Wintercraft: Legacy Read Online Free PDF Page B

waiting in the rain.
    A man was out there, standing on the other side of the muddy road. His eyes shone white in the moonlight as he stepped out of the shadows. The black feather was still in Kate’s hand and she turned it between her fingers, remembering something small, yet significant. ‘Silas,’ she whispered.
    Silas watched Kate carefully. Everything depended upon keeping her attention. He knew how strong her link with the veil had become. If he could use that link and remind her, just for a moment, of the memories she had lost, he could see how deeply Dalliah’s influence had spread.
    The crow settled on a wall behind him, its work done, while Edgar kept watch over one of Dalliah’s guards a short distance away. Silas did not know if what he was attempting would work, but he had to find out what he was dealing with. If her mind could be saved, that was reason enough to spare her life. If not, he could end Dalliah’s plan there and then with the edge of his blade.
    The world around Silas slipped into shades of grey. The candle on the inn’s windowsill dulled to a faint blue flame and Kate’s eyes shimmered as she let the veil take hold. Silas had looked into Kate’s memories before, but this was very different. This time, she was the one who had to see the truth. He did not have to share her thoughts: he had to let her see into his.
    The inn’s sign creaked gently in the wind, each swing becoming slower and slower until all movement stopped. The inn walls dissolved into grey and he could see the souls of the people within it as soft blurs of light filteringthrough the shadowy barrier of stone. Kate’s soul shone the brightest of them all. Silas’ blood chilled until it flowed like icy water through his veins. Then he sensed her. Kate’s spirit was so tightly attuned to the veil that its brightness intensified when viewed through it, like sunlight through a magnifying glass. Dalliah had recognised that strength within her. All Silas had to do was remind Kate of what she already possessed.
    Kate’s consciousness blossomed in his mind like a glowing ember rising into a gentle flame. Instinct carried her through his memories. Half-remembered pieces of his past crystallised into sharp focus for brief moments before dissipating again as she searched for any sign of her old life, anything that would tell her who she was and why Silas was there.
    Kate saw everything that Silas knew: every terrifying event he had caused in the past and every moment of the time they had spent together in Fume, she as his prisoner, he as her captor. She sensed the strength of purpose that had carried him into her life, and relived the moment when he had turned against the High Council to save her from the enticing pull of death. She witnessed his vicious treatment at the hands of the Blackwatch as seen through Silas’ own eyes, as well as the offer Dalliah had made to him before they had left the Continent. Dalliah’s voice spoke clearly within the memory.
We can regain our souls and be whole again. Surely that is worth the life of one young girl, Silas. Don’t you agree?
    Kate broke away at once. Their connection lasted only a few moments, but her absence left a feeling of emptinesswithin Silas as he let her go. Kate stared through the window, her face gently blurred by the glass, and there was recognition there. After everything Silas had shown her and everything he had done, she remembered.
    The inn’s sign squeaked back into motion as the living world dominated Silas’ senses once again. Kate looked back into the inn’s main room and stepped away from the glass, while Edgar made his way towards Silas, crossing the street and sticking closely to the shadows.
    ‘That Blackwatch officer looks like he’ll be sitting there for a while,’ he said, completely oblivious to what had just happened. ‘Have you seen any sign of Kate?’
    ‘She is inside,’ said Silas. ‘Under guard.’
    ‘So, why aren’t you going