JК
Bloody Bones :: Гамильтон Лорел
Страница: 195 из 272It makes us forget thatwe are mortal. But immortality eludes even us."
It wasn't a question, and I agreed with everything she said, so I just looked at her.
"Janos told me you had an aura of power, necromancer. He said he used it against you as he would another vampire. I did it just now when I slashed your hand. I have never known a human that could be harmed so."
"I don't know what you mean about an aura of power."
"It is what allowed you to slip my magic. No human could have withstood me, and few vampires."
"Glad I could do something to impress you."
"I never said I was impressed, necromancer."
I shrugged. "Fine, maybe you don't give a damn about humans, or keeping a low profile. I don't know about your council, or what they'll do to you for not helping us. But I do know what I'll do."
"What are you babbling about, human?"
"I am the vampire executioner for this state. Xavier and his crew took a young boy. I want him back, alive. You help me get him back alive, or I go to the courts and get a death warrant on you."
"Jean-Claude, talk to her, or I will kill her."
"She has the weight of human law behind her, Serephina."
"What is human law to us?"
"The council says that it rules us as it rules the humans. Refusing the human laws is the same as breaking with the council."
"I don't believe you."
"You can taste the truth of my words. I could never lie to you, not two hundred years ago, not now." His voice was very calm, very sure.
"When did this new law go into effect?"
"When the council saw the benefit of being mainstream. They want the money, the power, the freedom to walk the streets in safety. They don't want to hide anymore, Serephina."
"You believe what you say; that much is true," she said. She looked down at me, and the weight of that gaze even with me looking away was like a giant hand mashing me down. I stayed on my feet, but it was an effort. You should bow down to such power. Grovel before it. Worship it.
"Stop it, Serephina," I said. "Cheap mind tricks won't work, and you know it." The cold lump in my stomach wasn't so sure.
"You fear me, human. I can taste it on the back of my tongue."
Oh, goody. "Yeah, you scare me. You probably scare everybody in this room. So what?"
She drew herself up to every inch of her tall, thin frame. Her voice was suddenly soft, breathing down my skin like fur. "I will show you."
She gestured outward with one gloved hand. I tensed, waiting for another cut, but it never came.
It wasn't a question, and I agreed with everything she said, so I just looked at her.
"Janos told me you had an aura of power, necromancer. He said he used it against you as he would another vampire. I did it just now when I slashed your hand. I have never known a human that could be harmed so."
"I don't know what you mean about an aura of power."
"It is what allowed you to slip my magic. No human could have withstood me, and few vampires."
"Glad I could do something to impress you."
"I never said I was impressed, necromancer."
I shrugged. "Fine, maybe you don't give a damn about humans, or keeping a low profile. I don't know about your council, or what they'll do to you for not helping us. But I do know what I'll do."
"What are you babbling about, human?"
"I am the vampire executioner for this state. Xavier and his crew took a young boy. I want him back, alive. You help me get him back alive, or I go to the courts and get a death warrant on you."
"Jean-Claude, talk to her, or I will kill her."
"She has the weight of human law behind her, Serephina."
"What is human law to us?"
"The council says that it rules us as it rules the humans. Refusing the human laws is the same as breaking with the council."
"I don't believe you."
"You can taste the truth of my words. I could never lie to you, not two hundred years ago, not now." His voice was very calm, very sure.
"When did this new law go into effect?"
"When the council saw the benefit of being mainstream. They want the money, the power, the freedom to walk the streets in safety. They don't want to hide anymore, Serephina."
"You believe what you say; that much is true," she said. She looked down at me, and the weight of that gaze even with me looking away was like a giant hand mashing me down. I stayed on my feet, but it was an effort. You should bow down to such power. Grovel before it. Worship it.
"Stop it, Serephina," I said. "Cheap mind tricks won't work, and you know it." The cold lump in my stomach wasn't so sure.
"You fear me, human. I can taste it on the back of my tongue."
Oh, goody. "Yeah, you scare me. You probably scare everybody in this room. So what?"
She drew herself up to every inch of her tall, thin frame. Her voice was suddenly soft, breathing down my skin like fur. "I will show you."
She gestured outward with one gloved hand. I tensed, waiting for another cut, but it never came.