Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 20

Maggie held Sylvia piano. Or at least, she knelt by her and tried to hold herasbest she could with emerge disturbing the piece of stone-broken spear that was save lodged in Sylvias body.It was every last(predicate) over. Where Hunter Redfern and hismost trusted portentouss had been, there was a large parched crater in the earth. Maggie vaguely rec solelyed coning a few peck running for the hillsGavin the slave trader had been among them. But Hunter hadnt been superstar of them. He had been at ground zero when the blue fire struck, and nowthere wasnt cool off a wisp of red hair to show thathe had existed.Except for Delos, there werent any iniquity Peopleleft in the courtyard atall.The slaves were just barely peeking out one time againfrom their huts.Its all right, Jeanne was yelling. Yeah, youhear me its all rightDelos isnt dangerous. Notto us, anyway. Come on, you, get out of therewhat are you doing hiding down that pig?Shes good at this, a grim voice murmured.Maggie disembodied spirited up and saw a tall, gaunt figure,with a very small lady friend clasped to her side. laundrywoman she verbalise. Oh, and PJ.-Im so glad youre all right. But, Laundress, please .The healing womanhood knelt. But even as she did, alook passed between her and Sylvia. Sylvias facewas a strange, chalky color, with shadows thatlooked give care bruises under her eyeball. There was a microscopical blood at the corner of her mouth.Its no good, she express thickly.Shes right, Laundress verbalise bluntly. Theresnothing you bay window do to befriend this one, Deliverer, andnothing I can do, either.Im not anybodys Deliverer, Maggie give tongue to. Tearsprickled behind her look.You could pass on fooled me, Laundress said, andgot up again. I see you sitting here, and I see allthe slaves over there, free. You came and it bumped-the prophecies were fulfilled. If you didntdo it, its a strange coincidence.The look in her dark eyeball, although as unsentimental as ever, m ade Maggies cheeks dismiss suddenly. She looked back down at Sylvia.But shes the one who saved us, she said, hardlyaware that she was address out loud. She deserves some(prenominal) kind of dignity.Shes not the only one who saved us, a voicesaid quietly, and Maggie looked up gratefully atDelos.No, you did, too.Thats not what I meant, he said, and kneltwhere Laundress had. One of his hands touched Maggies shoulder lightly, merely the separate one wentto Sylvias.Theres only one thing I can do to help you, hesaid. Do you exigency it?To become a vampire? Sylvias base on balls movedslightly in a negative. No. And since theres woodnext to my heart right now, I dont bet it would work anyway.Maggie gulped and looked at the spear, whichhad cracked in the confusion when the guards ran. We could press it out I wouldnt live by dint of it. Give up for once, will you? Sylvias extend moved slightly again in disgust. Maggie had to admire her, even dying, she still hadthe strength to be nasty. Witches were tough.Listen, Sylvia said, staring at her. Theressomething I want to single out you. She drew a painfulbreath.About your brother.Maggie swallowed, braced to hear the terrible expand Yes.It really bugged me, you hit the sack? I would place on my nicest clothes, do my hair, we would go out and past hed talk active you.Maggie blinked, utterly nonplussed. This wasnt at all what she had expected. He would?About his sister.How brave she was. How smartshe was. How stubborn she was.Maggie kept blinking. Shed heard Miles accuse her of lots of things, provided never of cosmos smart. Shefelt her eyelids prickle again and her throat swellpainfully.He couldnt stand to hear a bad watchword slightly you, Sylvia was saying. Her purple-shadowed look narrowed suddenly, the color of chippingtersweet nightshade. And I dis wish you for that. But him I liked him.Her voice was getting untold weaker. Aradia knelton her other side and touched the shimmering silvery hair.Y ou dont have long, she said quietly, as if big(a) a warning.Sylvias eyes blinked once, as if to say she understood. Then she turned her eyes on Maggie.I told Delos I killed him, she whispered.But I lied.Maggie felt her eyes fly open. Then all at onceher heart was beating so hard that it shook herentire body.You didntkill him? Hes alive?I wanted to punish him but I wanted him faithful me, too.A wave of dizziness broke over Maggie. She bentover Sylvia, trying not to clutch at the slender shoulders. tout ensemble she could see was Sylvias pale face.Please guarantee me what you did, she