Post by Jocelynn Drake on May 6, 2010 21:29:46 GMT -5
I am sneaking out random quotes on Wait for Dusk. Enjoy!
Budapest glowed about us, shining like a golden crown surrounding a shimmering river of glass. The news revealed that a fresh blanket of snow had fallen over the city during the day, leaving the city glistening under the stars. The last time I had visited Budapest, the three sectors of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest had not yet been joined into a single city. She had been in the process of rebuilding from yet another battle that had left many of her amazing buildings scarred and gutted. But still, this jewel of Central Europe shined and thrived.
After leaving our hotel at the foot of Gellért Hill, we caught a taxi that was now taking us across Erzsébet Bridge toward lower Pest. The bridge rose up around us, white and slender like a woman’s arm reaching across the Danube. Further up the river I could see the Széchenyi Chain Bridge standing solid in all its stone and golden glow glory. There was beauty around every turn in this city with its exquisite architecture and stunning statues and monuments. A part of me wished we weren’t here on business, but actually had some time to wander down the lovely streets and possibly visit the Parliament Building or any of the castles that dotted the landscape. Unfortunately, the exquisite Saint Stephen’s Basilica was out of the question for me. Nightwalkers could not go into holy places of worship like churches, temples, and synagogues. The magic there kept us out.
“You seem quieter than usual.” Danaus finally drew my gaze back into the car. The hunter sat next me, his long black coat wrapped around him against the bitter cold outside. The temperature had dipped close to zero that night and the wind gusted off and on, swirling the snow about us.
“It’s been a long time since I was last here.” And even then, the memories were not so great. I had been running with Valerio at the time, and causing more than my fair share of mischief. I wasn’t always the good little girl that I was now, and Valerio was no help on that front. The nightwalker had a wicked sense of humor and a dangerous definition of fun.
“I doubt that’s what’s preoccupying your mind.”
A smile tweaked the corners of my mouth as I looked up at my companion. “You know me too well sometimes,” I said, then shook my head, growing serious. “I cannot begin to guess at what Macaire has in store for us. He would not have sent us to Budapest unless he had something special planned that would finally get me off of the Coven and permanently out of his hair. And if he can get rid of you in the process, all the better for him.”
Budapest glowed about us, shining like a golden crown surrounding a shimmering river of glass. The news revealed that a fresh blanket of snow had fallen over the city during the day, leaving the city glistening under the stars. The last time I had visited Budapest, the three sectors of Buda, Óbuda, and Pest had not yet been joined into a single city. She had been in the process of rebuilding from yet another battle that had left many of her amazing buildings scarred and gutted. But still, this jewel of Central Europe shined and thrived.
After leaving our hotel at the foot of Gellért Hill, we caught a taxi that was now taking us across Erzsébet Bridge toward lower Pest. The bridge rose up around us, white and slender like a woman’s arm reaching across the Danube. Further up the river I could see the Széchenyi Chain Bridge standing solid in all its stone and golden glow glory. There was beauty around every turn in this city with its exquisite architecture and stunning statues and monuments. A part of me wished we weren’t here on business, but actually had some time to wander down the lovely streets and possibly visit the Parliament Building or any of the castles that dotted the landscape. Unfortunately, the exquisite Saint Stephen’s Basilica was out of the question for me. Nightwalkers could not go into holy places of worship like churches, temples, and synagogues. The magic there kept us out.
“You seem quieter than usual.” Danaus finally drew my gaze back into the car. The hunter sat next me, his long black coat wrapped around him against the bitter cold outside. The temperature had dipped close to zero that night and the wind gusted off and on, swirling the snow about us.
“It’s been a long time since I was last here.” And even then, the memories were not so great. I had been running with Valerio at the time, and causing more than my fair share of mischief. I wasn’t always the good little girl that I was now, and Valerio was no help on that front. The nightwalker had a wicked sense of humor and a dangerous definition of fun.
“I doubt that’s what’s preoccupying your mind.”
A smile tweaked the corners of my mouth as I looked up at my companion. “You know me too well sometimes,” I said, then shook my head, growing serious. “I cannot begin to guess at what Macaire has in store for us. He would not have sent us to Budapest unless he had something special planned that would finally get me off of the Coven and permanently out of his hair. And if he can get rid of you in the process, all the better for him.”