Katrina

The Beginning

A Royal Blood Chronicle

Book One

By

Elizabeth Loraine

This is a work of fiction. All the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Royal Blood Chronicles Book One copyright © SMASHWORDS EDITION 2013 by Elizabeth Loraine all rights reserved.

ISBN 978 1301569670

We are named in every ancient culture.

You speak of us in every written language.

We have walked beside your ancestors,

just as we walk beside you.

What you don't know protects you.

Those you fear will save you.

CHAPTER ONE

I sat very still, staring straight ahead. Sitting for a portrait for the Sanctuary’s grand library was a great honor. My name is Katrina Von Dracek, and I can’t believe how long it’s been—almost one hundred thirty years. This is the chronicle of my journey, from the beginning.

From this vantage point atop the castle’s west wall, I could see the entire valley. The breeze was cool, but no longer held any threat of winter.

What would the rest of my life be like, I wondered. All young girls, I supposed, wanted love, but I also wanted adventure, to travel the world, to make a difference in some way. It would be a long life, I knew, for vampires live a very long time.

I appraised my surroundings. The night was breathtaking. With my vampire gifts, I detected a stag in the woods nearby and even though there was no moon tonight, my enhanced vision made the darkness as clear as the day.

From my history lessons, I learned the earliest known members of our race could not tolerate the sun in the beginning, or control their lust for blood. But just as all creatures have evolved through the centuries to survive, so had we, although some of the clans prefer, as they call it, to stay true to their heritage. Vampires are mostly born now, not made. Blood lust has been tamed by the hunting of animals and through the use of Crimson. Crimson is liquid strength for vampires, and is made from small amounts blood donated by our human watchers. It is mixed with an ancient elixir that vastly multiplies it by volume, and enables it to stay fresh indefinitely.

As I turned to leave, I saw a shadow, too fast to be human, streak across the field toward the front gate. Alarm trickled through me. I had been up on the wall for hours, and I had neither seen, nor heard anyone leave the castle.

“I have to find Quinn,” I whispered into the darkness.

Quinn, my Watcher and my friend, was one of the seven Voss brothers who attended my family. Watchers are the personal human guard of the vampires; men who have dedicated their lives to the well-being of their vampire families; none more loyal than the Voss.

I rushed to the stairway leading to the entrance courtyard, but stopped just as Quinn emerged from the doorway at the bottom.

“What’s happened?”

“A courier has just arrived. The whole council has been called to meet in Salzburg, and each family has been directed to include their best young royal representatives in their party,. You will be joining your father. Come with me now, we have begun making preparations to leave, since the journey is long and the Council is to meet in just fourteen days.”

That was Quinn, always seeing to the needs of our family. He and I had grown up together, becoming so close, my father had actually sought to warn me. “Katrina, Quinn is your Watcher and must remain as such.”

Bristling, I’d told him in no uncertain terms, “Quinn was also my friend, my best friend”, but later I found myself wondering if it was still the truth. Had I started to feel something more? No, I reassured myself; Quinn was my friend, and of course I cared for him, yes, maybe even loved him, but as a friend, or a member of my family. Right? I guessed I would need to sort this out, but it would have to wait, for tomorrow we were leaving on a journey that would take us north and east; a journey that could hold danger. I grew excited at the prospect. The unknown is always both the most frightening, and the most exciting part of any new adventure.

My head swam as I realized the full impact of the Council’s directive. Our retinue would be large enough, but all the clan’s would be adding their royal families’ most worthy young members, and the numbers going to Council this time would be in the hundreds. All would be traveling with their entourage made up of Watchers, servants, and caravan wagons filled with provisions. There would also be wagons carrying the bales and boxes of gifts for the other clans and their leaders, especially those chosen for the High Regent.

“Katrina, you look weak.” Quinn broke my reverie. “When was the last time you fed? Did you drink anything today at all?”

Quinn was right; I hadn’t had Crimson or been out to hunt all day, preferring to concentrate on the development of my gifts and military skills. I thought back now, I hadn’t fed since the day before or maybe longer. I realized with a start, I was very near dormancy and could have gone into that state in my sleep. Dormancy, a kind of hibernation if you will, is a slowed metabolic state which saves us when we have to hide, heal, or survive when food either was not available or was tainted. This dormancy can last hours, days, weeks, or even years. Now that Quinn had brought it up; I did feel weak, too weak to hunt. Why hadn’t I paid more attention? Suddenly my vision started to fade; and I was forced to leaned against the wall to steady myself from the overwhelming feeling of dizziness.

When I awoke, Quinn was wrapping a cloth around his wrist.

“You must be more responsible.” he chided me. “I can’t be in charge of your feedings too!”

He was angry, so angry his face was red, and though I had never bitten a human in my life, the bulging vein on his neck was making me feel something I had never felt before - blood lust. It didn’t help Quinn was so handsome, and as he kept ranting about how I was ignoring my training, my studies, and everything else, I couldn’t help admiring the ruggedness of his jaw and the way his dark brown hair flopped onto his face; his beautiful face.

“Katrina, Katrina! Are you even listening to me at all?”

Snapping out of my reverie felt almost painful; I would have liked to remain there just a little longer.

“Katrina?” his inflection changed as he walked toward me.

The impulse to throw my arms around his neck and kiss him passionately was so overwhelming, it took all my strength to contain myself.

“What is wrong with you Katrina? We have no time for this.”

I spun away to gather myself, and then tears filled my eyes. I am not someone easily moved to tears, I had to wonder, what was wrong with me? I felt a jolt when Quinn placed his warm hands on my shoulders and turned me to him. When he saw the tears, he froze for a moment. Then his face softened and I saw something new there, but then he hardened again, “You must be more careful.”

He strode away, leaving me feeling abandoned and hollow.

I walked to my room in a daze, suddenly drained.

The door to my room had never felt this heavy, I thought as I pulled it open. Once inside, I was pleased to see the bed turned down and a meal of sweet bread, butter, and a glass of wine on the table. Thank goodness for Sarah. Sarah my handmaiden and confidant, had been with me since I was a child. Our relationship was special and I could always count on Sarah’s calm good nature, wry humor, and wise council.

I quickly ate the food, choosing to savor the wine. Then, too exhausted to put on the dressing gown left out for me, I lay down on the bed; the last thing I remember was picturing the look in Quinn’s eyes and wondering what it meant. Though fleeting, it had been there, hadn’t it? With that thought, I slept.

~~~~

Entering the courtyard of the Watcher compound, I found three of my brothers, Thomas, Simon, and Avery, seated around the roaring fire. The smell of venison and red cedar firewood made my mouth water and I realized I hadn’t eaten since yesterday. I needed to take my own advice and have a meal.

The food brought back to mind what had just happened with Katrina. The thoughts made my heart race and shortly my it pounded so loud, I felt certain everyone in my compound could hear it. I saw something different in the way she looked at me and I was sure it wasn’t just because I had yelled at her. Was the fact I’d cut myself and let her feed directly from my wrist, the reason that she saw me differently? After all, I had never had to hand-feed her before. But since she hadn’t awakened until afterwards, she didn’t know I had given her blood from my arm, or that she had actively engaged in a direct feeding.

I knew of course, it was strictly forbidden for a Watcher to give blood directly, but when she fainted she was clearly in danger of dormancy, so I acted. My only thought at the time, was getting fresh blood into her as quickly as possible. As my knife opened the vein on my wrist, the scent made her nostrils flare and the same instinct that kept vampires alive for centuries kicked in. She grabbed my arm and began to feed. The movement was so swift and powerful I wasn’t sure I could have stopped her even if I’d wanted to.

The feeling I had while she was feeding could only be described as pure euphoria, and only the sound of my brother coming up the stairs made me break the bond. I quickly carried her to a side room to recover. “Break the bond.” Why had I thought of it that way? Was that it? Had that short feeding changed everything between us?

I calmed as I began my meal. I needed to fortify myself since my brothers and I would be giving and storing blood for our charges for the trip.

Although Baron Von Dracek would surely hunt along our journey, in the event there was no game available in the high country, the added availability of Crimson would definitely be needed. Nothing gives strength to a vampire like the human blood in Crimson.

As I sat by the fire, my oldest brother, Gunter, approached.

“We missed you at training today,” Gunter told me gruffly. “Don’t let it become a habit. None of us can be the weak link.”

I was the youngest of seven brothers, something the other six never let me forget.

It was exciting to think I would now have a chance to prove myself on this journey. As Katrina’s Watcher, I was bound to protect her no matter what might happen, even to the point of giving my life for hers, something our family had done for generations.

“Quinn,” Gunter started to pace, “Only four of us will accompany the Baron and Katrina on this trip, and I’ve decided you are too young and untried in battle to be one of the four.”

I jumped to my feet, pulled my sword, with anger I didn’t know I possessed, looked Gunter straight in the eye and through clenched teeth I yelled, “I dare any of you to try to keep me from my duty. Nothing is going to stop me from going on this trip, including you, Gunter. If you have any doubts, let us settle them here, and now.”

Gunter gave Thomas a surprised look, and slowly rose from the seat he had just taken by the fire. Looking around at the others, he shrugged, “All right, little brother, let’s see what you’ve learned.”

As I backed into the open part of the courtyard, Gunter drew his sword and we prepared to fight. The fire reflected off our blades and made them seem to jump in our hands, as we circled first right and then left. Gunter lunged, his sword held high. When moments before I felt tired and weak, I was now invigorated by both my anger, and the thought my brothers would try to leave me behind.

I countered Gunter’s move, our swords sparking once, twice. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see servants and my other brothers gathering. Guards were now yelling encouragement from above.

“That’s it, lad, don’t let Gunter push you about!”

Gunter was strong, but I was fast and that easily made up for his extra years of training. I had always been a quick study and even before I was allowed to train with my brothers, I had mirrored the movements made during their mock battles, over and over again. Although Gunter had trained all of us, his eyes showed surprise at my proficiency; and at something in me he hadn’t seen before- pure rage. The rage brought an adrenalin surge that made me stronger, quicker, and more alert. We fought across the compound. Then Gunter made a mistake, and I seized my chance. As he lunged, I easily jumped aside. As he whirled by me, I whacked him on the back of the head with the hilt of my sword.

Gunter grunted, turned, and charged. I ducked his blow. Too late Gunter realized his mistake; his momentum had brought him closer than he wanted. With the new-found power of my anger, I hit him hard in the gut with my fist. Gunter bent over in with a gasp of pain and shock, and as I backed away, the now crowded courtyard erupted in cheers and laughter.

“I guess your little brother showed you a thing or two, Gunter,” a guard shouted from above.

Gunter raised his head, his hands still on his knees, and yelled, “Don’t you all have work to do? Be gone, morning comes quickly!”

Still breathing hard, I remained in attack stance, ready to continue if I must. The adrenalin still rushing though me would enable me to take on all of my brothers, one-by-one if I needed to. I would not be denied. The coming journey was my destiny, now more than ever.

Gunter slowly stood and put his sword back in its scabbard.

“Well, little brother, you’ve learned well and I have obviously misjudged your skill. You have just earned the right to join us. So it will be the two of us, plus Thomas and Simon on this journey. Be ready, we leave before dawn.

~~~~

I rose with a start, not even sure what day it was. My head throbbed, and just as I was about to ring for Sarah, she rushed into the room, a full breakfast tray in her hands.

She dragged me out of bed, peeled me out of my rumpled dress, and helped me wash, all the while bemoaning the state of my beautiful hair. While I ate, Sarah told me about a fight the night before between Quinn and Gunter. She didn’t know what started the confrontation, only that had Quinn won, and everyone had survived intact.

By the time I had finished my huge breakfast, plus a large goblet of very fresh Crimson, Sarah had finished braiding my hair back away from my face.

I rose and dressed myself in a simple, functionally tasteful traveling outfit of the softest lambskin leggings, riding boots, and a beautifully embroidered emerald green over-tunic. Sarah then pushed me in front the mirror, a gift from my father on my seventeenth birthday. Had it been so long since I looked at myself? I hardly recognized the girl in the mirror. The tall young woman looking back at me looked surprised too!

I had to admit, as Sarah often told me, I was pretty. My golden brown hair shone in the candlelight, and my green eyes, full of wonder at my appearance, complemented my outfit perfectly. I felt strong and ready for whatever would come.

The Vampire as a species has undergone centuries of evolution and a progression of that development is our ability to slow down the process of aging. Beginning in our seventeenth year, our metabolism slows and we begin to age very gradually. For the next hundred or so years my body would undergo only subtle changes, changes that would leave me looking more mature, but essentially the same; unless of course I didn’t feed. I would have to apologize to Quinn about yesterday. I also wanted to ask him about the fight. Maybe it would be better to let him bring it up, I decided.

It was May in Germany, and although mornings were still cool, the wind was sweet with hints of jasmine in the soft mountain breeze. The birds were already awake, singing and going about their business. The beginnings of sunrise made the eastern sky glow with soft bands of pink and orange.

I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath. In my mind I could still hear my father’s voice asking, “What do you ‘see’ daughter?” When I was small, I didn’t understand what he meant, but soon the purpose of this action became clear. I was gifted with an extraordinary sense of smell, one even stronger and more refined than the normal vampire acute version of that sense. With my gift, I could ‘see’ almost everything—humans, vampires, and animals alike—and was able to discern their numbers.

Later, I was able to identify individuals, using each being’s unique scent (not always pleasant) as a marker. I was able to differentiate between horses, dogs, sheep, goats, and the like. When outside the grounds, I could add my acute hearing to my sensing, and tell not only the kinds of animals or people, but also how far away and in what direction they were. If I was patient and practiced, Father said it would become a very useful gift indeed. I quickly learned, once I found and identified a scent, I was able to somehow store and retrieve it for reference later. I have never forgotten one.

“Katrina,” my father called as he walked towards me. Tall and regal, he looked handsome in his all-black attire, which included a hat and a cape. His slightly graying hair fell to his shoulders.

“Yes Father?” I replied, as I hastened to meet him.

“Are you ready? Did you have gifts packed for everyone?”

Although it was customary to give gifts of friendship to his Lordship the High Regent, and his wife the Lady Margarite, I had also ordered Sarah to pack extra trinkets and sundries in case we needed them along the way.

“Yes Father, everything is in order.”

It must have taken all night for the servants to complete all the preparations, I thought.

“Then let us be on our way. The journey is long and we know not what awaits us. Why his Lordship demands such secrecy I don’t know, but I’m anxious to arrive early and have some time to seek counsel with others before everyone else arrives.”

“Yes, Father.” I felt as if I was rushing behind him like a young pup, in order to keep up with his long stride.

Then I spotted Quinn and my heart started to race.  He was standing by the horses, my beautiful bay mare and his dark grey gelding, their manes fluttering in the early morning breeze. He was talking to Thomas and hadn’t noticed me yet.

Why was I reacting to him this way? He’d been my Watcher for a year now, and after all, we had grown up together. He was just my Quinn. My Quinn? Where had that come from? He’d always been just Quinn. I was drawing closer now and just as I stepped within a few feet of him, Thomas stopped talking and looked over. Quinn then turned and our eyes held for a moment before he looked away.

“My Lady,” they both said at the same time, and made a slight bow of their heads. My Lady? Not, good morning, Katrina, or why are you late? This was all too strange and I was determined to get to the bottom of it soon, but just as I was about to remark on their new attitude, the castle guard yelled out.

“Caravan approaching!”

Count Philepe Bistodeau, his son Gerhardt, and their entourage cantered through the west gate.

“Oh, good, Fredrik. I was afraid you would already be gone,” Philepe slowly circled his mount to a walk .

“We were just about to depart, Philepe,” Father extended his hand in greeting.

“Excellent, we can travel together. There’s safety in numbers, and we can talk along the way.”

Then Philepe turned his gaze to me.

“Ah, is this Katrina? How beautiful you have become. You remember my son Gerhardt don’t you?”

I did. A pompous, spoiled, self-absorbed peacock, as I recalled; but I greeted him, “Yes, of course. How are you, Gerhardt?”

“I’m getting better all the time. I look forward to a long journey together.”

I managed not to show my distaste as I thought of being regaled by his self-aggrandizing tales of daring-do for days on end. If I heard him talk about how great he was one more time, I would be nauseous.

Quinn brought over my horse, Nulla, and helped me mount. After I was safely in place he gazed up at me and whispered, “Don’t worry Kat; I’ll always be here to save you.”

Then he winked at me, went over to his horse and mounted.

I smiled and turned Nulla toward the east gate, positioning us so Quinn was on one side and Simon on the other. Gerhardt then had no option but to ride with someone else.

I turned to Quinn to say thanks, but he was looking straight ahead, a wry smile on his face. I know I would have laughed out loud had I been privy to his thoughts.

Much later, I was relieved when finally Gerhardt rode by us and joined our fathers. I had endured hours of his trying to engage me in conversation. His surrender was a small victory, but a very satisfying one.

For the next three days there was no privacy and no chance to speak with Quinn alone. We would arrive in Salzburg the day after tomorrow, about which I felt both excited and fearful. Having the young royal vampires together at one time and place had never happened before. Up to now, we had only briefly met with the other European clans to discuss rogue vampire killings or other clan business. I’d never seen most of the other clans. Of course Father had visited all of them, responding whenever help was needed, and knew those members who had been sent to Council. Along the way I had heard my father speaking to Philepe about how ‘on edge’ all the clans have been. The council is keeping the peace for now, but rivals are arguing among themselves over a new territory across the sea in the New World.

Where will all this lead? Was it true they intended to send us off to that New World they talked about? The Viking vampires had been going there for hundreds of years and had sent an expedition as recently as two years ago. I hoped there would be an opportunity to hear the tales of their exploits. These were not things that normally interested me, but the thought of young vampires from several of our clans being offered the opportunity of starting a new one in this New World, was exciting. I knew I wanted to go. Now all I had to do was convince my father.

Finally, after almost two weeks on the road, we were in sight of Salzburg. The view was stunning. I had no idea a place could be so grand, so beautiful. We rode through the city to the Regent’s palace, located not too far outside the city gates. We had no time to linger now, but passing the shops, seeing the lovely outfits adorning the women and the couples having lunch, made me wish I had time to stroll the streets and explore all the wonders that abounded there.

“Daydreaming again?”

Quinn’s voice jerked me back to reality.

“Yes, and I wish.…” Then I realized these were the first words we’d spoken for days, and I wondered where Thomas and Simon were.

He said, as if reading my mind, “Thomas and Simon are consulting with Gunter about how best to guard you and his Lordship while in the Palace. What were you about to say?”

I paused. “Nothing.”

My heart sank. I hadn’t been alone with him for days, and now that I did have a chance, I couldn’t think of anything to say. What a fool I was!

Quinn turned to me, and the look on his face showed, he couldn’t think of anything either.

Finally I spoke. “I was thinking about the reason, we were traveling, the Council’s coming announcement about the Americas. You’d be coming with me, right? That is, if they really are sending us to start a New World clan, I mean.”

“Nothing is sure, Katrina. What we’ve all been hearing is just speculation. The High Regent may have called the Council together to tell us something completely different. He may even forbid anyone to go to this ‘New World’ as you put it. But I will say this- wherever you are, is where I’ll be, until I am no longer.”

Then he looked ahead, to see Thomas was returning.

Wherever you are, is where I’ll be, he did love me. I was sure of it now.

CHAPTER TWO

The roadway turned, and as we entered a dark forest I suddenly felt the weight of impending doom surrounding us.

“Listen,” I told myself. “Use all your senses.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I could feel Quinn and Thomas tense as they realized what I was doing. They slowly drew their swords, and as they did, so did Gunter, Simon, and Father. I could ‘see’ many horses and many humans.

Then Father’s voice boomed. “Ride!”

As we forced our horses into a gallop, my senses told me the men in the woods to the right of us, outnumbered us by ten.

“How far? How far were our attackers from us?” I asked myself. A mile maybe less, I detected.

“How far is the Palace?” I yelled.

“Two miles!” Father shouted back.

“We’ll never make it;’ they’re only a mile away,”

Thank goodness we had left the wagons in the city with the servants, who would follow us later.

Then I realized no common robber would risk attacking such a large party. Despite all the care and secrecy with which we had undertaken this journey, someone must have alerted our assailants to our presence. We must have spies amongst us; for only one kind of human would have the audacity to attack us —the Volator—those whose sole purpose in life was to hunt and kill vampires. That they had picked this time to attack, was no accident, I thought.

I could see the Palace now, less than a mile away. We might just make it.

Then out of the darkness of the woods, I detected the distinct whistle of an arrow in flight.

“Duck!” I screamed.

We instinctively bent down low as we urged our horses ahead. Another arrow came from the right, and a horse squealed and fell, the guard flying off his mount into the ditch.

Suddenly Father, Philepe, and Gerhardt pulled their horses up, jumped off, and ran into the forest.

“Get Katrina into the palace, now!” yelled Gunter. We galloped by as he dismounted to follow Father.

Suddenly Nulla tripped. Only because of my strength and quick reaction, was I able to cling to the saddle and avoid being thrown. I clung perilously, hanging off the side of the saddle, as Nulla continued thundering down the road.

“Open the gate!” Quinn yelled. He reached out to help me back into the saddle almost unseating himself.

I had trained my whole life to be able to protect myself, and the time had come to do it. I pulled my body up and back into the saddle, just as the gate opened and we galloped through. Guards, swords drawn, pushed past us, ready to aid Father. My heart was pounding as people rushed towards us.

“Are you all right, my Lady?” someone asked.

“Yes. Quinn, Thomas, are you all right?”

“Yes, we’re fine. We’re going back to help,” Quinn panted.

“No!” Thomas insisted. “Katrina is your charge right now. You stay here; she must be safe.”

I dismounted and noticed blood dripping down Nulla’s leg, an arrow jutting from her shoulder.

“Oh, no!” I cried, “Nulla!”

Hearing my cry, Quinn ran over to see what was wrong.

“She’ll be fine, Katrina,” he assured me as he looked at the wound. The wound is not deep. Stable boy. Here. Now! Take my Lady’s beloved mare to the stable and see to her. Take great care and report back to me.”

The stable boy nodded, and poor Nulla limped away with him.

As if he had read my mind Quinn assured, “She’ll be fine. Your father will be fine. It’s the cowards in the woods you should worry about. Your father and Philepe will show them no mercy. The only problem we’ll have is to endure the stories of bravery Gerhardt will tell.”

I rolled my eyes and we both had a laugh. It was short lived however, because just then we heard the gate swing open and Father’s party gallop through, the dust from all the hoofs making it impossible for me to see for a moment, then I heard my father shout. “Katrina! Where is my daughter?”

“I’m here Father.”

He was alive. And just as we had predicted, out of the dust Gerhardt appeared. “Did you miss me?”

Philepe, Gunter, and Simon were also unhurt but we’d lost four guards, two from our garrison, and two from the palace detail.

“What of the Volator, Father?”

Father had a shocked look on his face. “You knew?”

“Who else would it be?”

“Five got away, but twenty-five or so were not so lucky. Unfortunately I don’t think their leader was amongst them. But I assure you he’s not far, and we’ll find him. No one is safe until we root out the traitor who has revealed us. Now you get cleaned up and rest, because we must report to the High Regent.”

The thought of a traitor living among us sent shivers up my spine.

A lovely girl named Gretchen showed me to my quarters. Several young ladies would be sharing this large common area surrounded by bedrooms. Tall leaded glass windows on each side of the fireplace filled the room with light and gave the gold, overstuffed chairs and sofa a soft glow. A round table with six chairs sat in the corner. From the high, dark-beamed ceiling hung two iron candle chandeliers. My bedroom was the second door to the left, and in it was a large bed with wooden posts, lush green velvet bedding, and an eiderdown so thick they might not be able to find me in the morning.

I heard the door to the common room open, my curiosity revived me enough to rise to meet the new arrival. She was stunning. Glossy, ebony hair drifted over her shoulders nearly to her waist. Her large eyes were brown and her skin was the color of warm sand.

“Hello, I’m Katrina Von Dracek.”

“How nice for you,” she said in a bored voice without looking in my direction.

“I can see this is going to a long week,” I thought to myself.

“I’m Rosalinda DiPalicio.”

“How nice for you too,” I turned to walk away.

“All right, that was rude, forgive me. It’s was just quite an adventure to get here. I’m exhausted, I’m starving, and I smell like a horse.”

The tension broken, we laughed. I knew just how she felt.

“Let’s start again. I’m Rosalinda DiPalicio, but you may call me Rosa.”

“I am pleased to meet you, Rosa. I’m Katrina Von Dracek, and you may call me Kat.”

“There were some delicious morsels standing guard outside. I don’t suppose we’re allowed to feed on anything or anyone we want to?” Rosa grinned and licked her full lips.

“No, I don’t think so.”

Again, the door opened and Gretchen came in carrying a large case. She was followed by a girl of medium height. Her blonde hair was pulled back away from a lovely heart-shaped face, which featured a smile that seemed to light her from within.

“Hello. I’m Eleanor Flanery. We just arrived from England.”

“I’m Rosalinda DiPalicio, and this is Katrina Von Dracek. You may call us Rosa and Kat.”

“I’m glad to meet you, Rosa, Kat. Please call me El.”

“And call me Letta, short for Arletta,” said the girl stepping out from behind Eleanor.

Arletta Valdesio had traveled from Spain. She had olive skin and dark brown hair pulled back and up in ringlets secured with a beautiful jeweled comb. Instead of the brown I was expecting, coneflower blue eyes met mine as we were introduced.

Gretchen showed the newcomers to their rooms.

“Thank you, Gretchen. Has a bath been prepared?” Letta asked while stripping off her gloves.

“Yes, we could all use a bath,” Rosa suggested, sniffing.

“I’ll see to it at once,” Gretchen answered, “and then I’ll bring you some luncheon.”

“Oh, glorious,” El cried. “I’m starving,”

“I am, too,” I realized then, I was hungry also.

Eleanor flopped down on one of the chairs.

“At least I survived the crossing. I really hate sailing. How were your journeys?”

“We were attacked in the forest, about two miles from the front gate,” I informed them.

“Really? How frightening!” Eleanor’s face showed her concern. “Was anyone in your party hurt?”

“We lost two guards, as did the palace, and, Nulla, my beautiful mare took an arrow in the shoulder, but she’s going to be fine. Our forces defended and pursued them; Father thought only four or five of our attackers escaped.”

“Who, was it? Why would anyone do such a thing?” asked El.

“There are many who dislike our kind and despise our way of life,” Rosa retorted sharply, “They seek to end our existence and take our lands, but they’re fools.”

“It is true, men often seek to kill that which he does not understand, and it seems, as a species, man is always fighting someone,” I added.

“Makes my trip seem pretty boring.” Letta’s eyes widened. “Although, I did get to stop in Paris to buy some new dresses. I’ll show them to you as soon as my things arrive.”

I wished I could be more excited about getting some new clothing. But most of the beautiful dresses Father had ordered made for me were still unworn, since we rarely had guests, and there was no reason for formal dressing. Personally, I preferred the simple, comfortable sheaths and leggings more suited to my training, to the constricting dress of a gentlewoman.

“Ah, Gretchen, thank goodness,” Rosa sighed in delight.

We all followed Gretchen across the room, eyeing the tray of treats she had brought us for lunch, as she it on the table. She had also brought a pitcher full of Crimson to strengthen and refresh us and news the baths would be ready for us by the time we had finished eating. We practically inhaled the food and the Crimson. Then, dressing gowns in tow, we ambled off to our baths and looked forward to resting before dinner. I had hoped to see Quinn waiting outside the door, but he was nowhere to be seen. I’d have to seek him out later.

“If you’re looking for your Watchers, they are gathered down the hall, deciding watch shifts and duties amongst them,” Gretchen informed me.

“Thank you Gretchen.” I smiled.

After the layers of grime were removed—which took a lot of scrubbing I might add—I put on my dressing gown and a robe Gretchen brought in, ran a comb through my hair, and slowly walked back toward my room. There, leaning against the wall, was the silhouette of someone I knew well.

“Quinn!” I called, so happy to see him.

He looked up and smiled. Without even thinking, I ran over, threw my arms around him, and drew him into a close embrace.

“Oh, Quinn, I missed you.”

Quinn stiffened, I’m sure my hug was quite a shock. He had never seen me react to his short absence quite like this before. He grasped my shoulders and pushed me away slightly.

“I should stay away more often,” he laughed. “I do have duties, you know.” He feigned a serious look, and then he smiled.

“Is not my well being one of those duties?” I asked peevishly as I folded my arms and turned my back to him.

“Of course it is.”

He pulled me back towards him, his arms now crossing around my waist.

“My most important duty,” he whispered in my ear.

His warm breath on my neck made my knees weaken. My pulse raced; more than anything else in the world I wanted him to kiss me.

“Well, well. What have we here?” we heard from behind us.

Quinn pushed me away so quickly I almost fell. When I turned around I saw a man I’d never seen before.

“Lady Katrina Von Dracek, this is Joseph. He is Watcher for Lady DiPalicio and will be taking the first watch this evening. I will, however, be accompanying you to dinner, and if you wish beforehand, to the stables to see Nulla.”

“Thank you Quinn. I would like that and I am pleased to meet you, Joseph.”

“The pleasure is all mine” he returned.

I hurried past as fast as I could. Without looking at Joseph, who opened the door, I went in and straight to my room. As I rushed through the door, I was happily surprised to see Sarah laying out my clothes.

“Oh, Sarah, thank goodness.”

She looked up. “Well at least you’re clean. But we’ll have to do something with this hair,” she had walked over, as was now lifting wet strands and shaking her head in disgust.

“I brought those oils your father gave you last summer. You remember he brought them back from the Far East?”

“I do remember,” I replied. “He had to join with Philepe and Demitrie to go to the aid of Gomon, whose clan was in a bitter fight with a wild enemy.”

Vampires that are made, rather than born like us, when first created are known as fledglings. They can be unstable, even more so if they were unstable in their human form, or once made they had been left to fend for themselves without the benefit of guidance and training. This is why the making of new vampires is mostly forbidden, except in rare circumstances. As it happened, when our group arrived to help the Gomon, they were able to seek out and kill the made wild creatures by beheading, the only way to ensure the creatures stayed dead, and then the fledglings’ remains were burned just for good measure.

“Well,” I thought, “that’s an unsettling subject to take a nap with.”

“Sarah, finish my hair and get out a simple sheath for me. I won’t be able to rest now. I want to go to see Nulla. Quinn said he would take me.”

“What else did he say he’d do for you?”Sarah teased.

“Sarah, please. You know it’s forbidden.”

“Yes, I remember, Katrina. But do you? I know your feelings for him; after all, we talked for hours on the way, if you recall. And I can see the look on your face and the flush of your cheeks, so don’t act so innocent with me.”

“Very well, but it’s our secret—it has to be. All right, let’s get me dressed, and then go ask that Joseph fellow to find Quinn, so he can escort me to the stables.”

When Quinn arrived, I guessed the other girls were resting, because there was no sound in the common room.

“Thanks for coming a little sooner than we planned.”

“Not at all, my Lady. It’s my duty to be at your beck and call,” he said without expression.

I rolled my eyes. He was obviously making an effort to be more professional in front of Joseph, who gave us a look and a smile, but said nothing.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Quinn asked. “We’ve had quite a trip.”

“I wasn’t tired,” I said, as we walked down the stairway and then across a small garden courtyard.

“Sarah brought up the situation Father faced with the fledglings in the Far East last summer, and I knew I wasn’t about to sleep after that. And I really do want to check on Nulla. Are you sure she’s going to be all right?”

“They carefully extracted the arrow, then cleaned and bandaged the wound, and she seems comfortable. I even brought her carrots from the kitchen. She’ll be fine.”

“How about Father and the others?”

“They’ve been in Council since we arrived. Everyone is a little shaken because of the attack this morning. I don’t really understand the attackers’ motives either; there have been no killings other than the ones they bring on themselves. Maybe that’s what they are trying to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, how can they get rid of you—that is to say, us, all the clans—if they can’t blame current unrest and murder across the continent on vampires? Without the violence and killings, no one would believe you’re a threat, and then they’d have no right to hunt you.”

“Well they don’t have any right period. We are peaceful. We take care of our own problems as they arise amongst ourselves, as we have for a hundred years. Why do you think these Volator hate us so much—especially the leader, whoever he is?”

“I don’t know, but I wager your father does. Have you ever asked him?”

“When subjects like that come up he always says ‘it’s Council business’ and tells me ‘not to worry’ about it. He let me know this was one of the subjects not suitable for discussion. It’s just like when I bring up my mother.”

“Here we are the palace stables. After you, my Lady.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, I’ve been Kat for all the years you’ve been training to be my Watcher, and now all of a sudden it’s ‘my Lady’?”

“It’s the proper way to address you, especially around here.”

I turned to face him then.

“What if I were to punch you right in the gut?” I threatened. As I started to make a fist, he threw his hands up in surrender and backed away a couple of steps.

“Very well, Kat, but only when we’re alone, all right?”

“All right, but that doesn’t seem to be very often anymore,” I complained as we continued on.

“Nulla, oh Nulla, there you are.” I rushed to her stall.

She nuzzled my hand as I reached out and then put my head against her cheek.

“Oh, Nulla, you scared me half to death.”

I patted her neck, and she bobbed her head up and down and shifted her weight, trying to get closer to me. She was such a good friend and I loved her dearly.

“See, she’s fine.”

“We had quite a scare today, and if anything ever happened to her, or you…or any of your brothers, I’d be heartbroken.”

“Listen, Kat, this is what we train for, and we’re very, very good at it, all right?”

“I know it’s just that…”

I paused and looked up into his eyes.

“ . . . .I care very much about…all of you.”

He moved closer to me and took my chin in his hand; his fingers were warm against my cool vampire skin. As I lifted my hand to brush away the hair that always seemed to be in his eyes, he leaned forward, his lips parting. I could smell the sweetness of his breath and…

“Excuse me, my Lady.”

Damn it! Why does someone always have to appear when I’m about to have the thing I want most, a kiss from Quinn?

“Yes?” I responded, with the most annoyed voice I could muster.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, my Lady, but they have asked all of you to come to the great hall for introductions, and Sarah said I’d find you here. I’m to tell you that you must come to your room to change.”

“Tell her I’m coming right along.” When he hesitated I pointed to the stable’s door, “Well, go ahead. I’ll be right there.”

Quinn turned to leave.

“No you don’t.” I pulled him to me.

I was certainly not leaving that stable without my kiss. I put my arms around his neck, rose up on my tiptoes, and kissed him with all the pent-up passion that was in me. Surprised at first, he relaxed into the kiss and with matching passion, wrapped his arms around me and lifted me off the ground. The world disappeared in that moment, and nothing mattered but Quinn and this kiss. When we reluctantly parted, a sigh left my lips. I slowly opened my eyes, half expecting to be waking from a dream, but he was gazing back at me. It had happened. We both knew what we felt without having to say the words, I love you.

We hurried back across the courtyards and gardens hand in hand. He left me at the entrance of the hallway, as he too had to change and receive his orders.

“Katrina Von Dracek, where have you been?” Sarah demanded in a very annoyed voice.

“You know perfectly well where I’ve been, or you wouldn’t have known where to send someone to find me.” I responded in the same tone of voice.

“You know what I mean. What took you so long to get back here? The other girls have already been escorted down to the great hall.”

“Sarah, calm down. Next to the others, I will simply disappear anyway. They make me look like plain white bread next to pastry.”

“That’s not true, Katrina,” she challenged, as we hurried to get my sheath off and the new dress on. It was my favorite red silk, with puffy sleeves to the elbow, which then were fitted to the wrist, and with beautiful silk-covered buttons adorning the sleeves. The same buttons appeared again on the corset front, which pushed my breasts up and out and made my waist look even smaller.

“Good thing we did your hair earlier,” Sarah grumbled.

She pinched my cheeks and whisked me to the door. I smiled and then stopped dead when I saw Quinn. He had changed into formal attire and looked soooo handsome that I felt my heart skip a beat.

“No time to gawk at each other now. Go, go,” Sarah pushed me out the door.

“You look stunning Kat.”

“Thank you. You clean up nicely yourself,” I smiled as looked up at him.

We laughed. Here we were, just two people in love, walking into the unknown; but we knew we were going there together.

Father was waiting for me at the door to the reception room.

“Finally,” he greeted me impatiently. “We are one of the last to be introduced. Almost all the others have arrived and have already taken their places.”

When we got to the top of the stairs, I looked back for Quinn. He smiled and at once I felt better.

“Baron Fredrik Von Dracek and Lady Katrina,” the liveried herald announced in somber tones.

My Father made a head bow and I a slight curtsey and we started down the stairs. Don’t trip, don’t trip, smile, don’t trip, I thought.

I surveyed the room, hoping to find a friendly face and located Eleanor, Rosa, and Letta with their fathers. All three looked stunningly beautiful.

Eleanor was in a dark blue gown, the color of a night sky. Rosalinda in teal, her black hair braided around her head and down her back; and Letta wore red satin, trimmed with black lace around the collar and down the front and at the edges of her sleeves, her hair still the way I saw it earlier. Of course with their beauty, all three could have worn sacks and would have made them the new fashion. But having them all smile at me helped me feel at ease.

Philepe and Gerhardt gave a head bow of acknowledgement as we passed. My face burned as I noticed Gerhardt’s gaze didn’t leave my chest. It is my best asset, but it would have been polite for  him to remember I had a face. As we took our place, I thought Father had been right; we should have been here sooner. Being one of the last to be announced was a big disadvantage, because now I didn’t know who anyone else was. Except for the three I’d already met and Philepe and Gerhardt, everyone else in the room was a complete stranger. I’d have to meet up with the girls later in the evening, so they could help me put names to faces.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let me now introduce the High Regent, Count Petrovich Daminov, his wife, the Countess Margarite, and his son, Damien, and daughter, Luena.”

All eyes turned to the top of the stairs. The Count was quite old, and his pure white hair made his skin look even paler, but he was regal and handsome and in no way frail looking. From one of the oldest known clans, Count Daminov has been ruler of the vampires for over one hundred years, since the clan wars ended and the Council began. Both feared and respected, he’s ruled the clans with an iron fist and swift justice. Some say it’s time for a change, but fear if his son Damien came into power, the alliance between clans would break and the ground would again turn red with the blood of both vampires and humans. His wife, the Lady Margarite was his second wife, and it was gossiped his first wife had disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but this was before my time and I knew none of the details.

Margarite looked lovely in a silk gown, which seemed as if it had been spun from pure gold. It was cinched in at the waist, with a full skirt billowing to the staircase. The largest ruby I’d ever seen adorned her neck, and on her ears were earrings to match—rubies circled with diamonds. Her hair was piled beautifully atop her head and sparkled with a diamond and ruby tiara.

The Count and Countess were halfway down the stairs, when I looked past them at Damien and Luena, now taking their turn on the stairway. As they descended, they looked from side to side, acknowledging the crowd. I had heard Luena adored her brother and would like nothing more than to see him rule next, whatever the cost. Some even said the Count should watch his back, as betrayal could come from within his own family.

I watched as they came closer and despite Damien’s flawless handsome features, a combination of his shoulder-length brown hair, long sideburns, square jaw line, and piercing dark eyes, there was something else; a nagging feeling I struggled to grasp. I smiled to myself; he was so good looking, from behind me in the hall, I heard the sounds of women swooning. But, again there was that irritating feeling of something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Just then the Count and Countess reached the bottom of the stairs and greeted my father, who then preformed my formal introduction.

“May I present my daughter, The Lady Katrina Von Dracek.” I curtsied slowly, dropping low over my foot.

“She’s lovely, Fredrik. So much like her mother.”

Was I? I had no memory of her, so I couldn’t know, but still it made me feel…proud. I wished Father would talk about her. Introductions compete, the Count and Countess moved on to meet the many others waiting to greet them. Damien and Luena were now at the bottom of the stairway. I hadn’t even looked at Luena until now. Like everyone else in her family, she was breathtaking. Her dark brown eyes were set in porcelain skin; her low-cut emerald-green silk gown shimmered in the candlelight of the hall. Large emeralds, their color perfectly matched to her gown, adorned her neck and ears. They made a stunning pair, the brother and sister royal.

As I looked from Luena back to Damien, I was shocked to see he was openly appraising me. Those eyes…could he read my mind? I gasped, for just as I formed the thought, he smiled at me, as if to confirm it!

“Baron Von Dracek! So nice to see you again,” Damien, offered his hand.

“Damien, Luena this is my daughter, Katrina.”

I curtsied and extended my hand to Damien in greeting. He took hold of it and while still holding my eyes, bent and gave the back of my hand a kiss. I felt, what I could only describe as pure energy coming from his lips onto my hand, up my arm and into my heart! I could feel my face heating as he stood there smiling at me.

“Delighted to meet you, Katrina.”

“Come, Damien, we have others to meet,” Luena took his arm to guide him away.

“Yes of course, sister,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. “Please save a dance for me, Katrina.”

Then once more he acknowledged my father.

“Your Lordship.” He turned and gave a slight bow, which my father returned, and then brother and sister were gone.

At least he looked at my face, I thought. I had never met them before but again I had a strange feeling about him, but what? As for Luena, there was nothing good about the feeling she gave me.

