standing there, watching her. Da’ru’s hand went up suddenly to Kate’s throat, and Kate could feel her own energy draining down into the circle as Da’ru channeled it out of her, weakening her. Soon it was hard to move . . . hard to breathe.
“Listen to me,” demanded Da’ru. “Your life belongs to me now. Those people are going to die, and when they do, you will use my blood and bind every one of their souls to me. The council is watching. It is time for me to claim my place in history, and you are going to do exactly as I say.”
Da’ru saw her looking over to Silas, and she smiled darkly. “Silas is not your ally, Kate. Men like him have no need for allies. You have witnessed the terror he can create and the respect he commands. With an army of people like Silas by my side, Albion will no longer need to hide in the dark. We shall conquer our enemies, make every one of them suffer, and then we shall crush them one by one. You will help me do this, Kate. Together we will make this country live again.”
Kate’s eyes felt heavy and the screams of the dead spun deafeningly around her. She could see Da’ru’s madness in her face, and struggling to take one last full breath, Kate spoke as firmly as she could. “I won’t do anything for you,” she said. “Albion doesn’t need more soldiers or more war. It needs to be protected from people like you.”
Da’ru’s face darkened and she threw Kate to the ground.
Kate’s head struck stone and pain exploded behind her eyes. Then, like a match being struck inside her mind, her instincts took over. The mist of the half-life lifted as her eyes were suddenly able to filter it out and she saw something within it that Da’ru had not seen: the current of death moving swiftly toward them, like a silvery reflection flickering through the air.
“You have two paths ahead of you,” said Da’ru, standing over Kate, oblivious to the danger so close by. “You will join me. Or you will join them.”
The shades screamed again. Something moved behind Da’ru, and a pair of solid, living arms wrapped firmly around her neck.
“Get away from her!”
Edgar had left the safety of the inner circle and was pulling on Da’ru as hard as he could, trying to drag her away from Kate. He knew about the dangers of the veil, but he was there anyway, refusing to let Kate fight alone. The shades circled above him as Da’ru grabbed his hand and twisted him away. Then she forced him to the ground and bent over him, drawing a slim silver blade from her sleeve and pressing it against his neck.
“That is the last time you will disturb me, boy,” she said.
The current of death was closing in. It was just a few inches away from Kate when she gathered the very last of her weakening strength and grabbed hold of Da’ru’s dress, pulling her from Edgar long enough for him to roll out of her reach and back into the safety of the inner circle. She dragged as hard as she could until Da’ru turned to face her, and she managed to catch hold of her wrist instead.
“What are you doing?” cried Da’ru, but it was too late.
Her eyes widened as the current of death washed over Kate and then came straight for Da’ru, spreading through her body and rippling against her face. Kate took one last look at Edgar as the warm touch of death spread into her, making her body feel light, safe, and free. Then she closed her eyes and, with one final breath, she let the current take her.
Chapter 21
Death
Kate felt warm and peaceful. Time stretched and sounds faded into silence as her thoughts traveled deep into the veil, slowly leaving her life behind. She could feel the gentle emptiness of the current spreading around her, but there was no pain, no struggle, no thought beyond the certainty that what was happening was right. The current could have carried her forever and she would have been completely at peace.
But there, in the midst of it all, something distracted her.
Da’ru was beside her, battling against death, fighting against it with all her strength, so desperate was she to return to life. Kate tried to forget her and let her mind become empty once again, but then something happened that she did not expect. Something