A Fall of Silver Read Online Free Page B

expression of unhappy resignation as he took the whip tentatively The long lash fell to the floor at his feet in a coil. He eyed it as if he expected it to turn into a rattlesnake if he looked away.
    To his evident relief, h e didn’t have to bear the burden long. With an abrupt gesture, Kethan motioned for the weapon. Quicksilver took a deep breath, praying he would finally do something reasonable and restore it to her.
    There was no reason for him to keep the weapon, h e probably didn’t even know how to use it. He certainly didn’t understand what they could do. The slender, silvery monofilament lash cut through flesh and bone like a whisper through silence. They responded to every flick of the wrist, every small movement. They were part of her, and she had to get them from him, one way or the other.
    “Out!” he said to her , moving close enough to make her back up a step. “Please.”
    “After you.”
    A monumentally calm expression smoothed over his face. “No, please, I insist. After you .” He stood between her and the vampires.
    Any human who dealt with vampires was as bad as a vampire. Tainted. She knew that. He would betray her to his friends, his vampire friends, if she didn’t put a stop to this, now. She ought to kill him—she knew it. Her body vibrated with tension, seeking the release of action, but her heart hesitated. His kind eyes and the warmth surrounding him confused her, made her doubt her wisdom, borne from bitter experience.
    “ Now, please.” Kethan pushed her through the door while she dithered, distracted by her unfamiliar reaction.
    Think of Kathy.
    Opportunity missed, the door closed in her face.
    Kethan placed himself between her and the door. “You’re not going to destroy them.”
    “My friend won’t be safe , none of us are safe, until they’re dead. All of them.” If Kathy Sherman went back to the orphanage, everyone there would be in danger. Her heart thundered in her ears until she could hardly hear or think.
    Besotted by Jason’s glamorous illusion, Kathy could be tempted by him to open the door to him, or to his entire clan. She wasn’t old enough to understand his true nature, the inherent treachery of vampires. Their refuge would be shattered in a blood-drenched tsunami of betrayal and destruction. Quicksilver had been the same age when she had made a similar mistake and learned the hard way.
    Now, she’d do anything to keep Kathy’s innocence intact. The girl shouldn’t have to learn that the horror stories about vampires were actually true and much more terrifying than any writer had ever imagined. She was too young to experience duplicity and death.
    Kethan pushed the whips into Quicksilver’s hand. “Put those away.” Baffled by her body’s obedience to his brief command, she complied. Then he lightly gripped her elbow and steered her down the hallway. “You’re perfectly safe, Miss Nothing.”
    “No, I’m not. No one is.” She glanced at the closed door, half expecting to see the vampires boiling out in pursuit.
    The door remained shut. The sight made her shiver with thoughts of what they might be doing, instead, where she couldn’t see them. If there was another exit….
    “T hat’s the point of the negotiations and why it’s important to allow us to continue. To protect the innocent. No one believes vampires exist, and we intend to keep it that way.”
    “These can make us safe.” Quicksilver patted the hollow of her back where she’d tucked the whips. “There’s no other way. Ignorance isn’t the answer.”
    “And being locked up as a mad woman for insisting vampires exist, is?”
    “I’m not crazy enough to talk about them. I just work on getting rid of them.”
    H e ran a hand through his thick hair and rubbed the back of his neck. “Look, this isn’t the time or place to argue.”
    “But you’re so good at it.” She stared at him obliquely through her lashes and gave him a half-smile.
    “Go home and don’t come back.