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* * * *
Zinzi strolled through the little cemetery at the back of the Redhand's
garden. If Malthus had been doing what he was paid for, then there ought to be
new graves here. Darkness held no secrets from a vampire, and she read the
names on the gravestones easily. She found the grave. The first night frosts
of late autumn had killed all the flowers, so the lycans had placed sprigs of
dried herbs, woven wreaths of mistletoe, and pine boughs over it. Zinzi
cleared them away from the headstone, and read the name on it: Searlait
Redhand, beloved daughter of Suleahan and Sorcha Redhand.
"So, you've finally started killing the Redhands ... you were supposed to have
done that months ago. What are you doing, Malthus?"
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The scent of blood and death reached her sensitive nostrils, and Zinzi's head
turned to catch the direction it came from. Someone was dying in the manor.
Malthus at work?
She stole silently through the shadows, tracking the scents and vibrations
through the darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of it through the windows. The
sound of heavy boots alerted Zinzi to the passage of a lycan guard making his
rounds. She faded into the shadow of a pine tree and let him pass her. He
started to turn as if he had caught her scent, and Zinzi lunged, clapped her
hand over his mouth, and sank her fangs into his throat, injecting her venom
directly into his carotid artery with her free hand. He thrashed a moment,
eyes bulging, and then went still. Zinzi drank her fill and hid his dead body
in a stand of wild rose briars, intending to return and dump the remains into
the Eirlys Cataract where it would be swept away and never found.
Resuming her quest, Zinzi located the window from whence the scent of death
came strongest. She climbed the side of the manor like a lizard, her fingers
and toes clinging to the surface. The filmy curtains had been drawn and the
drapes dropped in place, but she could see through a slender parting in the
edge.
Zinzi watched Malthus force the letter opener into Fianait and licked her
fangs at the smell of blood and the aura of incipient death. Too little, too
late, Malthus. Killing them now won't make up for double-crossing my master.
She sensed Fianait die with a small tremor of satisfaction. Zinzi loved the
taste of death. She was one of Lord Hoon's favorite assassins as well as his
messenger. When Malthus finished, Zinzi climbed down and returned for the
guard's body, which she disposed of. Once she had completed her tasks, Zinzi
changed into a moonhawk and flew off to find Lord Hoon to report her findings.
His army should have crossed the Hellblade Corridor by then and started into
the mountains.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
SANCTUARY
"I'm sorry, Regina. I'm so damned sorry. Reist sat on the edge of the bed,
lacing his trousers closed. Their laws demanded proof of consummation; because
otherwise his father might try to have the marriage set aside. Now he wanted
to get as far from her as he could, and try to think clearly.  If there had
been any other way..."
She lay beneath the blankets nude with the quilts clutched in her hands, tears
streaming down her face, and anger glowing in her eyes.  Send the Readers and
the midwife in and get it over with."
"I'll do that. He reached for his shirt.
"What are you going to do now that you're the bloody thane-regent of
Gateshead?"
"Get you a better sword. That claymore is not right for you. I don't like the
balance. You need something lighter. A saber I think. He refused to meet her
eyes, feeling the taste of bitterness in the back of his throat. Reist laced
the neck of his shirt closed and snatched his sleeveless tunic up.
Regina blinked in confusion.  A better sword? Why?"
"You're coming to Wolffgard with us, aren't you? Someone needs to tell them
what happened at Gateshead."
"You want me to?"
"I can't replace Johfrit, but I can do everything in my power to protect you
and your children."
She pushed herself to a sitting position and touched his shoulder.  I don't
believe I know you any longer, Reist Devlin."
"It's been twenty years. Myn change. A breath of regret blew across his
heart.  For now, you'll ride with Jenny's units. You'll need more training. We
don't do things the way the clans do."
"My cubs..." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]