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Jez held herself perfectly still, keeping her face expressionless Her ies

Two exits-but to go out themeant a three-story drop, and she probably wouldn’t survive that in

her condition Although, of course, she couldn’t leave anyithout doing soead-and she wouldn’t survive a fight, either

She suppressed any feeling, returned Morgead’s gaze, and said calmly, "And why is that?"

Triumph flashed in his eyes "Jez Redfern That’s the key, isn’t it? Your faht, but he was going on

"Your family sent you Hunter Redfern He knows that I’ve really found the Wild Power, and he expects

you to get it out of h Jez, and her stomach muscles relaxed She didn’t let it show "You idiot! Of

course not I don’t run errands for the Council"

Morgead’s lip lifted "I didn’t say the Council I said Hunter Redfern He’s trying to steal a march on the

Council, isn’t he? He wants the Wild Power hilory of old You’re

running errands for him"

Jez choked on exasperation Then she listened to the part of herher to keep her

tey, that part was saying He’s just handed you the answer and you’re trying to sht; what if that is true?" she said at last, her voice curt "What if I do coet bent I told the Councilless"

"And ere your terms?"

He sneered "As if you didn’t know" When she just stared at hi "A

seat on the Council," he said coolly, ar "You," she said, "are out of your ive it to me" He s like

control of San Francisco And some position after theafter the apocalypse, after the huated

or eaten or whatever else Hunter Redfern had in mind

"You want to be a prince in the neorld order," Jez said slowly, and she was surprised at how bitterly

it came out She was surprised at how surprised she was Wasn’t it just what she expected of Morgead?

"I hat’s co to me All et everything

After the lared at her broodingly

Jez still felt sick But she knehat to say now

"And whatto be around after the millenniuoing with Hunter I’d bet

on hiead blinked once, lizardlike "He’s planning on getting rid of the Council?"

Jez held his gaze "What would you do in his place?"

Morgead’s expression didn’t get any sweeter But she could see from his eyes that she had hilower out theJez could practically see the wheels turning

in his head Finally he looked back

"All right," he said coldly "Ill join Hunter’s team-but only on my terms After the et what you deserve" Jez couldn’t help glaring back at hiht out all her worst traits, all the things she tried to control in herself

"You’ll get a position," she a the story she kneanted to hear She inging it,

but she had no choice "Hunter wants people loyal to him in the new order And if you can prove you’re

valuable, he’ll want you But first you have to prove it Okay? Deal?"

"If I can trust you"

"We can trust each other because we have to We both want the sa If we do what Hunter

wants, we both win"

"So we cooperate-for the ti"

"We cooperate-and we see what happens," Jez said evenly

They stared at each other fro had never

happened They were back to their old roles- maybe a little ead, enjoying being adversaries

Maybe it’ll be easy fro as Hunter doesn’t show up to blow rinned inwardly It would never happen Hunter Redfern hadn’t visited the West Coast for

fifty years

"Business," she said crisply, out loud "Where’s the Wild Power, Morgead?"

"Ill show you" He walked over to the futon and sat down

Jez stayed where she was "You’ll shohat?"

"Show you the Wild Power" There was a TV with a VCR at the foot of the bed, sitting on the bare

floor Morgead was putting a tape in

Jez settled on the far end of the futon, glad for the chance to sit

"You’ve got the Wild Power on tape?"

He threw her an icy glance over his shoulder "Yeah, on America’s Funniest Home Videos Just shut up,

Jez, and watch"

Jez narrowed her eyes and watched

What she was looking at was a TV movie about a doomsday asteroid A movie she’d seen-it had been

awful Suddenly the action was interrupted by the logo of a local news station A blond anchorwo news in San Francisco this hour We have live pictures from the Marina district where a

five-alaro now to Linda Chin, who’s on the

scene"

The scene switched to a dark-haired reporter

"Regina, I’ to prevent this spectacular blaze fro-"

Jez looked froot to do with the Wild Power? I saw it live It

happened a couple weeks ago I atching that stupid movie-"

She broke off, shocked at herself She’d actually been about to say "I atching that stupid movie

with Claire and Aunt Nan" Just like that, to blurt out the names of the humans she lived with She

clenched her teeth, furious

She’d already let Morgead know one thing: that a couple of weeks ago she’d been in this area, where a

local news station could break in

What rong with her?

Morgead tilted a sardonic glance at her, just to show her that he hadn’t missed her slip But all he said

was "Keep watching You’ll see what it’s got to do with the Wild Power"

On screen the flaround of darkness So bright that if

Jez hadn’t known that area of the Marina district well, she wouldn’t have been able to tell hters in yelloere carrying hoses Smoke flooded out suddenly as one of

the hoses sprayed a straight line of water into the flareatest fear is that there irl still inside this complex-"

Yes That hat Jez remembered about this fire There had been a kid

"Look here," Morgead said, pointing

The ca the flames in close Ain the pinky-brown

concrete of the building High up, on the third floor Fla up fro the whole area look too dangerous to approach

The reporter was still talking, but Jez had tuned her out She leaned closer, eyes fixed on that

Like all the other s, it was half covered with a wrought-iron screen in a dia else: On the sill

there were a couple of plastic buckets with dirt and scraggly plants Abox

And a face looking out between the plants

A child’s face

"There," Morgead said

The reporter was speaking "Regina, the firefighters say there is definitely so They are looking for a way to approach the person-the little girl-"

High-powered searchlights had been turned on the flairl was visible

at all Even so, Jez couldn’t distinguish any features The girl was a s toPeople were running,

appearing and disappearing in the swirling smoke The scene was eerie, otherworldly

Jez re to the barely suppressed horror in the reporter’s voice,

re in a sharp breath

"It’s a kid," Claire had said, grabbing Jez’s ar how much

she disliked Jez "Oh, God, a kid"

And I said so like, "It’ll be okay," Jez remembered But I kneouldn’t be There was too

much fire There wasn’t a chance

The reporter was saying, "The entire building is involved" And the caain, and Jez re to show this girl burning alive

on TV

The plastic buckets werewith the ladder And then

there was a sudden huge burst of orange, an explosion, as the fla theht they seeht out of their surroundings

They engulfed the girl’s

The reporter’s voice broke

Jez re blood She re to shut

her own eyes

And then, suddenly, the TV screen flickered and a huge wall of s

Black sray that looked al was lost in the smoke