Winterly (Dark Creatures Book 1), стр. 120
Milli’s sacrifice was now out of the question entirely. Gabriel would never sacrifice one of his own, not even for Markus, and especially not for Emma; Milli was after all now an unwitting member of his brood, thanks to William’s idiocy. No creature, save the triumvirate of Cardinals—Malach, Gabriel, and himself—was more valuable, more powerful, than a Valkolak. And Markus was almost certain that Malach would demand no less than a Valkolak prince in reparation. Something Gabriel and Marbod would never allow.
So what was to be done? Markus threw down the broken pen and sat back. Nothing. There was nothing to be done now except bide his time both with Emma and with Malach. He would set his watchmen to guard the former and to watch the latter, though the Nekromantis was as wily and evasive as any night crawler; so too were his slithery daughters. Whatever happened to Emma, the choice must be hers. No matter what the cost, she must be allowed to control her own future, even if that meant he was to be evicted from her life as easily as he had been cast out of his own chamber tonight. It was all he could do for her now, that and protect her from whatever distance she would allow. Hopefully his letter contained the words that had been so lacking from his tongue tonight. It was with hope that he folded the pages and sealed them, hope that she might some day forgive him his arrogance and pride.
A prickling sensation along his nape drew him suddenly from his letter and he swung around to glare out the window. It was not dawn peering in through the glazing but something no less invasive. Markus stalked to the window and used his keen night vision to scour the heavy darkness crouching beyond the glass with feline stealth. He smiled, sharp and threatening. Whatever—or whoever—was watching Winterthurse tonight, could watch in vain, for nothing could enter here without his invitation. And nothing would get by the wolves. Gabriel, Marbod, and Arminius had returned to their respective backwoods schlösser, but William and Nicholas were still haunting the moors. No serpentine little witch would get by them tonight.
With a humorless snort, he left the window. Perhaps he might somehow entreat Emma to lock herself behind these walls forever and save him the trouble of brooding after her like some lovelorn hound. And yet to cage her was impossible too. He sighed, deep and long. No, she was not his to possess; not anymore. He knew what he had to do.
Markus removed his signet ring, took up the sealed letter, and left his library to head upstairs.
Chapter Fifty-Six
The Cat and the Raven
Mina’s hackles were still raised in alarm when the master of Winterthurse left his library. His wings bristled loudly behind him and there was a letter clutched firmly in his white fingers. She’d camouflaged herself behind the drapes and had nearly died of fright when he’d come to the window, as though he’d sensed her watchful presence. But that was impossible. A witch’s aegis was all that stood between herself and her enemy’s wrath; if not for her mask of magic to disguise her scent, Markus would have torn her to shreds. Invisibility was a witch’s greatest defensive talent, and tonight she’d also daubed herself in Devil’s Bane for good measure.
Notwithstanding that little episode in the armory, as well as that little faux pas in Emma’s chamber when she’d been caught off guard by Victoria the night of the ball, Mina had been careful to stay invisible. She was just Milli’s obstreperous little cat and nothing more. The housekeeper had been the trickiest little devil of them all, yet Mina had managed to remain undetected even by that wily old tick. But tonight, when Markus had turned that diabolic smile towards the window, Mina had felt her organs wither. And then he’d left the window as unexpectedly as he’d come.
Her claws were still impaled in the hardwood as she listened to his retreating footfalls. She had known not an ounce of peace nor a moment of slumber since entering this hellish place, what with Gabriel and his black hounds in residence. Markus was monster enough without the added weight of his diabolical brother at his side. At the sound of a soft tap at the window, she nearly leapt out of her fur, her mind so consumed by the violence of those bestial violet eyes she had avoided above all others.
But it was only Ana. Gabriel, she reminded herself, had returned to his moldering mountain fastness. The raven peered down at her sister, small black eyes impatient and insistent.
Mina retracted her claws and glanced fearfully at the library door whither she knew she was bound to follow.
Again the glass clinked quietly beneath the black beak. What are you waiting for?
What indeed? Only the mad durst trod upon the heels of Death… Mina gave an uneasy swish of her tail, her courage flagging. Finally, she padded out into the corridor, if only to escape her sister’s pertinacious black glares. Her small paws were preternaturally still over the flags. It behooved her to keep a safe distance as she bent her course to follow the dragon. She streaked from one shadow to the next, pausing to listen every few feet.
He was on the stairhead now and headed back towards his bedchamber. All else was silent and there was no sign of the housekeeper or any of the other ghoulish servants. Most, if not all, the wights would be out hunting rats and guttersnipes on the wharves, or whatever vile things corpses were wont to slake their hunger on.