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"Meet e" Philippe had resu in the blink of an eye and was standing before us in the library
I looked up from my book and frowned "What&039;s in the hay barn?" "Hay" Matthew&039;s revelations in the church had onlyto our new pope, Father Alain tells me that the conclave will announce today that poor Niccol�� has been elected despite begging to be spared the burdens of office What are the wishes of one ainst the aspirations of Philip of Spain and Philippe de Clermont?"
Philippe reached for his belt A loud clap exploded froer between his palainst his breastbone
"His Holiness can wait" Philippe considered the position of his weapon "I should have targeted Diana You would haveyour sport" Mattheas coldly furious "It&039;s been some time since I&039;ve had a knife thrown at me I fear I am out of practice"
"If you are not at the barn before the clock strikes two, I will coer" He plucked it out of Matthew&039;s hands and bellowed for Alain, as right behind hio to the lower barn until told otherwise," Philippe said as he rammed his weapon back into its leather sheath
"I had apprehended as much, sieur" It was as close to a reproach as Alain was ever likely to utter
"I&039; with so much testosterone No matter what Ysabeau thinks of witches, I wish she were here And before you ask what testosterone is, it&039;s you," I said, jabbing er at Philippe "And your son is not much better"
"The company of women, eh?" Philippe pulled on his beard and looked at Matthew, openly calculating just how much further he could push his son "Why did I not think of it before? While ait for Diana&039;s witch to arrive froot for instruction on how to behave like a proper French lady"
"What Louis and Margot get up to at Usson is worse than anything they did in Paris That woman isn&039;t a proper role model for anyone, least of alllook "Unless they&039;reto know that Louis&039;s carefully ed, very expensive assassination was a sham"
"For soe the passions of others, Matthaios Louis is your brother"
Goddess bless us, another brother
"Passions?" Matthew&039;s eyebrow lifted "Is that what you call taking a string of men and women to bed?"
"There are countless ways to love What Margot and Louis do is not your concern Ysabeau&039;s blood runs in Louis&039;s veins, and he will always have my loyalty-as will you, in spite of your own considerable transgressions" Philippe disappeared in a blur of movement
"Just how many de Clermonts are there? And why do you all have to be men?" I demanded when there was silence once hters were so terrifying we held a fa the at them, and Verin makes her look meek As for Freyjawell, Philippe naoddess of war for a reason"
"They sound wonderful" I gave him a perfunctory peck on the cheek "You can tellto stop up that leaky cauldron that Marthe calls a still"
"I could take a look at it for you I&039;er to do anything that would keep him from Philippe and the mysterious hay barn I understood, but there was no way for him to evade his father Philippe would simply invade my stillroom and harass him there
"Not necessary," I said overis under control"
Everything was not, as it turned out My eight-year-old bellows boys had let the fire go out, but not before the flah and produced a thick black residue in the bottoins of one of the de Cler and how it could be fixed, while Tho assistants, stoked the fire I was not the first to make use of the book&039;s wide, clean borders, and sos had been quite useful In time maybe mine would be, too
etienne, my other errant assistant, ran into the roo shiny in exchange
"Milord encore," the boy whispered back
"What are you betting on, Thomas?" I deed So about their studied innocence made me concerned for Matthew&039;s welfare "The hay barn Where is it?" I said, ripping off reat reluctance, Thoate and toward a wood-and-stone structure with a steeply pitched roof A ramp sloped up to the wide, barred entrance doors, but the boys pointed instead to a ladder pushed against the far end The rungs disappeared into fragrant darkness
Thoestures with his hands and i me to be silent with facial contortions worthy of an actor in a silent file blacksmith hauled me into the dusty loft
My appearance was met with interest, but not surprise, by half of the Sept-Tours staff I had thought it odd that only one guard was on duty at the front gate The rest of the with Catrine, her older sister Jehanne, roo I&039;d heard before, captured ainst nizable Matthew and his father had dispensed with sniping and progressed to arasp when the point of Philippe&039;s sword pierced Matthew&039;s shoulder Bloody slashes covered their shirts, breeches, and hose They&039;d evidently been fighting for so ainst the opposite wall The ground around the with a variety of discarded weapons stabbed into the packed soil Both of the de Cler around the my arrival They lifted their eyes a fraction to the loft and slid a worried glance at each other Mattheas oblivious His back was toscents in the barnmy way, seemed either not to notice or not to care
