Black dawn (14 page)

She showed it to
Delos
.

The mist, the figure appearing, calling her name.
The wonder and joy in his face when he caught
sight of her. The way his hands closed on her
shoulders, so gently, and the look of inexpressible
tenderness in his eyes.

And then
-I remember!
Maggie said.
You
told me
to look for a pass,
underneath a rock that
looked like
a wave about to break
You
told me to get away
from
here, to escape. And
then
...

She remembered what had happened then, and
faltered.

And then he had kissed her.

She could feel it again, his breath a soft warmth
on her cheek, and then the touch of his lips, just
as soft. There had been so much in that kiss, so
much of
himself
revealed. It had been almost shy
in its gentleness, but charged with a terrible pas
sion, as if he had known it was the last kiss they
would ever share.

It was
...
so sad,
Maggie said, faltering again.
Not from embarrassment, but because she was sud
denly filled with an intensity of emotion that fright
ened her.
I
don't know what it
meant, but it was
so
sad....

Then, belatedly, she realized what was happening
with
Delos
.

He was agitated.
Violently agitated.
The crystal
world around Maggie was trembling with denial
and fury-and fear.

That wasn't me.
I'm not like that,
he said in a
voice that was like a sword made of ice.

It was,
she said, not harshly but quietly.
I don't understand it, but it really was you. I don't understand any of this. But there's a connection between
us. Look what's happening to us right now. Is this
normal? Do you people always fall into each oth
ers' minds?

Get out!
The words were a shout that echoed
around Maggie from every surface. She could feel his anger; it was huge, violent, like a primal storm. And she could feel the terror that was underneath it, and hear the word that he was thinking and
didn't want to think, that he was trying to bury and
run away from.

Soulmates
.
That was the word. Maggie could
sense what it meant. Two people connected, bound
to each other forever, soul to soul, in a way that
even death couldn't break.
Two souls that were des
tined for each other.

It's a lie,
Delos
said fiercely.
I don't believe in souls. I don't love anyone. And I don't have any
feelings!

And then the world broke apart.

That was what it felt like. Suddenly, all around
Maggie, the crystals were shattering and fracturing.
Pieces were falling with the musical sound of ice.
Nothing was stable, everything was turning to
chaos.

And then, so abruptly that she lost her breath,
she was out of his mind.

She was sitting on the ground in a small cave lit only by a dancing, flickering flame.
Shadows wavered on the walls and ceiling.
She was in her own
body, and
Delos
was holding her in his arms.

But even as she realized it, he pulled away and stood up. Even in the dimness she could see that his face was pale, his eyes fixed.

As she got to her feet, she could see something
else, too. It was strange, but their minds were still
connected, even though he'd thrown her out of
his world.

And what she saw
. . .
was herself.
Herself
through his eyes.

She saw someone who wasn't at
all the
frail
blond princess type, not a bit languid and perfect and artificial. She saw a sturdy, rosy-brown girl
with a straight gaze.
A girl with autumn-colored
hair, warm and vivid and real, and sorrel-colored
eyes.
It was the eyes that caught her attention:
there was
a clarity
and honesty in them, a depth and spaciousness that made mere prettiness seem cheap.

Maggie caught her breath. Do I look like that?
she
wondered dizzily. I can't. I'd have noticed in
the mirror.

But it was how he saw her. In his eyes, she was
the only vibrant, living thing in a cold world of black and white. And she could feel the connection
between them tightening, drawing him toward her
even as he tried to pull farther away.

"No."
His voice was a bare whisper in the cave.
"I'm not bound to you. I don't love you."

"
Delos-
!'

I don't love anyone. I don't have feelings."

Maggie shook her head wordlessly. She didn't
have to speak, anyway. All the time he was telling
her how much he didn't love her, he was moving
closer to her, fighting it every inch.

"You mean nothing to me," he raged through clenched teeth.
"Nothing!"

And then his face was inches away from hers, and she could see the flame burning in his golden eyes.

"Nothing," he whispered, and then his lips
touched hers.

CHAPTER 10

B
ut at the instant which would have made it a
kiss,
Delos
pulled away. Maggie felt the brush of
his warm lips and then cold air as he jerked back.

"No,"
he said.
"No." She could see the clash of
fear and anger in his eyes, and she could see it
suddenly resolve itself
as the pain grew unbearable.
He shuddered once, and then all the turmoil van
ished, as
if it were being swept aside by a giant
hand. It left only icy determination in its wake.

"That's not going to help," Maggie said. "I don't
even understand why you
want
to be this way, but
you can't just squash everything down-"

"Listen," he said in a clipped, taut voice. "You
said that in your dream I told you to go away. Well,
I'm telling you the same thing now. Go away and
don't ever come back. I never want to see your
face again."

"Oh, fine." Maggie was trembling herself with
frustration. She'd had it; she'd finally reached the
limit of her patience with him. There was so much
bitterness in his face, so much pain, but it was
clear he wasn't going to let anyone help.

