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.He had lost his flat-brimmed hat and agood chunk of his composure.He kept his Book of Names clutched tightly to his chest.Behind him,flames climbed the walls and ate through the ceiling, consuming hungrily.His strange, gray eyes burnedwith the intensity of the fire he turned his back on, reflecting the mix of anger, frustration, anddisappointment he was battling.John Ross and Nest Freemark had been much stronger and more daring than he had anticipated.Hecould not believe they d had the temerity to come for him, much less the courage to attack in spite ofsuch formidable odds.It wasn t the loss of Twitch and Penny and most probably the ur droch thatbothered him.They had all been expendable from the beginning.It was his loss of control over thesituation.It was the effrontery Ross and Nest Freemark had displayed in attacking him when he hadbelieved them so thoroughly under his thumb.He prided himself on being careful and thorough, on nevergetting surprised, and the night s events had knocked his smoothly spinning world right out of its orbit.His seamed face tightened.There was no help for it now.The best he could do was to set things rightagain.He would have to make certain that Nest Freemark, if she was still alive, did not stay that way.Then he would have to find the gypsy morph and, at the very least, put an end to any possibility that itsmagic might one day serve the Word.When he reached the top of the basement stairs, he paused.It was brightly lit below, but devoid ofmovement and sound.Whatever was down there that was still alive was keeping very quiet.Then heheard someone stirring, heard a child s voice, and knew they had not escaped him.Footsteps Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlapproached the stairwell, and he moved swiftly back into the shadows.When he saw Nest Freemark atthe bottom of the stairs, he backed into the hall.Where to deal with her? She would attempt to slip outthe back, of course, bringing the children with her.It was the children she would think of first, not Ross.It was the children she had come to save, surmising correctly that waiting to make any kind of trade forthe morph would get them all killed.She was intelligent and resourceful.It was too bad she wasn t more her father s daughter.In all theyears he had worked in the service of the Void, he had never come across anyone like her.He sighed wearily.He would wait for her outside, he decided, where he would put an end to her forgood.When she emerged onto the back porch, he was standing in the shadows by the hedgerow across theway.He could see her clearly in the light of the flames.She carried the little girl in her arms, and thesylvan rode her shoulder.There was no sign of the boy.When she came down the porch stairs, he stepped out to confront her. Miss Freemark! he called out sharply, bringing her head around. Don t be so quick to leave! You stillhave something that belongs to me! She stopped at the bottom of the steps and stared at him wordlessly.She didn t panic.She didn t turnback or try to move away.She just stood there, holding her ground. We re finished, you and I, Miss Freemark, he said, coming forward a few steps, closing the distancebetween them. The game is over.There s no one left but us. He paused. You did destroy theur droch, didn t you? Her nod of acquiescence was barely discernible.She seemed to be trying to make up her mind aboutsomething. Congratulations, he offered. I wouldn t have thought it possible.The ur droch was virtuallyindestructible.So that accounts for everyone, doesn t it? Mr.Ross disposed of Twitch and Penny, andthey disposed of Mr.Ross and the deputy sheriff.That leaves just us. To her credit, she didn t react visibly to his words.She just stood there, silent and watchful.He didn tlike it that she was so unmoved, so calm.She was made of fire and raw emotion, and she should beresponding more strongly than this. Think how much simpler it would have been if you d listened that first day when I asked for your help. He sighed. You were so stubborn, and it has cost you so much.Now here we are, right back where westarted.Let s try it again, shall we, one last time? Give me what I want.Give me the gypsy morph so thatI can be out of your life forever! The faintest of smiles crossed her lips. Here s a piece of irony for you, Mr.Gask.You ve had what youwanted all night, and you didn t realize it.It s been right under your nose.Little John was the gypsymorph.That boy was what you were looking for.In his last transformation before coming here, that swhat he became.How about that, Mr.Gask? Findo Gask quit smiling. You re lying, Miss Freemark. She shook her head. You know I m not.You can tell [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.He