Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 17
He stared at her for an instant, his golden eyeswide.Dont you think of me?I wouldnt nonplus it past Sylvia to enterprise, he said. barelyI dont think shes strong enough.She said she got special(a) ingredients. And shesaid that zippo else could take the spell off.When he thus far looked doubtful, although a bit more grim, Maggie added, why dont y bug appearry it?He reached fell with long, strong fingers to pullat the fastenings of his brace. It came off easily,and Maggies eyebrows went up. She blinked.He extend his arm, pointing it at the w every, anddrew a dagger from his belt.Maggie had forgotten nearly the blood part. Shebit the privileged of her cheek and didnt say anythingashe undefendable a sm entirely cut on his wrist. Blood welled up red, thusly flowed in a trickle.Just a little b finish, Delos said, and looked calmlyat the w altogether.Nothing happened.He frowned, his golden eyes flaring dangerously.Maggie could earn the concentration in his face. Hespread h is fingers.Still nothing happened.Maggie allow out her breath. I guess spells are invisible, she thought. The brace was just for show.Delos was flavour at his armasif it didnt break down to him.Were in trouble, Maggie said, trying not tomake it sound like I told you so. while they thought they were al whizz in here, they were let outing around all kinds of things. any huntsman cares close is getting you to dish up him destroy the humans. andtheres been virtually big split in the Night World, and the witches have seceded from it.Delos went very still, and his eyes were distant.That means war. Open war between witches and vampires.Probably, Maggie said, waving a hand vaguely. besides, listen, Delos, the witches sent somebody here,an ambassador, to talk to you. To try to get you on their side. Hunter said theyve got iodine of the absurd Powers on their side already-the witches, I mean.Are you getting this?Of var., Delos said. just flat his articulate wasoddly distant , too. He was looking at something Maggie couldnt see. But single out of quadruplet doesntmatter. Two out of four, three out of four-its notgood enough.What are you talking almost? Maggie didnt waitfor him to answer. But, look. I make out the girl whocame to talk to you. Its the girl I was with on therocks, the separate one you saved from Bern. ShesAradia, and shes Maiden of all the witches. And,Delos, theyre looking for her right now. They wantto scratch off her to eat up her from getting to you. And shes my friend.Thats too bad.Weve got to stopthem, Maggie said, exasperated.We dejectiont.That brought Maggie up short. She stared at him.What are you talking more or less?Im saying we cant stop them. Theyre toostrong. Maggie, listen to me, he said calmly and clearly, when she began an irrational protest.Thats the first time hes said my name out loud, she thought dizzily, and hence she focused on hiswords.Its not just the spell theyve put on me. And itsnot just that they contr ol the castle. Oh, yes, theydo, he said with a bitter laugh, cut of meat her off again. You havent been here very long you dontunderstand. The nobles here are centuries old,most of them. They dont like being ruled by a precocious child with unearthly powers. As soon asHunter showed up, they transferred their loyalty to him.BUt-Hes everything they admire. The perfective vampire, the ultimate predator. Hes ruth slight(prenominal)(prenominal) andbloodthirsty and he wants to give them the wholeworldas their hunting grounds. Do you rightfully thinkany of them can resist that? after(prenominal) years of huntingmindless, bewildered animals that have to be rationed out one at a time?With maybe the oddcreaky slave for a special treat? Do you think any of them wont follow him willingly?Maggie was silent. in that location was nothing she couldsay.He was right, and it was scary.And that isnt all, he continued remorselessly.Do you want to fall upon a prophecy?Not really, Maggie said. Shed heard more thanenough of those for one lifetime.He ignored her. My old teacher used to say methis, he said. foursome to stand between the light and theshadow,Four of blue fire, power in their blood.Born in the year of the blind Maidens visionFour less one and dimness triumphs.Uh huh, Maggie said. To her it sounded likejust more of the same thing. The only interestingthing rough it was that it mentioned the blindMaiden. That had to be Aradia, didnt it? She wasone famous witch.Whats born in the year of the blind Maidensvision? she asked.It means all the Wild Powers are the same age,born seventeen years ago, Delos said impatiently. But thats not the point. The point is the last line,Four less one and darkness triumphs. That meansthat the darkness is going to win, Maggie.What do you mean?Its inevitable. Theres no air that the humansand the witches can get all four Wild Powers ontheir side. And if theres even one less than four,the darkness is going to win. All the vampires need to do is kill one of the Wild Powers, and its allover. Dont you see?Maggie