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.A brown metal door was openingand two small figures were coming out.One with feathery blond hair, the other with tiny dark braids.They were handin hand.Something twisted inside Jez.Just stay calm, stay calm, she told herself.It's no good to think aboutgrabbing her and making a run for the East Bay.They'll just follow you; trackyou down.Stay cool and you'll be able to get the kid free later.Yeah, after Morgead does his little "test."But she stayed cool and didn't move, breathing slowly and evenly as Thistleled the other girl down the stairs.When they reached the sidewalk, Jezpressed the starter button.She didn't say "Now!" She didn't need to.She just peeled out, knowing theothers would follow like a flock of well-trained ducklings.She heardtheir engines roar to life, sensed them behind her in tight formation, andshe headed straight for the sidewalk.The Wild Power kid wasn't dumb.When she saw Jez's motorcycle coming at her,she tried to run.Her mistake was that she tried to save Thistle, too.Shetried to pull the little blond girl with her, but Thistle was suddenly strong,grabbing the chain-link fence with a small hand like steel, holding them bothin place.Jez swooped in and caught her target neatly around the waist.She swooped thechild onto the saddle facing her, felt the small body thud against her, felthands clutch at her automatically for balance.Then she whipped past a parked car, twisted the throttle to get a surge ofspeed, and flew out of there.Behind her, she knew Raven was snagging Thistle and the others were allfollowing.There wasn't a scream or even a sound from the housing project.They were roaring down Taylor Street.They were passing the high school.Theywere making it away clean."Hang on to me or you'll fall off and get hurt!" Jez yelled to the child infront of her, making a turn so fast that her knee almost scraped the ground.She wanted to stay far enough ahead of the others that she could talk."Take me back home!" The kid yelled it, but not hysterically.She hadn'tshrieked even once.Jez looked down at her.And found herself staring into deep, velvety brown eyes.Solemn eyes.Theylooked reproachful and unhappy-but not afraid.Jez was startled.She'd expected crying, terror, anger.But she had the feeling that this kidwouldn't even be yelling if it hadn't been the only way to be heard.Maybe I should have been more worried about what she'll do to us.Maybe shePage 61ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.htmlcan call blue fire down to kill people.Otherwise, how can she be so composedwhen she's just been kidnapped?But those brown eyes-they weren't the eyes of somebody about to attack.Theywere-Jez didn't know what they were.But they wrenched her heart."Look-Iona, right? That's your name?"The kid nodded."Look, Iona, I know this seems weird and scary- having somebody just grab youoff the street.And I can't explain everything now.But I promise you, you'renot going to get hurt.Nothing's going to hurt you-okay?""I want to go home."Oh, kid, so do I, Jez thought suddenly.She had to blink hard.Tm going totake you home-or at least someplace safe," she added, as honesty unexpectedlykicked in.There was something about the kid that made her not want to lie."But first we've got to go to a friend of mine's house.But, look, no matterhow strange all this seems, I want you to remember something.I won't let youget hurt.Okay? Can you believe that?""My mom is going to be scared."Jez took a deep breath and headed onto the freeway."I promise I won't letyou get hurt," she said again.And that was all she could say.She felt like a centaur, some creature that was half person and half steelhorse, carrying off a human kid at sixty miles an hour.It was pointless totry to make conversation on the freeway, and Iona didn't speak again untilthey were roaring up to Morgead's building.Then she said simply, "I don't want to go in there.""It's not a bad place," Jez said, braking front and back."We're going up onthe roof.There's a little garden there."A tiny flicker of interest showed in the solemn brown eyes.Four other bikespulled in beside Jez."Yeeehaw! We got her!" Val yelled, pulling off his helmet."Yeah, and we'd better take her upstairs before somebody sees us," Ravensaid, tossing her dark hair so it fell over one eye again.Thistle was climbing off the back of Raven's motorcycle.Jez felt the smallbody in front of her stiffen.Thistle looked at Iona and smiled hersharp-toothed smile.Iona just looked back.She didn't say a word, but after a minute Thistleflushed and turned away [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]