Wild Cards. Джордж Р. Р. Мартин

one way and then another. Cesar worked the piano keys cleanly as Marissa strained even higher for the melody. While Jade Blossom danced and posed for the cameras in the crowd, some of the kids, mostly boys, hooted and called out to her, sometimes with insults or taunts. Most were drowned out between the music and crowd noise.

      From her high vantage point, she saw that more of the chaperones, staff, and parents were watching her from various spots along the walls. A strikingly pretty blonde with light eyes pushed past people with a hard expression on her face. A slender guy of East Asian descent was talking to a dude with short blond hair and a husky build, who was chewing gum as he gave off a kind of cocky air.

      “Hey, Jade Blossom!” One of the boys, a tall, angular guy, waved his cell phone at her. “Did Cesar screw ya yet?”

      The kids who heard him laughed, waiting for her response.

      “A lady doesn’t kiss and tell!” She swiveled her hips, making her dress sway.

      “What’s a slut say?” A girl in the crowd giggled.

      “She doesn’t blow and tell, either,” Jade Blossom shot back, laughing.

      Across the room, the adults turned to one another, maybe not sure if they had heard her right.

      Cesar kept the arpeggio going and lowered the bass line even more, while Marissa blew on the melody, wailing high, sad, and lonely.

      Some of the boys, fortified by whatever they’d been drinking and maybe smoking, started climbing up on the piano at Jade Blossom’s feet.

      The solemn girl in the faded T-shirt still stood nearby, not speaking.

      Jade Blossom laughed at the boys and, remembering they were still kids, she approached them one at a time as she increased her density. She gently placed one Jimmy Choo sole against a shoulder and straightened her leg, pushing each guy back down again. Some laughed as they fell, staggering with an alcohol buzz. While some guys had friends who caught them, others hit the floor on their butts, still grinning.

      The adults in the back of the room started coming forward through the crowd, led by Rustbelt. He made slow, careful movements, apparently to avoid colliding with anyone. One woman hurried out, probably looking for help. Cesar and Marissa kept playing, oblivious to the other kids.

      Jade Blossom, still dancing, increased her density to aluminum as she waited to see what would happen next. She hoped Cesar and Marissa would keep playing. From what she could hear, she believed they communicated through their piano work.

      “Geez, fellas.” Rustbelt finally worked his way through the crowd and stopped near the piano.

      Jade Blossom pretended she hadn’t noticed him.

      Rustbelt raised his voice, speaking in his distinctive accent. “Hey, Jade Blossom—”

      At the sound of her name, she swung her hips, opening the slits in her dress and flashing a long leg up to her thigh.

      “Jeepers.” Rustbelt turned away for a moment, then looked up at her again. “That sure is some fancy dancing, you betcha. It’s good, real good. But, uh, I’m wondering maybe this ain’t such a good idea.”

      “I’m here to make a splash for the event, right?” Jade Blossom continued gyrating, swirling the split panels of her gown up high around her legs. “They wanted media coverage, they got it!”

      Some of the tipsy boys were climbing up on the piano again.

      “C’mon, fellas, knock it off, how about?” Rustbelt said to the boys.

      A few backed away, but several ignored him.

      Jade Blossom laughed and dropped into a crouch. She kissed one guy on the forehead and gave him a shove that threw him back. Raising her density again, she put a hand on another guy’s chest and leaned forward, pushing him off the piano.

      The two security guards, Carnahan and Berbelia, pushed their way through the crowd, grim and determined.

      “Cripes,” said Rustbelt, his expression pained. “Jade Blossom?”

      On the piano at her feet, Cesar pounded away at the bass and maintained the arpeggio. Marissa took the melody into a high-pitched wail that took Jade Blossom by surprise.

      “Get down here, bitch!” Carnahan gave her a hard grin.

      “Whoa, now,” said Rustbelt. “That ain’t right.”

      Carnahan gave him a wary glance.

      “Wanna dance, little boy?” Jade Blossom laughed and turned slightly, angling one hip toward Carnahan. She increased her density again, going past aluminum toward lead.

      The two security guards reached up, Carnahan grabbing her ankle and Berbelia reaching for her arm.

      Jade Blossom lifted the ankle with a hand wrapped around it and slammed her foot down. The polished surface of the piano cracked. Carnahan let go, wincing in pain, and walked backward.

      “C’mon, knock it off, fellas,” said Rustbelt, moving between Carnahan and the piano.

      When Berbelia grabbed Jade Blossom’s arm, she folded at the knees and slammed his hand against the wood, breaking the fine bones.

      Berbelia gave a throaty growl of pain and released her, staggering back.

      Rustbelt eased to one side, now blocking Berbelia from the piano.

      “Jade Blossom?” Cesar shouted, though he kept playing.

      Carnahan ducked around Rustbelt and launched himself at Jade Blossom’s legs like he was making a football tackle.

      Jade Blossom sprang up to avoid this grasp, though not very high given her great weight now. When she came down, her Jimmy Choos smashed through the top of the piano and through the wires.

      Carnahan’s tackle missed her and the music came to a stop. He bounced off the edge of the piano and fell to the floor, tangled in wires and big chunks of wood.

      The crowd of kids burst out laughing.

      Annoyed, Jade Blossom kicked out, breaking more wires and wood. Gradually she crashed her way down to the floor, knocking big splinters of wood aside with her hands and stamping a bigger opening even though she was trapped in the middle of the piano’s wreckage. Then she pounded on the piano with her fists, splintering more wood so she could eventually break out.

      “Awww, geez,” said Rustbelt. “Didja have to go and wreck the piano? I’ll bet them things are real expensive.”

      “Aw, Rusty, don’t you know I always make a mess?” Jade Blossom grinned at him as she stood up straight, though she was still caught inside the remains of the big piano. She saw Cesar backing away, holding Marissa by her upper arm.

      “Get away from my son!” Lara pushed through the kids, screaming. “What’s wrong with you?”

      “The piano was out of tune,” said Jade Blossom, shaking her hair loose. Still using her great density, she smashed her way out of the piano, throwing chunks of wood ahead of her, forcing Lara back.

      “Somebody arrest her!” Lara yelled.

      “Okeydokey, I think we’re done here,” said Rustbelt. He turned to Carnahan and Berbelia. “Find Michelle, will you?”

      The security guards turned and pushed their way through the crowd.

      Ignoring Rustbelt and Lara, Jade Blossom kicked the remains of the piano out of the way and looked around. She found Cesar and Marissa standing together, staring wide-eyed at her and the ruined grand piano.

      “You didn’t have to do that,” Cesar muttered, looking at the huge mess.

      “Here!” Jade Blossom snatched up some loose keys and tossed them toward him as she reduced her density to normal. “Play all you want.” She stepped between the two of them, blocking out Marissa with her body, and grabbed his arm. “Come on.”

      “What?”