Matthew&039;s blade went straight through Philippe&039;s ar sood for you,&039;" Matthew ht you Greek-or English either Your knowledge of them has caused me no end of trouble," Philippe replied, unperturbed He pulled his arm free fro Matthew had a slight height advantage, and his longer ares He was fighting with a long, tapering blade, so one hand, sorip so that he could counter his father&039;sstrikes with a shorter sword that he wielded easily in one hand Philippe also held a round shield, which he used to deflect Matthew&039;s blows If Matthew had held such a defensive asset, it was gone now Though the twowere entirely different Philippe was enjoying hi commentary while he sparred Matthew, on the other hand, re by soto what his father was saying
"I&039;ve been thinking of Diana Neither earth nor ocean produces a creature as savage and monstrous as woed at hi speed in a wide arc toward his father&039;s neck I blinked, during which tied to slip beneath the blade He reappeared on Matthew&039;s other side, slicing at his son&039;s calf
"Your technique is wild this ?" Philippe inquired This direct question got his son&039;s attention
"Christ, you are i," Matthew said between clenched teeth He swung again, the sword glancing off Philippe&039;s quickly raised shield "Your constant interference is driving ods wish to destroy, they first make mad" Philippe&039;s words caused Matthew to falter Philippe took advantage of the misstep and slapped him on the backside with the flat of his sword
Mattheore "Did you give away all of your best lines?" he demanded Then he saw me
What happened next took place in a heartbeat Matthew began to straighten fro crouch, his attention fixed on the hayloft where I stood Philippe&039;s sword plunged, circled, and lifted Matthew&039;s weapon out of his hand With both swords in his possession, Philippe threw one against the wall and leveled the other at Matthew&039;s jugular
"I taught you better, Matthaios You do not think You do not blink You do not breathe When you are trying to survive, all you do is react" Philippe raised his voice "Coretfully helped me to another ladder You&039;re in for it now, promised his expression I lowered myself onto the floor behind Philippe
"Is she why you lost?" he deainst his son&039;s flesh until a dark ribbon of blood appeared
"I don&039;t knohat you e emotion overtook Matthew His eyes went inky, and he clawed at his father&039;s chest I took a step toward hi object flew atbetween my left arm and my torso Philippe had throeapon at lance to check his aier pinnedof the ladder, and when I wrenched ged scar
"That&039;s what I mean Did you take your eyes off your opponent? Is that how you nearly died, and Diana with you?" Philippe was angrier than I&039;d ever seen him
Matthew&039;s concentration flickered to h for Philippe to find yet another dagger tucked into his boot He plunged it into the flesh of Matthew&039;s thigh
"Pay attention to the man with the blade at your throat If you don&039;t, she&039;s dead" Then Philippe addressed"As for you, Diana, stay clear of Matthehen he is fighting"
Matthew looked up at his father, black eyes shining with desperation as the pupils dilated I&039;d seen the reaction before, and it usually signaled he was losing his control "Let o I need to be with her Please"
"You need to stop looking over your shoulder and accept who you are- awarrior with responsibilities to his fa on Diana&039;s finger, did you take time to consider what it pro
"My whole life, and the end of it And a warning to remember the past" Matthew tried to kick his father, but Philippe anticipated the move and reached down to twist the knife still e Matthew hissed with pain
"It&039;s always the dark things with you, never the light" Philippe swore He dropped the sword and kicked it out of Matthew&039;s reach, his fingers tightening on his son&039;s throat "Do you see his eyes, Diana?"
"Yes," I whispered
"Take another step toward h his father was exerting a crushing pressure on his windpipe I cried out, and the thrashing worsened
"Matthew is in a blood rage Weare closer to nature than other creatures-pure predators, no es we speak or what fine clothes ear This is the wolf in hi to free hie?" My words came out in a whisper
"Not all of our kind are prone to it The sickness is in Ysabeau&039;s blood, passed from her maker and on to her children Ysabeau and Louis were spared, but not Matthew or Louisa And Matthew&039;s son Benjah I knew nothing of this son, Matthew had toldstories about Louisa The same blood-borne tendency to excess was in Mattheell-and he could pass it down to any children we ht I knew all the secrets that kept Matthew from my bed, here was another: the fear of hereditary illness
"What sets it off?" I forced the words past the tightness in s, and it is worse when he is tired or hungry Matthew does not belong to hiainst his true nature"
Eleanor Could this be how one of Matthew&039;s great loves had died, trapped between an enraged Matthew and Baldwin in Jerusales about his possessiveness, and the danger that would result, didn&039;t seeical reaction that Matthew ht never be entirely able to control
"Is this why you ordered hi his vulnerabilities to the world?" I demanded furiously of Philippe "How could you? You&039;re his father!"
