Shadowborn

Author:Sinclair, Alison
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: PENGUIN group
Published: 2011-05-11T16:00:00+00:00

Floria

Beatrice spun out the exercise of putting her children to sleep, but returned before the hour was over. Floria laid before her the other information she had: that Tam had successfully escaped the Temple’s binding, that the Temple might therefore be interested in the lineage they had before this disdained. As the bells changed their rhythm from warning of darkness to warning of light, she left the woman sitting on the couch, staring into space. She had done what she could. In the foyer, she unpacked and strung lights around her waist and across her back, leaving both hands free. Below ground level in the palace was an unlit room that vigilants used for practice in moving and fighting, with only the lights they carried. Nothing and no one should hold the power of terror over a vigilant.

Or so her father had said, the first time he pushed her through the door into the darkness.

At first, she saw nothing but the near walls, the dim forms in the garden at the edge of the spray, and beyond that, nothingness. She closed her eyes and listened for any movement out there, besides the wind that came up around dusk. She and Balthasar had used to play listening games, ear to ear on either side of the paper wall. She could not match his hearing, but listening with him, she had learned how to use her own better. Hearing no threat, she opened her eyes and moved away from the door. Now, across the river, she could see a faint linear glow that marked the route to the council chambers. There appeared to be no other lights in the dark streets: good. She moved quietly to the gate and leaned against it. She could afford to wait a while, to ensure that no one would use the curfew to come for Beatrice.

She waited until she saw that the lit route traced out by the princess’s party had begun to shorten; their brightnesses must be on their way back. Once they had reached the palace, once the lit way had been dismantled, the night would be returned to the Darkborn. If the mages remained adamant about that, they had the means to enforce it. She did not intend to outstay her welcome. She retraced the route as quickly as she could and more easily, since it was now downhill. The moon was just coming into view over the slopes to the east, giving an eerie glitter to the water on the river. A false promise, since should her lights fail now, the moon would merely illuminate her death. The thought raised a cold sweat, chilling the shadowed skin of her scalp, and despite her training, fear forced her on until she was almost running.

She had almost reached the palace, almost reached the wide street—now dark—that had been used as their brightnesses’ corridor, when she heard scuffling, and then an angry, familiar voice. “. . . What you are doing is criminal.”

The reflections on the walls lurched as she halted.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.