thickly
muscled buttocks on his heels. "Simple, maybe." He turned his head again,
glancing at the door. Portia froze. Once could be a coincidence, but twice ?
He knew she hid there; he must sense her. "But you have opposition. The Gyony
girl, you underestimate her."
"That, my pet, is where you are wrong. I
know a secret about Portia. One that will make it quite simple for you to
defeat her when the time comes."
The
demon muttered something, and Alaric laughed.
"You
are correct. She is much stronger now, and it will be more difficult than
before. But when I render her as weak and docile as a newborn pup, you will
find her as easy to dispatch as her ginger-haired lover. Who is back among the
living, did I tell you?"
"I noticed."
"And a fine specimen for study, if I
do say so myself. One of the convent’s original brood. Back before we knew
anything about them. She was born in the days of the first great queen. I have
longed to study her, but Analise thought it best to send her off to Penemue. There’ll
be time when all this is finished. " His voice rose in pitch and
he mocked Analise’s drawling accent. "And where did we end up? With the
ginger-haired girl cut in two, her soul remaining with Portia and her body in a
display case. She was supposed to die !" He threw up his hands. "She
never ended up being any use to me! But now, now I have her and Portia
and all the time in the world, except Nigel decides now is the time to act the
spoiled brat!" Down came the fist again.
The demon rested his forearms on his knees.
"This is a truly fascinating tale."
Alaric
took a long, slow breath, controlling his temper. "You’ll mind your tongue with
me. We have a long night of preparations ahead of us." He stood and jounced the pearl of light from one palm to
the other. "Between this girl and
the mechanic, we’ll have Nigel broken by
tea time tomorrow. Come along."
He
pushed aside a faded tapestry and slipped through an arched opening. Adramelech
followed, leaving smoldering footsteps in his wake. He stepped into the
passage, but not before leveling a steely gaze directly at Portia. He said
nothing, only shut the chamber’s door behind him.
Portia
waited, but neither of them returned. She backed out of Alaric’s study and ran soundlessly up the stairs, hoping to catch
up with Imogen and Radinka before they encountered Nigel.
She
found Radinka in the large salon on the main floor, peering out into the hazy
lavender clouds drifting across the inky sea below them. A small scab of land
clung to the edges of the tower, like soil crusted around the shaft of a carrot
recently pulled from the ground.
"Where’s Imogen?"
"She
went up." Radinka pointed at the spiral staircase.
"She told me to stay and keep watch."
Portia
nodded, shoving her panic behind a resolute mask. "Very good," was all she said before
heading up the staircase, taking care not to run until she was out of Radinka’s sight.
Up
and up and up, she spiraled higher within the opalescent walls until she came
upon the topmost floor. The stairs familiarly opened up onto the large central
room, but this time Portia had no backup. She also had not quite the danger
facing her, or at least she hoped not. The room stood as empty as it had
before, with only a few lingering veils and the stain of blood on the pale
floor.
"Nigel!"
He
strolled in from the balcony, a bemused smile on his face. "I knew you’d be along, directly. So
the gang’s all here, everyone working on their own
thread in this particular tapestry. You know, you all might have gotten
somewhere had you worked together."
She
bit back the urge to slice him in half right then and there and be done with
it. He was still too useful. For the present. "You
speak as if it is already over. It hasn’t even begun."
"Shows
what you know. This machine has all the fuel it needs and the circle has been
cast. When the moon rises, all will be ready. It’s
as good as done, don’t you see? Nothing can
stop it
muscled buttocks on his heels. "Simple, maybe." He turned his head again,
glancing at the door. Portia froze. Once could be a coincidence, but twice ?
He knew she hid there; he must sense her. "But you have opposition. The Gyony
girl, you underestimate her."
"That, my pet, is where you are wrong. I
know a secret about Portia. One that will make it quite simple for you to
defeat her when the time comes."
The
demon muttered something, and Alaric laughed.
"You
are correct. She is much stronger now, and it will be more difficult than
before. But when I render her as weak and docile as a newborn pup, you will
find her as easy to dispatch as her ginger-haired lover. Who is back among the
living, did I tell you?"
"I noticed."
"And a fine specimen for study, if I
do say so myself. One of the convent’s original brood. Back before we knew
anything about them. She was born in the days of the first great queen. I have
longed to study her, but Analise thought it best to send her off to Penemue. There’ll
be time when all this is finished. " His voice rose in pitch and
he mocked Analise’s drawling accent. "And where did we end up? With the
ginger-haired girl cut in two, her soul remaining with Portia and her body in a
display case. She was supposed to die !" He threw up his hands. "She
never ended up being any use to me! But now, now I have her and Portia
and all the time in the world, except Nigel decides now is the time to act the
spoiled brat!" Down came the fist again.
The demon rested his forearms on his knees.
"This is a truly fascinating tale."
Alaric
took a long, slow breath, controlling his temper. "You’ll mind your tongue with
me. We have a long night of preparations ahead of us." He stood and jounced the pearl of light from one palm to
the other. "Between this girl and
the mechanic, we’ll have Nigel broken by
tea time tomorrow. Come along."
He
pushed aside a faded tapestry and slipped through an arched opening. Adramelech
followed, leaving smoldering footsteps in his wake. He stepped into the
passage, but not before leveling a steely gaze directly at Portia. He said
nothing, only shut the chamber’s door behind him.
Portia
waited, but neither of them returned. She backed out of Alaric’s study and ran soundlessly up the stairs, hoping to catch
up with Imogen and Radinka before they encountered Nigel.
She
found Radinka in the large salon on the main floor, peering out into the hazy
lavender clouds drifting across the inky sea below them. A small scab of land
clung to the edges of the tower, like soil crusted around the shaft of a carrot
recently pulled from the ground.
"Where’s Imogen?"
"She
went up." Radinka pointed at the spiral staircase.
"She told me to stay and keep watch."
Portia
nodded, shoving her panic behind a resolute mask. "Very good," was all she said before
heading up the staircase, taking care not to run until she was out of Radinka’s sight.
Up
and up and up, she spiraled higher within the opalescent walls until she came
upon the topmost floor. The stairs familiarly opened up onto the large central
room, but this time Portia had no backup. She also had not quite the danger
facing her, or at least she hoped not. The room stood as empty as it had
before, with only a few lingering veils and the stain of blood on the pale
floor.
"Nigel!"
He
strolled in from the balcony, a bemused smile on his face. "I knew you’d be along, directly. So
the gang’s all here, everyone working on their own
thread in this particular tapestry. You know, you all might have gotten
somewhere had you worked together."
She
bit back the urge to slice him in half right then and there and be done with
it. He was still too useful. For the present. "You
speak as if it is already over. It hasn’t even begun."
"Shows
what you know. This machine has all the fuel it needs and the circle has been
cast. When the moon rises, all will be ready. It’s
as good as done, don’t you see? Nothing can
stop it
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