Kayla concentrated, imagining that brightness fading away to nothingness.
Make it go away . . . dim it down, like turning down a light. . . .
A wave of dizziness hit her like a fist. She opened her eyes and grabbed for anything to hold onto, afraid she was going to faint. Elizabet caught her, keeping her from falling over.
"Not too much," Elizabet repeated, "just a little bit. Carefully. Slowly."
Kayla nodded, taking a few deep breaths. She closed her eyes and tried again. This time she could do it. She could bring that simmering pool of fire down to embers, glowing with restrained power. She concentrated, letting the fire slowly die down, dimming the light to a faint glow. "Did it work?" she asked.
"You did it just right," Elizabet said. "Now, you're going to have to learn to keep it like this all the time. Otherwise, anyone that's looking for you will be able to find you easily, just by tracking your magic. Good work, child."
"Are we done now?" Kayla asked.
"Not by a long shot. Lesson number two. This one will be a little tougher. We'll do this and then take a break. It's almost visiting time at the hospital where your friend Billy is staying. We can go over there and see him. I called the hospital while you were still asleep, and he'll be expecting us."
"Great!" Kayla said, grinning. It'll be terrific to see Billy. I've got so much to tell him. . . .
Except I can't, can I? He won't believe any of this. He'll think I'm crazy. My old friends . . . are they still going to be my friends? I don't know about that. "Where's Liane? Do you know?" she asked.
Elizabet shook her head. "No, she's still missing. Though I'm hoping once you have a little bit of control over what you're doing, you might be able to find her yourself. The police haven't turned up any leads at all." She reached into the pocket of her jeans, pulled out a small Swiss army knife, and sat down on the floor next to Kayla. "Now for the next lesson." She opened out one of the blades and glanced up at Kayla. "What you're going to do now," she said, "is not heal me."
"I don't get it," Kayla said. "What are you . . . ?"
Elizabet brought the razor-sharp knife down on the palm of her hand.
Pain! It echoed through Kayla like a shockwave. She felt the magic inside her answer that pain, welling up through her. Kayla reached out to where the blood was slowly pooling in Elizabet's palm.
"Stop it!" Elizabet said sharply, and Kayla drew back, startled. "You have to learn to control it, not let it control you."
"Elizabet, I—"
"Just sit there, child," Elizabet said. "Just sit there and control it."
That's easy for you to say, Kayla thought resentfully, feeling the magic pulling at her like a riptide, trying to surge through her, reaching out to Elizabet.
Her hands were shaking. She clenched them into fists and closed her eyes. I will control it, she thought desperately. I will!
Slowly, like an ebbing tide, she felt the pressure easing. The electric touch of the magic fell away from her with each breath she took, slowly receding.
She opened her eyes to see Elizabet smiling at her. "Not bad," Elizabet said, "not bad at all."
Kayla smiled in relief. Thank God this craziness is over, she thought. Now I'll just heal Elizabet, and then we'll be done with this.
"Very good," Elizabet continued. "We'll sit like this for the next forty-five minutes or so, until you think you've really got it down."
Kayla stared at her. She's got to be joking!
"No, I'm not," Elizabet said, in a voice that didn't allow any argument.
Kayla sighed. It was going to be a very long forty-five minutes. . . .
Chapter Fourteen
"I think that was a rotten trick, Elizabet," Kayla said, helping Elizabet carry the dishes from the breakfast table to the kitchen sink.
"Learning isn't supposed to be easy, child," Elizabet said as she set the dishes down into the soapy water.
"Yeah, but I didn't think it would be this hard," Kayla said. "I mean, you never—"
Across the room, the phone rang. Elizabet grabbed a dishtowel to dry her hands and then hurried over to answer it. Kayla rolled up her sleeves and began scrubbing the dishes. She listened to one half of the conversation. "Good morning, Nichelle . . . I didn't think there would be any news . . . Well, thanks for calling. I'll see you later tonight at the office."
Elizabet's forehead was slightly furrowed with a frown as she walked back to Kayla.
"What was that all about?" Kayla asked.
Elizabet began drying the dishes Kayla had washed. "That was Detective Cable. She wanted to tell me there had been no update on your case. You're still officially kidnaped as far as the LAPD is concerned."