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“Alan!” he shouted, but there was no answer back, not even a shout
Mae was stuht Alan in the kitchen, the door open and the fluorescent lights on Alan was standing beside the kettle, which he’d switched on He looked pale and determinedly casual
Nick had hold of the kitchen counter The way he was gripping it and the fact that he was disheveled and soaked to the skin co man
“Alan,” he said, “I want to talk”
Mae was at the foot of the stairs now,her way slowly to the kitchen door She wasn’t sure if she could help by getting involved She couldn’t leave the explaining to Nick, but she couldn’t blaht now
Apparently Alan didn’t want to look at his brother, either He was staring down at his empty cup
“You do?” he asked Nick, his voice clipped “Well, that’s new and different for us What do you want to say?”
Nick looked at hi under his wet fall of hair Every muscle in his body looked tense, and Mae reht hate Alan at this one dry to hear what Nick had to say
Low and cold, Nick said, “Betray me”
Alan’s head snapped up “What?”
“Betray ain, still in that terrible toneless de on the kitchen counter so hard Mae thought it would break “Turn ic, do whatever you think you need to do, I do not care But don’t leave”
She’d had it all wrong, Mae thought, feeling nu, learning fear the way she’d described it: feeling paralyzed even though you know you have to act, because you’re sure that if you evenyou can think of will happen
She just hadn’t understood
From the look on Alan’s face, he hadn’t understood either
“Oh, Nick,” he said in a soft, amazed voice “No”
He limped the few steps toward his brother, then reached out A shiver ran all the way through Nick, as if he was a spooked animal about to bolt, but he didn’t bolt Alan’s hand settled on the back of his brother’s neck, and Nick bowed his head a little more and let him do it
“No, no, no,” Alan said in his beautiful voice, turning it into a lullaby, soothing and sweet “Nick I would never leave”
Mae had no place being there right now, so she closed the kitchen door softly and walked home
Outside it was still dark, but the tattered storently, the storm calmed, the sky full of possibility
The rain had stopped
20
The Demon’s Price
Mae woke on the day of the Goblin Market to the sound of her phone ringing by her ear It was Sin, freaking out about cover for her people Mae sat up in bed, grabbed her laptop, and got sodon Market Square up onscreen
“Look, Sin,” she said “Think The square’s in the middle of town There are houses on every side of it! Well, one side’s a church, but you take icians won’t be shielding themselves Trust me, I saw the Aventurine Circle do this on the Millenniu us cover All we have to do is use it”
“And if they decide to take it down?”
“They’d expose the to be fine”
“It’s not,” Sin told her quietly “People are going to die I think it’s worth it, to elih Not yet Can you handle people dying because of your plan?”
Mae rubbed at her eyes with the heel of her hand, fuzzy ile Gothic spire outside her , stretching up into a clear blue sky
“I don’t know,” she said quietly, and shut her eyes “I guess we’ll have to see”
Sin was silent for a reed to the plan?”
“Yes,” Mae said automatically, because if she even hesitated, Sin would know so off
Then she actually had to think about it Nick had definitely not agreed, but she had told him and he hadn’t said no, he’d just had the Nick equivalent of a nervous breakdoith the weather He’d seeht have just been because Nick was generally agreeable with people trying to pull all his clothes off
He’d told Alan to betray hiht of the way Alan had looked at Nick after Nick told hiood that Alan didn’t want to do it either
There was a very good possibility that Nick had told Alan about her plan, and they were both on her side now
She h
“So there’s a fence on one side of this ood size to put my archers behind?”
“Uh, archers?” Mae said She wondered if this was a secret second stage to their plan Step one: Defeat evil Step two: Enact Robin Hood play
“Guns don’t alork,” Sin reminded her patiently “Bow and arrow’s better than any throwing dagger You can pick off icians at your leisure”
“Can you shoot a bow?” Mae inquired, curious and a little thrilled at the notion
“Yeah,” said Sin “But I like my knives better I’m not much for leisure”
“I’d like a lesson someday”
p>
“Alan!” he shouted, but there was no answer back, not even a shout
Mae was stuht Alan in the kitchen, the door open and the fluorescent lights on Alan was standing beside the kettle, which he’d switched on He looked pale and determinedly casual
Nick had hold of the kitchen counter The way he was gripping it and the fact that he was disheveled and soaked to the skin co man
“Alan,” he said, “I want to talk”
Mae was at the foot of the stairs now,her way slowly to the kitchen door She wasn’t sure if she could help by getting involved She couldn’t leave the explaining to Nick, but she couldn’t blaht now
Apparently Alan didn’t want to look at his brother, either He was staring down at his empty cup
“You do?” he asked Nick, his voice clipped “Well, that’s new and different for us What do you want to say?”
Nick looked at hi under his wet fall of hair Every muscle in his body looked tense, and Mae reht hate Alan at this one dry to hear what Nick had to say
Low and cold, Nick said, “Betray me”
Alan’s head snapped up “What?”
“Betray ain, still in that terrible toneless de on the kitchen counter so hard Mae thought it would break “Turn ic, do whatever you think you need to do, I do not care But don’t leave”
She’d had it all wrong, Mae thought, feeling nu, learning fear the way she’d described it: feeling paralyzed even though you know you have to act, because you’re sure that if you evenyou can think of will happen
She just hadn’t understood
From the look on Alan’s face, he hadn’t understood either
“Oh, Nick,” he said in a soft, amazed voice “No”
He limped the few steps toward his brother, then reached out A shiver ran all the way through Nick, as if he was a spooked animal about to bolt, but he didn’t bolt Alan’s hand settled on the back of his brother’s neck, and Nick bowed his head a little more and let him do it
“No, no, no,” Alan said in his beautiful voice, turning it into a lullaby, soothing and sweet “Nick I would never leave”
Mae had no place being there right now, so she closed the kitchen door softly and walked home
Outside it was still dark, but the tattered storently, the storm calmed, the sky full of possibility
The rain had stopped
20
The Demon’s Price