stared at him. She did see what he wassaying, and it was even scarier than what hed saidbefore.But that doesnt mean we can just give up,she said, trying to puzzle out his expression. If we do that, it will be all over. We cant just surrender and letthem win.Of course not, he said harshly. We have tojoin them.There was a long silence. Maggie realized that her mouth had fallen open. what?We have to be on the winning side, and thatsthe vampire side. He looked at her with yelloweyes that seemed as remote and deathly calm as apanthers. Im sorry well-nigh your friends, but theres no encounter for them. And the only chance for youis to become a vampire.Maggies brain suddenly surged into overdrive.All at once, she byword exactly what he was saying.And furygave her energy. He was lightning-fast, but she jumped up and out of the way before he could close his hands on her.Are you out of your mind?NoYoure going to killm e?Im going to save your life, the only way I can.He stood up, following her with that same eerie calm.I cant remember this. I really cant believe this, Maggie thought.She circled around the bed, then stopped. It was pointless he was going to get her eventually.She looked into his face one more time, and saw that he was completely serious. She dropped herarms and relaxed her shoulders, trying to slow herbreathing, meeting his eyes directly.Delos, this isnt just about me, and its not justabout my friends. Its about all the slaves here, andall the humans on the Outside. Turning me into a vampire isnt going to help them.Im sorry, he said again. But youre all that really matters.No, Im not,Maggie said, and this time the hottears didnt stop at her eyes, but overflowed and rolled down her cheeks. She shook them off angrily, and took one last deep breath.I wont let you, she said.You cant stop me.I can fight. I can make you kill me before youturn me into a vampire. If you want to try it th atway, come and take your surpass shot.Deloss yellow eyes bored into hers-and thensuddenly shifted and dropped. He stepped back, hisface dust-covered.Fine, he said. If you wont cooperate, Ill putyou in the bread and butter until you see whats best foryou.Maggie matte her mouth drop open again.You wouldnt, she said. lookout me.The dungeon, like everything else in the castle,was heart-stoppingly authentic.It had something that Maggie had read about in books but hadnt seen in the rooms to a higher place rushesand straw on the floor. It also had a perdition benchcarved directly into the stone wall and a narrow,barred window-slit about fifteen feet above Mag gies head. And that was all it had.Once Maggie had poked into the straw enoughto discover that she didnt really wantto agnise whatwas down there and shaken the iron bars that made up the door and examined the stone slabs in the wall and stood on the bench to try to climb to the window, therewas nothing else to do. She sat on t he bench and felt the authorized enormity of the beatuation trickle in on her.She was really stuck here. Delos was really serious. And the world, the actual, real world out there, could be affected as a consequence.It wasnt that she didnt understand his motivation. She had been in his mind shed felt thestrength of his protectiveness for her. And she wanted to protect him, too.But it wasnt possible to forget about everyoneelse. Her parents, her friends, her teachers, thepaper girl. If she let Delos give up, what happenedto them?Even the people in the Dark Kingdom. Laundressand Old Mender and Soaker and Chamber-pot Emptier and all the other slaves. She caredabout them. She admired their gritty determination to goon living, whatever the circumstances-and theircourage in risking their lives to help her.Thats what Delosdoesnt understand, shethought. He doesnt see them as people, so he cantcare about them. All his life hes only cared abouthimself, and now about me. He cant look beyondt hat.If only she could think of a way to makehimsee-but she couldnt. As the hours passed and thesilence began to wear on her, she unplowed trying.No inspiration came. And finally the light outsideher cell began to fade and the cold started to settle in.She was half asleep, huddled on her chilly bench,when she heard the rale of a key in a door. She jumped up and went to peer through with(predicate) the bars, hoping to see Delos.The door at the end of the narrow stone corridoropened and individual came in with a flare. But itwasnt Delos. It was a harbor, and behind him wasanother guard, and this one had a prisoner.Jeanne Maggie said in dismay.And then her heart plummeted further.A third guard was half marching, half supporting Aradia.Maggie looked at them wordlessly.It wasnt like Jeanne not to fight, she thought, asthe guards opened the cell door and shoved theother girls in.The door clanged shut again, and the guardsmarched back out without speak. roughly as an afterthought, one of them stuck a flare in an ironring to give the prisoners some light.And then they were gone.Jeanne picked herself up off the floor, and thenhelped Aradia