Lord of the Abyss - By Nalini Singh Page 0,50

pure in a way her father's magic never would be. "Jissa," she said, still thinking of death, "does the thought of the Always scare you?"

Jissa gave her a curious look. "Why would it? Happiness and golden magic, that is the Always. I would like to see it, yes, I would."

"Yes." Yet her kind friend remained trapped on this earth because of whatever it was the Blood Sorcerer had done to her when he'd killed her, stolen her life force. "Jissa...I'm sorry."

"Why?"

"You'll know one day." Until then, Liliana would steal a little more time with the first true friend she had ever had. "Here." She handed the brownie a funny-shaped nut. "It matches the rest of this castle's inhabitants."

The other woman laughed, but the sweet sound was drowned out by the roar of violent rage that came from within the castle. Placing the basket of unshelled nuts haphazardly on the ground, Liliana stood. "Micah."

"Liliana, don't!"

She didn't listen, running headlong toward the house. Huge hands clamped over her arms before she would've raced over the doorstep. Bard's eyes were liquid dark with sorrow, the shake of his head slow, so slow.

"Let me go." She forced herself to sound calm, though her blood thundered through her veins. "Please, Bard, let me go."

"Liliana." Jissa's breathless voice. "You mustn't, no, no. He is a monster, a terrible monster, when the curse is upon him."

Liliana snapped her head toward the brownie. "So am I, Jissa." She was the worst monster of all. "Tell Bard to release me."

"I - " The small woman squared her shoulders. "No, we will protect you."

"Then I'm sorry again, my friend." Liliana bit down hard on her lower lip, spilling blood into her mouth. Power flowed through her, vibrant and strong for not having been woken in days.

Lashing out with it, she broke Bard's hold, sent him swaying. She was gone before he could regain his footing, Jissa's cry echoing in her ears. Slamming the door behind herself, she pulled down the brace to lock it. None too soon. Bard's body crashed up against it a moment later, making the entire thing shake.

Knowing it would hold for now - hopefully giving Jissa enough time to stop Bard from attempting to follow - Liliana took a breath. "Where?" Her heart pounded like a drum in her chest, until she wasn't certain if she would hear the whispering ghosts.

A roar reverberated through the walls.

The feral power of it pushed her back a physical step before she shoved it off to run toward the sound as fast as her feet would carry her. The blood from her cut was beginning to slow, but she swiped a small ceremonial knife off the outer wall as she ran into the great hall, dropping it into the pocket of her green dress.

The hall was a place of splintering chaos.

Liliana couldn't believe the carnage - the massive dining table lay tipped on its side, a huge crack running down the middle, while most of the chairs were nothing more than piles of jagged firewood. Stepping around them with care since she wore only soft green slippers, she searched for the author of the devastation.

"Micah?" Pushing aside an overturned chair, she almost stepped onto the broken shards of what might've been a water pitcher. That was when she noticed the weapons embedded in the walls.

There were at least ten, all of them - large and small - having been punched about three inches into solid stone. And they were lined up in two neat rows... as if they'd been released from some enormous catapult. Her heart was in her throat now, but she wouldn't walk away, wouldn't leave him to this. "Micah?"

A snarl.

Whipping around her head, she stumbled and fell back against a chair that was somehow still upright. Only her grip on it kept her from crashing to the floor, onto the shards waiting below. Using that hold to steady herself, she scanned the room again. Curtains lay torn off the huge windows, tapestries had been shredded from the walls, and furniture destroyed. There was no place to hide.

A low growl, that of a beast ready to attack.

Mercy.

Swallowing, Liliana dared look up at the one place she hadn't searched. The ceiling.

He crouched along one massive beam, a great shaggy beast on four legs, his claws bigger than the sickles embedded in the wall. They flexed with each breath, his eyes trained on her. And those eyes, they were a murderous red, without any thought or sentience.

This, she understood on