[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.I don't want to hit a vital spot.I've never seen a more attractive man in my life.If I didn't have to worry about unauthorized nibbles on the neck.But he's not pushing; he's doing his best to put me at ease.He's succeeding.He's trying to convince me I can trust him.And it didn't ring false.It was he who first broke the silence, speaking in a voice of brown velvet that she'd have paid to hear on the stage."Can you tell me, Miss Tregarde, what you know about Janfri, and why it is that you gave him your card? I can tell you that he already was great friends with Lady Annie—" He smiled again, this time ironically.His wide brown eyes held a hint of amusement."Well, as great as any Rom can be with gadjo."She put the cup down, carefully."I don't know much of anything; Annie's never said anything about him, and I haven't had the chance to ask her.He came in that afternoon by the service entrance.I think he was expecting Annie; I think he was startled and maybe frightened to see me instead.But he probably figured if Annie'd left me in charge I was okay, so he stayed back there until the customers had all gone, and then came out.""Yes?" André prompted patiently."What did he tell you?""That he was hunted.He didn't tell me who by, I didn't ask.But he looked to me like somebody who'd gotten himself into unexpectedly deep kimchee, and I didn't want to leave it at that.""So you gave him your card?"She nodded, and sipped at the cooling tea."I told him if he was ever in trouble in my area he could come to me for help."André raised his eyebrows."Are you often so impulsive, mademoiselle?"She flashed a look of anger at him, and he grimaced."Pardon.I tell you not to toy with me—now I play the word games with you.You are one of those who guards, yes?"She didn't reply.Does he know about the Guardians? Who told him? She looked at him with a new wariness.He waited for her answer; coiled strength, dark grace.She truly wanted to tell him—She couldn't.Couldn't expose herself and the others.He shrugged."Janfri was hunted, as he claimed.I was attempting to find him so that I could deal with the hunter.He did not, or could not, return to his people, so that I was following the rumor of him only.I was—too late in finding him."She realized suddenly that she had let down her personal shields in his presence so that his emotions—if a vampire had emotions—could get through.And that only happened when her subconscious had analyzed a situation and deemed it safe.And there are times when my subconscious is smarter than I am.It's usually more paranoid than I am.So why has it taken my shields down? She analyzed what was coming from him, and found herself assessing him in an entirely new light.There was guilt there; and mourning, and a deeply felt depression that seemed a great deal like her own.His eyes held shadows within shadows; shadows of pain, and a loneliness that had endured longer than anything she'd ever known.He had emotions all right; as real and as unfeigned as her own.This was an amazingly patient and gentle man, under most circumstances, but there was a steel-hard core to him.Like the dancers she knew, he would smile and do what he had to, and you'd never know he was bleeding."So you didn't kill him—" she blurted." Le Bon Dieu forbid!" He looked angry now—and she sensed he was profoundly unhappy.She felt the claws under the velvet, but felt also that they would in no way be turned against her." Mais non.It was as I told you.I was hoping to protect him, as I have pledged to protect all of his clan.""Protect him from what?""In this case—one who wished to use him.That one found him, I think.But how he was killed—""Who did it? Who was chasing him?" The words tumbled out, and she leaned forward in her eagerness to hear the answer to one of the mysteries plaguing her."The man I asked you of, the one I described to you." His jaw clenched, and his anger smoldered just under the surface of his words.She winced a little at the heat of it."I feel sure of this.The man is called Jeffries.'Master' Jeffries by some.Master.Merde." He brooded for a moment, eyes fixed on his mug."He wanted something of Janfri, of which revenge for a plan I thwarted was a small part.Janfri's death was that revenge.But I do not know how he murdered the boy.You say that he never actually reached you?""No—do you know what an empath is?" He nodded, and she continued."That's—one of the things I do.I 'felt' him calling for help before he died.I think you saw me; I reached the alley after you did, so I don't know who murdered him, or why—but I do know how he died.""How?" Her words galvanized him; he raised his head and stared directly into her eyes as if he could pull the knowledge directly from her mind into his.She couldn't look away; didn't want to.She described psychic vampirism in detail, as André sat tensely on the couch and clenched his mug tightly in both hands, as if he wished he could lock those hands around one particular neck.".so it looked to me as though this