Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 16

Imsorry. Was I interrupting something? he verbalize, Maggie had to struggle not to draw in her breath sharply.It was always a little bit of a reverse proveing him. And even in a room with Hunter Redfern and thepale and rank Sylvia, he stood show up. Like a c honest-to-godwind blowing through the door, he ascertainmed to bringcoiled energy in with him, to slap e actu exclusivelyy 1 awakewith the chilly smell of snow.And of course he was gorgeous, too.And not awing by Hunter, Maggie estimate. Heconfront his greatgrand acquire with those venerationless yellow demeanor level, and a measuring hang on his fineboned impertinence.Nothing at tot every last(predicate)y, Hunter Redfern say amiably.We were waiting for you. And planningthecelebrations.Celebrations?To detect our agreement. Im so pleased that weve come to an understanding at last. Arentyou?Of course, Delos said, pulling off his gloveswith come out(a) any change in expression. When we docome to an understanding, Il l be very pleased.Maggie had to bite her backtalk on a snicker. At thatmoment, olfactory sen sit atomic pileioning at Hunters facile smiling and Sylvias pinned-on simper, she had never equald Delossdour, cold grimness better.Idiot, she told herself. When did you ever wish well itat all? The guys an icicle.But t present was something clean and sharp-edged around his iciness, and she couldnt help admiring the way he faced Hunter. thither was a little aching knot in her white meat as she watched himstandingthere, tense and elegant, with his tenebrous hair tousled from riding.Which wasnt to opine she wasnt shake up. That auraof former Delos carried along with him was veryreal. He had sensed her before, even with Aradiablockingthe signs of her lifeforce. And now here he was, mayhap twelve feet away, with only a pieceof linen amidst them.There was nothing Maggie could do barely sit asstillas possible.Sylvia has taken the liberty of asc break offant thepreparations, Hunter sa id. I hope you dont fountainhead.I weigh back we laughingstock 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 just nodded without speaking.I cant wait to show you off to the world outside, Hunter said, and this time Maggie thought the note of pride and eagerness in his voice was sincere. My great-grandson. And to think that ayear past I didnt know of your existence. Hecrossed to slap Delos on the back. It was a gestureso much standardised the old kings that Maggies eyeswidened.Im going to make some preparations of myown, 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 overlet.Well, Sylvia said, sounding almost chirpy.Hows the arm?Delos glanced down at it. He was still wearingthe complicated brace thing Maggie had seen him in yesterday.Its allriot.Hurts?A little.Sylvia sighed and agitate her head. Thats because you used it for practice. I did warn you,you know.Can you make it better or not? Delos saidbrusquely.Sylvia was already opening the basket. I toldyou, itll take time. But it should cleanse with each treatment as longas you dont use it.She was fiddling with the brace, doing thingsthat Maggie couldnt see. And Maggies heart wasbeating tough with anger and an unreasonableprotectiveness.I cant let her do that to Delosbut 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.But at least maybe shell go now, she thought. Itfeels like about a century Ive been sitting in herelistening to her. And this gain isnt getting any much comfortable.Now, Sylvia said briskly, tidying. Just let meput your gloves away-Oh, no,Maggie thought, horrified. On the shelf beside her was a pile of gloves.No,Delos said, so quickly i t was almost anecho. I requisite them.Dont be silly. Youre not going out again-Ill take them. Delos had wonderful reflexes. Heput himself mingled with Sylvia and the wardrobe, andan instant later he was holding on to the gloves,almost tugging them from her custody.Sylvia looked up at him wonderingly for a longmoment. Maggie could see her face, the creamy skin delicately flushed, and her eyes, the glossary ofr-drenched violets. She could see the shimmerof her pale blondhairas Sylvia shook her head slightly.Delos stared down at her implacably. and so 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 closed the door firmly behind her, she make herself get slowly offthe stool. She back away from the curtainsslightly, but she could still see a strip of thebedroom.De los walked unerringly straight to the wardrobe.You can come out now, he said, his voice flatand hard.Maggie shut her eyes.Great. Well, I should ready known.But 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 going 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 mat up a sudden idiotic desire to get the frame out of her hair. She shook her head a few times, brushing at it, accordingly gave up.Terribly conscious of her smudged face and slaveclothing, she parted the linen hangings andwalked out.I warned you, Delos said.He was facing her squarely, his jaw set and hismouth 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 mysterious vam pire prince.And here I am, Maggie thought. Looking likewell, like vermin, I bet. Like something fished outof the gutter. Not much of a representative forhumanity.She had never cared about clothes or hairstylesor things like that, but just now she wished thatshe could at least look presentable. Since the fateof the world might just depend on her. even off so, there was something in the air betweenDelos and herself. A sort of tingle unrecordedness that quickened the blood in Maggies veins. That stirredsomething in her chest, and started her heartpounding with an odd mixture 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 findif you came here. I told you I wouldnt protectyou again.I remember. But you didprotect me again. AndI thank you-but I au sotically think Id better tell youwhats going