"I mean it. And you don't know how much of a
concession it is. I'm letting you go. You're not just
an escaped
slave,
you're an escaped slave who
knows about the pass in the mountains.
The pen-.
alty
for that is death."

"So kill me," Maggie said. It was a stupid thing
to say and she knew it. He was dangerous--and
the master of that blue fire. He could do it at the
turn of an eyelash. But she was feeling stupid and
reckless. Her fists were clenched.

"I'm telling you to leave," he said. "And I'll tell
you something else. You wanted to know what hap
pened to your brother."

Maggie went still. There was something different
about him suddenly. He looked like somebody
about to strike a blow. His body was tense and his
eyes were burning gold like twin flames.

"Well, here it is," he said. "Your brother is dead. I killed him."

It was a blow. Maggie felt as if she'd been hit. Shock spread through her body and left her tingling with adrenaline. At the same time she felt strangely weak, as if her legs didn't want to hold her up any longer.

But she didn't believe it. She couldn't believe it, not just like that.

She opened her mouth and dragged in a breath
to speak
and froze.

Somewhere outside the cave a voice was calling.

Maggie couldn't make out the words, but it was a
girl's voice. And it was close
...
and coming closer.

Delos
's head whipped around to look at the en
trance of the cave. Then, before Maggie could say
anything, he was moving.

He took one step to the wall and blew out the
flame of the little stone lamp. Instantly, the cave
was plunged into darkness. Maggie hadn't realized
how little light came from the entrance crack-al
most none at all.

No, she thought. Less light is coming through
than before. It's getting
dark.

Oh, God, she thought.
Cady.

I just walked off and left her there. What's wrong
with me? I forgot all about her-1 didn't even
think....

"Where are you going?"
Delos
whispered harshly.

Maggie paused in mid rush and looked at him
wildly.
Or looked
toward
him, actually, because
now she couldn't see anything but darkness against
paler darkness.

"To Cady," she said, distracted and frantic, clutching the water bag she'd grabbed. "I left her
down there. Anything could have happened by
now.

o
.

"You can't go outside," he said. "That's the hunt
ing party I came with. If they catch you I won't be
able to help-2'

I don't care!" Maggie's words tumbled over his.
"A minute ago you never wanted to see me again.
Oh, God,
I
left
her. How could I do that?"

'It hasn't been that long," he hissed impatiently.
"An hour or so."
Vaguely, Maggie realized that he
must be right. It seemed like a hundred years since
she had climbed up to his ledge, but actually every
thing had happened quickly after that.

"I still have to go," she said, a little more calmly.
"She's sick. And maybe Gavin came back." A wave
of fear surged through her at the thought.

"If they catch you, you'll wish you were dead," he said distinctly. Before Maggie could answer, he
was going on, his voice as brusque as ever. "Stay
here. Don't come out until everybody's gone."

She felt the movement of air and the brush of
cloth as he passed in front of her. The light from
the entrance crack was cut off briefly, and then she
saw him silhouetted for an instant against gray sky.

Then she was alone.

Maggie stood tensely for a moment, listening.
The sound of
her own
breathing was too loud. She
crept quietly to the entrance and crouched

And felt a jolt. She could hear footsteps crunch
ing on the broken slate outside.
Right
outside.
Then
a shadow seemed to fall across the crack and she
heard a voice.

"
Delos
!
What are you doing up here?"

It was a light, pleasant voice, the voice of a girl only a little older than Maggie. Not a woman yet.
And it was both concerned and casual, addressing
Delos
with a familiarity that was startling.

But that wasn't what gave her the
big
jolt. It was
that she recognized the voice. She knew it and she
hated it.

It was Sylvia.

She's here, Maggie thought. And from the way
she's
talking
she's been here before--enough to get
to know
Delos
. Or maybe she was born here, and
she's just started coming
Outside
.

Whatever the truth, it somehow made Maggie
certain that Miles had been brought here, too. But then-what? What had happened to him after that?
Had he done something that meant
he
had to disappear? Or had it been Sylvia's plan from the
beginning?

Could
Delos
have
really
...
?

I don't believe it, Maggie thought fiercely, but
there was a pit of sick fear in her stomach.

Outside, Sylvia was chatting on in a musical voice. "We didn't even know you'd left the
groupbut
then we saw the blue fire. We thought you
might be in trouble-"

"Me?"
Delos
laughed briefly.

"Well-we thought there might
be
trouble," Syl
via amended. Her own laugh was like wind chimes.

"I'm fine. I used the fire for practice."

"
Delos
."
Sylvia's voice was gently reproving now,
in a way that was almost flirtatious. "You know
you shouldn't do that. You'll only do more damage
to your arm
it's never going to get better if you
keep using it."

"I know."
Delos
's brusque tone was a sharp con

trast
to Sylvia's teasing. "But that's my business."
"I only want what's best for you-"

"Let's go. I'm sure the rest of the party is waiting

for
us."

He doesn't like her, Maggie thought. All her
whinnying and prancing doesn't fool him. But I
wonder what she is to him?