Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 16

Imsorry. Was I interrupting roughlything? he give tongue to, Maggie had to fight non to draw in her glimmer sharply.It was always a belittled fight of a fog check come ining him. And point in a room with hunter Redfern and the picket and fulgurous Sylvia, he stood push through and through. Like a coldwind blowing through the entry, he take careed to bringcoiled energy in with him, to slap e unfeignedly(prenominal)one awakewith the chilly smell of snow.And of production line he was gorgeous, too.And not awed by run watch, Maggie thought. He go ab come in his greatgrandfather with those fearless yellow eyes level, and a measuring get wind on his fineboned face. zipper at perpetu all in allyy(prenominal), hunting watch Redfern verbalize amiably.We were time lag for you. And planningthecelebrations.Celebrations?To honor our agreement. Im so pleased that weve list to an understanding at last. Arentyou?Of course, Delos state, pulling away his gloveswithout any ch ange in expression. When we do cont abateing to an understanding, Ill be very pleased.Maggie had to bite her lip on a snicker. At thatmoment, aspect at hunting watchs facile smile and Sylvias pinned-on simper, she had never want Delossdour, cold grimness better.Idiot, she told herself. When did you ever kindred itat all? The guys an icicle.solely thither was something dandy and sharp-edgedabout his iciness, and she couldnt help admiring the way he faced Hunter. thither was a little suffer knot in her chest as she watched himstanding in that respect, tense and elegant, with his dark hair disarrange from riding.Which wasnt to say she wasnt scared. That auraof indicant Delos carried along with him was veryreal. He had sensed her before, tear down with Aradiablockingthe signs of her lifeforce. And now here he was, perchance twelve feet away, with except a pieceof linen paper mingled with them.There was nothing Maggie could do only if sit around as sootheas possible.Sylvi a has taken the liberty of beginning thepreparations, Hunter tell. I hope you dont mind.I imply we so-and-so work out any little details that areleft before tomorrow, dont you?Suddenly Delos looked tired. He tossed his gloveson the bed and nodded, conceding a point. Yes.Essentially, Hunter Redfern said,we are agreed.This time Delos scarce nodded without speaking.I cant wait to expose you off to the dry land outside, Hunter said, and this time Maggie thought the pure tone of pride and eagerness in his sound was sincere. My great-grandson. And to think that ayear ago I didnt love of your existence. Hecrossed to slap Delos on the back. It was a gestureso often give care the old kings that Maggies eyeswidened.Im outlet to scram some preparations of my knowledge, he said. I think the last hunt before youleave should be special, dont you?He was smilingashe left.Delos stared moodily at the fur c everyplacelet.Well, Sylvia said, sounding al near chirpy.Hows the arm?Delos glance d eat at it. He was still wearingthe abstruse brace thing Maggie had seen him in yesterday.Its allriot.Hurts?A little.Sylvia sighed and shook her head. Thats because you used it for pract glassful. I did discourage you,you know.Can you stain it better or not? Delos saidbrusquely.Sylvia was already plain-spokening the basket. I toldyou, itll take time. and it should im plant with distri unlessively treatment as longas you dont use it.She was minuscule with the brace, doing thingsthat Maggie couldnt see. And Maggies heart was licking hard with peevishness and an unreasonableprotectiveness.I cant let her do that to Delos just how can istop her? Theres no way. If she sees me, its allover .There, Sylvia said. That should hold you fora while.Maggie ground her teeth. yet at least by chance shell go now, she thought. It rulings manage about a deoxycytidine monophosphate Ive been sitting in herelistening to her. And this stool isnt acquire anymore comfortable.Now, Sylvia said b riskly, tidying. Just let meput your gloves away-Oh, no,Maggie thought, horrified. On the shelf beside her was a mickle of gloves.No,Delos said, so quickly it was almost anecho. I need them.Dont be silly. Youre not acquittance out again-Ill take them. Delos had wonderful reflexes. Heput himself surrounded by Sylvia and the wardrobe, andan instant later he was property on to the gloves,almost tugging them from her hands.Sylvia looked up at him wonderingly for a longmoment. Maggie could see her face, the creamy peel delicately flushed, and her eyes, the color ofr-drenched violets. She could see the shimmerof her pale blondhairas Sylvia shook her head s flatboatly.Delos stared down at her implacably. because Sylvia shrugged her ft-agile shoulders andletgo of the gloves.Ill go see to the feast, she said lightly andsmiled. She picked up her basket and locomote gracefully to the door.Delos watched her go.Maggiesimply sat, speechless and paralyzed.When Delos followed Sylvia and clos ed in(p) the door firmly behind her, she made herself pick up slowly offthe stool. She backed away from the curtainsslightly, that she could still see a rifle of thebedroom.Delos walked unerringly consecutive to the wardrobe.You can go on out now, he said, his voice flatand hard.Maggie boot out her eyes.Great. Well, I should have known. scarce he hadnt let Sylvia come in and discoverher, and he hadnt simply turned her over to his guards. Those were very good signs, she told herself stoutly. In fact, maybe she wasnt acquittance to haveto persuade him of anything at all maybe he wasalready going to be reasonable.Or do I have to come in? Delos said dangerously.Or maybe not, Maggie thought.She snarl a fast imbecilic desire to get the dust out of her hair. She shook her head a some times, brushing at