Shadowfever
Page 36
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The Seelie rustle, murmur disbelievingly.
Vlanes eyes narrow. He is not.
He is, I say flatly. And Im the queen bitch from hell thats going to make them all pay. The thought makes me smile.
He searches my eyes a long moment, lingers on the curve of my lips. I do not believe you, he says finally.
Darroc burned his body and scattered the ash. Hes dead.
How was he killed? he demands.
The spear.
The soft murmurs swell and Vlane snarls, I must have confirmation of this. Darroc, show yourself!
My sides are suddenly icy. I am flanked by Unseelie Princes.
Vlane stiffens. The entire Seelie army goes still. And I think, Darroc may have just started a war.
How many hundreds of thousands of years ago did Seelie and Unseelie royalty last look each other in the face?
I hate looking at the Unseelie Princes. They mesmerize, they seduce, they obliterate. But there is something happening here that no human has ever seen. My curiosity is morbid and deep.
I position myself for a better view to see them both at once.
The Unseelie Prince stands beside me, stunningly naked. Of the fourwho have been so aptly compared to the Four Horsemen of the ApocalypseI wonder which two remain. Pestilence, Famine, War? I hope I stand next to Death.
I want to walk with Death, bring it crashing down on this immortal, arrogant race.
The dark powerful body, capable of such soul-rending pleasure, is exquisite. I examine every inch with macabre fascination. Even hating the princes as I do, it excites. It thrills. Which makes me hate it even more. It turned me inside out. I remember the kaleidoscopic tattoos rushing beneath its skin. I remember the black torque slithering around its neck. Its face has a savage beauty that obsesses even as it terrifies. Its lips are drawn back, baring sharp white teeth. And its eyes oh, God, those eyes!
I force my gaze to Vlane. Then I widen my view to absorb them both, being careful to avoid the Unseelie Princes eyes.
Thesis and antithesis. Matter and antimatter.
They stand like statues, neither moving nor seeming to breathe. They study each other, assess, measure.
Prince of Consuming Night. Prince of Glorious Dawn.
The air between them is so charged that I could power all of Dublin if only I could figure out how to plug into it.
Black ice rushes forward from the Unseelie Princes feet, encompassing the cobblestones.
It is met halfway by a bed of brilliantly colored blossoms.
The ground shudders beneath my feet. There is a thunderous crack, and suddenly the cobbled pavement splits jaggedly between them, revealing a narrow, dark fissure.
What are you doing, Darroc? I demand.
Tell him, Darroc orders, andthe prince opens his mouth to speak.
I clamp my hands to my ears to shut out the hellish sound.
Vlane uses language to communicate with me. All the Seelie have been using my language in my presence. I realize it has been a great concession.
The Unseelie Princes grant no concessions. Their language is a dark melody that the human ear was not made to hear. Once, I was forced to listen helplessly as they crooned to me, and it drove me mad.
By the time the Unseelie Prince stops speaking, Vlane is regarding me with an expression of faint astonishment.
Warily, I remove my hands from my ears but keep them close in case the UP decides to start talking again.
He claims you killed Barrons, sidhe-seer. Why?
It hasnt escaped me that Vlane wont use my name. I suspect that, if he did, those of his race would think him weak.
Who cares? Hes dead. Gone. Out of both of our ways. Its not like you didnt want him dead, too. I wonder if they really burned his body. I will never ask.
And it was the spear that killed him?
I nod. I have no idea, but its simplest to agree. The less time I spend thinking about Barrons, the better.
He looks from me to the prince at my side. And after you killed Barrons, you decided your enemy was your friend?
A girl needs friends. Im bored. Tired of this posturing. I need to sleep. I need to be alone. Look, Vlane, the Seelie are immortal, and the Unseelie are immortal. What are you going to do? Waste everyones time beating each other up all night? As far as I know, theres only one weapon here tonight that kills Fae, and Ive got it.
You do not.
You do, Darroc corrects.
Just like that, my spear is heavy in my holster. I jerk a hard look his way. About damned time. I guess he finally feels the threat level has risen sufficiently. Or maybe hes bored, too.
I slip my hand inside my jacket and close my fingers around the hilt. I love my spear. Im going to keep it in the new world I create, even though it will be a world without Fae.
You do not, Vlane says.
I thought you couldnt see or hear him.
I smell the stench of him.
My spear is gone.
My spear is there.
Gone again.
I look from Vlane to Darroc. Vlane is staring in Darrocs general direction. Darroc is staring hard at the Unseelie Princes. Theyre having a silent battle over me and my weapon, and it infuriates me that I have no control. One instant, Vlane takes my spear; the next, Darroc gives it back. It flickers in my fingers, solid then gone, solid then gone.
