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A Stroke Of Midnight :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 287 из 293“Yes, a nice flower and grass meadow, where the sun can shinedown, and the moon caress.”
Small green shoots began to appear in the fresh earth. They did not grow into big plants instantly, but they were there, and the room was suddenly full of that rich green growing smell that is spring. The earth was simply studded with that first blush of green. After everything else it didn’t even surprise me. Then the ceiling vanished and the room suddenly seemed roofed, not with rock, but with a misty, uncertain sky. In that haze was a warm golden ball. There was a sun in this new sky. I had heard rumors, legends, that once we had had suns and moons in the underground, but I had never seen one, or hoped to.
Andais gazed up at the new sun. “You are correct, so it seems. It took all three of you to make this place, and all three of your powers have manifested. But mark me, Meredith. Now that the sithen lives again, it will answer to other magicks besides your own. Be careful what you awaken in others, for not all of it will be to your Seelie taste.”
“I am Unseelie sidhe, Aunt Andais.”
“We shall see, Meredith, we shall see.” She gazed at me, then down at herself. She seemed to have forgotten that she was holding the intestines of a man in one hand. “We need to clean up. We have a king to see, and a new mystery to solve.”
“What mystery would that be, Aunt Andais?” I asked.
“Why would Taranis risk war between our courts over a lie? Why would his men attack my men, over the lie of some Seelie strumpet?”
“I do not know, Aunt Andais,” I said.
“Nor I, but we will know, Meredith. We will know.” She released her hold on Gwennin, and closed the space between us. She was taller than Rhys by at least six inches, and she seemed even taller covered in blood, or maybe just scarier.
“Give your aunt a kiss, Meredith.”
I opened my mouth to ask why, then closed it. She was doing it to be cruel, in part, but everyone I had touched today seemed to have gained from my touch. Perhaps the fact that I did not want to touch her would make it all the sweeter for her.
“Of course, Aunt Andais,” I said, and my voice was almost neutral.
“Does the thought of putting your white flesh against me right now sicken you?”
That was a dangerous question. “You frighten me, auntie, to say anything else would be a lie.”
“Then kiss me, niece, and let me taste your fear on those red, Seelie lips.”
I tightened my grip on Rhys’s arm, like a child holding tight in the night. She bent over us, and I raised my face to her, obedient, afraid not to be.
Small green shoots began to appear in the fresh earth. They did not grow into big plants instantly, but they were there, and the room was suddenly full of that rich green growing smell that is spring. The earth was simply studded with that first blush of green. After everything else it didn’t even surprise me. Then the ceiling vanished and the room suddenly seemed roofed, not with rock, but with a misty, uncertain sky. In that haze was a warm golden ball. There was a sun in this new sky. I had heard rumors, legends, that once we had had suns and moons in the underground, but I had never seen one, or hoped to.
Andais gazed up at the new sun. “You are correct, so it seems. It took all three of you to make this place, and all three of your powers have manifested. But mark me, Meredith. Now that the sithen lives again, it will answer to other magicks besides your own. Be careful what you awaken in others, for not all of it will be to your Seelie taste.”
“I am Unseelie sidhe, Aunt Andais.”
“We shall see, Meredith, we shall see.” She gazed at me, then down at herself. She seemed to have forgotten that she was holding the intestines of a man in one hand. “We need to clean up. We have a king to see, and a new mystery to solve.”
“What mystery would that be, Aunt Andais?” I asked.
“Why would Taranis risk war between our courts over a lie? Why would his men attack my men, over the lie of some Seelie strumpet?”
“I do not know, Aunt Andais,” I said.
“Nor I, but we will know, Meredith. We will know.” She released her hold on Gwennin, and closed the space between us. She was taller than Rhys by at least six inches, and she seemed even taller covered in blood, or maybe just scarier.
“Give your aunt a kiss, Meredith.”
I opened my mouth to ask why, then closed it. She was doing it to be cruel, in part, but everyone I had touched today seemed to have gained from my touch. Perhaps the fact that I did not want to touch her would make it all the sweeter for her.
“Of course, Aunt Andais,” I said, and my voice was almost neutral.
“Does the thought of putting your white flesh against me right now sicken you?”
That was a dangerous question. “You frighten me, auntie, to say anything else would be a lie.”
“Then kiss me, niece, and let me taste your fear on those red, Seelie lips.”
I tightened my grip on Rhys’s arm, like a child holding tight in the night. She bent over us, and I raised my face to her, obedient, afraid not to be.