time the psivamp drained his victim so completely that he killed him," she concluded."The boy was a burned-out husk, psychically speaking."Now André shook his head, doubt beginning to creep into his troubled eyes."Not possible—" he objected."This thing—it cannot be possible.""Huh." She snorted."This afternoon I would have said you were impossible.Not possible? Tell that to Janfri.It happened, guy."She was interrupted by a scratching at the door—and cool, collected André LeBrel jumped a foot, and pivoted as though expecting an enemy to burst through the door at any second.Di was secretly pleased to see him shaken up a little."I'll take care of that," she said, before he could object, and rose to let in the building cat—because 'Tilly was her final test of character.If this supernatural creature sitting nervously on the end of her couch could pass 'Tilly's judgment, then he could be believed, and trusted."Attila the Nun" was the cat's full name; a registered Maine Coon, she weighed in at nineteen pounds, all muscle (hence "Attila" ) and was a neutered female (hence, "the Nun" ).They hadn't had a bit of trouble with rats since Jerry the super had brought her home, and she was allowed the run of the entire building.Theoretically she "belonged" to Jerry, but she was fed by everybody and spent at least half her sleeping hours in Di's apartment.She was also the surest judge of character, occult or otherwise, that Di knew.'Tilly greeted Di with a single rub of the head, and strolled immediately into the living room as if she knew exactly what she was wanted for.And for all I know, Di thought wryly, she does.She headed straight for André.He extended his hand, palm up, toward her.She leaned forward a little to sniff his fingertips.Now she's either going to take off two of his fingers, or—She rubbed her head on his hand, and leapt into his lap, where she promptly made herself at home.He relaxed as the cat began to purr, then looked up at Di with a shrug, one hand busy scratching the cat's chin."Well, mademoiselle—if I do not mistake you, this was something of a test.Do I pass?"Di nodded, and smiled and realized that it was the first time she'd really smiled in days."You pass."He put the other hand to work on the cat's ears.'Tilly increased her volume."Then tell me again of this 'psychic vampirism.' If it happened—it must be true."She went back over the phenomena in more detail—and as she did so, she found herself silently agreeing with her guest that "Mr [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl milosnikstop.keep.pl
.I don't want to hit a vital spot.I've never seen a more attractive man in my life.If I didn't have to worry about unauthorized nibbles on the neck.But he's not pushing; he's doing his best to put me at ease.He's succeeding.He's trying to convince me I can trust him.And it didn't ring false.It was he who first broke the silence, speaking in a voice of brown velvet that she'd have paid to hear on the stage."Can you tell me, Miss Tregarde, what you know about Janfri, and why it is that you gave him your card? I can tell you that he already was great friends with Lady Annie—" He smiled again, this time ironically.His wide brown eyes held a hint of amusement."Well, as great as any Rom can be with gadjo."She put the cup down, carefully."I don't know much of anything; Annie's never said anything about him, and I haven't had the chance to ask her.He came in that afternoon by the service entrance.I think he was expecting Annie; I think he was startled and maybe frightened to see me instead.But he probably figured if Annie'd left me in charge I was okay, so he stayed back there until the customers had all gone, and then came out.""Yes?" André prompted patiently."What did he tell you?""That he was hunted.He didn't tell me who by, I didn't ask.But he looked to me like somebody who'd gotten himself into unexpectedly deep kimchee, and I didn't want to leave it at that.""So you gave him your card?"She nodded, and sipped at the cooling tea."I told him if he was ever in trouble in my area he could come to me for help."André raised his eyebrows."Are you often so impulsive, mademoiselle?"She flashed a look of anger at him, and he grimaced."Pardon.I tell you not to toy with me—now I play the word games with you.You are one of those who guards, yes?"She didn't reply.Does he know about the Guardians? Who told him? She looked at him with a new wariness.He waited for her answer; coiled strength, dark grace.She truly wanted to tell him—She couldn't.Couldn't expose herself and the others.He shrugged."Janfri was hunted, as he claimed.I was attempting to find him so that I could deal with the hunter.He did not, or could not, return to his people, so that I was following the rumor of him only.I was—too late in finding him."She realized suddenly that she had let down her personal shields in his presence so that his emotions—if a vampire had emotions—could get through.And that only happened when her subconscious had analyzed a situation and deemed it safe.And there are times