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"How?" Cherise asked She looked scared, and I didn’t blanificant a on soot ot Earth Warden powers," I said "That e here needs your help I’ll walk you through it, okay? Kevin, he said so about Mindy See if there’s anybody else in the car"

Kevin opened the car door and peered in, and allish bulldog, who lunged off the floorboard at hiain The bulldog continued to glare and bark "Uh, yeah, found Mindy, I guess She’s a chars"

Under other circuhting toe to toe with a particularly dangerous Djinn, but give hi, and he was just like anybody else That was refreshing

I pushed away that momentary pulse of ae ide eyes

"Okay, ready?" I asked She shook her head "Yes, you are Give ht for a second Cherise was going to revert to a second-grader and hold her hands against her chest, but finally she stretched one aruided her to place her pal softly, and he really didn’t look good "I need you to feel the ground under us," I said "It’s full of energy It feels like honey, or syrup--soolden, okay? Can you feel that?"

Cherise squeezed her eyes shut, and finally nodded "It’s not very strong," she said doubtfully She was right It was enerally "What do I do?"

"Iet it started, it’ll just flow on its own"

God, I realized I hated being a teacher So much easier to do it than to say it Words were so clu If I could just show her

The frown deepened on her face, then cleared "Oh Oh, right, I get it That feels weird Good, but weird"

"Weirder than getting hit by lightning?"

"That felt great!"

We andering off topic, and poor George was looking more than a little spooked

"Well, this will, too Noant you to just let that power ers, your pale Don’t try to direct it Just let it flow"

I re this, in fast, terse lessons from other Wardens who hadn’t had the ti a late bloomer meant I’dknowledge of down-and-dirty first aid One of the key things Lewis had taught me was that if you don’t kno to do fine control with Earth power, don’t try There’s a certain instinct to it that pulls the power to where it’s needed most Bodies want to heal All we have to do is help the in," Cherise said I couldn’t see a thing, but Kevin atching in fascination, eyes gone wide and unfocused as he followed along in the aetheric "I think it’s working I can see it in his blood It’s --there’s some kind of a block I think I can--"

"No!" both David and I said at the sa "No, I told you, let the poork Don’t try to direct it!"

Fro, but she’d already asps Wielding Earth power is like working with nanotechnology--you have to be able to ht adjustments at a microscopic level It’s not brute force

Cherise cried out, and George arched his back His eyes rolled back in his head "I tore it!" she yelled frantically "I tore so out--"

Kevin reached out and added his hand on top of Cher’s, and even asout of hie’s labored breathing suddenly and dramatically eased

"Oh," Cherise said, in a very small voice "Like that I see"

Kevin sat back, staring at her with those glittering, powerful eyes, and he said, "Do you?

Because you aluy because you were stupid She told you not to do that You blew out an artery, for God’s sake!"

Cherise hite, clearly horrified and shocked as Kevin turned on her It wasn’t him, I realized; it was the fact that with David’s power, he was seeing way toopower, finally --so that as a Warden he’d probably never have picked up, but it reminded him of someone else

It reminded him of his stepmother, I realized Yvette He’d seen her turn into a predatory monster, driven by that same kind of excitement and ambition What he saw in Cherise was the opposite of Yvette Prentissa woman without any of that poithout any desire to have it or use it

He was hating her right now, and she could tell

"Hey," I said, and put my hands on their shoulders "Good work He see better?"

He nodded, but he looked scared Well, I’d have been right there with hi around in my innards "Who the hell are you people?

You with the govern better, because I heard suspicion kick in

"In a way," I said "Kevin, how’s the patch? Solid?"

"It’ll hold," he said "He had a blocked artery It’s clear now He’ll be okay"

"Kev--," Cher said anxiously He stood up and walked away, head down, hands in his pockets

"I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do it!"

"Give him a minute," I said "Cher, he’s used to the other you The one without powers

He’s never trusted other Wardens, not any of us, not deep down He hates feeling that way about you, too Understand?"