Shadowfever
Page 157

Some prices are too high. You arent invincible. Merely long-lived and hard to kill.
You cant protect me forever.
He gave me a look that said, Are you crazy? Of course I could.
You would ask me to live that way?
Key word there being: live.
Dont put me in a cage. I expect better from you.
He smiled faintly. Touch.
We could see if it works for Dageus. Hes inhabited, too, or so they say.
Funny girl, arent you? Over my dead body.
Then stop tilting at windmills. You cant use the amulet. That leaves me, with you at my side. Its the only choice. You cant dieI mean, you can, but youll always come back. And we know it wont kill me. Were perfect for this.
Nobodys perfect for battling evil. Its seductive. When we find it, its going to come at you with everything its got.
I was braced for it. I knew it would. I took a deep, slow breath, filling my lungs, squaring my shoulders. Jericho, I feel like my whole life has been pushing me toward this moment.
Thats it. Fates a fickle whore. Were not going. Take your clothes off and get back in my bed.
I laughed. Come on, Barrons. When have you ever run from a fight?
Never. And others paid for it. I wont have the same happen to you.
I dont believe this, I said with mock horror. Jericho Barrons is vacillating. Will wonders never cease?
The rattle moved in his chest. Im not vacillating. Im ah, fuck.
Barrons doesnt lie to himself. He was vacillating and he knew it.
The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were trouble.
Ditto.
I wanted to drag you between the shelves, fuck you senseless, and send you home.
If youd done that, I never would have left.
Youre still here anyway.
You dont have to sound so sour about it.
Youre upsetting my entire existence.
Fine, Ill leave.
Try and Ill chain you up. He glowered at me. Thats vacillating. He sighed.
After a moment, he held out his hand.
I slipped mine into his.
The Silver in Barrons study belched me out. I went flying across the room and slammed into the wall.
I was tired of the mirrors not liking me. When this was over, I wanted Cruces curse lifted. In my free time, I might like exploring the White Mansion.
I frowned. But then again, I might not. Maybe I needed to cut all my ties with my past.
Barrons glided out behind me,looking urbane and unruffled as usual, dark hair and brows frosted, skin icy. Stop, he ordered instantly.
My feet rooted to the floor. What?
People on the roof. Talking. He stood still so long that the frost began to slide in droplets down his cheeks and neck. Ryodan and others. The Keltar are near. Theyre waiting forwhat the hell was that noise? He strode past me and stalked from the study.
He pushed through the door that joined the rear, private residence part of the bookstore to the public portion.
I followed, hot on his heels. It was dark outside, drizzly with a light fog beyond the tall windows, and the interior was lit only by the soft amber glow of the recessed lights I left on all the time so the store would never be fully dark.
Jericho Barrons, an elegantly cultured voice said.
Who the fuck are you? Barrons demanded.
I caught up with Barrons just in time to see a man step from the shadows in the rear conversation area.
He walked toward us, offering his hand. I am Pieter Van de Meer.
Long and lean, with the impeccable posture of a man trained in martial arts, he was in his mid to late forties. Blond hair framed a Nordic face with deep-set pale-green eyes. He had the quietly watchful air of a snake, coiled but not about to strike unless he had to.
Take one more step and Ill kill you, Barrons said.
The man paused, looking surprised and impatient. Mr. Barrons, we dont have time for this.
Ill decide what we have time for. What are you doing here?
Im with the Triton Group.
So?
Let us not play games. You know who we are, the man chided.
You own the abbey, among other things. I dont like your kind.
Our kind? Pieter Van de Meer afforded a small smile. We have watched you for centuries, Mr. Barrons. We are not a kind. You are.
And why am I not killing you now? Barrons purred.
Because my kind is often useful, and youve long sought a way to infiltrate our ranks. You never succeeded. You are curious about us. Ive brought something for the girl. Its time for the truth.
What would anyone in the Triton Group know of truth?
If you will not hear me out with any degree of objectivity, perhaps you will listen to someone else.
Get out of my store right now and Ill let you live. This time. There wont be another.
We cant do that. Youre on the cusp of making a grave mistake, and we have been forced to show our hand. Its her choice. Not yours.