Unhallowed (Rath and Rune #1) - Jordan L. Hawk Page 0,74
to free you and Noct of your accursed blood, and you can go on your way.”
Ves didn’t believe that for a minute. But saying so would do him no good at the moment, so he merely asked, “And the comet? What’s special about that?”
“The books were made the last time the comet and the earth danced together. We believe—though we cannot be sure—that this second pass will awaken them to even greater power, while weakening the traps around them.” He looked thoughtful. “Which could make finding the others easier. The destruction they’re certain to cause will hopefully lead us to them. But that is a task for another day.”
Gods of the wood. “I see.”
“But enough. Time grows short.” Fagerlie rose to his feet. “Let’s pay your brother a visit.”
The attic room held in the heat of the day, but at least it wasn’t yet summer’s unbearable stuffiness. Fagerlie had provided a bookcase filled with various popular titles and a stack of magazines, plus a bed that was far more comfortable than anything they’d grown up with. Still, Ves’s heart contracted to see Noct’s accommodations. His brother had been living up here, in relative squalor, while he’d been in and out of the Rath family home: enjoying dinner and conversation, feeling acceptance. More than acceptance, in Sebastian’s case.
Noct sat on the floor, propped against the bed, a book in his lone human hand when they entered. He glanced up—and a look of joy transformed his features when he saw Ves.
“You’ve done it?” he asked, eagerness shining from his eyes. Unlike Ves, he couldn’t disguise them as human. Noct’s goat eyes were an eerie, pale blue, a startling contrast against his olive skin and black hair. Stunted horns arched amidst the dark curls, and tentacles thrashed beneath the rough smock he wore to conceal most of his form.
The thought of letting down his little brother was like swallowing glass. He’d had such hopes…but now they were dust.
Fagerlie hovered by the doorway. Ves crossed the room and sat by Noct. They hugged, and Ves breathed deeply of Noct’s scent: deep forests and musk.
“Not yet,” he said. “It’s a little more complicated than I thought it would be.”
Noct pulled back, not far, just enough to see Ves’s face. “Is everything all right?”
Ves took a deep breath. “Everything is fine. I think Mr. Fagerlie will be pleased with the results.”
It wasn’t a code, exactly. More a certain way of saying things they’d developed since early childhood. Growing up with their volatile mother had taught them that speaking openly of many things would result only in punishment. But there were still ways to communicate, even in front of hostile ears.
“I’ve been working hard,” Ves said, and every word whispered of old scars. “And I just wanted you to know I’m focused completely on our goal. I’ll clear the way for you, brother.”
Noct’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. “I understand.” Some of the many tentacles slipped from beneath his smock and gripped Ves’s forearm. “I can always count on you to do the right thing in the end.”
“How has your stay with Mr. Fagerlie been?”
Noct smiled. Not his real smile, but a tight, false one. “Very interesting. I’ve been reading a new novel: Lord Loveland Discovers America. Have you read it, Mr. Fagerlie?”
Fagerlie stirred. “I prefer the classics of literature.”
“It’s about an Englishman looking to marry an American heiress,” Noct said. “Normally I prefer stories about soldiers, but I’m certain about this one. I read all the way to chapter three by yesterday morning, and five by nightfall.”
Vesper nodded his understanding. “It sounds captivating. You’ll have to tell me more when I return tonight.”
“Speaking of which,” Fagerlie said, not bothering to hide his impatience, “shouldn’t you be going, Vesper? You don’t have a great deal of time left.”
Ves nodded. “Yes.”
He followed Fagerlie back to the front door. Once he was out of sight of the house, he stopped and sagged against a lamppost.
“I just wanted you to know I’m focused completely on our goal. I’ll clear the way for you, brother,” he’d told Noct. Something he might have said when they were meant to bring on the apocalypse, to please their mother and grandfather. But it was nothing they’d ever wanted, so Noct would have taken it to mean something was wrong with their goal.
“I can always count on you to do the right thing in the end,” meant “I trust you; we won’t go through with it.”
“Normally I prefer stories about soldiers, but I’m certain about this