Hidden Huntress
Page 135
There wasn’t nearly enough blood for that to be a risk, but I wrapped an arm around the woman to steady her anyway. Not for a minute did I believe Anushka had let her go so easily. This was a trap. “Who took you?” I demanded. “Was she alone?”
“A woman. She was alone, but she had a knife.” Her words were garbled with tears. “She cut me – I need help.”
Running footsteps came up from behind us, and I whirled around, ready to attack.
But it was only Sabine, her skirts pulled up to her knees. “Tristan,” she screamed when she saw us. “Get away from her!”
I looked back over my shoulder, sure an attack was coming, but the hallway was empty.
“It’s her!” Sabine slid to a stop a few paces from me. “Genevieve is Anushka!”
The truth of her words ran through me, and my first instinct was to shove Genevieve away from me, to bind her, to kill her, but then I remembered Cécile’s warning: One of our friends is foe. Trust no one. Had she meant Sabine?
I hesitated for a second, and Genevieve spoke. “Well now, this is a vexing development.” The steel of her claws bit deep into my neck, the metal burning and blood soaking into my collar. I shoved her away hard enough that she slammed into the wall, but she only laughed and said, “Bind the light.”
A vice far tighter than the steel of my father’s manacles clamped down on my power. Frozen, I struggled against the binding, but it was like fighting myself. It was fighting myself, because I realized that, just like Cécile had used my own magic to heal me, Anushka was using it to hold me in check. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t kill her with my bare hands.
I lunged, but the witch was already moving, dragging Sabine in front of her and holding a pistol to the girl’s head. “Now, now, Your Highness,” she said. “Do not be so hasty.”
She would not hesitate to kill Sabine, and without magic, there was no way to stop her other than acquiescing to her demands. Which was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Do you really believe her life is worth so much to me that I’d let you get away to save it?” I snapped, taking a step forward for every one she dragged Sabine back.
“I do,” she replied, blue eyes glittering. “But in case I’m wrong, I’ve another plan. Just in case.”
The hammer on a pistol clicked, and I went very still. Turning my head slightly, I saw the young man who had played the devil – Julian – was standing in the shadowy entrance to a room, his weapon leveled at my head.
She sighed softly. “Five hundred years have passed, and you trolls still have not learned.”
“Learned what?”
Anushka smiled. “That you are not invincible. These weapons did not exist when I lived amongst your kind, but knowing what I know, I’m confident that even one of your power will not easily survive a bullet to the head.”
I did not doubt she was correct. “Then what are you waiting for,” I said. “Do it.”
“Not just yet,” she said. “I need Cécile first. In.” She jerked her chin at the room behind me.
I didn’t move.
Anushka pressed her revolver hard against Sabine’s head. “If her life means nothing to you, then I see no point in keeping her alive.”
Sabine’s eyes met mine, and while there was no mistaking the fear in them, they were dry. Determined. She gave a slight shake of her head.
There was a good chance I could move fast enough to disarm Julian and save myself. But there was no chance of saving both of us. I’d told Cécile that rightly or wrongly, some lives were worth more than others. By all the rules of logic, what was Sabine’s life worth compared to mine? What consequences would result from her death in comparison to mine?
But all that logic seemed meaningless.
“Too late you realize the cost of allying yourself with a troll,” Anushka said softly into Sabine’s ear. “They will protect you only when there is no cost to themselves. They have no souls.”
“Says the black-hearted bitch who murders her own children.” Sabine lifted her chin. “Don’t listen to her, Tristan. Kill her.”
Anushka tsked softly. “Cécile will never forgive you for killing her mother. Or for letting her dear friend die.”
I inhaled, then exhaled slowly. Cécile had discovered Genevieve and Anushka were one and the same. Had discovered it and hadn’t told me, which was no small act of will given the compulsion she was under to destroy the witch. It was something only possible if a greater emotion ruled her actions.
Love.
Though Genevieve had done nothing to deserve it, I knew my wife desperately loved her mother and that she’d kept the information from me to protect her. Cécile was coming our direction, her mind desperate and wild with fear. But was it fear for what Anushka might do to me or of what I might do to her mother? “If I do what you ask, will you let Sabine go?” I’d keep her friend safe – that much I could do.
“No,” Anushka replied, a smile creeping onto her lips. “But I won’t put a bullet in her skull.”
I didn’t trust her for a second, but what choice did I have? “Fine.” Turning slowly so as not to alarm the devil standing behind me, I walked into the room, ignoring the pistol that remained leveled at my head.
Anushka pushed Sabine in after us, kicking the wooden door shut behind her. The room was a set of living quarters, well furnished and unremarkable with the exception of the heavy chains set deep into the thick stone of the walls and floor. Anushka shoved Sabine. The girl tripped over the heavy skirts and would have fallen if I hadn’t caught her.
