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GOE 08 - Bound By Darkness [calibre 0.9.30]
- Автор: Рэли Дебора
- Год: 2011
- Язык: французский
- Год: Kensington Publishing Corp.
- Жанр: Ужасы
Электронная книга - «GOE 08 - Bound By Darkness [calibre 0.9.30]». Краткое содержание книги:
Instinctively he shifted to stand directly in front of Jaelyn, hiding her from the spirit’s dangerous gaze. For all her power, a vampire was always vulnerable to magic.
Not that he knew why the hell he would bother. She was as likely to stab him in the back as to appreciate his efforts.
For now, however, he was far more intent on his friend who was in obvious trouble.
“Tearloch, look at me,” he commanded, the authority in his voice rippling the air and making his tribesman jerk in reaction.
“Do not,” the wizard hissed, leaning down to whisper directly into Tearloch’s ear. “He is jealous of your powers and he knows you shall be rewarded above him once our master is returned.” His malevolent power swirled through the room with far too much force for a mere spirit, battering against Ariyal with a dangerous strength. “Why else would he be so eager to destroy the child and halt your efforts to resurrect your lord?”
Ariyal lifted his hand, muttering a word of command in the harsh Sylvermyst language.
A smile curved his lips as the wizard attempted to speak, his face twisting with fury when he realized that Ariyal had managed to silence him.
“Much better,” Ariyal taunted.
Something perilously close to fear tightened Tearloch’s expression.
“What have you done?”
“Brought a welcome end to the poison he is spewing.” Tearloch shifted in agitation. “Release him.”
“Not until you have listened to sense.”
Tearloch shook his head, moving closer to the spirit, who glared at Ariyal with a baleful intensity.
“I listened to you once before,” the younger man breathed, “and see where that got us.”
Ariyal flinched. Although it had been the previous prince’s decision to accept Morgana’s bargain, he’d offered his full support, which had swayed more than a few into agreeing to break ties with the Dark Lord.
“You would prefer to have been banished with the others?” he asked.
The younger Sylvermyst glanced toward the spirit, almost as if seeking the answer to Ariyal’s question.
“We should have remained pure,” he at last muttered. Ariyal forced himself to crush the angry accusations that trembled on his lips. Tearloch was clinging to sanity by a thread.
He didn’t intend to snap it.
“Tearloch,” he said, his tone low and soothing, “when did you first call this particular spirit?”
Tearloch blinked in bewilderment. “I don’t remember. What does it matter?”
“You better than anyone understand the dangers of calling upon the same spirit too often,” Ariyal pointed out. Every Sylvermyst was taught to limit their contact with spirits. Not only was there a danger of becoming emotionally attached to the ghost, but there was always the nasty possibility that the spirit might manage to twist the relationship so that they became the master rather than the servant. “Especially such a powerful spirit.”
“No, you’re just trying to deceive me.”
“I’m not the one trying to deceive you, brother,” Ariyal murmured softly, inching closer. “But together we can make this right.”
Tearloch blinked, his silver eyes focusing on his friend. “Ariyal?”
“Yes, old friend, we have fought side by side. You know you can trust me.”
“Yes ...” For a split second Ariyal thought he might actually have gotten through the fog that was obviously clouding his friend’s mind. The copper-haired Sylvermyst even took a half step toward him. Then the damned wizard squeezed his shoulder and Tearloch was once again under the sway of the bastard. With a faltering shake of his head, he came to an abrupt halt. “I mean no.”
Ariyal leashed his frustration. As much as he might want to grab his friend and beat some sense into him, he knew it would be a waste of time so long as he was in the power of the spirit.
And worse, he couldn’t return the wizard to the hell, where he belonged. He might be able to manipulate Rafael on a small scale, but only the actual summoner could dismiss him.
He would have to somehow convince Tearloch to do the deed.
Lifting a hand in a gesture of peace, Ariyal took a step back, feeling Jaelyn punch him in the ribs as he stepped on her toe.
“Fine, I’ll stay here, and we can just talk.”
“There’s nothing to discuss.” Tearloch flicked a glance toward the hovering spirit, who reached into the crib and scooped the child into his arms. “I intend to resurrect the Dark Lord.”
“Of course.” Sergei abruptly thrust his way into the conversation, licking his thin lips as he realized that he was about to be cut out of the deal. “We can begin preparing for the ceremony this very moment, if you wish.”
Tearloch jerked his gaze toward the mage, his face hardening with disgust.
“You had your opportunity, mage. I no longer trust your ... enthusiasm for returning our master.”
Sergei stretched out his hands as he edged toward the cradle, ignoring the spirit of Rafael, who was furiously attempting to speak, no doubt hoping to cast a spell against his nemesis.
“Don’t be a fool, Tearloch,” he chastised. “I have prepared for years for this moment. There is no other mage who could possible match my skills or my powers.”
“You are the fool,” Tearloch snapped. “And now you will suffer for your lack of commitment.” His gaze shifted back to Ariyal. “You will all suffer.”
Ariyal’s attention never shifted from the mage. He easily sensed Sergei’s rising desperation at the knowledge he was no longer needed by Tearloch. It wasn’t going to take much for him to do something stupid.
Almost on cue, the idiot gave a muttered curse and rushed forward.
“Stay back,” Ariyal commanded, not at all surprised when the mage continued his terrified charge. “Dammit, mage. What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m dead without that child,” Sergei hissed. “No one’s taking it away from me.”
Ariyal watched the disaster unfold, already accepting there was no way he was going to halt Tearloch as the Sylvermyst pulled the spirit who still clutched the child in his arms into the waiting portal.
The air shimmered as the portal began to close. Sergei screeched in frustrated horror, his hands lifting toward the disappearing Tearloch.
At first, Ariyal assumed the mage was trying to reach the portal so he could enter before it closed. It wasn’t until he heard the low chanting that he realized the stupid bastard was intending to lob a spell at the opening.
Gods, was he a complete moron?
Even a thick-skulled troll knew better than to point magic directly at a portal.
Spinning on his heel, he turned toward Jaelyn, who was watching the spectacle with a disgusted frown.
“Get down,” he snapped.
She blinked, then instinctively backed away as he surged forward.
“What?”
With no time to explain, Ariyal tackled her to the ground and covered her with his larger body. He ignored the fangs she flashed and her foul words of warning. Instead he braced himself for the inevitable explosion of magic.
There was the hissing sound of the spell hitting the portal, destabilizing the massive amount of magic needed to rip a hole through space. The predictable chain reaction was less than a heartbeat behind, and Ariyal cried out as the blast of shattered magic slammed into him with painful force.
Shit.
He was at last on top of his beautiful, aggravating vampire and he was going to die before he could get her naked.
Chapter 6
Jaelyn was knocked unconscious briefly by the invisible wall of power that had crashed over them with terrifying force.
Groggily, she managed to shake off the clinging darkness. What the hell?
Had there had been some sort of magical tsunami?
A nuclear explosion?
The end of the world?