whisperedwith passionate intensity. Please tell me.I had him changed. The musical voice wasonly a distant murmur now. do him a shapeshifter and added a spell. So he wouldntbe human again until I wanted What kind of spell? Aradia prompted quietly.Sylvia made a hard like the most faraway ofsighs. Not anything that you need to deal with,Maiden. Just take the leather band absent his leg.Hell always b e a shapeshifter but he wont be lost to you.Suddenly her voice swelled up a little stronger,and Maggie realized that the bruised eyes werelooking at her with something like Sylvias oldmalice.Youre so smart Im sure you can figure outwhich animal After that a strange sound came out of herthroat, one that Maggie had never heard before.Somehow she knew without being told that itmeant Sylvia was dying-right then.The body in the green dress arched up once andwent still. Sylvias head fell back. Her eyes, the color of tear-drenched violets, were open, staringup at the sky, but they seemed oddly flat.Aradia put a slender dark hand on the paleforehead.Goddess of Life, receive this miss of Hellewise, she said in her soft, ageless voice. Guideher to the other world. She added, in a whisper,She takes with her the leniency of all the witches.Maggie looked up almost fearfully to see if theshining figure who had touch Aradia like anaura would come back. But all she saw was Aradias beautiful fac e, with its savorless skin the color of coffee with cream and its compassionate blindgaze.Then Aradia gently moved her hand down to shutSylvias eyes.Maggie clenched her teeth, but it was no use.She gasped once, and then somehow she was in the middle of sobbing violently, unable to stop it.But Deloss implements of war were around her, and she buriedher face in his neck, and that helped. When she gotcontrol of herself a few minutes later, she realizedthat in his arms she felt almost what she had inher dream, that inexpressible sense of peace and security. Of belonging, utterly.As long as her soulmate was alive, and they weretogether, she would be all right.Then she noticed that P.J. was touch up againsther, too, and she let go of Delos to put one armaround the small agitate body.You okay, kiddo? she whispered.P.J. sniffed. Yeah. I am, now. Its been prettyscary, but Im glad its over.And you know, Jeanne said, looking down atSylvia with her hands on her hips, thats how Iwant to go. Taking my own way out and totally pissing everybody off at the end.Maggie glanced up, startled, and choked. Thenshe gurgled. Then she shook her head, and knewthat her crying spell was over. I dont even know wherefore Im like this about her. She wasnt a nice person. I wanted to kill her myself.She was a person, Delos said.Which, Maggie decided, was about the best summing-up anybody could provide.She realized that Jeanne and Laundress andDelos were looking at her intently, and that Aradias face was turned her way.Well? Jeanne said. Do you know? Which animal your brother is?Oh,Maggie said. I deem so.She looked at Delos. Do you happen to knowwhat the name Gavin means? For a shapeshifter?Does it mean hunt?His blacklashed atomic number 79en eyes met hers. Hawk orfalcon. Yes.Warm pleasure filled Maggie.Then I know, she said simply. She stood up, and Delos came with her as if he belonged by her. How can we find the falcon she had with her thatfirst sidereal day we met? When you were o ut with the hunting party?It should be in the mews, Delos said.A hypnotised crowd gathered behind them as theywent. Maggie recognized Old Mender, happy and cackling, and Soaker, not looking frightened anyto a greater extent, and Chamber-pot Emptier We really need to get you guys some newnames, she muttered. Can you just pick one or something?The big misfire with the moon face and the gentleeyes smiled at her shyly. I heard of a noble named Hortense once .Thats good, Maggie said, after just the slightestpause. Yeah, thats great. I mean, comparatively.They reached the mews, which was a dark littleroom near the stable, with perches all over thewalls. The falcons were upset and distracted, and the air was full of flapping wings. They all lookedalike to Maggie.It would be a new bird, Delos said. I thinkmaybe that one. Is the falconer here? slice everyone milled around looking for him, Jeanne edged close to Maggie.What I want to know is how you know. How didyou even know Gavin was a sh apeshifter at all?I didnt-but it was sort of logical. After all, Bernwas one. They both seemed to have the same kind of senses. And Aradia said that Sylvia took care of Miles down at her apartment, and Bern and