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A Caress Of Twilight :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 221 из 236But he promised it to me on condition of Maeve's death, and that I could control the Starving Ones. Many o' them were friends of old. I thought they were like me and would welcome a chance to return, but they are no longer Bucca, or sidhe, or even fey. They are dead things, dead monsters." He closed his eyes and took a deep shaking breath.
"The first time I faltered, they attacked me, and now they feed, not to return to the old ways, but because they are hungry. They feed for the same reason that a wolf feeds. Because it hungers. If they gain enough lives to return to something close to sidhe, it will be so awful that not even the Unseelie Court will be able to match the horror of them."
"Not to complain," Lucy said, "but why didn't you tell all this to the social worker or the ambassador?"
"It was when I saw Nicca, and even the goblin, that I knew I'd been a fool. My time is past, but my people live on. As long as me blood is walkin' around, then the Bucca are not dead." Tears glittered in his eyes. "I tried to save meself, even if it meant destroying what was left of me people. I was wrong, terrible wrong."
He reached out for Nicca's hand this time, and Nicca took his with a smile.
"How do we stop them?" Doyle asked.
"I raised them, but I cannae lay them. I have not the strength."
"Can you tell us the spell?" Doyle asked.
"Aye, but that da' na mean you can do it."
"Let us worry about that," Doyle said.
Bucca told us how he'd planned to lay the ghosts. Lucy actually took notes. The rest of us just listened. It wasn't a matter of magic words, more of magical intent and just knowing how to think it through.
When he'd finished telling us everything he knew about the Starving Ones, I asked, "Have you been hiding the Nameless from the Unseelie Court?"
"Girl, have ya not been payin' attention? Taranis is hidin' it."
"You raised that for him, too?" I couldn't keep the surprise out of my voice.
"I raised the Starvin' Ones with a little help from Taranis, but Taranis raised the Nameless with only a little help from me."
"He was one of the main powers behind its casting," Doyle said.
"Why would Taranis do that?" I asked.
"I thought he meant to take some of his power back from the thing," Bucca said, "and mayhap he did, but it didn't work out like he'd planned."
"So Taranis is controlling the Nameless," Galen said.
"Nay, lad, do not ya un'erstand yet? Taranis freed it, gave it orders to kill this Maeve, but he no more controls it than I do the Starvin' Ones.
"The first time I faltered, they attacked me, and now they feed, not to return to the old ways, but because they are hungry. They feed for the same reason that a wolf feeds. Because it hungers. If they gain enough lives to return to something close to sidhe, it will be so awful that not even the Unseelie Court will be able to match the horror of them."
"Not to complain," Lucy said, "but why didn't you tell all this to the social worker or the ambassador?"
"It was when I saw Nicca, and even the goblin, that I knew I'd been a fool. My time is past, but my people live on. As long as me blood is walkin' around, then the Bucca are not dead." Tears glittered in his eyes. "I tried to save meself, even if it meant destroying what was left of me people. I was wrong, terrible wrong."
He reached out for Nicca's hand this time, and Nicca took his with a smile.
"How do we stop them?" Doyle asked.
"I raised them, but I cannae lay them. I have not the strength."
"Can you tell us the spell?" Doyle asked.
"Aye, but that da' na mean you can do it."
"Let us worry about that," Doyle said.
Bucca told us how he'd planned to lay the ghosts. Lucy actually took notes. The rest of us just listened. It wasn't a matter of magic words, more of magical intent and just knowing how to think it through.
When he'd finished telling us everything he knew about the Starving Ones, I asked, "Have you been hiding the Nameless from the Unseelie Court?"
"Girl, have ya not been payin' attention? Taranis is hidin' it."
"You raised that for him, too?" I couldn't keep the surprise out of my voice.
"I raised the Starvin' Ones with a little help from Taranis, but Taranis raised the Nameless with only a little help from me."
"He was one of the main powers behind its casting," Doyle said.
"Why would Taranis do that?" I asked.
"I thought he meant to take some of his power back from the thing," Bucca said, "and mayhap he did, but it didn't work out like he'd planned."
"So Taranis is controlling the Nameless," Galen said.
"Nay, lad, do not ya un'erstand yet? Taranis freed it, gave it orders to kill this Maeve, but he no more controls it than I do the Starvin' Ones.