Stolen Magic. Esri Rose

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СКАЧАТЬ She picked up another folder and riffled through the contents.

      “I don’t know exactly when. I just remember I gave it back to you.”

      She looked up, clearly exasperated. “I also found the dividend statement from Larimer filed under capital gains.”

      I bit my lip. “Is that not right?”

      “Not in this case.” She heaved a sigh and dropped the offending folder on her desk. “I need you to pay attention to details, Adlia.”

      “I’m trying!”

      “Try harder. And please look on your desk again for that prospectus.”

      I had already forgotten the name. They all sounded the same to me. “What was it called again?”

      “Village. Developments.” She got up and went to the file cabinet.

      I glanced over at Galan, who was pretending to be on another planet. Somehow, that made it even worse. Maybe I didn’t live and die by the P-and-L statement, like some people, but I was here. Kutara could at least try to leave me a little dignity.

      By the time I found the Village Developments prospectus, Kutara and Galan were at his desk, looking at something on the monitor.

      I cleared my throat theatrically to get their attention. “Is this what you were looking for, Kutara?” I waved the prospectus in the air. “This thing that I found on top of your quarterly-returns binder?”

      She looked at me with absolutely no expression on her face. “Someone must have moved it. I haven’t looked at those for a month.” She turned to Galan. “The overseas accounts seemed to be out of order as well. I think we should start locking the file cabinets at night. Now, about this horse property. I think it could be returned to a wild state and make good elf habitat.”

      Galan murmured something to her.

      Kutara’s expression became slightly more chilly. She slowly raised her head toward me. “The importance of this work can make me rather abrupt at times, Adlia. I hope you don’t take it personally.”

      And that was as close as I would get to an apology.

      Deciding to take advantage of whatever guilt she might feel, I said, “Well, it’s been a long night. I think I’ll go home.”

      Kutara exchanged a quick look with Galan before she said, “Adlia, I want you to stay here with Fia tonight.”

      “Why me?”

      Galan gave me a pleading look. “Erin is depending on me to make some new jewelry for the shop. Plus, if I don’t spend some time with her she’s going to lock me out of the house.”

      Kutara was already shaking her head when I turned to her. “If we’re going to enter finances in a new program, I need Guy to help me with the files I have at home.”

      Guy was Kutara’s human lover, although they weren’t bonded. Kutara was still bonded to land of her own, and she insisted she only used Guy for sex energy and his contacts in land development. But I had my suspicions that she really liked him.

      “So I get to take care of Fia. I see.” I saw that both of them wanted to get home for a little energy-raising sex with their human partners, while Adlia, who didn’t have anyone, elf or human, got to babysit.

      I looked at Fia. “What do you think, kid? Should we knock over a convenience store?”

      She stared into space. “I’m hungry.”

      Chapter Three

      There are a lot of ways you can “work” without working. Surfing the Internet counts as researching human behavior. Reading pop-culture blogs counts as finding possible new companies to invest in, like that company that makes shoes with little tubes for each individual toe. And listening to music online counts as, well, goofing off.

      Every once in a while I got up and kept Fia from doing something inappropriate, like pouring paper clips down the shredder. By the time morning came, Fia looked decidedly peaky and I was done sitting in the office.

      I called Lenny, one of my coworkers. He didn’t answer, so I left a message. “Hey, it’s Adlia. Where were you last night? Since you’re such a slacker, I think you’re the next person to do a little babysitting. Meet me by the creek, near the office.” That ought to bring him, if only to figure out what I was talking about.

      I locked all the file cabinets, put the key under a mess of binder clips in Kutara’s desk drawer, and left a message on her cell telling her where it was. If I were lucky, she wouldn’t listen to it before she needed something. Ha.

      “C’mon, Fia.” I slapped my thigh and whistled. “Here, girl.” I was counting on her to get better or I never would have done it.

      She followed me outside and across the concrete bike path to a couple of dry boulders beside the water.

      “Sit on this rock.” I waved a hand at it. “Do you remember how Galan showed you to get energy?”

      “No.”

      “Do you at least remember Galan? He’s the hot one.” I sighed. “There’s energy coming off the creek. Humans call it negative ions, but we call it ma’na’spira—mother’s breath.” I sat next to her on the rock, squirmed until I found a spot that wasn’t too pointy, and put my hands on her waist.

      If I closed my eyes, the energy around us looked like swirling blue mist against my lids. I opened to it, felt it soak through my skin, then shifted my physical boundaries slightly so that it passed through the edge of Fia. “That’s it. Take a big drink.”

      When she was doing it on her own, I stood and watched her hair regain its wave and shine, her face plump up again.

      Eventually she turned and gave me a little smile.

      “Better, huh?” I asked. “Do you remember your name?”

      “Fia.”

      “That’s right. And what’s my name?”

      “Um…”

      I gave her the first syllable. “Aaaa…Aaaa…”

      “Adlium?”

      “Adlia. Very good!”

      “What’s wrong with me?” The lost look on her face was enough to break your heart.

      I sat on the grass and opened my messenger bag. “I don’t know, but Kutara’s bound to figure it out. As far as I can tell, all that bitchiness just hones her intellect.”

      “That what?”

      “Biiiiitcheeeeeeness.” I sounded it out for her as I opened my journal and ripped out a page to give her. She held the paper uncertainly. “Kind of flimsy, huh?” I folded it in quarters, then handed it back along with a pen. “Here. Draw a picture or something.”

      Instead, СКАЧАТЬ