Next we made a circuit around the room, casually greeting everyone, and I hoped I would somehow be able to remember who was who. Some families would be easier to commit to memory than others of course. Such as the tall and elegantly regal Tantees from Africa, with their caramel colored skin, high cheek bones, their beautiful bodies draped with the most colorful fabrics. Chander, who was my age, was a prince. His father MoMar was king of his clan, and he and my father knew each other well. The delegates, also quite memorable was the clan from the Far East, the Gomon. They had beautiful Asian eyes, black short hair, and wore clothing of hand-embroidered silks of red and gold, depicting scenes from their homeland. Hun Lee, Lord Gomon’s son, spoke seven languages and by all accounts was the most brilliant mind in attendance.

The tall, handsome Vikings also were easy to pick out, with their broad shoulders, long blonde hair, chiseled rugged features. Sven Arenkiel and his son, Axel, both wore full beards and although their hair was blonde their beards appeared to be shaded with red. Their piercing blue eyes were in constant motion and they seemed to be always on guard, and ready to fight at a moment’s notice. I smiled as I imagined their smoldering, quiet passion awaiting a lucky girl.

Of course the girls’ fathers we would see often: Duke Ricardo Valdesio, Arletta’s father; Edward Flanery, Eleanor’s father; and Michael DiPalicio, Rosalinda’s father. Everyone seemed exceedingly pleasant, but still an element of caution and apprehension filled the room. I imagined that outside, on the commons and on the walls, there was also a lot of tension. Since news of the attack had spread, everyone’s Watchers were on edge. Tonight we eat and enjoy each other’s company. Who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Later, Rosa, El, and I sat together discussing fashion and those in attendance this evening. Other than the Council members, it was indeed hard to keep the other royal family members matched.

“I think we should all wear name tags with family crests and have a coordinating list,” grumbled Rosa.

She was particularly attracted to Axel, as were many of the young ladies in attendance. Much to the disappointment of the half-dozen or so girls that surrounded him, he didn’t dance.

“How are you ladies this fine evening?” asked Gerhardt. “I can’t stay long, as that would deny too many others of my company.”

“You’re forgiven, Gerhardt,” I was able to maintain a completely serious face. “We understand, don’t we girls?”

As he left to continue ‘sharing’ himself with those unfortunate women who hadn’t yet been graced by his presence, we broke out in gales of laughter.

Rosa was asked to dance several times, as was Eleanor. I danced with Demitrie Devorak and an adorable Russian named Nicoli, but was content to watch people and chat with the girls. Finally I stood, ready to make my exit. I visually searched the ballroom for Father. I hoped for a moment alone with Quinn, before I rested for tomorrow’s regimen.

“If you’re looking for me, look no further.”

“Damien, you startled me.”

“I’m sorry, but I haven’t had a chance to speak with you this evening. Would you care to dance?”

“No, I’ve danced all I can dance, I’m afraid. I was hoping to find Father and say goodnight.”

“But the night is young, and it would please me if you could stay and talk, at least for a little longer.”

He was even more mesmerizing than earlier, but something was still bothering me about him. Maybe I could figure it out if I stayed and spoke with him for a while.

“All right, you win. But just for a little while. I have training in the morning and as you know, the Council meeting later. What can you tell me, Damien? What’s going on?”

“I am sworn to secrecy, my Lady, and I don’t know very much myself. I would rather talk about you.”

He brushed my cheek with the back of his hand, which sent tingles from my face down my spine. His dark brown eyes had a sparkle in them, which told me he knew and expected that very reaction. I stepped away.

“Damien, I really am tired – Oh, Father, there you are.”

Damien looked deflated. I didn’t think many girls refused his charms.

“Father, I’m very tired. May we go?”

“Of, course Katrina. Damien, goodnight.”

“Lord Von Dracek, Katrina,” Damien bowed slightly.

With those acknowledgements, we started to make our way from the hall.

“Quinn is waiting to escort you back,” my father advised. “There is still something I must do. I will see you in the morning.”

He gave me a kiss on the forehead and turned to walk away.

“Father?”

“Yes, Katrina?”

“Do I really look like Mother?”

“Yes, yes you do, just as beautiful.”

Then he turned and walked away. His words made me happy and sad at the same time. As I left the hall, the cool night air gave me a shiver. Quinn stepped out of the shadows and placed a cape around my shoulders.

“Sarah thought you’d get chilled.”

“She was right, as usual. She always knows what I need before I do.”

I looked up at him, then and we both smiled. I was sure he couldn’t tell I was blushing in the dim light of a half moon. I was thinking back to the last time we were together. That kiss was amazing, and although I had nothing with which to compare it, as it was my first kiss, I could not believe anything could match it. However, I was willing to try.

We walked slowly back. I really wanted some more time alone with him. Did he feel the same way, I wondered?

“Maybe we should check on Nulla again,” Quinn proposed.

“Yes, I think you’re right. I want to make sure they changed the dressing and used a fresh poultice.”

He did feel the same way, I was sure of it now. We quickened our step, we didn’t dare take too much time; Gunter would figure it out, and that was the last thing we needed.

“You look so beautiful.”

I had to look down. My face was feeling flushed again. My pulse was racing.

“Thank you, again.”

Why couldn’t I think of something to say?

When we arrived at the stable, Nulla’s head was drooping, her eyes closed. Then her nostrils flared as she picked up our scent with her sensitive nose. A low whinny escaped from her throat and she tossed her head as though scolding us for taking so long to get close.

Quinn laughed. “She’s never seen you in a ball gown before.”

“Her dressing looks good, and I can smell the fresh poultice. Are you all right, girl?”

She placed her muzzle into my hands, the soft velvet caressing my palms. Quinn produced a carrot, which she eagerly took from his outstretched palm, and I scratched her neck, then gave her a pat.

“We should probably get back.” A shiver went through me just then, so I pulled my cape closer around me. Quinn came behind me and rubbed my arms up and down to gently warm me. This gave me a shiver of a different kind, one that went from my stomach to my toes, a tingle I’d felt before, when we kissed.

He wrapped his arms around me, then from behind, the same way he had outside my room earlier that day, he kissed my neck just below my ear. I heard a moan and then I realized—it was me! Gently, he turned me to face him. We looked at each other for what seemed like forever, but was only seconds.

He began to lean down as I rose up to meet him. He pulled me closer, his arms now around my back. I slid my arms under his and up his back towards his shoulders. At that moment I knew this was right, and no one was going to be able to tell me this was wrong. No one, not even Father. When we broke from the kiss and the one that followed, I knew I would never forget this night. As we left the stable to walk back, we were startled by someone coming out of the shadows. Damien.

“Well, well. Aren’t you two cozy?”

Quinn pulled me behind him placing himself between Damien and me.

“No need to be defensive; I mean you no harm.”

Horrified, we both understood immediately what this conversation with Damien really meant. We had let our guard down, allowed Damien to approach us unaware, which is exactly why relationships between Watchers and their charges were forbidden.

“What brings you to the stables, Damien?” I asked.

“Oh, I was just out for a stroll, trying to relax after such an exciting evening.” He looked past Quinn to address me. “I guess you found your second wind. Before you left the hall you were feigning exhaustion.”

“My horse Nulla was hurt in the attack earlier, and I wanted to check on her, not that it’s any of your business. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be going.”

“Of course, don’t let me keep you. I’ll see you tomorrow. But please be careful on your way back. You never know what lurks in the shadows.”

As I passed Damien, I was overcome by the same sense of something escaping me, but what?

Quinn and I were silent all the way back, because now we both knew what needed to be done. I would not give him up. I also knew I would not let him give me up. He walked me up the stairs and as we turned to enter the main hall, we knew the time had come. The Watcher who had this shift would be in front of my door, so this would be our last chance to be alone.

“I love you, Katrina.”

“I love you, too,” I whispered softly.

He held me and I wished I could hold him forever, but I released him. Then he told me what I already knew.

“I can no longer function as your Watcher. I’ll speak with Gunter in the morning. Either Simon or Thomas will take my place as your Watcher.”

I nodded. Knowing it was right didn’t make it any easier. We continued around the corner until we knew the other Watcher had seen us. Then Quinn just turned and walked away.

This couldn’t be the end. It had to be the beginning.

“Goodnight, Joseph,” I said as I got closer.

“My Lady,” he opened the door for me.

CHAPTER THREE

Once inside, I noticed the table had been prepared with fruit and pastries and a pitcher I assumed contained Crimson. I knew I should be hungry; since I hadn’t eaten before we went into the Hall to be introduced.

Maybe in a minute I would try to eat something, but now I just wanted to warm myself by the fire. The part of me that needed the warmth, wished I would hurry to get a little older, for I knew the older I got the less I would feel heat or cold. The aging process also takes away our need to sleep, except when necessary for healing, and we no longer need to eat regular meals to sustain us. Filling my head with these thoughts was keeping me from breaking into tears. We would find a way to see each other, I promised myself.

I sighed and went into my room where I loosened the corseting at my waist, and shrugged the dress off my shoulders. Its sheer weight dragged it off my body and it fell to the floor. I stepped out of the rumpled gown now filling the space in front of the bed, and removed the equally constrictive undergarment. I slipped on the simple nightgown laid out for me, and crawled in between the two layers of down. In the cradle of softness, I drifted off to sleep.

The dream began with my taking in a breath just before our party was attacked. I could ‘see’ men on both sides of us, but there was something else, much farther away. I could almost place it…almost. Then it hit me. Now wide awake, I sat straight up in bed.

Damien! It was Damien in the woods that afternoon! Damien was the traitor! It was his scent that was what I couldn’t place! I had to tell Quinn; after tomorrow he would no longer be my Watcher, but tonight he was, and I needed him. We had to get to Father, now! By the look of the light, it was nearly four in the morning. I asked myself, “Why would Damien want to have us killed?”

Quickly, I dressed in my training outfit, leggings, boots, white long-sleeved shirt, and a leather vest. I tied my hair back with a strip of leather and strapped on my weapons.

In the common room, the fire was low but still crackled and the candles had melted almost completely down. I rushed to the door, expecting to see Joseph, but found the hallway empty, the flickering hall lamp cast shadows on the walls and floor.

Something was terribly wrong. With four Royal Vampire girls inside, at least one Watcher should always be at the door, and now the hall was empty.

“Joseph?” I called. No answer. Should I go back inside, close the door, and wake the others? “That’s ridiculous. I’m a vampire; I’m fast and strong, and I can take care of myself,” I told myself. I had Joseph’s scent; he was around the corner. Why didn’t he answer me? Rosalinda was going to hear about this if I found he was sleeping.

When I rounded the corner I could see him slumped on the ground. As I approached him, I sensed someone, too quick to be a human, come at me from behind, but I was quicker. As the attacker grabbed for me, I ducked and ran for the stairs, drawing my blade as I moved.

“Quinn!” I yelled as I ran. “Gunter, help!”

As I got to the stairs, a vampire I didn’t recognize was blocking my way. He hissed and rushed toward me. I drove my sword into his side, his legs crumpled, and he fell on his knees to the floor. I heard footsteps from behind. I kicked the fallen body off my sword with my right boot and whirled to deal a fatal blow across the neck of the assailant. His head fell to the floor. I turned to see the wounded would-be assassin rise from the landing, his sword injury healing quickly. I swung and dispatched his head as well. Gunter pounded up the stairs toward me, Quinn was right behind.

“Katrina, are you all right?” asked Gunter, looking around wildly.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

I was panting and still in a defensive crouch, but I was fine, better than fine! I had done exactly what I’d been trained to do, I had defended myself and those around me. And I’d done it very well.

“Joseph is dead, around the corner from our rooms. Gunter you’d better see if the other girls are safe. Quinn, I must see Father, right now.”

We headed toward the other side of the palace, where the Council had their accommodations. I was relieved to see Thomas and Simon in the hallway.

“Have you had any trouble here tonight?” I asked.

“No, not here. What’s going on?”

“The Watcher guarding Katrina’s room was killed and she was attacked,” Quinn relied.

“By whom?” Simon asked.

“No time to go into it now. I must see Father.”

Thomas opened the door; Father was staring out the window.

“Father, I must speak with you.”

“Katrina, what’s happened?”

He embraced me, and at once I felt safe.

“I was attacked Father, outside my room.”

“Where was the Watcher?” he asked as he looked angrily at Quinn.

“Dead. Father, I was attacked by fledglings.”

“Fledglings? Who would be creating fledglings? But why? Quinn did you get a look at them?”

“Yes, but only after Katrina had already killed them.”

Father looked shocked.

“It is why you have the Watchers train me, isn’t it Father? I don’t think my attackers wanted to kill me. I think they were trying to kidnap me. Something else, Father, I had dressed and was preparing to come and see you. As I left my room I found Joseph, the Watcher on duty, was not outside my door, so I went looking and found him slumped in the side hallway. That’s when I was attacked by two vampire fledglings. But Father, the reason I had to see you was I remembered something from the first attack outside the gates. I remembered the scent of someone in the woods with the Volator. A vampire. I couldn’t place because I had never ‘seen’ this scent before, not until we arrived here.”

I looked into my father’s eyes.

“Who is it Katrina? Who’s the traitor?”

“Damien. It’s Damien Daminov Father!”

He stepped back away from me and gave me a stern look.

“You’re absolutely sure, Katrina?”

“Yes! You’ve trained me well, Father. Everything and every being has its own unique scent, and once I have the scent I never forget it and can use it later when seeking a match. And how would Damien know what my gift is? He mistakenly thought he was too far away from us for his presence to be detected. Once the frenzy started, he thought he would be safe, but I had sensed something was wrong much earlier and took a very deep breath.”

“That’s right,” added Quinn. “She started to use her gift about two miles outside the palace. I remember thinking it could only mean trouble and drew my sword.”

“What should we do Father? The son of the High Regent has betrayed us. But why would he try to have us killed and then try to have me kidnapped?”

“Without more proof, we will only expose the fact we know what he is and what he’s done. We’ll need more, and what of the fledglings? If we can prove he is making new vampires against all the laws of the Council, we’ll have more than enough evidence to convict him.”

“But why would he take such a chance, knowing if he is convicted of this, it would mean his death? He must have powerful allies to do something this bold. He’ll be very cunning; we have to find a way to learn his plans, either through someone involved or by getting someone into his circle. We must find a way to get close to him,” reasoned Quinn.

“What of his Watcher? Anything going on concerning Damien, his Watcher must know.” asked Father. “Gunter must know Damien’s Watcher.”

I turned to Father, “The Council meets today. There has to be a connection between the attack on the road, this one tonight and the Council meeting.”

“Thomas and Simon will come with me to the High Regent. We must not delay the Council. I’ll see to it the meeting happens as soon as possible. Quinn, you and Katrina ask Gunter about Damien’s Watcher and set up a schedule to follow both. They must not find out what we know of their involvement, so be very careful to whom you speak, and beware of palace spies. Remember, Damien is very dangerous and has nothing to lose.”

Once we were alone, Quinn took my hand and led me to another room.

“I think I might know the reason Damien wants your father dead. I’ve heard rumors this Council meeting’s real purpose was to choose a new leader. Today the High Regent will be stepping down. That’s why all the families have been assembled—to vote. Your father is the most likely to be elected to take his place, and I think Damien knows he can only become Regent if your father is no longer a candidate. Don’t you see, Kat? First he tried to kill us on the road, and when that failed, he tried to kidnap you. I think by using you as hostage Damien thinks your father could be made to step aside. He could trade you life for the regency.”

“Oh, my God! He saw us in the stable; Damien knows about us, too.”

“The important thing now, is to talk to Gunter as soon as possible. And somehow we have to make Damien believe we’re no longer involved, so he won’t be able to use our feelings against us.”

“You’re right. Quinn, I have an idea. Maybe I can get close to Damien. He seemed to be very interested in me, if only to get to my father.”

“No, Katrina it’s too dangerous.”

“Quinn, listen to me, as soon as the Council meets it will be too late for his original plan to work. He will have a backup plan, we have to find out what that plan is. If he made those two fledglings I killed, there may be more of them somewhere. If he can’t gain power through the vote, maybe he plans to take power with an army of fledglings. We are going to spread the rumor we have parted. What if I can convince him I am vulnerable to his charms, because of our recent breakup? He may think he could court his way into power.”

“Who knew you could be so devious? We will, of course, explain all this to Thomas, Simon or whoever is to be your new Watcher, and I will insist an extra Watcher be assigned—me—to secretly watch his every move.”

“Yes, of course. We can say you’ve been reassigned because of our ‘closeness’. Why don’t you send for Avery, Gregor, and Cedrik? We’re going to need more Watchers and we know we’ll be able to rely and fully trust your brothers.”

“Let’s go find Gunter. He was checking on the other girls,” Quinn took my hand.

We hurried back to my quarters, where we found Gunter speaking to a large group of Watchers.

Sarah was sobbing into her handkerchief. Her face brightened when she saw us approaching and she rushed toward me crying with relief.

“Thank goodness you’re all right. Something terrible has happened!”

“I know. Joseph is dead,”

“Not just that, Katrina. It’s the girls; Rosalinda, Eleanor and Arletta; they’re gone.”

“Gone?” I looked at Gunter, “tell me what’s happened?”

“We found a side gate unlocked, and we think fledglings surprised the girls in their sleep. Once they had the girls, they took them out that gate. With their speed, and obviously some inside help, no one saw a thing. Had you been in your room, they would have had you too, but the fledgling lookouts had the bad luck to run into you and didn’t fare as well.”

“Sarah, I’m all right, and we’ll get the girls back. Find me something to wear to the Council meeting. Gunter, Quinn, send a vampire courier for your brothers. We have need of them. Come Sarah, I need to change, and I’m feeling a little weak, so I’ll need to eat. From now on, make sure all the food and drink come only from our stores; trust no one but our people.”

My mind was spinning. What did Damien want with the other girls? Was this just a ploy to cover the fact his real target was me? When I didn’t come right back to my room, instead going to the stable with Quinn, it must have messed up his plan, so he came looking for me. When he saw us together, it was just a bonus to be used later, since he didn’t dare expose himself and try to capture me there. Our only advantage at this point, is I wasn’t taken, and we knew Damien was involved the in the girls’ disappearance.

Sarah brought the food in. The poor thing was still shaking.

“I didn’t hear anything and I was just at the end of the hall. I woke when I heard you yell for Quinn. I looked out, and all I could see was a blur of swords. Then it was over.”

“I told you I could take care of myself. The other girls were surprised in their sleep, but they’ve had training and will not be easy captives to hold. We will find them, and whoever is responsible will pay a heavy price, I assure you.”

I wolfed down the fruit, cheese, and meats Sarah brought me and drank the Crimson in the small pewter pitcher. The Crimson quenched my thirst, and strengthened me, but adrenalin surged through my body and I longed to hunt, although I knew there was no time.

“Let’s get you cleaned up, Katrina. I don’t know if you realize it, but you’re splattered with fledgling blood. I filled the bath, get in and I’ll come in to wash your hair.”

“Quickly, then,” I urged. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror on the way by; I looked like a warrior. It made me stand up tall and proud.

“I think you’ve met your match, Damien,” I thought.

After I was clean and clad in the simple dress Sarah laid out for me, set out for the Council room.

Once there, I found the room packed, and I could feel tension in the air. Council members were speaking to one another of the events of the day before. Guards were posted outside, all around the perimeter, while the Watchers were posted inside, along the back of the Council room.

The Council members arrived, solemnly entering wearing robes of dark grey. They were followed by the High Regent, dressed in royal purple. Once all were settled in their places, the High Regent announced without preamble, “We shall come to order at once, as we have pressing business to discuss. It has come to my attention three of my Council members’ daughters were abducted this morning, and the daughter of Baron Von Dracek was attacked. A Watcher was killed, as were two fledgling vampires.” The Council room was filled with angry murmurs as the gathering absorbed the enormity of what they were being told. “We know no reason for these acts and are pursuing every avenue to insure the safety of our citizens and bring to swift justice whoever is responsible. As you know, the making of new vampires, fledglings, except under very special circumstances and by express permission of this Council, is prohibited and punishable by death. If whoever responsible for these egregious crimes, thinks he can intimidate this council, he is mistaken.

“Now for the reason you have been summoned here.” He paused and then continued. “I, as High Regent of all the clans, have served you now these one hundred years; and I hope you think I served you well. But, it is now time for new leadership”, he held his hand up against the outcry from the chamber, “and as soon as we vote here today, I will step down as High Regent and we will install your newly elected leader. I nominate Baron Von Dracek as my replacement.”

“I second that nomination,” shouted Philepe.

Then Count Marcus Devorak of Romania shouted, “I nominate Damien Daminov.”

“I second that nomination,” cried out his son, Demitrie.

“Are there other nominations?” He paused. “If we have no other nominations we will now vote.”

One by one the crowd filed up and cast their votes silently, even somberly, until everyone had voted.

“The Council will now tally the votes. We will recess and meet back here in two hours,” The High Regent rose and made his way from the chamber,

The room emptied, most people went to the dining hall or back to their rooms. I, however, needed to talk to Gunter. I knew he would be watching my father’s back, so I asked Thomas to go with me to relieve him, while we talked. I needed an update on everything. Quinn had told Thomas and Simon the details of everything that had happened up until the Council meeting and had a courier sent home so Avery, Gregor, and Cedrik would be arriving soon.

“Any news on the whereabouts of the girls?” I asked Gunter.

“Vampire trackers have been sent out, but have not returned yet. If you are up to it Katrina, I would like you to use your gift to try to find them.”

“Of course. I’ll do so as soon as the results of this election are in. We should also be watching Luena; she has as much at stake as Damien.”

“That shouldn’t be too hard, since they are almost inseparable anyway.”

“Katrina, Quinn informed me about his involvement with you. These things happen when you’re young and together as much as you two have been; but as you found out, he can’t protect you and you won’t be able to protect yourself if you are distracted. Assigning a new watcher for you is for the best.”

“I know, and that’s why we told you. When we realized Damien was able to sneak up on us, it startled both of us. But Gunter, that doesn’t mean we’ll be apart forever. As for the present, what do you think of my plan to get close to Damien?”

“It’s very dangerous, but you’re right, I’ve seen how he looks at you. Using his lust may be our only way to find out what he’s up to and find the girls. If he lets his guard down we just might be able to stop him before he starts a war.”

“Luena might be a problem. If looks could kill I would have been dead at the ball. Her possessiveness of Damien is a little —no, a lot—creepy.”

“I’ve placed Thomas as your Watcher, he along with Simon, will be guarding you day and night. We will make it known Quinn has been reassigned and his other brothers will be arriving soon. He’ll get a regular Von Dracek guard uniform and be keeping an eye on Damien, Luena, and their Watchers. The girls’ fathers have each provided extra Watchers to help him.”

“If we’re lucky, Damien will try to comfort me. Father is sure to win the election, and I’ll be ever so sympathetic about his losing.” I put on a simpering look and my voice dripped with cloying sweetness.

As I headed back around the front of the Council room, Damien stormed out through the side door. He seemed full of anger.

“Damien, what’s wrong?”

“Congratulations are in order, my Lady. Your father will be the new High Regent.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Damien. I know you would have been a wonderful leader.”

His face softened upon hearing these words.

“I had no idea you regarded me so highly, my Lady.”

“Katrina. Please call me Katrina.”

“What of your Watcher? The feelings you have for him are not safe for you, you know.”

“He’s been reassigned; alas our closeness was not to be. He remains my friend, for we grew up together, but we cannot be more than friends. It’s for the best; such closeness is forbidden for a reason.”

Insincere, yes, but necessary, I thought.

I tilted my head, smiled, and gave Damien a sweet look. “If it were not so dangerous, I would love to take a ride with you, to cheer you up.”

This prospect made him stand up tall and give me a puzzled look.

“Maybe I can arrange something later. I’m sure now you’ll want to see your father’s appointment as our new leader.”

“Damien, I wish you would be my escort. It would be comforting to me and a nice show of support for my father’s election. The gesture would demonstrate that you bear no hard feelings.”

“Of course, Katrina. Shall we?” He offered his arm and led us into the Council room, our entrance inciting murmurs from the crowd now reassembled.

I was so proud of my father; he would be a great leader. As he was receiving his new adornment and seal, I whispered to Damien. “This will give us more time to get to know each other, because my father and I will have to stay longer so that he can complete all his new duties.”

I didn’t look at him but he squeezed my hand. “Indeed,” he replied.

The ceremony installing my father as High Regent was followed by a dinner in the great hall. The celebration was subdued because abductions of three of the Council members’ daughters, especially when the trackers returned, and reported they had lost the abductor’s trail along the river to the west.

Father thanked Damien for his graciousness and excused himself to attend the matters at hand. “All this violence makes everyone so uneasy, no one will relax, least of all me, until the girls are found safely,” and then he left us.

“Let us take a walk in the gardens,” Damien suggested. “It will do us good to rest our minds from the troubles of the day.”

“I’d love to,” I answered with a smile. “Thank you Damien for escorting me to the installation ceremony, even though you were disappointed about the election.”

“It was my pleasure, Katrina. Your company helped to lighten my mood. Indeed your friendship fills me with thoughts of a new future; one, I hope, will include a lot more of you. I . . ”

“There you are, Damien,” Luena broke in, possessively taking Damien’s arm.

“Hello, Luena. How nice to see you again,” I greeted her.

“May I speak with you please, Damien?” she said without even acknowledging me.

“Will you please excuse me, Katrina?”

“Of course.”

The brother and sister walked away, either unaware of or forgetting my highly developed sense of hearing.

“Younger brother, have you lost your mind? Why are you wasting time with her? If we are to take power, we need to act soon, before the Council disbands. The families will be heading home soon and they will be vulnerable.”

“An alliance with Lady Von Dracek could be very advantageous, Luena. There may be more than one way into power.”

He turned to me and smiled. Over his shoulder I saw Luena’s face darken, and her eyes narrow.

I smiled back at them both and then looked away like a shy schoolgirl. “Let them think I have succumbed to his charms,” I thought. “He’s so pompous, but also very handsome.”

His shoulder-length brown hair was combed back and tied behind his neck, and those dark eyes—yes very handsome. I found despite my misgivings, I was strangely drawn to him. Then I asked myself, “How far are you willing to go to trap him?”

And, Luena, she was not going to be so easy to win over.

“I’m sorry for the interruption,” Damien rejoined me.

“Shall we continue our walk, or must you leave with your sister?”

“I wouldn’t think of leaving you.”

I could see a guard in the background, and I was sure it must be Quinn, which meant Thomas was nearby also. Damien’s Watcher was somewhere, I supposed, so it wasn’t as if we were really alone. We sat in the garden for over an hour speaking of our childhoods, our training, and why he and sister were so close.

“I was so young when my mother disappeared, Luena became like a mother to me. No one ever talks about my mother or Luena’s for that matter. At least Father’s current wife is agreeable and she makes him very happy. Now that he won’t be burdened with ruling, they can be together more and travel.”

“Why did you want to rule, Damien?”

“I’ve had enough politics for one day,” he responded. “I’d rather talk more about you.”

He seemed at ease with me and me with him. I had my guard up, but he seemed quite different from the dark and angry man I’d seen earlier.

After several hours of relaxed and interesting conversation, I rose, “Well, I’d better be getting back. I promised Father I’d stay with him until we find the girls. Will you walk me there?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

He rose and he took my hands in his. I turned to look up into his eyes.

“We could just run off together, we’re faster than our keepers,” he winked.

We laughed, but I couldn’t help thinking he was at least partly serious. Then he surprised me. He bent down and whispered in my ear, “You could save me, Katrina.”

When he straightened up I heard myself say, “If I can, I will.”

“Did I just say that out loud?” I thought to myself? “It was my voice, but did I mean it?”

He put my arm into his and we walked on.

“Goodnight, Damien, and thank you again,” I gave him my hand as we arrived.

He bowed and kissed my hand.

“Goodnight, Katrina.”

I watched him walk away for a moment. “How strange,” I thought. “He’s either really good or not at all who I thought he was.”

Thomas was at my side in an instant.

“I’ll change,” I told him. “Check the perimeter, and I’ll meet you at the back terrace.”

I rushed to get my dress off and don my hunting attire. If someone should see us, we could say I was going to hunt when, in fact, we would be looking for the girls. On the terrace, Simon had joined Thomas, Quinn and the guard.

“The trackers lost the trail at the river, so we’ll start there.” The men nodded in agreement with me

We started out on foot, since leaving the compound on horseback would draw to much attention. When we reached the river, I stopped in order to search with all my senses, starting with scent. I closed my eyes. Women, especially young women, have distinctive scents; their hormones cause the release of distinctive pheromones. I took in a deep breath; the breeze was freshening from the south. I could detect deer, fox, many small animals, and something else.

“A fledgling,” pointing in the direction of that scent. “At least one, and he’s traveling fast. Let’s go.”

I could travel much faster on my own, but I needed the Watchers; so I decided unless the fledgling was about to escape, we would stay together. When we got close enough, we spread out, making sure we didn’t alert the vampire fledgling. Checking the sounds and smells again, I could detect more of them than just the one we were following. We were getting close.

“We should keep going, but slowly. There are more of them up ahead,” I told Thomas as he came up behind me.

About fifty yards further on, we saw the remnants of an old fortress with a tall crumbling wall. On its top we detected two sentries. Our subject quickly made his way along the wall and disappeared around its side.

“It looks like we found the fledgling hiding place, but can you sense the girls?” Thomas asked me.

I tried again to pick up their scent but found nothing.

“I see fledglings and…humans, four or five men, but not the girls.”

“Let’s follow our friend around the wall.” Simon looking to the group, motioned for us to join him.

As we cautiously rounded corner, we saw there were no buildings behind the wall; but instead there was in the hillside at the back of the fortress’s crumbled perimeter with a large cave-like opening. Since the fledgling we tracked was nowhere to be seen, it was obvious the opening led to what was either their quarters, or at least a meeting place.

We observed for an hour or so, but during that time no one either entered or came out.

“We must get inside,” I insisted.

“No, it’s too dangerous. We were told to scout, nothing more,” Thomas strongly reminded us.

“But we have to know what we’re up against. Don’t worry. I’m fast, and they won’t see me. Remember, fledglings don’t have gifts. I can sense them from further way and I can see in the dark better than they can.”

I could see from Thomas’s ridged demeanor, my pleading was getting nowhere.

“Kat, if they are alerted, we won’t get a second chance. We must report back to your father.”

“All right, Thomas, let’s go back.”

We arrived just as Father was finally returning from his meetings with the Council.

“Katrina, did you see any sign of the girls?”

“No Father, but we found where the fledglings are holed up. Across the river, south about three miles, there’s an old fortress wall hiding an opening to some sort of cave. I sensed at least fifteen fledglings and five humans - male.”

“Thomas, get Gunter. He should hear this, too.”

After retelling our information to Gunter, we had to devise a plan.

Father paced as he laid out the plan. “These are new vampires; so they are still vulnerable to the sun. Since they were made, not born, their senses aren’t as good as ours, but they will be very strong. Since Watchers aren’t meant to fight vampires, we should use the elite vampire guard.”

Gunter sputtered, “Our family has trained vampires for generations and we are used to their speed. I refuse to let any of you go without us.”

“Then we should strike at first light,” Father said accepting Gunter’s reasoning.

“I’ll give orders for another tracking party to go out before dawn,” Gunter cautioned, “We can’t take a chance of alerting Damien or any of his partners in this. The Romanians have shown their allegiance to him, so we must also beware of them and any of their party.”

“Thomas, go and alert Philepe and Gerhardt. Simon, you go and speak with the Vikings. Katrina, I want you to stay here.”

“But Father—”

“You’ll need to distract Damien, he must not get suspicious. Quinn will watch Luena.”

“I’ll send word I wish to spend the morning with him. Sarah, take this note over to Damien’s apartment and please wait for a reply.”

“It’s not fair,” I wanted to scream. I was trained to fight too, and hadn’t I just proven myself?

While Gunter and Father continued talking strategy, I decided I needed some time to myself. I opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony. The moon was almost full, which made the night almost as light as day. This was not the adventure I had envisioned before we arrived. How did everything get so complicated?

“Katrina.” I heard Quinn call softly from below. I peeked over the railing to see him in his guard’s uniform. We both looked all around to make sure no one was watching.

“Meet me downstairs. I want to talk to you.”

“I’ll be right down,” I whispered back. To the others I said, “I’m going to get something to eat. May I get either of you anything?”

“No, thank you,” I heard.

I walked quickly down the stairs. When I saw him, I still felt that jump in my pulse.

“Please come in, and I’ll fetch you something to eat.” I said for the benefit of eavesdroppers.

“Thank you, my Lady. You’re very kind.”

Once he was inside, I gave him a big hug and a kiss.

“I missed you.” I whispered softly before disengaging myself from the hug.

“And I missed you. Thomas told me what you found in the woods. I watched Damien all evening, he didn’t leave his quarters and he just received, what I assume was a note from you, since Sarah brought it. She’s on her way back, but she wanted to get supplies from our stores, so I brought the answer back with me.” Quinn handed me the note.

“You should have seen the look on his face. He seemed pleased with himself I must say, and he did not hesitate to write this reply. What does it say?”

I opened the note and read it aloud, “I’ll meet you at our spot in the garden at sunrise. I’ll bring breakfast, and you bring your beautiful smile.”

I sighed, “Should I swoon now or wait until tomorrow?” We both laughed.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you, Luena went out just after she talked to Damien in the garden. When did you leave the compound?”

“Not long after that.”

“She went to a spot at the rear wall of the palace, far away from everything else, and entered what appeared to be a small storage building. She didn’t come out for over two hours, and then she went straight to her room and must have gone to bed, as the candles were put out right after she returned.”

“That’s strange, don’t you think? We got back about a half an hour before that and we didn’t see anyone else outside the palace walls.”

“I went around the entire perimeter of the palace and didn’t see anyone, nor was there any sign of an outside exit from that storage area or the wall.”

“Hmmm. What is that witch up to? So, everyone is in bed now, you’re sure?”

“Yes, Damien, Luena, and the Romanians. Their Watchers are at their doors, except Luena’s; no one seems to know where he’s been for a while now. We have our people in place too.”

“Shall we go and see what we can find in that shed?”

“Shouldn’t we tell the others?”

“You know they won’t let us go if we do. Besides it might be nothing, right? Did Luena have to unlock it?”

“Yes.”

“Very well, I’ll get the master keys Father was given this afternoon, after his installation. There are only three different sizes, one for main living areas, one for weapons storage, and one for supplies. One of these will work, I’m sure of it. I’ll be right back.

I was only gone a few minutes and was back holding up the key ring.

Let’s go.”

Staying in the shadows of the buildings we worked our way around the back wall.

“This really is out of the way,” I said. “It must be used as weapons storage depot for the guards up on the wall.”

Just then we heard one of those very guards coming along the wall above us.

“Everything all right up there?” called out Quinn, as I hid in the shadows.

“All’s well, no sign of trouble,” answered the guard.

“Good, I’ll inform the High Regent,” replied Quinn. He then whispered to me, “He’s gone. Let’s try the middle key.”

I slid the key in the lock; it fit, so I turned it to the right. Click. I smiled and looked at Quinn. We were in.

“Ouch.” I heard Quinn mutter as he hit his head. There were no windows, but I could see there were matches in a cup next to a small candle. I lit the candle and filled the space with a soft yellow glow.

“Sorry, I forgot you can’t see in the dark. What would Luena be doing in this small room for over two hours? You’re sure no one else went in or out?”

“Well, I followed her here and after she left, I waited to make sure no one else came out later. No one did.”

“And no Watcher was with her?’

“As I said before, no one seems to know the whereabouts of her usual Watcher, and I saw no other Watcher with her tonight. Usually Damien’s loathsome Watcher, Ivan, is with them. What do your senses tell you, Kat?”

I closed my eyes.

“I can pick up Luena’s scent most heavily in that corner, not much else.”

We walked to the corner. Bundles of arrows were stacked on a pallet.

“There’s nothing here,” Quinn surveyed the area.

“There has to be. Help me move this. Oh, my God!”

The pallet was on some kind of a rail and when I pushed on it, it moved aside easily, revealing a very narrow descending stairway. A passage only wide enough for one person at a time was a brilliant defensive measure. A few expert archers at the bottom could effectively pick off a whole attack force as they were forced to descend the steep stairway single file.

“Katrina, no! We don’t know what’s down there, at least use your gift to ‘see’ first.”

I took a breath in.

“The girls, I see the girls! I can’t detect anything or anyone else except the lingering scent of Luena. Come on!”

I went first because I could see and hear better and because I was faster. The stairway emptied into a small room with three archways, all dark. The coolness of the damp underground chamber shivered through me and the close, musty air assailed my nostrils.

“This way,” I pointed to the closest archway. The scent was so strong now, I knew they weren’t far.

“Eleanor? Rosalinda? Arletta? Can you hear me?”

I heard muffled noises. As we moved down corridor a little further, it opened into a small room, and there on the floor bound, gagged, with their heads covered with black hoods, were the three missing girls. In a flash I knelt down, untied each one, and then made sure they were all unhurt.

“We’re angry more than anything else,” Rosa rose unsteadily, moving her wrists and flexing her hands to get blood flowing again.

“I expect you are, but there’s no time for speeches now,” I urged. “We need to get you out of here and back to my father’s apartment without being seen.”

“But why your father, Katrina? I want my father.”

“Just trust me Eleanor; this is how it must be. Let’s get you up and out of here. Quietly. Remember your training, and be aware.”

The girls were filthy and still in their nightgowns, but they were strong enough. We left the small room and went quickly back along the corridor.

Then a scent I knew all too well hit me straight in the face. Fledglings! Where had they come from? I looked behind us but saw nothing. No one.

Where was Quinn?

My heart skipped a beat, had they taken him? Were they holding him upstairs?

I saw feet coming down the stairs in front of us. I backed the girls into the shadows and put my finger to my lips, signaling for silence. We waited.

To my great relief, it was Quinn.

“Hurry,” he whispered, “It’s clear.” He then turned and went back up the narrow stairs.

I pulled Eleanor forward.

“Run,” I told her, then lined up Rosalinda, and finally Arletta.

They flashed up the stairs, each meeting Quinn at the top. I could now hear the fledglings getting closer, coming through the central archway. It took all my vampire speed to make it the final few steps up and out the narrow opening in the floor of the shed. Quinn pulled me up and out of the way and together we shoved the pallet back over the opening.

“Here, use this, Quinn,” I tossed him a spear so he could block the rail and keep the fledglings from getting to us.

“I had better use one more. Good, that’s it.” He turned to the girls, “Now let’s get out of here. I know everyone is shaken, but we must not be noticed. Kat will take you. Use your speed so you won’t be seen. I’ll lock up and meet you at the apartment. Don’t worry; I’ll bring your fathers with me. Now go!”

The girls and I raced along the palace wall. No human would see us, but vampires might. I kept looking side to side, checking for danger. So far, so good.

“We’re almost there. Stay close.”

We made it to the verandah and I looked in to make sure it was clear. It was.

“Thomas?” I called up the stairs.

“Katrina is that you?” I heard Gunter say as he rushed down the stairs. “Your father is frantic. Thomas and Simon are out looking for you.”

Then I stepped aside. His jaw dropped and he gasped, “What the—”

“Let’s get the girls some blankets. I’ll explain later.”

Then I took the girls past Gunter and towards the stairway.

“Any word?” I heard Thomas say.

When he and Simon came into view, Gunter nodded in my direction. The girls huddled together behind me.

“Where were they?” Simon asked, shocked.

“Get some blankets from storage,” Gunter ordered.

Thomas returned a few moments later and handed me three woolen blankets. I wrapped them around the girls and gave them each a hug.

“You’re safe now. Let’s go upstairs.”

I could hear Father pacing as Gunter opened the door.

“We found her,” Gunter announced, and when I gave him a scolding look, he added, “Well, she actually…she came back on her own and she brought a few friends with her.”

As we entered the room, Father’s anger turned to shock.

“The girls, where…who…?”

“All in good time, Father, for now we must get someone to guard Luena to make sure she doesn’t escape.”

He gave me a questioning look, but sent guards immediately. Moments later, Quinn arrived with all three fathers in tow. The girls, who had been sitting quietly until then, ran into their father’s arms and burst into tears. I then explained what Quinn had seen and all that had transpired in the corridors below the shed.

“I’m not sure we can wait until morning,” I added. “The fledglings know the girls have been rescued. I didn’t detect them when we first opened the passageway, so that means there must be another way in to those tunnels from some distance away.”

“Now we know why the trail was lost by the river. That must have been a decoy group. They were here all along,” muttered Gunter.

The girls were more settled now, and their fathers couldn’t stop thanking us.

“We only saw fledglings, but we did hear a woman’s voice once in a while,” Rosa said.

“They kept us hooded and bound. We were fed very little, but had some fresh blood, human blood,” Arletta remembered.

“I scented humans in their compound earlier.”

“What should we do, Fredrik?” asked Michael, Rosalinda’s father.

“Well, now that your daughters have been returned safely to you, I expect you to join us in exterminating this fledgling scourge.”

“Of course,” all three replied.

“If they know their leader has been exposed, they may disperse into smaller groups and be a greater problem throughout the continent and beyond. Katrina’s right, we can’t wait until morning. We have to act now. Wake everyone, Thomas, and have them come to the Council room. Simon, make sure to bypass any of the Watchers for the Daminovs before you alert any of our Watchers not on duty now. Quinn, tell the sergeant of arms to prepare our weapons as quickly as possible. Now go, everyone, and be ready within the hour.”

I could tell by the look on Rosalinda’s face she wanted to fight too.

