Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 9

She was in his mind. It was all around her, want a weird and perilous world. A terribly frighteningworld, provided one that was full of stark beauty.Every function was angles, as if shed fallen into theheart of a giant crystal. Everything glittered, c aged(prenominal)and clear and sharp. at that place were flashes of colouration aslight shimmered and reflected, but for the most part it was dazzling transp bency in invariablyy direction. Like the fractured ice of a glacier.Really dangerous,Maggie plan. The spikes of crystal around her had edges bid swords. The place looked as if it had never do itn warmth or softcolor.And youlive here?she thought to Delos.Go a personal manner.Deloss answering thought came to her.on a ruffle of cold wind. Get forbiddenNo,Maggie said. You cant sc be me. Ive climbed glaciers before.It was indeed that she realized whatthis place reminded her of. A summit. The bareand icy top of a mountain where no plants-andcertainly no people-could survive. sc arcely didntanything goodever happen to you? shewondered. Didnt you ever have a friendor apet or something?No friends,he said shortly. No pets. Get extinct of here before I hurt you.Maggie didnt answer, beca expend even as he said itthings were changing around her. It was as if the glinting surfaces of the nearby crystals were suddenly reflecting scenes, perfect minute pictures withpeople moving in them. As soon as Maggie lookedat one, it swelled up and conmed to surround her.They were his memories. She was seeing bits ofhis childhood.She motto a child who had been treated as aweapon from the duration he was born. It was all aboutsome prophecy. She saw men and women gatheredaround a little boy, four years old, whose blacklashed golden look were wide and frightened.No question about it, the oldest small-arm was saying. Deloss teacher, Maggie realized, the knowledge flowing to her beca rehearse Delos knew it, and shewas in Deloss mind.This child is one of the Wild Powers, thet eacher said, and his voice was full of awe andfear. His misgiving hands smoothed out a brittlepiece of scroll. As soon asMaggie saw it she knew that the scroll was terribly old and had been keptin the twilit Kingdom for centuries, preserved hereeven when it was lost to the outside world.Four Wild Powers, the old man said, who willbe need at the millennium to save the world-or-to destroy it. The prophecy tells where they willcome from. And he readOne from the land of fags presbyopic forgotten One from the hearth which shut away holds the spark One from the Day World where two eyeball are watching One from the twilight to be one with the dark.,The child Delos looked around the circle of unappeasable faces, hearing the words but non understandingthem.The land of pooves, long forgotten, a womanwas saying. That must be the Dark Kingdom.Besides, weve seen what he can do, a big mansaid roughlyly. Hes a Wild Power, all right. The blue move is in his blood. Hes learned to use it too early, though he cant control it. See?He grabbed a small arm-the left one-and heldit up. It was writhe somehow, the fingers clawed and stiff, immobile.The little boy assay to pull his hand remote, but hewas too weak. The adults ignored him.The king wants us to find spells to hold thepower in, the woman said. Or hell damage himself permanently.Not to mention damaging us, the rough mansaid, and laughed harshly.The little boy sat stiff and motionless as theyhandled him uniform a doll. His golden look were dryand his small jaw was clenched with the effort notto give in to tears.Thats awful,Maggie said indignantly, aiming herthought at the Delos of the present. Its a hard way to grow up. Wasnt there anybody who cared about you? Your father?Goaway, he said. I dont need your sympathy.And your arm,Maggie said, ignoring the cold nihility of his thought. Is that what happens toitwhen you use the blue expel?He didnt answer, not in a thought directed ather. But another memory flashe d in the facets of a crystal, and Maggie found herself drawn into it.She saw a five-year-old Delos with his armwrapped in what looked comparable splints or a brace. Asshe looked at it, she knew it wasnt just a brace. It was make of spells and wards to confine the blue harass.This is it, the woman who had verbalize beforewas saying to the circle of men. We can controlhim completely.Are you authorized? You witches are careless sometimes. Youre sure he cant use it at all now? Theman who said it was tall, with a chilly, austereface-and yellow eyes exchangeable Deloss.Your father,Maggie said quizzically to Delos. And his name was Tormentil? But She couldnt go on, but she was thinking that he didntlook much the likes of a benignant father. He seemed just likethe others.Until I remove the wards, he cant use it at all.Im sure, majesty. The woman said the drop dead word in an eitherday tone, but Maggie felt a little shock.Hearing somebody get called majesty-it made him moreof a king , somehow.The longer theyre left on, the weaker hell be,the woman continued. And hecant take them offhimself. But I can, at any time And so hell still be useful as a weapon? Yes. But blood has to meld before he can use the blue fire.The king said brusquely, Show me.The woman murmured a few words and strippedthe brace off the boys arm. She took a knife fromher belt and with a quick, casual motion, like