Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 19

The endure of your lives, Hunter Redfern said. Hewas standing(a) strainsome and erect, smiling easily. The nobles were gathe crimson around him, and Maggie eventide sawing machine some familiar fronts in the crowd.That rough man from Deloss memories-the angiotensin converting enzyme who grabbed his arm, she conception dreamily. And the woman who put the first binding spell on him.They were herd in the courtyard, their faceseager. The first sentinel light was proficient touching thesky-not that the solarise was visible, of course. But it was enough to turn the clouds pearly and cast aneerie, almost chromatic luminescence over thescene below.Twohumans,a witch, and a renegade prince,Hunter proclaimed. He was enjoying himself hugely, Maggie could tell. Youll never score another chance at prey like this.Maggie gripped Deloss hand tightly.Shewasf refineened exceptatthesame time strangely proud. If the nobles around Hunter wereexpecting their prey to cower or beg, they were goin g to be disappointed.They were alone, the four of them, in a lowempty space in the square. Maggie and Aradia and Jeanne in their slave clothes, Delos in his leggingsand shirtsleeves. A little wind blew and stirredMaggies hair, just otherwise they were perfectly still.Aradia, of course, was always dignified. Just with turn up delayher face was grave and sad, but there was no sign of anger or fear in it. She stood at her full height,her huge clear eye turned toward the crowd, as if they were every(prenominal) welcome guests that she had invited.Jeanne was much rumpled. Her red hair was disheveled and her tunica was wrinkled, but there wasa grim smile on her angular face and a wild battlelight in her dark-green eye. She was one prey that wasgoing to fight, Maggie knew.Maggie herself was doing her ruff to live up tothe others. She stood astall as she could, cheating she would never be asimpressive as Aradia, or as devil-may-care as Jeanne, but nerve-wracking at least to look a sif dying came easy to her.Delos was magnificent.In his shirtsleeves, he was more of a prince thanHunter Redfern would ever be. He looked at thecrowd of nobles who had all promised to be hard-coreto him and were now thirsting for his blood-and he didnt get mad.He tried to talk to them.Watch what happens here, he said, his juncturecarrying easily across the square. And dont forgetit. Are you really going to act on a man who cando this to his own great-grandson? How long is itgoing to be to begin with he turns on you?Before you findyourselves in front of a pack of hunting animals? closed in(p) him up, Hunter said. He tried to say it jovially, but Maggie could call for thefuryunderneath.And the look out over didnt seem to pay much sense. Maggie could see the nobles looking at severally other-who was supposed to shut him up, and how?There are some things thatt have to be resolutionped,Delos said. And this man is one of them. I admitit, I was willing to go on with him-but that was because I was blind and stupid. I know betternow-and I knew better before he turned againstme. You all know me. Would I be standing here,willing to give up my life for no reason?There was the tiniest move among the nobles.Maggie looked at them hopefully-and then herheart sank.They simply werent used to thinking for themselves, or mayhap they were used to thinking only of themselves. But she could tell there wasnt material for a rebellion here.And the slaves werent going to be of any help,either. The guards had weapons, they didnt. Theywere frightened, they were unhappy, but this winsome of hunt was something theyd seen before. Theyknew that it couldnt be stopped.This girl came to us peacefully, trying to keepthe alliance amidst witches and vampire, Deloswas saying, his hand on Aradias shoulder. And inreturn we tried to kill her. Im telling you rightnow, that by spilling her guiltless blood, youre allcommitting a crime that will come back to hauntyou.Another little stirringa mong women, Maggie thought. Witches, maybe?Shut him up, Hunter said, almost bellowing it.And this time he seemed to be saying it to a specific person. Maggie followed his gaze and saw Sylvia come out them.Some beasts have to be muzzled before they canbe hunted, Hunter said, looking flat at Sylvia.So take care of it now. The hunt is about to begin.Sylvia stepped appressed to Delos, a little uneasily.He stared back at her levelly, as if daring her towonder what hed do when she got nearer.Guards Hunter Redfern said, sounding tired.The guards moved in. They had two differentkinds of lances, a distant spot of Maggies mindnoted. One canted with metal-that must be for humans and witches-and one tipped with wood.For vampires, she thought. If Delos wasnt careful, he might get skewered in the heart before thehunt even began.Now shut his lying mouth, Hunter Redfernsaid.Sylvia