Jez held herself perfectly still, keeping her face expressionless. Her mind was clicking through strategies.
Two exits-but to go out the window meant a three-story drop, and she probably wouldn't survive that in
her condition. Although, of course, she couldn't leave anyway without doing something to silence
Morgead-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 family."
Ill have to kill him somehow, she thought, 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 me."
Relief spread slowly through 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 himself. To restore the Redferns to the glory of old. You're
running errands for him."
Jez choked on exasperation. Then she listened to the part of her mind that was telling her to keep her
temper and think clearly.
Strategy, that part was saying. He's just handed you the answer and you're trying to smack it away.
"All right; what if that is true?" she said at last, her voice curt. "What if I do come from Hunter?"
"Then you can tell him to get bent. I told the Council my terms. I'm not settling for anything less."
"And what were your terms?"
He sneered. "As if you didn't know." When she just stared at him, he shrugged and stopped pacing. "A
seat on the Council," he said coolly, arms folded.
Jez burst out laughing. "You," she said, "are out of your mind."
"I know they won't give it to me." He smiled, not a nice smile. "I expect them to offer something like
control of San Francisco. And some position after the millennium."
After the millennium. Meaning after the apocalypse, after the human race had been killed or subjugated
or eaten or whatever else Hunter Redfern had in mind.
"You want to be a prince in the new world 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 want what's coming to me. All my Life I've had to stand around and watch humans get everything.
After the millennium things will be different." He glared at her broodingly.
Jez still felt sick. But she knew what to say now.
"And what makes you think the Council is going to be around after the millennium?" She shook her head.
"You're better off going with Hunter. I'd bet
on him against the Council any day."
Morgead 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 him.
He turned away sharply and went to glower out the window. Jez 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 millennium-"
"After the millennium you'll get what you deserve." Jez couldn't help glaring back at him. Morgead
brought out all her worst traits, all the things she tried to control in herself.
"You'll get a position," she amended, spinning the story she knew he wanted to hear. She was winging 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 same thing. If we do what Hunter
wants, we both win."
"So we cooperate-for the time being."
"We cooperate-and we see what happens," Jez said evenly.
They stared at each other from opposite sides of the room. It was as if the blood sharing had never
happened. They were back to their old roles- maybe a little more hostile, but the same old Jez and
Morgead, enjoying being adversaries.
Maybe it'll be easy from now on, Jez thought. As long as Hunter doesn't show up to blow my story.
Then she grinned 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 show me what?"
"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 anchorwoman
came on screen.
"Breaking news in San Francisco this hour. We have live pictures from the Marina district where a
five-alarm fire is raging through a government housing project. We go now to Linda Chin, who's on the
scene."
The scene switched to a dark-haired reporter.
"Regina, I'm here at Taylor Street, where firefighters are trying to prevent this spectacular blaze from
spreading-"
Jez looked from the TV to Morgead. "What's this got to do with the Wild Power? I saw it live. It
happened a couple weeks ago. I was watching that stupid movie-"
She broke off, shocked at herself. She'd actually been about to say "I was watching 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 was wrong 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 flames were brilliant orange, dazzling against the background 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 much about it.
In front of the building firefighters in yellow were carrying hoses. Smoke flooded out suddenly as one of
the hoses sprayed a straight line of water into the flames.
"Their greatest fear is that there may be a little girl still inside this complex-"
Yes. That was what Jez remembered about this fire. There had been a kid....
"Look here," Morgead said, pointing.
The camera was zooming in on something, bringing the flames in close. A window in the pinky-brown
concrete of the building. High up, on the third floor. Flames were pouring up from the walkway below it,
making 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 window.
Like all the other windows, it was half covered with a wrought-iron screen in a diamond pattern. Unlike
the others, it had something else: On the sill
there were a couple of plastic buckets with dirt and scraggly plants. A window box.
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 someone on the third floor of
this building. They are looking for a way to approach the person-the little girl-"
High-powered searchlights had been turned on the flames. That was the only reason the girl was visible
at all. Even so, Jez couldn't distinguish any features. The girl was a small blurry blob.
Firefighters were trying to maneuver some kind of ladder toward the building. People were running,
appearing and disappearing in the swirling smoke. The scene was eerie, otherworldly.
Jez remembered this, remembered listening to the barely suppressed horror in the reporter's voice,
remembered Claire beside her hissing in a sharp breath.
"It's a kid," Claire had said, grabbing Jez's arm and digging her nails in, momentarily forgetting how much
she disliked Jez. "Oh, God, a kid."
And I said something like, "It'll be okay," Jez remembered. But I knew it wouldn't be. There was too
much fire. There wasn't a chance....
The reporter was saying, "The entire building is involved...." And the camera was going in for a
close-up again, and Jez remembered realizing that they were actually going to show this girl burning alive
on TV.
The plastic buckets were melting. The firemen were trying to do something with the ladder. And then
there was a sudden huge burst of orange, an explosion, as the flames below the window poofed and
began pouring themselves upward with frantic energy. They were so bright they seemed to suck all the
light out of their surroundings.