Spirits White as Lightning by Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill

Author:Mercedes Lackey & Rosemary Edghill [Lackey, Mercedes ]
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: Science fiction, Fantasy, Epic, General, Fiction, Fantasy - General, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Fiction - Fantasy, Fantasy fiction, Wizards, Historical, Contemporary, Musicians, Fantasy - Epic, Fantasy - Contemporary, New York (N.Y.), Banyon, Eric (Fictitious character), New York (N.Y.) - Fiction., Banyon, Eric (Fictitious chara, Musicians - Fiction., Wizards - Fiction.
ISBN: 9780671318536
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 2001-12-20T16:00:00+00:00

TEN:

(I'LL STOP THE WORLD AND)

MELT WITH YOU

The day that had started out so badly did not improve. Eric was inattentive in class, and Levoisier took a sadistic delight in gigging him for it. He was sloppy in rehearsal, fumbling around like a novice, unable to keep time with the other musicians or make his entrances on cue. Finally he gave up. The world wouldn't come to an end if he cut his last class. And besides, Eric wanted to see how Toni and Hosea were coming with the basement apartment.

The phone was ringing as he got into the apartment, and when he looked at the counter, it registered 27 previous messages.

"Eric," he said, picking it up.

"Eric!" Ria sounded absolutely frantic. "Where were you? I've been trying to reach you all afternoon!"

"Not everybody's cellular," Eric said irritably. "Sorry. Bad day. What's up?"

"Kayla's coming. Today." Ria made it sound as if Kayla was a combination of the Black Death, the Four Horsemen, and the IRS. "And I'm stuck in this damned meeting—in fact, I'm supposed to be in there right now—and I can't get away. I don't know how long I'll be. Her plane's coming in at three; I've sent a car for her, but I don't want her coming back to an empty apartment. Could I have the driver drop her at your place? I swear I'll be there as soon as I can."

Eric had never heard Ria sound so rattled. It struck him that she owed Kayla and Elizabet a great deal. Taking care of Kayla properly on Kayla's arrival in New York was probably as important to Ria as being a good teacher to Hosea was to him, and she was probably just as uncertain of her ability to do it right.

His black mood vanished. "Hey, Ria. Don't worry about it. Have the guy drop her off here. We'll order pizza and watch DVDs until you get here. Promise."

"Thanks." He heard Ria breathe a deep sigh of relief. "I hate to ask, but could you possibly call Anita for me and tell her? She'll phone the car. I have got to get back in there!"

"Sure," Eric said. "Knock 'em dead." The phone went dead before he'd finished speaking.

Well, that takes care of the rest of the day. He looked up the number and made the call to Anita, then went to look over his DVD collection, wondering what sort of movie Kayla would like. "Hey, Greystone," he said aloud. "Company for dinner."

* * *

Hosea came in about half an hour after that, looking very much like someone who'd spent a hot August day cleaning out a non-air-conditioned basement.

"Better hit the shower," Eric advised him. "A friend of mine's going to be here pretty soon. Name's Kayla. She's a Healer. Going to be going to school up at Columbia—but not living here," he added, noting Hosea's faint look of alarm. "I'm just taking care of her until Ria can pick her up."

"Ayah, a shower sounds good. I feel like I've been juggling pianos," Hosea said ruefully.

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