“I know just how you feel,” I told her. “We all want to go. Let’s get you cleaned up, or otherwise they’ll smell you coming. Sarah, oh good, will you.…”

“No need, Katrina, the baths have been prepared, food and drink are on the way, and I’ve sent for clean outfits. Their Watchers have been notified, except Rosalinda’s new watcher.”

“What do you mean?” Rosalinda asked. “New Watcher? Where’s Joseph?”

I had forgotten she didn’t know.

“I’m so sorry, Rosa. The night the fledglings.... They overwhelmed him…I’m so sorry.”

“I’m sorry too, miss, but at least it will be a comfort to you to know Katrina took care of two of those that did this,” Sarah patted Rosa’s arm.

“You did?” Rosa said through her sobs.

“Yes, my training served me well, as it will all of you if need be. Now take your baths and eat. You’ll need your strength. Thank you Sarah.”

“Of course, Katrina.”

Then she guided them into the dressing rooms.

CHAPTER FOUR

Thomas returned a moment later. I had almost forgotten he was my Watcher now. How strange it felt to be attended by someone other than Quinn.

“All the Watchers are here—two inside, three of us outside.”

“Thank you, Thomas. They can watch the girls, but I want to be at the Council rooms.”

“Your father left orders for me to keep you here!”

I gave him a withering look that stopped him in his tracks. “Shall I go alone, or will my Watcher be going with me?”

On our way to the Council chambers, I noticed there were now several guards posted around Luena’s quarters, including specially trained palace guard—vampire guards—whom I recognized as ones we had brought with us. Father was already talking strategy with Philepe. Gunter and Quinn were huddled with them, pointing at maps and discussing final details.

“I need to speak with you, Father.”

“Thomas, what did I tell you?”

“She’s your daughter, sir. She was determined to come with or without me.”

I saw Quinn hide a smile as if acknowledging he knew just what Thomas was going through.

“All right, you’re here now, what is it?”

“What of Damien, Father? He hasn’t been implicated in this, and we have no proof he’s involved. All we know is he was out there in the forest when we were attacked, nothing more.”

“Why are you defending him now? You’re the one who called him a traitor in the first place. He’s being guarded; we have no time to deal with him or his sister now. Either make yourself useful or go back to your room.”

Why was I defending him? Was I really that gullible? If Luena was knee-deep in this, why wouldn’t he be? They were so close…or were they? I had to admit I was confused by him, the way he was the other night. Father was right, of course; there was no time to worry about him now. This might be all over before breakfast, if we could still surprise them.

As parties arrived at the Council room, they were told of the recent developments and given their assignments, then sent to be armory to draw weapons, as needed and were told to gather at the gate. Everyone was organized and on task as the gravity of the situation sunk in. We were split up into two different assignments. Most were going to the encampment in the forest, with a smaller group, including Thomas, Quinn, and myself, going through the shed entrance, our orders were to clear out the rooms and corridors as we went. Vampires first in of course, we’d check with all our senses, divide up as needed, and with luck meet Father’s party at the river.

Father’s forces raced out the west gate. Ours ran together to the back wall and to the weapons shed. Quinn unlocked the door and we charged in. The spears had held, the sliding pallet closing off the entrance to the underground tunnels was still in place. Quinn and Thomas dislodged them and pushed the pallet aside with a thud. I fully expected fledglings to pour out; we neither saw nor sensed a thing.

“This is a bad sign,” I said under my breath.

Philepe and Gerhardt headed down the stairs, and I went next.

“The girls were in a room off the corridor on the right, but the fledglings came from the center archway,” I pointed straight ahead.

With our swords at the ready, we started forward. Quinn and Thomas were behind me with torches.

“Ricardo, you and Momar go into the last corridor,” directed Philepe.

We moved cautiously but quickly forward, checking the many side rooms. Suddenly the corridor opened up into a huge circular room with arched doorways all the way around it. We heard the sounds of boots coming from a corridor on our left and braced for a fight. We were relieved when Ricardo came through the opening.

“Anything?” he asked.

“Not yet,” replied Philepe

“Now what?” Gerhardt asked.

Before we could answer, I cried out, “They’re coming!” They poured out of each of the corridors across from us, yelling and hissing, weapons drawn. Ricardo and Momar took positions left, we stayed right.

“Don’t let them get behind us!” yelled Philepe.

We started mowing them down right and left. The fledglings were not well trained, but they were strong, and there were so many of them, there appeared to be no end to their numbers. They were as fast as we were, but our superior training would hopefully allow us to make quick work of them. We heard someone yelling orders to them from out of the darkness, but even with my vampire vision, I couldn’t quite make him out. The Watchers had come into the room with torches. Once skirmish had begun, the torches were abandoned, tossed about on the floor. Now they were making the room glow and casting shadows of the fight on the walls of the room. We met the fledglings head on and after a few minutes of intense fighting, their numbers dwindled and they finally stopped coming through the archways. Two of the crazed attackers charged me from the front, and one came at me from my left. I leapt, executing a high, double footed kick, hitting the larger one square in the chest. Then as he fell to the ground, I used him as a springboard, turned in midair, and with a twist reached out, and sliced the second across the throat. I had seconds to land and duck before piercing a third through the heart. As I turned to finish off the fledging that had been the recipient of my kick, I found he had risen, but before he could flex his sword arm, Quinn lopped off his head.

“I was coming to save you. And once again I see you could save yourself,” he panted, drenched with sweat.

“Sorry to spoil your fun. Let’s get the rest, and maybe I’ll even save one for you.”

“You’re on.”

Our swords clanged as we engaged two more fledglings, and then shortly two more went down.

“Go back, go back,” the leader yelled over his shoulder as he ran through the archway directly across from the one we had come through. The last of the fledglings retreated into whatever corridor was closest to them.

“We can’t let them get away!” yelled Philepe.

We directed two Watchers stay and dispatch the dead by beheading, while the rest of us charged on. From what we could tell, only six remained alive, including the one who seemed to be the leader.

“We’ll have to split up,” I shouted as I ran.

Ricardo and Momar went left, Philepe and Gerhardt went straight, and I went right.

“We have to catch them before they get to the river!” I yelled to Quinn and Thomas.

I took a deep breath and sensed the two on our side were still ahead.

“They’re close.”

I sensed how close just in time to duck as one jumped out of an opening on my right. Quinn quickly swung his sword and split the fledgling’s head open. As he fell, Thomas divided his crushed skull from his shoulders.

“One more!” I yelled.

I could smell water now. The river wasn’t far, and as expected, the corridor opened onto the bank of the river. I could see brush moving on the other side of the rushing water.

Without thinking I leapt across the water in one stride and ran after the fledgling through the brush. I slowed, trying to sense where he had gone. It was then I realized I was alone, having forgotten Quinn and Thomas would be forced to find their own way across the river. My enemy was close; I could smell him. Then from above, he dropped right on me. He knocked me down and my sword flew out of my hand. We wrestled on the ground; the fledgling’s eyes wild with the look of a rabid dog whose intent was to tear out my throat. Now the impossibly strong fingers found my throat and began to squeeze. I thrashed and fought, but the fledgling continue to squeeze. My vision narrowed, and I began to see bright flashes. Just as I was about to lose hope, I saw two hands grab the fledgling’s head and twist. The crack of vertebrae breaking exploded in the night. The fingers released as the fledgling fell away. I closed my eyes and I took several gasping breaths. I opened them expecting to see Philepe or Gerhardt; I was shocked at the face I saw where the fledgling had been.

“Damien…” I croaked. “What are you doing here?”

“Saving you, what else? You didn’t think you could have all this fun without me, did you?”

“Well, thank you,” I said, as he kicked the body off of my legs and helped me up.

“I have to speak to you. I can’t stay here. Everyone will think I’m part of this plot, but I swear to you, I wanted no part of it. It’s my sister’s doing. Luena is a truly evil being.”

I opened my mouth to protest, he put his face close to mine, “We don’t have much time, so please hear me out. That day when your party was attacked, I tried to get there to stop it, but I was too late. I did, however, kill the few Volator that got away from your father and Philepe, and their leader; you’re safe from them.” He stopped, listening, “They’re coming, I must go. Katrina, I’ll find you in the New World. Please believe I’d never harm you or your father.”

Then he put his hands on my shoulders.

“You believe me don’t you?”

I looked into his eyes and I knew I did.

“Yes,” I whispered. “Yes I do.”

He pulled me close and kissed me, and then he was gone. For a moment I thought I had dreamed it all, but the body at my feet was real enough. I dispatched his head just as Quinn and Thomas trotted up.

“You’re late again,” I gloated.

“I guess so,” Quinn grinned. “I’m getting used to it.”

We laughed and headed back to the river to meet up with the others. We stopped at the edge and used the cool water to clean up, washing off the sweat and blood from the cuts and gashes that, because we were vampires, would heal in a day. The Watchers were not so lucky of course; their injuries would take days, even weeks to heal.

Today the ten of us had killed forty, and Philepe told us the leader should have looked familiar because it turned out he was Luena’s Watcher, Edgar. That explained why no one ever saw him anymore.

We heard the sound of horses and soon the rest of our group galloped up to us.

Philepe yelled, “Fredrik what took you so long?”

We all laughed. My father explained the cave system was a maze of interconnected tunnels, and during the fight we had killed twenty-five. After they dispatched the fallen fledglings, they’d gone from room to room to make sure the cave was completely cleared out. During this exercise, they came across three captives, men who had been abducted from villages far in the north. Strange disappearances had been rumored in that area for years. The captives had been held to provide fresh blood for the fledglings and the three rescued had been part of a much larger group that ebbed and waned as captives died and were replaced. The men were then told not to fear us, because all the fledglings had been killed and we would insure they would be safely escorted back to their villages.

I knew I must tell Father what Damien had told me about the Volator. But I was suddenly too exhausted for the effort.

“Let’s head back,” Father ordered. “Our work is done here.”

We all agreed. Then Father reached out his arm and pulled me up behind him on his horse. .

“Well done, daughter. Well done.”

I wrapped my arms around his waist and squeezed him to me as tightly as I could. A huge smile spread across my face as tears welled in my eyes. He was proud of me, and that meant everything.

CHAPTER FIVE

The rhythm of the horse’s hooves clopping along the rocky shoreline and the sound of the river made me sleepy. It seemed as if months had passed since I felt this relaxed. I wondered about Damien; where would he go? What had he meant by “I’ll find you”? That’s what he had said; “I’ll find you in the New World.” The New World. In all the commotion, no one else had even mentioned the subject since we arrived. Maybe now I could ask Father if the Council would discuss it before they disbanded. Up ahead, I could hear the gate hinges squealing. The news of our return quickly spread though the palace compound and we found ourselves surrounded by family and well wishers. Our triumphant return was soon interrupted by the palace guard.

“I hope you were successful, my Lord,” the Captain of the guards greeted us.

“We were indeed,” Father dismounted and handed his reigns to the stable boy.

“There is news my Lord. The Lady Luena has escaped. And her brother Damien is also missing. Even his Watcher doesn’t know his whereabouts. Luena killed two guards. We made a search, but found no sign of either of them.”

The news about Luena was disturbing; of course I already knew Damien was gone. I hope he was truly free of her, but I couldn’t be sure they weren’t traveling together. Regardless, what he had said about her was surely true: she was evil.

“Well, inform all the delegates, so they can be on the watch for her and Damien.”

“Yes, my Lord.”

“We’ll have to question Damien’s Watcher about the fledglings, so make sure he doesn’t disappear.”

The guard bowed and took his leave.

“I’m going to get cleaned up and check on the girls.”

“That’s a good idea, Katrina. I’ll join you shortly. I need to inform the others of all the news of the day.”

“Of course, Father.”

Then we parted ways. Thomas and Simon weren’t far behind me of course, and together, we walked back to Father’s quarters.

“Katrina!” exclaimed Eleanor. “Rosalinda, Arletta—Katrina’s back. Oh, Katrina, you smell.”

“Thanks, Eleanor.”

Then Rosalinda and Arletta came rushing out of their rooms.

“Did you kill them all?” Arletta said, her Spanish accent sharpened by anger.

“That’s ladylike,” I laughed. “And yes, we killed them all.”

“Tell us everything, Katrina,” Rosa demanded.

“Yes everything,” the other two chimed in.

“Can I at least get cleaned up first?”

“Good idea. You do stink,” Rosa held her nose.

“Thanks.”

Sarah, of course, had already prepared a bath for me. She was the perfect handmaiden, always a step ahead. The girls told me she was downstairs preparing lunch, and as soon the word lunch was uttered, I realized I was starving. Rosa helped me take off my boots. Eleanor put my sword away, and Arletta tried to unbraid my hair, all the while telling all the news. I sank deep into the warm water, held my nose and slid completely under. When I came back up, Sarah was there with a full glass of Crimson.

“Here, drink this; it’ll give you some energy.”

“Thank you, Sarah. What would I do without you?”

“I don’t know, and I’m not going to let you find out. There’s no getting rid of me now!”

I finished off the Crimson and Sarah took the glass from my hand and replaced it with a bar of soap. She washed my hair while I gave a detailed accounting of the battle. I left out the part about Damien; that memory was mine alone.

The girls hung on every word and when I was finished Rosa pledged, “I swear this is the last time you’re going into battle without me.”

“Or us,” Letta said, and El agreed with equal determination.

“I wish I could have been there with you,” continued Rosa as if the other two had not spoken.

I hadn’t spent much time with my roommates, but I had a feeling we were going to be great friends.

“We’ve decided something, Katrina,” Rosa was matter-of-fact. The other two looked at me and nodded in agreement.

“We have neglected to train as hard as you have. Oh, we learned our languages, our history, rules, manners, and so on. But our battle skills—swordplay, strategy, and the development of each of our special gifts—are sorely lacking.”

“And…?” I prompted.

“We want to train with you, if it’s allowed and if you consent. The three of us want to stay with you, after our fathers go home,” Letta looked at me closely, trying to gauge my reaction.

“Well, say something, Kat,” El urged, “What do you think?”

“I think it would be fantastic!”

They jumped up and hugged each other, then trotted over to the tub. I gave them a splash of water, they squealed, and we all laughed. After all the killing, it felt good to do something childish.

“All right, all right,” scolded Sarah. “Stop making a big mess for me. Shoo, you three. Let me get her out of the tub and dressed.”

The girls left reluctantly. I hoped they could convince their fathers, and I knew my father would have no objection to the plan. He always said I spent too much time alone. I guess he didn’t count Sarah or Quinn. “Quinn!  What was I going to do about him?” I sighed, and Sarah helped me into a simple sky-blue dress, combed my hair out with scented oils, and then deemed me fit to join the others for lunch. Father returned and was in his room washing off the same sort of blood and grime I’d just soaked off of myself. He was soon changed and now joined us for lunch. The girls each gave me a look, urging me to ask Father about their plan to accompany us home, and to stay and train with me.

“Father?”

“Yes, Katrina?”

“The girls and I wanted your permission for something. We want to ask their fathers if they may stay with me, so we can all train together, when we go home.”

“Is that right? Well I think it’s a fine idea. If you want, I’ll speak with all your fathers myself.”

“Oh yes, yes, would you?” they all exclaimed, while clapping their hands.

“Thank you, Father.” I went to him and gave him a big hug. He patted my arm and when I sat down he gave me a wink.

“I have news. I’ve decided a celebration is in order. We have much to be thankful for. You girls are safe, and we have averted a great threat to all our people - indeed to everyone on the continent. We shall plan a dinner and a ball.”

We clapped with glee and Father responded with a belly laugh.

“Is this what I have to look forward to?” he laughed again.

As we finished our lunch, we asked Father if we could move back to our original accommodations, he agreed. We wanted to see each other’s gowns and stay up all night and gossip. As none of us had siblings, not to mention sisters, and we were really looking forward to having each other’s company.

Back in our quarters, we shook off all bad memories surrounding the place, by staging a fashion show. Each of us would be modeling a gown she hoped to wear to the coming celebration. Rosa and Letta, being blessed with beautiful olive skin, looked wonderful in any color. Rosa settled on a copper-colored silk and for Letta a gorgeous tangerine, both concluding gold slippers would be just the thing. As for El and me, we were blessed with the palest of skin, had long legs and comely figures. Everyone agreed gold silk was right for me; and teal looked lovely with El’s blue eyes and light hair. El had matching teal slippers; I decided to go with matching gold ones.

We oohed and aahed over each other’s jewelry and decided we would all wear our hair up tonight. After all these important decisions had been made, Sarah demanded we should rest before dinner. After everything that had happened, it was natural we were feeling uneasy about being alone in our rooms, so we paired up, El and I in my room, Rosa and Letta in Rosa’s.

We eased into my welcoming bed. I sighed as the down comforter enfolded my body and I began to relax. I had just closed my eyes when I heard El’s whispered question, “Did you hear Luena had turned her Watcher?”

“Yes, and I saw him up close this morning,” I whispered back, my eyes still closed.

“I wonder if she was sleeping with him. Do you think so, Kat?”

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past her.” I snuggled down into my pillow.

“What about you, Kat?”

I wasn’t going to get any rest, was I?

“What do you mean, El?”

“Well, would you ever sleep with one of your Watchers? All of yours are so handsome.”

This got my eyes open. I turned towards her, propped my head up on my elbow and studied her for a moment. Could I trust her? Yes, I decided; I was sure I could.

“Yes,” I responded with conviction.

“Really? Which one?”

“Quinn.” then I told her our whole story.

“Kat, that’s so romantic! I wish I had a secret someone,” she sighed again.

“This is all between us for now, agreed?”

“Of course, Kat. I’m so glad you trusted me with your secret. We’re going to be the best of friends, all of us.”

“Now can we get some rest?” I burrowed back into my comforter and closed my eyes. El was so nice. It felt wonderful telling her my secrets. I had grown up with no female companions except for Sarah, but being surrounded by my Father, Quinn and his brothers, had made me strong and independent. Gunter had honed my fighting skills and successive tutors had seen to my education and soothed off my rough edges. But as close as Sarah and I were, it was not the same as having a sister. It’s strange how things turn out; I had always wished that I had a sister, and now I had three. I felt drawn to them, and knew somehow, our bond was more than just a friendship.

Just weeks ago my future was unsure, and now I realized just how quickly everything could change. I recognized then, I had instinctively kept my feelings about Damien from El. Just why, I wasn’t sure. Maybe it was because I wanted that memory to be mine alone. I probably would never see him again, except in my dreams. With that I drifted into a peaceful sleep.

Sarah woke us about two hours later. We were to meet our fathers for dinner, and we hoped they had agreed to let us stay together and train. The ball was to be tomorrow, so we dressed simply and headed over to the main dining room

Our Watchers of course escorted us, and I noticed when we arrived at the hall, Eleanor was looking around to see if she could get a good look at Quinn. I was looking as well, but he was nowhere in sight. Then all at once he appeared with three of his brothers in tow.

“Thomas, Simon, look who just showed up,” Quinn was all smiles as he indicated his brothers.

Thomas laughed. “You missed all the fun.”

“Thought you’d save some for us,” Avery, pushed his lip out in a pout.

“Maybe next time,” Quinn laughed.

“Katrina, I heard you did us proud. After all the whining during your training, I bet now you’re glad we all worked you so hard,” Gregor, this pride showing, beamed at Katrina.

“You’re absolutely right, Gregor. Just remind me of that, the next time I complain.”

Just then Father arrived with Gunter, and the men all shook hands. It was good to have them all together again.

“Since you are all here now I want to introduce you to your new students. Lady Rosalinda DiPalicio, Eleanor Flanery and Arletta Valdesio may I present Cedrik, Gregor and Avery Voss. Men, their fathers have agreed, and the girls will be traveling back with us to Mormont to continue their training with you and Katrina.”

The men bowed, but had startled looks on their faces.

“We look forward to the challenge,” Thomas said, with a twinkle in his eye.

“Now,” Father he clapped and then rubbed his hands together. “We must meet the others for dinner. Ladies,” he gestured for us to proceed him into the hall.

My friends’ fathers were already inside, and the girls greeted them with big hugs, kisses, and thanks for agreeing to let them train with me. I went to thank each of the fathers as well. We were all so excited we could hardly eat.

“Fredrik?”

“Yes, Philepe?”

“Any news of Luena or Damien?”

“Nothing. The Count and Countess Daminov are devastated by the actions of their children and have gone into seclusion

“We are fortunate Damien wasn’t voted High Regent, with the power of the office they could have continued creating their fledgling army,” Philepe’s relief was obvious.

We all nodded in agreement. I wanted to rise in Damien’s defense, but this wasn’t the time. Maybe that time would never come. For that matter, I wasn’t completely sure he had told me the truth.

“We have had word, however, of the Volator. After we were attacked, we sent out scouts to track those that had escaped. What they found was quite a surprise. In the forest, not far from the road, and about two miles from the palace, were the bodies of not only the four we knew had escaped, but also the body of one who we suspect was their leader.”

“Well, that is fine news Fredrik,” Philepe gestured with his fist.

As everyone at the table expressed agreement and congratulations at the turn of events, my heart leapt; Damien had told me the truth. Now, I knew I must tell Father Damien had saved me at the river and all he had told me. What else did this mean to me? That was yet to unfold.

After dinner I went to Father and told him all about Damien.

“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier, Katrina?”

“I wasn’t sure he was telling me the truth, especially when I learned Luena had escaped too. But after you confirmed what Damien had told me, I knew you had to be told. Do you think he’s in danger? Could he come back now he’s been cleared?”

“We still don’t know if he created any of the fledglings and how involved he was in the planning of the attack. Katrina you hardly know him. Are you sure you can trust him?”.”

“Well, I know if he was involved at all in Luena’s plan, it was only because she coerced him. Damien said she was a truly evil woman, and my senses have confirmed that. I didn’t think I was sure until today, but yes, now I do trust him.

Father thought for a moment, I could see him battling through before he finally decided.

“This is what I will do. I’m calling off the hunt for Damien and will send word to his father he has been cleared. I’m sure count Daminov will be relieved.

“Thank you Father, I know this is right.”

“There’s something else I want to ask you. Now the crisis has been averted, will the Council be taking up the issue of forming a new clan to colonize the New World?”

“We may.” Father replied. “Don’t tell me you want to be among those wishing to be chosen?”

“I think I’ve earned a place, don’t you agree Father?” I was confident.

Father chuckled, “That is surely true, daughter; you’ve more than earned it. But it will take some time to debate this subject further. And don’t forget, you have committed to an extended amount of time to train your new friends.”

“All I ask is to be seriously considered when the time comes to pick members.”

“If that is still what you wish, Katrina, of course.”

“Thank you, Father. Now I’m going back to my room. I’m still rather tired. Oh, Father, is it all right with you if I go hunt later? I promise to stay close.”

“All right, but don’t go alone. Take Quinn.”

My head snapped around, my mouth gaping open.

“Well, he’s not your Watcher anymore,” Father said with a wry smile.

I rushed out the door. Was he saying what I thought he was saying? I flew down the steps where Thomas was waiting.

“Whoa, Katrina, slow down.” He put his arms out as I tried to go by him.

“Yes, Thomas?” I stopped, irritated he was keeping me from looking for Quinn.

“My brothers and I were wondering if you and the girls would come over to the training compound tonight for games and fun, so we can all get to know each other.”

My irritation melted away.

“And Thomas, which of the girls would you like to get to know better?”

He was blushing now.

“Well, Lady Eleanor seems very interesting,” he said shyly.

“Interesting?” I prodded.

He nodded without looking up.

“All right, the get-together sounds like fun. If the girls agree, when would you like us to join you?”

“About ten o’clock. Of course, I’ll be outside your door; Luena is still on the loose. I’ll escort you.”

I gave him a concerned look.

“You don’t think she’s still around here do you?”

“I wouldn’t put anything past that one, and I’ll not take any chances by letting our guard down.”

“Thank you, Thomas. My family is so lucky to have your family watching out for us.”

The girls’ Watchers were in their places, so I knew they were in and I couldn’t wait to tell them about our invitation.

“Katrina!” They all chimed at once. “Where have you been?”

“I had to speak to Father.”

Then I told them of our discussion about Damien. Still leaving out the part about the kiss and what he said about finding me in the New World.

“Oh, and something else. We’ve been invited by Thomas and all his brothers, to the training compound for games and fun, as Thomas put it, so they can get to know you better, since they’ll be training you. Do you want to go?” of course knowing the answer.

“Well, I suppose so,” Letta said slowly.

Then we looked at each other and laughed.

“Thomas will be here as escort around ten. We should wear our training outfits, since there will be games, and we’ll be sitting by the fire so we’ll want to be comfortable.”

They agreed. We split up. Rosa going to her room, Letta took a seat by the fire to read.

“Eleanor,” I whispered, motioning to her. When she came near, I took her arm and guided her into my room.

“Father gave me permission to hunt tonight—with Quinn.”

Her eyes got big.

“He knows?”

I nodded. “I guess so, because he acknowledged Quinn isn’t my Watcher anymore.”

“He as much said it’s all right,” she exclaimed.

“I think so too.”

We clasped hands joyfully. Then I told her what Thomas had said about her and she was thrilled. After she left my room, I laid on my bed thinking of what the evening might bring. After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling, I had decided I wanted to go hunting first. Changing into the appropriate clothing, I now stood in front the mirror buttoning up my vest. I took a last glance to make sure my hair was still intact (Sarah had twisted it back at the sides then pulled it back in a ribbon), I thought I saw a face reflected in the mirror. I turned, pulling my sword at the same time, but the room was empty. I went to the window, but didn’t see anyone.

“I’m so foolish,” I said out loud. Re-sheathing my sword, I walked out of my room and out the door. Thomas was, as he said he would be, outside guarding the hall.

“Father said I could go hunting tonight, Thomas.’ I paused before continuing. “He also said I could take Quinn.”

Thomas look shocked.

“Since he’s not my Watcher anymore, it’s allowed.”

“Your father is really something, you know that?” Thomas shook his head.

“You’re right. He’s the best.”

Thomas called another Watcher to take his place at the door and walked me down to the Watchers quarters. He left me outside while he went in to inform Quinn of my arrival, and I realized I was nervous. Why? When Quinn finally walked out the door and stood before me, I decided I was more excited than nervous.

“Father gave me permission to go hunting tonight, as long as I didn’t go alone. He suggested you go with me,” I said, peeking up at him to judge his reaction.

“He did?”

“Since you weren’t my Watcher any more…”

Quinn pulled me close and gave me a big hug.

“This is wonderful Kat. No more hiding,” he crowed, relieved. “Let’s go! We’ll bring back some meat for the kitchen, and you’ll get your strength back.”

Hand in hand we walked across the compound together, spring in our step. Once outside the gate, I used all my senses to discover where the game was.

“There are deer about two hundred yards on the right. Let’s start with them, shall we?” I reopened my eyes and turned towards Quinn. He was adjusting the quill of arrows he had strapped to his back as we’d left Mormont.

“That sounds good to me, Kat. You take the lead once we get close. You can use your speed and I’ll use my arrows.”

We agreed and made for the forest to the right. As we got to within fifty yards, I nodded to Quinn and streaked off to the right, curling around the herd and driving them back toward Quinn. I picked out a nice stag, and overtook him easily, grabbing him around the throat and pulling him down in one maneuver. I sank my teeth into the large vein on his neck and fed until I was completely full. The hot flush of his blood was warming my whole body, transferring all his energy to me. When I finished, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and then licked my hand clean with my tongue. Satisfied, I looked for Quinn. He was about twenty yards away, retrieving his arrow from a doe. We cleaned our game and dragged them back toward the palace.

“Let’s rest,” Quinn dropped the doe to the forest floor.

“All right, if you’re tired.”

He laughed as he sat down on a fallen moss-covered tree.

“I’m not tired; I just want to have some time alone with you. Last time we were together there was a lot of killing involved.”

“That’s true; there wasn’t much time for conversation, was there?

“Did Thomas tell you about the get-together later tonight? All my brothers are very excited about their new training partners. Except Gunter of course; he’s married and thinks, he took on Gunter’s deep serious voice, “the girls will be nothing but trouble”.

“Well, I guess that trouble will be for your five other brothers because you’re already taken too.”

Then I sat down on his lap, put my arms around his neck, and kissed him.

“We should go back, Quinn; it’s almost time for the get-together.”

“You’re right and I want to change.”

We rose, gathered up results of our hunt and resumed our journey back. We left our prizes with the butcher and Quinn walked me back to my room. He pulled me to him between the hall and stairs so we could have one last moment to ourselves.

“For as long as I live, I will love you,” he said kissing me.

I sighed as I closed the door. All three girls rushed out of their rooms.

“Did you go hunting with Quinn?” El probed.

“Yes, and it was successful. We brought back a stag and a doe.”

El looked worried and then softly admitted, “I told Letta and Rosa all about you and Quinn and what your father said. I didn’t think you’d mind anymore.”

I gave her a stern look, but then softened when I realized she was right. “It’s true, we’ve nothing to hide anymore and I can’t tell you how glad I am. And for your information, the hunt was wonderful!

“But now I must change; did Sarah put out my things?”

“Yes, and soap and water to wash up. She didn’t think you’d have time for a bath,” Letta said.

“I’ll go clean up and change, then.”

They all looked like scolded puppies.

“All right, come and help me get ready and I’ll tell you all about my hunting trip.”

Placated, the girls followed me into my room asking questions about Quinn, and if we kissed again, and then about Quinn’s brothers. I answered while they got my boots off and then while I combed out my hair and put up the sides with fresh flowers. They helped me on with my training leggings and matching vest over a white shirt and high leather boots. We were all wearing similar outfits and agreed the four of us were going to dazzle the Voss brothers.

Thomas and Quinn were waiting for us. The girls’ Watchers still on duty, would be our guard, but with so many Watchers at the gathering we weren’t worried about safety. Although Thomas greeted us all, he kept his eyes squarely on El as she smiled shyly back at him.

“Shall we?” Quinn gestured for us to take the lead.

We walked to the training compound, making small talk and laughing among ourselves. When we arrived, we could see a large fire had been built on one side of the compound. The fire was surrounded by low wooden stools, with a table heavily laden with refreshments close by. There were many people milling around and others standing in small groups making conversation. I could see Gerhardt surrounded by a group of adoring young ladies. It was hard to miss Sven, so tall, his long blond hair flowing in the breeze. He was animatedly speaking to a gathering of Watchers and other young men, no doubt relating heroic battles and great conquests. Most of the families seemed to be represented, and all seemed to be having a fine time.

“There you are,” Simon called. “Come, get something to eat and drink.”

At hearing their brother call out, the other Voss brothers came to greet us—except Gunter, who was on duty guarding Father.

“Nice to see you ladies again,” Avery stood.

“You four put all the other girls to shame,” Gregor added.

The girls blushed and thanked them, accepted the offer of wine and food, and we all carried our full plates over to the fire for some story-telling. One of the elder Watchers, a Norseman named Thorn, began an oral history about the origins of the Watchers.

“It all began when the first vampires came into existence, when the race was unable to tolerate the direct rays of the sun, and needed someone they could trust to keep them safe during those dangerous daylight hours. In those early days, the vampires used their powers and intimidation to keep the Watchers loyal, but as the centuries passed there developed mutual respect and the bonds of friendship between us, so now the Watchers are regarded family and in turn, consider it an honor to serve.”

We all clapped and toasted, cheering, “Hear, hear!”

We challenged the boys to play some games - horseshoes, darts, and archery. I’m proud to say we held our own. I noticed Arletta taking an interest in Avery. Rosa was so stunning, she was equally sharing time with the other three Voss brothers as well as several young vampires, including Demitrie Devorak.

Eleanor and Thomas were off by themselves in cozy conversation. We all had a wonderful time, staying late into the night, singing folk songs and listening to some who played instruments or were willing to entertain us with a native dance. Then people started to slowly head back to their quarters, as did we. Quinn and I were hand in hand, as were El and Thomas. Letta and Rosa had Avery, Simon, Gregor and Cedrik surrounding them. Quinn and I stopped and let the others pass us, so we could say goodnight alone.

“It’s been such a wonderful day, hasn’t it Quinn?”

“Yes, but anytime we can be together is wonderful,” he brushed my cheek with his hand. We leaned into each other then, his breath was so warm and sweet. The kiss started softly, then deepened with an urgent passion. I felt as if I couldn’t get close enough to him; Quinn responded by holding me tighter. As he lifted me off the ground, I heard myself moan softly and felt him quiver slightly. We broke the kiss and he slowly lowered me to the ground. We stood looking into each other’s eyes, our unspoken desire was clear to both of us.

“I love you,” he whispered.

I hugged him, “I love you too.”

We walked up the stairs, the boys were coming back toward us, and down the hall we could see Thomas kissing Eleanor.

“We’ll wait outside,” Gregor said, as he passed Quinn. Quinn nodded and wished me a good sleep and sweet dreams. I waited, my hand on the door latch, as Thomas finalized his goodnight to Eleanor, I drew her into the common room.

“It’s always the shy ones, isn’t it Letta?” Rosa laughed. “Well, tell us El, is he a good kisser?”

“I wouldn’t have anyone to compare him to, but I thought the kiss was heavenly,” she sighed, closing her eyes as if to remember each second.

“How about you two? Any interest in anyone?” I asked, curious now in who they might choose.

“Well, Avery is handsome,” Letta contemplated the brothers, “but I haven’t made up my mind yet. How about you, Rosa?”

“I’m having so much fun with all of them, to choose just one seems, well, selfish.” She pretended to be completely serious, then looked at all our shocked faces and started to laugh.

We discussed the party for another hour, and then once we were no longer able to keep the conversation going or our eyes open, one by one we our goodnights and drifted to our rooms.

I put on my nightgown, slipped under the down comforter, and sank into the feather bed.

As I fell asleep, I tried to imagine what it would be like to make love to Quinn.

CHAPTER SIX

I woke up early and dressed in riding gear, my sword, as always, strapped to my waist. Sarah in the common room was just putting out some fruit, porridge, nuts, hearty bread, pastry, and jams.

“I didn’t think you’d be up quite yet, but I fixed breakfast just in case,” she said as she finished.

“I’m glad you did. I’m starving, even though I hunted yesterday” I shrugged as I took a large bite of pastry.

“I’m going to take Nulla out for a ride this morning. I saw her last night. She’s all healed and now needs the exercise.”

I finished my pastry by licking my fingers clean.

“Mmm, I really enjoyed that. Thank you, Sarah. I’ll be back later.”

As I opened the door to the hallway I found Simon guarding the door this morning. He turned and cheerfully greeted me.

“How are the girls? Did they have a good time last night?”

“If you’re trying to find out if any of them fancy you, I have no news; but yes, we all had a fine time last night. I hope we can do it again soon.”

“I do too. Gunter said training with the girls begins tomorrow, and the girls’ fathers want to make sure their daughters are serious about this training.”

“I assure you they are. Father also pledged to help each of us find, hone, and perfect our special gifts.”

As we approached the stable, Quinn led out the horses. Nulla immediately let out a whinny when she spotted me. I broke into a run, so I could reach her sooner.

“Oh, how I’ve missed you,” I told Nulla as I rubbed her forehead and patted her neck. She nuzzled me with her nose; and I lifted it up and gave her a kiss, the soft whiskered velvet tickling my lips.

“Look what I brought you,” I offered her the apple I pulled out of my pocket, which she hastily gobbled down.

Simon was to accompany us as my Watcher, but as Quinn helped me into the saddle, even though I didn’t need it, he took the opportunity to whisper to me, “Simon had agreed to give us some privacy”. Then with a motion to Simon to mount up, they both swung into their saddles and we trotted off towards the training grounds to warm up and try some spear and arrow skills

“I bet you’re rusty,” Quinn grinned, obviously baiting me.

“Would you like to make a small wager then?”

“Fine with me. How about a kiss for every time I win and a kiss for every time you win?”

“You drive a hard bargain, but I accept,” I said seriously, then not being able to hold it in, burst out laughing. I patted Nulla’s neck before urging her into a slow canter. Quinn threw me a quick smile as he also quickened his pace and shortly we were at the training grounds.

The training instructors reset targets and laid out arms each morning at dawn for those who wanted to practice, and already there were several men taking the line for shooting, including Demitrie, Hun Lee, and Chan.

“May we join you?” I asked of Demitrie.

“Of course, Katrina…Quinn. We welcome the competition. We’ve set up both stationary and moving targets. The far line is for spears, and this closer one is for bow and arrow.”

“Let’s try spears first. It’s been a while, so don’t expect too much.” I looked at Quinn and gave him a wink. We continued over to the far line and waited behind Chan.

“Hun Lee, that was great work!” I applauded. He bowed his head in thanks, as we watched Chan take his turn. First up was a stationary target, the spear to be released no closer than ten yards away. Point zones and bull’s eyes were painted on each target. He hit the bull’s eye easily from fifteen yards at a canter. The next was a swinging target shaped like a man, with more points for a head shot than a body shot, and you had to be careful not to be knocked from your horse by the rotating arms. Chan grabbed a spear from the ground in between the targets and spurred his horse forward. He got within twenty feet and with a shorter but much harder shoulder-turn throw, hit the dummy square in the chest. The third and last target was a simulation of an enemy on horseback coming straight on. Two men pushed the target from the rear, with one man guiding the wheels, using a long handle from the side. This time Chan waited until the last minute and rammed the spear into the midsection of the target.

“These men are going to be tough to beat,” I thought, but I was determined to prove myself. I was next, and adrenaline was already pumping through my veins.

“Great job Chan,” I said, as he trotted his horse back.

“Thank you,” he patted his horse’s neck.

I walked Nulla up to the spears imbedded in the ground, pulled one out, and held it at eye level, it’s point toward the target, so I could judge its straightness and balance. Then I closed my eyes and turned my senses to the wind, which I judged to be slightly into my face coming left to right.

“Very well, Nulla, let’s show these boys what we’re made of.”

She reared slightly as if to let me know she understood, and then steadied down in preparation for the task. After one more bounce of the spear in my hand, I nudged Nulla with my heel, and we bolted off at a dead run.

“She’s going too fast,” I heard.

Then I heard Quinn laugh, “Just watch, Demitrie.”

I crouched down over Nulla’s shoulders, then leaned to the right and from twenty-five yards, hurled the spear with all my might. Into the middle of the target it went with a thud. I circled the target and raced back to the line and grabbed the last spear in row, before launching Nulla at the next target. My heart was pounding, but then my senses seemed to slow the action, making it feel like a slow, graceful ballet. Every fiber of my being was in tune with the spear in my hand. At ten yards I let it fly and hit the dummy right in the throat. Again I circled back to the line. As I thundered by, I picked a final spear, stood in the stirrups and threw. A second later the spear hit the moving target in the chest, surprising the men who had just started pushing it toward me. As I drew level to the target, I pulled my sword and slashed the grain-filled enemy across the throat, spilling its contents out onto the ground. I pulled Nulla to sliding stop and gave her a reward pat on the neck.

“Good girl Nulla. I think they got the general idea; we’re good,” I patted her again. We were both breathing hard as I walked her back to the start.

Hun Lee clapped and shouted, “Unbelievable, Katrina.”

“Too bad you’re so rusty,” Demitrie quipped.

“True. True. Think what you could do if you practiced,” Chan laughed.

“Well, I give up,” Quinn said, managing to keep a straight face. “I’m not going after that. You win, Katrina, and I’ll pay up on my bet with you later.”

I gave a mock bow of my head. “I accept your surrender. Well, I think Nulla and I are warmed up. Shall we go for a ride in the woods or by the river?” I turned Nulla towards the gate.

I waved goodbye. “I’ll see you later, gentlemen,” as Quinn trotted up to my side.

“You were fantastic back there. I really thought you’d be rusty; you haven’t done targets in at least two months,” his voice full of surprise and pride.

“I don’t know, but since that first battle with those two fledglings, my senses seem so attuned, my instincts honed, my body and mind working as one.”

I turned to look at Quinn and found him staring at me as if he’d never seen me before.

“What?”

“You’ve never seemed more alive than just then.”

“Funny, that’s what the girls say when I talk about you.”

I smiled at him and he smiled back. We stopped to wait for the gate to open. Thomas walked his horse right behind us, and then to our surprise Eleanor, her Watcher, and Simon came trotting around the corner.

“Wait for us,” she called as she waved.

We did, and she joined us at the gate.

“I’ll stay on duty, Thomas, it’s all right,” Simon offered.

So he and Eleanor’s Watcher pulled their horses around so they could follow the four of us. Thomas was all smiles as we headed out the gate.

“Sarah packed us a lunch, but we have to be back before one o’clock so she can get us ready for the meeting at two.”

“I swear I don’t know what the rest of your servants do. Sarah seems to take care of everything for us,” I shook my head.

“I know, but every time our servants come to help, she shoos them away. They do kitchen work, laundry, and fetch water and supplies from the stores, but she says they just get in the way upstairs.”

“Sounds like her. Let’s go up the river this time. The path down river has too many memories.”

Thomas and Quinn agreed. There was a well-worn animal path that we followed along the river. There was a slight breeze, the temperature was mild and as the water bubbled along I felt myself letting go of my excited state from the target practice, and becoming more and more relaxed. In a little while, we noticed a grassy knoll to the north. Reining our horses in that direction, we were soon dismounting and handing our horses over to the Watchers, who would see they had water to drink and allow them to graze a little. As we walked up the knoll to have our lunch, Thomas carried the leather pouches with our picnic and held hands with El. Quinn and I followed behind, our arms around each other’s waists. It was beautiful out here and quiet, except for the birds’ singing. Wild flowers, daisies and blue bells, made a lovely mosaic, one that was ever changing with the wind. Lilies of the valley dotted the edge of the forest, filling the air with their sweet perfume. We picked a spot at the very top of the rise; it gave us a beautiful view of the river valley below. We ate heartily and guzzled down water and a little wine. My workout earlier had made me hungry and thirsty.

