Rising Dark (The Darkling Trilogy, Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

carry her away.”
    “ But did you see what they
were doing to her? It is wrong. In fact it was...it...it is
torture.”
    “ It is just their way of
disciplining. And it has stopped now,” I repeated.
    “ It is merely
discipline—is that what you are saying to me, Avery? Would you
discipline Casper and Farrow in that manner?” she asked, referring
to my dogs.
    “ Good God, no,” I said,
aghast she would even suggest such a thing to me.
    Then the full horror of my words
struck me.
    Silence descended on the room as we
stared at each other whilst the colour rose to my cheeks. Julia’s
expression remained angry and determined.
    “ No, Julia. I would never
do that to an animal, much less a man or woman, even if they are
merely slaves. You know that, don’t you?” Anxiety marked my
words.
    She closed the space between us and
placed her hands on the sides of my head.
    “ Of
course I know you would never harm a living being, Avery. But how
can we stand by and let them do this? And you know why they were
torturing her, don’t you?”
    I pulled her hands away and moved to
stand at the window. When I saw the barn in the distance, I quickly
moved to the fireplace and kept my back to her. But I couldn’t
escape her words.
    “ They
did that to her because she tried to warn us,” she continued. “She
tried to warn you . But there is one thing I do not
understand, Avery. What could she have meant? ‘She wants you.’ Who
could she be? Mrs
Foster?”
    “ Somehow I doubt Mrs
Foster has any interest in me,” I said, facing her.
    A small smile tugged at her lips.
“That is true. But Minny was so frightened, Avery. She clung to my
arm as if our very lives depended on what she was trying to tell
me. She knew what would happen to her but she warned you anyway. I
do not think we are safe here with the Fosters.”
    It was a long moment before I
answered.
    “ I know.”
    “ Then let us leave
now.”
    “ No, Julia. I accept that,
for whatever reason, our hosts cannot be trusted. But I do feel we
are letting ourselves become clouded by the darky’s melodrama. You
have to remember they are not quite like us in mind. They are prone
to superstitions and are extremely excitable. We will heed her
warning, but there is no rush. We can leave tomorrow
morning.”
    “ But I know they are
planning on doing something to us,” Julia continued. “The whole
place speaks of evil. The slaves here are well-dressed and fed
compared to some of the others we came across. But it is as if the
devil is riding their backs. I see it in their eyes. Some nameless
fear dogs their every footstep.”
    “ I am a man of God,
Julia,” I said. “No harm can come to us so long as we trust in
Him.”
    “ But Avery—”
    I moved to her and grasped her hands.
“We have nothing to fear if we believe in Him, Julia. Do you
believe that?”
    After a few moments, a
resigned smile touched her lips. “Of course, Avery. I believe
in you . We will
leave tomorrow after we see the chapel.”
    “ Perhaps we can persuade
them to sell Minny to us and take her with us wherever we go. You
do need a new maid, after all. Would you like that?”
    Although the thought of owning a slave
wasn’t particularly palatable to me, I knew it was just the thing
to make Julia beam and take her mind away from the awful spectacle
we had witnessed.
    “ Would I like that? Oh,
Avery, that would be simply marvellous. You are such a good
man.”
    She folded herself into my
arms.
    I sighed and pulled her closer to me,
already feeling much better at the prospect of leaving this
plantation, and the unnatural silence that pervaded it,
behind.

Chapter 3
     
     
    It was with some trepidation that I
followed Kato into the woods at dusk in order to view the chapel.
Julia, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten about her
misgivings and was chattering away about how much she was looking
forward to telling Minny the good news, assuming she would want to
come with us, that is.
    As if she has