took her basket off her arm.In the new order after the millennium, wellhave hunts like this every day, Hunter Redf ernwas saying, trying to undo the damage that hisgreat-grandson had done. Each of us will have a city of humans to hunt. A city of throats to cut, acity of flesh to eat.Sylvia was fishing in her basket, not afraid tostand close to the vampire prince since he was surrounded by a forest of lances.Sylvia, Aradia said quietly.Sylvia looked up, startled. Maggie saw her eyes,the color of violets.Each of us will be a prince- Hunter Redfernwas saying. Sylvia Weald, Aradia said.Sylvia looked down. Dont talk to me, she speaked. Youre notIm not one of you anymore.All you have to do is follow me, Hunter wassaying.Sylvia Weald, Aradia said. You were born awitch. Your make up means the greenwood, the sacred grove. You are a daughter of Hellewise, andyou will be until you die. You are my sister.I am not, Sylvia spat.You cant help it. Nothing can yield the bond.In your deepest heart you know that. And asMaiden of all the witches, and in the name of Hellewise Hearth- muliebrity, I weightlift you remove your spell from this boy.It was the strangest thing-but it didnt seem tobe Aradia who said it. Oh, it was Aradias voice, allright, Maggie thought, and it was Aradia standingthere. But at that second she seemed to be fusedwith another form-a sort of shining aura allaround her. Someone who was vox of her, butmore than she was.It looked, Maggie thought dizzily, like a tallwoman with hair as pale as Sylvias and largebrown eyes.Sylvia gasped out, Hellewise .Her own violeteyes were huge and frightened.Then she just stood frozen.Hunter was ranting on. Maggie could hear himvaguely, but all she could see was Sylvia, the shudders that ran through Sylvias frame, the heavingof Sylvias chest.Appeal to their true hearts,Maggie thought.Sylvia, she said. I believe in you.The violeteyes turned toward her, amazed.I dont care what you did to Miles Maggie said.I know youre confused-I know you were unhappy. But now you have a chance to make upfor it. You can do something-something importanthe re. Something that will change the world.Rivers of blood, Hunter was raving. And noone to stop us. We wont stop with enslaving thehumans. The witches are our enemies now. Thinkof the power youll feel when you drink their livesIf you let this Wild military group be killed, you I beresponsible for the darkness coming, Maggie said.Only you. Because youre the only one who canstop it right now.Sylvia put a trembling hand to her cheek. Shelooked as if she were about to faint.Do you really want to go down in history as theone who destroyed the world? Maggie said.As Maiden of all the witches Aradia said.And another, deepervoiceseemed to follow on hers like anecho , As Mother o f all the witches And in the name of Hellewise . .And in the name of my childrenAs you are a Hearth-Woman As you are my own daughter, a true HearthWoman I adjure youAradia said, and her voice rangout in double tones so understandably that it actuallystopped Hunter in midtirade.It stopped everyone. For an instant ther e was absolutely no sound in the courtyard. Everyone wa looking around to see where the voice had come from.Sylvia was simply staring at Aradia.Then the violet eyes shut and her entire bodyshivered in a sigh.When she spoke it was on the barest whisper of breath, and only someone as close as Maggie wacould have heard her.As a daughter of Hellewise, I obey.And then she was stretchability for Deloss arm, ancDelos was reaching toward her. And Hunter wa shouting wildly, but Maggie couldnt make out thewords. She couldnt make out Sylvias words, ei.ther, but she saw her lips move, and she saw the slender pale fingers clasp Deloss wrist.And saw the lance coming just before it piercecSylvias heart.Then,as if everything came into focalization at onceshe realized what Hunter had been shouting in ivoice so distorted it was barely recognizable. Kill her Kill her And thats just what theyd done, Maggie thoughther mind oddly clear, evenasa wave of horror andpity seemed to engulf her body. The lanc e wen right through Sylvia. It knocked her backwardaway from Delos, and blood spurted all over thefront of Sylvias beautiful green dress.And Sylvia looked toward Hunter Redfern andsmiled. This time Maggie could read the words orher lips.Too late.Delos turned. There was red blood on his whiteshirthis own, Maggie realized. Hed tried to getin the way of the guards killing Sylvia. But nowhe had eyes only for his greatgrandfather.It stops hereShe had seen the blue fire before, but never likethis. The blast was like a nuclear explosion. Itstruck where Hunter Redfern was standing with hismost loyal nobles around him, and then it shot upinto the sky in a backbone of electric blue. And it wenton and on, from sky to earth and back again, as ifthe sun were go in front of the castle.