Her entire consciousness was focused on Iona.
Maybe some part of her was still hoping that the kid had magic and could make the wind hold her up.
But it didn't happen and Jez didn't waste time thinking about it. She hit Iona in midair, grabbing the small body and hanging on.
It was something no human could have done. Jez's vampire muscles instinctively knew how to handle this, though. They twisted her as she fell, putting her underneath the child in her arms, putting her legs below her like a cat's.
But of course Jez didn't have a vampire's resistance to injury. She knew perfectly well that when she hit, the fall would break both her legs. In her weakened state it might well kill her.
It should save the kid, though, she thought unemotionally as the ground rushed up to meet her. The extra resiliency of Jez's flesh would act as a cushion.
But there was one thing Jez hadn't thought of.
The trees.
There were discouraged-looking redbud trees planted at regular intervals along the cracked and mossy sidewalk. None of them had too much in the way of foliage even in late summer, but they certainly had a lot of little branches.
Jez and the kid crashed right into one of them.
Jez felt pain, but scratching, stabbing pain instead of the slamming agony of hitting the sidewalk. Her legs were smashing through things that cracked and snapped and poked her. Twigs and branches. She was being flipped around as some of the twigs caught on her jeans and others snagged her leather jacket.
Every branch she hit decreased her velocity.
So when she finally crashed out of the tree and hit concrete, it merely knocked the wind out of her.
Black dots danced in front of her eyes. Then her vision cleared and she realized that she was lying on her back with Iona clutched to her stomach. Shiny redbud leaves were floating down all around her.
Goddess, she thought. We made it. I don't believe it.
There was a dark blur and something thudded against the sidewalk beside her.
Morgead. He landed like a cat, bending his knees, but nice a big cat. A three-story jump was pretty steep even for a vampire. Jez could see the shock reverberate through him as his legs hit concrete, and then he fell forward.
That must hurt, she thought with distant sympathy. But the next instant he was up again, he was by her side and bending over her.
"Are you all right?" He was yelling it both aloud and telepathically. His dark hair was mussed and flying;
his green eyes were wild. "Jez!"
Oh. It was you who yelled when I jumped, Jez thought. I should have known.
She blinked up at him. "Of course I'm all right," she said hazily. She tugged at the kid lying on her. "Iona!
Are you all right?"
Iona stirred. Both her hands were clutching Jez's jacket in front, but she sat up a little without letting go.
There was a burned patch on her sleeve, but no fire.
Her velvety brown eyes were huge-and misty. She looked sad and confused.
"That was really scary," she said.
"I know." Jez gulped. She wasn't any good at talking about emotional things, but right now the words spilled out without conscious effort. Tm sorry, Iona; I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. We shouldn't have done that. It was a very bad thing to do, and I'm really sorry, and we're going to take you home now.
Nobody's going to hurt you. We're going to take you back to your mom."
The velvety eyes were still unhappy. Tired and unhappy and reproachful. Jez had never felt like more of a monster, not even that night in Muir Woods when she had realized she was hunting her own kind.
Iona's gaze remained steady, but her chin quivered.
Jez looked at Morgead. "Can you erase her memory? I can't see any reason why she should have to remember all this."
He was still breathing quickly, his face pale and his pupils dilated. But he looked at Iona and nodded.
"Yeah, I can wipe her."
"Because she's not the Wild Power, you know," Jez said levelly, as if making a comment about the weather.
Morgead flinched. Then he shoved his hair back with his knuckles, his eyes shutting briefly.
"She's an extraordinary kid, and I don't know exactly what she's going to be-maybe President or some great doctor or botanist or something. Something special, because she's got that inner light- something that keeps her from getting mad or mean or hysterical. But that's got nothing to do with being a Wild Power."
"All right! I know, already!" Morgead yelled, and Jez realized she was babbling. She shut up.
Morgead took a breath and put his hand down. "She's not it. I was wrong. I made a bad mistake.
Okay?"
"Okay." Jez felt calmer now. "So can you please wipe her?"
"Yes! I'm doing it!" Morgead put his hands on Iona's slender shoulders. "Look, kid, I'm-sorry. I never thought you'd-you know, jump like that."
Iona didn't say anything. If he wanted forgiveness, he wasn't getting it.
He took a deep breath and went on. "This has been a pretty rotten day, hasn't it? So why don't you just forget all about it, and before you know it, you'll be home."
Jez could feel him reach out with his mind, touching the child's consciousness with his Power. Iona's eyes shifted, she looked at Jez uncertainly.
"It's okay," Jez whispered. "It won't hurt." She hung on to Iona's gaze, trying to comfort her as Morgead's suggestions took hold.
"You don't ever have to remember this," Morgead said, his voice soothing now. Gentle. "So why don't you just go to sleep? You can have a little nap... and when you wake up, you'll be home."
Iona's eyelids were closing. At the last possible second she gave Jez a tiny sleepy smile-just the barest change of expression, but it seemed to ease the tightness in Jez's chest. And then Iona's lashes were lying heavy on her cheeks and her breathing was deep and regular.