JК
Mistrals Kiss :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 54 из 148Already I was making that mental switch that had allowed me to work murder cases in Los Angeles. Body, it, not he, and absolutely not Aisling. The it hung there, with a black branch thicker than my arm sticking out through the chest. There had to be two feet worth of branch on this side of the body. Such force it would have taken to pierce the chest of any man like that, a warrior of the Unseelie Court. A nearly immortal being, once worshipped as a god. Such beings do not die easily. He hadn’t even cried out…or had he? Had he cried his death on the air, and I been deaf to it? Had my screams of pleasure drowned out his cries of despair?
No, no, I had to stop thinking like that, or I would run screaming.
“Is he…,” Abe began.
None of the men answered him or finished his sentence. We all stared up, wordless, as if by not saying it, we’d keep it from being true. He hung so limp, like a broken puppet, but thick, and meaty, and more real than any doll. He was utterly still and limp in that heavy-limbed way that not even the deepest sleep can duplicate.
I spoke into that rain-soaked silence. “Dead.” And that one word seemed louder than it actually was.
“How? Why?” Abe asked.
“The how is pretty apparent,” Rhys said. “The why is a mystery.”
I looked away from what hung in the tree, out into the twilight of the gardens. I wasn’t looking away from Aisling, but rather looking for the others. I tried to ignore the tightness of my throat, the speeding of my pulse. I tried not to finish the thought that had made me turn and search the dimness. Were there other men dead, or dying, in the dimness? Who else was pierced through by some magical tree?
There was nothing to see but the dead branches stretching naked toward the clouds — none of the other trees held a gruesome trophy. The tightness in my chest eased when I was sure that all the trees were empty except this one.
I barely knew Aisling. He had never been my lover, and had only been one of my guards for a day. I was sorry for the loss of him, but there were others among my guards that I cared about more, and they were still missing. I was happy they weren’t decorating the trees, but that left me wondering what else might have become of them. Where were they?
Doyle spoke so close to me that I jumped. “I do not see any of the others in the trees.”
I shook my head. “No, no.” I looked for Frost. He stood close, but not close enough to hold me. I wanted to be comforted by one of them, but it was a child’s wish. A child’s wish for lies in the dark, that the monster isn’t under the bed.
No, no, I had to stop thinking like that, or I would run screaming.
“Is he…,” Abe began.
None of the men answered him or finished his sentence. We all stared up, wordless, as if by not saying it, we’d keep it from being true. He hung so limp, like a broken puppet, but thick, and meaty, and more real than any doll. He was utterly still and limp in that heavy-limbed way that not even the deepest sleep can duplicate.
I spoke into that rain-soaked silence. “Dead.” And that one word seemed louder than it actually was.
“How? Why?” Abe asked.
“The how is pretty apparent,” Rhys said. “The why is a mystery.”
I looked away from what hung in the tree, out into the twilight of the gardens. I wasn’t looking away from Aisling, but rather looking for the others. I tried to ignore the tightness of my throat, the speeding of my pulse. I tried not to finish the thought that had made me turn and search the dimness. Were there other men dead, or dying, in the dimness? Who else was pierced through by some magical tree?
There was nothing to see but the dead branches stretching naked toward the clouds — none of the other trees held a gruesome trophy. The tightness in my chest eased when I was sure that all the trees were empty except this one.
I barely knew Aisling. He had never been my lover, and had only been one of my guards for a day. I was sorry for the loss of him, but there were others among my guards that I cared about more, and they were still missing. I was happy they weren’t decorating the trees, but that left me wondering what else might have become of them. Where were they?
Doyle spoke so close to me that I jumped. “I do not see any of the others in the trees.”
I shook my head. “No, no.” I looked for Frost. He stood close, but not close enough to hold me. I wanted to be comforted by one of them, but it was a child’s wish. A child’s wish for lies in the dark, that the monster isn’t under the bed.