[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

She shattered the vision-light with a scream, rose from her throne, kicked the
corpse of the creature she had sacrificed away from her, and turned on
Luercas.
"You knew," she raged.
He smiled at her and said nothing.
"You knew they were all dead! You knew!"
"Of course I knew. If you had paid more attention to what was going on in
Calimekka, you would have known, too."
"If you knew of the plague, why did you come here?"
"There was no plague. The breaking of the Mirror of Souls killed a few people
- that's all. No one
within the city is sick. No one is dying of some dread contagious disease."
"A few people! The city is nearly empty."
"The citizens thought it was a plague," Luercas said, and shrugged. "Stupid
people. Those who could, fled. Those who remain are too poor or too weak to
run away, or they have simply ceased to care whether they live or die. That
suits me well enough."
"We were to get the riches of the city," one of the Scarred said. "We were to
become lords of the greatest city on Matrin."
"And so you shall," Luercas said. "That you'll have little resistance before
you claim what is yours is no great tragedy. The city itself is the prize -
the people who inhabited it were merely obstacles."
"And what of me?" Danya screamed. "What of my vengeance?"
"What can I say? You made a bad bargain. Those who live only for revenge
usually do. They never get the satisfaction they imagine; that you didn't,
either, is no surprise to me."
She attacked him then, two claw-tipped fingers slashing for his throat, and
the guards who stood at either side of Luercas's throne grabbed her and pinned
her between them. She howled her rage, and Luercas laughed. "That took a bit
longer than I'd anticipated, but it was as delightful as I'd hoped it would
be. How charming to see you exhibit some spine at last. Themmias, bring the
chains."
One of the Dethu Scarred ran from the tent and returned a moment later with
heavy chains and manacles. The guards put them on Danya and chained her to
Luercas's throne, though some of them looked askance at Luercas as they
carried out his orders. Luercas said, "I think you've had your weapons long
enough." He touched her with his index finger, and her right hand, Scarred by
the two talons, began to melt. The white heat of fire raged through her hand;
no matter what she did to try to shield herself from his magic, he simply
shifted his spell's approach and kept burning her. The pain drove her to her
knees - she screamed and begged; she shamed herself and her
Family . . . but no, she had no Family. She had nothing.
Page 173
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
He did not stop until her right hand ended in a stump at the wrist.
"Enough for now," he said, and patted her on the head. "You may sit at my feet
like the good little lapdog that you are, and later perhaps I'll think of some
amusing tricks to teach you. I think humiliation is good for the soul, don't
you?"
She could only whimper. The pain where her hand had once been was still so
great it nearly blinded her.
"And now," she heard him say, "if I am not mistaken, the time has come for my
enemies to challenge me directly. I feel their magic building - they should be
summoning me at any time."
"Why do you not go into the city and take the fight to them?"
"I have a single task I must take care of when we enter the city - a little
thing, the matter of a moment. When I've finished it, I will lead you through
the streets as the conquerors of Calimekka, and we shall all be declared kings
and lords. But if I do not destroy them first, they might strike at me as I am
about my business, and hit me in the single moment when I will be ...
vulnerable. I
choose, rather, to meet them in a time and place of my choosing, and at a
moment of strength." His voice grew soft and solicitous. "After all, I don't
want anything to stand between you, my people, and your well-earned triumph."
Chapter 55
Dughall stood across from Kait and Ry. "You'll cross into the Veil, and
immediately after you arrive, you'll see a dark sphere surrounded by lights.
This is the void that I've created to destroy Luercas.
Under no circumstances allow yourself to fall or be pushed into it unless you
can pull Luercas in with you. If you cross over in Shifted form, you may have
an edge against him - he will not be expecting predators like the Karnee to
meet him."
"What difference will it make? We have no true bodies within the Veil - only
seeming bodies as insubstantial as light," Kait said.
Dughall said, "Your mind acts upon what it knows. If you cross in human form,
you will take human [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

  • zanotowane.pl
  • doc.pisz.pl
  • pdf.pisz.pl
  • szkla.opx.pl

    •