Darkest Knight. Karen Duvall

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СКАЧАТЬ Aydin came to me. His gait was brisk and I realized then that he had no plan of stopping. That’s what had happened inside Geraldine’s tomb when Aydin’s ghostly body had merged with mine, his thoughts blending with my own before putting me to sleep. He’d had to do it to prevent me from accidentally spilling the secrets Geraldine had told us to our Vyantara master. I doubted sleep was Aydin’s intention this time and so I welcomed the merge. I needed to feel him close and having him inside my mind was more than okay with me.

       I closed my eyes, sensing his presence flow into me like water through a stream. My pulse quickened, my skin flushed with heat, and an electric buzz skimmed down my spine. Aydin and I were now one.

      I’ve missed you, I told him in mind.

      I missed you too, he said, and my heart melted because I could hear his voice, his human voice, inside my head.

      You’re not mad at me anymore? I asked.

      I was never mad at you, Chalice. He paused. I was hurt. You know how much Shojin meant to me.

      Of course I know. His sacrifice was… I couldn’t find the words.

      He was a selfless creature. I tried to tell you that.

      He certainly had and I’d never believed him until it was too late. But even then, I doubt anything could have stopped Shojin from giving up his heart.

       I inhaled Aydin’s familiar scent and it comforted me. Eyes still closed, it was like being in a lucid dream. I stood, semiconscious, on the snowy road. Scents of fresh pine and new-fallen snow filled my nostrils. Then I imagined him big as life right in front of me.

       My head felt suddenly too light and I dreamed of Aydin reaching out with human hands to catch me before I could fall.

      You look…human.

      It’s your imagination. You’re seeing me as you remember. His almond-shaped eyes captivated me, and they crinkled in the corners when he smiled. I knew that smile. I’m inside your head right now. At least this way I can talk to you without snarls and grunts.

      He made a good point. Visualizing him like this was as close as I could get to being with him for real. I reached out to touch him and my fingers grazed the rough cloth of his jean jacket like the one he’d worn when we’d shared our first kiss. That was when we said goodbye at the airport. I never saw him human again after that.

      Don’t you want to come back? I asked.

       He heaved a sigh and closed his eyes. I’ve been thinking long and hard about that. It wouldn’t be right for Shojin to have died in vain. Of course I want to come back. I need you.

       Butterflies danced in my belly. He was about to say yes. So you’ll eat the heart?

      He winced. That sounds so…barbaric.

      I know.

       Aydin shook his head. I can’t. Not yet.

       My heartbeat slowed. Why not?

       You and the few sisters you have left could use a big, ugly immortal gargoyle to your advantage.

      Merging with my mind had allowed him to scan my thoughts, which saved me the time of explaining everything about the murders. He now knew as much as I did. Once he became human, he could help me train the squires to use charms for self-protection and lower their risks of getting killed.

      I can still help train the squires, he said.

      Not if you’re on the opposite side of the wards guarding the house. As a gargoyle, you can’t cross.

      He studied me. Convince your grandmother to take them down. I’ll guard the house. Guarding houses is what gargoyles were originally meant to do before they were turned into assassins.

      I shook my head. That will never happen. Angels and gargoyles have been enemies since the beginning of time. It will take more than begging to make my grandparents, not to mention the rest of the Arelim, change their minds.

      He shrugged. Then we’ll find another way.

       I felt a pout coming on. I already know another way.Change back. Be the warrior knight protector you used to be.

       And still am. In this dream we shared, he pulled me into a hug. As long as I’m like this, I’m stronger and more intimidating to the bad guys.

       Was it selfish of me to want him the way he used to be? Maybe. I’d been waiting over a month to change him back, so another month wouldn’t kill me. But not having his protection could kill my sister knights.

       Merging our minds like this was so intimate it made my head spin. I’d never felt this dizzy with him before, but we’d never stayed joined this long, either. That’s when I realized I wasn’t the giddy, swept-off-my-feet kind of dizzy. I couldn’t breathe.

       Aydin yanked his spirit out of me so fast that it felt like part of my soul had gone with him. I stood bereft in the icy night without Aydin’s warmth. And without oxygen.

       My ears rang with a sudden barrage of shouts coming from the house. One shout sounded louder than the others, and I recognized it as Rafe’s. I peered through glazed eyes to see Rafe charge at Aydin, who was now in physical gargoyle form. His leathery wings spread wide and a violent hiss spewed from his fanged mouth as Rafe sprouted wings of his own. He shed his human form in one great burst of silver sparks and dived toward Aydin.

       I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe. I lay on the frozen ground like a gasping fish out of water. My eyes watered, but I still had vision enough to see the cloaked figure standing by the side of the road a hundred yards away.

       I pointed and struggled to send Rafe a mental message, but he was too busy trying to take down the one person who might save us all.

       Hands were holding me, trying to calm me, but desperation had me flailing to signal that the murderer was mere footsteps away. Couldn’t they see it? A black cloak fluttered around the shadowed face of whoever was trying to kill me. The strength of this creature’s power convinced me I should be dead by now. But it was toying with me, studying me. Clearly it wasn’t finished with me yet.

       The figure appeared slender, almost skeletal, as a breeze pressed its robes tight against its body. That’s when I saw the curves. It was a woman.

       I jerked a look at the winged warriors who battled soundlessly in a hovered position above the road. Angel and gargoyle wings beat the snow into blizzardlike flurries. Neither could be killed, so if someone didn’t stop them, their pointless fight would last until the end of time.

       I saw Aydin try to yank free of Rafe’s powerful grasp. Not to escape, but to get at the woman on the road. From the look of intensity in his eyes, I knew he’d seen her, too.

       Air suddenly whooshed into my lungs. I gulped it in, the dry cold making me cough as the top of my head felt ready to explode. I blinked in the woman’s direction. She was gone.

       My grandfather wrapped his arms around me in a fierce embrace. “Thank God we have you back,” he said into my hair. I felt his tears wet on my face. He’d thought I was dying.

       My grandmother was already on her feet and stomping СКАЧАТЬ