“You should have seen Katrina this morning,” Quinn said proudly. “She sure put three young men on the spear target line in their place.”

“You’ll be doing the same thing soon, El,” I promised.

“I almost forgot, our fathers want to make sure we’re serious about this, so our training begins tomorrow. Plus we have to travel once every three months or so to one of our homes to show what we have learned,” said El as she put another grape into Thomas’s mouth. I couldn’t believe how sweet they were together.

Quinn added, “Simon said the same thing this morning, and I assured him you were serious, all of you.”

Simon and Leo, El’s Watcher, came up the knoll with the horses.

“Time to head back,” I sighed, as I brushed off my hands and Quinn helped me up.

We mounted and began the walk down to the river. In the distance I could see the palace and noticed an approaching caravan.

“That’s strange,” I pointed toward what I had seen, which made everyone look and agree with me.

We rode back at much quicker pace than we had come. As we dismounted, we discovered a coach being unloaded, with servants rushing around moving trunks and carrying them and baskets full of goods into the palace. We handed the horses over to the grooms who were waiting for us.

“Who’s arrived?” I asked the one who was to take Nulla.

“The Baroness and her daughter,” he said.

“Which Baroness?” I asked.

“Why, your mother, Baroness Von Dracek,” he said looking at me as if I were a fool, which is exactly how I felt.

“Katrina, wait,” I heard Quinn say as I rushed to the Council chambers. I had to speak to Father, this was crazy. My mother? How could this be? I had always assumed she must be dead, because of the pain that crossed Father’s face when her name was mentioned or that he had forbidden me to bring up or talk about her. But why had her existence been kept from me, where had she been? Then it hit me. And her daughter? Not only had I never seen my own mother, but it was a possibility I had a sister too! Somebody had some explaining to do and right now! I was becoming more and more angry, the closer I got to the rooms where I knew my father would be.

“Father, I need to talk to you,” I burst through the door.

He was standing in front of his desk and turned to me as I entered.

“Ah, Katrina, what timing. I’d like you to meet someone.” Father gestured toward the front of the room and stepped out of the light of sight that effectively blocked them from my view until that moment.

There smiling back at me was a face resembling my own! Older yes, but the features we shared made us look remarkably alike. I let out a gasp and thought I was going to faint. Compose yourself, my mind told me.

“Come meet your mother, Katrina,” Father reached his right arm to me. I put my left hand onto my chest hoping it could keep my heart from bursting out.

“Katrina this is the Baroness Elizabeth Von Dracek, your mother.”

I gazed into eyes the same hazel as my own. Her light brown hair was done up gracefully atop her head, and she wore a lovely green velvet dress, her cape and hat edged in what looked like fox. She smiled and started walking toward me. I suddenly felt sheer panic. I wanted to turn and run. I was shaking, my palms were clammy, and my throat was suddenly dry. When she stood right in front of me, she threw her arms around me and started to cry.

“My little girl, my Katrina, I can’t tell you how long I’ve waited for this moment. Let me take a look at you. She’s lovely, Fredrik!”

“She looks like you, my dear.”

“There’s someone else for you to meet, Katrina. This is your sister, Katherine.”

I took one look at my newfound sister and gasped. My knees buckled, and the room turned black. . . .

As I started to come to, I was still groggy and not sure if I was dreaming or not, but I could hear Father’s voice. He sounded stern and anxious at the same time.

“I told you it was going to be too much of a shock for her, Elizabeth. You should have sent word you were coming, so I could have prepared her.”

“And take the chance our enemies would find out before you did? And how was I to know you chose not to tell her what happened to me and that she had a twin sister?”

“Twin sister!” I opened my eyes and tried to focus “Oh, my head.” I slapped the side of it with my left hand and let out a moan.

“She’s coming to,” I heard my father say. “Go now; let me talk to her alone, please Elizabeth.”

I could hear footsteps across the wood floor and the door open and close. When I opened my eyes again, Father was sitting beside me, a worried look on his face.

“Katrina, are you all right?” he asked patting my hand. “Katrina, I’m so sorry.”

He was looking down now shaking his head.

“Father, why didn’t you ever tell me? All these years, I thought she was dead.”

“I never told you that,” he said sternly looking back at me.

“You never told me anything! What else was I supposed to think?” I closed my eyes again and rubbed my forehead.

“I thought I was protecting you and your mother. I told myself I would deal with my decision when the time came, and now it is here.” He sighed, “You know I love you, don’t you?”

“Of course, Father, and I love you. Nothing is ever going to change that.”

“When you live as long as we do, it’s sometimes a long time to stay with one person, although, of course, some couples do. Over the years interests change. Elizabeth wanted to travel the world, and I wanted to save it. When clan wars broke out, I had to decide over and over, to either help or stay with her. The need for Peace always won, and your mother grew tired of watching me ride away. I chose to make sure we could live in peace and not be driven into hiding like so many other races. So, your mother chose to go. Neither one of us could face losing you girls, so your mother and I reached a compromise. You stayed with me and Katherine went with her mother. Elizabeth found there were many others who wanted no part of the life I and many others had chosen. So, they gathered together and formed their own clan and went secretly to an unknown location to seek sanctuary. Very few of us knew, and we have kept their secret all these years. After a while people just assumed, like you, they had died, and we just never told anyone anything different. Most of them wanted to start a completely new life with their own laws, and unless we found anyone was putting our existence in danger, we left in peace. But if, however, they ever violated our territories and our peace, they were dealt with swiftly. Remember last summer when I had to give help to the Gomon clan? That action turned out to be lead by some rebels coming out of hiding and trying to overthrow a peaceful territory.

As Father’s story unfolded, it dawned on me—Damien’s mother had also disappeared, maybe she had chosen sanctuary too.

“I didn’t know if your mother would ever come back again, and as no one was to go looking for them, it would be up to them to decide whether to come back or not. Does any of this make any sense to you, Katrina?”

“It’s just a lot to absorb, Father. What are their plans, do you know? Are they going to stay? And a twin sister is quite a shock you know. What does she think of all this?”

“Well, you’ll have to ask her. She’s known about you all along, and from what Elizabeth has told me in the short time she’s been here; Katherine was the reason they came back. She wanted to get to know us; she wanted to be a part of our life. Your mother wants that too, whether she decides to stay in Germany or not.”

“But Father, this is an awkward time for all this, isn’t it? With all the families here, there are bound to be a lot of questions. So why now, after all this time?”

“Again, you will have to ask your sister. Elizabeth says Katherine just felt an overwhelming need to come now, that’s all I know. Yes, for her to come here now, during Council’s special call and the change of leadership is high profile. There will be questions, but we’ll just have to take each situation as it presents itself. I hope you can forgive me for not telling you all this sooner.”

“You did what you thought was best for me, I know that.”

He gave me a hug and sighed with relief, patted my back and released me. Then he kissed my forehead.

“We still have a Council meeting this afternoon. Are you up to it?” he asked as he stood.

“I think so, if you could ask Sarah to bring a change of clothes, I’ll change here. I’m still a little shaky.”

“Of course. I’ll send for her right now.”

Then he walked out of the room, nodding to Quinn as he came in.

“Kat, are you all right?” Quinn face reflected his concern as he came to my side.

“I guess so, considering I was blindsided with a Mother I thought was dead and with a sister I didn’t know I had. A twin sister at that,” I said as I tried to stand.

Quinn helped me, but my knees were still wobbly and I had to sit right back down.

“I feel so weak,” I rubbed my head again.

Quinn walked over and locked the door. Then walked back to me, knife in his hand. As he got close he took the point of his knife and made a slice into the vein on his wrist. He could see the shock on my face.

“No time, Kat. Just drink.”

He lifted his wrist to my mouth; the smell of his warm blood combined with his human scent was intoxicating. By instinct I grasp his arm. As I drained blood from Quinn’s vein, I felt not only a surge of energy, but a feeling I now recognized as having had before. The feeling built until I was wildly aroused. This was nothing like when I had daydreamed of how it would feel to make love. I realized now, this is what it would feel like and my daydream paled by comparison. It took all my willpower to force myself to stop. When I pulled back and came to my senses, I realized we were both breathing hard. Quinn looked away from me busily wrapping his wrist. This brought back a memory from home.

“You’ve done this for me before, haven’t you?” I said with shock.

“Yes,” he said sheepishly. “The other time you were in danger of going into dormancy; there was not a moment to waste. I know it’s forbidden, but both times it been necessary.”

I stood, renewed strength filling my body. I was amazed how quickly it had happened, and I could also see why it was forbidden. It was like a drug, and a vampire could get thoroughly addicted. I went over to him, put my arms around his neck and kissed him, exactly what I had wanted to do the last time. As we kissed I could tell he was as aroused as I was.

“I want to ask you something,” It embarrassed me, but I wanted to know. “How does feeding me like that, make you feel?”

Now it was his turn to be embarrassed.

“Heavenly,” he looked down, his face began to change color. “It’s very erotic. You?” he asked still not looking up.

“The same.”

He kissed me again, and then we both jumped when we heard someone try to open the door, then knock.

“Katrina?” Sarah’s voice sounded worried.

I walked over and opened the door.

“Are you all right?”

“That’s the question of the hour. I’m better, thank you. Did you bring a change of clothes?”

“Of course, and combs and some fruit,” she sounded put out, clearing resenting the implication she’d forgotten anything.

“Out with you, Mr. Quinn, I have a job to do. She’ll see you later,” Sarah pushed him out the door. She had brought me a lovely, but simple dress of yellow cotton. As she combed my hair she told me just what I had predicted, my mother and sister’s; arrival had touched off a round of rumor and gossip that would be unrivaled by any other council gathering. As I left the room, I was still feeling overwhelmed by the knowledge this direct feeding had not been the first, by the gut-wrenching emotion it brought, and by all I had seen and been told regarding my sister and mother. Entering the hallway, I could hear the loud buzz of voices coming from the Council room.

“Well, here we go,” I said to myself. I entered the Council chamber just as Father was calling the meeting to order.

“We are here today to finish the business of this special session, answer any questions you may have and hopefully solve any problems brought to this Council,” he stated with authority. “Let us finish any old business first.”

Then he went over new laws to be enacted, elections to be held in each territory, four council positions to be filled, and a list of minor and mundane subjects. As the hours passed, the chamber took on a restless, bored atmosphere, until the agenda came to the subject everyone had thought the special session had been called for in the first place.

“Now let us discuss new business. We have consulted the Vikings on news of the New World; the Americas to be exact. They are experts on the subject and they advise me we should soon send an envoy of senior council members. This envoy will make a tour of cities already established there, to help us decide the most advantageous places to establish clans and how to best infiltrate the ruling governments and upper classes, just as we have in all the territories where we reside today. It has always been in our best interest to be well established in an area, before moving full force into any situation. This way, we always know local and regional information ahead of time, and can influence and take advantage of trends. It is imperative we choose the correct locations, as well as the best positions in business, government, and society. We will send our envoy this very summer. We have been informed the Americas have recently ended a four-year war, and we believe this is a fine opportunity for us to begin to establish our presence there. The envoy’s survey of the situation should be complete by early next spring, and will allow us to make final plans at that time. Are there any questions on this subject?”

“Yes,” said someone in front, whom I could hear but not see. “Who is to go on this first expedition?”

“Not everyone wants to be away for almost a year,” Father told him, “so I will consider volunteers.”

After much discussion it was decided. Philepe agreed to go, since Gerhardt could manage his estate; and since their daughters would be staying with us anyway, Ricardo, Edward, and Michael also agreed to go. Others with expertise in banking, law, and accounting would also be going. Assignments were given and accepted, final business was discussed further, questions were answered and disputes were settled, after which the meeting was adjourned and all were invited to the dinner and ball. Departures would begin the following morning for the long journeys home.

I was relieved no one had brought up the new arrivals, even though their visit really was no one else’s business. My mother - the thought still shocked me - and sister - that thought shocked me more - had wisely stayed out of sight so far that afternoon.

“Katrina,” called out three voices together. They rushed toward me, pushing through the crowd that was leaving the opposite way.

“We were so worried. Sarah told us you fainted! You look recovered. In fact you look… glowing,”  El eyed me suspiciously.

“Physically, I’m fine. I’m just still in shock from learning I have a Mother I thought all these years was dead, twin sister I didn’t know existed, both of whom showed up this morning. It’s a bit overwhelming that’s all.”

They gave me a hug and I told them I would tell them all about it as we got ready for the festivities to be held that night, but I had to go over to Father’s and spend some time with my newly enlarged family.

Thomas was waiting outside, looking concerned.

“I’m all right,” I said before he could ask.

“I knew you would be. You’re strong, Katrina, and if you can handle yourself in battle you can handle this,” he said with conviction.

“You’re right, Thomas, thank you.”

He was right. I could and would be fine; I had no choice, I decided. I nodded to Thomas, shrugged my shoulders, and we continued on. My apprehension was gone by the time we reached Father’s quarters. As Thomas opened the door for me, I took a deep breath and walked in. Father wasn’t there yet; I knew that because Gunter wasn’t outside. Mother and Katherine were out on the balcony and I saw them turn as they heard the door open.

“Katrina, I’m so glad you’re here at last. Katherine, come, let’s sit and get acquainted. How was the talk with your father? Do you have any questions for us?” as she spoke I noticed the look of concern on her face.

It was so odd to look into the faces of two people who looked so much like me. Of course, as I looked at Katherine I realized she looked exactly like me, except our hair naturally parted on opposite sides. She was my mirror image, which would mean she was left-handed while I was right-handed.

“He explained why you left and why he didn’t tell me. I know he kept the secret because he thought he was protecting me. And while I understand his reasons, I have a question for you. Didn’t you ever wonder how I was doing?”

“Oh Katrina, of course I did, but I had my spies,” a conspiratorial smile flashed and she patted my hand. “They told me you were doing well. Besides, I knew your father loved you so much, he would make sure you thrived.”

I looked to Katherine, “He also said that you were the main reason you came back. Is that true?”

“Yes, I wanted a chance to know both you and Father, as I’m sure you would like to know Mother. I felt this was the time, Mother recognized and took my urgency seriously, and well, here we are.”

“Well, as I thought Mother had died, I often wished I’d had the chance to know her. Now I know you exist, I can’t wait to know you better. How long are you going to stay Katherine?” Although, I addressed my sister, I looked to my mother for the answer.

“We haven’t decided yet,” Mother said. “We’ll just have to see how it goes. Seeing your father again brings back wonderful memories for me, and I realize the two of you deserve a chance to have the closeness most other twins have, Katrina.” She took my hand, a range of emotion played across her face as she continued, “What seemed like the right decision all those years ago just makes me sad now.” The emotional moment drew out and then she brightened. “But what’s done is done; I can’t take it back, so I’ll concentrate on what we have now. We have time, and as you know, time is on our side. We live for centuries, after all.”

Father came through the door then. “Oh, good, you’re all here; my family as it should be.”

He seemed as happy as I’d ever seen him. Could it be? Would they reconcile? Too much to ask for, I supposed. Still, Mother was right, time was on our side. When I looked at her, she was beaming. Katherine and I exchanged a look, realizing it really could be true. We grinned at each other and I motioned for us to leave and give them some privacy.

“Father, I’m going to take Katherine to meet the girls. May we take her things, so we can all get ready together, Mother?”

“Mother, that sounds delightful. May I, please?” Katherine asked politely.

“Of course you may, but come back here when you’re dressed, and we’ll all go together. The others will want to enter with their fathers too.”

“Very well,” we said in unison, then laughed and walked out.

“Is it as strange to you as it is to me, to have another person that looks just like you?” I asked Katherine as we walked down the corridor. I had to laugh as I saw the double-takes from the people we passed.

“Not really, because I lived with Mother and she looks so much like me—like us. I suppose I’m used to it.”

“Hmmm, I never thought of that. Where are your trunks?”

“Downstairs, I think.”

As we headed down the stairs we could see Thomas and Gunter talking near the bottom. They stopped and looked over as we approached.

“Well, fancy that. And we thought one was a handful,” Gunter said, and we all laughed.

“Katherine this is my Watcher, Thomas, and his brother, Gunter.”

“Do you have Watchers with you my Lady?”  Thomas asked.

“No, we don’t. We only have vampire guards.”

“Well, you will need a personal Watcher while you’re here. I’ll see to it myself,” Gunter resolved.

“As you wish.”

Katherine pointed out her trunks and we pulled out her things for the night’s ball. They were beautiful –“just purchased in Paris”, she told me as we set out for the common room. She couldn’t tell us where they had traveled from, only it had been a long trip and she was tired. When we got to our complex, I saw Quinn standing by the door and I felt my spirits soar.

“Nice to see you feeling better, Kat,” he said, his eyes softened.

Then he looked at my companion.

“Katherine, this is my friend Quinn; Thomas and Gunter’s brother.”

“I am pleased to meet you, Quinn, and you may call me Kate.”

“I’m stunned. I had no idea you were identical twins.”

“Mirror twins,” we said again in unison and then giggled.

“What does that mean?” he looked shocked.

“It means she’s left-handed and…” I began.

“. . . she’s right-handed, and our hair naturally parts on the opposite side, that’s all,” Katherine finished.

“I see. Well, at least we can tell you apart that way. I wanted to let you know your father has arranged for Vampire guards to be on duty tonight, so my brothers and I can attend the ball, except for Gunter, of course. He even kindly arranged formal attire for all of us. You’re going to love him, Katherine.”

“I already do.”

“That’s great news, Quinn. Wait until you meet the rest of the brothers Kate, one of whom will become your Watcher, and another one will be Mother’s.”

“If they’re anything like these two, I can’t wait,” she bit her lip in a smile.

Thomas laughed, “Double trouble.”

“Indeed,” Quinn added.

“Let’s go meet the other girls and tell them the news. We’ll see you both later.”

Then I clasped Kate’s hand and we rushed up the stairs together.

“Watch the dress,” I ordered, and in we went.

“Greetings, everyone! I want you to meet my sister, Katherine. Katherine, may I present Rosalinda, Arletta, and Eleanor.”

“She’s…you,” gasped Eleanor.

“I know. Isn’t it eerie?”

“Gracious, this is going to take some getting used to,” Arletta was intrigued but her shock was apparent.

Rosa added, “That’s an understatement.”

Sarah, of course, had everything well in hand. Snacks and Crimson were laid out so we could keep our strength up. Kate needed that, but of course thanks to Quinn, I was fine. I’d have to think more about the matter of his feeding me again later. While she ate and drank greedily, we told the girls Mother might be staying and that she and Father seemed very happy to see each other. I informed Kate there had been no other women in Father’s life since they left, as far as I knew. She told us although there had been many suitors, Mother had also remained single. The girls insisted on telling Kate what a hero I was, and how we would all be training together from now on, at least until the envoy returned from the Americas. We had forgotten she didn’t know anything about that either, so we were quick to explain the situation, and added we all hoped to be included in the colonization. She seemed very excited at that idea, adding she intended to go wherever I went.

“Now to the important things,” El had a devilish smile on her lips. “Did Quinn or Thomas tell you the news about the ball tonight?”

“Yes, isn’t it enchanting? I’ll have to thank Father,” I was happy that father had agreed to this.

“You are in for a treat Katherine. All the brothers are gorgeous. Letta and I haven’t decided on which of them we like best, but those two are smitten with Thomas and Quinn,” Rosa, pointed to El and me.

“Please, call me Kate, and I saw for myself, before we came up here, how much Kat and Quinn meant to each other.”

“She told them if the others were anything like them, she couldn’t wait to meet the rest.”

Letta laughed. “She fits right in already.”

“They’re calling us double trouble,” Kate laughed along.

“If you ask me, they have no idea, yet, how true that’s going to be,” Rosa joined in.

“Do you want to move in with us?” El asked, excited she had thought of it.

“There’s an empty room. Oh, please say yes! It’ll give your parents some time to be alone, and we’ll make sure you both get time with them,” Letta was excited at the prospect.

“How about it?” I asked, turning to Kate.

“I think it would be delightful. Thank you so much for making me feel so welcome. You don’t know how afraid I was, no one would accept me - including Kat and Father.” As she spoke her eyes filled with tears.

“Stop, you’ll make us all cry,” Letta gave her a hug.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Kate’s gown was a sexy off-the-shoulder, blood-red silk taffeta, complemented by matching slippers. It showed a generous amount of cleavage, as did all of our gowns, our motto being: “Don’t hide your blessings.” We had Sarah put Kate’s hair up in a style similar to ours. Rubies and diamonds at her neck and ears completed her outfit. We all had on the gowns we had agreed on days before, and with Kate’s hair finished, we had to admit, if there were any five girls more fetching than us, well, there couldn’t be anyone more fetching than the five of us.

“Stunning,” Sarah confirmed. “Jaws will be dropping, that’s for sure, and I bet the brothers are going to have to fight off a lot of competitors tonight. You’d better go, girls; it’s time for you to meet your fathers, so they can escort you to dinner. Does everyone have a handkerchief?”

“Yes,” we all chimed, pulling them out and waving them in the air.

“Just checking. Put them back up your sleeves and be off. Go, go on,” she shooed us out the door. The girls went to find their fathers, and Katherine and I went to find ours.

Cedrik had joined Thomas to be our Watchers until we were delivered to dinner. Then they would be off duty.

“Cedrik,” I said, “this is my sister Katherine.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Katherine.”

“Likewise, but please call me Kate.”

Father was pacing when we arrived. Gunter was joined by Avery, who was to be Mother’s new Watcher. We introduced him to Katherine and entered the apartment.

“How many more brothers are there?” Kate asked.

“Two, not a bad one in the bunch,” I laughed.

Father smiled. “You two look stunning, absolutely stunning. Will the two of you please see if you can rush your mother along? It’s getting late.”

“No need Fredrik, I’m ready,” we heard her say as she came into the room.

Now it was our turn to gasp. Her hair was up in ringlets; her dress was the color of a blush pearl, with hand-sewn iridescent crystals edging the sweetheart neckline. Sleeves, puffed at the shoulders, ended slightly past her wrist, also edged in the same crystal detail. The dress was corseted in the back and featured a full pleated skirt that flowed to the floor.

“I don’t have words, Elizabeth; there aren’t any that could do you justice,” Father was actually flushing.

“You’re so beautiful, Mother, really,” I was awed.

“As always,” added Kate.

“You girls are ravishing. The young men don’t stand a chance, nor do any girls who try to compete with you,” It was obvious how proud Mother was.

“I’m just the luckiest man on earth,” sighed Father.

Smiling, he offered his arm to Mother and we left for dinner. As we crossed the courtyard, we could see all the others making their way to the dining room as well, the beautifully gowned women and dapper gentlemen talking and laughing as they entered the hall.

Dinner was wonderful. Candlelight danced across the walls like fairies fluttering in mid-air. Everyone looked splendid, and with all the business of the council now complete, the mood was light and happy. Much to my surprise Mother was welcomed graciously, and several times I noticed the adoring looks being exchanged between Father and her. The significance of those looks so excited me, I could hardly sit still.

Finally Father rose, and invited everyone to the ballroom, which was across the hall and down the stairs. We led the way, with Father and Mother gliding down the stairway arm in arm; we followed, wishing they would hurry. As we continued down, my eye caught sight of a very handsome group of gentlemen standing around the foot of the stairs, three on one side and three on the other. Having never seen the Voss brothers dressed in tie and tails before, I was stunned at how handsome they all were. There was not a man alive, here or anywhere else, that was a match for any one of our escorts. And of course I had my eye on one of them in particular.

Kate squeezed my hand and whispered, “Easy Kat, you can’t kiss him right here.”

Finally we reached the bottom of the stairs. When Quinn smiled at me and offered his arm, I thought I would melt.

“You’re gorgeous Kat.”

“You’re pretty gorgeous yourself,” I replied to him.

Cedrik escorted Kate over to sit down and we followed. Thomas would be spending the evening with El, of course; the other girls were working at keeping Avery, Simon, and Gregor guessing, but they could have any of girls attending tonight. We danced the night away. I wasn’t surprised our Watchers knew how to dance, since while I was growing up they had taken turns teaching me. But I didn’t care about the rest of them; I could have spent the rest of my days in Quinn’s arms, looking into his beautiful blue eyes.

“Would you like to go out to the veranda?” he asked softly.

“I’d love to.”

“I would follow him anywhere,” I thought. It was a perfect spring night, with crisp air and a clear sky filled with thousands of twinkling stars. We walked to the edge of the building, our arms around each other’s waists. I leaned my head on his shoulder and sighed; the night had been perfect and I didn’t want it to end.

“So how are you coping with all the sudden changes in your life?” he asked as he ran his finger down my neck and across my bare shoulder, sending chills down my spine.

“Well it’s been only a day, but I think it’s going to be fine. I’m sure we’ll have times where we won’t be happy with one another - all families have such days - but after the initial shock wore off and Father explained what had happened, I couldn’t be upset. I vowed to find a way to make this work, and look at the two them – they seem so happy. Looking back, it seems for all these years he must have been terribly lonesome; he must have missed her desperately. I know if you went away—”

“Shhh,” he touched my lips with his finger. Then slowly, he bent down and kissed me. I didn’t want that kiss ever to end, but when it did he whispered, “I’m not going anywhere.”

Kate called out, “Hey, you two,”

She was arm in arm with Gregor this time, and they were followed by El and Thomas, Rosa and Simon, and Letta and Avery. Cedrik was still inside, basking in the attentions of several young ladies, we were told.

“Look at all of us! I went from having no sisters to having four; and I will have to say, my brothers have never looked so good.”

Just then Cedrik came around the corner with a waiter in tow. The waiter was carefully carrying a tray full of Champagne glasses filled almost to the top. We each took one.

“To what shall we toast?” Cedrik asked.

“To us,” I raised my glass. “The family I always wanted.”

“Hear, hear!” they all joined in as we clicked our glasses together.

Later, when we’d left the ball, the laughter rang out as we cavorted across the square in a group. Earlier in the evening we informed our parents, Katherine would be moving in with us and had her with us as we made our way back to our quarters. Quinn and I entered the courtyard first, and when we turned we laughed to see that the procession of brothers and sisters seemed to go on for blocks.

“What’s so funny?” El asked.

“It’s just we look a little like a parade,” I turned and pointed

When she turned to see what I meant, she laughed too. We lingered for a moment while the rest paraded, on seemingly at this moment, in a more serious mood now the evening was at its end. I wanted to sneak Quinn into my room, but knew that was a bad idea…wasn’t it? Yes, it was, I decided.

“I had a wonderful time, even though these suits are really uncomfortable.” Quinn pulled at his collar.

“Oh? And these dresses aren’t?” I indicated my corseted waist.

“At least you’re somewhat used to it.”

“Well, you wouldn’t know it, but all of you had every lady in attendance tonight drooling.”

“And you, my dear, are so funny. You can’t be totally unaware men can’t take their eyes off you, not just tonight, but wherever you go? You never seem to notice?”

“Well, I don’t know about that. All I care about is how you look at me, and where you look.”

“Just look?” he laughed.

“You’re right. I want far more from you than a look.”

We kissed again. I wanted so much more, but there would be plenty of time, I thought.

“Break it up, you two,” Thomas said, “We all have to be up early to train, and everyone has to work especially hard to impress your fathers.”

“Yes, sir,” I gave him a mock salute.

“I’m serious, and you’d better be, too,” he said, his brow furrowed in a deep frown.

“Oh, Thomas, you know how serious I am with my training, and you can expect the same from everyone else. I think we’ve found out this past week how important training is. We have to be able to act on instinct at any moment. They all assured me they want to do just that, and I wouldn’t have asked Father to let them stay if I didn’t believe them.”

“True. How about your sister? Do you have any idea if she has any experience with weapons, riding or any kind of self defense?”

“No, but I’ll ask her when I get back. She is my twin after all, and if nothing else, you can bet she’s a fast learner. Did you send someone for her trunks, Thomas?”

“Sarah was way ahead of you, as usual. Katherine’s all settled in, including additional supplies Sarah thought she might need.”

“I don’t know why I even open my mouth. Sarah always seems to read my mind.”

“Well, let’s get you back so you can get some rest,” Quinn gave me a squeeze. “You must be ready right after sunrise.”

“Very well,” I pouted.

Quinn walked me to my door, gave me a quick kiss, opened the door, and wished me goodnight.

From inside we heard a chorus of four voices, crooning, “Goodnight, Quinn.”

I leaned against the door for a moment and sighed, “That was great.”

Everyone in agreement.

“You were right Kat, there’s not a bad one in the bunch. Those brothers are amazing,” Kate said.

“Absolutely delicious,” El made a show of licking her lips while  looking straight at me. “You know what I mean, right Kat?”

“What do you two know, we don’t?” Letta asked.

“You two have been getting personal attention at snack time haven’t you?” Rosa said making the connection. “It’s always the quiet ones isn’t it?”

“Is that true Katrina?” Katherine said, her eyes widening.

“It’s true,” confirmed Eleanor, “Thomas told me he suspected, because he saw cuts on Quinn’s wrist and Quinn told him it was necessary.”

“Oh, please,” Rosa groaned.

“It was, Rosa. The first time I nearly went dormant from lack of blood, and then after I fainted yesterday.” I defended.

“Very well, I’ll allow you that one, but that’s not why you’ll do it next time,” Rosa said.

“What do you mean?” Letta asked.

“Because it’s as good as having sex, that’s why.”

“Katherine!” we all exclaimed.

“It’s true, and I’ll bet you’ve compared the two. Am I right Rosa?”

Rosa nodded. “She’s right.”

“So, I’m the only one here who’s never fed directly from a human?” Letta frowned.

Kate laughed, “I guess so, but the way you were looking at Avery and the way he was looking at you, I doubt it will be long.”

“Well, I don’t have anything to compare it to, not that I wouldn’t like to, but it was amazing and that’s exactly what I was thinking when I was drinking Quinn’s blood, that this must be what it would be like to make love to him. What’s more, I could tell he was having the same experience I was.”

“Really? So Thomas wasn’t just doing it for my benefit, huh?”

“Yes, out of the goodness of his heart,” Rosa scoffed.

“Well, he probably only had Quinn’s word. It’s rather hard to explain to someone until you’ve experienced it yourself,” Kate explained.

“I can see why it’s forbidden though, can’t you? I wasn’t sure I was strong enough to stop myself. It’s like a drug; one could become addicted,” I admitted.

Rosa and Kate agreed.

El looked around at all of us, “Well, I think I’ll have to try a couple more times to make sure.”

We all laughed again.

We all were getting tired, so Sarah helped us with our ball gowns, we combed out each other’s hair and put on our nightgowns.

“Remember, we have to be at the training grounds tomorrow just after dawn, so we’ll need to be up an hour earlier.” Everyone groaned.

“By the way, Kate have you been in training with weapons before you came here?”

“We did some fencing and archery.”

“Well, you will find this training will be a little more intense, but as you heard, it’s time to take it seriously, and you never know when you’ll need to defend yourself or those you love, right?”

I heard several voices chime in “right” along with Kate’s. I was glad we were all in agreement on this and suggested we climb into bed. I snuggled down into my soft comforter and promptly fell into an exhausted sleep.

I had the strangest dream. I was at the ball dancing with Quinn, and I was so happy I gave him a hug and snuggled my head into his shoulder. When I straightened to resume my dancing form, I looked up expecting to gaze into the beautiful blue pools of Quinn’s eyes, but instead the smoldering dark eyes of Damien stared back at me. Strangely, I didn’t seem shocked, but just laughed and kept right on dancing as if nothing had happened, and then I woke up.

“What was that all about?”I asked myself. I sat up trying to figure out what time it was. It was still dark. I flopped back down on my pillow. I loved Quinn; there was no doubt in my mind about that; so why had I dreamt about Damien? He was different from Quinn in nearly every way. Of course there were the obvious differences: Damien was a mature vampire, from an elite royal bloodline at that. Damien was my equal; I wouldn’t outlive him, which was a problem I would have to deal with eventually, because Quinn was human.

The girls and I had discussed the difficulties that came along with serious relationships and the quandary falling in love with a human would bring. We talked of this often and had decided, like many of our kind, that the intensity of the relationship was the important thing. Such bondings were so uncommon, that to deny one just because the other party was a human was to deny ourselves the love we desperately needed to make life bearable. We also understood, just because you have a relationship with someone who lives as long as you, doesn’t mean you will always stay together - or the relationship would not end by other means. Vampires can be killed or die too, for that matter. I didn’t want to dwell on the negative. Damien and Quinn were utterly different. Their personalities were different, and although they were both, handsome, they were handsome in very different ways.

“This is ridiculous,” I thought. “If Damien were here - which he’s not - I would still choose Quinn, wouldn’t I?”

“Oh for crying out loud,” I told myself sternly. “Just get up!” I threw off the down comforter and swung my legs over the side of the bed.

Why did everything in my life have to be so complicated?

I was glad to be training this morning. The intense concentration and focus necessary to stay ahead of my trainers always cleared my mind. During a session, I felt complete and totally in my element, as if this was what I was meant to do.

I dressed and headed to the common room. The coals glowed in the darkness, giving the room a warm orange hue. I knew I had at least an hour and a half before I had to be at the training ground, so I headed down to the prep area to find something to eat; no sense waking Sarah, when I was perfectly capable of fixing something myself. There were two Watchers in the hall, and one positioned at the bottom of the stairs. Entering the prep room, I could see fruit and yesterday’s bread covered with a towel. Good, I thought, something simple. A jug of water was all there was to drink; it was too early for fresh Crimson. I chose some grapes, a piece of bread and jam, and a slice of dried meat to round out the meal.

Satisfied, I drank some water and decided to go see Nulla, grabbing an apple for her on the way out. I double-checked my sword and dagger, which now seemed like part of my body and were never very far from my reach. Even at the ball I had strapped a dagger to my thigh. Better safe, than defenseless was my new motto. Maybe having to fight for my life every other day, was affecting me more than I thought.

I strode confidently down the hall. I didn’t see anything of Thomas, which was fine, since I really wanted to be alone. The other Watchers had let me get this far alone only because I had convinced them I was meeting Thomas at the stables. As I headed across the courtyard, the sun was just about to make its appearance. The air was crisp but still. I took a deep breath and sighed; mmmmm, I felt good—strong, fit, and ready to take on the world.

I had almost reached the stable when I recognized his scent; Damien was close!

I swiveled and surveyed my surroundings, then closed my eyes and tried to “see” where he was. “Finding” him, I looked up and there on top of the wall in front of me was Damien looking down at me. I couldn’t believe it; he was here. He dropped off the wall to land gracefully at my feet. He rose not inches from my face. My heart was racing, his spicy scent filled my head.

“I missed you,” he whispered.

And then I realized, I had missed him too.

“What…how…when…?” I stuttered.

“My father sent Ivan to find me and relay that, thanks to your intercession, I had been cleared. My father was so thankful at least one of his children wasn’t to be hunted down and killed, he has arranged for me to go with the others to the Americas.”

He took my hands in his, raised them to his lips and kissed my fingers. Reminding me of the first time, it felt like energy moved from his lips through my skin and tingled up my arms. While doing this he never took his eyes, those dark sexy eyes, from mine.

“Thank you for telling your father I was innocent.”

“Believe me, Damien, you have many traits but innocence isn’t one of them. We can say ‘not guilty,’ maybe.”

He laughed, breaking the sexual tension between us.

“I’m going to see Nulla. Walk with me.”

He clasped his hands behind his back and walked beside me.

“I hear you had a surprise arrival this week. How are you?”

This stopped me in my tracks. I turned my head to see a concerned look on his face, and studying him for a brief instant I thought, “I really did misjudge him.”

I managed to reply, “Well, now the shock has worn off, I’m glad to have not only my mother, but my twin sister in my life, I’m fine. I think actually I’m better than fine. And Father has never seemed so content. So we’ll see what transpires, but for now we’re making our best efforts to get to know each other, and make it work.”

We started walking again.

“There have been so many times I wondered about my mother, and if she would ever come back.” Damien stopped walking, “Your mother being here gives me hope.”

He sounded so sad, I turned to look at him and after a few seconds reached out and gave him a hug. He seemed surprised, but adapted quickly, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me close.

“If that’s what you want, I’m sure someday you’ll be together again.” I told him.

“There are many things I want, that I’m willing to wait for,” he added, holding me away and looking into my eyes passionately. Then he pulled me close again, and his breath on my ear and neck made my stomach quiver. How could I feel this way about two such different men?

He released me and we began walking again. We reached the stables moments later.

“Well, we’re here. I’ve brought an apple just for Nulla.”

He gestured for me to lead the way. It was just after sunrise and getting light now and the grooms were busy cleaning stalls and feeding horses. Nulla had had her bath, her stall was clean, and she was happily munching on fresh hay. How I loved the smell of fresh straw bedding and hay.

“Nulla?” I called, and she raised her head and whinnied in recognition. “Look what I brought you,” I teased.

She reached her head out to me impatiently.

“Very well, here you go.” I laughed and offered her the plump green apple.

She snatched it from my outstretched palm as if she hadn’t eaten in a week. I patted her neck, scratched behind her ear, and stroked her beautiful face.

“I’ll see you later, girl.”

“Maybe we could take her out later, unless you’re not staying. I know most people are getting ready for their trip home,” Damien said. “I came back to ready myself for the journey ahead, and then I’ll head to the port with the others.”

“I’d like to go on a ride, maybe this afternoon. Has there been any word of Luena?” I asked, changing the subject.

“No,” he said angrily, “and if I never see her again, it will be too soon for me; but I have a feeling I’ll never be free of her. My participation in her plot was only that I agreed to keep silent about it. I really had no idea she could actually convince anyone to join with her. And when it became apparent her plans actually had a chance of success, I vowed to stop her. I only agreed to keep silent, because I sought to protect my father. She told me she would kill him if I said anything about her army. I’d grown to see how deep the level of her evil ran, and believed her capable of actually doing harm to Father. After she revealed her full intentions to me, I was able to convince Father to resign, so she would have to change her plans, expose herself and her army before it was too late. Of course you know the rest.” He sighed.

“Well, all we can do is to be vigilant. I, for one, am going to make sure the girls and I can always take care of ourselves. Speaking of preparation, I have to get to the training grounds. I’ll see you later, then?”

“Of course, I’ll meet you at the stables for that ride.” he called after me.

I waved as I walked away. The closer I got to the training grounds the more excited I became.

“There she is,” Rosa called out to the others. “Where were you?”

“I woke up early, so I made a trip to the stables to see Nulla, and you won’t believe who I came across on my way.”

“Who?” Letta asked.

“Damien!”

“Really? Damien? When did he get back?” said a shocked Eleanor

“Who’s Damien?” Kate asked.

“You remember, Luena’s half-brother,” Rosa provided.

“Oh.” Kate shrugged her shoulders to show didn’t really know who we were talking about.

“We’ll have to talk about it later. Here are our fathers,” I said.

“All right, let’s get started, girls,” Gunter clapped his hands. “First, I just want to explain to those that haven’t had much training with Watchers, why we train as we do. Our methods develop your skills deliberately, slowly, so that the moves become routine and with time are easily mastered. When you then add your vampire speed, you will become almost unbeatable.”

“Why the swords and daggers?” Kate asked. “Why not pistols and bullets?”

“Good question, Katherine. Bullets are of no use against vampires. Because of your speed, by the time the bullet leaves the barrel of the gun pointed at a target, the target is no longer there. Against humans your speed and superior strength is your best weapon. The swords, especially the short swords you all carry, are light and lend themselves well to speed. They are also silent and lethal, and with them you are capable of killing your opponent before he even detects your presence. Each of you also possess special gifts, and we as Watchers are especially adept at recognizing those gifts and will be helping you develop them as well. So let’s get started. First I’d like Katrina to come forward to show you what I’m talking about. Katrina?” He gestured to me.

I walked up next to Gunter smiling, and he gave me a wink. “Show them your skills,” he told me.

I replied, “Yes, sir,” and took up my weapon for the exercise.

Exchanging my real sword for a wooden one like those the brothers were all sporting - we wouldn’t want any fatalities, just injured pride - I got into my defensive crouch, closing my eyes so I could concentrate on my hearing. I could detect the brothers arriving at their positions surrounding me. “Ah my favorite,” I smiled to myself. It was up to them to begin. I could feel their apprehension. Then in an instant it was on. Six brothers, all taking their task very seriously, came at me from all sides. I ducked and countered each of their blows, rolled underneath Thomas and Simon’s jabs, and was out of the circle. Now they charged. I dispatched each one easily in turn. Gunter was right; it felt as if I were fighting in a slow ballet, compared to their human full speed. I was one step ahead of them at every turn. In minutes it was all over. The girls all erupted in cheers and clapping.

“Impressive daughter, now show us your skill against our vampire guard.”

