Sweep of the Blade (Innkeeper Chronicles #4) - Ilona Andrews Page 0,51
with this? It was like she couldn’t stop. “I’m sure some of the ladies within the bridal party would be intrigued if properly motivated. If I get in trouble, I’ll just bite my lip seductively and twirl my hair…”
“Maud!” he snapped.
“You know I have to go,” she told him. “They are planning something, and they think I’m both too stupid and too weak to be a threat. They count on me being a source of information.”
“I’m going to keep a shuttle on standby,” Arland said. “If something happens…”
“I will call you for assistance. Meanwhile, it would put my mind at ease if you would keep an eye on Helen.”
“I will,” he said.
“Thank you,” she told him.
“A human goes off to walk the Lantern Vigil, while my cousin the Marshal stays home to babysit,” Karat said. “I realize now why I have never fallen in love. I’m entirely too sane for that nonsense.”
The steep path climbed along the side of the mountain, barely a foot wide. Maud shifted her grip on the slender staff in her hand. The lantern hanging from the staff’s forked end swayed, the orange flames dancing behind the translucent glass. To the right of her, the mountain rose, the gray rock scarred by rain and stained by patches of green and turquoise vegetation that somehow found purchase in the near-sheer cliff face. To the left, a dizzying drop to the rocks and trees far below promised a few seconds of terror before a gruesome death. Back on Earth there would have been guardrails and signs at the bottom of the path warning visitors to be careful and that they ascended at their own peril. Vampires didn’t bother. If one of them was dumb enough to fall off the trail, they would consider their death natural selection.
In front of Maud a procession of women walked, each carrying a lantern on a staff. More women followed. They stretched along the path, twenty in all, anonymous in their identical white robes, their heads hidden by wide hoods. The gentle tinkling of the bells from the bride’s staff floated on the breeze. Invisible insects buzzed in the crevices, reminding Maud of the cicadas from Dina’s garden back home, at their parents’ inn that no longer existed. The air smelled of strange flowers and potent herbs.
Maud kept walking, her body unusually light and slightly jittery, as if she’d had too much coffee. She had to fight the urge to skip. The booster Karat brought her had worked wonders. She would have at least four, maybe five hours of this excited state, and then she would crash. They had been walking for the better part of an hour. Since the tree was about five miles up the trail, they had to be getting close. Plenty of time to finish the hike and get off the mountain.
Maud stared at Onda’s back in front of her. She had expected them to make some sort of move by now. Conversation in low voices was permitted during the Vigil, but so far, they made no move to engage her.
As if on cue, Seveline cleared her throat behind her, the words in Ancestor Vampiric soft, barely a whisper. “We could just push her off this path.”
Maud kept walking. If Seveline did push her, she didn’t have many options.
Ahead Onda sighed. “And how would we explain that?”
“Clumsy human fell.”
“No.”
“I can make it look like an accident.”
“Seveline, find another way to amuse yourself. We can’t risk him withdrawing from the wedding to mourn her.”
Figured. Maud hid a smile. They needed Arland for something. The question was, what?
“How far is this damn tree?” Seveline murmured in Common Vampiric.
“Seveline,” Onda hissed. “Be respectful. Kavaline is your cousin.”
“Second cousin,” Seveline murmured.
This called for a snicker. Maud made a light coughing noise.
“Did you have a Lantern Vigil for your wedding, Lady Maud?” Seveline asked.
Dangerous territory. She didn’t just have the Lantern Vigil, she had the Flower Lament, and the Cathedral Fasting, and every other archaic ritual House Ervan could dig up. Admitting all that would make her appear less clueless, which Maud couldn’t afford.
“To be honest, I barely remember any of it,” Maud said, trying to make her voice sincere and slightly sad. “It was very different from human weddings. I lost track of it all at some point and it became a blur.”
“Sounds like a typical wedding,” Onda said.
“I’m not planning on getting married for a while,” Seveline announced.
“Who would be fool enough to marry you?” Onda muttered.