[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
cellars. He examined his finger to investigate the success of his mining,
then leaned over to wash his finger in the waters beyond the bubble s wall.
Elena winced as his finger pierced the bubble. She feared that breaking the
seal would somehow disrupt the spell, but nothing happened. The magick
sustained the bubble.
He licked his finger dry. We ll leave the tower stair farther down and cross
the castle proper to reach the back stair to the basements. He began to hum a
tune as he continued down the wet stairs.
Suddenly a huge dark form passed overhead. It trailed tentacles as thick
around as her own thigh. She shied down away from it, but it shot past with a
flurry of suckers and limbs.
Owww! Don t be such a scaredy-puss, the boy scolded. She won t let any of
the boogies get us.
Elena swallowed hard and nodded. She had to fight to loosen her grip again.
Over there, he said sourly, pointing to a doorway at the next landing. We
have to leave here, cross through the servants hall, pass the kitchens to the
main hall, then follow it to the main stair. And I m getting hungry. Do you
have any cake?
No, I m afraid not. Elena said, feeling less and less sure of her guide.
Maybe when we re done.
I like mine with dollops of cream, he confided to her as if this were of
utmost secrecy.
With this revelation, he led her through the landing s doorway and into the
main body of the castle. As they progressed, Elena was glad she had a guide.
Castle Drakk was a stcne maze of rooms, halls, and cubbyholes. Alone, she
would have been lost among these many twists and turns.
While walking, Elena kept her eyes from the growing number of piled bones,
both human and otherwise.
It was not just ordinary beasts that had assaulted the ancient castle. She
passed one especially large skull whose shape she recognized and gave it a
wide berth. A shiver passed through her. She recalled her own battles with the
winged dreadlords of the Black Heart. The name s tal tum still gave her
nightmares.
She hurried past, glad this battle was long dead.
By the time they reached the huge main hall, the boy s constant -humming began
to grate on Elena.
Cassa, must the boy do this? she asked the empty air.
The boy glanced up to her and stuck his tongue out at her. You didn t have to
tell on me. He sighed loudly and bunched his shoulders, sulking, but at least
he was silent.
She followed him to the back staircase. The way from here descended into a
deep darkness. The black waters seemed to suck greedily at the boy s moss
light.
The boy turned to her. Do we really have to go down there?
She squeezed his hand and nodded. Yes, we do.
Page 263
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The blood hunter heard a whisper of echoed voices pass through the waters. He
paused and cocked his head, straining for its source. For some time now,
Torwren had been lost in the tangle of halls and rooms of the castle, unsure
of how to reach the tower stairs. Backtracking and pushing through debris had
eaten up volumes of precious time.
Then he had heard the voices and begun to follow, hoping that these voices
were echoing down from above and could be used to track his way through the
castle. Still, the acoustics under the water played a thousand tricks on his
stone ears. He could not be certain he was going in the right direction as he
followed the voices, his only clue in this sunken maze.
Soon he spotted a narrow staircase ahead, and his heart thrilled. Here must be
the tower steps. As if to confirm his suspicions, voices and snatches of words
again reached him.
He grinned in the dark water, scaring away a large lake trout that had
investigated too closely. Surely he had reached the tower! He forced his legs
to move, again feeling the growing torpidity in his stone skin.
He had not fed now in over two days, and the ebon stone had again grown hungry
and sluggish. Still, he did not let this disturb him. He would soon feast on
the heart of the wit ch and regain his strength back a hundredfold.
Grinning, he pushed through the portal that opened onto the stairs, but when
he discovered where the steps led, the smile crashed from his face. The narrow
staircase wound down
, not up. This was not the tower stair. Consternation stopped his feet. This
was the wrong direction.
Then again the voices reached him. He swung his head. There was no mistaking
the source in such close quarters. The smattering of conversation arose from
below. His eyes squinted at the dark descent. Was he picking up a trace of
light flowing from far below? He took a step toward it, then stopped again.
He did not have time for curiosity. The wit ch lay in the tower above. He did
not have the luxury to investigate the oddities of this drowned castle. He
took a step back, but deep inside him, something fought with renewed vigor.
Down& down& down
, this strange compulsion urged. Again a picture of some vague treasure
flashed across his vision. It seemed to be some weapon no, some trophy. A
flood of desire surged through him, urging him to seek this treasure.
He shook his head. The wit ch was his goal, not some buried treasure. Yet,
still, he could not retreat from the stair. It was not the stiffening stone
that trapped him, but indecision. Maybe he didn t have to fight this strange
compulsion. Maybe both goals could be met. Whoever was speaking from below
might know the way to the tower. And if not, his skin was starved for blood,
and it would be good to feed before confronting the wit ch. Both curiosity and
hunger could be slaked by what lay below.
His decision made, the blood hunter began his descent down the stair. Deep
inside him, something howled with glee.
Elena had to move with delicate care. She no longer stared through the
bubble s wall but kept her eyes on the rubble that lay strewn across the
cellar floor. Its algae-slick surface sought to betray her footing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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cellars. He examined his finger to investigate the success of his mining,
then leaned over to wash his finger in the waters beyond the bubble s wall.
