Bloodborn Read Free Page B

and brawling and waiting for the real battles to start. Probably not. Little more than two weeks had passed since they left. They would be on the road still, bickering and joking and complaining about the weather.
    Suddenly, despite her previous prayer, she wanted to be with them more than anything in the world, trading quips with Felix, listening to Max go on about all and sundry, smiling at Snorri’s forthright ignorance and Gotrek’s hardheaded certainty. But no, they had let her live – letting her travel with them was something else altogether. She was a monster now. They killed monsters. And she killed humans. It was impossible for them to continue to be companions.
    After brooding a while longer on her old life and her new, she rose from her bed and donned a silk robe. It was evening, and she could hear sounds of activity in the castle below. The noises grew louder as she descended the narrow stone spiral of the tower, and as she stepped into the dark upper corridor she was nearly knocked down by two servants hurrying by with a great, brass-bound trunk. Another servant swerved past with a stack of hat boxes.
    In the vast stone entry hall, looming gargoyles looked down on more confusion. Trunks and wardrobes were being piled by the front door, and maids and footmen were covering ornamental suits of armour and heavy, carved furniture with white sheets. Near the doors to the music room, Countess Gabriella, in a forest-green bodice and dress, was in conference with Lady Grau, her sober chatelaine, ticking off things in a giant ledger that the golden-haired knight Rodrik, Gabriella’s champion, held open before them.
    Ulrika padded barefoot down the sweeping stone steps and crossed to them. ‘Mistress,’ she said. ‘What is happening?’
    Gabriella looked up, distracted. ‘I must leave for Nuln. Tonight.’ She returned to the ledger, tapping a finger on some entry. ‘No. There will be no need of groomsmen while I am gone. Rodrik, select two to travel with us, then dismiss the rest.’
    ‘As you wish, m’lady,’ intoned the knight.
    A thrill of anxiety went through Ulrika. Was the countess leaving her alone? Could she survive without her? Could she control herself? ‘How… how long will you be gone?’
    Gabriella’s eyes flashed up at her again. ‘I don’t know! Now, I have quite a lot of details to attend to before I go, and–’ She paused, her brow furrowing. ‘And you are one of them, aren’t you?’
    Gabriella took the ledger from Rodrik and gave it to Lady Grau. ‘You may finish the arrangements yourself. You know what I wish. The bare minimum that will keep the house in order until I return.’
    Lady Grau curtseyed. ‘Yes, countess.’
    As she withdrew, Gabriella beckoned Ulrika and Rodrik into the music room, then closed the door behind them, shutting out the noise in the entry hall.
    ‘There has been trouble among my sisters in Nuln,’ she said, facing Ulrika. ‘And I am commanded by my queen – our queen, the Lady of the Silver Mountain – to go there and assist them in the crisis. I must of course obey, but the order comes at an inconvenient time – at least as far as you are concerned.’
    ‘You do not wish to leave me alone,’ said Ulrika.
    ‘I dare not,’ said the countess. ‘And yet, to bring you into Nuln–’
    ‘M’lady, you cannot,’ said Rodrik, appalled. ‘I saw what she left of the boy. She is not ready.’
    ‘But to leave her is to doom her,’ said Gabriella. ‘Without guidance she will become the animal she thinks she is now.’
    ‘Have I no say in this?’ asked Ulrika, stiffening. They spoke of her as they would a dog.
    ‘None whatsoever,’ said the countess, then shrugged her shoulders and turned to Rodrik. ‘She will come. Have her things packed. No, wait. I will show her first. Go.’
    Rodrik didn’t appear to like it, but he only bowed. ‘As you wish, m’lady.’
    As he turned and stepped into the hall, Gabriella smiled at Ulrika, as warm now as she