“A woman. She was alone, but she had a knife.” Her words were garbled with tears. “She cut me – I need help.”
Running footsteps came up from behind us, and I whirled around, ready to attack.
But it was only Sabine, her skirts pulled up to her knees. “Tristan,” she screamed when she saw us. “Get away from her!”
I looked back over my shoulder, sure an attack was coming, but the hallway was empty.
“It’s her!” Sabine slid to a stop a few paces from me. “Genevieve is Anushka!”
The truth of her words ran through me, and my first instinct was to shove Genevieve away from me, to bind her, to kill her, but then I remembered Cécile’s warning: One of our friends is foe. Trust no one. Had she meant Sabine?
I hesitated for a second, and Genevieve spoke. “Well now, this is a vexing development.” The steel of her claws bit deep into my neck, the metal burning and blood soaking into my collar. I shoved her away hard enough that she slammed into the wall, but she only laughed and said, “Bind the light.”
A vice far tighter than the steel of my father’s manacles clamped down on my power. Frozen, I struggled against the binding, but it was like fighting myself. It was fighting myself, because I realized that, just like Cécile had used my own magic to heal me, Anushka was using it to hold me in check. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t kill her with my bare hands.
I lunged, but the witch was already moving, dragging Sabine in front of her and holding a pistol to the girl’s head. “Now, now, Your Highness,” she said. “Do not be so hasty.”
She would not hesitate to kill Sabine, and without magic, there was no way to stop her other than acquiescing to her demands. Which was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Do you really believe her life is worth so much to me that I’d let you get away to save it?” I snapped, taking a step forward for every one she dragged Sabine back.
“I do,” she replied, blue eyes glittering. “But in case I’m wrong, I’ve another plan. Just in case.”
The hammer on a pistol clicked, and I went very still. Turning my head slightly, I saw the young man who had played the devil – Julian – was standing in the shadowy entrance to a room, his weapon leveled at my head.
She sighed softly. “Five hundred years have passed, and you trolls still have not learned.”
“Learned what?”
Anushka smiled. “That you are not invincible. These weapons did not exist when I lived amongst your kind, but knowing what I know, I’m confident that even one of your power will not easily survive a bullet to the head.”
I did not doubt she was correct. “Then what are you waiting for,” I said. “Do it.”
“Not just yet,” she said. “I need Cécile first. In.” She jerked her chin at the room behind me.
I didn’t move.
Anushka pressed her revolver hard against Sabine’s head. “If her life means nothing to you, then I see no point in keeping her alive.”
Sabine’s eyes met mine, and while there was no mistaking the fear in them, they were dry. Determined. She gave a slight shake of her head.
There was a good chance I could move fast enough to disarm Julian and save myself. But there was no chance of saving both of us. I’d told Cécile that rightly or wrongly, some lives were worth more than others. By all the rules of logic, what was Sabine’s life worth compared to mine? What consequences would result from her death in comparison to mine?
But all that logic seemed meaningless.
“Too late you realize the cost of allying yourself with a troll,” Anushka said softly into Sabine’s ear. “They will protect you only when there is no cost to themselves. They have no souls.”
“Says the black-hearted bitch who murders her own children.” Sabine lifted her chin. “Don’t listen to her, Tristan. Kill her.”
Anushka tsked softly. “Cécile will never forgive you for killing her mother. Or for letting her dear friend die.”
I inhaled, then exhaled slowly. Cécile had discovered Genevieve and Anushka were one and the same. Had discovered it and hadn’t told me, which was no small act of will given the compulsion she was under to destroy the witch. It was something only possible if a greater emotion ruled her actions.
Love.
Though Genevieve had done nothing to deserve it, I knew my wife desperately loved her mother and that she’d kept the information from me to protect her. Cécile was coming our direction, her mind desperate and wild with fear. But was it fear for what Anushka might do to me or of what I might do to her mother? “If I do what you ask, will you let Sabine go?” I’d keep her friend safe – that much I could do.
“No,” Anushka replied, a smile creeping onto her lips. “But I won’t put a bullet in her skull.”
I didn’t trust her for a second, but what choice did I have? “Fine.” Turning slowly so as not to alarm the devil standing behind me, I walked into the room, ignoring the pistol that remained leveled at my head.
Anushka pushed Sabine in after us, kicking the wooden door shut behind her. The room was a set of living quarters, well furnished and unremarkable with the exception of the heavy chains set deep into the thick stone of the walls and floor. Anushka shoved Sabine. The girl tripped over the heavy skirts and would have fallen if I hadn’t caught her.
