The Red Wolf by Kailin Gow

Author:Kailin Gow
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: theEDGEbooks.com
Published: 2011-10-11T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

I was led into the grim-looking antechamber of King Delano, a cruel and miserable-looking room, decorated with painted skulls and too-shiny stone, from which I thought I could almost hear faint but high-pitched screams, like the vibrations of crystals. The place was opulent, to be sure – even in the palace of the Duke of Autumn Springs, I had never seen such riches. Furs and jewels lay everywhere; intricate frescoes lined the walls. The floor was lushly carpeted with expensive rugs from the Spring Lands; each gemstone glimmered with unearthly brilliance. But there was nothing beautiful about the room. No, even the jewels seemed cold, insincere. The beauty of Delano's rooms was all an act: the ugliness underneath was palpable from the beginning. Delano had most likely stolen or plundered all these goods – I could hear the magic in them crying out for their rightful owners, the fairies who had fashioned them.

The guards dragged me before Delano. I followed willingly, stumbling and hazy as a result of my exhaustion, but that didn't stop them from being as brutal as possible with me – shoving me around corners, striking me with the hilts of their swords when I failed to keep up. At last they threw me down onto the purple carpet at Delano's feet, giving me an extra kick for good measure.

“No need for that,” said Delano smoothly. “Let the Wolf get up. Sit, Wolf.” He motioned to a chair, which immediately glided towards me, knocking me over so that I involuntarily sat back into it. “Now bind him with silver.” The guards complied, yanking silver chains so tightly around my chest and neck that I nearly choked with pain. “I don't want you turning on my watch,” said Delano. “One of your kind gave me a nasty bite a few years back; I have no interest in repeating that singularly unpleasant experience.”

I said nothing, but only watched him, waiting. What did Delano want with me? I could give him nothing – I didn't know where Breena and Kian had gone, and even if I did, I would rather be tortured and die than risk even a fraction of Breena's safety. If Delano knew this, he would have had me killed already. But he had kept me alive. What did he think I had for him? What did he think I could give him?

“Now, Wolf, I suppose you're wondering why it is I've kept you alive.” Delano looked me up and down, a sneer spreading across his jaundiced face. “You would be dead long ago if I hadn't used my pixie magic to sustain you – no normal Wolf could survive that fall. Your bones broken, your skin bruised and bleeding – I could very easily have left you to die, my lupine friend. But instead I chose to show you mercy. Even after you kidnapped my prisoner, invaded my castle, showed such disrespect to me, I showed you mercy. Now, don't you think I deserve just a tad of thanks?”

He raised an insouciant eyebrow.

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