Shadowfever
Page 7

I thought youd never get here, I say, my voice husky from screaming. It hurts to talk. I savor the pain. Its what I deserve.
The LM is still some distance away, concealed in the forest, but I see the shadows that move too sinuously to be cast by any tree.
Come out. I lean back against a tree, one hand in a pocket at my cocked hip, the other at my waist. I am what you want, arent I? What you came here for. What all this is about. Why hesitate now?
My spear is in the holster beneath my arm, my dirk in my waistband. The black-leather rune-covered pouch holding the three stones the LM wantsthree-quarters of what we all hope will form some kind of cage for the Sinsar Dubhare tucked securely in my backpack, which hangs over my shoulder.
Shapes glide from the darkness: the LM and the last two Unseelie Princes.
Jack and Rainey Lane are not with them.
That would disturb me, except the Mac who loves her parents was in those pieces I left behind with Barrons body. Barrons is dead. Its my fault. I have no parents. No love. No weaknesses. Theres not a single shaft of sunshine in my soul.
I feel immeasurably lighter, stronger.
DarrocI will no longer call him the LM; even the abbreviation of his smug-ass title implies superiorityhas been eating a great deal of Unseelie flesh. Power is thick in the air between us. Im not sure what comes from him and what is rolling off me. I wonder how his minions feel about him cannibalizing their own. Perhaps what is an abomination to the Light Court is a common vice at the Dark Court, an acceptable hazard of being Unseelie.
As he approaches the circle of silvery light in which I stand, his eyes widen infinitesimally.
I laugh, a throaty purr. I know what I look like. I washed after leaving Barrons and prepared myself with care. My bra is in my backpack. My hair is softly curled and wild around my face. It took time to get the black stain off my palms. There is nothing about me that is not a weapon, an asset, something to use to get what I want, including my body. Ive learned a thing or two from Barrons: Power is sexy. It shapes my spine, infuses my beckoning hand.
I have not been devastated by Barrons death. The alchemy of grief has forged a new metal.
I have been transformed.
Theres only one way I can make his death okay. Undo it.
And, while Im at it, undo Alinas, too.
Every person Ive met whos known something about the Sinsar Dubh was cryptic about it. No one has been willing to tell me exactly whats in it. The only thing everyone kept telling me was that it was imperative I find it, and quickly, because it could be used to keep the walls from crashing.
Well, the walls are down now. Its too late.
Considering that Ive been hunting this Book with single-minded dedication for months,its startling how little thought Ive given to its contents. I swallowed what I was told and obediently chased it.
I suspect now that everyone was keeping me tightly focused on the goal of finding it in order to keep the walls up, so Id never get around to thinking too hard about other possible uses for the Sinsar Dubh.
There I was, hunting an object of unspeakable power, surrounded by people that wanted it for reasons of their own, and never once did I think: Wait a minutewhat might it do for me?
Darroc told me that with the Sinsar Dubh he could bring Alina back. He said he wanted it to reclaim his Fae essence and exact revenge.
Vlane told me that the Dark Book holds all the Unseelie Kings knowledge, every last damnable bit of it. He said he wants it for the Seelie Queen, so she might use it to restore their race to their former glory and to re-imprison the Unseelie. He believes it contains fragments of the Song of Making, lost to their race so long ago, and that the queen will be able to use them to re-create the ancient melody. I dont know exactly what the Song of Making is or does, but it seems to be the ultimate in Fae power.
It was Barrons that told me the most. He said the Sinsar Dubh contained spells to make and unmake worlds. Something to do with those fragments of the Song. He never would tell me why he wanted it. Said he was a book collector. Right. And Im the Unseelie King.
Lying there, holding Barrons body, Id contemplated the Sinsar Dubhs potential uses, for the first time, in a very personal way.
Especially the part about making and unmaking worlds.
It had all become perfectly clear to me.
With the Sinsar Dubh, a person could create a world with a different pastand a different future.
Essentially, a person could turn back time.
Erase anything they didnt like.
Replace those things they couldnt bear to have lost, including people they couldnt stand to live without.
Id torn myself away from Barrons body with one purpose.
To get the Sinsar Dubh, and when I did, I wasnt turning it over to anyone. It was going to be mine. I would study it. Grief had focused me like a laser. I could learn anything. Nothing would stand in my way. I would rebuild the world the way I wanted it.
Come. I smile. Join me. My face radiates only warmth, invitation, pleasure at his presence. I am the last thing he expected. He believed he would find a terrorized, hysterical girl.
Im not and never will be again.
He motions the princes back and takes a casual step forward, but I see the studied grace in the movement. He is wary of me. He should be.
Coppery Fae eyes meet mine. How did Alina fail to see that those eyes were not human, no matter how human his body appeared?