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Chapter Thirty-Five

Gregorio turned around in her seat and grabbed ht she knehat I was thinking, but she didn&039;t I was mortal, and I knew it But I was also part brownie and part huic inside the car I could do every bit of et out of the car I needed to lure Cel to the car

If I could get hih, I could kill hiic could not harure out how to lure hiot out of the car, they would have done it, but I&039;d been too eorio," I said, "I need to lure the prince topeople bleed from a distance"

"We both have a version of the hand of blood It runs in the faic cannot touch us in the o out"

"Why can your ic work in the car, and his can&039;t?"

"I&039;ic works here, just like yours and Dawson&039;s"

She looked at her driver The toet her killed, the least that will happen to us is being given a dishonorable discharge," said Corporal Lance "We&039;d be lucky not to be brought up on charges"

Gregorio turned back to ht"

"Listen to the screaer We can stop this, because once the prince is dead, his allies will ht, because if he can&039;t take the throne, there&039;s no point to this fight They&039;re fighting to kill me and win the throne for their choice If we take away their choice, we take away their reason to fight"

The woed another look A particularly piteous screaic It was the sound of death It was the sound ofto do this, hoould I lure hiorio asked The moment she said it, I knew she&039;d do it, if I could just think of a way to bring hi aloud, because I had no clear plan "He wants to find uards are not with me in the car If I were him and his allies, I&039;d find me"

A e of trees It wasn&039;t a wide road, and before I could even voice a warning, figures appeared out of a mist that shouldn&039;t have been there, and hadn&039;t been there just moments before I should have remembered that I was still on faerie land, and wishes can come true I&039;d wanted Cel to find me, not all of his warriors Be specific when you wish in faerie, and be careful what you wish for

Chapter Thirty-Six

Siobhan stepped out of thearound her like spider silk caught in the wind She was close enough that I could see the runes carved on her white armor I knew that the armor seemed to be carved of old bone, but I had seen her on the dueling sands, and knew that the "bone" was as hard as any metal The sword she held in her hand was also white The blade was a killing blade, even if I&039;d been immortal It was overkill for ht Blood gleaht have been the blood of huht not

She meant me to think it was the blood of my ht of that blood to be a blow that would soften me up for the real blow to come But I would have known if Doyle&039;s blood decorated her blade I would have known if Rhys had been touched As much as I valued Sholto and Mistral, orio said I felt her start to cast a spell, a prickling build of power It was a pale thing, but very real

"Don&039;t," I said "I knohat to do"

"Are you insane?" the driver asked "Look at thelanced at the other soldiers with Siobhan In their armor, they looked old, but there was also ars that humans had no words for The Unseelie had kept closer to their origins, and not traded everything for nized some of the soldiers, but some I had never seen in full armor But they all stood behind Siobhan, not in front of her Kill her and the rest would be leaderless, a snake without a head

"I grew up seeing them," I said finally

I concentrated on Siobhan, she who had been Cel&039;s right hand for longer than any remembered She who But so as quickly as a beggar

I lowered myShe called out to me, "The blood of your Darkness decorates my blade"

I unbuckledAben-dul as I moved The odd hilt with its carved horrors fit rip it It ca silk across the skin I pointed the blade at her

She laughed "You surprised me when you used the hand of flesh on Rozenwyn and Pascoe, but I know to stay out of reach now, Princess I don&039;t need to get within reach of that little hand of yours I can kill you from a distance, and free faerie of your ht, and your challenge will be forgotten"

Rozenwyn and Pascoe had been twins, and maybe that had caused the hand of flesh to combine thes I&039;d ever seen Horrible enough that Siobhan had offered up her sword, and surrendered to ," I said aloud for the soldiers&039; benefit "She would have to drag ic, and she won&039;t touch orio asked

"She fears the hand of flesh"

"What is that, the hand of flesh?"

I didn&039;t bother to explain, because in moments, if all ell, it would explain itself

Siobhan started to close the few yards that separated us She would come closer, just not too close, so whatever she had planned needed less space between us The others ca in their armors of many colors and htest dreahtmare We were the Unseelie, terrible and wonderous

"Whatever you&039;re going to do," Gregorio said, "you better do it fast"

I opened the invisible mark on my hand that held the hand of flesh That mark now touched the hilt of Aben-dul It is an enchanted weapon, but when it finds its rightful wielder, there is no learning curve There is only a sense of rightness, and knowledge, as if the use of the weapon were like breathing, or the beating of my heart I did not have to think how to focus the hand of flesh down that blade I simply had to will it

Siobhan reached behind her and lifted a pack off her shoulder She opened the flap, and began to fiddle with soorio screamed, "Bomb!"

"It can&039;t take out this vehicle," the driver said

"What happens if she gets it through a ?" I asked in a careful voice, because if even my voice wavered, it would hurt my control I had never used Aben-dul before, and it was like trying to walk up a steep flight of steps with soerous in your hands Careful, or it spills

"No one can throw through this glass," the driver said, thu her ith a knuckle, "so just roll up the , Princess"

"You have no idea how strong Siobhan is," I said "She could throw anything through any glass"

The driver turned in her seat and looked at Gregorio "Are the sidhe that strong?"