Page 58 (2/2)

Because she'd ruined Lanthe's innate ability

When her sister was gone, Sabine uard Very well"

Lifting the man by his collar and belt, she tossed hireild at the violence, howling, pulling their hair The ones who'd been eyeing the main exit scuttled back

Shush the huuard and stepped up onto his back, opening her arms wide "Gather round, mad human persons Gather! And I, a sorceress of dark and terrible powers, will reward you with a story"

So curiosity, soood, quiet pets, I'll even show you a tale" The cries and yells she'd ignited were ebbing "So sit, sit Yes, come sit before e You, there, sit"

Once they'd all gathered before her, she crouched on the guard's back She gave the up her skirt to fiddle with her garters, then adjusting her customary choker

"Now, for this evening, you have two choices You can hear the story of awith horns and eyes as black as obsidian In ages past he was so honest and upstanding that he lost his crown to cun­ning evil Or, we have the story of Sabine, an innocent young girl as forever getting murdered" Who would one day be that demon's bride

"Th-the girl, please," one resident whispered His face was indistinguishable through the curtain of his matted hair

"An excellent choice, Hirsute Mortal" In a draan, "Our tale features the intrepid hero­ine, Sabine, the Queen of Illusions-"

"Where's Illusions?" a young wo her own forearm to ask

Excellent-these were going to be narrative inter­rupters "It's not a place A 'queen' is someone who is better at a particular mystickal skill than anyone else"

Sabine could cast chiuish­able fro that could be seen, heard, or i's htmares No one was her equal

"Now the ridiculously beautiful and clever Sabine had just turned twelve, and she adored her soon-to-grow light-skirted sister, Melanthe, aged nine Sabine had loved little Lanthe with her whole heart since the first tiirl had cried for her Ai-bee' over their ownand forgotten race Not very exciting story fodder, you ht think Compared to a vampire or even a Valkyrie," she sniffed "Ah, but listen on and see"

She raised her hand to weave an illusion, drawing froy of the inht beyond the asylum

When she blew against her opened palm, a scene was projected onto the wall beside her Gasps sounded, a few stray whimpers

"The first ti Sabine died was on an eve much like this, in a decrepit structure that trembled from thunder Only instead of a rat-infested asyluh in the Alps The dead of winter was upon the land"

The next scene she cast showed Sabine and Lanthe hastening down a owns and coats Even as they rushed, they hunched their heads at each new batting of wings outside Lanthe silently cried

"Sabine was filled with anger at herself for not listen­ing to her instinct and taking Melanthe away froer they attracted with their for­bidden sorcery But Sabine had been reluctant because the two girls-though born of iifted with poere still children, which meant they could be killed and wounded as easily asYet now Sabine had no choice but to leave She sensed her parents were already dead, and suspected the killers were loose somewhere in the shadowy abbey The Vrekeners had come for them-"