"We are a treacherous breed I ht turn on you, witch"
At that, Matthew reversed their positions and was pressing Philippe back toward the far wall Before he could gain the advantage, Philippe grabbed him by the neck The two of them stood, locked nose to nose "Matthew," Philippe said sharply
His son kept pushing, his huone Matthew&039;s only desire was to beat his opponent, or kill him if he must There had beenhuends about vampires made sense, and this was one of them But I wanted my Matthew back I took a step in his direction, but it only e worse
"Don&039;t come closer, Diana"
"You do not want to do this,to his master&039;s side He reached out an arm I heard a snap, watched the arm drop uselessly to his side thanks to the break at the shoulder and elbow, and saw the blood pouring out of a wound at his neck Pierre winced, his fingers rising to press against the savage bite
"Matthew!" I cried
It was the wrong thing to do The sound ofhim across the room, where he hit the wall of the hay barn, all the while retaining a one-handed grip on his father&039;s throat
"Silence, Diana Matthew is beyond reason Matthaios!" Philippe barked out his na to push his father away frorip never loosened
"I knohat you have done" Philippe waited while his words penetrated Matthew&039;s awareness "Do you hear me, Matthew? I know e if you could have"
Philippe had deduced that his son had killed him, but not hohy The only explanation available to him was Matthew&039;s illness
"You don&039;t know," Matthew said nu as you always do when you regret a kill: guilty, furtive, distracted," Philippe said "Te absolvo, Matthaios"
"I&039;ll take Diana away," Matthew said with sudden lucidity "Let us both go, Philippe"
"No We will face it together, the three of us," Philippe said, his face full of co to break Matthew, but only his guilt Philippe had not failed his son after all
"No!" Matthew cried, twisting away But Philippe was stronger
"I forgive you," his father repeated, throwing his arive you"
Matthew shuddered once, his body shaking froh some evil spirit had fled "Je suis desole," he whispered, the words slurred with eiven you Now you must put it behind you" Philippe released his son and looked at me "Come to him, Diana, but nored Philippe and went to Matthew in a rush He took me into his arms and breathed in my scent as if it had the power to sustain him Pierre moved forward, too, his arm already healed He handed Matthew a cloth for his hands, which were slick with blood Matthew&039;s ferocious look kept his servant several paces away, the white cloth flapping like a flag of surrender Philippe retreated a few steps, and Matthew&039;s eyes darted at the sudden movement
"That&039;s your father and Pierre," I said, taking Matthew&039;s face in my hands Increreen iris appeared first, then a sliver of gray, then the distinctive pale celadon that riusted He reached for my hands and drew thees"
"You are weak, Matthew, and the blood rage is too close to the surface If the Congregation were to challenge your right to be with Diana and you responded like this, you would lose We cannot let there be any question whether she is a de Clermont" Philippe drew his thumb deliberately across his lower teeth Blood, darkly purple, rose from the wound "Come here, child"
"Philippe!" Matthew held me back, dumbfounded "You have never-"
"Never is a very long time Do not pretend to know ravely "There is nothing to fear, Diana" I looked at Mattheanting to be sure this wasn&039;t going to cause another outburst of rage
"Go to him" Matthew released me as the creatures in the loft watched with rapt attention
"The an when I stood before hih ed his thumb in a curve that started in the center of my forehead near my hairline, crept near my temple, and finished atthe living without clan or kin" Philippe&039;s thuan, and hebetween led with the cool sensation of vampire blood "With this hter and forever a member of my family"
Hay barns had corners, too Philippe&039;s words set the strands of color-not just blue and aold The noise made by the threads rose to a soft keen of protest Another family awaited me in another time after all But the murmurs of approval in the barn soon drowned out the sound Philippe looked up to the loft as if noticing his audience for the first ti you is prepared to stand for her when lish translated the question for the others
"Mais il est debout," Tho at Matthew Philippe took care of the fact that Mattheas upright by clipping his son&039;s injured leg at the knee, sending him onto his back with a thud
"Who stands for madame?" Philippe repeated, one booted foot placed carefully on Matthew&039;s neck
"Je vais" It was Catrine, my daemonic assistant and maid, who spoke first
"Et h older, folloherever her sister led
Once the girls had declared their allegiance, Thomas and etienne threw in their lot with me, as did the blacks a basket of dried beans After he glared at his staff, they grudgingly acquiesced as well
"Mada, so you must be ready Catrine and Jehanne will distract the chuckles from the adults "etienne, you must run and find help, preferably arded Matthew grimly
"And my job?" I asked
"To think, as you did today Think-and stay alive" Philippe clapped his hands "Enough entertain, the people in the hayloft scattered to resume their duties With a cock of his head, Philippe sent Alain and Pierre out after the off his shirt as he went Surprisingly, he returned and dropped the wadded-up garment at my feet Nestled within it was a lu, and the one over his kidney that is deeper than I would have wished," Philippe instructed Then he, too, was gone
Matthew clirabbed hiround Matthew tried to pull free and draw me into his arms instead
"No, you stubbornLet ated his wounds, beginning with the ones Philippe had flagged With Matthew&039;s help I cleared the rent hose froone deep, but it was already closing thanks to the healing properties of vampire blood I packed a wad of snow around it anyway-Matthew assured h his exhausted flesh was barely warmer The wound on his kidney was si bruise oing to live," I said, putting a final ice pack into place over his left flank I smoothed the hair away from his forehead A sticky spot of half-dried blood near his eye had captured a few black strands Gently I freed them
"Thank you,me up, would you mind if I returned the favor and removed Philippe&039;s blood from your forehead?" Matthew looked sheepish "It&039;s the scent, you see I don&039;t like it on you"
He was afraid of the blood rage&039;s return I rubbed at the skin ed with black and red "I an priestess"
"More so than usual, yes" Matthew scooped soh and used it and the he evidence of my adoption
"Tell me about Benjamin," I said while he wiped at my face
"I ave hi so, I took his reason I took his soul"
"And he has your tendency toward anger?"