had lost his flat-brimmed hat and agood chunk of his composure.He kept his Book of Names clutched tightly to his chest.Behind him,flames climbed the walls and ate through the ceiling, consuming hungrily.His strange, gray eyes burnedwith the intensity of the fire he turned his back on, reflecting the mix of anger, frustration, anddisappointment he was battling.John Ross and Nest Freemark had been much stronger and more daring than he had anticipated.Hecould not believe they d had the temerity to come for him, much less the courage to attack in spite ofsuch formidable odds.It wasn t the loss of Twitch and Penny and most probably the ur droch thatbothered him.They had all been expendable from the beginning.It was his loss of control over thesituation.It was the effrontery Ross and Nest Freemark had displayed in attacking him when he hadbelieved them so thoroughly under his thumb.He prided himself on being careful and thorough, on nevergetting surprised, and the night s events had knocked his smoothly spinning world right out of its orbit.His seamed face tightened.There was no help for it now.The best he could do was to set things rightagain.He would have to make certain that Nest Freemark, if she was still alive, did not stay that way.Then he would have to find the gypsy morph and, at the very least, put an end to any possibility that itsmagic might one day serve the Word.When he reached the top of the basement stairs, he paused.It was brightly lit below, but devoid ofmovement and sound.Whatever was down there that was still alive was keeping very quiet.Then heheard someone stirring, heard a child s voice, and knew they had not escaped him.Footsteps Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.htmlapproached the stairwell, and he moved swiftly back into the shadows.When he saw Nest Freemark atthe bottom of the stairs, he backed into the hall.Where to deal with her? She would attempt to slip outthe back, of course, bringing the children with her.It was the children she would think of first, not Ross.It was the children she had come to save, surmising correctly that waiting to make any kind of trade forthe morph would get them all killed.She was intelligent and resourceful.It was too bad she wasn t more her father s daughter.In all theyears he had worked in the service of the Void, he had never come across anyone like her.He sighed wearily.He would wait for her outside, he decided, where he would put an end to her forgood.When she emerged onto the back porch, he was standing in the shadows by the hedgerow across theway.He could see her clearly in the light of the flames.She carried the little girl in her arms, and thesylvan rode her shoulder.There was no sign of the boy.When she came down the porch stairs, he stepped out to confront her. Miss Freemark! he called out sharply, bringing her head around. Don t be so quick to leave! You stillhave something that belongs to me! She stopped at the bottom of the steps and stared at him wordlessly.She didn t panic.She didn t turnback or try to move away.She just stood there, holding her ground. We re finished, you and I, Miss Freemark, he said, coming forward a few steps, closing the distancebetween them. The game is over.There s no one left but us. He paused. You did destroy theur droch, didn t you? Her nod of acquiescence was barely discernible.She seemed to be trying to make up her mind aboutsomething. Congratulations, he offered. I wouldn t have thought it possible.The ur droch was virtuallyindestructible.So that accounts for everyone, doesn t it? Mr.Ross disposed of Twitch and Penny, andthey disposed of Mr.Ross and the deputy sheriff.That leaves just us. To her credit, she didn t react visibly to his words.She just stood there, silent and watchful.He didn tlike it that she was so unmoved, so calm.She was made of fire and raw emotion, and she should beresponding more strongly than this. Think how much simpler it would have been if you d listened that first day when I asked for your help. He sighed. You were so stubborn, and it has cost you so much.Now here we are, right back where westarted.Let s try it again, shall we, one last time? Give me what I want.Give me the gypsy morph so thatI can be out of your life forever! The faintest of smiles crossed her lips. Here s a piece of irony for you, Mr.Gask.You ve had what youwanted all night, and you didn t realize it.It s been right under your nose.Little John was the gypsymorph.That boy was what you were looking for.In his last transformation before coming here, that swhat he became.How about that, Mr.Gask? Findo Gask quit smiling. You re lying, Miss Freemark. She shook her head. You know I m not.You can tell [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]