Starting this evening at 17, 763. It would be nice to get to 20k tonight, but I'm not crossing my fingers. It all depends on how much cutting and pasting I have to do.
Cullen's gone absolutely nuts. Talora thinks he murdered three human children, and Sennet's beginning to believe it too. Orien has been captured.
And the traitor is asleep in his bed. He's not sleeping like a baby; what little conscience he has left won't let him do that, but he's pretty much scot free.
Life isn't fair. Plots aren't fair. I really hate to do this to Cullen, and if I were him I'd be cursing me until I died. *g* But alas, tragedy makes a good story. And this is shaping up to be a good story, I think.
Want an excerpt?
Something shifted behind Sennet and made a small, muted sound. She turned. Her eyes saw the crouched figure before her mind named it.
"Cullen?"
"Nnnnnnn..." He had wedged himself between a heavy wardrobe and the wall, and his eyes reflected the torchlight as he turned his head away from her.
He held a small silver knife in one hand, the blade extended.
Sennet's gaze fastened on the knife. She remembered the neat cuts on each child's arm, and the carefully applied bandage on the first.
"There are no buts, Sennet. Take him away. Out of Faerie if you can. He doesn't need to be involved in this."
She heard Orien's words again, and remembered her reply. "Cullen? Can you hear me?"
"What did he do?" Talora stood frozen on the other side of the bed, staring in horror at the bloody knife in Cullen's hand.
"We don't know he did anything," Sennet said sharply, but the vivid memory of how she had found him would not let her mind rest. "Cullen, can you hear me?"
"Sennet, he has a knife in his hand." Talora caught her arm as she stepped away from the bed. "I'll call the guards."
"No." Sennet shook her off. "Let me talk to him before you do anything rash." She stepped towards Cullen, her empty hands extended in front of her. His eyes were wide and blank, his face pale in the darkness.
"Let go of the knife, Cullen." She kept her voice low. "I'm here to help you. Do you remember me?"
The horrible sound kept coming out of his mouth, an endless stream of pain. Sennet glanced back at Talora, shook her head, and dropped to her knees.
copyright 2002 Jennifer St. Clair
More later...
Cullen's gone absolutely nuts. Talora thinks he murdered three human children, and Sennet's beginning to believe it too. Orien has been captured.
And the traitor is asleep in his bed. He's not sleeping like a baby; what little conscience he has left won't let him do that, but he's pretty much scot free.
Life isn't fair. Plots aren't fair. I really hate to do this to Cullen, and if I were him I'd be cursing me until I died. *g* But alas, tragedy makes a good story. And this is shaping up to be a good story, I think.
Want an excerpt?
Something shifted behind Sennet and made a small, muted sound. She turned. Her eyes saw the crouched figure before her mind named it.
"Cullen?"
"Nnnnnnn..." He had wedged himself between a heavy wardrobe and the wall, and his eyes reflected the torchlight as he turned his head away from her.
He held a small silver knife in one hand, the blade extended.
Sennet's gaze fastened on the knife. She remembered the neat cuts on each child's arm, and the carefully applied bandage on the first.
"There are no buts, Sennet. Take him away. Out of Faerie if you can. He doesn't need to be involved in this."
She heard Orien's words again, and remembered her reply. "Cullen? Can you hear me?"
"What did he do?" Talora stood frozen on the other side of the bed, staring in horror at the bloody knife in Cullen's hand.
"We don't know he did anything," Sennet said sharply, but the vivid memory of how she had found him would not let her mind rest. "Cullen, can you hear me?"
"Sennet, he has a knife in his hand." Talora caught her arm as she stepped away from the bed. "I'll call the guards."
"No." Sennet shook her off. "Let me talk to him before you do anything rash." She stepped towards Cullen, her empty hands extended in front of her. His eyes were wide and blank, his face pale in the darkness.
"Let go of the knife, Cullen." She kept her voice low. "I'm here to help you. Do you remember me?"
The horrible sound kept coming out of his mouth, an endless stream of pain. Sennet glanced back at Talora, shook her head, and dropped to her knees.
copyright 2002 Jennifer St. Clair
More later...
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