Once again six men approached carrying wooden swords. These were the elite palace guard, but the rules were the same: if a weapon was dislodged or a blow struck, that in a real battle was deemed to be debilitating, the opponent was out of the exercise. As before, I began in the middle, surrounded by the enemy. I centered myself again, breathing in deeply so I could “see” them. Then three charged, one from the front and one from each side. This exercise was at full vampire speed; humans could perceive us only as a blur. I jumped over the front guard and whacked him on the head; he was out. Then as he took himself out of the fight, the other three guards now entered the game. I engaged two more, one from each side, ducking and slicing. I threw my wooden dagger, and even though this crude weapon lacked the balance and heft of my real weapon, it hit one right in the chest. That left four remaining, with one in each quadrant, surrounding me. The larger of the two lunged in for a chest wound, but I kicked his sword out of his hand and flipped backwards over the second, making a mock slice across his neck on the way over him. I swirled around, hitting each of the other two across the throat as well, finally taking my sword to the first, now weaponless guard and held its point to his chest. Done! I was breathing hard but the adrenaline rush made me sorry it was over.

Again clapping and cheering filled my ears. I smiled, looking over at my thrilled roommates. Then someone rushed at me from the rear, I dropped to one knee and thrust my sword backwards towards the would-be assassin, aiming right for the gut.

Gunter applauded. “Good job, Katrina. Never drop your guard.”

I looked up and saw Damien in the audience, smiling and clapping with everyone else. Our eyes met. I rose, still breathing hard, and brushed some hair out of my face, all the while never breaking eye contact. Everyone started coming over, praising my work and patting my back.

I held up my hand in a mock show of modesty, “Please, it’s only because I have worked so hard all this time with great trainers,” I noticed Damien being joined by his repulsive Watcher, Ivan. The man was big and tall, with beady brown eyes and a scar across his left cheek and nose and black slicked-back hair. More than his appearance, it was his manner that unsettled me. He truly set me on edge, and then I had to look away then to speak to my friends and our fathers.

“She’s very accomplished my Lord, and very beautiful,” Ivan whispered to Damien, “but still very much interested in her Watcher boyfriend.”

“For now, but I have time on my side and I am willing to wait for her, she’ll be mine I assure you.”

“Do you really think we can ever be as good at fighting as you are, Katrina?” Arletta asked excitedly, eyes still wide with amazement.

“Absolutely, if you work hard and take it seriously, I have no doubt.”

“Are you willing to do that, girls?” Ricardo asked.

“Yes,” they all answered together emphatically.

“We’re very determined, aren’t we?” Rosa said, the others all nodding.

“Very well,” Gunter said. “Then the work begins now. We’re going to test your skill levels and agility, so we’ll know how to approach your training.”

Gunter and his brothers put the girls through the basic moves of swordplay, tested their balance, movement, and form. During the grueling session, he found they had been well schooled, had a good command of the fundamentals and was he was pleased to discover, as a group they were quick, agile, and stronger than he expected.

“Good work, everyone, we’ll start early tomorrow,” Gunter announced.

The girls all looked at one another.

“If you don’t mind, Gunter, we’d like to start after lunch,” Kate told him, speaking for the group.

It was clear Gunter was taken aback by this unexpected request.

“Very well, after lunch it is. I’ll discuss the details with my brothers and meet you back here in an hour and a half.”

“We’re very proud of all of you, aren’t we?” Father looked around at the other fathers for support.

“We agree to let you stay and train together as long as you stay focused,” admonished Edward.

“Thank you, Father,” we said together, and gave them each a hug.

“Let’s have some lunch,” urged Kate. “I’m starving.”

Fathers and daughters alike left the Watchers training compound for the main dining area.

“I’ll be right there,” I called to Kate and Father.

“Gunter, since I’ve worked out all ready today, I’m going hunting this afternoon. I’ll take a vampire with me as guard, so all of you can stay and train the girls.”

“All right, but I’ll need you when we start developing their special gifts. Maybe you can all get together in your rooms tonight and get a feel for what those gifts might be.”

“That’s a good idea. And it’ll be easier if we’re not all distracted by the presence of so many handsome brothers.”

We both laughed and went our separate ways. Of course what Gunter did not know, was the vampire I meant to take with me hunting this afternoon, was Damien. I left the compound to join the others.

“You were splendid this morning, as usual, but I’ve seen you in a real battle, so I wasn’t surprised,” grinned Quinn.

“Thank you. I thought you’d be discussing training with Gunter. I was just heading over to have lunch with everyone. Can you join us?”

“No, I’m on duty with Simon.” He grabbed my hand. “I just wanted to tell you again, what a fine time we all had last night, especially me.”

“I did too. The girls and I would have stayed up all night talking about it, if it hadn’t been for our training schedule this morning. They did well this morning, didn’t they?”

“Yes they did. The five of you will become quite a force once the girls are fully trained. And you were right about Kate; she’s just like you, fast and furious.”

We smiled at each other. Quinn was so handsome, but he was also was a strong, reliable, caring, a fiercely loyal man, and I felt guilty about Damien, not that I had done anything wrong, mind you.

“Did you see Damien was back?” I asked.

“I saw him at practice. He couldn’t take his eyes off you, not that I blame him.”

Now a feeling of discomfort crept into my system, as I understood Quinn had noticed Damien’s interest. I explained, “I spoke to him at the stables. I was shocked to see him, but he thanked me for helping him to clear his name, and absolve him from Luena’s scheme.”

“Do you really believe he had nothing to do with any of it? At the very least he knew of the fledglings and didn’t mention them.”

“Quinn, Damien told me Luena threatened to kill their father, and I believe him. Father is of the same mind, and has arranged he be included in the envoy departing to the Americans soon.”

“Really? Well, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, if you think he’s being truthful. I trust your instincts.”

Then he gave me a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later.”

What was I thinking? I’d have to go hunting by myself. I needed it in more ways than one. Not just to feed, but also to clear my head, and try to understand why I was drawn to these two men.

“There you are! Seems as if we’re always looking for you lately,” El laughed.

“Come sit with us, Kat,” Kate gestured for me to join her and Father at the table where the girls and their fathers were now eating lunch.

Their excitement at being allowed to stay with me for their training was infectious. I had plans to ask Father if we could make over a wing of Mormont, so we could have our rooms together as we did here. I imagined he would laugh and say, “Anything you want, my dear,” as he always did.

Father had always spoiled me terribly, all the while being supportive and stern. I’d always been sure of his love, and now I had my mother back, knew I could count on her love and support also.

“You know what else?” Rosa asked.

“What?” several voices responded.

“We’re going to turn eighteen within a few days of each other. Isn’t that something?”

“All five of us?” I was surprised. “Well of course Kate and I are twins, but the three of you too?”

“Yes,” Rosa beamed, having bested us on this information. “You two were born on June seventeenth; my birthday is the eighteenth; El’s on the twentieth; and Letta’s on the twenty-first.”

We all looked at each other in amazement.

“That’s going to be one gala birthday party we’ll have to plan,” Father thumped his fist on the table. “We can combine it with a farewell party for those headed to the Americas, including all your fathers, have a Council meeting and show off your new skills, right girls? Remember, unless you’ve made real progress in your training, progress that can seen by your fathers, before they go, you’ll all have to go home.”

“That’s right,” agreed the other Fathers.

“We made a promise to all of you, and we intend to keep it,” I insisted. “Now it’s almost time to get back to work, ladies.”

All five of us rose and headed to the door. When we arrived at the courtyard, I told them to work hard and have fun.

And then I told them I would see them later.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I arrived at the stables without meeting anyone along the way, fully intending to go hunting alone. Nulla was saddled and ready to go, although I didn’t remember telling a stable boy I was taking her out.

Damien came out of the stall next to Nulla’s, leading the most beautiful black stallion I’d ever seen.

“His name is Theo. He was a gift from my father on my birthday this year,” he scratched Theo’s neck underneath his long black mane.

“He’s gorgeous,” I said adoringly. Theo snorted and pawed the ground impatiently.

“All right, all right, boy, we’ll go,” Damien laughed.

He led Theo out and I followed with Nulla. It was another beautiful afternoon, and I couldn’t wait to gallop through the countryside. I knew somewhere around us Ivan was keeping watch. As Damien’s Watcher, Ivan wouldn’t ever be far away, but I didn’t see him, and that was just fine with me. We mounted and decided leaving through the back gate was a good option. Even before the gate was fully open, I urged Nulla into a canter and yelled, “See you in the meadow!”

Then we turned the canter into a full gallop down along the river and into the open. I could hear Theo, breathing hard, closing the gap behind me. I knew there was a well-traveled wagon trail through the forest nearby on the left, so I reined Nulla that way and burst across the river to the far shore and onto the trail.

Suddenly, I didn’t want Nulla to run anymore. I wanted to be the one running. I wanted to race through the woods on foot. With that thought in mind, I started pulling Nulla back to a canter, then reduced her pace to a trot. Damien had caught up to me by then and he stopped Theo next to Nulla.

“What are you up to now?” he laughed.

We led the horses to a tree and tied them

“I’ll race you,” I shouted so he could hear me over the hard breathing of the horses. “I assume Ivan will take care cooling them down and watering them.”

“Of course.”

Once Nulla was secured, I turned to say I’d give him a head start if he wanted, but he was already gone.

“When were you planning to start?” I heard him challenge from the forest.

I streaked off, racing into the forest towards his voice and using my gift to find him easily. He smelled so good. I turned up my speed, so I could get ahead of him. He was so shocked when he saw me on the path in front of him, he misjudged a low branch, and hit his head. Whack! And down he went. First I started to laugh, but Damien didn’t move.

“Damien, stop kidding.” He didn’t get up, and I continued, “Well then, I win. I’m heading back.” And I started to walk right by him. He grabbed for my ankle and instinct took over. I twisted agilely away from him, laughed, and continued running.

A sweet, salty smell came to me on the air, fresh human blood and I slid to a stop.

Damien came up behind me. “What’s wrong?” he whispered already on his guard.

I placed my hand on his chest to silence him. I had to find out where the scent was coming from. What else could I ‘see’? Normally vampires can smell things hundreds of yards away, but my gift was so strong I could smell certain scents miles away.

“What is it?” he whispered, urgent now.

“I smell fresh human blood.”

“How far? Which way?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out. Give me a moment.”

I took another breath. “Concentrate,” I told myself.

Then I had it.

“The scent is coming from location a mile and a quarter due northwest. “Let’s go!”

We both took off at top speed knowing even through the thick forest, we would reach the spot in mere seconds. We cut our speed as we approached. We could hear voices now, and the see the source. Bandits robbing a coach! The driver lay dead on his seat, mortally wounded. There were four bandits, one holding the coach horses, one on watch at the rear of the carriage, and two demanding jewelry and money from the three frightened aristocrats inside.

“Which do you want?” Damien whispered.

“I’ll take the right.”

“Sounds fun. I’ll meet you in the middle,” he drew his dagger.

With humans, we would use no more than half speed. By scaling back our speed, we could disguise our Vampire nature, thus protecting our secrecy. With a mortal blow to his head, I knocked the bandit terrorizing the poor passengers to the ground; then I took one leap and kicked the look-out on horseback, squarely in the back, knocking him off his mount. He landed with a thud and a groan on the road. Damien easily dispatched the other two as well.

I approached the only bandit left alive, and as the injured man lay moaning on the road, I raised his chin with my sword tip

“This will be the last time you and your friends terrorize these people. Do have any last words?”

“Kill me,” he yelled insolently.

“That’s up to the authorities, but my guess is you’ll get your wish,” I tied him up with rope from the coach.

“How can we ever thank you?” I heard from a very large fellow inside the coach.

“No thanks are necessary. It is enough to know these lands are safer than they were a few minutes ago,” replied Damien.

“Do you feel safe enough to continue on your way, or would you like one of us to escort you to your destination?” I asked.

“We are not far from our village; we’re just back from a diplomatic visit to the capital. How is it you were here in this remote woodland?”

“We are guests of the Count and Countess Daminov, and their estate is not far. Our hunting party heard your distress and we immediately came to your aid.”

They looked skeptical, but then, as if on cue, Ivan came through the woods with the horses.

“Can I be of any assistance, my Lord?”

“Oh Ivan, good. Would you please escort our new friends to the village and deposit this bandit with the constable there?”

“Of course, my Lord.”

One of the three gentlemen traveling in the coach now climbed into the driver’s seat, moving the dead man aside.

“Poor fellow, we’ll see his family is compensated and he is buried. We’ll send back a cart for this rabble.” The man indicated the dead bandits.

“Very good,” Damien said, taking the reins of our horses from Ivan. “We’ll be on our way then.”

“Thank you again.”

With the bandit now tied on his horse to the back of the coach, the new driver whipped up the horses. Ivan followed to make sure no one else could cause these travelers any further trouble.

I walked over to Damien to retrieve Nulla. We took one look at each other and started to laugh. “Next time let me explain ourselves; you’re really bad at it. We’re too far from anywhere to be out here hunting, even with a party. And you told them where we were staying. Definitely not low profile.”

“You think we’ll get more practice doing this together, then?”

“You never know. We made a pretty good team didn’t we?”

“I think you and I are a fantastic team,” he said as he took a step towards me.

I knew I should turn and go, but I couldn’t make myself. It happened so fast, I wasn’t sure if he or I had initiated the kiss. It was so different from kissing Quinn. With a different passion - harder, more lustful - his arms pulled me closer and roamed over my back. My arms were around his neck and into his hair, our tongues exploring each other’s mouths. Then, as he felt me start to pull away, he broke the kiss, looking deep into my eyes.

“You want me as much as I want you, and there’s nothing wrong with that, Katrina.”

He was right, I did want him. Maybe it was the fresh blood smell in the air, or the adrenalin rush from our defense of the travelers, but I was definitely attracted to him.

“I can’t do this Damien. This is pure lust, nothing more.”

“You can,” he whispered

“You’re right, I can. But I won’t.”

“This isn’t about that Watcher? He’s just a boy, a first crush. He’s not worthy of you, Katrina; it won’t last, you know that.”

“Maybe not, but I’m not betraying him. I’m sorry, Damien - not for the kiss, but for not being able to take it any further.”

“I’m sorry too.” He stepped back now. “I want more from you, but I’m willing to wait until you can give yourself to me without hesitation.”

“Well, thank you for your understanding.”

“Oh, I’m a saint, haven’t you heard?”

We laughed then, breaking the tension.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”

I took a breath and located two stags between us and the river. With our quarry in mind, we mounted and cantered off. When we got close enough, we tied the horses, looked at each other, and nodded. It took only seconds to down our prey and drink our fill. As we walked back to the horses, I wanted him closer to me, badly. I really had a lot of thinking to do.

Then it occurred to me, I had my mother now. This was something she could help me with, I was sure of it.

We arrived back at the compound just as the training session was ending. Everyone looked tired but satisfied. I had no doubt the girls would be successful, and maybe now they knew it too. A lot of the delegates and council members had left on their journeys home, so most of the palace was empty. We would be leaving as well, the day after tomorrow. “Who knew our lives would change so radically in such a short amount of time?” I thought as we handed off our horses to a groom.

“I’ll say goodbye here Damien. I want to speak with my mother before dinner.”

“Let me know if you need help saving the world again, Katrina. I wouldn’t miss it.”

Father and Mother were sitting on the balcony when I arrived. “Katrina, how nice; we were just talking about you,” Mother brightened.

“Good things, I hope.”

“Of course; we just haven’t seen much of you.”

“Well, it’s why I’m here actually. I’d like to spend some time with Mother, if you don’t mind, Father?”

“No, not at all; In fact, think it would be wonderful for the both of you. I’ll just be over at the library, and we can meet later for dinner.”

He kissed the top of my head as he passed on his way out.

“Mother, I need to talk to you about something.”

“All right, Katrina. You sound serious.”

She came in, sat on the sofa, and patted the cushion indicating I should sit beside her. I walked over and sat down, but found I didn’t know how to begin.

“Men?”

“How’d you know?”

“I’ve lived a long time, my daughter, it’s obvious. Now tell me all about it.”

“I thought I loved Quinn…well I do love Quinn. He’s wonderful, and he loves me too, or I think so.”

Then I told her everything - including Quinn’s feeding me and all about Damien. I thought I would be too embarrassed, but as I talked, I could tell she was listening to me with her full attention, without judgment. That put me at ease, so that I felt I could tell her anything.

“Katrina, perhaps neither Quinn nor Damien will be your one true love. One will make you face mortality; the other may only be a passing fantasy. You’re so young; take your time, it’s on your side. But know your heart will tell you one thing, and your head something else, but it’ll work itself out. I would caution you, don’t dally with others’ emotions, but consider their feelings too.” She was silent for a few moments. “As for Quinn, you did say it was necessary you fed from him. Have you considered there may have been a bonding because of that? Especially since the blood bond will grow with successive feedings. I can see from your eyes, you haven’t. And it may be I’m wrong and your feelings for him may not be a bonding, but a true love. I know it’s a difficult thing, these very adult feelings, but I have faith in you and know from my long experience, these things do have a way of working themselves out. I hope I haven’t confused you more.”

“I don’t think it’s possible. Thank you, Mother.”

We hugged, I was comforted, and it felt good.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” I told her, “and I’ve never seen Father happier.”

“Well, I feel the same way. It’s like it was when your father and I first met. Katherine was right; it was time to come home. Now, do you feel better?”

I nodded.

“Then go get cleaned up for dinner. I’m sure the girls are dying to tell you about their day.”

I gave her one more hug before I left. As I was going out the door, I turned.

“Mother?”

“Yes, Katrina?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too, darling.”

I met Avery on the stairs.

“Back on duty, huh?”

“Yes, and you missed a good training session this afternoon.”

“I went hunting,” I said as we passed each other.

Thomas was outside. He was acting like a proud parent and couldn’t stop talking about how great the girls were. I was glad to get back to our rooms—whew, I reeked! Sarah confirmed that fact when she helped me out of my clothes and into a bath. I was sure she had kept a score of servants busy heating water all afternoon, first for the other girls’ baths, and then for mine. I was the last and with great contentment, I stayed in the tub until my fingers were all wrinkled.

“Sarah, you’re going to have to stop scolding me every time my hair is a mess. I can’t help it, so unless you expect me to cut it all off, you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

I dressed quickly, so the girls and I could spend some time together before dinner. We gathered around the fireplace and I listened as each told me about her training experience.

Then it was my turn.

“Well compared to your afternoon, I guess mine was quite boring. I went hunting…with Damien.”

“What? Tell us everything,” Kate prompted.

So swearing them to secrecy, I told them everything from the beginning.

“Wow, Kat, that tops our training any day,” Letta gushed.

“Maybe, but it does show exactly why you have to take your training seriously. Soon, the five of us will be out ‘saving the world’ as Damien said, together, right?”

“Right!” they all answered enthusiastically.

“We’ll be ready sooner than you think Kat. We’re working really hard, and our trainers were happy with our progress.

“I know Thomas and Avery couldn’t stop praising you, . . . and your training went well too, El added mischievously.”

We all laughed.

“They are great teachers, it’s true, but there are things we have to do on our own. After dinner we are going to talk about your gifts. Each is unique to you and we can develop them to be great assets in battle and life in general. But now we need to go. Your fathers are leaving tomorrow, so this is our last dinner together for awhile.”

“Is Damien going to be there?” Rosa inquired, an impish grin on her face.

“I suppose so, since he is Lord of this palace, now his father is away.”

Dinner was uneventful, with many toasts raised to one another. Of course the girls were very interested in Damien, and he was only too pleased to entertain them. As we were just finishing the last course, a guard entered the dining hall.

“A message was just been delivered, my Lord.”

As High Regent, Father took the message.

“What is it, Fredrik?” Mother asked.

“Well, it seems there was an attempted robbery on the road to the village today. Let me read this aloud. The Lord and Lady Ravonavich wish to thank the young lady and gentlemen who rescued our son and his escorts earlier this very day as they returned from a diplomatic mission. We invite you and your friends and families to join us tomorrow evening for a dinner to be given in their honor. We hope to meet you then and bestow our deepest gratitude in person.”

He then dropped the message to the table.

“Well, Katrina, Damien, would you like to explain?”

“It was really nothing, Father; right Damien?”

“A small matter, Fredrik, we were hunting when Katrina scented trouble and of course took off right towards it, leaving to follow. We dispatched three bandits and captured a fourth. The driver of the coach had been killed, but the occupants of the coach were untouched. We had Ivan take charge of the prisoner and escort the travelers home.”

“Is that all?” Father was clearly annoyed.

“Yes, Father. I just couldn’t stand by and watch these bandits kill and rob innocent people. I had to help them.”

Father sighed, “Of course you had to help them Katrina, it’s just I fear you are too impulsive.”

“I assure you sir; she was in no danger and in fact could have handled all four herself, even at the half speed she used.”

Father looked down at the note and sighed again. “I see. Well, then it appears we owe these good people a reply. Send word we would be happy to attend and thank them for the invitation.”

“I’d like to propose one more toast,” Rosa raised her glass. “We’re proud of both of you and here’s to saving the world.”

We all raised our glasses.

“To saving the world,” we laughed.

The five of us giggled all the way back to our rooms. Quinn was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

“See you upstairs,” El joined the others they left to afford us some privacy.

“I heard you had quite the hunting trip.”

Although my pulse jumped, I kept my attitude casual and off handed.

“Really, it was not that special.”

“I was a little surprised by your choice of a hunting partner.”

“He was going; I was going…you wouldn’t have me go alone would you? Listen, all this concern makes me think you’re jealous,” I crooned, as I traced his jaw with my finger. He softened then.

“Of course I’m jealous. He’s everything I’m not - royal, wealthy, older, not to mention he’s a vampire.”

“You’ve got something he doesn’t have Quinn. Me!”

Then I kissed him.

“I wish I didn’t have to go, but I do. I’m on duty.”

“I have to go, too. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We kissed again and he left. Of course everyone was eagerly waiting for me when I arrived.

“Everything’s fine,” I said, heading off their questions. “I told him he had nothing to fear from Damien, and I meant it.”

“Whatever you say, Sis, but if you don’t want Damien, I’d sure be interested.”

That shocked me a little. I wasn’t sure how I felt about anyone else being paired with Damien.

“You’ll need to concentrate on your training first,” I responded.

“Wasn’t that startling at dinner tonight? What were you thinking as your father read that message?”  Letta asked.

“My heart was pounding, but I knew we’d done the right thing. Now, enough of that subject, let’s get to work. Get changed, so we’ll be comfortable for the next assignment.”

Now in more comfortable clothing, we moved the sofa, so we could sit in a circle on the floor in front of the fire.

“Tonight our task is to try to find out what each of your special gifts might be. Some gifts show up early, some later. As for me, my gift is my sight, as I call it, which became obvious when I was six. My dog was lost and I told Father I knew he was in the woods. We found him trapped in the mud about a mile away. When Father asked me how I had known he was there, I told him I’d smelled him. So let’s start with you, Kate. Do you have any idea what yours might be?”

“I might, yes. Sometimes flashes of people or objects enter my mind. It happened when we were coming here. I tried to picture the palace, and when I closed my eyes I could see it for a moment. When we reached the edge of the forest, there is was, exactly like the picture in my mind.”

“That’s fantastic. It makes perfect sense, when you think about it’s, like what I do; I close my eyes and it helps me ‘see.’ We’re twins, so it must work the same way. Father suggested we should see if we can contact each other using only our minds, but we’ll try that when we get home. That’s a great start; Letta, how about you?”

She responded by looking into the fire. The fire instantly roared, doubling in size. We all gasped in wonder. When Letta looked away, the fire reduced to its original size. Then she looked into the fire once more, closed her eyes, and the fire went completely out.

We all clapped and cheered.

“Amazing, Letta. Even if we’ll all be cold now,” I laughed.

“Don’t be silly, Kat.”

To prove her point, she looked over and started the fire once again.

“I just discovered I could do this since we arrived here, and heard you talk about us each having some kind of gift. I like my gift, though I’m not sure how I’ll use it.”

“Are you kidding, Letta? I can think of a hundred ways. Fire is an element, and I’ll bet if you can control one, you can probably control all the others - wind, water, and earth.”

“Something just occurred to me,” I could see Rosa’s mind churning. “Remember when we discovered our birthdays were within days of each other?” We all nodded. “It means we were born under the same sign, Gemini. I think when we’re together our powers are strengthened and I would bet if we were to close our eyes and concentrate we could magnify whichever of our gifts we’re trying to use. Do you think that could be true Kat?”

“I think it has to be true. Let’s try. We’ll use Letta’s gift, but how about trying a different element.”

“Wind, how about wind?” El offered trembling with excitement.

“Okay, wind. First, Letta, concentrate on creating a breeze right here in this room.”

Letta didn’t close her eyes but just stared, concentrating with every fiber of her being. And sure enough, we started feeling a breeze. It was cool, blowing our hair and giving our skin goose bumps. It felt as if a spirit was floating by us. Then Letta closed her eyes and it went away.

“I knew it! Now let’s see if we can enhance her gift by concentrating with her. What did you think about, Letta?”

“Just wind, I just thought of wind.”

She was as amazed as the rest of us.

“Okay, all of us think of just wind, its properties of ebb and flow, scent, temperature.”

The breeze came up again exactly as before, no different.

“Well, that didn’t really work. This time everyone but Letta, close your eyes, and maybe if we hold hands it’ll help. Let’s try again.”

We all held hands and began to concentrate once more. I could feel the breeze come again, but this time it wasn’t just blowing by us, it was swirling around us. My hands were getting warm, like being close to a flame. The warmth seemed to move up my arm, across my shoulders, down my other arm, and continued - as if we had completed the circle of self perpetuating power. The wind became stronger and stronger until it started to lift us off the ground. I opened my eyes and looked up; it was like being inside a wall of wind. We were all looking up now; our bodies were about twelve inches off the floor.

“Let go,” I shouted over the roar of the wind.

When we broke the circle, we dropped back to the floor with a thud, and the wind changed back to the same cool breeze Letta had produced before. It continued until she closed her eyes.

We looked at each other in complete shock.

“Did you feel the energy flow through you?” I asked.

“It made me a little weak,” El answered.

“Yes, but I think if we practice, it’ll be like anything else; we’ll build up stamina and get stronger,” Kate added.

“This is unbelievable. I think we can all agree we couldn’t have imagined anything like this would happen when we first sat down.”

“That’s for sure, and Rosa and El haven’t even revealed their gifts yet,” Kate said.

“You’re right. Rosa, you’re next.”

“It’ll be hard to top, but I’m really excited to show you what I can do. It seemed so silly before but now…”

“Just show us, come on,” El urged.

“Okay, okay.”

Rosa stood, looked around the room, walked over to the table, and picked up an apple. She held it in the palm of her hand and stared at it. In a few seconds the apple lifted from her palm and slowly started to spin. As she looked up the apple followed, and when she looked right, it went right. We all sat watching, eyes wide, mouths open like children at a magic show. Rosa grabbed the apple out of mid-air, smiled, and took a bow. We applauded her.

“Wonderful, Rosa! We’re going to do great things with your gift. El, last but not least, what surprise do you have in store for us?”

“I don’t know if I can take any more,” Kate shook her head and smiled. “I wonder what the Watchers think we’re doing in here with all the noise.”

“Are you ready to impress us, El?”

El began quietly.

“My gift is different from yours and I discovered it when I was young. I had a servant whom I loved dearly. She was my best friend. One day she fell down the stairs and hit her head. I frantically ran down to her. I instinctively put both my hands over the jagged wound, closed my eyes, and strongly willed her to live. That’s when I felt the energy, much like the energy we’ve all felt tonight. She started to moan after a minute. When I opened my eyes and lifted my blood-covered hands, the wound was gone; not even a scar remained. If it hadn’t been for the blood you wouldn’t have known anything had happened. She woke up as if from a nap, and I explained she had fallen and asked how she was feeling. She thought she was feeling fine. I helped her up. She was still dazed when we reached my rooms, so I washed both of us up and sent her to her quarters to rest. The next day she didn’t remember anything about it. I’ve used this healing gift on animals too, but all these years I’ve felt like I should keep it to myself. Now, you all know, and I’m proud to have shared it with you.”

“I think we all feel the same way, don’t we girls?” I asked, looking around our small circle, seeing the nods and smiles that signified agreement.

“Your gift is a wonderful addition, El. When I said impress us, I had no idea you’d take me seriously.”

“I don’t know about you girls, but all of this has worn me out,” Rosa, yawned, “I’d go to bed now, except I’m starving.”

“Dessert sounds really good,” El said.

“You mean Thomas?” teased Kate teased.

We all had a good laugh.

CHAPTER NINE

We made a pact to keep the existence of our gifts to ourselves and to practice whenever we could. Exploring our gifts made us even more confident in our training. Gunter had Kate and me working as a team, one right-handed, one left-handed, and we made a dynamic pair. We also worked on targets, using bow and arrow, swords, and daggers. Horseback skills filled our afternoon. We even hauled a small straw target back to our quarters so we could practice throwing daggers before bed. Or that’s what we told Gunter. What we really wanted to do, of course, was to see if Rosa could throw a dagger using her mind. That would have to wait, because we were going to dinner at the Ravonavich estate tonight. The girls’ fathers had even delayed leaving, so they could accompany us. We cleaned up and dressed in our finest gowns. We all agreed it felt good to have a fancy dress on again, in place of our training clothes.

“Well, I have to say, we make a formidable force in training and on the dance floor,” proud of our group.

“I’d like to see anyone try to match us,” Kate beamed.

“Ready, ladies?” Thomas inquired.

Damien had the most beautiful transportation awaiting our arrival; four white horses were harnessed to each of the black coaches. Damien rode with my family in the first coach. Mother looked beautiful, of course, and all our fathers were very handsome, but they were no match for Damien. He had his hair tied back tonight, showing off his handsome features. We made small talk along the way, Father and Damien discussed plans for the trip to the Americas this summer. Listening to their enthusiastic conversation made the time pass swiftly and in no time we arrived at our destination. Our Watchers had escorted our traveling party and of course and were right there as we exited the coaches.

The Ravonavich family was waiting to greet us.

“You look quite different from how you looked yesterday,” said a young man.

“Let us make formal introductions,” said Father. “I am Fredrik Van Dracek, and this is my wife, Elizabeth, my daughter Katherine. This young woman is my daughter Katrina, whom some of you have already met. We are in your area visiting the Daminovs. This is Damien Daminov, whom your party also already met.”

“It’s so nice to meet you all formally. I am Janich Ravonavich; this is my wife, Synthya, and our son, Rikark.”

Rikark bowed and kissed my hand. Yesterday he had been dressed in a hat and cape, so I hadn’t noticed much about him. He was fair, with even features, and shoulder-length light blond hair. He looked at me with kind eyes, the color of a morning sky; very nice indeed.

“I rather like these circumstances, rather than those of our first meeting, Katrina, but I’m very thankful you and Damien chose yesterday’s.”

“Glad we could help, Rikark,” I said graciously.

Rikark’s parents were very congenial, and they also introduced his son’s thankful escorts and their families, who also couldn’t stop thanking us. Damien was his usual charming self, and the dinner was lovely. I couldn’t help thinking how much all of us are more alike than we are different. We may look different, or believe in different ways, but in the end we just want the same things: to live free, have families and be safe, healthy, and happy. We must not be afraid to fight for these values.

The evening wound down and soon we were headed back to our coaches.

“We have a token of appreciation for each of you,” Lord Ravonavich announced.

Then he took two boxes from a page and presented one to me and the other to Damien. We looked at each other and opened the boxes. Inside were beautiful daggers, the handles encrusted with jewels. Everyone gasped at the beauty of these gifts.

“It’s a very beautiful gift my Lord, but it is not necessary. One should never expect payment for doing the right thing,” I was awed by the dagger’s beauty.

“That, my dear, is a noble thought, but my son is priceless to his mother and me, so please accept this gift as just that - a token of gratitude from very grateful parents.”

“In that case, I thank you, not only for this wonderful gift, but for your gracious hospitality.”

With that we said goodnight and were on our way back to the palace.

“What an eloquent young lady you have raised, Fredrik,” Mother said, patting Father’s arm and smiling at me.

“Indeed, Elizabeth, she surprises me every day, it seems,” his voice was full of pride.

“Now we’re all together Father, I think you’re in for double the surprises, right Kate?”

Kate laughed, “That’s true, Father, and I hope you’re up to it.”

Damien was very quiet all the way home. I noticed him often watching Mother with such sadness; I vowed to find out what had happened to his mother. We were going home tomorrow afternoon, and I hoped to have time to talk to Mother tonight. I had no idea what the true story might be. He must have felt my eyes studying him, because he turned his head so our eyes could meet.

“Katrina.” I clearly heard his voice, but his lips hadn’t moved. My eyes widened in surprise, but I didn’t say anything. Maybe I had imagined it. “Katrina,” I heard as clearly as before. “Don’t be alarmed, it’s only my gift. Please meet me for a final ride before you go.”

Could I use my mind to answer him or would he just be able to talk to mine? “Yes,” I thought, but I received no reply. So I closed my eyes. “YES,” I thought. When I opened my eyes, it was my turn to see surprised eyes looking back at me. Just then the coach stopped, and it was time to gather ourselves and head to our rooms.

“Well, it’s been a lovely evening; will we see you ladies at breakfast, or are you training again?”

“We’re going to train in high speed for the first time tomorrow, Mother,” Kate was excited at the prospect.

“Well, lunch then. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight,” we all said at the exact same time, and then laughed.

“I’ll see you in a minute,” I told Kate. “I need to say goodnight to Damien and then speak to Mother.”

She shot me a questioning look.

“It’ll be okay, I’ll explain later.”

“Very well,” she said, and then turned and walked away, looking back once, before disappearing up the steps. Rosa, Letta, and El were saying goodnight to their fathers. I had just enough time. Damien was waiting for me.

“Forgive me for scaring you earlier,” he said as I approached.

“More like a shock than a fright. You looked quite surprised yourself.”

“I’ve never encountered someone who answered me - with their mind, I mean.”

With our Watchers coming to escort us, and the girls finishing their goodnights, I was running out of time and I still had so many questions.

“I’ll meet you at sunrise in the stables.”

“Don’t worry, Katrina. You can speak to me whenever you wish,” and with a parting bow we went our separate ways.

“Thomas, I need to speak with Mother before I retire.”

So, with Thomas’s silent companionship, I walked to their quarters. My parents had lingered in the gardens. I hated to disturb them again, but I was still determined to ask her about Damien’s mother.

“Father, can I steal Mother away from you again, just for a few minutes?”

“Of course, my dear. Take all the time you need.”

We walked to a bench, which nestled between archways covered in jasmine. The scent was intoxicating and it provided a cozy private location.

“What is it, Katrina?” she took my hands in hers.

“I have so many questions, Mother, but we’ll have plenty of time for most of them when we get home.” I took a deep breath. “Tonight on the way back, I was watching the way Damien looked at you. There was so much sadness in him; I vowed I’d try to find out what happened to his mother. Can you tell me anything? Did she go with you and the others?”

She looked down at our hands as if trying to find the right words.

“Katrina, while it’s admirable for you to want to ease Damien’s pain, did you ever stop to think finding the truth and revealing it to him could add to his pain?”

“No, I never thought that, Mother, perhaps because I was not told what happened to you, and yet here we are tonight, together, happy - and I have a twin sister waiting for me back in my quarters. I guess both Damien and I hoped his mother might also come back and they’d be happy too.”

“I think you should be careful what you ask for. Listen Katrina, if Damien wants to know more about his mother he should ask his father.”

“Oh, just as I asked mine, over and over, with no reply other than ‘now’s not the time’?”

“I’m sorry, Katrina; it was too painful for him.”

“Because he still loved you so much; we all realize that now, Mother.”

“Yes,” her face lit up at the thought of him. “And I realized how much I still love him this week. All right, I can tell you as much as I know. It will be up to you to pass the information on to Damien or not.”

“Damien and Luena’s mothers are sisters. Damien’s mother was the Count’s first wife, her sister was his mistress, quite scandalous at the time. They did not come with us in the exodus, and they were banished.”

“Banished, why?”

“Because it came to light they’d started rumors pitting clan against clan, created fledglings, and endangered all of us by killing humans to incite fear and hatred. It’s taken your father years to restore the peace. We’ve learned to blend into every part of human society, providing them with no reason to fear us. This is why your father has worked so hard to make sure any uprisings are dealt with quickly and severely. Damien’s father couldn’t bear to enforce the ultimate penalty, death, so the two women, Damien’s and Luena’s mothers, were banished with the knowledge they would have no second chance. If they were ever again involved in treachery they would be killed.”

“It sounds as if Luena turned out just like her mother. Damien says she’s a truly evil being.”

“Your father hasn’t been able to prove it, but he thinks she was in contact with her mother and aunt, and they’re probably together now.”

“So, you think Luena resented her father and planned this attempted overthrow and war as revenge for her mother’s banishment?”

“Yes, and it’s also why your father is so insistent the trip to the Americas proceed as soon as possible. If Luena and her kind entrench themselves in America, they will use it as a base to build a force and from which to launch attacks against us. None of us will be safe; it would endanger all we have worked so hard for.”

“Is that why no one is allowed to know the location of your sanctuary? In case we have to hide again?”

“Absolutely, but it’s also to keep those safe who offered us sanctuary. They risked their very existence to harbor us.”

“Thank you, for trusting me with this information, Mother. I have much to think about.”

We hugged each other.

“I’ll see you at lunch. Kiss Father for me.”

“I will.”

As we went our separate ways I saw Quinn waiting for me. Thomas joined Mother to escort her back to her quarters. Quinn smiled and I melted. As I approached, he opened his arms, and as I put mine around his waist and buried my face in his chest, he closed his arms around me. I could hear his heart pounding, his sweet scent again filling my head, and I wanted to taste him. Why was there never enough time for us to be alone? I looked up and the look on his face said he wanted me too. We kissed urgently this time. I used my lengthened canines to open a tiny cut on his tongue and let blood drip onto mine and trickle down my throat. I knew my vampire saliva would keep the cut open as long as I wanted. We both moaned and pulled each other closer. Then I heard…

“Katrina, please stop.”

I broke the kiss with such a start, it made Quinn go for his sword.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what? What did you hear?” he asked as he whirled around.

Then out of the corner of my eye, I could just see someone melting into the shadows.

“Damien,” I said under my breath.

“I don’t see anything, but let’s get you back to your room. I shouldn’t be that close to you while I’m on duty, but I’m not sorry.”

I laughed, “You’ve got no complaints from me.”

Kate was the only one still up when I got back.

“Okay, tell it. What’s going on?”

I told her just enough to satisfy her for tonight. This had truly been a memorable evening, I thought as I undressed, brushed out my hair, slipped on a nightgown, and eased between the down-filled bedding. I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing, and called with my mind.

“Damien, can you hear me?”

“Yes, it’s amazing.”

“Nice trick earlier.”

“It was for your own good. It’s dangerous, Katrina; that’s why it’s forbidden, in case you’ve forgotten.”

“How did you know?”

“I was looking for you. I’m a vampire. I can smell blood, remember - not as well as you, but then, who can?”

“Can you read people’s minds?”

“No, but sometimes I can put thoughts into a receptive person’s subconscious.”

“That first night when I saw you and Luena on the stairs, you…”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“How far away from each other can we be to communicate this way?”

“I don’t know. As I said, I’ve never had anyone answer me before. You probably can talk to your sister like this too, since you’re identical twins.”

“Mirror.”

“You know what I mean.”

“Maybe we’ll try it on the way home. Father also mentioned the idea to us earlier, but we really haven’t had a chance to try. Damien what is Luena’s gift?

Silence.

“Damien, are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here. She can control the weak-minded; get them to do…things.”

“Oh, I see.”

I could tell the subject bothered him, so I dropped it.

“Could you communicate with her?”

“I never tried. I told her I could only put ideas into receptive minds. By the time I discovered my gift, I was older, and I knew what she was all about. I set out to try to protect myself ,and those I cared about. I’m glad to be free of her.”

“I’ve got to get to sleep; I’m meeting someone very early in the morning.”

“Whoever it is, is lucky. Then I’ll say goodnight. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight.”

I did sleep well, but not long; I was up and out just before dawn. Thomas wasn’t on duty yet, I took a vampire guard with me to the stables. I decided it was time to talk to Father about easing off my Watchers. The increased level of my training and fighting capabilities should call for some middle ground between having a Watcher with me, at arm’s length away, and having no Watcher at all. Watchers could be near, but without being overbearing. Hadn’t I proven I could take care of myself?

Nearing the stables, I saw Damien had saddled the horses once again, and they were standing ready for our ride.

“Good morning Nulla, Theo.”

“What about me?” Damien popped out between the two horses.

“Of course you,” I said with my mind.

“You’re getting better; you didn’t have to concentrate so hard that time.”

“I’m a quick study,” I said out loud.

“Obviously. Would you like to ride Theo this morning?”

“I’d love to!”

He helped me onto the much taller stallion, mounted Nulla, and we set off toward the back gate. I checked the air as we exited the grounds; good, nothing out of the ordinary for a change. Theo was a dream to ride, spirited and graceful. His gait was so smooth, riding him was more like flying than riding.

“How much did your father ever tell you about your mother?” I probed as we slowed and walked through the forest.

“He didn’t tell me anything. In fact, my questions seemed to anger him whenever I brought up the subject.”

“How about Luena? Did she know anything?” I asked; of course I already knew she did.

“She blamed Father for our mother’s absence, and her anger turned to hatred. I always felt my mother and her sister had gone into hiding with the others, but I don’t know for sure. I don’t suppose your mother mentioned them?”

“I…I asked her last night if she knew what happened. She could only tell me your mother was not hidden with them, and cautioned the truth can sometimes be more painful than not knowing at all. Maybe you should just let it go, Damien.”