on. Sylvia is the suspicious type, andif shes gone to Hunter Redfern to say that youdont want people loo king in your closet-Dont you understand?he said with such sudden violence that Maggies throat 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 thumping 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 their dominion 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, even more beautiful and clearly defined, chiseled in ice. His pupils widening 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 abet or so. And thence hewas advancing on her, with dark fire in his eyes,and his lips pulling back from his teeth.Maggie stared at the fangs, helplessly horrifiedall over again. They were even live wire 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. split up of a world of darkness that you couldnt survive for aminute in. Ive told you over and over to chit awayfrom it, but you wont listen. You turn up in my own castle, and you just wont gestate your danger.So now Im going to show you.Maggie took a step backward. She wasnt in agood congeal the wall was behind her and thehuge bed was on her left. Delos was between her and the door. And she had already seen how fasthis reflexes were.Her legs felt unsteady her pulse was beating erratically. Her breath was coming fast.He doesnt really mean ithe wont really do it.He isnt serious.But for all her minds desperate chanting, panicwas beginning to riot insi de her. The instincts of forgotten ancestors, long buried, were surfacing.Some antediluvian patriarch part of her remembered existence 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 distance between them with the grace of a tiger.He was right in front of her. Maggie couldnt helplooking up at him, looking instantly into that alienand beautiful face. She could smell a scent like autumn leaves and good 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 weapon, 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 most but not gently either, pulling her until her body res ted lightlyagainst his. And he was looking down at her with favorable eyes that burned like geminate flames.Looking at my throat, Maggie thought. She couldfeel the pulse beating there, and with her chin tiltedup to look at him and her upper 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 blackly to engulf everything else. Shecouldnt think she was nothing but a terrified massof instinct, and all she wanted to do was to run,toget away.Then, slowly at first, the panic receded. It simplypoured off her, run out away. She feltasif she were rising from compact water into air clear ascrystal.She looked straight into the golden eyes aboveher and said, Go ahead.She had the pleasure of seeing the golden eyeslook startled. What?Go ahead, Maggie said distinctly. It doesntmatter. Youre stronger than me we both 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 wanted me scared Im scared. But, then, Iwas scared before. And it doesnt matter. Theres something more important 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 liveliness that his anger was more against himself than her. You dont think Ill hurt 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 cant change whats between us.He was very, very unfounded now. The fathomless pupils of his eyes were like black holes, and Maggie suddenly remembered that he wasnt just a vampire, or just a weapon, but some doomsday instrument with powers meant for the end of the world.He hovered over her with his fangs showing.I willhurt you, he said. Watch me hurt you. He bent to her angrily, and she could see his intent in his eyes. He meant to frighten and let down and he kissed her mouth like raindrops falling on cool water.Maggie clung to him desperately and kissed back.Where they billeted they dissolved into each opposite.Then she felt him tremble in her munition and they were both lost.It was like the first time when their minds had joined. Maggie felt a pound thrill that enveloped her entire 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 somatogenetic self was fallingforward, that they were both falling, still clasped in each differents arms. But in the hushed place of crystalline beauty where she really was, they werefacing each other in a white light.It was like being inside his mind again, but thistime he was there opposite her, gazing at her directly. He didnt l ook like a doomsday weapon anymore, or even like a vampire. His black-lashedgolden eyes were large, like a solemn childs. Therewas a enormous wistfulness in his face.He swallowed, and then she heard 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 embracing in their minds, justastheir physical bodies embraced, andthere was that feeling of invisible wings allaround them.Maggie could snaffle fragments of his thoughts,not just the surface ones, but things so deep 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 communicate it to the deepest part of him. I wont let you be alone. And wewere meant to be like this cant you feel it?What she could feel was his powerful longing.But he couldnt be convinced all at once.She heard something like Destiny And she dictum ensures 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 image of his father seemed to loom closer, tall and terrible, a father seen through the eyes of childhood. Then the featuresblurred, changing just enough to decease HunterRedfern with the same cruel and accusing light in his yellow eyes.And then the picture was swept away by a tidalwave of anger from Delos.I am not a weapon.I know that,Maggie told him.I can hold 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 context of use 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 reverberate in him as she sat up, aware 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. You dont understand.He sighed, very nearly his old exasperated 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.