The Living Night (Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

sighed and downed a sip of scotch.
"It's true. They have him and he was still alive when we left to come
here. But Danielle—"
    "Enough," said Cloire. "Now,
Ruegger ... Danielle ... if you think we've tampered with Harry's mind in order
to get him to say this, feel free to examine it yourselves."
    Danielle looked to Ruegger, and he nodded,
having swept his mortal friend's mind broadly the second he'd taken his seat.
Harry was acting—reluctantly— on his own .
    "And where would we be going?"
Danielle asked. "If we were to come with you?"
    "Somewhere neutral," Cloire said. "Somewhere where you would feel just as safe as we do: Roche
Sarnova's castle. That's where Malcolm is now."
    "Jesus," Ruegger said. "Why is
Roche Sarnova letting you stay at the Castle?"
    "Because he knows we're affiliated with
Vistrot and we got the Titan to convince Sarnova we're acting as his
emissaries."
    "Emissaries?"
    "Right. Our story's that
Vistrot is thinking of making an alliance with Sarnova. And we're acting as the
Titan's ambassadors, should he decide to go through with it. Of course, old
Blackie doesn't really trust us, but he needs all the friends he can get at the
moment, so he's willing to humor us for now."
    "Who's taking care of Ascott?"
    "The other members of our team—Byron,
Loirot and that sick fuck Kiernevar."
    Ruegger nodded. If Cloire was the mastermind
behind all this, then she really must be quite clever. Not only did she know
how to exploit the weaknesses of her enemies, but she wasn't a bad salesman,
either.
    "And if we don't go with you?"
Danielle said.
    "Then Mr. Verger will have one of three
fates. One, I could make him a shade. That could fun. Second, I could get tired
of him and shoot him in the back of the head. Easy but
painless. It would be the simplest way to ensure that you never receive
satisfaction from his death. Third and least likely, I could find it amusing to
lavish him with gifts. We'll give him all the wine and jewels he can use. Not
only that, but we'll give him as many young girls as he wants. He can rape and
beat them and kill them, or tear their insides up so badly that they'll never
be able to have children. Isn't that what he did with you, Danielle?"
    Danielle’s hands curled into fists. What
remained of her cigarette burned into the flesh of her right palm.
    "You bitch," she said, her voice
shaking with pain and rage. Her white face was red and cords stood out from her
graceful neck. "You fucking ... fucking ... bitch! " She flung
the cigarette to the floor and stared dully at the imprint it had left on her
skin. After a long moment, she said, "So what do you want with us that
you'd be willing to go through so much preparation just to catch us? You were
assigned to kill us. Why should we believe you want anything different
now?"
    Cloire nodded, as if that was a good point.
"When Vistrot learned that your boy Jean-Pierre was no longer the leader
of this death-squad, he rescinded his order to have you and Ruegger killed.
Why, I don't know. To be honest, I kind of wish he hadn't. But I guess he knew
that the albino couldn't do it, so maybe he never wanted you dead to begin
with. Whatever, he’s ordered us to capture you two, and that's what we're going
to do. We'll hold you at the Castle until Vistrot decides what to do with you."
    "Why should we believe you?"
    "You have no choice if you still intend to
be the one that kills Malcolm. Also, Lord Kharker here has generously
volunteered to send some of his immortal troops to accompany us back to the
Castle and insure that nothing happens to you. Once there, Blackie will keep an
eye on you, I'm sure. He and Kharker are loyal to each other, you know, and he
wouldn't let Kharker's friends go to their deaths without good reason."
    Ruegger looked at the Hunter. "What do you
have to gain by all this, Kharker?"
    Kharker affected a look of innocence. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
    He was lying, Ruegger knew. Kharker never did
anything without a reason. The reason