Bedlam Boyz(76)

Elizabet stood quietly next to Kayla. "I'll call Nichelle downtown," she said. "I'm sure they can find Nick again, and Liane."

"She didn't want me to help her," Kayla said. "She didn't want any help."

"Come on, child, let's go home," Elizabet said gently.



Nataniel leaned back in his chair, gazing out at the lights of Las Vegas. It never ceased to amaze him the way the humans squandered so much electricity on this useless display of lights. It certainly was eye-catching, though, and garish, but still beautiful in its own way.

Such an incredible waste of energy, he thought, like so much about the humans, especially those with the gift of magic. They live their short, useless little lives, never dreaming what they could truly accomplish. Now that would be an accomplishment worthy of an Unseelie prince . . . to gather the power of all of those untapped resources, guiding it where he will.

A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. "Come in," he said sharply.

Shari entered the room. She bowed, fractionally less than the last time she had approached him, he noted with a hidden smile. Shari, in her own way, was becoming dangerous, he had decided, more questioning, edging toward disobedience. She spoke more often now of when they would return to the Unseelie Court, and he knew that she hated life among the humans, even more than most of his followers.

Still, she been the first one to follow him of her own free will when he had been cast out of the Unseelie Court. That was worth something, and he would tolerate a small amount of insolence in the remembrance of it.

"What is it?" he asked.

"The human girl," Shari said, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice. "The young mage. She's back in Los Angeles and growing in power even as we speak."

"Oh, really?" Nataniel asked, smiling. He wondered briefly how the human child had survived the Unseelie Court, then shrugged. She was alive, and that was all that mattered, that she was powerful enough to return to the human lands of her own will.

"Razz and his boys, they found her in Los Angeles. She nearly killed one of them with her magic, but apparently healed him afterwards. Several others of their gang disappeared, so they're still searching the area.

"I find it a little hard to believe," Shari continued, a touch of surprise tinged with something else—admiration?—in her voice. "She nearly killed someone and then healed him. Healing an enemy. Can you imagine that?"

"She's human, and a healer." Nataniel shrugged. "She probably can't bear the pain of others. We'll change that once we have her here again." His voice tightened. "Tell the others to prepare for war. Razz has been useful to us, but we can't let him win this prize. We go to Los Angeles."





Chapter Fifteen


"Wake up, sleepyhead!" Kayla said, leaning around the edge of the open door. "Come on, Elizabet, time to get up!"

Elizabet groaned, burying her face in her pillow.

"Elizabet, it's almost seven-thirty. You have to get up and drive me to school, remember?" She looks a little tired, Kayla thought. But it's time to go; I need to get to school!

"To think that I asked for this," Elizabet said, her face muffled by the pillow. "I asked them to sign the papers, setting you up as my foster child. I must have been on drugs to do that. . . ."

"Elizabet, it's gonna be great. It's my first day at the new school!" Kayla sat down on the edge of the bed, watching her expectantly. "Come on, let's go!"

"Child," Elizabet said, slowly getting out of bed and reaching for her bathrobe, "there is one major difference between us that you had better understand. I am a night person. I work the night shift at the station and sleep during the morning. You, on the other hand, are a day person. You go to school in the daytime and sleep at night. As long as you're not too cheerful in the mornings, we should be able to get along just fine."

"Well, there's one solution that would be really easy. You could buy me a car, since I'll be able to get my driving permit in a couple months, and then you wouldn't have to get up early in the morning anymore, right?" Kayla asked hopefully.

"I'll think about it," Elizabet said, but Kayla caught the quick flash of her smile, like a hint of sunlight from behind clouds. "First we'll have to see how you do in high school," Elizabet continued, walking to the bathroom. Through the open door, Kayla could hear the sound of water running from the tap and Elizabet splashing water on her face. "Then we can maybe talk about a car."

Elizabet emerged from the bathroom drying her face with a towel. "So are you ready for your first day at the new high school?" she asked.