Beneath the Fallen City by Jamie A. Waters (chapter books to read to 5 year olds .TXT) 📖

Edwin lowered Kayla’s unconscious form to the floor. Alec knelt beside her and looked up at his father in anger.

“She was upset because she found out I was reading her thoughts. If you’d given her a few minutes to calm down or let me talk to her, this wouldn’t have been necessary.”

Edwin gave his son a hard look. “This was inevitable. She’s her father’s daughter in every sense. I haven’t seen anyone with this much raw talent since he died.”

Alec returned his father’s look. He should have known his father wouldn’t be reasonable where Kayla was concerned. She was too headstrong and too much like her father for him to view her as anything other than a threat. He’d hoped his obvious interest in Kayla would be enough of a deterrent. “And what do you plan to tell Seara? Or her friend Veridian?”

Edwin walked over to the communications device on the wall and pressed a button on the control panel. “Seara will be told the truth. She has no choice but to accept it. I made that clear to her tonight. Kayla’s little outsider friend is of no interest to me. Send him away.”

“Send him away?” Alec asked dryly, trying to keep his temper in check. If he lost it now, he wouldn’t be in a position to help anyone. “You think he’s just going to accept the fact Kayla’s disappeared and doesn’t want to even say goodbye?”

“Then you’ll have to make him accept it,” Edwin ordered as the door opened. Director Borshin and another man entered the Tal’Vayr family quarters.

“Borshin, Cessel.” Edwin nodded at the two men he summoned. He gestured to Kayla. “Take her to Observation Room A. Cessel, I want her outfitted with a bracelet immediately.”

Director Borshin scampered out of the room to retrieve a transport while Cessel looked down at Kayla as though examining a specimen on a microscope. “Forgive me, but we received reports of some disturbing fluctuations in the energy field. Was this woman the cause?”

Annoyed with the callousness of Edwin’s head scientist, Alec corrected the man. “This woman is Mistress Kayla Rath’Varein.”

Cessel’s eyes widened, and he backpedaled quickly. “My apologies, Master Tal’Vayr. I didn’t intend any disrespect.”

“Enough,” Edwin ordered. “What do you mean by ‘disturbing fluctuations’?”

Cessel cleared his throat and looked at Kayla’s unconscious form on the floor in front of him. “There was a significant energy drain on our pooled resources. Five of your sources have been temporarily depleted.”

Alec’s head jerked up. “It took five people to subdue her?”

Edwin regarded Kayla with new interest. “Cessel, I want you to attune her bracelet directly to me. I want to test the limits of her strength.”

Alec stared at his father and clenched his fists, furious at the covetous look on his face. It took everything he had not to give in to his impulses. Forcing his body to relax, he shook his head. “Absolutely not. She’s untrained. If you try using her that way, it could kill her.”

Edwin regarded his son coolly. “Then feel free to train her. But my order stands.”

Director Borshin returned with Seara following on his heels. He pushed the medical transport cart into the room. “My apologies, Master Tal’Vayr, but Mistress Rath’Varein saw me in the hallway.”

“Edwin, what have you done? We all felt the drain on the energy pool.”

When she saw Kayla, she gasped in horror, ran over to her daughter, and knelt beside her. She looked up at Alec pleadingly. “Why now? You said you wouldn’t do this now.”

Her look of betrayal pained him. He shook his head, holding out his hands in regret. “I’m sorry, Seara. I didn’t want this either. It wasn’t my decision.”

Seara stood and turned to look at Edwin, hate filling her eyes. “You bastard! She’s of no use to you right now. She doesn’t remember anything of her past with us, and she hasn’t been trained yet.”

Alec stood and approached Seara. He rested his hand on her arm, allowing his thoughts to flow through to hers. Her eyes filled with tears as he shared what had transpired and she learned what Edwin had ordered.

“Please don’t do this, Edwin. Putting a bracelet on her now without the support of all of us to tamper the flow will destroy her. She couldn’t possibly know how to properly channel that sort of energy.”

When Edwin didn’t reply, she reached for his arm. “She’s my daughter, Edwin. I’ll do whatever you want, but please don’t do this to her.”

Edwin gave her a bored look. “Seara, once upon a time that offer may have intrigued me, but I already control you. You have nothing left to propose. Your daughter, on the other hand, has potential.”

Director Borshin pushed the medical transport into the center of the room. Tears ran down Seara’s face as they moved Kayla into the transport and activated the privacy setting to hide her from view.

“At least tell me where you’re taking her,” Seara begged.

“Oh, don’t be dramatic,” Edwin said in annoyance. “She’s going to Observation Room A. They’ll put on the bracelet, and she’ll be returned to you tomorrow.”

Alec gave his father a dark look before turning back to Seara. He put his arm around her, trying to offer some reassurance. Where his father was concerned, he couldn’t make any promises. “Seara, I need to speak with Veridian and explain things to him. When I’m finished, I’ll check on Kayla for you. In the meantime, let me take you back to your quarters.”

Seara nodded and wiped away her tears. Borshin and Cessel pushed the medical transport out of the room. Alec led the older woman out of his family’s quarters and toward her rooms. When they were outside, she turned to him. “I don’t understand, Alec. What happened?”

“Kayla was angry when she realized I could hear her thoughts. My father overreacted and thought she intended to leave the towers.”

Seara stopped and looked at Alec harshly. “You haven’t listened in on private thoughts since you were a child. Why would you do such a thing?”

Because he was a cad? Because he enjoyed experiencing Kayla’s refreshing way of looking at the world? Alec resisted the urge to flinch under Seara’s accusatory stare. “It wasn’t intentional in the beginning. I suspect we have similar talents. I was able to hear her without touching her. She hasn’t learned how to guard her thoughts, and I wanted to give her some time before explaining this to her. She seemed apprehensive about our abilities.”

Seara’s eyes widened as she absorbed the news. “She can read thoughts too? That’s not something that usually runs in our family.”

“I don’t believe she can read everyone. Perhaps because I’m already sensitive to it, she’s able to tap into it somehow. I’m not sure. But that’s what originally caught my attention. She appeared to be able to hear me influencing Director Borshin while standing on the opposite side of the room.”

They approached the door to Seara’s quarters, and she clutched his arm to stop him. “I have a request, Alec.”

He looked at her expectantly as she explained, “When you speak with Veridian, be kind. I owe him and his family a debt which can never be repaid. Kayla seems to care about him a great deal.”

“Of course, Seara. I’ll try not to upset him, but this is necessary.” He didn’t need to remind her of what his father would do to Veridian if he didn’t leave the towers of his own volition.

She nodded and opened the door to find Veridian sitting inside the common area. When he didn’t see Kayla, a look of confusion came over his face.

“Where’s Kayla?”

Alec walked over to him and held out his hand to shake it. “It’s been a great pleasure meeting you, Veridian.”

Veridian accepted the man’s handshake. “You too. What’s going on?”

The moment Veridian touched his hand, Alec wove a subtle thread of influence around his next words. “I gave Kayla a toy from her childhood. It triggered a number of memories. She asked to be alone