The Third Circle (Arcane Society Book 04) by Amanda Quick Read Free Book Online Page A

move much faster than even the most skilled soldier or boxer. His speed was that of a beast of prey, not that of a normal man.
    Delbridge was a member of the Arcane Society, a secretive organization devoted to the study of the paranormal, the vast majority of whose members possessed at least some demonstrable talents. In recent years the Society had undertaken an organized effort to research, study and catalogue the various types of abilities that had been recognized thus far. Thanks to the growing catalog, there was now a name for those who exhibited Lancing’s peculiar and extremely dangerous syndrome of skills: parahunters.
    There were many within the Society, especially those who subscribed to Mr. Darwin’s theories, who were convinced that psychically enhanced hunters were, in truth, primeval throwbacks. Delbridge was inclined to agree with them. Lancing, however, took another point of view. As far as the elegant viper was concerned, he was a superior, more highly evolved man. Either way, he had his uses.
    Delbridge had tracked him down after accounts of a savage killer who preyed upon prostitutes began appearing in the sensation press. It had been easy enough to lure the Midnight Monster, as The Flying Intelligencer had labeled him, out of hiding. Molly Stubton, with her blonde hair and pretty face, had fit the description of the Monster’s victims. She had posed as a poor streetwalker plying her trade in the part of town where the Monster was known to hunt. Delbridge had hovered close by in the shadows, two loaded pistols in his pocket and a vial filled with one of Hulsey’s potions in his hand.
    For years he had been frustrated by his own talent. It was gratifyingly strong but of extremely limited usefulness. He was able to sense very distinctly others who possessed strong paranormal talents. In addition, he could identify the nature of their particular powers. The ability had finally been put to good use the night he detected Lancing.
    When the Midnight Monster had emerged from the fog one night, dressed like an elegant gentleman and smiling his angelic smile, even Molly, who possessed some extremely well-honed street instincts, was fooled.
    Lancing’s hunting senses were fully aroused, however, and Delbridge had immediately identified the nature of the disturbing aura that surrounded him. Even if there was no name for the Monster’s talent, Delbridge would have recognized him for what he was: a killer.
    He had offered the parahunter employment and something that he sensed intuitively would be vastly more important to him: admiration and acknowledgment of his extraordinary powers.
    He had quickly learned that Lancing had a second weakness, one that he was forced to pander to in order to control the Monster. Lancing came from the streets but yearned to rub shoulders with his betters in a world that, because of the circumstances of his birth, had always been denied him. The bastard craved acceptance among the elite the way a starving man hungered for bread. Clearly it stuck in his craw that he, a superior sort of man, lacked the social status and connections required to be invited into exclusive circles.
    Delbridge hated having been obliged to introduce the viper to his tailor, let alone invite him to an occasional social affair such as the party tonight, but there was no help for it. Allowing Lancing to hover on the fringes of his upper-class world was the price of doing business with the Midnight Monster.
    Delbridge looked at him. “What went wrong here tonight? The plan to get rid of Miss Stubton was simple and straightforward. You were to escort her back to her town house after the party tonight and get rid of her there. Why the devil did you kill her right here in my house? Don’t you realize the risk you took?”
    Molly Stubton had been a strikingly beautiful woman. Her smoldering sensuality combined with her skills in the bedroom had made her useful as a seductress. Delbridge had employed her to learn the