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"Huh," Jeanne said, but not unsympathetically."I bet that didn't last."
"She recognized me, too, immediately," Aradiasaid. "She knew what she had. A
hostage to bargainwith all the other witches. And to buy credit withHunter
Redfern. And of course, she knew that she could stop me from seeing Delos."
"All she cares about is power," Maggie said quietly. "I heard
hertalking-it'sall about her, and how the witches have given her a bad deal
becauseshe's not a Harman or something."
Aradia smiled very faintly. "I'm not a Harman byname, either. But all true
witches are daughters ofHellewise Hearth-Woman-if they would just realize it."
She shook her head slightly. "Sylvia was so excited about finding me that she
couldn't resist explaining it all to your brother. And he . . . wasn't happy."
"No," Maggie said, burning with such fierce pride that for a moment the cold
cell seemed warm to her.
"She'd only told him before that she was taking him to some secret place
where legends were stillalive. But now she told him the truth about theDark
Kingdom, and how she wanted him to be apart of it. She told him that it could
be theirstheir own private haven-after Delos left with Hunter Redfern. He
could become a vampire orshapeshifter, whichever he liked better. They
wouldboth be part of the Night World, and they couldrule here without any
interference."
Maggie lifted her hands helplessly, waving themin agitation because she
couldn't find words. How stupid could Sylvia be? Didn't she know Miles atall?
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"Miles wouldn't care about any of that," she finally got out in a choked
voice.
"He didn't. He told her so. And I knew right awaythat he was in trouble with
her." Aradia sighed."But there was nothing I could do. Sylvia played it very
cool until they got me down the mountain.She pretended all she cared about was
getting meto a doctor and telling the rangers about my friends. But once we
were in her apartment, everything changed."
"I remember her apartment," Maggie said slowly."The people there were weird."
"They were Night People," Aradia said. "And Sylvia's friends. As soon as we
were inside she toldthem what to do. I was trying to explain to Miles,to see
if we both could get away, but there weretoo many of them. He put himself in
between meand them, Maggie. He said they'd have to kill himbefore getting to
me."
Maggie's chest felt not so much tight now asswollen, like a drum barrel full
of water. She couldfeel her heart thudding slowly inside, and the wayit echoed
all through her.
She steadied her voice and said, "Did they killhim?"
"No. Not then. And maybe not ever-but that'sthe part that I don't know. All I
know is that theyknocked him out, and then the two slave tradersarrived. Bern
and Gavin. Sylvia had sent for them."
And they must have come fresh from kidnappingP.J., Maggie thought. What
wonderful guys.
"They knockedme out. And then Sylvia boundme with spells and practiced with
her truth potions on me. She didn't get much information, becauseI
didn'thavemuch information. There was no armyof witches coming to invade the
Dark Kingdomright now, I wish there were. And she already knew that I was
coming to see Delos."
Aradia sighed again and finished quickly. "Thetruth potion poisoned me, so
that for days afterwards I was delirious. I couldn't really understandwhat was
going on around me -I just faded in andout. I knew that I was being kept ina
warehouse until the weather cleared enough to take me to thevalley. And I knew
that Miles had already been disposed of-Sylvia mentioned that before she left
mein the warehouse. But I didn't know what she haddone with him-and I still
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don't."
Maggie swallowed. Her heart was still thumping in that slow, heavy way. "What
I don't understandis why she had to set up a whole scenario to explainwhere he
went. She let some rangers find her onthe mountain, and she said that he fell
down acrevasse. But if he was dead, why not just let himdisappear?"
"I think I know the answer to that, at least," Aradia said. "When Miles was
fighting them off he saidthat his roommates knew he'd gone climbing withher.
He said that if he didn't come back, they'dremember that."
Yes. It made sense. Everything made sense-except that Maggie still didn't
know what had becomeof him.
There was a long silence.
`"Well, he was brave," Jeanne said finally, andwith unexpected seriousness.
"If he did die, he wentout the right way. We just ought to hope we cando the
same."
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