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.txt"You are properly ruthless, halfling," Aerune said, getting to his feet.Though irritated by hisloss, he looked intrigued as well.She'd counted more than a little on that.Elves were suckersfor a grand gesture.Not that Aerune was a sucker in any sense of the word.He stepped down from his throne, and stood facing her across a tangle of bodies, Sidhe and human.With a wave of his hand, he banished them all to another part of his domain.No trace of thebattle--;or Lintel's men--;remained to mar the chilly perfection of his presence chamber.Thedoors of the throne room closed in the same moment, sealing Ria in with him.Aerune held out his hand to her.The black mail gauntlet gleamed in theunchanging radiance of Underhill."It has been too long since I encountered anyone with such beauty who had yetthe spirit to defy me.I do not think you have been properly valued by your kin, halfling, nor bythe World Above.Matters could be otherwise.Have youconsidered--;""And rejected, Great Lord," Ria answered steadily.This powerful UnseleigheSidhe was offering her a seductive prize--;his patronage, and with it, a place in Underhill.Onceshe could have asked for no greater reward.Once."I want no bargain with you beyond that which I have already struck, Great Lord, though I prizeyour honorable offer for the tribute it is.I will go now, by your leave, and molest your realm nomore.Lintel was my vassal, and he is well rewarded for his treachery.I leave you his men as mygift, to do with as you choose."Taking a calculated risk, she turned her back on Lord Aerune and walked away.The doors of the throne room opened before her, and she walked out into the deserted castle.Noone tried to stop her, but Ria didn't breathe completely easily until she'd reached the nearestPortal and taken herself beyond Aerune's reach--;or at least, his immediate reach.I know this isn't over.Now that he knows there's something of value in the World Above, Aerunewon't stop until he figures out a way to get at it.But that's a problem for another day.ThankGod for small favors.TWELVE: TO END WHERE WE BEGANAs soon as Ria reached the World Above, everything that had happened in Aerune's court began totake on a vague air of unreality.After passing through several Portals and nearly exhausting herstore of Power, she'd come out in Sterling Forest, near the Nexus of Elfhame Everforest, and hadto hike more than a mile before she found a phone she could use to call a car to take her back tothe city.It was late Monday evening by the time she arrived back in New York--;time randifferently in the World Above, sometimes to the World Above's benefit.The drive back to the City gave her a lot of time to think, mostly about the look of horror onEric's face as she shot Robert Lintel.There'd been no other choice, though.Aerune probablywouldn't have let her take Lintel without a fight anyway, and if she had managed to bring him backto the World Above to face charges, the New York courts would probably have let him off on atechnicality.That was the way the legal system worked when you had money and influence.Ria had always preferred justice to law, and she'd spoken no more than the truth to the Unseleighelord.What Lintel had done was in some sense her responsibility.Threshold was a LlewellCocompany.Lintel had worked for her.Ultimately, she was responsible for what he'd done.Now he'd paid the dead for their loss in theonly way possible, with his own life, and that simplified matters.He'd never have the chance touse the information he'd gained at the cost of so many innocent lives.And if she had to lose Eric's respect--;and love--;because of it, Ria was willing to pay thatprice, though it would hurt more than she liked to think.I might as well find out now how it's going to be as soon as possible, she thought grimly.Therewas no point in waiting to get bad news."I've changed my mind," she told the driver."I'm not going to the Sherry.There's a stop I want you to make first."* * *The ride from Aerune's castle to New York passed in a dizzying blur.After the first few seconds,he'd just closed his eyes and held on tight, and finally the elvensteed had stopped.When he opened his eyes, the world spun giddily.Eric slid sideways off Lady Day's saddle and intoGreystone's arms.file:///G|/rah/Mercedes%20Lackey/Lackey,%20.20Rosemary%20-%20Beyond%20World's%20End.txt (122 of 124) [2/2/2004 1:21:14 AM]file:///G|/rah/Mercedes%20Lackey/Lackey,%20Mercedes%20&%20Edghill,%20Rosemary%20-%20Beyond%20World's%20End.txt"Steady there, laddybuck.Strewth, that was the wildest ride I've been on since I was a gleam inthe stonecarver's eye!" the gargoyle said cheerfully."Yeah," Eric said weakly.After a moment the world steadied, and he could stand on his own twofeet.He looked around warily.He was back in New York, behind Guardian House.It seemed strange thateverything looked normal.It was dark
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