Maggies grandmother guttinga salmon, opened a gash on his wrist.Five-year-old Delos didnt flinch or make asound. His golden eyes were fixed on his fathers faceas blood dripped onto the floor.I dont think this is a good idea, the old teachersaid. The blue fire isnt meant to be used like this,and it damages his arm every time he does it=Now, the king interrupted, ignoring him andspeaking to the child for the first time. Show mehow strong you are, son. Turn the blue fire on He glanced up purposely at the teacher. Letssay-him.Majesty The old man gasped, backing againstthe wall.The gold en eyes were wide and afraid.Do it the king said sharply, and when the littleboy shook his head mutely, he closed his hand onone small shoulder. Maggie could see his fingerstighten painfully. Do what I tell you. Now Delos turned his wide golden eyes on the old man, who was now shrinking and babbling, his trembling hands held up as if to ward off a blow.The king changed his grip, lifted the boys arm.Now, threat NowBlue fire erupted. It poured in a continuousstream like the water from a high-power fire hose.It struck the old man and spreadeagled him againstthe wall, his eyes and mouth open with horror. And because there was no old man. There was only a shad owy silhouette made of ashes.Interesting, the king said, dropping the boysarm. His anger had disappeared as quicklyasithad come.Actually, I thought there would bemore power. I thought it might take out the wall.Give him time. The womans voice was slightlythick, and she was swallowing over and over.Well, no matter what, hell be use ful. The kingturned to look at the others in the room. Remember-all of you. A time of darkness is coming. Theend of the millennium means the end of the world.But whatever happens outside, this kingdom isgoing to survive.Throughout all of this, the little boy sat andstared at the place where the old man had been.His eyes were wide, the pupils huge and fixed. Hisface was white, but without expression.Maggie struggled to breathe.Thats-thats themost terrible thing Ive ever seen.She could barely get the words of her thought out. Theymade you kill your teacher-he made you do it. Yourfather. She didnt know what to say. Sheturned blindly, trying to find Delos himself in this strange landscape, trying to talk to him directly.She wanted to look at him, to hold him. To comfort him. Im so sinister. Imso sorry you had to grow uplike that.Dont be stupid,he said. I grew up to be strong.Thats what counts.You grew up without anyone loving you,Maggiesaid.He sent a thought like ice. Love is for weak people. Its a delusion. And it can be deadly.Maggie didnt know how to answer. She wanted to throw him. solely that stuff about the end of the millennium and the end of the world-what did that mean?Exactly what it sounded like,Delos said briefly. The prophecies are coming true. The world o f hu mans is about to end in blood and darkness. And then the darkness People are going to rule again.And thats why they turned a five-year-old into alethal weapon? Maggie wondered. The thoughtwasnt for Delos, but she could bump that he heard it.I am what I was meant to be,he said. And I dont want to be anything else.Are you sure?Maggie looked around. Althoughshe couldnt have described what she was doing, she knew what it was. She was looking forsomething something to prove to him A scene flashed in the crystal.The boy Delos was eight. He stood in front of apile of boulders, rocks the size of small cars. Hisfather stood behind him.NowAs soonasthe king spoke, the boy lifted his arm.Blue fire fl ashed. A boulder exploded, disintegrating into atoms.AgainAnother rock shattered.More power Youre not trying. Youre uselessThe good pile of boulders exploded. The bluefire kept streaming, taking out a stand of trees behind the boulders and crashing into the side of amountain. It chewed through the rock, meltingshale and granite like a flamethrower burning awooden door.The king smiled cruelly and slapped his son onthe back.Thats better.No. Thats horrible,Maggie told Delos. Thatswrong. This is what it should be like.And she sent to him images of her own family.Not that the Neelys were anything special. Theywere like anybody. They had fights, some of them more or less bad. But there were lots of good times, too, and that was what she showed him. She showed him her life herself.Laughingasher father frantically blew on a flaming marshmallow on some long-past campingtrip. Smelling turpentine and watching magical colors develop on canvasas her mother painted. Perch ing dangerously on th e handlebars of a bike while Miles pedaled behind her, then shrieking all theway down a hill. Waking up to a rough warmtongue licking her face, coal scuttle one eye to see Jake the Great Dane panting happily. Blowing out candles at a birthday party. Ambushing Miles from herdoorway with a heavy-duty water rifleWho is that?Delos asked. He had been thawingMaggie could touch sensation it. There were so many thingsin the memories that were strange to him yellowsunshine, modern houses, bicycles, machinerybut she could whole tone interest and wonder stir in himat the people.Until now, when she was showing him a sixteenyear-old Miles, a Miles who looked pretty muchlike the Miles of today.Thats Miles. Hes my brother. Hes eighteen and he just started college.Maggie paused, trying to feel what Delos was thinking. Hes the reason Im here.He