get up. Theyve got P.J. upstairs,she said to Maggie, who was still staring. Theysaid they wouldnt appal her if we went relaxationly.Maggie opened her mouth, shut it again, andtried to swallow her heart, which was in her throat.At last she managed to speak.Delos said that?Delos and Hunter Redfern and that witch.Theyre all very chummy.Maggie sat down on the cold bench.Im sorry, she said.Why? Because youre too stupidly trusting?Jeanne said. Youre not responsible for him.I think she means because shes his soulmate,Aradia said softly.Jeanne stared at her as if shed started speaking a impertinent language. Maggie stared, too, feeling hereyes getting wider, trying to study the beautiful features in the semidarkness.She felt oddly shy of this girl whom shed calledCady and who had turned out to be something shecould neer have imagine d.How did you know that? she asked, trying notto sound tongue-tied. Can you justtell?Asmile curved the perfect lips in the shadows.I could tell before, Aradia said gently, backing upquite accurately to sit on the bench. When youcame back from seeing him the first time, but Iwas too befuddled to really focus on anything then. Iveseen a lot of it in the last few years, though. Peoplefinding their soulmates, I mean.Youre better, arent you? Maggie said. Yousound lots moreawake. It wasnt just that. Aradia had always had a quiet dignity, but now therewas an authority and confidence about her thatwas new.The healing women helped me. Im still weak,though, Aradia said softly, looking around the cell.I cant use any of my powers-not that breakingthrough walls is among them, anyway.Maggie let her breath out. Oh, well. Im gladyoure awake, anyway. She added, feeling shy again,Um, I know your real name, now. blueish about the misunderstanding before.Aradia put a hand-again perfectly accuratelyon Maggies. Listen, my dear friend, she said,startling Maggie with twain the word and the intensity of her voice, nobody has ever helped me more than you did, or with less reason. If youd been oneof my people, and youd known who I was, it wouldhave been amazing enough. But from a human, who didnt know anything about me Shestopped and shook her head. I dont know if well even live through tonight, she said. But if we do,and if theres ever anything the witches can do foryou, all you have to do is ask.Maggie blinked hard. Thanks, she whispered. I meanyou know. I couldnt just leave you.I do know, Aradia said. And thats the amazingthing. She squeezed Maggies hand. Whatever happens, Ill neer forget you. And neither will theother witches, if I have anything to say about it.Maggie gulped. She didnt want to get startedcrying. She was afraid she wouldnt be able to stop.Fortunately Jeanne was looking back and forthbetween them like someone at a tennis match.Whats all this sappy stuff? she dema nded. Whatare you guys talking about?Maggie told her. Not just about Aradia being Maiden of the witches, but about everything shedlearned from listening to Hunter Redfern andSylvia.So the witches have left the Night World, Aradia said quietly, when she was finished. They wereabout ready to when I left.You were access here to talk to Delos, Maggie said.Aradia nodded. We heard that Hunter had gotten some lead about the next Wild Power. And weknew he wasnt goingto take any chances on let tidy sum cockcrow get hold of this one.Jeanne was rubbing her forehead. Whats Circle Daybreak?Its the last circle of witches-but it isnt justwitches. Its for humans, too, and for shapeshiftersand vampires who want to live in peace with humans. And now its for everybody who opposes the darkness. She thought a moment and added, I used to belong to Circle Twilight, the not-so wicked witches. She smiled, then it faded. Butnow there are really only two sides to choose from.Its the Daylightorthe Darkness, and thats all.Delos really isnt on the side of the Darkness,Maggie said, feeling the ache in her chest tighten.Hes just-confused. Hed join you if he didntthink it meant me getting killed.Aradia squeezed her hand again. I believe you,she said gently.So, youre some kind of bigwig of the witches,huh? Jeanne said.Aradia turned toward her and laughed. Im theirMaiden, the representative of the unripened witches. If I live long enough, Ill be their Mother one day, and then their Crone.What fun. But with all that, you still cant thinkof any way to get us out of here?Aradia sobered. I cant. Im sorry. If-this isnt such(prenominal) use, but if I can do anything, its only to givea prophecy.Maggie made an involuntary noise in her throat.It came while I was asleep in the healers hut,Aradia said apologetically. And it was just athought, a concept. That if there was to be any helpin this valley, it was through appealing to peoples true hearts.Jeanne made a much louder and ruder noisethan Maggies. There is one more thing, Aradia said, turningher wide unfocused eyes toward Maggie and speaking as gently asever. I should have mentioned thisearlier. I can tell you about your brother.
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