Shadowfever
Page 109

What was with me? I might have suspected it was something to do with my being well, Not the Concubine, but Id never healed like this when I was a kid. Id run around with skinned knees constantly.
Was McCabe one of my parts? Was that why he hadnt frozen, too? Could the dreamy-eyed guy be a part? Who else? How many parts did Not the Concubine have?
I am not the king, I said out loud. Theres some other explanation. There had to be. I simply wouldnt accept it.
Tonight had been a rush. Wed run into Jayne, his guardians, and Dani near Fourteenth and cut a wide swath through the city. Dageus, Cian, and Vlane had pummeled; Dani and I had sliced and diced. Barrons had done whatever it was he did, but hed done it too fast for me to see. After a time Id stopped trying, too lost in my own bloodlust.
When Id finally quit counting, the death toll had been in the hundreds.
How could it feel so good to kill Unseelie if I was their creator?
See? More proof Im not, I told myself in the mirror with a nod. My reflection nodded sagely back. I selected the medium heat setting on my dryer and began to blow-dry my hair.
The Unseelie had retreated. Word of us had spread through the streets and theyd withdrawn from combat, flapped, sifted, and slithered away. I guess after being locked up for their entire existence, they were in no hurry to die now that they were free. Id left Barrons, the two Keltar, and Vlane looking remarkably unsatisfied and about to fall at one anothers throats. Id been tired, sore, and beyond caring. If they were stupid enough to kill each other, they deserved the resultant problems it would create.
As I slipped into pajamas, a pebble rattled against my bedroom window.
I was so not in the mood for Vlane right now. Yes, I had questions, but tonight was not the night to ask them. I needed rest and a clear head. I kicked away the backpack, crawled in bed and pulled the covers over my head to block out the blazing light from five lamps. The Shades were supposedly gone. Supposedly isnt a word I live with well.
Another pebble.
I squeezed my eyes shut and waited for it to stop.
Five minutes of incessant pebbles later, a stone crashed through my window, spraying glass and scaring the hell out of me.
I shot up in bed and glared at the mess on the floor. I couldnt even march over and snap his head off. I had to dig around for shoes first.
A chilly breeze flapped the curtains.
I tugged on boots and crunched to the window. Im not talking to you until you fix the damned glass, Vlane, I snapped. Then, Oh!
A cloaked, hooded figure stood in the alley below, and for a moment it reminded me of Malluc. Dark robes swirled in a gossamer cloud as the figure moved jerkily forward, as if every step wasagony. The exterior spotlights gleamed across the cloak, and I saw it was fashioned of frothy light chiffon.
My first thought was of the Sinsar Dubh, hiding somewhere beneath those many secretive folds.
Drop the cloak. I want to see hands, everything.
I heard a sharp inhalation, a wheeze of agony. Arms moved with arthritic carefulness, loosening a brooch at the throat. The hood fell and the cloak rustled to the ground.
I nearly vomited. I bit back a scream. I wouldnt wish it on my worst enemy. It was Fiona, in the badly mutilated flesh.
Merssseee. Skinned lips parted on a sibilant hiss.
I turned away from the window and leaned back against the sill, hand over my mouth. My eyes were closed, but there was no escape. I could see her on the backs of my lids.
Shed tried to kill me, in what seemed another lifetime. Shed taken up with Derek OBannion, then Darroc.
All because she loved Jericho Barrons.
The night the Book had brought her to my balcony, skinned alive, Id wondered if all the Unseelie shed eaten would keep her from dying. Eating Unseelie has remarkable healing properties. But apparently growing a new human skinor maybe healing from any magical injury the Sinsar Dubh had inflictedwas beyond its ability.
I thought the Book killed everyone it possessed, I said finally. My words rang out in the hushed night.
It has different appetites for us who eat Unseelie. Her pained voice floated up.
It killed Darroc. He ate Unseelie.
Silencing him. For what he knew.
Which was?
If only I knew. I would She made a garbled sound, and I assumed from the wheezes and moans that she was stooping to retrieve her cloak. I tried to imagine what would hurt worse on flayed fleshthe cold night breeze or clothes. Both would be a walking hell. I couldnt imagine how she stood the pain.
I didnt say anything. There was nothing to say.
Try it myself, she finally continued, pray it killed me too.
Why are you here? I turned and stared down at her. Although shed put her cloak back on, shed left the hood down.
Cant heal. Gray eyes shimmered with constant pain in bloody sockets. Even her lids were gone. Cant die. Tried everything.
Still eating Unseelie?
Dulls pain.
Its probably whats keeping you alive.
Too late.
You mean you think youve been eating it so long that even if you stopped now you might not die?