Mother Lode

"If it's excitement you're looking for, you aren't gonna find it here."

How wrong that discouraging word from a shopkeeper proves to be! Shortly after Bryte and Lina, her friend and mentor, arrive in the desert town of Marquez, Bryte, exploring on her own, stumbles into a gem-mining operation that enslaves orphans and forces them into hard labor in the mine. Determined to find a way to free the sixteen orphans kept prisoner in a home run by cruel "Mother" Cooper and her sadistic son, young Bryte passes herself off as an orphan and joins the bedraggled crew of half-starved and hopeless children. Her two special abilities, her acute hearing and her blinding rage light that she cannot turn on or off at will, won't suffice to combat miners with guns and whips.

Even when Bryte finds a way to free herself and enlist Lina's help, she and Lina alone are not enough to defeat the miners and liberate the orphans. They must recruit helpers willing to accept risks that can thrust them into lethal danger. Bryte must also help Lina cope with her lack of mothering skills and her reluctance to accept responsibility for the desperate orphans.

Discover the peril into which Bryte's desire for excitement leads her and share her courageous quest to save the orphans in this exciting addition to the Arucadi Series.