Page 149 of Quicksilver

“It means she’s enthralled to him,” Fisher said.

My eyes pricked fiercely. “Enthrall? What...what does that even mean?”

“Later, Little Osha. I'll explain it all later.” Fisher could barely get the words out around his grief.

Ren forced himself back to his feet. Shouting across the river, his hands shook at his sides. “What do you want, Taladaius? Why did you bring her here?”

The blond vampire sneered at Ren. “Careful, Renfis. I am Lord of Midnight to you. I won't be addressed so familiarly by one so low—”

“He's a million times the male you'll ever fucking be,” Fisher hissed. “Now answer the fucking question and tell us why she's here!”

“Why do youthink?” Taladaius answered tersely. “He bid me bring her. She's a trap. He wants to bend you to his will, so he's taken something precious to you, and he's broken it. Are you shocked?” He didn't wait for Fisher's reply. “You will either come and try to save her, even though doing so would be futile, or else you'll come for vengeance's sake. Either way, he knows you'll come. He doesn't care why. Only that you do.”

Vengeance? I didn't like the sound of this. How the fuck had Everlayne wound up in Malcolm's hands, anyway? I had so many more questions, but now wasn't the time to ask them. I waited to see how Fisher would respond to this, but his chin dipped down, the quicksilver in his eyes spinning so fast that it formed a solid shining ring around his iris, and he said nothing. It seemed as though he was waiting. A moment later, I figured out why. Breathless, Lorreth skidded down the slope, joining us. Just like the rest of us, he was covered in ichor and dirt. His expression bore a fury that promised to end worlds. When he saw Taladaius standing on the other side of the river, holding Everlayne's chain like she was some kind of animal, and his face darkened. “Motherfucker!”

“Evening, Lorreth.” Taladaius grinned menacingly at the warrior.

“Fuck. Is that...” His face paled. “Is that Everlayne?”

Fisher was frozen still, staring across the river at his sister. It was Ren who answered. “Yes. It's her. Malcolm's already tagged her.”

“Bu...” He glanced around wildly. “But that's...that...”

“Whereishe?” Fisher growled at last. His words were quiet, cast at Taladaius. The vampire chose to shout back his answer with a laugh, so all could hear.

“He's waiting for you,my friend!”

“Where?”

“At the place where the two of you brokered your last deal. Honestly, I think he's hoping for a repeat performance.”

“There won’t be any more deals,” Fisher snarled.

“I suppose we'll see about that, won't we.” Taladaius considered his fingernails. “Your darling Everlayne was bitten twelve hours ago. You can do the math. As we speak, my father rides north with the better part of his horde. If you aren't there to meet him when he arrives at his destination, he'll see that she makes it through the change and then spends the rest of eternity on her back, being fucked raw by Ammontraíeth’s most depraved residents, one...after another...after another. Or you give him what he wants. It's that simple.”

“And what the hell does hewant?” Lorreth demanded.

Fisher flinched, as if he wished the warrior hadn't even asked.“He wants me,” he whispered.

Taladaius's bark of amusement was as harsh as cracking ice. “Yes, it's true you're on his wish list. Always, my friend. But he doesn't just want you this time. You might have been a valuable player in this game before, but a lot’s changed of late. There are far more interesting pieces on the board.”

“He doesn't get anyone else.”

“You, of all people, know that Malcolm gets what Malcolm wants,” Taladaius chided. “He’ll have his prize, and you know it.”

“WELL, HE CAN'T HAVE HER!”Fisher's declaration boomed over the Darn; it could probably be heard in the bowels of Ammontraíeth. The terror that rolled off him hit me like a slap to the face. I felt it deep in my bones. And...I felt something else, too. Taladaius. His attention shifted to me, though his dark eyes, brimming over with merriment, remained locked on Fisher.

“You can kick and scream all you like,” he said. “But he wants the Alchemist, Fisher. If he has to burn down all of Yvelia to claim her, you know perfectly well that he'll do it.”

33

BLOOD IN THANKS

“I can't believewe let him just drag her away like that.” Lorreth paced up and down in front of the map table, balling his hands into fists. Every time he spun around, he hit something with Avisiéth’s scabbard, clearly unused to carrying the weapon. “We should have fuckingdonesomething!”

“Like what?” I'd never heard Ren sound so defeated. He sat at the head of the table, chewing on his thumbnail. Since we'd made our way back here, numb and soaked to our skin, the general had crafted the beginnings of a number of plans, speaking out loud to himself, only to hit a stumbling block and start over again. Now, it seemed as though he'd officially given up.

Fisher hadn't said one word since he'd stalked inside and planted himself at the seat opposite me. He just stared at me, a sea of green and silver locked onto my face, the muscles in his throat working. To be the subject of such intense focus was disconcerting at first, but I'd gotten used to it over the past hour and had resorted to staring back at him, nudging him inside my head, trying to cajole him into saying something.