Elena winced as his finger pierced the bubble. She feared that breaking the
seal would somehow disrupt the spell, but nothing happened. The magick
sustained the bubble.
He licked his finger dry. We ll leave the tower stair farther down and cross
the castle proper to reach the back stair to the basements. He began to hum a
tune as he continued down the wet stairs.
Suddenly a huge dark form passed overhead. It trailed tentacles as thick
around as her own thigh. She shied down away from it, but it shot past with a
flurry of suckers and limbs.
Owww! Don t be such a scaredy-puss, the boy scolded. She won t let any of
the boogies get us.
Elena swallowed hard and nodded. She had to fight to loosen her grip again.
Over there, he said sourly, pointing to a doorway at the next landing. We
have to leave here, cross through the servants hall, pass the kitchens to the
main hall, then follow it to the main stair. And I m getting hungry. Do you
have any cake?
No, I m afraid not. Elena said, feeling less and less sure of her guide.
Maybe when we re done.
I like mine with dollops of cream, he confided to her as if this were of
utmost secrecy.
With this revelation, he led her through the landing s doorway and into the
main body of the castle. As they progressed, Elena was glad she had a guide.
Castle Drakk was a stcne maze of rooms, halls, and cubbyholes. Alone, she
would have been lost among these many twists and turns.
While walking, Elena kept her eyes from the growing number of piled bones,
both human and otherwise.
It was not just ordinary beasts that had assaulted the ancient castle. She
passed one especially large skull whose shape she recognized and gave it a
wide berth. A shiver passed through her. She recalled her own battles with the
winged dreadlords of the Black Heart. The name s tal tum still gave her
nightmares.
She hurried past, glad this battle was long dead.
By the time they reached the huge main hall, the boy s constant -humming began
to grate on Elena.
Cassa, must the boy do this? she asked the empty air.
The boy glanced up to her and stuck his tongue out at her. You didn t have to
tell on me. He sighed loudly and bunched his shoulders, sulking, but at least
he was silent.
She followed him to the back staircase. The way from here descended into a
deep darkness. The black waters seemed to suck greedily at the boy s moss
light.
The boy turned to her. Do we really have to go down there?
She squeezed his hand and nodded. Yes, we do.
Page 263
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
The blood hunter heard a whisper of echoed voices pass through the waters. He
paused and cocked his head, straining for its source. For some time now,
Torwren had been lost in the tangle of halls and rooms of the castle, unsure
of how to reach the tower stairs. Backtracking and pushing through debris had
eaten up volumes of precious time.
Then he had heard the voices and begun to follow, hoping that these voices
were echoing down from above and could be used to track his way through the
castle. Still, the acoustics under the water played a thousand tricks on his
stone ears. He could not be certain he was going in the right direction as he
followed the voices, his only clue in this sunken maze.
Soon he spotted a narrow staircase ahead, and his heart thrilled. Here must be
the tower steps. As if to confirm his suspicions, voices and snatches of words
again reached him.
He grinned in the dark water, scaring away a large lake trout that had
investigated too closely. Surely he had reached the tower! He forced his legs
to move, again feeling the growing torpidity in his stone skin.
He had not fed now in over two days, and the ebon stone had again grown hungry
and sluggish. Still, he did not let this disturb him. He would soon feast on
the heart of the wit ch and regain his strength back a hundredfold.
Grinning, he pushed through the portal that opened onto the stairs, but when
he discovered where the steps led, the smile crashed from his face. The narrow
staircase wound down
, not up. This was not the tower stair. Consternation stopped his feet. This
was the wrong direction.
Then again the voices reached him. He swung his head. There was no mistaking
the source in such close quarters. The smattering of conversation arose from
below. His eyes squinted at the dark descent. Was he picking up a trace of
light flowing from far below? He took a step toward it, then stopped again.
He did not have time for curiosity. The wit ch lay in the tower above. He did
not have the luxury to investigate the oddities of this drowned castle. He
took a step back, but deep inside him, something fought with renewed vigor.
Down& down& down
, this strange compulsion urged. Again a picture of some vague treasure
flashed across his vision. It seemed to be some weapon no, some trophy. A
flood of desire surged through him, urging him to seek this treasure.
He shook his head. The wit ch was his goal, not some buried treasure. Yet,
still, he could not retreat from the stair. It was not the stiffening stone
that trapped him, but indecision. Maybe he didn t have to fight this strange
compulsion. Maybe both goals could be met. Whoever was speaking from below
might know the way to the tower. And if not, his skin was starved for blood,
and it would be good to feed before confronting the wit ch. Both curiosity and
hunger could be slaked by what lay below.
His decision made, the blood hunter began his descent down the stair. Deep
inside him, something howled with glee.
Elena had to move with delicate care. She no longer stared through the
bubble s wall but kept her eyes on the rubble that lay strewn across the
cellar floor. Its algae-slick surface sought to betray her footing [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]