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On December 1, I promised you a Grand Finale of Villainy -- and I hope you've enjoyed the wonderful posts by Kim Falconer and Amanda Arista as much as I have.
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Today it's my turn to bring you the third feature post in our Grand Finale. You may recall, in my contribution to Villainy Among Friends on November 1, that I discussed how the villains in The Wall Of Night series -- and the evil they practice -- shift from demonic and relatively monolithic force, to wearing a more human face as the series evolves.
Arcolin, a Darksworn mage-warrior who makes his first appearance in The Gathering of the Lost, returns to play a more central part in Daughter of Blood. His encounter with the street urchin called Faro also reveals more of his character -- in which respect, I leave you to draw your own conclusions. :-)
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Arcolin in Daughter Of Blood by Helen Lowe
(The Wall Of Night #3)
So much blood, Faro thought numbly, as Arcolin let
the other boy’s body fall: so much blood…
Smiling, Arcolin wiped the knife clean, his blue gaze fixed on Faro—whose brain was screaming at him to get away, but the best he could manage was a leaden crawl toward the door. Pain and tears blurred his gaze and snot was trailing from his nose—like a crying baby, but he could see no point in wiping it away. Over his shoulder, he watched his killer's catlike approach.
Faro did not need the lightning’s glow to see the fine, black leather boots or the gleam of mail beneath the long black cloak. He did not need to hear above the thunder either, because Arcolin’s voice spoke inside his head. “Does one blunt a good blade on a rat? I think not. One just kicks it to death, against the wall.”
Instinctively, Faro curled tight, even though he
knew it would do no good. He was aware, in a small, detached recess of his
mind, that he hated Arcolin—loathed his handsome face and vividly blue gaze—as
much as he feared him. But he was far beyond the pride of trying not to scream
as the first kick landed hard against his drawn-up knees. Outside, lightning
seared simultaneously with the thunder’s crack, drowning his scream as the boot
connected again, and then again, each blow precise and almost leisurely. “Let’s
see,” the voice inside his head said, “if we can’t kick you apart like a
chest full of wormwood.”
Another kick landed, this time against Faro’s arms,
wrapped close about his head. His body jerked and the next kick drove into the
small of his back, booting him away from the protection of the wall. Arcolin
laughed as Faro shrieked, the sound torn out of his throat and lost against the
boom of the storm—then laughed again, delivering another, harder blow. Pain and
darkness exploded across Faro’s mind as well as his body. He could almost see
the thin line that was his cry, spiraling out beyond the hall and the door with
the ship’s prow above it, until it reached the next fork of lightning, flickering
between heaven and earth.
The lightning answered, tearing the sky apart in a blue-white blaze that leapt down the path of his scream. The ship’s prow exploded as the strike tore through the head and neck of the mer-horse—and the door disintegrated, every nail in it hurtling outward. Faro shrieked again, his mind and body on fire as the smell of melting metal and burning flesh assaulted him. I’m dead, he thought, I’m dead. When the dazzle of the lightning faded he let his mind follow, down into darkness.
~ from © Daughter of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three – Chapter 3, Against The Wall
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| The Wall Of Night series |
About Helen Lowe
Helen
Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four
books published to date, she is currently completing the final
instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.
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