Vlanes eyes narrow. He is not.
He is, I say flatly. And Im the queen bitch from hell thats going to make them all pay. The thought makes me smile.
He searches my eyes a long moment, lingers on the curve of my lips. I do not believe you, he says finally.
Darroc burned his body and scattered the ash. Hes dead.
How was he killed? he demands.
The spear.
The soft murmurs swell and Vlane snarls, I must have confirmation of this. Darroc, show yourself!
My sides are suddenly icy. I am flanked by Unseelie Princes.
Vlane stiffens. The entire Seelie army goes still. And I think, Darroc may have just started a war.
How many hundreds of thousands of years ago did Seelie and Unseelie royalty last look each other in the face?
I hate looking at the Unseelie Princes. They mesmerize, they seduce, they obliterate. But there is something happening here that no human has ever seen. My curiosity is morbid and deep.
I position myself for a better view to see them both at once.
The Unseelie Prince stands beside me, stunningly naked. Of the fourwho have been so aptly compared to the Four Horsemen of the ApocalypseI wonder which two remain. Pestilence, Famine, War? I hope I stand next to Death.
I want to walk with Death, bring it crashing down on this immortal, arrogant race.
The dark powerful body, capable of such soul-rending pleasure, is exquisite. I examine every inch with macabre fascination. Even hating the princes as I do, it excites. It thrills. Which makes me hate it even more. It turned me inside out. I remember the kaleidoscopic tattoos rushing beneath its skin. I remember the black torque slithering around its neck. Its face has a savage beauty that obsesses even as it terrifies. Its lips are drawn back, baring sharp white teeth. And its eyes oh, God, those eyes!
I force my gaze to Vlane. Then I widen my view to absorb them both, being careful to avoid the Unseelie Princes eyes.
Thesis and antithesis. Matter and antimatter.
They stand like statues, neither moving nor seeming to breathe. They study each other, assess, measure.
Prince of Consuming Night. Prince of Glorious Dawn.
The air between them is so charged that I could power all of Dublin if only I could figure out how to plug into it.
Black ice rushes forward from the Unseelie Princes feet, encompassing the cobblestones.
It is met halfway by a bed of brilliantly colored blossoms.
The ground shudders beneath my feet. There is a thunderous crack, and suddenly the cobbled pavement splits jaggedly between them, revealing a narrow, dark fissure.
What are you doing, Darroc? I demand.
Tell him, Darroc orders, andthe prince opens his mouth to speak.
I clamp my hands to my ears to shut out the hellish sound.
Vlane uses language to communicate with me. All the Seelie have been using my language in my presence. I realize it has been a great concession.
The Unseelie Princes grant no concessions. Their language is a dark melody that the human ear was not made to hear. Once, I was forced to listen helplessly as they crooned to me, and it drove me mad.
By the time the Unseelie Prince stops speaking, Vlane is regarding me with an expression of faint astonishment.
Warily, I remove my hands from my ears but keep them close in case the UP decides to start talking again.
He claims you killed Barrons, sidhe-seer. Why?
It hasnt escaped me that Vlane wont use my name. I suspect that, if he did, those of his race would think him weak.
Who cares? Hes dead. Gone. Out of both of our ways. Its not like you didnt want him dead, too. I wonder if they really burned his body. I will never ask.
And it was the spear that killed him?
I nod. I have no idea, but its simplest to agree. The less time I spend thinking about Barrons, the better.
He looks from me to the prince at my side. And after you killed Barrons, you decided your enemy was your friend?
A girl needs friends. Im bored. Tired of this posturing. I need to sleep. I need to be alone. Look, Vlane, the Seelie are immortal, and the Unseelie are immortal. What are you going to do? Waste everyones time beating each other up all night? As far as I know, theres only one weapon here tonight that kills Fae, and Ive got it.
You do not.
You do, Darroc corrects.
Just like that, my spear is heavy in my holster. I jerk a hard look his way. About damned time. I guess he finally feels the threat level has risen sufficiently. Or maybe hes bored, too.
I slip my hand inside my jacket and close my fingers around the hilt. I love my spear. Im going to keep it in the new world I create, even though it will be a world without Fae.
You do not, Vlane says.
I thought you couldnt see or hear him.
I smell the stench of him.
My spear is gone.
My spear is there.
Gone again.
I look from Vlane to Darroc. Vlane is staring in Darrocs general direction. Darroc is staring hard at the Unseelie Princes. Theyre having a silent battle over me and my weapon, and it infuriates me that I have no control. One instant, Vlane takes my spear; the next, Darroc gives it back. It flickers in my fingers, solid then gone, solid then gone.
