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.After making sure she had not been observed, she drew the hood of the cloak over her head.Woven and ensorceled by her own hands many years ago, the cloak not only made her invisible, but also disguised the aura produced by her body heat—something vampires could see.The snow-speckled wind was strong, but she maneuvered herself so that it blew directly in her face.Though she was now invisible to the eyes of blooder and human alike, she was not about to risk being betrayed by her scentHer wait was not long.Just as the inn closed, the vampire emerged.The barmaid Maia was with him.Carefully, silently, the Shark followed, noting that Jander deliberately left bootprints in the snow, perpetuating the illusion that he was nothing more than an ordinary elf.Too many blooders, used to walking without tracks, forgot that little detail.Maia and the vampire chatted quietly as he escorted the girl to her home, a single room atop a tailor shop.The Shark waited for the inevitable.The stupid girl, hypnotized by the creature, would invite him in.Of course he would accept, then drink his fill.That was the way it worked, and the Shark never interfered.She knew from a particularly harrowing experience in Suzail that it was unwise to startle a feeding vampire.Her expectations were fulfilled.Casually, Maia invited the vampire inside, as if she had done so often.Courteously, the blooder accepted.The Shark waited with practiced patience, ignoring the cold.Eventually the vampire emerged, descended the stairs, and turned to stride down the street—still taking care to leave footprints.The hunter followed, slightly puzzled.Rather than assume the form of a bat or dissolve into mist, Jander chose to retain his elven shape and simply walk the distance.He seemed tense, though, and repeatedly glanced over his shoulder.He thinks someone's following him, she realized suddenly.How could he know?The Shark's mind raced back to the incident at the inn, and she finally recognized what she had done to arouse the blooder's suspicions.She had not asked the price of the carving.Shame and fear rolled over her, bringing hot blood to her invisible face.Idiot! her mind screamed silently.How could she have jeopardized herself so? Her carelessness could have cost her life—and might still.At that instant, Jander paused to look squarely at her, just for a moment.The Shark's heart lurched.But no, he hadn't seen her.The blooder turned and continued on his way.At last he stopped in front of a small, stone cottage near the city's outskirts.It wasn't until Jander removed a key and unlocked the door that the Shark understood, with some surprise, that this was the vampire's home.The wooden shingles and door were solid and in good shape.Beneath the shuttered windows stood the winter skeletons of rose bushes, carefully pruned and planted in neat rows.With a final, anxious glance around, Jander carefully knocked the snow from his boots and went inside.The Shark tasted disappointment like ashes in her mouth.What kind of a challenge was a vampire who planted rose bushes? How could she prove herself against so feeble a foe? Surely something as exotic as an elven vampire ought to push her to her limits, test every bit of cleverness and skill she possessed! She almost felt that she could walk in right now and dispatch the creature without breaking a sweat, but her earlier carelessness tempered her resentment.She would come back tomorrow and kill him.It would be easy, she knew, yet she still needed to devise a back-up plan just in case something went wrong.With a final, disgusted look at the cozy cottage that was home to a vampire, she turned and retraced her steps to town.There was one more thing to do tonight.* * * * *Protected from all eyes by her magical cloak, the Shark arrived at the blooder's cottage the following afternoon.The vampire's domicile was part of a small row of houses, which all seemed vacant at the moment; Shallen Lathkule's wedding, held at the other end of Waterdeep, had indeed drawn a huge crowd.With speedy efficiency, the Shark picked the lock and slipped inside.Closing the door behind her, she allowed her eyes to grow accustomed to the darkness, then looked around.On this, the ground floor of the two-story building, she saw nothing sinister, apart from the shutters that were nailed closed and coated with pitch to seal out sunlight.There was a large workbench, with the woodcarver's tools neatly organized.Half-formed carvings sat patiently on shelves.Where they were not covered with shelving, the walls bore lovely paintings and tapestries.In one corner, carefully preserved, was a suit of mail, a sword, and a shield.Relics, no doubt, from the vampire's days as a living being.The stone floor was strewn with fresh rushes.Small squeaking sounds came from behind a curtain toward the back.Senses alert, the Shark moved forward carefully and drew back the curtain.Dozens of rats milled about in a large pen.She watched them carefully for a few moments, aware that sometimes such simple beasts could be controlled by vampires, but the rats behaved in a perfectly ordinary fashion.Wrinkling her nose at the smell, she let the curtain fall."Between meal treats," she said softly.Most blooders kept something of the sort on hand.She checked the wooden floor for any hidden doors, but found none.The Shark frowned, puzzled, and glanced at the ladder that led up to the upper floor.Most undead liked their lairs cool and dark, belowground if possible.The Shark shrugged.Upstairs, downstairs—it made no difference to her [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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