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confirm that I carry no threat to her.
He knew I was watching him. The small discs of silvery metal on my dress
shivered, their tinkling so faint that it might have been my imagination. Of
course he knew. Megan was all about vengeance; Kat, about forgiveness. And
Darkheart
A Daughter s power comes from bone and sinew and a Healer s from her human
heart, but Seekers do not pursue power, only knowledge. Underestimate him at
your peril, for knowledge is the most powerful weapon of all. The old man may
prove to be your greatest ally& or your most formidable foe.
It had been a long day, okay? I d almost lip-locked with a bat, a QueenVamp
had amused herself by fucking with me, and my immunity to sunlight had chosen
areally inconvenient time to break down. Plus my arm was throbbing. And I d
overloaded on sugar this morning and hadn t eaten anything else all day except
for a couple of kernels of popcorn before I hurled my box at Sonny Chiba.
So the cold voice that had just spoken in my head had to be a result of my
overstressed imagination, right?
I knew it wasn t.
Megan had once confided in me this was when we were confiding in each
other that before she d grown into her full powers as a Daughter, she d
wondered if she was going crazy. Only when it was almost too late did she
realize that the voice she d been channeling in her subconscious had been the
spirit of Lilith. Kat s experience had been similar, although it had been her
inner Healer who had come to her at the most dangerous time of her journey
toward her heritage. But who was I channeling?Zena?Dracula? Elvira, Mistress
of the Dark?
I felt the floor beneath my feet and realized I d allowed myself to drift
silently down from my position near the ceiling. I walked out of the shadows
toward Darkheart and wasn t surprised when he turned to watch me approach, his
hooded gaze sharply assessing under his salt-and-pepper eyebrows.
 Has been many changes for you since we last meet, Natashya, he said, not
wasting words on preliminaries.
 Our last meeting was only an evening ago, Grandfather, I reminded him.
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 Da. His answer was terse. I decided to skip the social niceties, too.
 When you came into our lives a few months ago, you told Megan and Kat and me
that we had destinies to discover, roles to fulfill, I said, choosing my
words with care.  But you never told us what your role was, Grandfather. Are
you what they call a Seeker?
His gaze on me didn t waver.  Was not my intention that granddaughters should
know this yet, butda, is correct. How did you know? He raised a heavily
veined hand before I could reply.  Nyet,do not answer. The changes I spoke of
are evident. You are morevampyr than human now. I see it will be harder to
keep secrets from you, Natashya.
He put his hand on the small of Liz s back and they started to enter the
Darkheart & Crosse office. Brook stepped in front of him and shot me a
questioning glance.
 I haven t searched him yet, she said to me.
I shook my head.  It sokay, Brookie, let him pass.
She stepped back. As Darkheart began to follow Liz through the doorway I
spoke again, my tone harsh enough that he turned to look at me.  You say I m
morevampyr than human now. That may be so, Seeker, but let me ask you this am
I now morevampyr to you than granddaughter?
Behind Darkheart s gray eyes something seemed to flash brilliantly. Then it
was gone, and his gaze on me was steady again.  Nyet,Granddaughter. Not yet.
 Whoa, what was that all about? Brook asked, letting out a tense breath as
Darkheart and Liz entered the office.  For a minute there I thought I was
going to have to cap your Zaidy, babe.
 I m not really sure. I gave her a shrug and winced as the burned flesh on
my right arm tightened painfully. Go on in, Brook. I ll be with you in a
minute.
 Aren t you going to wait for Malkovich? She scowled.  Not that I wouldn t
prefer we hold this meeting without Black Rose s local Johnny-on-the-spot.
 He ll be here in a second, I told her.  And don t ask me how I know that,
either, because I don t have a good answer.
 Yeah, you do, babe, Brook answered quietly.  You re changing over, and the
change is getting faster now. That s where all this heightened awareness is
coming from. A corner of her mouth lifted in a wry smile.  I thought we could
stave it off by not drinking human blood, but that doesn t seem to be working
out for either of us, does it?
 For you it is, I began, but with a quick gesture she waved my assertion
away.
 Don t kid a kidder, Crosse. I ve started sleeping in the daytime, just like
any other undead freak. And my eyes&  She tried to maintain her smile, but she [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]