound so simple," she retorted, thoroughly exasperated. "But everyone knows ghosts are terribly, terribly dangerous. Sure, hunters have some immunity, but one miscalculation, and we're talking a major disaster. When you're dealing with high-energy ghosts, there's always the possibility of serious psychic trauma."

"Nothing went wrong," Cooper said quietly. "The issue that had arisen was formally settled according to Guild Law. There should have been no gossip."

"Well, there is gossip, Mr. Guild Boss."

"It doesn't involve you," he said quietly.

"I have another news bulletin for you. Everyone is saying that I was the reason the duel was fought."

He frowned. "Who said that?"

" Everyone . Aren't you listening? My colleagues in the Department of Botany stared and whispered when I walked through the faculty lounge. You should have heard the giggling when I went into the women's restroom."

There was a short, heavily weighted silence at that news. The discussion was going downhill fast, and her heart was breaking into smaller and smaller pieces. She only had one last, frail hope to cling to.

"Elly," John said, placating. "You're the daughter of a Guild family. You know how important our traditions are."

"For heaven's sake, Dad, I've got nothing against a few institutional traditions. But we're talking about a fullblown duel ." She flicked a glance at Cooper. "In case neither one of you has heard, that sort of thing is considered archaic, primitive, uncivilized, and way over the top by modern, educated, sophisticated people such as my colleagues."

"Your father's right; the gossip will die down," Cooper promised.

"That remark only goes to show how out of touch you both are with mainstream society." She started to pace. "It's all very well for you not to worry, but let me tell you a few facts of academic life. This may come as a stunning shock, but it turns out that figuring at the center of a stupid, mega-macho duel between a couple of hunters-one of whom happens to be a Guild boss-is not the kind of thing that will help me get promoted to assistant professor."

"Calm down," Cooper said, his voice gentling.

" Calm down?" She stopped and swung around to face him again. "If you don't care about the risk you took with your own life or your parapsych profile, how about considering the damage that you did to my career?"

Cooper's mouth thinned. "What occurred was Guild business. It will not affect your career. I give you my word on that."

She resumed pacing. The only other alternative was to pick up a few of the smaller alien artifacts that decorated the chamber and start hurling them around the room. That would be undignified.

"Guild business," she repeated coldly. "You know, somehow I just knew you were going to say that."

"The incident will not affect your career at the college."

"Pay attention, Mr. Guild Boss. Members of the faculty have been dismissed from Aurora Springs College for less than this."

John's snowy brows bunched. "No one is going to fire you because of this."

"Don't bet on it, Dad." She stalked past the full-length portrait of her several times great-grandfather, John Sander St. Clair, the first chief of the Aurora Springs Guild. "The Academic Council has a very strict Code of Conduct. Article One, Section a, Paragraph la, forbids every member of the staff from, and I quote, 'engaging in any type of behavior that might embarrass the college or reflect badly upon this institution. Such behavior shall be grounds for a formal reprimand, or, in the most serious cases, dismissal. "

For the first time, Cooper showed an expression other than cool patience. It wasn't much of a show of emotion, to be sure, only a slight increase in the intensity of his unusual blue eyes, but she had been around him enough in the past two months to sense that he was starting to get irritated.

"Your father is right," he said very evenly. "There's no way the Academic Council can blame you for an incident that involved only the Guild Council."

She came to a halt in front of another large portrait of a former Aurora Springs Guild boss. Albert Roy St. Clair was a great-uncle on her mother's side.

"You're missing the big picture here," she said. "I don't have to be guilty of anything. All I have to do is embarrass the college. In academic politics, perception is everything. Good grief. When I think of how hard I've worked to convince my colleagues that the Guild has changed over the years, that it isn't really an organization that is only half a step above a criminal mob, I could just spit. Talk about a complete waste of time and energy."