He pulled Nulla to a stop, I brought Theo beside him.

“I’m tired of people making those decisions for me. Katrina, if you know more, please tell me. Wouldn’t you want to know? I think you’re strong enough, so why wouldn’t you believe the same about me?”

As I looked at him, he continued to look straight ahead. My heart ached. How could I feel so passionate about two different men?

When he turned toward me again, we just stared at each other, and time ground to a stop. I had blocked out everything but him; no sound penetrated the space between us, except for the sound of our breathing. I understood now; I had to tell him what I knew.

I told him exactly what my mother had told me, and waited for his reaction.

“Damien?”As I recounting the story, I had seen his jaw tighten.

“Are you all right?” How could he be? This was his mother we were talking about.

“Thank you for telling me, Katrina. It’s just going to take me some time to absorb the truth. Since I heard your mother and sister had returned, I have been fantasizing about a similar reunion of my own.”

“This news doesn’t mean they were involved with Luena. There’s no proof of that. Your mother may have changed. For that matter, she could have been coerced by her sister, just as you were.”

“Do you really believe that?”

“I don’t know what to believe about her, but I do believe in you, so is it such a stretch to believe in your mother?”

He softened as he entertained the thought.

“I’m so glad you’ve come into my life, Katrina Von Dracek. Remember what I told you that first night?”

I had to think back.

“You said I could save you.”

“And so you have.”

“Don’t forget, you saved my life too.”

“The fates, it seems, continue to want our paths to intertwine.”

He smiled that intoxicating smile of his.

“We’d better get back. Remember, I’m going home this afternoon.”

“You would have to bring that up. All right, let’s go.”

As we turned the horses, I heard in my mind… “Race you.”

And we took off, our horses seeming to enjoy the race as much as we did.

“I let you win,” he laughed as we led the horses back to the barn.

We handed Nulla and Theo off to a groom. “Give them both a bath and a rub-down, please.” Damien told him.

“Do you wish them to be left in the breeding pen again this afternoon, My Lord?”

“What?” I exclaimed, and stopped dead in my tracks.

Damien grabbed my arm and started to lead me away, but I jerked forcefully away from him.

“How dare you breed our horses without my permission?!”

“It was supposed to be a surprise next year, but okay, I’m sorry. But don’t tell me you wouldn’t love a foal fathered by Theo.”

I had to admit he was right, and as I pictured the black colt running alongside Nulla, I sighed.

“Katrina, admit it,” Damien cajoled.

“All right, all right, but I would have liked to have been consulted first.”

“That kind of spoils the surprise, don’t you think?”

I just shook my head. “You’re hopeless. I’m going to stop at the training grounds, before I change for lunch. I’ll see you later,” I said leaving him. I thought as I walked swiftly away from him, it would be good for him to wonder if I was still angry. He was handsome and may be desirable but he was also arrogant

The girls were doing their full speed fighting today. I couldn’t believe how far they’d come in just a few days. I think Rosa was right; the fact we’re all together seemed to have enhanced all our skills, as well as our gifts. I couldn’t help feeling there was a reason we had all been all brought together at this time, in this place. There was more at stake than just Luena’s army, and we had to be ready.

CHAPTER TEN

All our things were busily being loaded onto wagons and Mother’s coach by a squadron of servants. Pack horses were strung together and waiting lazily for someone to pull them ahead. All our personal mounts were being saddled, when I returned to the stables after lunch. I hadn’t seen any reason to change, when I was just going to spend all day riding anyway. I had eaten quickly and hoped to say goodbye to Damien, but he was nowhere to be found. On the other hand, I told myself, I could say goodbye to him - or anything else for that matter - any time I wanted.

“Damien?” I called in my mind. No response. He was either too far away or didn’t want to hear me. I thought, maybe it’s for the best.

“Hi, Nulla. Ready to go home, girl?”

I scratched her neck and leaned against her shoulder. Everything in my life had changed; and now, even Nulla had even changed; she was going to be a mother. I could tell that already from her changing scent. All my life I had wished to do more, be more, and now what kept running through my head was my mother’s warning: “Be careful what you ask for.” Was all this excitement, stress, and change finally getting to me? I walked over to say goodbye to Theo, but he wasn’t in his stall. No Damien, no Theo. I thought I’d see them one more time; otherwise I would have said goodbye this morning. What else was there to say anyway?

“Let’s go, girl, time to go home.”

I led her out of the stable into the bright afternoon sunlight.

“Going somewhere?” I heard, and there, mounted on Theo, was Damien.

“Time to go home,” I said.

He laughed, “You’ll have plenty of company on your way. You won’t be lonely.”

As I look up at him, the sun silhouetting his face, I was overwhelmed with sadness. I was truly going to miss him.

“I’ll be with you,” I heard in my mind. “Always.”

Tears filled my eyes.

“I can’t do this. I can’t say goodbye to you. I’ll see you in a month. We’ll talk then.” He turned Theo and cantered away.

Grooms were leading the other horses out now. The time had to be close, and everyone would be waiting. I mounted and rode towards the front gate. I was right; everyone was gathered, the girls in their riding clothes, now sporting new short swords and daggers at their waists. It was going to be so great to have them with me.

“Katrina, good,” said Father. “It’s a long trip home, so let’s get started.”

Everyone else mounted up. Father joined Mother in her coach, his horse tied on behind, and the drivers whipped up the horses.

“I’m so excited!” exclaimed Kate. “Did you know Father sent word for our rooms to be prepared? They’ll be ready when we get home.”

“No, I hadn’t heard. That’s great. You’re going to love it there, Kate, It’s so beautiful - open meadows, a large lake where swans raise their young, a forest full of game - but the best part is for the first time, we’re all going to be together, a complete family, right?”

“Plus three extra sisters, don’t forget.”

“Oh, I don’t think there’s any chance of that,” I laughed.

When we got to an open place, I instinctively took a breath in, just to check our surroundings. I recognized a scent in the air right away, and looking around I spotted a black horse at the top of the hill on our right, mane blowing in the wind, his rider still, watching us pass.

“Goodbye,” I said silently.

“Soon,” was his only reply.

Rosa came back to ride with us.

“Gunter was telling me, after we set up  camp tonight, we’ll have a chance to hunt, and he suggested we all go together for the first time.”

“Rosa, that’s a fine idea,” I was excited at the prospect.

“And we should find time each night to practice our skills,” Kate added.

“You’re right; we can’t waste whatever time we have along the way,” I agreed.

Eleanor was riding with Thomas, and Letta was riding with Avery and Cedrik. I looked around for Quinn; he was riding next to the coach with Gunter. I pulled Nulla to a halt.

“I’ll talk to you later,” I called to Kate and Rosa.

“Hi,” I greeted Quinn as he caught up to me.

“Hello,” he said dismissively. “I haven’t seen much of you today; I’m sure that means Damien did.”

“Quinn, what do you want me to say?”

“You don’t have to say anything. It’s really none of my business.”

“So why did you bring it up?”

He looked at me for a long time before his expression evolved into that “I wish I could stay mad at you” look; at this point I couldn’t help it, I started to laugh, and finally, so did he. Then he shook his head and, “What am I going to do with you?”

“I’ll try to think of something.”

We talked the rest of the afternoon about the girls, our training, and how we couldn’t wait to be home at last. It was effortless, relaxed, like old times. Finally we arrived at the place Gunter had chosen, a nice open area, to make camp for the night. I was always amazed at how efficient the men were at setting up our camps, each on task until the job was complete: tents set up, horses cared for, fires made, and cooking started. Gunter gave orders for a hunting party tasked to find small game for dinner.

“Okay, girls, it’s all right for you to go hunting too, but stay to the west and don’t stay too long,” cautioned Gunter.

Rosa mocked him in a singsong voice, “Yes Father,”.

We gathered in the meadow to plan our first hunt together.

“First, let’s figure out how to use our gifts to get the best appraisal of our surroundings,” I looked to the others for suggestions.

“I’ll bring the wind so you two can ‘see’ even further away.”

“Good, Letta, go ahead. The rest of us will hold hands; it’ll enhance our sight and scent.”

The breeze blew and Kate and I closed our eyes. I took a deep breath and held it for just a moment. I couldn’t believe how many things I could pick up - deer, rabbits, a fox with three kits, and a bear. Looking further than I ever had before, maybe five or six miles, I sensed there must be a cottage. I could smell its fire, the family that lived there, a man, woman, a little girl, and their animals, a dog, horses, and sheep. It was amazing. The land had so much game and no danger that I scented. I opened my eyes.

“That was great!” Kate exclaimed, “I could see with such detail, including a little white cottage with a small barn and sheep, horses, a dog, and three people. I didn’t detect anything dangerous to us, did you Kat?”

“No, but I could detect things so much further away than I ever could on my own. Let’s go out and hunt. I saw lots of deer. Letta, Rosa, you go to the right; El you go straight in; and Kate and I will go left. We’ll circle and meet in the middle.”

In a flash we were off. With our speed and strength, no animal was much of a challenge, and in minutes we had all taken down prey and fed. As I started to head to the circle’s center to meet everyone else, Kate raced by me. My first thought was something was wrong, but I didn’t sense any danger. She circled and as she came close this time she reached out, tapped me on the shoulder, sang out, “you’re it and raced away.”

I chased her around trees, over logs, swinging off branches. It was exhilarating, and we could see the others now.

“Kat’s it,” Kate announced.

Now they all scattered, but I was too quick for El.

“You’re it, El, I tapped her on the back and then zipped away.

We regressed into children as we chased each other around the forest, tagging each other until everyone had been ‘it’ at least twice.

“That was fun,” Rosa joined us as we collapsed on the ground. None of us had sisters growing up—at least not living with us—but we were making up for it now. We knew we should get back, but we wanted this time to ourselves. It was getting dark, and although we could see in the dark, we still asked Letta to start a fire.

“We’ll gather some wood,” El started to get up.

“Don’t bother,” Letta said, and she held out her hand. A flame appeared right on her palm, we all gasped.

“Isn’t it hot Letta?” El was already thinking about the energy she would have to expend healing her.

“It can be, but not if I don’t want it to. Like now, the flame is just for light, but let me show you what else I can do. I’ve been practicing.”

Letta grabbed the flame and threw it at the tree next to us. As she intensified her stare, the flame grew, engulfing the entire base of the tree. We could feel it getting hotter and hotter. Then Letta closed her eyes and the now, roaring fire disappeared, leaving the trunk smoldering and black. She then pointed her finger in the air, and a flame appeared on the very tip, and with flare she wrote her name in the air with the fire. We all clapped and shook our heads, our mouths gaping with awe.

“Wow, you’ve come so far in just a few days,” I was astounded at her progress.

“Wait until you see what Rosa can do,” El said. piquing our interest.

We turned our attention to Rosa then.

“All right, give me your daggers.” She asked, holding out her hand.

Rosa reached out to receive our weapons and took hers out as well; then laid them all out on the ground. We could see her start to concentrate and to our amazement the daggers began to rise, continuing to do so until they were head-high. Next, at a speed we could hardly see, she sent them one at a time, straight into the still smoldering tree. They landed within millimeters of each other, as if in the center of an invisible target.

Rosa beamed with pride. “I’ve been practicing too.” She winked at El.

“No kidding,” Kate said. “Wow”.

We practiced every night of our journey home and found the five of us now could enhance each other’s gifts without having to hold hands. It was enough just to concentrate collectively on whatever we were trying to do; but holding hands or placing our hands on whoever was the source of the gift gave it the ultimate enhancement. Between travel, swordplay, and skill training, the days flew by, and in a week we were within sight of Castle Mormont, our home. The stone walls glowed in the fading sunlight, and the dark slate tiles of the turrets gave off hues of purple and blue. I had never seen anything so beautiful.

“Welcome home, Elizabeth,” Father helped Mother out of the coach. I could see the emotion on her face and tears filling her eyes.

“Oh, Fredrik, I had forgotten what a magical place this is.”

Father hugged her and kissed her forehead.

“Now, girls, why don’t you go and see if your new quarters are to your liking.”

I had forgotten all about our new rooms being prepared while we were gone. We hurried excitedly up the stairs. Instead of my two rooms on the left, there was now a door where a hallway used to be. Opening the door, we found my two rooms were now two separated bedrooms, with another three across the wide hallway. Each bedroom was lovely. Mine had remained the same, just as I wished. Kate was next to me, the others across the hall. The once empty turret room at the end of the hall was now a common room, with lovely overstuffed chairs, a stone hearth and fireplace, and a wood table with five chairs, so we could dine in if we wished. It was even lovelier than our quarters at the palace. We even had doors on each side of the fireplace, which opened onto a private balcony. While the others were exploring their rooms, I went out on our balcony, closed my eyes, and concentrated.

“Damien, are you there?” I thought to myself.

After a short while I heard.

“I’m here.”

“We’re home… I miss you.”

“I’m right here,” he said.

Then I heard Kate calling me.

Our link was broken; so I decided I might as well see what she wanted.

“What is it, Kate?” I asked as I came inside.

“Sarah is here. Do you want to have a bath now or later?”

The thought of taking a long bath sounded so good.

“Now, please.”

“I’ll let you have a nice long soak, and then I’ll wash your hair. Would you like something to drink?” asked Sarah.

“No, thank you, but could you see if the rest of the girls want to eat here? I know, I would.”

“I’ll ask them. Isn’t it grand each of your rooms now has one of these beautiful copper tubs? There are even copper pipes to let the water drain to the outside.”

“Yes, it’s lovely. Father really out did himself this time.”

“I’ll be back in a little while then,” she said as she left.

I sank down as far as I could without going under, the hot water soothing my muscles and the soft scent of lavender soothing my senses.

“Katrina?” I heard in my mind.

It startled me at first, because I was so relaxed.

“I’m here,” I replied. “I’m taking a bath,” I smiled, thinking of his reaction.

“Now I wish I could see, not just hear you.”

“I bet you do. I wasn’t sure we’d be able to communicate this far away. I’m glad we can.”

“Have you told anyone we can hear each other?” he asked.

“No, that’s just for us.”

“Just for us,” he replied, “Father just arrived, and I’ve got to go.”

Sarah came in to wash my hair and comb it out with sandalwood oil, the helped me into a clean outfit.

“There was a beautiful young lady under all that dirt after all,” she stood, hands on her hips, looking very pleased with herself.

“The other girls want to eat here as well. Is there anything special you’d like?”

“I think Rosa is missing her Italian food, so maybe her people could make something for us. And some dessert please; not fruit but Bavarian cream pastries.”

“I’ll see to it right away.”

It felt so good to be home. I snuggled down in one of the new overfilled chairs.

Now we were back, I needed to get to the library and start my regular studies again.

“Hey, Kat, I could have stayed in that bath all night,” El said as she came out of her new room.

“How’s your room? All settled?” I asked her.

“It’s great. Sarah had everyone buzzing around like worker bees, getting everything unloaded and put away, but that bathtub has to be my favorite thing.”

“Mine too,” sighed Letta as she came in, “and I must be least a pound lighter after washing off all the dust and dirt.”

“Sarah, that smells fabulous,” sniffed Rosa, as she followed her into the common room.

“I smell dinner,” Kate called. “I’m starving.”

We had pasta with chicken, a fresh salad, tomatoes, cheese, hot bread, red wine, and of course my favorite dessert.

“I couldn’t eat another thing,” I took my last bite of pastry.

“Thanks for ordering pasta tonight, Kat. That was just what I was craving,” Rosa gave me an appreciative smile.

“I think we all enjoyed it, didn’t we?” I looked around at the contented faces at the table.

“What does everyone want to do tonight?” I asked.

“Can we just sit by the fire and relax, talk, drink wine—a girls’ night in, no training at all?” Kate suggested.

We were all for that, so when Sarah came in to clear the food away, we asked for some additional wine and snacks for later, then settled in around the fire, some of us in chairs and some on the floor.

“Is there anything you need or would like to have changed? I really want you to feel at home.”

“I can’t think of a thing, Kat,” Letta said. “This”, she indicated the rooms and the common area with a sweep of her arm, “is beautiful.”

“Me neither,” El added.

“Well, I for one think Father outdid himself getting this done ahead of our arrival; I can’t wait for you to show us the whole castle and grounds, Kat.”

“That’s just what I told Sarah earlier, the part about Father; twins really think alike. We can look around right after breakfast if you want; Gunter gave us half the day off.”

Letta laughed, “A whole half-day, he’s too kind.”

“Kat, you haven’t talked about Quinn at all the last few days,” El commented.

“You know, you’re right. I haven’t even thought much about him lately. That’s strange isn’t it?” I wondered what it meant.

“Not really,” Rosa explained, “When you fed directly from him you began a very powerful connection for both of you; but it wears off gradually, unless its renewed, so maybe what you thought was love was just a blood-lust bond.”

“Mother mentioned something about that. So, you think it’s probably worn off for him too?” I asked.

“While it’s true you both care for each other, the recent intensity of your feelings was probably due to the feedings.”

“I’m so glad to have all of you; I never had anyone to talk to like this before. You all at least had your mothers.”

“True, but mine isn’t that interested in me,” Rosa revealed

“Mine has two other children by her new lover,” Letta said.

“My mother is lovely, but wants to be my sister more than my mother. She’s probably trying to get Father to come and get me as we speak,” El laughed.

“I guess I’m the only one that had a Mother to really talk to, and all I could think about was how much I missed having my father around,” Kate shared.

I understood then, it wasn’t just the availability of a mother but her ability to be a mother. In that matter Kate and I were lucky.

“Well, we have each other now, and that’s what matters. Don’t you feel this is our destiny or something, that we’re together for a purpose, but we just don’t know what it is yet?” I asked everyone.

El looked at me, “I’ve been thinking about that too. We seem to have a lot in common but more important have personalities and gifts that mesh with each other. It came to me when we first discovered we could enhance each other’s gifts. We’re like parts of something that once assembled makes a totally different thing.” Seeing Rosa’s eyebrow raise, she continued. “Like beautiful colors when seen separately are pretty, but when put together to form a rainbow, are breathtaking”.

Rosa nodded, “Of course you’re right, I thought about it too.

“Me too, we were meant to be together” Letta added.

In Sanctuary this would be described as an “event of portend”, a warning of things to come.

“Kate, I know you can’t tell us where you and Mother were, but can you tell us about the others there and what your hosts were like? It’s all so mysterious.”

“Well Kat,” she was now very serious, “I was an infant when we arrived there, so of course I just accepted my surroundings, since I had no idea there was anywhere else in the world to be. Now looking back, it almost doesn’t seem real to me. So much has happened in the last few weeks to all of us. I’ll tell you about it, but we must agree to keep it to ourselves, all right?”

We agreed and she began.

“I grew up among a very large population in a vast city. The city was filled with unique buildings, some homes were four or five stories, carved right out of sheer canyon walls, others were located in the underground caverns carved into dwellings, there were also grand chambers underground, used for meetings and festivities. The inhabitants, from all races including human, came from all over the world.” She paused to look into each of our faces. We were all leaning in with anticipation.

“What I tell you now, will seem like pure fantasy, a made-up story, but it’s all true, I swear to you. As stunning as this sanctuary is, the knowledge many of us live by hiding in plain sight, is as much of a shock as seeing them all together - leaf fairies, wood nymphs, pixies, to mention a few, and of course vampires and witches. Of the people inhabiting Sanctuary, our group; the vampires, was the smallest. Elves had the largest population, followed by dwarves, gremlins, wizards, and minotaur. Many wizards and healers make up the rest. We also accepted into sanctuary, rare animal species like my favorite, the unicorn, and we even had griffins. People or animals, we shared our existence, and all lived in peace.”

“I remember reading our history in the library and fantasizing about the world as it once was,” El voiced her envy, “and now you’ve seen that world, you’ve been there and you lived in it…how amazing.”

“Remember, I didn’t know it was unique, it was just my reality. It was a challenge for all the different species and races to live together in peace, until everyone realized our only way to survive was to get along with each other, or at least be tolerant.”

“Tell us more about the elves themselves; what are they like?” Rosa asked.

“Just like anyone else, each elf has their individual personality. On the whole they are a lot like us, very long-lived of course but generally tall and slender, with reserved, formal natures. They tend keep to themselves, and they’re smart, very disciplined, and graceful. The women are beautiful, the men handsome. They have slightly pointed ears, most wear their hair very long, and except for eyebrows, they don’t get body hair of any kind. Like us, the women don’t have children until they’re in their mid-hundreds, when they look more like twenty-five. As they have all the time in the world they never rush anything. Decision-making is a slow, almost agonizing process, filled with discussion, and contemplation. This trait sometimes frustrates other races, so everyone has to have a lot of patience. It was a magical childhood I suppose, but knowing I had a father and a sister on the outside made it hard to stay, so Mother finally agreed it was time to come home. Especially after I felt the urgency of coming here.”

“Do you think we could ever go back with you someday?”

“If there was once again a need, they would take us back. The elves truly believe their time will come again, because from our behavior they think eventually humans will kill each other off. You realize, of course, not only peaceful races are in hiding. Evil elements of all the races also exist, they live along with demons in the underworld, and they seek to destroy not only the humans, but all peaceful races.

Someday a call may come to return, not to save ourselves but to join the fight to save all the peaceful races of Sangustae.”

Kate was right, it sounded like fiction, a bedtime story told to children; but we vampires exist, so how could I not believe her? Besides, I already knew these different races had existed, I just didn’t know they still existed. The thought they were secreted away in Sangustae made me, happy. We talked for several more hours about what Kate had told us, then dragged ourselves to our rooms and into bed at last.

We all slept in, had breakfast, and I took the girls on a tour. I wanted to begin with the grounds: the stables and gardens. We walked and talked as I pointed out my favorite spots and told stories of the childhood lived in these places. Then we came inside, had something to drink and I showed them the castle itself. We went from floor to floor touring the ballrooms, meeting rooms, beautiful guest wings, dining hall, and chapel, before entering at last, the pride of Mormont, the grand library. I heard the gasps as we came into the room. It was my favorite room. I’d grown up in this mammoth play ground and had never given much thought to its grandeur. Now I saw it through fresh eyes. The soaring twenty-five-foot ceiling was done in a panoramic fresco of angels fighting demons. Its shelves were filled with row upon row of books, manuscripts and scrolls. A spiral staircase to the walkway, gave access to the room’s second-story level and the bookshelves lining the walls encircling the room. On the library’s floor, oak tables sat on top of hand-tied Persian rugs. The girls exclaimed its magnificence; and although I’d always taken it for granted, I had to admit it was a magical room.

“No wonder this is your favorite room,” Letta sighed.

“We’ll be spending a lot of time here working on our studies.” I told them.

“I know what I want to study,” Rosa piped up. “I want to study plans for our birthday party, and it’s less than a month away.”

“We need to ask Father when the meetings are scheduled. Your families will be coming, along with members of the Council,” I continued. “The envoy to the Americas will begin as soon as the meetings end.”

“Girls, come on, we’re going to be eighteen, and this party has to be fantastic,” Rosa encouraged, warming to her topic.

“Are we going to have a theme party, a dinner, or a ball?” asked El, her hand to her chin as she thought.

“How about all of the above?” suggested Letta, growing excited.

“Why not? Okay, any ideas on a theme?” I asked.

“I always like a masquerade ball,” Rosa, holding two fingers of her hand to her eyes, simulating a mask.

“Let’s just have a dinner,” Kate recommended.

We stopped and looked at her like she had just gone crazy.

Kate held her hand up in the attitude of ‘stop’ and continued.

“Then instead of a big party, we’ll get Father to let us go to Paris. Remember, Gerhardt said the World’s Fair is going to be held there, and we could make the journey along with those traveling to port. I’m sure Philepe will let us stay at his chateau.”

“Kate, that has to be the most brilliant idea ever. We can shop, and you know Gerhardt will love showing us around,” I was exited now.

“So that’s it then; we’ll ask Father soon,” resolved Kate, now beaming.

We all agreed, then left the library to find something for lunch before starting the afternoon sessions. The training the Gunter had set up for us today was one of my favorite. We would be strengthening our horsemanship skills and I was looking forward to it.

I was also looking forward to seeing Quinn, but I was more curious to see how he reacted to me, than how I felt when I saw him.

We were still excitedly talking about our birthday celebration when we arrived at the stables. Our horses were ready and waiting, but before we could get to them, we were rushed from both front and rear by at least a dozen “enemy” soldiers.

“Swords!” I yelled.

“Circle!” yelled Rosa.

Then they were on us.

“Thought you could surprise us, did you, Gunter?” I shouted defiantly, still panting after we’d successfully defended ourselves.

“You looked very distracted earlier, but you have proved your readiness, girls. Good job,” Gunter said. “Now mount up and we’ll meet you at the training grounds.”

The Watchers’ little ambush put us in the right frame of mind, and we had a great session. Quinn didn’t seem to pay any special attention to me, so I guessed Rosa was right about the feeding causing what we had felt earlier.

We decided since we were already on our horses, to take a tour of the castle grounds outside the walls. Here, there were beautiful fields, planted with vegetables, oats, hay, wheat, and sunflowers and the vineyards and fruit trees that seemed to stretch on forever.

“Since we’re out here, we might as well hunt,” suggested Letta looking at me for approval.

“Okay,” I closed my eyes and took a long, slow breath. “There’s a herd of deer about a half a mile to the west.”

We dismounted, secured the horses and ran into the forest. In minutes we had achieved our goal; downing a buck and several does, feeding until we were full. As we raced back to our horses, we placed several flags on the trail to help the Watchers retrieve the kill. I had just placed a final marker at the perimeter of the forest, when without warning, it started to rain, not hard, but a light spring shower that was beginning to soak us.

El called out, “Letta, try to stop it.”

We could see Letta look up and concentrate; and to our surprise the clouds cleared above our heads and showed us blue sky, while all around us it continued to rain. Instinctively, the rest of us concentrated with her and gradually the area of blue sky became larger and larger, until the rain had completely stopped. Letta closed her eyes then and when she opened them, looked around at each of us and we started to laugh.

“That was great!” I wonder what else we can do?” We could see how excited Kate was by our intercession with the rain.

It seemed every day we discovered something new to do with our gifts. Kate and I practiced speaking to each other with our minds. We could do it, but it was nothing like what happened between Damien and me, which seemed strange. We tried it with the other girls too, but none of them could hear us.

We left our horses at the stable, where I gave the groom instructions to keep an extra eye on Nulla and to include more grain into her diet, since I was sure she was in foal. As mad as I was at Damien at the time, I had to confess I couldn’t wait to see, what I was sure would be the most beautiful little black colt in the whole world. I wouldn’t be disappointed if it was a filly, but for some reason, I was sure it would be a colt. I was starting to have more and more feelings like that these days, sensing things before they happened. I made a note to myself to look up such things in the library. Enhancing that trait could be very helpful, especially now with five of us helping.

“Let’s change for dinner. I can’t wait to ask Father about our birthdays,” I winked at Kate.

“I can’t see why he wouldn’t let us go, do you?” asked Kate, now serious.

“Maybe we should ask Mother first, to make sure she’s on our side,” I looked at Kate for agreement.

“Couldn’t hurt. Do you want to go right before dinner?”

“All right,” glad for the chance to talk to Mother in any case.

“I can’t wait to slip into that copper bathtub,” Rosa moaned.

“Sarah is going to grumble about our hair again,” El warned.

“What’s new?” I rolled my eyes, “At least she’s letting your ladies maids help her more now.”

“That’s true, but she’s still rules the roost,” Letta chuckled.

“That’s never going to change, but I can tell she loves taking care of all of us,” Rosa added.

When we got back Sarah was busy filling tubs. She grumbled about how bad we smelled and of course how awful our hair was. There was the most amazing perfume in the air from the oils and bath salts; it was exotic, with lavenders and sandalwood, hints of vanilla and mint. I undressed and dropped my clothes outside my door as ordered. As I walked naked by the mirror, I glanced at myself. The girl I used to see looking back at me was gone, and in her place was a strong, lean, but very shapely woman. I sank into the steaming hot water, got my sea sponge nice and soapy, and washed over my face and neck. It felt so good, suddenly a smile came to my face—a devilish one at that. Last time I was in the tub Damien was here with me, at least in my mind. Why not try to contact him again? I closed my eyes and tried to picture him, his handsome face, dark eyes, sexy smile, and then I called out with my mind.

“Damien, are you there?”

“I’m here.”

“What have you been up to?”

“Oh I’ve been out every evening with a different girl; I just hate to disappoint any of them.”

“Glad you’re having fun. We’ve been working hard, no spare time at all.”

“No time for your Watcher boyfriend…or should I say no snack time?”

“Very funny, and he’s not my boyfriend, just my friend. Once the blood lust wore off, we realized that’s all it was.”

Silence…

“Damien, are you still there?”

“I’m here; I’m just in shock. No boyfriend?”

“Well I wouldn’t say that; there is someone special in my life.”

“That didn’t take long. You moved on quickly.” I heard a hesitation in his otherwise confident voice.

“Actually it took me a while to realize how much I cared about him.”

“Does this someone, know how you feel?”

“He does now.”

There was a pause as the implication of my words sunk in. Then I heard, “Me? You’re talking about me? Because I was convinced you were right, our involvement was just in the moment. Wasn’t it you who said it was ‘pure lust’ as you aptly put it.”

“So perhaps we should just both move on then, I guess. Well, I better let you go; I wouldn’t want any of your conquests to be kept waiting. Goodbye, Damien.”

He laughed. “You didn’t really believe all that did you? I swear I’ve been in love with you since that first night.”

Then, as if on cue, Sarah danced in to do my hair and I couldn’t concentrate enough with her talking to keep “talking” to Damien. Damn. As soon as she finished the washing, rinsing and complaining, I was alone again at last.

“Damien?”

Nothing. He must have been otherwise engaged as well. I sighed and reluctantly rose from the tub.

“Katrina?”

It sounded as if he were right next to me and I jumped.

“I’m here; Sarah came in to wash my hair again.”

Then a wicked thought came into my mind. I stood in front of the mirror once again; a much cleaner image of me was there. I concentrated as hard as I could both on my reflection and on Damien.

“Katrina! Did you just send me a…picture?”

“Hope you liked the reflection what you saw in my mirror.”

“How’d you do that? And yes, I liked it, but I was surprised and couldn’t quite focus on it because it didn’t last long enough. Try it again.”

“Sorry, that’s all you’re going to get. When are you coming? I was hoping for a few extra days before your meetings and our birthday dinner.”

“Only a dinner, not a week of parties?”

“We decided going to Paris with your group and staying a few days in Philepe’s chateau would be more fun. The World’s Fair is there and we can shop.”

“Sounds exciting, I’ll come as soon as all my plans are complete. There’s a lot to do; money must be transferred and I am sending as much ahead as I can. Maybe I can arrange some time in Paris as well. Our family has an apartment overlooking the river.”

“That would be wonderful.”

We didn’t need to say anything more. We could be alone.

“Everyone is waiting for me, I’ve got to go.”

“Soon then?”

“Soon.”

I dressed quickly and came out to meet Kate.

Kate stopped in mid pace, “About time,” she Kate impatiently.

“I’m ready now. Let’s go.”

“I told the others to meet us in the dining hall.”

We arrived just as Mother was finishing dressing for dinner. Father was still in his office. Perfect timing.

“Oh, girls, it’s so nice to see you. We haven’t spent five minutes alone together since we got back,” Mother smiled at us fondly.

“Sorry, Mother; we’ve just been so busy,” Kate explained. “Can we talk to you about our birthday plans?”

“Of course. I can’t believe you’re going to be eighteen. After this landmark birthday, since you won’t age much for several hundred years, others from now on won’t have much of an impact. What do you have in mind?”

“We’d like to scale down the party to a just a dinner celebration with all our families, because we would like the real celebration to be in Paris. The girls’ fathers will be traveling to Paris in order to join the members of the envoy leaving for the Americas from there. We could accompany them to Paris. It would give the girls some extra time with their fathers before they board their ships. We would like to stay in Paris for a few days to shop and see the sights,” Kate was hopeful.

“The World’s Fair is there, Mother, and I just know Philepe will let us stay at his chateau, and Gerhardt can show us around,” I said pleading our case.

“And you want me to help you convince your father to let you go, is that it?”

“Would you, Mother?” I asked, now sure we had her blessing.

“You’ve been working very hard, as you said, and have proven you can take care of yourselves. I think I can persuade him. He’s already let you drop your personal Watchers; but I’m sure he’s going to insist you take some with you on this trip, so you’ll have to be ready to agree to that.”

“We won’t need them, but that’s fine by me, and I’m sure it’ll be fine with everyone else too,” Kate willing to make this concession in order to gain her mother’s support.

“Very well, then. I’ll speak with him and find the date for your celebration dinner.”

We both hugged her.

“Thank you, Mother. We knew you’d understand. Are you meeting Father over there, or is he coming back here?”

“He’s coming back to escort me. I’ll wait; you go ahead. I know you probably can’t wait to tell the others your news.”

“Thanks again, Mother.”

One last hug and we were out the door. We hurried over to the dining hall, where the girls were waiting for us outside.

El couldn’t contain herself. “Well, what did she say? Is she on our side or not?”

“I’m so sorry,” I said, with an exaggeratedly sad face, “but I think you’re just going to have to pack for Paris!” I threw my arms up over my head and laughed.

We all squealed and jumped up and down like little children.

“She’s going to talk to Father, but if she’s happy about it, he’ll be fine with it. We’ll have to take Watchers along, but that’s no problem,” Kate said.

“She’s also going to find out what date we can have our celebration dinner,” I informed them.

“You don’t think your fathers will have a problem with it do you?” asked Kate.

“I don’t think so,” Rosa agreed.

“Definitely not,” Letta added.

“My father might need some convincing,” El was apologetic.

“Well, when everyone arrives, we’re going to show them our training progress. If that doesn’t convince them we can take care of ourselves, nothing will,” I was emphatic.

“It’s not that,” groaned El. “I used to go to school in Paris, an all-girl boarding school for our kind of girls, vampires and witches. I was fifteen at the time and shy; I was popular enough, but I kept to myself, which made me an easy target for a group of girls that supposedly ran the place and who, for some reason, decided I was a threat. Since their group was a combination of witches and vampires, they terrorized me in different ways, like spells for spiders in my bed, or chasing me and roughing me up. The leader of the group, Marna, was the daughter of headmaster, so no help there. Finally, when I’d had enough, I begged Father to let me come home. Those girls must be in their last year now.”

“Well it’s obvious to me they were jealous of you, and we all know bullies are cowards when they’re by themselves. Maybe we’ll just look them up when we get there,” I was serious.

“I think I know this Marna. Is she tall, thin, flat-chested, with black wavy hair?” Rosa asked.

“That’s her,” El confirmed.

“Whenever my father has business in Paris we attend parties and help raise money for these private schools throughout Europe. She would be at the get-togethers, trying to impress the boys and insert herself into our conversations, and it turns out she did become quite popular with some of the boys, if you get my meaning.”

We did.

“Let them see you now, El—beautiful, strong, and confident,” I told her.

“With four sisters who have your back,” Kate said with an evil smirk.

“Thanks. There’s something else I’ve been meaning to ask you. I need to practice my healing, and I heard the local mission has a hospital. I’d like us to volunteer there a few hours a week. What do you think?”

“I’m in,” I said.

Everyone else agreed.

“Father sends food once a month; we might as well take it ourselves,” I suggested.

“You all are so wonderful. What would I do without you?”

“You’re not going to get the chance to find out,” Letta, put her arm over El’s shoulders. “Now let’s eat. I’m starving again.”

At the table my father smiled at Mother, “Your mother has informed me I am allowing all of you to make the journey to Paris with the Americas envoy—of course pending the approval of your fathers. You have made excellent progress in your training, and Gunter assures me your fathers will be very impressed when they see for themselves. You will have to take Watchers with you, but they will be discreet. I want you to have a good time, and even though I know you can take care of yourselves, I’ll feel better if your Watchers are there with you. They have been around for centuries for a reason, and they see, hear, and watch in a different way than we do. Are we all agreed on these terms?”

“Yes,” all five of us said at the same time.

“Thank you, Father, Mother,” I said, exchanging a look with Kate.

“Now, it has also been decided the Council will begin on the twenty-second of June, so your father and I thought the party could be between your birthdays on the nineteenth. Meetings are to end on the twenty-fifth, with preparations to be completed no later than the twenty-eighth. You should be on your way to Paris then.”

Father laughed, “I’ve sent a message to Philepe, asking him if he can accommodate all of you at his chateau, and I expect he will reply tomorrow. Gerhardt will, I’m sure, be very happy to entertain all of you with parties in the evenings and tours and shopping during the afternoons. You may look forward to your training after this trip; it will seem much less tiring.”

“I think we’re up to the task, Father, and as long as we’re taking our Watchers, I see no reason not to fit in some training while we’re there,” I conceded.

With our plans complete, we finished our meal and headed back to our rooms.

“We need to go to the library tomorrow. We need to study,” Kate said.

“Considering what El told us of her experiences with witches, it appears we will have to know how to counteract spells,” Letta added.

“I know several books and scrolls that can help us,” I offered.

“We can ask Mother. She had a lot of experiences with witches at Sangustae.”

“Good idea. We’ll need all the help we can get. Time isn’t on our side; our trip is only a couple of weeks away,” Rosa said.

“You forget how much better we are together, than we ever were apart. So far, anything we try seems to be easier as long as we’re together, and I’m sure this will be no different,” I knew I was right.

“I guess we’ll find out,” El said with a shrug.

“We also have the advantage of surprise. No one but us knows we have the gifts we have, and how, together, we can enhance and strengthen each of those gifts,” I said.

Rosa added, “True, the whole purpose to our training is to be prepared in every way we can, so as individuals and as a race we can survive,”.

“That’s why the envoy to the Americas is being sent, to make sure we establish ourselves early-on in this new land,” I said. “I hope when they return we can be part of this new clan.”

“Absolutely,” Rosa said. “I think we all agree on that.”

“I wish we could go on this first trip,” Letta said longingly.

“We’ll be ready as soon as they get back; I just hope they don’t take as long as they’ve predicted,” I said. “They will be sending messengers back and forth as often as possible, to keep us informed. That’s the advantage we have as vampires: speed. Unencumbered, we can cover hundreds of miles in a short time.”

Of course I hoped to have more personal updates from Damien; we had our own secret, he and I.

“I’m going to bed; I’ll see you in the morning.”

I changed into a simple nightgown and combed out my hair.

“Katrina?” I heard.

“I’m here; I was just getting ready for bed.”

“Me too, but I wanted to tell you, I’ll be arriving on the fifteenth.”

“Good! We’ll have a few extra days. We are to leave for Paris no later than the twenty-ninth.”

“I’ve sent Ivan to make all my arrangements in France and Portugal, where we are to disembark, so I can spend some time with you in Paris…that is if you still want that”? . . . . . Katrina?”

“I’m thinking.”

“Very funny.”

“Of course I still want that. I know the girls will understand if I’m not around for a few hours.”

Then I closed my eyes so I could remember what he smelled like; when it came to me it was like he was right next to me, it was so real.

“What are you doing?”

“Remembering.”

“I’ll see you in a few weeks.”

“I know but…”

“It’s a long time for me too, but we’ll both be busy and we can ‘talk’ whenever we have a chance.”

“Our lives are so different now, with so many changes in such a short time. And that trend is going to continue. You’re going to the New World without me.”

“I’m only going so when the time is right, our new clan will have everything in place to be successful and safe. We need to make sure those who would jeopardize our safety, by trying to take advantage of this New World, establishing an evil and dangerous clan, do not succeed.”

“You’ve see signs of such evil making its way into this New World?”

“Yes.”

“This is why Father pushed for so long for a delegation to be sent there, isn’t it?”

“Yes, and why he has been a target.”

“Luena— is she part of this, Damien?”

“I’m positive it’s what she wants. Without the power she sought here, it’s likely she’s looking for new kinds of power.”

It was nearly morning before we stopped talking. I couldn’t stop thinking about what this all meant. Would Luena try to stop our envoy? I decided I wasn’t going to be able to sleep, so I got dressed and headed over to the library.

“You’re up early,” Quinn said, as we met in the courtyard.

“So are you.”

“I’m on duty at least for a few more hours.”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Still thinking about me all the time? You have to just let it go unless—”

“Hate to disappoint you, but I have other things on my mind.”

“So you’re in denial, then?”

I stopped and turned towards him. He was smiling that mischievous smile of his, and those beautiful blue eyes reflected the moonlight. I just had to laugh and so did he. We hadn’t seen much of each other since we got back, so we caught up on the way to the library.

“Quinn, I want you to send someone ahead to Paris and to the port cities. Post them to observe, see if there’s anything suspicious going on. If there are other vampires heading to the Americas, we need to know about it. Send someone who is familiar with Luena. And Quinn, can you keep this just between us? Remember how evil she is, and she’s probably not alone.”

“Consider it done. You know your father has people looking for her already.”

“I’m sure she’s aware of that fact, too. I just want a new set of eyes to look, as we say, look in plain sight.”

CHAPTER ELEVEN

We parted ways, and then as I got to the library I sensed I wasn’t alone. Gerhardt; I’d know his scent anywhere.

“Show yourself,” I challenged, and sure enough, he eased himself out of the shadows.

“Gerhardt, what are you doing here?”

“I brought your reply personally.”

Then he folded his arms, crossed his left foot over his right, and leaned against the wall. There was something different about him, a tightness around the mouth that belied his causal look.

