[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
Page 217
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
and lowered her down.
Chap had one guard pinned. Magiere had pulled her hair free and now grappled
with the other.
"Leesil, go!" she called to him. "Get to Darmouth. I'll find you."
Leaving her in this of all places wasn't something he'd ever imagined doing.
But it was his only choice.
The corridor was open before him, and he ran cautiously in a half-crouch. He
knew part of the main floor wellenough, and there would be few places to hide.
When he reached the end of the long south corridor and entered the alcove, he
crawled forward to scan the wide entryway. There was no one about, and he
hurried to the nearer archway. Flic meal hall was empty, and he ducked inside.
His thoughts drifted for an instant to what Emêl had said.
He'd called his mother "Lady Nein'a," seen with nobles and officers here in
this keep. Leesil had wondered in his youth why she was required at Darmouth's
few evening events. Had his father known all along? Only a naive boy wouldn't
have imagined&
"What Lady Progae is gone? And what breach? Make sense!"
Lees saw no one in the entryway, but Darmouth's deep voice carried from
inside the council hall across the way. His grip tightened on the stiletto.
For all the years since he'd heard that voice, it sank him into all the
shadows of his past. He closed his eyes tight,then snapped them open again
when memories leaped at him from the dark in his own mind.
He would do this. He would save Darmouth from theAnmaglâhk .
"Where is Faris?" Darmouth boomed. "Where is that useless trash? Find him!"
As if to answer this question, Leesil heard the entryway's doors swing open.
He glanced around the archway's side.
Faris entered, wild-eyed and half-mad with anger, and behind him was a woman
who resembled him closely. She panted, looking panicked. The two hurried
toward the council hall, and Leesil stayed low, still watching. Faris paused
short of the archway, seeming to prepare himself to face Lord Darmouth.
A distant shout echoed from the south corridor, and Faris turned.
Leesil ducked back.If these two followed that sound& He looked back
carefully.
Faris and Ventina were gone. Leesil heard running footsteps fade down the
south corridor, headed straight for Magiere and Chap.
All Leesil's instincts screamed at him to go back to them.
"I want the mongrel Móndyalítko and his bitch found!
Darmouth's voice echoed across the entryway, and Leesil pulled back into
hiding.
Page 218
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The only way Chap could silence his adversary was to rip the man's throat
out, but he hesitated. Killing made the predator instincts of his animal body
rise up. It was unsettling, and he needed to remain aware of all around him.
The soldier he had pinned kept swearing and swinging, and Chap ducked and
snapped at the man's face.
Emêl appeared at Chap's side, and smashed the hilt of his straight saber down
on the soldier's forehead. The man dropped unconscious, and Chap wheeled away
toward Magiere.
He grew anxious the instant he saw her.
Her irises were black, and it seemed her nails had lengthened. The soldier
she fought looked openly horrified. Magiere sank her fingernails into his
hauberk and slung him sideways into the corridor wall. Before he could right
himself, she rushed in. She punched him so hard in the face that his head
slammed back into the stone wall. The shortsword toppled from his grip as he
slumped down to the floor.
"Magiere?"Emêl said, stepping toward her. "Are you all right?"
Chap advanced quickly as Emêl looked into Magiere's face. The baron had seen
her change at the lake while diving in the icy water. But here, up close, she
was a disturbing sight to anyone who did not know what she was.
Magiere breathed hard, and Chap wished he had time to give her calming
memories he had gathered from her thoughts over the years. He heard footsteps
down the corridor and looked.
Faris appeared with Ventina on his heels.
"You?"Faris snapped at the sight of Magiere.
Chap growled. These two had expected to find someone else here. Faris eyed
Emêl, and his expression filled with contempt.
"I knew your head would end up on a spike," he said. "No one sincere can
grovel that well. Where has your consort taken my daughter?"
Ventina stepped close behindParis , and her voice cracked with hysteria.
"Where is she, Emêl?"
"I do not know," Emêl answered. "I came for Hedí."
Faris shook his head slowly. Your lord and master will clear that foggy
memory. Move toward the counsel hall!"
"I don't think so," Magiere said.
Chap sidestepped in front of Magiere, hearing her breath coming hard. She was
fighting for self-control, and there was nothing he could do to help her. He
kept his eyes on Darmouth's servants. Anyone unarmed who gave orders so easily
made him wary.
The first ripple passed through Ventina's flesh.
Her face darkened as short brown-black hairs sprouted across it. She dropped
to all fours. Hands and feet swelled, and fingers shortened into heavy paws
with sharp claws. Her shoulders arched, filling out until her shirt and dress
Page 219
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
split. Faris writhed and changed beside her.
Chap heard Magiere's falchion slide from its sheath. He now faced two great
predator cats taller than himself. They were black in color, but wherever the
hallways brazier light touched them, their fur shimmered a deep brown. Their
large eyes were the same hue as their fur, and the only way Chap could tell
them apart was by Faris's one missing ear. For an instant, they stood like two
sentinel statues blocking the passage,then Faris snarled, exposing
yellow-white teeth and long fangs. A yowl of rage rolled out of his throat and
reverberated off the stone walls. It struck Chap's ear like the combined roll
of thunder and the crack of lightning splitting the air.
"Into the stairwell!"Emêl shouted, backing up. "Get behind the door."
Ventina roared, and Chap whirled, trying to shove Magiere back. Magiere ran
for the door. She shot through it, and Chap followed.
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]