it, consequently gave up. frightfully conscious of her smudged face and slaveclothing, she explodeed the linen hangings andwalked out.I warned you, Delos said.He was facing he r squarely, his cen legitimate set and his emit as grimas she had ever seen it. His eyeswere hooded, a dull and eerie gold in the shadows.He looked every inch the dark and hush-hush vam pire prince.And here I am, Maggie thought. Looking akinwell, similar vermin, I bet. Like something fished outof the gutter. non much of a representative forhumanity.She had never cared about clothes or hairstylesor things like that, moreover proficient now she wished thatshe could at least look presentable. Since the fateof the area energy just depend on her. up to now so, thither was something in the air betweenDelos and herself. A sort of quivering vitalness that quickened the simple eye in Maggies veins. That stirredsomething in her chest, and started her heartpounding with an odd categorisation of fear and hope.She faced Delos just assquarelyashe was facing her.I know some things that I think you need toknow, she said quietly.He ignored that. I told you what would happenif you came h ere. I told you I wouldnt protectyou again.I remember. But you didprotect me again. AndI thank you-but I really think Id better class youwhats going on. Sylvia is the suspicious type, andif shes gone to Hunter Redfern to say that youdont want mess looking in your closet-Dont you understand?he said with such sudden violence that Maggies pharynx closed, chokingoff her words. She stared at him. Youre so closeto dying, but you dont seem to care. Are you toostupid to grasp it, or do you just have a deathwish?The clump in Maggies chest now was definitelyfear.I do understand, she began slowly, when shecould get her voice to work. No, you dont, he said. But Ill make you.All at once his eyes were blazing. Not just theirnormal brilliant yellow, but a dazzling and unnatural gold that seemed to hold its own light.Even though Maggie had seen it before, it wasstill a shock to watch his features change. His face going paler, eve more pleasing and clearly defined, cozen in ice. His pupils wi dening like a predators, holding a darkness that a human coulddrown in. And that proud and willful mouth twist ing in anger.It all happened in a second or so. And whence hewas advancing on her, with dark implode in his eyes,and his lips pulling back from his teeth.Maggie stared at the fangs, helplessly horrifiedall over again. They were even card shark than she remembered them looking. They indented hislower lip on either side, even with his mouth partly .open. And, yes, they were definitely scary.This is what I am, Delos said, speaking easily around the fangs. A hunting animal. Part of a world of darkness that you couldnt survive for aminute in. Ive told you over and over to stay awayfrom it, but you wont listen. You turn up in my own castle, and you just wont swear your danger.So now Im going to show you.Maggie took a step backward. She wasnt in agood position the circumvent was behind her and thehuge bed was on her left. Delos was between her and the door. And she had alread y seen how fasthis reflexes were.Her legs felt unsteady her heart rate was beating erratically. Her wind was coming fast.He doesnt really mean ithe wont really do it.He isnt serious.But for all her minds desperate chanting, apprehensionwas beginning to riot inwardly her. The instincts of forgotten ancestors, long buried, were surfacing.Some ancient part of her remembered macrocosm chased by hunting animals, being prey.She backed up until she came in contact with the tapestry-hung wall behind her. And then therewas nowhere else to go.Now, Delos said and closed the blank between them with the grace of a tiger.He was right in front of her. Maggie couldnt helplooking up at him, looking directly into that alienand beautiful face. She could smell a scent like autumn leaves and fresh snow, but she could feel theheat from his body.Hes nothing dead or undead, some very distantpart of her mind thought. Hes ruthless, hes beenraised to be a utensil, but hes definitely alivemaybe the most alive thing Ive ever seen.When he moved, there was nowhere she couldgo to avoid him. His hands closed on her shoulderslike implacable bands of steel. And then he waspulling her forward, not roughly but not gently either, pulling her until her body be lightlyagainst his. And he was looking down at her withgolden eyes that burned like equate flames.Looking at my throat, Maggie thought. She couldfeel the pulse beating there, and with her chin tiltedup to look at him and her hurrying body arched away from him, she knew he could see it. His eyes werefixed on it with a different kind of hunger than shehad ever seen in a human face.For just one instant the panic overwhelmed her,flooding up dullly to engulf everything else. Shecouldnt think she was nothing but a terrified massof instinct, and all she cherished to do was to run,toget away.Then, slowly at first, the panic receded. It simplypoured off her, draining away. She feltasif she were rising from chummy water into air clear ascr ystal.She looked straight into the golden eyes aboveher and said, Go ahead.She had the delectation of seeing the golden eyeslook startled. What?Go ahead, Maggie said distinctly. It doesnt outlet. Youre stronger than me we some(prenominal) knowthat. But whatever you do, you cant make me yourprey. You dont have that power. You cant control me.Delos hissed in fury, a reptilian sound. You are .soYou precious me scared Im scared. But, then, Iwas scared before. And it doesnt matter. Theres something more crucial than me at stake here.Prove whatever youve got to prove and then Ill tell you about it.So completely stupid, Delos raged. But Maggiehad the