“So what is your father’s reply?”

“Of course you are welcome to stay as long as you wish, and I for one, can’t wait to show all five of you around my city.”

“Your city, I see.”

“That ego,” I thought to myself.

“You’re here awfully early.”

“I misjudged my own speed.”

“I see. All the years we’ve known each other and you still continue to amaze.”

“I could say the same thing about you, Katrina. Who knew when we were just youngsters you’d turn into such a warrior—and a beautiful one at that.”

“Why Gerhardt, are you actually praising someone besides yourself? Amazing.”

We shared a good natured laugh.

“Well, I should get back. There’s much to do before your arrival.”

“You’re not coming to the meetings?”

“Oh yes, I’ll be back don’t worry. I’ve got a special birthday gift for you.”

Then he handed me an envelope sealed with his family crest.

“My father’s reply; just to make it official. I’ll see you Katrina. Remember me to the girls.”

“Oh, I will,” we both laughed again and he evaporated into the shadows.

That was so weird, and I would need to talk to Quinn about having someone watch Philepe’s chateau. Wait a minute, I thought. Damien said he sent Ivan ahead, I could ask Damien to have Ivan… No, that wasn’t a good idea, I decided. We needed to keep this to ourselves, but we’d need to keep an eye out for Ivan, too.

Now to the reason for coming to the library in the first place; Father had just received the latest maps of the Americas, and I wanted a look at them. They were lying on the table; Father must have studied them already. The vastness of the wilderness surprised me and it drew me somehow. Cities dotted the coastlines; I ran my finger across the map from city to city, Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, New Orleans. As my finger crossed over New Orleans, I felt warmth. As I leaned down to better inspect the map, something clouded my eyes. I shook my head and as my vision both cleared and sharpened, I realized I was no longer looking at table in the library but now, a busy street in an unknown city. I watched a woman I’d never seen before, walking towards me. I was filled me with apprehension; then the vision was gone and I was again looking down at the map. What was that, Who was she? I didn’t know the answer to either question, but knew without a doubt, the evil I felt while watching her was real, and somehow, I needed to find out who and where she was.

“Quinn said you’d be here,” Kate came into the library. “How long have you been up?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I came to study the new maps Father just received. Kate, I’m glad you’re here; do me a favor, run your fingers over this map, paying special attention to the cities marked there. Tell me if you feel anything special. ”

She looked over the map and to my amazement began to run her finger from city to city, just like I had. When she got to New Orleans, she jumped back.

“What happened?”

“I got a shock. What did you do to the map?

I shook my head, “Nothing; I swear.”

Kat, there’s some kind of energy coming from this map.”

“Try again, and I’ll concentrate with you; let’s see what we can ‘see.’”

We closed our eyes, and Kate began running her hand over the map again. As soon as her hand was over that area of the map, I could feel her begin to shake. I opened my eyes and once again I saw the woman in my vision walking toward us. She was wearing a dark blue dress with a white ruffled collar. Her hair was topped by a matching small, blue and white hat, and she held a parasol over her right shoulder. As she got closer I heard a sharp intake of breath from Kate, our tension mounted.

“I knew you’d join us,” she said, “You had a choice and you made it. Once we eliminate the rest of the new coven, there will be nothing to stop us from doing whatever we wish with these easily manipulated humans. Come, my son, let’s join the others.”

Then the image was gone. I looked into my sister’s face and knew we had both seen the same vision. It had shaken us both. Who was the women in the vision, and whom was she talking to? She had called him her son.

Just then the others arrived and we told them what had just happened. We even tried again with all of us concentrating this time, but nothing new happened; we just got a repeat performance of the vision Kate and I had already seen.

“So, someone is to betray one of the new clans,” Rosa deduced.

“That’s what it sounds like, or the person she was talking to could be trying to infiltrate their clan,” El suggested.

Kate just looked at her, “Always the optimist.”

“Why would we get this vision if it wasn’t meant to warn us?” Rosa asked.

“Have any of the rest of you had a vision like this before? Kate wondered.” Each of us either shook our head no, or said no.

“Then we don’t know enough about visions to know what they mean yet, but I definitely felt evil emanating from that woman,” Kate gestured emphatically.

El, Letta, and Rosa spent extra time studying the new maps, while Kate and I moved on to the books on witches, wizards, and magic. We needed to know all we could about spotting them. I of course, would have an identifying scent once I knew it, but we would need more for the others and we’d need protection. Even though it’s forbidden to use magic for anything but good, El’s school experience was proof there are always those who break those laws and those who are just evil, and if all those who were evil joined forces we needed to know how to fight them, as well as protect ourselves.

“Hello ladies, how are the studies going?” Mother called, as she came into the library.

“Okay, I guess, but we could really use your experience to help us.”

“Really, Kate? What would you like to know?”

“How can we spot a witch or warlock? And is it possible to block their spells or reverse them?” I asked.

“Well, let’s start with the first question. Witches and warlocks have marks, like a birthmark in the shape of a pentagon, usually on their neck, either behind the left ear or on the back of the neck just below the hairline. They can be covered easily, however. Remember these are not humans or another race that learns magic, but a separate ancient race like ours.

“They are long-lived as well. They don’t live as long as we do, but they’re around easily for hundreds of years. They have a strong anise scent. Since all of us have enhanced senses; it will be another way to identify them, but for Katrina especially. However, the scent, too, can be masked.

Most warlocks and witches are good and abide by the laws of our councils. Just like rebellious vampires, violators of our laws by any race, are sought out and dealt with swiftly. If you think you may be challenged by a witch or warlock; there are talismans that can block their spells, magic you can learn to reverse spells and for protection. If you find an evil witch or warlock, don’t confront them alone. Seek out allies to help you, law-abiding leaders of the local covens.”

“If we can block their spells they will be no match for us, and we can take care of them ourselves,” I stated.

“They also have many ways to hide, and most have individual gifts just as we do. They may be shape-shifters, so they can blend in and disappear. Usually each individual can only change into one kind of thing, either a living or an inanimate object. So you would need to be on the watch for something that seems out of place or was not there before.”

“Great, once again, so much to learn in such a short amount of time,” Letta shook her head.

“You’ll never stop learning, my dear, and you still haven’t told me why you think you’ll come across such evil.”

“We’ve all learned Luena, her mother and possibly Damien’s mother are evil and seeking to recruit others to join them, even if they have to turn humans into vampires to do it. We want to be prepared for anything.”

“I can have talismans made for each of you. They will each contain a spell that will protect you. I’ll request them from a powerful wizard who can insure, when you are wearing them, they will make you undetectable by witches or warlocks. I will also I’ll ask his recommendation for any other items which may be of use.”

“Thank you, Mother,” Kate hugged her.

As she stood she asked, “Would you like to take a break for lunch?”

“That sounds good. I didn’t eat breakfast, and now I’m starving,” I realized.

We enjoyed a nice lunch and it gave me a chance to give Father the message from Philepe.

“Gerhardt brought it himself, Father. Don’t you find that strange?” I asked.

“It is odd, but he has always been unpredictable. I think he gets that from his mother. Oh, I almost forgot, I’m sending provisions to the mission this afternoon. Do you still want to take it yourselves?”

“Yes, thank you, Father.”

I found the others, told them that today we would be delivering the provisions and once changed into our riding gear, we all went to the stables ready to help with the loading of supplies. Packed up, we mounted, and with two wagons filled with food and clothing, were on the road for the mission.

“How far is it?” El asked me.

“Just a few miles east.”

As we rode along, I couldn’t get the image of the woman in our vision out of my head. Was she Damien’s mother, and was Damien the one she was talking to? No, I didn’t want to believe that, but I couldn’t be absolutely sure; not yet.

We arrived at the mission and helped unload the supplies before heading to the hospital. We were all excited at the prospect of helping El enhance her healing gift. We were shocked when we entered the mission hospital and found it was overflowing with patients. Cot after cot was filled with men and women, young and old.

“Father Jonas, what has happened? Why are so many hospitalized?” I asked him.

“The villagers started coming down with some unknown illness two weeks ago. Our physicians do not even have a diagnosis, let alone a cure,” he said.

“What kind of symptoms do they have, Father?” El asked, coming to the priest’s side.

“Although, all seem to be in a catatonic state now, when they first come to us they are weak and pale, with no appetite, and suffering from memory loss. It is as if they were the walking dead.”

Our eyes widened and our stomachs tightened.

“What can we do to help, Father Jonas?” El asked.

“Thank you my child. We have been overwhelmed.” Father Jonas called over one of the women attending to the female in the bed next to the door, and introduced us. Our duty, he said, would be to help out wherever we could.

“We followed Father Jonas to a small room, where we each received fresh linens, cloths for washing, and basins to be filled with clean water. He left us then, to attend to his many other duties.

As we made our way back to the ward, we noticed the physicians were applying leeches and saw their assistants were preparing ointments and potions to relieve pain and treat symptoms. They were using a wide range and combinations of herbs, bark, molds, lichens, mushroom and grains.

“Where should we start, El?” I whispered.

“I know each of us recognized what has happened to these people just by Father Jonas’s description of their symptoms. You know what we need to look for, signs of vampire attack,” she replied in a low but urgent voice.

We all knew it, but hearing it out loud, was still shocking.

“Might as well start here,” El pointed to the bed next to her.

In first bed was a pale young man, no more than fifteen years old. Although he appeared to be awake, because his eyes were open, the circles dark as bruises under unfocused eyes, belied his conscientiousness. He was totally unresponsive to our touch. El examined his neck, chest, and his arms down to his wrist. She found a slight bruise on the inside of his left wrist. It was, to anyone other than a vampire, an ordinary scratch, something he might have gotten working on his farm. We quickly examined the others and without exception, they each had similar wounds in different locations on their bodies. We huddled together at the end of the corridor so no one would hear us.

“It’s obvious a vampire is at work here,” Rosa stated emphatically, “The fiend is trying to hide the evidence by changing the positions of the bites, so no ordinary human would suspect; but we’re not human or ordinary, are we?”

“It doesn’t help them to use leeches.” El pointed to the men applying the slimy black wigglers to the patients. “These people need blood, not have it taken. They are so far gone now, they’ll die soon, if we don’t do something,” El was adamant.

“First, let’s see if we can enhance El’s gift enough to help them. If we improve their condition by at least half, I think their own bodies will be able to heal themselves. If not, we can try again in a few days,” I suggested.

“Okay, let me give it a try,” El agreed as she prepared herself.

We gathered around the young man as El placed her hands on his chest. We all concentrated on the healing with her, and slowly his color started to improve and he began to moan. Two physicians came running from the other room.

“What has happened? What have you done?”

“We only washed him and gave him the herbs you provided,” answered El.

They examined the boy and were amazed at his sudden recovery.

“He’s turned the corner. I think he said he’s hungry! Come, we must make more of the herbed drink.” One doctor said to the other assistant.

We hugged El and got right back to work. Every single one of the patients improved, and all, but a few were to the point where we were sure their own bodies could heal them over time. We spent the rest of the day giving them soup, water, and of course the miracle herbs.

It was early evening before we got back to Mormont, exhausted, but satisfied. We had agreed it was necessary to tell Father what we had discovered at the mission, although we decided to keep our part in the healing to ourselves for now.

After listening carefully to our descriptions and conclusions, Father sent out both Watchers and the elite vampire guard to locate the vampire causing the human plague.

“We need to find this rogue immediately,” he said. “This is just the kind of thing that can bring our whole race down. I don’t know if this is just one rogue vampire, fledglings, or another distraction to draw us out. You girls go and get your rest. We’ll speak of this again tomorrow.”

We arrived at our rooms, where Sarah had dinner waiting and several jugs full of much needed Crimson. We ate and drank our fill and afterward felt somewhat renewed.

“You did wonders today El,” I said awed by her gift.

“I’ll go back in a few days to see how they are. You know we were lucky none had died before we got to them. If we’d even been there a day later, we’d have a whole new problem to deal with.”

“That’s true, and Father has already dispatched Watchers to check the surrounding villages to make sure they don’t have victims as well. He’s also sent word to other clans to be on the lookout for any signs of rogues in their area. Usually when we have a rogue, there are murders, I’ve never heard of anything like this before.” I was puzzled.

“Vampires have always taken advantage of plagues or wars, when nobody notices one more death, but we don’t start them. Not that I’m aware of anyway,” Letta said.

“Well, let’s talk about it tomorrow. Sarah has our baths ready and I’m still exhausted, even after the Crimson,” El hugged herself. She did look drawn and pale; it was evident the healings had taken a lot out of her.

“See you in the morning, then,” I stood and went into my room.

I undressed and sank into my fabulous bath once again.

“What a day. One continuous and strange day after another,” I thought as I drifted off.

Sarah woke me when she came in to brush out my hair, she got me into a nightgown, and I slipped into bed, thinking no bed had ever felt so good to anyone. I fell right to sleep and didn’t wake until Sarah pulled open the drapes and let the morning light stream in.

“Breakfast is ready, if you’d like something,” she bustled around the room.

“Go for a ride,” I heard in my mind.

“Just some fruit please, and something to drink. Is anyone else up?”

“They’re already at the training grounds. You know Gunter.”

“I think I’ll go for a ride this morning. Tell them I’ll meet them later.”

I rushed to dress, eat, and get over to the stables.

“I brought you something, Nulla.”

Her ears pricked up and she leaned out as far as she could. I offered her the apple and she took a big bite. I rubbed her forehead and patted her neck as she finished it up.

“Need any help?”

“Quinn, hi. No, I can get it.”

“I wanted to let you know I decided to go to Paris myself and send Avery to Portugal. I also think sending someone to the ports in France and England would be a good idea. If someone didn’t want to call attention to themselves, they might use a less-used departure point.”

“That is a good idea, but I worry sending out so many more of our people may be too conspicuous.”

“I don’t think so, since your father has already sent Watchers out, many have returned and others will be sent.”

“If you think so, I trust your judgment.”

He was smiling at me, with that twinkle in his eyes.

“What?”

“I was just thinking how much you’ve changed from that little brat in braids, I used to chase around these very stables.”

“Ha, it seems like yesterday we were riding our ponies into mock battles and wishing our fathers would let us go along on their journeys.”

He came closer to me and took both my hands in his. “You know some things never change, Kat. I’ll always be here for you, no matter what, no matter where.”

“I know,” I said and I gave him a big hug. “But thanks for reminding me. That works both ways, you know; there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you or your brothers.”

I looked up at him.

“You be careful in Paris. And did you hear Gerhardt was here yesterday morning?”

“I did. I’ve never liked him, but his father is a good man.”

“Don’t you find it strange he would come all that way to bring the message himself?”

“Not really; he’s never been one you would call normal. He probably had nothing else to do.”

“There was something different about him yesterday; I can’t put my finger on it, but something. So if you could keep an eye on him and the chateau you might find out something. Also, I remembered Damien was sending Ivan ahead to prepare things for him, so keep an eye out for him as well.”

“He gives me the creeps, but he’s always been loyal to Damien.” Quinn frowned as he thought of Ivan.

“He also may be loyal to Luena. That’s what we need to know.”

“All right, I’d better be going. I don’t have vampire speed you know.” He smiled again.

“As I said, be careful.”

“I will. I’ll see you soon.”

He left the stable and I led Nulla out of her stall, so I could saddle her. After putting on her halter and rechecking the tightness of her cinch, we walked outside, where I mounted and rode to the front gate. As I cantered over the hill and past the vineyards I heard:

“Katrina, I’m here.”

“Where?” I replied, as I took in a breath and looked around. His scent was strong; he couldn’t be far. “Pinpoint him,” I told myself as I pulled Nulla to a stop. Another breath in revealed he was in the woods to my left. My instincts told me to “see” if anything or anyone else was nearby, but I detected just animals.

“Let’s go, Nulla,” I urged, and we cantered on.

There in the woods was Theo, beautiful Theo, and stepping out behind him, Damien, his hair and his cape being tossed by the wind. He was taking off his riding gloves when I rode up beside him.

“I wasn’t expecting you for at least another week.”

“I couldn’t wait, and I’ve completed all the preparations I could, so here I am; but I can go back if you wish.”

I swung my left leg over Nulla’s shoulders and hopped down right in front of him.

“I don’t think so,” I put my arms around his neck. My stomach was full of butterflies as his eyes met mine.

“Why didn’t you just come to the castle?”

“I wanted some time with you alone.”

He put his arms around my waist, pulled me closer, and leaned down to kiss me. It was not the needy, lustful kiss from before, but a deep loving one that made my knees weak. I didn’t want it to end, but all too soon he pulled back.

“I missed you,” he said without speaking.

“I’m right here,” I replied.

We spent the morning in each other’s arms, nurturing our relationship, walking, sharing reminiscences, telling secrets and sharing our hopes and dreams until it was time to return. Whatever lay ahead we would handle together. At least in these moments, my doubts were gone.

“Well, well, it’s amazing what you can find out in the woods,” Rosa smirked as we approached.

“Nice to see you too, Rosalinda,” Damien chuckled.

“Are you joining us for lunch, or do you have something else planned?” Rosa was in her element.

“We’ll join you as soon as we get the horses taken care of,” I interceded.

We walked Theo and Nulla back to the stables and left instructions for their care and feeding.

“Nulla is looking good, healthy and gaining weight. I see you are giving her extra oats. Is there a reason for that?” he teased as we walked away.

“You know very well what the reason is.”

“And you aren’t upset about it anymore?”

“I should be, but now I’m sure it’s going to be a colt that looks just like his beautiful father.”

“You might be disappointed; I don’t think you should get your heart set this early.”

“No, not usually, but…I’ve seen him.”

Then I instantly regretted telling him that.

“What does that mean?”

“Well, I’ve been having premonitions,” I said reluctantly.

“That’s a feeling; you said you’d seen him.”

“Well it started with feelings, but now it’s more like visions,” I admitted.

Why was feeling hesitant about telling him this?

“In that case, we should pick out a name for him.”

Just like that, he let it go; no other questions, nothing, it was really strange.

“Look who just arrived, Father,” I said as we entered the dining hall.

“Damien, good to see you. How is your father?”

“He’s fine sir, thank you. I completed all my preparations early, so I decided to come ahead. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, I’m sure everyone is glad to have you here. You remember Elizabeth.”

“Of course. How nice to see you again. You look lovely,” Damien bowed slightly and took her hand.

“I hope your trip was uneventful,” she inquired sweetly.

“Lonely, but yes, uneventful.”

“We’ll talk of your upcoming trip this afternoon,” Father said.

“Of course, Fredrik. I look forward to it.”

The girls arrived then.

“How was your training?” I asked.

“Gunter is relentless,” groused Kate, “but he’s really happy with us.”

“He just wants our fathers to be impressed with our progress,” Letta added.

“I’m sure they will be,” Mother assured them. “You’ve all been working very hard.”

“Your father tells me you had a surprising afternoon at the mission yesterday.”

“That’s for sure. Thank goodness for El; she really saved the day,” Kate stopped loading her plate long enough to smile over at El.

“What happened?” asked Damien.

“The mission hospital was full of sick patients and their physicians didn’t know what was causing their illness or how to treat it. We discovered it was caused by vampire feedings, Through El’s gift of healing, she was able to make them well enough so they could recover on their own,” I said, not totally sure we should reveal our gifts yet.

“I have forces out, as we speak, looking for this rogue vampire,” Father said.

“Never a dull moment,” quipped Kate.

“These attacks seem very odd,” Damien considered. “Fledglings would normally kill because they can’t control themselves; but this seems more like someone trying to be discovered.”

“The feeding sites were varied, as if to prevent humans from seeing a pattern; and the ages also were varied, as if the choices were random,” El explained.

“How did you keep the fact you were healing them a secret?” Damien asked.

“Oh, they had been collecting and compounding herbs. They think they found a combination that finally started to work, and the patients had no memory of what had happened to them,” El explained. “Father Jonas told us people had been falling ill for several weeks now. He also said he would let us know if they received any more people with the same symptoms.”

“These things can start panic in the villages, and if people suspect for one minute a dark force is responsible, no one here will be safe,” Father was adamant.

“Humans are always quick to blame, even without any proof,” Mother said and shook her head.

“True. Once again, I think you helped avert a disaster,” Damien said smiling

.

CHAPTER TWELVE

We finished lunch, and Damien and Father excused themselves in order to discuss the travel plans for the envoy, so the five of us headed over to the library to study.

“So you just happened upon Damien in the woods?” Kate asked, suspiciously.

“I’m going to have to go into the woods more often if that’s the case,” Rosa joked.

Letta probed. “How long were you out there before you informed us?”

“Just a few hours.”

“And…anything you want to tell us?” Letta asked with a smile, but her eyes were serious.

“No, we just wanted some time alone…to talk.”

“Talk, I see.” Kate raised an eyebrow.

“Oh!” El put her hand over her mouth. “Remember when we talked about how dangerous it was to feed from humans directly because it could be addicting? What if it’s a young vampire biting these villagers and that’s what’s happened?”

“Where did that come from, El?” I asked.

“I don’t know it just popped into my mind.”

“He or she would have to be strong enough to be able to stop feeding before killing the person,” reasoned Rosa.

“And probably about be our age or a little older,” I was certain El had stumbled on to something.

“Your father will take care of it, don’t worry,” soothed Letta.

“Yes, he will have them killed, but if the vampire responsible could be isolated for a while, they would get better. The addiction would wear off like it did with Quinn and me. Maybe El could even help them,” I said.

“You don’t even know that’s what it is,” Rosa said. “Or is it one of those kinds of feelings you’re having about it?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe if we all concentrate together Kate and I will see something more.”

We hurried to the library and sat around the table at the far end of the room. We held hands to make the strongest connection possible. A bolt of energy slammed me into the back of my chair. When I closed my eyes I could see a room, small and dark except for a fire in the fireplace. A young man sat on a cot across from it with his head resting in his hands. I could feel the fear and sadness surrounding him, and in that moment, I knew we had to help him. The door opened, and in strode a tall dark-haired man wearing brown leather pants, a bronze long sleeved shirt, and a dark leather vest.

“So, are you willing to tell me all I wish to know, or shall I bring in your next victim?”

As he spoke he walked closer to the young man and was followed by a swordsman of incredible stature, almost the height of the door.

“It’s been days since you fed, so I know you won’t be able to resist. Tell us where to find the leaders of your kind and I will end your torment by killing you swiftly. My father and his followers died trying to extinguish your evil from this land, and I mean to avenge their deaths by finishing the job, no matter what I have to do. That I happened upon you feasting on a deer was a gift from the gods, their way of helping me in my effort. Sooner or later you’ll either talk or some of your kind will come out of hiding to end the plague you are creating; and I will use them to lead me back to your—what my father called—you clan and put an end to your kind once and for all.”

Volator, I thought to myself.

The young man raised his head then and looked up.

“Do what you must. I am not from these parts and know no one. I have only been as I am for now these past three years and have no knowledge of these clan of yours or the leaders of which you speak. For all I know I am the last of my kind. So either kill me or leave me alone with the horror which you have laid upon me.”

He was handsome - of course most vampires are - with blond hair and light eyes, I assumed were blue. He was very likely a made vampire, and a very rare type of vampire indeed.

I realized we needed to do several things now—pinpoint where they were, call back the warriors, and reinstruct the Watchers. First, for the pinpointing.

“Kate, can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“We need to find out exactly where they’re holding this man. You ‘see,’ while I seek the scent. The others will help.”

I took in a deep breath and tried to find them. I hoped Kate was having better luck, since I hadn’t smelled them before and my senses were becoming confused by all the other humans and vampires around.

“You’ll help us even without consent; you can’t stop yourself. Bring in supper for our young friend.”

The huge swordsman retreated and returned with a young girl no older than sixteen. The girl was sobbing, her hands tied in front of her. A peasant’s dress clung to her small frame; her bare feet and dirty unkempt hair made me think she must have been held for some time. She trembled as the man pulled her forward to place her directly in front of the young vampire.

“I beg you, kill me instead,” the young man pleaded.

“If you don’t tell me what I want to know, you leave me no choice.”

And with that he pulled his dagger and cut the girl’s arm on the inside of her elbow, deep enough to let blood rush down her arm. As she screamed he shoved her forward. He was right, there was no way the new vampire could stop himself from feeding like a ravenous animal. The swordsman had to turn away, but the other man watched intensely, as if sickly pleased by the sight.

Soon after the young vampire began feeding, the girl stopped crying and went into what I can only describe as a trance, after which she seemed to wobble and become faint. That’s when the man pulled her away and quickly headed for the door and handed the girl to the swordsman.

“Drop her at the mission gates like the others. We don’t want dead bodies that will turn the villagers into mobs. We only want to draw the vampires out. It says in my father’s journals, they protect themselves by taking care no one will draw attention to their kind like this.”

With that, he backed out the door, which he slammed behind him and locked.

“Got him,” said Kate. “I see him coming out of a stone two-story building that looks like it was once an inn or something. There’s an old sign on the front, that says ‘Fair’—no ‘Fardale’— and a number two.”

“I think I know where that is,” I said to her, and I turned my gift toward that area. Yes, I smelled the bloodlust. Ten miles to the south there was an abandoned mill—that must be it! I didn’t sense a guard close by, which meant they were very sure of themselves, but if he wasn’t trained by his Volator father and only learned by reading his journals, he wouldn’t know much. For that matter, no human did.

Even most of what his father thought he knew was legend and completely wrong, but he did know we protected each other and knew enough to stop the feeding in time, so the victim wouldn’t die. He also knew to try to draw us out, so we would fall into his trap. What he didn’t know was what kind of a fight he was in for.

“Okay, we’ve got it. Did everyone see what Kate and I saw?”

“No,” they all said, shaking their heads.

“Well, we’ll just have to explain later. I have to get to Father as fast as I can,” I rose.

Kate and I ran to Father’s office, where he was still speaking with Damien.

“Father, I need to speak with you at once. Kate and I have used our gifts to locate the rogue vampire, but it’s complicated, so you need to trust us when we say you must call back the vampire guard right away, or we’ll all be in danger.”

“I’ll send word at once. What of the Watchers?”

“Tell them to watch the abandoned mill at Fardale and track those who come and go. We must find them all. They are Volator.”

I could see the shock on both Father’s and Damien’s faces. Father left then to make sure word was sent immediately, and Kate went back to the library to tell the girls.

“Damien, I need to know how much information Luena gave to the Volator leader before they attacked us.”

“She used her Watcher as a messenger, as far as I know, and only gave them enough information to be able to attack your caravan.”

“Did she give names ahead of time? This is important.”

“It was to be a crime of opportunity. Her instructions were to get rid your father, but not to endanger the rest of us, so I don’t think names were important. Why?”

“This man we saw in our vision, is the son of the leader you killed. His father left journals, which the son is using to exact his revenge, and effectively pick up where his father left off. His goal is to try to eradicate our race from the earth. So, not only must we find him, but we must find the journals as well.”

“I’ll do everything I can to help. What do you need?”

I had to stop a moment to think about it, and then it came to me. “Maybe you could go out to the mill with the Watchers. Once you see this man, you could put the idea into his mind that the journals are in danger of being stolen, so he will lead you to them. On second thought, I should go with you, because I’ve seen him.”

Kate came walking up behind me.

“Oh no, you’re not going anywhere without me this time. In fact, you promised all of us the next time, we would all go together. You may need us,” she said defiantly.

“You’re right, but we should let the Watchers observe him for a couple of days, but no more,” I said.

“Why the rush?” Damien asked.

“Wait until Father returns. Then Kate and I will tell you everything we saw.”

“And heard,” Kate added.

When Father returned, we told them all about our vision and the young vampire.

“You see, Father, it’s not his fault. They’re forcing him to feed on these helpless humans. He can’t help himself,” Kate said.

“This isn’t about him anymore, as much as it’s about the Volator,” Father said, “The journals must be recovered.”

“Katrina suggested I go with the Watchers and put a thought into his head that the journal is in danger of being lost, so he will lead us to it.”

“So, we’ll watch him for a few days to find out how many others are with him,” I added.

“No more than a couple of days, Father or they will bring another victim,” Kate said.

“We’ll have to send Eleanor to the mission again, or they will figure out the herbs are not really working,” said Father. “We’ve assigned a Watcher to the mission, so we can follow whoever leaves that poor girl there. I’m glad you had this vision; how did it come about?”

“We…we just wanted to help, so we used our gifts of sight and scent to detect anything unusual, and this is what came to us,” I said and Kate nodded in agreement.

I caught a knowing look on Damien’s face and had to look away.

“Once again, daughters, well done.”

Kate and I smiled at each other and felt relieved, hoping we had saved the young vampire and protected all of us.

“We’d better get back to the library. The girls will be wondering what’s going on. I didn’t have much time earlier,” Kate said.

“I’ll be right there,” I said.

“Father, the girls and I want to be included in any plans to eliminate the Volator.”

“All right, you’ve earned it, I promise. Be ready, because we may have to move at any time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have much to attend to.”

“So what really made you look for this rogue?” Damien said.

“I think by the look on your face earlier, you figured that out. It just occurred to us it could be a young vampire that got addicted to the blood-lust and couldn’t stop, but I had no idea we’d ‘see’ what we did. Can you imagine what that poor young man is going through? From what he said in our vision, he’s been alone as a new vampire for three years. It’s amazing.”

“You seem infatuated with him already. Should I be jealous?”

Of what, a vision? I just think he deserves a chance.”

“He’s going to need a lot of help to recover from this, as well as some training. There’s no way of knowing if he will ever fully recover.”

“This vampire is special, I can feel it. He’ll make it if we can get him out of there.”

“You saved me,” Damien said as he came close and kissed me on the forehead.

“I think you can do better than that,” I said, looking up into his intoxicating brown eyes.

He leaned down and met my lips in such a gentle loving kiss; it sent shivers up my spine. As I ran my hands up his chest and around his neck, the kiss turned more urgent and I felt tingles other places too.

As the kiss broke I said, “That was definitely better, ummh.”

He gave me another short kiss. “I aim to please; you have only to ask.”

“I’d better get back. Care to walk with me?”

“It would be my pleasure. After you, my Lady.”

We walked back toward the library hand in hand.

“I’ll see you at dinner,” he said and kissed me goodbye.

I sighed as I walked away, wishing things weren’t always so complicated.

“Did you have a nice ‘chat’ with Damien?” Rosa asked, there was that look again.

“Very nice.” Just for their benefit, I put my hand to my head and faked a swoon.

“Well while you were ‘chatting’ I was telling everyone what Father said about the things we learned in our vision,” Kate said.

“Father agreed to include us in any plans to go against the Volator. He said we’d earned it.” She paused and looked at each of us for encouragement, before she began again. No one knows how talented we really are individually and together how powerful, and I still think it’s important to keep that to ourselves, at least for now.”

In turn, we all pledged for now, we would keep our abilities a secret.

Kate began to pace as she continued. “I can’t stop thinking about the young vampire we saw, and how he begged that man to kill him. It’s apparent that he’d rather die than continue feeding off those defenseless humans. It’s so awful, we have to help him as soon as possible.” It was obvious she was emotionally invested in this situation.

“Father promised we’d move before they make him do that again,” I could see how upset she was.

“Anyone for some work at the training ground?” asked Letta.

“Count us in , we need to be ready,” El had moved to stand by Kate and was patting her arm.

El was the compassionate one. I asked her. “Did Kate tell you you’ll have to go back to the mission tomorrow? That young girl needs your help.”

“Poor thing. But since I told Father Jonas to send word if there were any more victims, I probably should wait until he does. He might get suspicious if I just show up.”

“If he doesn’t send word tomorrow, we’ll think of something you have to bring to him, to cover up the fact you know he has another sick girl,” Kate smiled at El as she offered the suggestion.

We walked to the training area for a complete weapons workout with swords, daggers, and spears, then we included training sessions on horseback and in groups, an exhausting regimen.

We rested after our workout, our forms littering the ground in various poses under a shade tree.

“Spending hours training sure makes you smelly,” Kate said as she sniffed herself, her nose wrinkling.

“To think,” Rose sat up and struck a simpering pose. “I used to just glow if I overexerted myself by say. . . walking too fast or dancing with too much energy, at the very worst I perspired a little. Now I’ve progressed right through to stink,” she flopped down laughing.

“Have our lives taken a turn or what?” El joined in, laughing and shaking her head.

“I don’t know about the rest of you, but having a purpose in life is exhilarating,” Letta now serious, voiced what we’d all thought one time, or another since we’d come together.

“You’re right,” agreed Rosa. “Before, it seemed as if my days just ran together, but that life seems so useless now.”

“Well, that’s all changed forever. We were meant to come together for a reason; I can feel it,” I said looking at each of them in turn.

“I think we all can,” El rose. It was time to walk back.

“I hope Sarah has our baths ready,” Kate said as she stood.

“And a snack. I’m starving, and we can’t hunt until we’re sure it’s safe,” my attitude now back to the seriousness of our situation.

Sure enough, as we got close to our apartment we could see water being carried in and empty buckets carried out.

“I love Sarah,” I sighed.

“Me too,” joined the others in unison.

I reveled in the hot, sweet water as I soaked in bubbles up to my chin. I normally would be calling to Damien, but today he was here, and I would see him in a little while, so I just relaxed and washed the day from my skin.

After Sarah was done complaining about my hair as she washed it, I brushed it with almond oil until it was soft and tangle-free. I dressed in a simple, but sexy dress of sage-green silk, featuring an empire waist with a square neckline. I smiled at my reflection, I looked good and the dress showed just the right amount of cleavage.

The sun was low in the west, the breeze made the shadows cast off the forest, dance across the ground. My thoughts went, once again, to the imprisoned young man, I had seen earlier today. He’d looked so hopeless, but it was the anguish radiating from him that still stuck in my mind.

I wished I could assure him help was coming. I began to concentrate on his face as hard as I could. I wanted to see him again. “Show me,” I said to myself, and then there he was, this time standing in front of the small fire, just staring into it. I wished I knew his name.

“It’s going to be all right,” I said to him with my mind.

He looked up and then all around, as if startled by something - as if he’d heard me! That wasn’t possible; made vampires didn’t have gifts - did they?

“Hang on a little longer, help will come soon,” I said, concentrating as hard as I could.

He looked around again. It was true; he had heard me!

“Who are you? Where are you?” he said aloud.

“I’m a friend. Don’t be afraid; you have vampire gift that allows my mind to talk to yours. That gift makes you very special.”

“Ha!” he laughed out loud. “Very special’—that’s a laugh. I’m a freak, a monster.”

“No, no you’re not. What’s happened to you is not your fault. Please just hang on a little longer. What’s your name?”

“Eric,” he replied.

“Well, Eric, although I can’t tell you my name yet, I will try to send you my image.”

I concentrated on the reflection I just saw in the mirror and then on him.

“You’re beautiful! But how did you find me?”

“I can’t tell you anything more right now. Have faith in me Eric, just for a few more days. Be strong. Now I have to go.”

“No, please don’t leave.”

“I’ll contact you soon.”

“That was amazing!” I said to no one in particular.

“What was amazing?” Kate asked.

“I was worried about the young vampire, so I looked for him and there he was.”

“So he’s all right?”

“Yes, he’s all right, and you won’t believe this, but he heard me. His mind actually heard me.”

“You’re kidding. Didn’t it freak him out?”

“Of course at first and that’s what he called himself, a freak and a monster. I just wanted him to know help was coming and for him to hang on a little longer. Oh, and I found out his name is Eric.”

“Eric? You’re right, Kat, this is amazing. I hope he feels a little bit better now, thanks to you.”

“I do too.”

“Katrina, please come in so I can do your hair, it must be dry by now,” Sarah called.

Kate laughed, “Well you have your orders; you’d better go.”

Sarah dressed my hair, this time by rolling the sides back and pinning them with an enamel pin matching my dress.

“Thank you, Sarah.”

“Now be off, or you’ll be late for dinner.”

The five of us left for the dining room, the ‘beauty patrol,’ as Gunter called us. I was looking forward to seeing Damien, but there was a young man alone, in a small room, not far away, who was filling my thoughts. He was also all anyone wanted to talk about at dinner.

“It’s too bad there’s no way to tell him help is on the way,” Damien said.

“Oh, Katrina took care of that,” Kate said.

I shot her an angry look.

“What does Katherine mean, Katrina?” Father said.

“Well…” I said, still glaring at Kate. She had her head down, avoiding eye contact with me.

“Something quite unexpected happened this afternoon,” I said, knowing what I was about to say was going to hurt Damien, as speaking with each other with our minds had been our secret, something we shared alone until now.

“I decided to see if I could look in on him; I found that physically he was the same, but he was in such anguish about his situation, I wanted to assure him help was on the way.” I looked around before I said, “I projected from my mind to his, help was coming. I spoke to him and to my astonishment he seemed to hear me! I told him not to be afraid, I was a friend and he just had to hang on a little longer.”

“And she found out his name is Eric,” interjected Kate, and then looked back down.

“This young man is definitely unique,” Mother said, “a made vampire that’s existed on his own, seemingly living as we do and now showing signs of having a gift.”

This news left everyone shaking their heads. Damien wouldn’t look at me; I reached my right hand out under the table and placed it on his knee. When he didn’t respond, my heart sank, knowing he was saddened by the disclosure, I was able to communicate with someone else in our secret way. I didn’t take my hand away; instead I slowly moved it up his thigh. He was calling my bluff, and now I had to follow through, so I continued to move my hand slowly up his thigh. As I advanced, to my surprise he still didn’t stop me. Just then dessert arrived, and as I started to pull my hand away, Damien placed his hand over mine and gave it a squeeze. I smiled and turned my head to look at him, but he still wouldn’t look back.

“I’m glad you were able to call back your forces in time, Fredrik” Damien said.

I pulled my hand away then and started to enjoy my dessert.

“Yes, and we have Watchers in place.” He looked to us, “You must be ready to join them at any moment, starting tomorrow, so we can put our plan into action.”

“We’re ready, Father,” Kate said.

“You’re sure they’re ready, Fredrik?” Mother said, fearfully.

“Gunter assures me they are, and Katrina of course has proven herself for some time now, as Damien can attest; isn’t that right Damien?”

“I’d trust my life to her,” he said.

Then it was my turn not to look at him.

“We’re ready,” I said emphatically. As I looked at each girl, they nodded in agreement.

“I hope you can rid us of the latest drama quickly,” Mother said. “If not, we’ll have to warn the Council and guests set to arrive sooner than ten days from now.”

I had completely forgotten about all that. Once Damien was here, the others didn’t really matter to me.

“Father, it can’t be just a coincidence the Volator turned up here after attacking us in Austria, can it? I would like to try to find the Volator we saw in our vision. At the very least it could save us some time, and at the most we will see this journal or hear if there are changes to this plan or additional dangers.”

“Absolutely; go ahead and try Katrina,” encouraged Father.

“I’ll go right now. I’ll let you know what happens.”

“Do you want us to help you?” Kate asked.

“Let me try alone first. I think you’ve helped enough for one night,” I glared at here.

“Damien, may I speak with you for a minute?”

“Of course. If you’ll excuse us,” he said, as we rose to leave.

When we got outside I asked Damien a question.

“Do you think you can put a suggestion into someone’s mind from long distance?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”

“Well, let’s try tonight. I know we’re stronger together than apart.”

We walked into the library and pulled two chairs together, facing each other.

“Hold my hands. I’ll send you the image of the Volator we saw; then if we both concentrate on his image, we should be able to find him. If we can’t pinpoint him, we’ll ask Kate to join us.”

Then I closed my eyes and brought the image of the Volator to my mind and sent it to Damien.

“Got it,” he acknowledged.

After several minutes of concentrating together the vision started to form. The man was standing outside some kind of shop; he seemed to be waiting for someone. He paced back and forth for some time before he was joined by another man, not the huge swordsman from before, but someone else.

“About time,” he said to the new arrival. “Well, did you find anything new? My father’s journal says he was going to journey to Romania again to follow up on a lead. We know he disappeared somewhere between here and there, with about twenty-five other Volator. The fact that we happened to come across our young friend, not far from here, must mean there are others, and Father’s journal have told me how we might draw them out.”

“There are so few of us left, Weldon; maybe we need to wait until we can build up our force. Ten of us are not going to be enough to subdue and kill these creatures. Besides, maybe the boy is telling us the truth. It could be true he’s alone, and there are no others.”

“All right, if nothing happens in the next two days we’ll get rid of him and move on.”

“Okay, Damien, try to put the idea into his mind about the journal. He needs to look at the journal.”

After a few seconds, I could see the man’s expression change.

“I think it’s working Damien. Keep it up.”

“I need to go check on something in my room. Where are the others?”

“They’re camped outside of the village, in the woods.”

“Did Carl drop the girl at the mission as he was told?”

“Yes, and he should be back at camp soon.”

“I’ll meet you there tomorrow afternoon. We’ll get reports and make our plans.”

They parted. The one named Weldon climbed the stairs on the outside of what we now could see was a beer hall. The vision let us follow him up the stairs, into the building and down a hallway to a room at the very end. He took a key from his pocket and unlocked the dark wooden door with the number 5 carved crudely into it, and went inside. The room was simple, lit by a single oil lamp. We could see it contained a small bed with an iron headboard, a wash stand and one wooden chair. He looked around, stepped to the window, looked around, then went to the bed, lifted the mattress, and pulled out what looked like a large, leather-bound book. He opened the book, checked several pages, then closed it and put it back under the mattress. Apparently satisfied the book was safe, he left the room, and after relocking the door went downstairs and into the beer hall.

