Bitter Night by Diana Pharaoh Francis Read Free Book Online Page B

more argument. Alexander stepped out of the room, shutting the doors behind him. Kev sat at his desk.

    “She wants you,” Alexander told the Tatane faery, and then strode out into the gallery.

    He felt as if a trap were closing around him, and the need to claw himself free was overwhelming. Except he could not see the trap nor the invisible enemy that breathed hot across his skin. The end of the world? What did that mean? And how was he going to protect Selange from it?

    SELANGE SENT FOR HIM AT DUSK. SHE HAD CHANGED clothing, wearing a fitted black skirt to her knees and a high-necked, long-sleeved jacket with a teardrop cutout that was deeply revealing. A ruby pendant rested between her breasts. Anyone else might not have noticed the slightly gaunt look of her face, the haggard slope of her shoulders, or the slight tremble in her hands. But Alexander had known her for more than a century, and he could read her well enough to know when she had tested her magical limits. On opening a message? Or had it been the contents that had thrown her?

    “You are well?” he asked, though he knew it would annoy her, and more than a little because it would.

    She waved the question away, sitting on the corner of her desk. “I have sent my Sunspears after the Hag. It is my hope they can recover her staff. It was the goal of the redcaps.”

    “What would they want with it?” he asked, and was surprised when she answered.

    Her lips tightened. “Someone sent them to get it. They would not’or could not’say who that was.”

    He could guess. Redcaps, like angels, could only be controlled by someone with a lot of power’much more than a mere witch, even one as strong as Selange. And at least one of them had taken a special interest in her. He felt like the ground was shifting beneath him and he was sliding off the edge of the world. He was entirely in the dark about who or what might be behind it. Damn Selange for her secrets! She knew what was happening, and she had known for a while, and yet she had not said a word to him. How was he supposed to keep her safe?

    She began to speak again, shocking him. How afraid did she have to be to give up information she considered no one else’s business? That sent a chill of fear burrowing deep inside Alexander. She was truly afraid, and that meant things were much worse than he imagined. And he imagined pretty well.

    “After I questioned the redcaps, I spent some time researching today. Some legends say that the staff of a Blue Hag can control the destiny of humans. It can also control weather and even the shape of the land. Any of those things would be a power worth having, especially now. And unlike her hailstones, her staff can be used by anyone who has possession of it. I want her staff. This is the time of the year when she’s weakest, and it is possible I can succeed where the redcaps failed.”

    She rolled the ruby pendant between her thumb and forefinger thoughtfully, as if considering saying more. Alexander kept his mouth clamped tight. One word from him and she might shut down.

    “I believe the Hag gave the intruder Prime a hailstone in return for her sacrifice in feeding the Hag fresh blood. I want it. Toward that end, I will issue a challenge at Conclave. The Prime trespassed in my territory, and it is my right. Instead of the usual contest of arms, I will choose one of endurance. The winning witch will take possession of the losing Shadowblade.”

    She rested the tips of her fingers together, her lips pursing. “I can be very creative with pain. I do not think this Prime will last long beneath my ministrations. But no matter how long she holds on, you must hold out longer. Do not fail me, Alexander.”

    “And if she has given the hailstone to her witch?”

    “She will still be useful to me. I will make her tell us her witch’s weaknesses, and you will hunt her down and retrieve the hailstone.” Selange’s lips clamped together a moment, her eyes flattening.