got involved with this little girl called Sylvia-Ithinkshes a witch. And then he disappeared. I went tosee Sylvia, and the next thing I know Im waking up ina slave-traders cart. In a place I never knew existed.Delos said, I see.Delos, do you know him? Have you seen him be fore?Maggie tried to keep the question calm. She would have thought she could see anything thatDelos was thinking, that it would all be reflected inthe crystals around her, that there was cypher he could hide. But now suddenly she wasnt sure.Its best for you to leave that alone,Delos said.I cant,Maggie snapped back. Hes my brother If hes in publish I have to find him-I have to helphim. Thats what Ive been trying to explainto you. We help each other.Delos said, Why?Because we do. Because thats what people are supposed to do. And even you know that, somewhere down deep. You were trying to help me in my dreamShe could feel him pull away. Your dreams are just your fantasies.Maggie said flatly, No. Not this one. I had it before I met you.She could take to be more of it now. Here in his mind thedetailswere coming to her, all the things that had been unclear before. An d there was onlyone thing to do.She showed it to Delos.The mist, the write in code appearing, calling her name.The wonder and joy in his face when he caughtsight of her. The way his hands closed on hershoulders, so gently, and the look of inexpressibletenderness in his eyes.And then -I rememberMaggie said. Youtold meto look for a pass,underneath a rock thatlooked likea wave about to break You told me to get awayfromhere, to escape. AndthenShe remembered what had happened then, andfaltered.And then he had kissed her.She could feel it again, his breath a soft warmthon her cheek, and then the touch of his lips, just as soft. There had been so much in that kiss, somuch of himself revealed. It had been almost shy in its gentleness, but charged with a terrible passion, as if he had known it was the last kiss theywould ever share.It was so sad,Maggie said, faltering again.Not from embarrassment, but because she was suddenly filled with an intensity of emotion that fright ened her. I dont know what it meant, but it was so sad.Then, belatedly, she realized what was happeningwith Delos.He was agitated. Violently agitated. The crystalworld around Maggie was trembling with denialand fury-and fear.That wasnt me. Im not like that,he said in avoice that was like a sword made of ice.It was,she said, not harshly but quietly. I dont understand it, but it really was you. I dont understand any of this. But theres a connection betweenus. face up whats happening to us right now. Is thisnormal? Do you people always fall into each oth ers minds?Get outThe words were a shout that echoedaround Maggie from every surface. She could feel his anger it was huge, violent, like a primal storm. And she could feel the terror that was underneath it, and hear the word that he was thinking anddidnt want to think, that he was trying to dissemble and run away from.Soulmates.That was the word. Maggie couldsense what it meant. Two people connected, boundto each other forever, soul to soul, in a wa y thateven death couldnt break. Two souls that were destined for each other.Its a lie,Delos said fiercely. I dont believe in souls. I dont love anyone. And I dont have any feelingsAnd then the world broke apart.That was what it felt like. Suddenly, all aroundMaggie, the crystals were shatter and fracturing.Pieces were falling with the musical sound of ice.Nothing was stable, everything was turning to chaos.And then, so abruptly that she lost her breath,she was out of his mind.She was sitting on the ground in a small cave lit only by a dancing, flitter flame. Shadows wavered on the walls and ceiling. She was in her ownbody, and Delos was holding her in his arms.But even as she realized it, he pulled away and stood up. Even in the dimness she could see that his face was pale, his eyes fixed.As she got to her feet, she could see somethingelse, too. It was strange, but their minds were still connected, even though hed thrown her out of his world.And what she sawwas herself. Herselfthr ough his eyes.She saw someone who wasnt at all the frailblond princess type, not a bit languid and perfect and artificial. She saw a sturdy, rosy-brown girlwith a straight gaze. A girl with autumn-coloredhair, warm and vivid and real, and sorrel-coloredeyes. It was the eyes that caught her attention there was a clarity and honesty in them, a depth and spaciousness that made mere prettiness seem cheap.Maggie caught her breath. Do I look like that? she wondered dizzily. I cant. Id have noticed inthe mirror.But it was how he saw her. In his eyes, she wasthe only vibrant, living thing in a cold world of black and white. And she could feel the connectionbetween them tightening, drawing him toward her even as he tried to pull farther away.No.His voice was a bare whisper in the cave.Im not bound to you. I dont love you.Delos-I dont love anyone. I dont have feelings.Maggie shook her head wordlessly. She didnthave to speak, anyway. All the time he was tellingher how much he didnt love her, h e was moving closer to her, fighting it every inch.You mean nothing to me, he raged through clenched teeth. Nothing And then his face was inches away from hers, and she could see the flame burning in his golden eyes.Nothing, he whispered, and then his lipstouched hers.