JК
A Stroke Of Midnight :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 99 из 293The red and gold of the fur went well with my hair and skin, and brought out the gold in my eyes. With the hood up, I looked delicate and a little ethereal, like something between a Victorian Christmas card and a barbarian princess. Well, a small barbarian princess.
“Now, thank the sithen for the use of the mirror, and say you no longer need it.”
I frowned at him, but did as he suggested. “Thank you for the mirror, sithen. I do not need it right now.”
The mirror stayed on the wall, as if it had always been there.
“Please, sithen, a mirror could be used to harm her, please take it away,” Frost said.
It felt as if the very air shrugged, then the wall quivered again, and the mirror began to sink back into the wall. When the wall was empty stone once more I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“Are you saying the mirror appeared because I asked how I looked?”
“Hush,” Frost said, then he nodded.
“Now that,” Doyle said, “is interesting.”
“The sithen hasn’t answered to whims since—” Frost stopped as if trying to think how long.
“Long enough, my friend, that I, too, am not certain when the last time was.”
“So is this good,” I said, “or not?”
“Good,” Doyle said.
“But dangerous,” Frost added.
Doyle nodded. “I would be careful what I said aloud from now on, Meredith. An idle comment could have grave consequences, if the sithen has truly returned to that much life.”
“What do you mean?”
“The sithen is a living thing, but it does not think like any living thing I have ever known. It will interpret what you say in its own way. You ask how you look, and it gives you a mirror. Who knows what it might offer you, depending on what you said.”
“What if I yelled for help, would it do anything useful?” I asked.
“I do not know,” Doyle said. “I have heard of it giving you objects you asked for, but never touching people. But there are enchanted items locked within its walls, things that simply vanished. Some theorize that they did not go back to the gods, but inside the very walls. There are things that I would not want appearing before you without more help than this.”
“More help than you and Frost?”
He nodded.
I started to ask what object could possibly be so dangerous that the Killing Frost and the Queen’s Darkness could not keep me safe, but I didn’t. One disaster at a time.
“Now, thank the sithen for the use of the mirror, and say you no longer need it.”
I frowned at him, but did as he suggested. “Thank you for the mirror, sithen. I do not need it right now.”
The mirror stayed on the wall, as if it had always been there.
“Please, sithen, a mirror could be used to harm her, please take it away,” Frost said.
It felt as if the very air shrugged, then the wall quivered again, and the mirror began to sink back into the wall. When the wall was empty stone once more I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.
“Are you saying the mirror appeared because I asked how I looked?”
“Hush,” Frost said, then he nodded.
“Now that,” Doyle said, “is interesting.”
“The sithen hasn’t answered to whims since—” Frost stopped as if trying to think how long.
“Long enough, my friend, that I, too, am not certain when the last time was.”
“So is this good,” I said, “or not?”
“Good,” Doyle said.
“But dangerous,” Frost added.
Doyle nodded. “I would be careful what I said aloud from now on, Meredith. An idle comment could have grave consequences, if the sithen has truly returned to that much life.”
“What do you mean?”
“The sithen is a living thing, but it does not think like any living thing I have ever known. It will interpret what you say in its own way. You ask how you look, and it gives you a mirror. Who knows what it might offer you, depending on what you said.”
“What if I yelled for help, would it do anything useful?” I asked.
“I do not know,” Doyle said. “I have heard of it giving you objects you asked for, but never touching people. But there are enchanted items locked within its walls, things that simply vanished. Some theorize that they did not go back to the gods, but inside the very walls. There are things that I would not want appearing before you without more help than this.”
“More help than you and Frost?”
He nodded.
I started to ask what object could possibly be so dangerous that the Killing Frost and the Queen’s Darkness could not keep me safe, but I didn’t. One disaster at a time.