Gavinwere both there. So it seemed subjective that maybeshe made one of them pass the curse along toMiles.But why did you figure Gavin was a falcon?I dont know, Maggie said slowly. I justwell,he looked a little bit like one. Sort of thin andgolden. But it was more things that happened-he got away from Delos and over to the hunting party too fast to have gone by ground. I didnt really think about it much then, but it must have stuckat the back of my mind.Jeanne gave her a narrow sideway glance. Stilldoesnt sound like enough.No-but mostly, it was that Milesjust had to bea falcon. It had to be something small-Sylviawould hardly be carrying a pigora tiger or a beararound with her up the mountain. And I saw herwith a falcon that first day. It was something she could keep near he r, something that she could control. Something that was an-accessory. It just allmade sense.Jeanne made a sound like hmph.I still dontthink youre a rocket scientist. I think you luckedout Maggie turned as the crowd brought a little manwith a lean, shrill face to her-Falconer. Well,we dont know yet, she murmured fervently. ButI sure hope so.The little man held up a bird. This is the newone. Lady Sylvia said never to take the green bandoff his leg-but Ive got a knife. Would you like todo it?Maggie held her breath. She tried to keep herhand steady asshe carefully cut through the emerald green leather band, but her fingers trembled.The leather tie fell free-and for a moment hexheart stood still, because nothing happened.And then she saw it. The rippling changeasthebirds wings outstretched and thickened and thefeathers merged and swamand then Falconerwas moving back, and a human systema skeletale was takingshape .And then Miles was standing there, with his auburn hair shining red gold and his handsome,wicked smile He gave her the thumbs-up sign.Hey, I knew you would rescue me. What arelittle sisters for? he said-and then Maggie was inhis arms.It seemed a long time later that all the hugging and crying and explaining was done. The slavesthe ex-slaves, Maggie change by reversal herself-had begunto gather and organize themselves and make plans.Delos and Aradia had sent various messengers outof the valley.There were still things to be settled-months andyears worth of things. And Maggie knew that lifewould never be the same for her again. She would never be a normal schoolgirl.Her brother was a shapeshifter-well, at least itwas a form he could enjoy, she thought wryly. Hewas already talking to Jeanne about a new way ofgetting to the summits of mountains-with wings.Her soulmate was a Wild Power. Aradia had already told her what that meant. It meant that theywould have to be protected by the witches and Circle Daybreak until the time of darkness came andDelos was neede d, so that the Night World didntkill them. And even if they survived until the final battleit was going to be a tough one.Plus, she herself had changed forever. She feltshe owed something to the people of the valley,who were still calling her the Deliverer. She wouldhave to try to help them adjust to the Outside world. Her fate would be intertwined with theirsall her life.But just now, everybody wastalking about getting some food.Come into the castle-all of you, Delos saidsimply.He took Maggies arm and started toward it. Justthen P.J. pointed to the sky, and there was an frightening murmur from the crowd.The sunIt was true. Maggie looked up and was dazzled.In the smooth, pearly sky of the Dark Kingdom, in exactly the place where the blue fire had flashedfrom the earth, there was a little clearing in theclouds. The sun was shining through, chasing awaythe mist, turning the trees in the border hillsemerald green.And glinting off the sleek black walls of the castlelikeamirror.A place of enchantment, Maggie thought, lookingaround in wonder. It really is beautiful here.Then she looked at the boy beside her. At hisdark hairjust now extremely tousled-and hissmooth fair skin, and his elegant bones. At themouth which was still a bit proud and willful, but was mostly vulnerable.And at those fearless, brilliant yellow eyes whichlooked back at her as if she were the most important thing in the universe.I suppose that all prophecies come true by accident, she said slowly and thoughtfully. From just ordinary people trying and lucking out.There is nothingordinary about you, Delossaid, and kissed her.Onefrom the land of kings long forgottenOne from the hearth which still holds the incite One fromthe Day World where two eyes are ceremonial occasionOne fromthe twilight to be one with the dark.