when my subconscious is smarter than I am.It's usually more paranoid than I am.So why has it taken my shields down? She analyzed what was coming from him, and found herself assessing him in an entirely new light.There was guilt there; and mourning, and a deeply felt depression that seemed a great deal like her own.His eyes held shadows within shadows; shadows of pain, and a loneliness that had endured longer than anything she'd ever known.He had emotions all right; as real and as unfeigned as her own.This was an amazingly patient and gentle man, under most circumstances, but there was a steel-hard core to him.Like the dancers she knew, he would smile and do what he had to, and you'd never know he was bleeding."So you didn't kill him—" she blurted." Le Bon Dieu forbid!" He looked angry now—and she sensed he was profoundly unhappy.She felt the claws under the velvet, but felt also that they would in no way be turned against her." Mais non.It was as I told you.I was hoping to protect him, as I have pledged to protect all of his clan.""Protect him from what?""In this case—one who wished to use him.That one found him, I think.But how he was killed—""Who did it? Who was chasing him?" The words tumbled out, and she leaned forward in her eagerness to hear the answer to one of the mysteries plaguing her."The man I asked you of, the one I described to you." His jaw clenched, and his anger smoldered just under the surface of his words.She winced a little at the heat of it."I feel sure of this.The man is called Jeffries.'Master' Jeffries by some.Master.Merde." He brooded for a moment, eyes fixed on his mug."He wanted something of Janfri, of which revenge for a plan I thwarted was a small part.Janfri's death was that revenge.But I do not know how he murdered the boy.You say that he never actually reached you?""No—do you know what an empath is?" He nodded, and she continued."That's—one of the things I do.I 'felt' him calling for help before he died.I think you saw me; I reached the alley after you did, so I don't know who murdered him, or why—but I do know how he died.""How?" Her words galvanized him; he raised his head and stared directly into her eyes as if he could pull the knowledge directly from her mind into his.She couldn't look away; didn't want to.She described psychic vampirism in detail, as André sat tensely on the couch and clenched his mug tightly in both hands, as if he wished he could lock those hands around one particular neck.".so it looked to me as though this time the psivamp drained his victim so completely that he killed him," she concluded."The boy was a burned-out husk, psychically speaking."Now André shook his head, doubt beginning to creep into his troubled eyes."Not possible—" he objected."This thing—it cannot be possible.""Huh." She snorted."This afternoon I would have said you were impossible.Not possible? Tell that to Janfri.It happened, guy."She was interrupted by a scratching at the door—and cool, collected André LeBrel jumped a foot, and pivoted as though expecting an enemy to burst through the door at any second.Di was secretly pleased to see him shaken up a little."I'll take care of that," she said, before he could object, and rose to let in the building cat—because 'Tilly was her final test of character.If this supernatural creature sitting nervously on the end of her couch could pass 'Tilly's judgment, then he could be believed, and trusted."Attila the Nun" was the cat's full name; a registered Maine Coon, she weighed in at nineteen pounds, all muscle (hence "Attila" ) and was a neutered female (hence, "the Nun" ).They hadn't had a bit of trouble with rats since Jerry the super had brought her home, and she was allowed the run of the entire building.Theoretically she "belonged" to Jerry, but she was fed by everybody and spent at least half her sleeping hours in Di's apartment.She was also the surest judge of character, occult or otherwise, that Di knew.'Tilly greeted Di with a single rub of the head, and strolled immediately into the living room as if she knew exactly what she was wanted for.And for all I know, Di thought wryly, she does.She headed straight for André.He extended his hand, palm up, toward her.She leaned forward a little to sniff his fingertips.Now she's either going to take off two of his fingers, or—She rubbed her head on his hand, and leapt into his lap, where she promptly made herself at home.He relaxed as the cat began to purr, then looked up at Di with a shrug, one hand busy scratching the cat's chin."Well, mademoiselle—if I do not mistake you, this was something of a test.Do I pass?"Di nodded, and smiled and realized that it was the first time she'd really smiled in days."You pass."He put the other hand to work on the cat's ears.'Tilly increased her volume."Then tell me again of this 'psychic vampirism.' If it happened—it must be true."She went back over the phenomena in more detail—and as she did so, she found herself silently agreeing with her guest that "Mr [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]