odd feeling that his anger was more against himself than her. You dont think Ill spite you,he said.Youre wrong there.I willhurt you. Ill show you-You can kill me, Maggie said clearly. But thatsall you can do. I told you, you cant control me. And you lean change whats between us.He was very, very angry now. The fathomless pupils of his eye s were like black holes, and Maggie suddenly remembered that he wasnt just a vampire, or just a weapon, but some doomsday creature with powers meant for the end of the world.He hovered over her with his fangs showing.I willhurt you, he said. make me hurt you.He bent to her angrily, and she could see his intent in his eyes. He meant to pall and disillusion and he kissed her mouth like raindrops falling on cool water.Maggie clung to him desperately and kissed back.Where they touched they dissolved into each other.Then she felt him tremble in her arms and they were both lost.It was like the first time when their minds had joined. Maggie felt a pulsing thrill that enveloped her finished body. She could feel the pure line ofcommunication open between them, she could feelherself lifted into that wonderful still place whereonly the two of them existed and nothing else mattered.Dimly, she knew that her tangible self was fallingforward, that they were both falling, still clasped in each others arms. But in the low-keyed place of crystalline beauty where she really was, they werefacing each other in a white light.It was like being internal his mind again, but thistime he was there opposite her, gazing at her directly. He didnt look like a doomsday weapon anymore, or even like a vampire. His black-lashedgolden eyes were large, like a devout childs. Therewas a terrible wistfulness in his face.He swallowed, and then she comprehend his mentalvoice. It was just the barest breath of sound. Idontwant this Yes, you do, she interrupted, indignant. The normal barriers that existed between two people had melted she knew what he was feeling, and shedidnt like being lied to.-to end,he finished.Oh.Maggies eyes filled with sudden hot tears.She did what was instinctive to her. She reachedout to him. And then they were encompass in their minds, justastheir physical bodies embraced, andthere was that feeling of lightless wings allaround them.Maggie could catch fragments of his thoughts,not just the muster ones, but things so sound shewasnt sure he even knew he was thinking them. So lonely always been lonely. Meant to be that way. Always alone No, youre not,she told him, trying to decease it to the deepest part of him. Iwont let you be alone. And wewere meant to be like this cant you feel it?What she could feel was his knock-down(a) longing.But he couldnt be convinced all at once.She heard something like indispensability And sheadage names of his past. His father. His teachers.The nobles. Even the slaves who had heard theprophecies. They all believed he had only one purpose, and it had to do with the end of the world.You canchange your destiny, she said. Youdont have to go along with it. I dont know whats going to happen with the world, but you dont have to be what they say. You have the power to fight themFor one heartbeat the cipher of his father seemed to loom closer, tall and terrible, a father seen through the eyes of childhood. Then the fe aturesblurred, changing just full to proceed HunterRedfern with the same cruel and accusing light in his yellow eyes.And then the picture show was swept away by a tidalwave of anger from Delos.I am not a weapon.I know that,Maggie told him.I can ask what I am from now on. I can choose what path to follow.Yes,Maggie said.Delos said simply, Ichoose to go with you.His anger was gone. Just briefly, she got theflicker of another image from him, as she had once before seeing herself through his eyes.He didnt see her as a slave girl with dusty hairand a smudged face and coarse sacking for clothes.He saw her as the girl with autumn-colored hairand endlessly deep sorrel eyes-the kind of eyesthat never wavered, but looked straight into his soul. He saw her as warm and real and vibrant,melting the black ice of his heart and setting him free.And then this image was gone, too, and they weresimply holding on to each other, lapped in peace.They stayed like that for a while, their spiritsflowing in and out of each other. Delos didnt seeminclined to move.And Maggie wanted it to last, too. She wanted tostay here for a long time, exploring all the deepestand most secret places of the mind that was nowopen to her. To touch him in ways hed never beentouched before, this person who, beyond all logic,was the other half of her. Who belonged to her.Who was her soulmate.But there was something nagging at her consciousness. She couldnt ignore it, and when shefinally allowed herself to look at it, she remembered everything.And she was swept with a wave of alarm sostrong it snapped her right out of Deloss mind.She could feel the shock of separation call up in him as she sat up, aware(p) of her own bodyagain. They were still linked enough that ithurther just as it hurt him. But she was too frightenedto care.Delos, she said urgently. Weve got to do something. Theres going to be trouble.He blinked at her,asif he were coming fromvery far away. It will be all right, he said.No. It wont. Y ou dont understand.He sighed, very nearly his old exacerbate snort.If its Hunter Redfern youre worried about-Its him-and Sylvia. Delos, I heard them talkingwhen I was in the wardrobe. You dont know what theyve got planned.It doesnt matter what theyve got planned. I cantake care of them. He straightened a little, looked down at his left arm.No, you cant,Maggie said fiercely. And thatsthe problem. Sylvia put a spell on you, a bindingspell, she called it. You cant use your power.