“We did it,” I said. I jumped up and hugged Damien and gave him a quick kiss.

“Let’s go tell your father. We should be able to finish this tomorrow.”

After one last kiss and we left the library and flashed out into the night.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Everyone was anxiously waiting for us in front of the dining hall.

“Did you see anything or hear anything?” Kate asked anxiously.

“Yes and yes. He’s in the village of Draden, he has a room above the beer house, number 5, and the journal is hidden under his mattress. He spoke with another man out in front of the beer hall and mentioned there are ten Volator, nine of whom are camped outside of the village in the woods. We heard the other men call the leader ‘Weldon,’ and he will be meeting the rest of them at their encampment tomorrow afternoon. He said if they have no news, then he will get rid of Eric and move on.”

“We will send Watchers there tonight, to watch and confirm everything, and then we should be able to act on this tomorrow afternoon,” Father said. “I’ll speak to Gunter right away; he’s escorting Elizabeth back to our quarters.”

Soon Father came striding back, his face stern, and we heard horses thunder out the front gate.

“They’ll be in place in a couple of hours,” he said confidently.

“The Volator will all be together tomorrow afternoon, and the woods are a perfect place for an ambush,” said Damien.

“We’ll send someone for the journal and another party to free Eric; those two operations have to occur at the same time as the ambush,” Father said. “How many men will you need, Damien?”

“None; the girls and I can handle this by ourselves. Keep the Watchers in place, just in case, and forces in the woods ready to clean up after us.”

Damien then turned his attention to us and said, “Letta, you get the journal and anything else he left in the room. With your speed no one will see you. When you get the journal, pass it to a Watcher; we’ll have someone wait just outside town. Then come join us in the woods. El, can you free Eric? Watchers will be nearby to help you get in, but with his blood-lust you’ll have to take him back yourself; we can’t trust him with a Watcher.”

“Yes,” she said confidently.

“Get him back here as fast as you can, and take Crimson with you. He should feed before you leave, otherwise the Watchers may not be safe,” he added.

“I’m strong enough, don’t worry,” she said.

“I know you are…you all are. We can handle the ten in the woods. We’ll meet just outside their camp tomorrow morning, once they are all there. El and Letta will tend to their tasks and we to ours,” said Damien.

“We are all in agreement then?” Father asked, “and you understand the seriousness your assignments?”

We all agreed.

“Rest up, then. You’ll leave at first light,” Father charged, as we all rose to leave the room.

“I’ll meet you in a few minutes,” I said to the others.

“We knew that was coming. Come on, everyone, let’s go,” Kate said. “Thank you for trusting us, Damien. It means a lot.”

“Your father said you’re ready, Gunter says your ready, and I’ve seen Katrina in action, remember?”

“We know. We’re just glad to see you have confidence in us too,” Rosa said.

The girls left us to go to their rooms to rest.

“I’m already tested, but they’re not,” I said, my anxiety for the girl’s safety tomorrow, showing on my face.

“Are you having doubts? Because if you are, this would be a good time to voice them,” he said.

“No, it’s just…”

“What? Listen, we’ll have back-up. The Watchers will be there and besides, you and I could handle ten men by ourselves.”

“That’s true,” I sighed, not feeling much better.

“Instinct will kick in with them, just as it did with you. Their training has made their reactions automatic, just like yours. Isn’t this why they came to train with you in the first place?”

“You’re right; I’m probably worrying for no reason. It’s just if anything ever happened to any of them, I don’t know what I’d do.”

He curled his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me to him. He kissed the top of my head and I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my head on his chest.

“When were you going to tell me about Eric?”

I pushed myself back, so I could look into his eyes. There was still some pain there.

“I was as shocked by it as everyone else was,” I said. “It was totally different from what you and I have; he can’t answer me back with his mind.”

“You didn’t at first, either.”

“It wasn’t intimate with him. It’s not what we have.” I assured him.

He smiled and kissed me, and then he gave me a warm embrace.

I sighed; I loved being held by him. “I love you.” I had not meant to say that, but now the words were out of my mouth, I knew them to be true. But was it too soon? Yes, but I knew it was right.

“I hope you mean that,” he replied.

“I do.”

“We’d better get some rest. Sunrise comes quickly.”

“I’d hoped for some idle, restful days together before the others arrived.”

“If I remember correctly, participating in a sword fight can make one quite aroused,” he said with a wry smile.

His jibe brought back the memory of how much I wanted him that day, sending butterflies back to my stomach. There would be no reason to pull back next time.

“We’ll just have to see if still holds true,” I challenged as I walked away. I turned back to look at him one more time. “Damien…”

“It’ll be fine, don’t worry,” he looked so confident and sounded so sure, I believed him.

When I got back, the girls were gathered around the fireplace, giddy with excitement.

“Finally we’re going to use our training.” Rose threw her arms into the air, “I don’t know how I’ll ever get to sleep.”

“Damien really took charge tonight. He didn’t seem to have any doubt we could handle our tasks,” Kate said looking to me for confirmation.

“He has every confidence we’ll be successful tomorrow, but we do need to rest. We need to be at our best in the morning.” I assured them.

Why was I so apprehensive, I wondered as I changed for bed? Maybe it was just my other battles had been more spontaneous, with no time to think about them. I had only to react, that was a better way, I decided.

Everyone was ready; I knew that. Oh, go to sleep, I scolded. Staring at the ceiling isn’t helping anything. I fluffed my down pillow and put it back under my head. I closed my eyes, slowed my breathing and willed myself to sleep.

The dream started with the point of view of me walking down a tree-lined street. It was evening, and the gas lanterns were flickering, casting a golden glow up and down the street. Once again a woman was walking towards me, but this time it was as if I were looking at her through someone else’s eyes.

The street scene had changed from the first vision. As she came closer, I could see it was the same woman, but she wasn’t wearing the same dress. This one was black, with a sweetheart neckline and long sleeves, buttons from her elbow to her wrist. Before she reached me she turned and entered a shop, so I kept walking. When I got to the window of the shop, I could see her talking to two other women. “Why am I dreaming about these women?” I thought, “And isn’t it strange to be talking about your dream while you’re still dreaming?” Then she turned around and came back outside.

“I’ll contact you soon,” she said, and walked right by me as if I weren’t there.

I looked through the window at the other two women, who were looking at dresses. There was something familiar about them. They made a purchase and started for the door, and as they came out one of them said. “I can’t wait to show her.”

“She’ll be here in a couple of days,” the other one said.

They didn’t seem to see me either, and they just strolled away.

I woke up gasping for breath. “It was just a dream,” I told myself, but I didn’t believe it. It was a vision trying to show me something I needed to know. Who were these women, and where were they?

“I don’t have time for this right now.”

I flopped back down onto my pillow.

“Well, that was a restful sleep” I said to myself sarcastically. “I might as well get up.”

So I dragged myself out from under my down-filled cover and over to the window. Dew lay heavily on the ground and shimmered in the last light of the setting moon. Deciding there were still a couple of hours left before dawn, I dressed, gathered my weapons, and quietly left my room. The only thing lighting the outer room was the last of the coals glowing in the fireplace. Now what? The kitchen would be open, the cooks already baking bread and preparing food for the morning meal. I decided to go over and get something to eat and drink. I’d need extra Crimson today, we all would. Avery was outside, having just returned from watching at the ports. Lately we had been seeing our Watchers less, but today his presence felt comforting.

“You’re up early. Is there anything I can do for you?” he asked in his normal good natured way.

“I’m going over to the kitchen; I’m starving again.”

“I could wake Sarah for you.”

“No, don’t do that, I’m fine. I’ll be back in a little bit.”

“I’ll be here,” he said. He had that same adorable smile and twinkling blue eyes all the Voss brothers had.

I made my way across the courtyard, being the first to disturb the dew I’d seen from my window. Klaus, the cook, was busy baking bread, when I arrived, so the kitchen smelled wonderful. I chose some pastry and asked for some eggs and ham with potato pancakes. Klaus had been making me breakfast my whole life.

“Help yourself. There’s fresh Crimson in the crocks in the cool room.”

I slid off my stool and went to the cool room across the hall. I chose a crock, removed the cork stopper, and with a couple of glances to be sure no one was looking, drank directly from the container. The Crimson was wonderful, cool and somehow both sweet and salty at the same time. I can only describe the feeling it gave me, by saying it was like pouring water on a dry sponge. Every cell in my body was being filled by the liquid life, and my energy was being replenished with each swallow. That’s better, I said to myself. I brought the crock back to the kitchen, and Klaus had my breakfast waiting for me. You’d think I’d never eaten before, from the way I inhaled it.

Klaus enjoyed a good belly laugh at my expense.

“It’s a pleasure to see you enjoy your food. I’ll pack you something to take along. Now finish what’s left in your crock. Sarah will be over soon.”

“Thanks, Klaus; you always make me feel good.”

“Everyone feels better on a full stomach. You stay safe today, you hear?”

“I will.”

I felt much better as I walked back to my room. As I passed Sarah in the courtyard on her way to get something for the girls to eat and drink, I promised her I had left a few things for them in the kitchen.

Everyone else was up now, getting ready. Sarah brought breakfast, and all the girls drank generous servings of Crimson. Kate braided my hair and we made small talk, trying to ignore the tension in the air.

“We have some time, and I think we’d feel better if we took a look at the encampment. It’s the only thing we haven’t seen,” I said finally.

We all agreed and sat down together at the table.

“Now let’s concentrate. Kate, let’s focus on the huge swordsman we saw. He’s supposed to be at the camp. Let me know when you can visualize him.”

“Got him. He’s asleep by the fire.”

“Ah. I see him too.”

In a few minutes we could see several crude tents surrounding a central fire pit, and there was our giant. It was quiet, maybe too quiet. Where were the horses and guards? I took a deep breath so I could “see” better.

“Oh no!” I said.

I smelled death, and something else. We looked around, and then saw the swordsman wasn’t sleeping. He was lying on the ground, his sword still in his hand, his throat ripped open. We looked for the others. In the woods, bodies littered the ground. This was bad—very bad—because now I recognized what else I scented: fledglings.

I broke concentration then.

“We have to go now!” I said.

“Damien,” I called with my mind, and then told him we were leaving right away, and why. Where were our Watchers I wondered; were they dead or on their way back? There was no time; we had to hurry.

“Listen, we have to stay together; we may need to enhance our gifts. Our plans concerning Eric are changed. We can’t worry about him right now, because if those fledglings get to the village, all hell is going to break loose.”

“I told the guard to follow. They’ll clean up the site,” Damien said, as he joined us. “How many are there, could you see?”

“No, there was no time to look any further. I should be able to tell once we get closer. Let’s go.”

Together, we flashed out the gate and into our battle formation. Damien and I in the lead, followed by Rosa and Letta, then Kate and El. It took mere minutes to arrive at the site at full speed. We slowed and drew our swords. I scented when we got close. We had to get between the fledglings and the village.

“There are at least fifteen, this way,” I called, as I led the way.

The forest was littered with death - the missing horses from the camp, as well as Volator who must have been fleeing, all dead, ripped apart. Someone had kept the fledglings hungry, effectively creating ravenous killing machines that were absolutely crazed by blood-lust. We made a large arc so we could get in front of them and block their path to the village, and then we made straight for them.

“Spread out!” Damien yelled. “Don’t let any of them by you!”

We curved the arc around, moving Kate and El forward so we formed a half circle. Now we’d close up the circle and meet in the middle, as we finished them off. I smelled them before I saw them; they were somewhat spread out, but easily inside our formation. They had slowed; having just fed, they weren’t as frantic as they must have been earlier. They were covered in blood, and if we hadn’t had Crimson this morning it would have been overwhelming to us. Other than their unnatural strength, and their teeth of course, the fledglings were unarmed.

“They aren’t trained,” said Damien in my mind, “Just monsters that need to be put down. You take the right four, I’ll take the left. NOW!”

Of course they weren’t expecting us. I almost felt sorry for them - almost.

I had drawn my sword, and now drew my dagger as well. I attacked the first fledgling and it went down easily. Once alerted, the next two viciously came at me together; I struck low, spilling the entrails of the first and dodging the other, swiftly turned, attacking him from behind and ran him through with my sword. The fourth of the group turned and sprinted towards Letta, who had two dead at her feet, and was engaged with another.

“Letta!” I screamed.

Letta just glanced at me, but fledgling she was battling actually stopped in mid strike and turned in my direction. Letta used the opportunity and stabbed him in the chest, easily avoiding the charging fledgling. The wild vampire didn’t give Letta a glance as he flew by her. Then it occurred to me, they weren’t charging her; they were fleeing now. Letta, in one smooth motion drew and threw her dagger. I threw mine at the same moment. Each dagger found its target in the back of the fleeing fledgling. As we looked around, El was just pulling her sword out of a fledgling lying on the ground, with two others dead close by. I scented again to make sure none had gotten away; they had not. There had been twenty-one fledglings in this group all together. Damien was making sure they were all decapitated, so they stayed dead. As I finished my survey of the battlefield, I was extremely proud of the girls. Their performance has been on par with that of the vastly more experienced Vampire Guard.

“Letta, how about some rain, just a light one?” I suggested.

“With pleasure,” she responded by immediately understanding what I wanted.

I could see her concentrate, and instinctively we all helped. Soon a nice light rain was washing the blood off of us.

Suddenly,  I knew we had to go back to the camp.

“Damien, we have to go back. You go to the village, take care of the leader, get the journal, and then meet us back at the encampment,” I said.

“Fine. It shouldn’t take me long,” he said, and then flashed off towards the village.

The light rain stopped when I said we had to go back. Now I had to ask Letta for something else.

“Can you give me a breeze coming from the west, Letta?”

“Of course.”

The light breeze came and I took in a breath, knowing what I was scenting was going to be painful.

“Let’s go,” I said, and we ran together back to the forest behind the encampment. I turned over the first body, tears streaming down my face. It was Gregor, a gaping wound in his chest, his eyes still open in a lifeless stare. The girls were all sobbing now, as I walked the few feet further to the next one. It was Cedrik, the sweetest of the seven brothers, and from the position of his neck, it was apparent it had been broken. We heard a gurgling moan and seeking its source, found a man slumped in front of a large tree. He was gravely injured.

“Thomas!” I cried.

“Oh no!” El screamed, running to him. He was unconscious, blood was coming from his ears and his nose, and he was barely breathing.

“El, we can save him, can’t we?” Kate cried. “Please, we have to try.”

“Everyone! We have to concentrate. I’ll put by hands on Thomas, and you all put your hands on me. Please, everyone, take a deep breath, compose yourselves, then concentrate, hurry” El said, tears still running down her cheeks.

El put her trembling hands on Thomas’s chest. When I saw her face go calm, I closed my eyes, and put both my hands on her back. Rosa, Kate, and Letta followed. I could feel energy flowing. This had to work; it just had to. After what seemed like ages, El moved, and I opened my eyes to see El kissing Thomas’s forehead. His eyes were open, but he didn’t seem to be aware.

“El, did it work? Is he all right?” said Rosa.

“He’s better, but still not good. I don’t think we should move him yet.”

“The guard should be here any second. They’ll be carrying Crimson. We can replenish and try again,” I said, looking desperately around.

We heard something behind us and instinctively drew our swords and surrounded Thomas.

“Damien, thank God,” I said as he came closer.

He glanced around and instantly knew the group was wild with sadness.

“I’m so sorry,” he said softly, making an effort to hold back his emotions.

This made us all start to sob again.

“Thomas is barely alive, and we need to feed if we’re going to be able to save him,” said El.

He looked puzzled. I had forgotten he didn’t know we enhanced each other’s gifts.

“El’s gift is healing, remember? That’s how she helped those villagers at the mission. What you don’t know is if we concentrate together, we can enhance our gifts and make them stronger. But right now we’re too weak to try.”

“I passed the guard on the way here. I’m sure they brought supplies, and I’ll go get them right now.”

“Did you get the journal?” I said.

“He was gone when I got there and the journal with him. The Watcher had been knocked unconscious. I found him rubbing the back of his head.”

“We’ll have to worry about that later. Hurry Damien,” El said.

“Of course. I’ll be right back.”

And in a flash, he was, with a pack filled with dried meat, cheese, and several flasks of Crimson. Damien handed each of us a flask, which we eagerly emptied. Almost immediately the Crimson did its job. Once we felt reinvigorated, we quickly knelt next to Thomas to try again.

“Let me join you.”

“Thank you, Damien,” El said.

Once again she put her hands on Thomas, this time on each side of his head, and closed her eyes. The rest of us, including Damien, placed our hands on her. When we closed our eyes, I could feel the energy was much stronger this time, and in a few minutes, I was shocked by the loudest blood-curdling scream I’d ever heard. It was filled with horror and it was coming from Thomas. He was awake and leaning away from the tree, his eyes wild, and I at once knew he was reliving the deaths of his two brothers. El had broken away and was trying to calm him, but he was having none of it.

“Thomas, please! You’re not well,” she pleaded.

He pushed her away and got to his feet, then immediately started to sway. Damien stepped forward to steady him.

“There’s nothing you could have done,” he said to Thomas.

“Nooo…” Thomas cried.

Damien helped him to his brothers’ sides, where he fell to his knees and pulled Cedrik to him, cradling him in his arms like a child, wailing and rocking back and forth.

We were each sobbing, not knowing what to do. Damien put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close. I hugged him back, and as I looked up at him, I could see tears rolling down his cheeks as well. The guard arrived a few minutes later. El finally used a gentle, but powerful strength to pull Thomas away and held him close, where they stood, both quietly crying together. I my whole life, I’d never felt crushing sadness.

The guard silently went about their business, burying the dead and dismantling the camp, so it looked as if it had never existed. Then they carefully wrapped Gregor and Cedrik in linen and gently carried them through the woods to a waiting wagon. Thomas and El followed and rode away with them on their final journey home. The rest of us stood in silence, tears still flowing. I sobbed, my head throbbed with pain.

“You intervention saved Thomas, remember that,” Damien said.

It didn’t help right now, but later I was sure it would.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I felt awful. I had many questions, but I knew one thing for certain: this attack had Luena’s name all over it.

“We forgot all about Eric,” gasped Kate, hand over her mouth.

“Well, nobody is going anywhere alone,” Damien was adamant. “Katrina and I can do this, if you want to go back. The brothers are going to be beside themselves.”

“Quinn is still away on Watcher business, and he isn’t due back for a few days. I’ll have to have Father send someone for him.” I said softly.

Kate advised, “I think we’d better stay together. This might be another trap. It’s not far, so it shouldn’t take that long.”

“Kate’s right, I think we should stay together. That’s our strength,” Rosa added.

“Okay, let’s go,” I said.

We streaked through the forest and along the creek until we could see the old mill in the distance.

“Let’s stop and take a look around; see anything, Kate?”

“Nothing evil. How about you?”

“There’s our Watcher and Eric, but nothing else.” I said after using my sensing.

“Good,” said Letta. “But stay alert.”

We slowed, as we approached the Watcher. Familiar with vampire modes of travel, he was hidden and in a defensive position when we arrived. We identified ourselves and relieved, he told us no one had come all night and we were the only ones to show up today. Damien assumed his post, told him to get back to the castle and relayed the sad news we had lost two Watchers, Gregor and Cedrik. The Watcher was shocked, but didn’t ask any questions; then he silently slipped away. We walked into the mill and up the stairs, where we knew Eric to be from the vision. The door was right at the top.

“Eric, it’s all right. We’re here to help you,” I called through the door.

The door was solid iron, with two locking bolts and a padlock. Someone clearly wanted to be sure no one got in or out.

“I’m strong, but I don’t think I can break down this door,” said Damien.

“I have an idea,” I said. “Letta, how about a little heat on the lock?”

She smiled, then stared at the lock until we saw it engulfed in fire. It burned until it turned red.

“Now, how about a little cold?”

“No problem.”

Again she stared at the lock, then opened her mouth and blew. We could feel how cold her breath was, and as soon as it hit the hot metal the lock shattered.

“Amazing, simply amazing,” Damien’s face showed shock at the extent of Letta’s gift.

“She’s been practicing,” Kate crowed, filled with pride.

Once the lock was off, all we had to do was slide the bolts out and open the door. Eric was standing in front of the bed.

“It’s you!” he said when he saw me.

“Yes, let’s get you out of here,” I motioned to him.

He was weak, but didn’t hesitate to follow us out of the mill and into the morning light. Sunlight usually bothers made vampires, but Eric seemed fine, probably because he was so glad to be free.

“Thank you,” he said, seeming not to know what to do next.

“Here, drink this,” said Damien, handing him a flask.

He took a whiff and then gulped it down, draining every drop in just a few seconds.

“You’ll come back with us now. We’ll help you get your strength back and anything else you need,”  Kate said.

“There are two of you,” he said, looking a bit frightened.

“I assure you, there’s only one of each of us,” I said. “But yes, we’re sisters.

“Twins,” Kate said.

“Identical,” Damien nodded.

“Mirror,” I added.

Rosa and Letta rolled their eyes.

Then Rosa broke in, “if this comedy act is over, let’s go home.”

“What happened to the men who imprisoned me?” Eric asked as we walked.

“All but one is dead,” Damien ground out, his voice full of the hatred we all felt. “The leader escaped. Someone must have warned him. He may be gone for now, but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him.”

“We’ll find him,” I said sternly, looking straight ahead.

“How do you feel, Eric?” Rosa asked. “I think we have food in the pack.”

“I feel better than I have for a very long time.”

“If you can run at vampire speed, we’ll get back in just a few minutes,” Damien said.

“Yes, I think I’m strong enough.”

We ran until were close to the front gate. It was a very solemn castle we returned to. El and Thomas had stopped at the mission, we learned, in order to give El a chance to heal the girl we saw in our vision and give Thomas some time with Father Jonas in order to pray for his brothers and make funeral arrangements. I felt a lump in my throat. Father came into the courtyard a few minutes later; Kate and I ran into his arms and started to cry once again.

“I’m so glad you are all safe. We’ve been so worried,” he said.

“If only we would have sighted this earlier,” I said.

“Don’t blame yourselves. Whoever is making these fledglings is at fault.”

“It has to have been Luena. I can’t think of anyone else who would do such a thing,” Damien said.

“Who is the young man with you?” Father asked, turning to Eric.

“Oh, of course. Father, this is Eric. He’s the one the Volator had locked in the old Mill,” I said.

“We’re all sorry you had to go through such an ordeal,” Father said. “Let us get you to your quarters, so you can wash up and rest. I know everything is very confusing to you now, but there will be plenty time to explain things once you get your strength back. Ah, here’s Andrew. Andrew would you please show Eric to a room by Damien’s in the north wing, and make sure he gets everything he needs? Thank you. We’ll talk soon, Eric.”

“I just want to thank you for saving me, and I don’t mean just today,” Eric said, looking at me.

“You’re more than welcome, Eric. Saving you actually means we’re all safe,” I said.

He went with Father’s page, Andrew, leaving us to finish our earlier conversation.

“What of the leader of the Volator?” Father asked.

Damien answered for us. “After we took care of the fledglings, which didn’t take long, thanks to the girls, I went to the village to finish our task. I found the Watcher had been knocked unconscious and both the leader and the journal were gone. Somehow, he’d been warned. But who warned him or where he went I don’t know.”

“Damn,” Father said, clenching his fists.

We recounted what had happened, when we went to the encampment.

We told of our horror at finding Cedric and Gregor, and how lucky we felt to have been able to save Thomas.

“I’m proud of all of you. Once again you have managed to avert a situation that could have been disastrous; but it’s a sad day for us all. We lost two good, loyal and honorable men. They were members of our family, and we’ll miss the terribly,” Father said, sadness filling his eyes.

“We have to find Luena,” said Damien. “I can’t continue to live with the fact a member of my family is putting us all in danger like this. And these fledglings! They weren’t more than a few weeks old - starved, wild, and untrained, with not a weapon among them. They were victims as well.”

“I agree, finding the creator of these poor beasts, has to be our top priority, Father,” I said.

“We’ve had people out looking since the last incident and have found nothing,” said Father.

“That reminds me, Quinn is still out. He doesn’t know what’s happened. Can we send someone to find him and bring him back?”

“Of course. I’ll send someone right now. Why don’t you get cleaned up and rest? I’ll see you at dinner, if you feel up to it, but if not, we’ll understand.”

“I’ll go look in on Eric. He probably has a million questions, and I have a few for him as well,” Damien said to Father as he took my hand.

He drew me in to a quick hug, released me and faced the girls, “You all did well today. I’m proud of each of you.”

I watched them nod, but nothing was going to make us feel good about today. We were dirty, tired, and sad. The first two could be fixed; that last one was going to take some time.

We walked to our rooms in silence. What was there to say? Sarah knew better than to try and making soothing sounds, hugged each of us in turn, and handed us towels. We stood there, tears running down our faces, Letta openly sobbed, until we all came together for a group hug. Although we needed to eat and drink something, no one even looked over to the table; we just headed for our rooms to be alone with our thoughts. I sank into my bath, put my hands over my face, and sobbed uncontrollably until there were no tears left and my stomach ached. What was I going to say to Quinn? I’d just be there for him and all the other brothers. That was all any of us could do now.

I swore at that moment, with a fervency that surprised even me, I would find Luena and make her pay. I had just vowed to kill my boyfriend’s sister, but no one, not even Damien, was going to stop me, even if I had to do it alone or die trying.

“Sarah,” I called, rising from the bath, my anger now sustaining me.

“Yes, Katrina? Are you all right?”

“No, but I need my strength. Please bring me some Crimson and something to eat.”

As she turned to go I said.

“Sarah, I’m sorry about my hair.”

She smiled at me. “It’s all right sweetheart, I can fix it.”

I drank and ate my fill. Revenge was a very powerful thing, I decided and I savored the feeling of anguish and hate, and committed it to memory. I knew I would draw on it when I was up against Luena. She would learn she’d picked the wrong family to cross, and I would make sure she regretted it – just before I killed her.

Sarah washed my hair without fussing at me. The routine calmed me and I could feel my strength returning. As Sarah was getting me something to wear, I ask her to make sure the girls ate and drank too, as we had work to do. When I came out the others were around the table eating, drinking, and looking like death.

“So,” I said with a sigh, “I know how sad we all are, but right now, I’m a hell of a lot angrier than sad, and I’m not going to stop being angry until Luena pays for what she’s done. We are going to direct that anger and it’s what’s going to keep all of us going now.”

Although I could see their faces brighten and their posture improve; the girls were still silent.

Then, thank God for Rosa and her attitude. “Where do we start?” she asked, pushing away from the table and crossing her arms.

“We start by getting our strength back as soon as we can, enhancing our sight, and finding that bitch Luena. Once we do, we’ll watch her - telling no one, trusting no one - as we prepare for whatever it takes, until we can take her down, and whoever or whatever is with her. Are we agreed?”

They each agreed, and then we heard the door.

“El!” I cried, we all rose and rushed over to her. She was weak and pale, and just as we reached her she collapsed into our arms.

“She’s barely breathing; she’ll be in a dormant state in minutes if we don’t do something.” We had Crimson, so we tried to drip some into her mouth by tipping her head back and letting it run down her throat.

“It’s too cold,” I said desperately. “Bring the Watcher on duty in here, whoever he is.”

Rosa rushed to the hall.

“There’s no Watcher out here!” she said.

“Yell for help, Rosa,” Kate said.

“We need help up here!” she shouted.

I heard boots running down the hall, and then through the door strode Quinn. Oh no, I thought, why…

“She needs fresh blood Quinn. I’m so sorry,” I said as I looked sadly up to him.

He said nothing, but pulled his dagger, slashed a vein in his wrist, and put it to her lips, all the while looking into my eyes. All I saw there was sadness and questioning.

We all wondered why this had happened. As the warm blood dripped into El’s mouth, signs of life started to appear. She became less pale and she started to moan, until at last she grabbed his arm and drank greedily.

Quinn’s eyes closed as he felt the lust and euphoria the feeding brought him. This would be the last pleasure he would feel for many days I feared. We pulled El free as soon as color appeared once again in her cheeks, and then gave her crimson to finish her need. Now, it was Quinn who was weak. Kate and I guided him over to a chair, so he could rest until he regained his strength.

“He needs some juice, if you could, please,” I said to Sarah, who was anxiously waiting in the hall, trying to stay out of the way.

“I’m here, Quinn. I won’t leave you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He smiled and went right to sleep. I woke him when Sarah returned with the grape juice.

“Drink this; it’ll help you get you strength back.”

He gulped the cup of juice down and then went right back so sleep. I was thankful for him; the reality of tomorrow would come all too soon. I cradled him in my arms all night, whispering to him that it would be all right, but knowing it wouldn’t be.

Quinn finally woke early the next morning; he thrashed, and jumped ready to fight.

I held him down, “It’s me, Quinn, shh, shh, shhhh. I’m here.”

He stared at me as if he’d never seen me before, and then calm came over his face.

“I have to go home.” His voice reflected the despair I knew he was feeling, and he slowly rose from the bed.

“Yes,” I sighed, wanting desperately to be able to take away his pain and knowing I couldn’t. Then I went to him and took him into my arms. He returned the embrace and we held each other for several minutes; until he kissed the top of my head and pulled away.

“My family needs me now.”

“I know, but I’m here. Always.”

He hugged me one more time and then turned and walked out. I followed; closing the door behind him, then leaned against it and once again started to sob. Rosa, Kate, and Letta came from by the fire where they had been sleeping and wrapped me in their arms, and we all had another cry.

“How’s El?” I said, wiping tears off my cheeks.

“Sleeping,” Rosa said.

“She’ll be fine, we’ll all be fine,” Letta said.

“As sure as I stand here in from of you, this is the last time Luena is ever going to cause us pain, I swear,” Kate said.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The funerals were the very next day. Father Jonas performed the service and Cedrik and Gregor Voss were laid to rest in our family cemetery, next to their parents.

The brothers were helping each other be strong and Gunter thanked us for saving Thomas’s life. After the services, Father and Mother had everyone come for lunch and thanked the brothers for their service to our family. Then Gunter regaled us with stories from their childhood and told how much mischief the seven of them could get into.

It was the closure we all needed.

Damien was wonderful during the days that followed. He was right there when I needed him and knew instinctively when to leave me alone. He spent some time with Eric, explaining the purpose of his new life as a vampire, discussing what training would help him, and teaching him about our laws and other things all young vampires normally learn at a very early age. Eric didn’t come out much yet, the whole human blood thing needed to wear off, but we went over to see him often.

One problem remained uppermost in our mind. Luena was still missing, and even with our combined talents we were unable to sight her.

“Why can’t we find her?” demanded a very frustrated Kate.

“Maybe she’s gone to the Americas already,” Letta suggested, sounding defeated.

“That could be, but that’s not what I’m feeling,” I said. “I’m going to talk to Mother. I think Luena’s blocking us somehow, and maybe Mother knows something we can do to remove the block without tipping her off.”

“Good idea,” Kate said. “The rest of us will go to the library and see if we can find anything about it in those old scrolls.”

“Sounds like a fine plan. Let’s go.” Rosa was up and heading to the door.

On my way over to Mother’s, I saw Quinn coming toward me. I was glad to see he looked a little better.

“How are you?” I said, as I gave him a hug, which he returned.

“I’m healing, I guess. I feel as if I’m just going through the motions and trying to stay busy. The nights are the worst.”

“It’ll get better,” I said hugging him again.

“I wanted to talk to you about Paris. Do you have time now?”

“Of course. Let’s go to one of the meeting rooms, where we’ll have some privacy.”

“If you want me all to yourself, you only have to ask,” he quipped

It was nice to see that mischievous smile on his face again.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said smiling back at him.

We entered the first chamber of the row of meeting rooms and closed the door behind us.

“First of all, I saw no sign of Luena, either on the way or in Paris, although I did see a lot of activity at the apartment the family owns there, including Ivan having quite a heated discussion with a woman just outside the building. I didn’t recognize her, but I did see her again, going in and out of Philepe’s estate. Several times she had two other women with her or the women, together or separately came to visit her. I did take note they seemed to loiter outside until Philepe left, before going in. And they didn’t ever use the front gate, only the side gate.”

“That is strange,” I said. Could these be the women from my vision? I wondered.

“Nothing unusual was reported by any of the Watchers we sent to the different ports.”

“Thank you, Quinn. It’s all good information, but I just don’t know what it means . . .  yet.”

“I wish I had more,” he said, clenching his fists.

“We’ll find her, Quinn. She’s going to pay for what she’s done.”

“I will do whatever I can to help; just let me know.”

“I will. I’m on my way to speak with Mother now. Maybe she knows something that can help us.”

We got up to leave.

“Kat, I know Gunter thanked all of you before, but when I think about the fact we could have lost Thomas too…”

He dropped his head, overwhelmed by the thought.

“I know, we feel the same way. I just can’t help thinking if we’d only gotten there earlier.”

Now it was my turn to be overwhelmed, tears once again filling my eyes. Quinn came over and we held each other until we could compose ourselves enough to speak.

“I didn’t mean to make you feel bad. I’m sorry,” he said.

“It’s still so close to the surface, it doesn’t take much to bring tears.”

“Well, if you need any more cheering up, just let me know,” he said, smiling down at me.

I laughed as he wiped the tears from my cheeks, then he kissed me on top of my head.

“All right, I’d better get back; I’ll walk you over to your mother’s.”

“I’ll see you later,” I said as we arrived and I walked up the stairs.

She was out on the balcony having tea when I came in.

“Katrina, good, come join me. How are you?” she said, as she opened her welcoming arms.

I thought to myself about how many times during my childhood I’d wished for a moment like this.

“As well as I can be, I suppose,” I said, not wanting to leave her embrace. She smelled like lilies of the valley and she let me linger there as long as I needed to. Reluctantly, I released her after a few moments.

“Come sit; have some tea and relax for a moment. It doesn’t seem like we’ve had more than five minutes alone together, since I came back.”

“There has been a lot going on, hasn’t there?”

“Yes, and people will be arriving in less than ten days for the Council meetings and your birthday dinner.”

I had forgotten all about the dinner.

“I think we should keep it simple, under the circumstances. I don’t think any of us is in the mood to celebrate.” I told her.

“Of course, whatever you want, dear. Just close family and friends then.”

“There’s something else I want to talk to you about, Mother.”

“Go ahead,” she said, as she poured the tea.

“Father must have told you we think Luena was behind this latest fledgling attack.”

“He did,” she said, as she took a sip from her cup.

“Well, we’ve been trying to sight her. We have to find her Mother, before she succeeds in destroying us. Even with help from Rosa, Letta, and El, Kate and I can’t ‘see’ her. The only thing I can think of is she is blocking us somehow, keeping anyone from finding her. Do you know about anything like that, and if so, is there any way around it without her knowing?”

She smiled, “Well, is that all?” She sighed. “Remember when I said I would get you each a talisman to protect you from spells? She could have one that makes her virtually invisible to those trying to find her, the way you are. If Luena is in league with witches and they are using their power to protect her, your task will be great indeed. I’ll speak to my wizard friend again. If anyone knows how to circumvent their powers, he’s the one.”

“Thanks again, Mother.”

I relaxed a little then, knowing we might get some help. I drank my tea and we had a pleasant, simple mother-daughter talk about men, fashion, and the like. Later, I headed back to the library to see if the others had found anything there. They all were looking through scrolls and books when I arrived.

“Find anything?” I asked.

“Not anything for finding Luena, but lots of other interesting things,” Kate said.

“I think we should all read this book about fledglings—how to create them, how to control them, about their training, even what goes on with their bodies and minds as they change. This chapter.” Rosa pointed to the text, “on why some are evil when they are turned and some aren’t. It may explain how Eric survived for so long alone.”

“We do seem to keep coming across them, that’s certain, but we don’t have time to do anything but kill them,” I said.

“I, for one, want to know more. We’ve all learned basic things, but what if we feel we have to change someone?” El said.

Looking concerned, Letta said, “You know it’s forbidden.”

“Except in special circumstances. Moreover, it still happens; we’ve seen bad ones, but then there’s Eric,” said El.

“Tell us what this really is all about,” I said.

“What if a human we love may not survive unless we change him?” she asked cryptically

“Are you taking about what happened to Cedrik and Gregor, or is this just about Thomas?” Rosa said.

“I was thinking about Cedrik and Gregor. If there were a way I could have saved them, I want know about it, and if there is ever a next time, I want to be prepared. As for Thomas, I love him, and if he were ever hurt beyond my ability to heal him with my gift, I want the other solution, as an option.”

“I do think that would fall under special circumstances,” Rosa said, looking to me for confirmation.

“Well, then, we’d need to know how to care for them once they’re turned, just in case. You’re right, El, every option should be available.”

“That’s far removed from what we’re supposed to be finding out, but I agree,” Kate said, gently prodding us back to the reason they had come to the library.

“So do I,” Letta agreed.

“Very well, that’s settled. Now, Mother thinks Luena may have a talisman from a witch or wizard protecting her, and that’s why we can’t find her.”

“They may be physically hiding her as well, for all we know, which would make finding her not only difficult, but even more dangerous than before,” suggested Rosa as she blew the dust off a scroll.

“Did she have any ideas about how to help us?” Kate asked.

“She’s going to ask the same wizard who’s making our talismans. She said if anyone knows, he would. Do you know anything about this wizard, Kate?”

“Only that he’s hundreds of years old and very powerful. He’ll help us; I know he will.”

We spent all afternoon until finally, exhausted, decided there was time to take a nap before dinner.

“Remember when our days were filled with trivial pursuits, like chatting with friends, shopping, parties, and walking in the garden with a nice young man?” sighed Letta.

“Yes, but are you saying you’d like to go back to those days, Letta?” Rosa said.

“No, but maybe one or two dull days wouldn’t be bad,” she grinned.

We all laughed and agreed. We got back to our rooms and Sarah had snacks and wine waiting. We found we were all famished and ate everything, but the tablecloth.

“Mother asked about our birthday dinner today; I had completely forgotten about it. We thought, if it’s all right with all of you, we should keep the party very simple, with just close family and friends attending.”

“I know I’m not in much of a mood to celebrate,” agreed El solemnly.

“Are any of us?” Kate asked.

The silence spoke for itself.

“I know it’s still a couple of weeks away, but I could really skip it all together,” Letta spoke now. “I do look forward to seeing my family though.”

“What’s happened definitely makes one get one’s priorities in order,” El sniffed and wiped her eye.

“We have the benefit of time; living a very long time allows us live many different lives, repeating them to accomplish great things. Humans have no such luxury, which makes our Watchers’ dedication to us quite amazing,” I said shaking my head in wonder.

“You’re right, and I don’t think we appreciate them enough,” Letta said softly.

“Most of us have never been as close to our Watchers as your family has, Kat,” Rosa pointed out.

“For generations our personal Watchers have all come from Gunter’s family, and that doesn’t happen very often,” I agreed.

Kate sighed and then stood, “If we’re going to rest, we had better do it.”

“I think I was more hungry than tired. I’m going to go see Eric,” I decided, getting up.

Rosa laughed, “And if you just happen to see Damien, I guess that would be all right with you too?”

“You don’t think I’d have an ulterior motive for visiting Eric, do you?”

“No, of course not,” Rosa said. “Say hello for us.”

“I will. Have a good rest,” I said as opened the door.

I felt better than I had for days, so I took a small detour through the gardens, which was abloom with roses and lilies, passion vines and gardenia—their scent mingled together, rivaling the finest Paris perfumes.

“The lilies suit you; beautiful, sweet, yet spicy.”

“Hello, Damien.” I smiled as my heart skipped a beat.

He had his arms crossed and was leaning up against an ivy-covered archway at the north end of the garden.

“How are you?” he said as we started walking towards each other.

“Better today, thank you, and you?”

“Better, now that you’re here.”

He was right in front of me now. I ran my hands over his chest and up around his neck. He was just what I needed, and just what I wanted.

“I missed you,” I said without speaking.

“I’m right here,” he replied.

These phrases were something comforting to say to each other and still gave my stomach butterflies. We kissed then, a gentle loving kiss, and we held each other as close as we could, but still not as close as I wanted. When the kiss ended, we continued to hold each other. He kissed my neck and I kissed his.

“You know what I’d like?” I said looking into his dark eyes.

“What’s that?”

“I’d like to have a whole night alone, just you and I.”

“So you’d like to wine and dine me so you can have your way with me? What kind of a man do you think I am?”

“My kind,” I said as I kissed him once again, this time more hungrily. When the kiss ended we embraced, nuzzling into each other’s necks. This time my only thought was the one I spoke to Damien’s mind, “Drink?” I asked. I could feel his body tense, and then I felt the moan along the side of my neck, I never wanted anything more.

“Please,” I pleaded with my mind.

“I love you,” was his only reply, Then sweet pain came as he pierced the throbbing vein in my neck. While he drank, I felt nothing but euphoria, my head falling to the side as I begged him to drink more. It hurt much worse when he stopped, leaving me wanting, and then I heard…

“Your turn.”

My eyes popped open in shock, but his eyes were filled with such passion, my fear subsided. He kissed me and I could taste my blood on his lips. The moan I heard this time was mine. As the kiss ended and he leaned his head to the right to expose his neck to me, my heart was pounding.

I took my hand from his back and ran my thumb the entire length of the vein, which made him tremble slightly. I kissed the base of his neck and then sank my teeth into the vein that lay pulsing just beneath the surface. When the blood covered my tongue, like sweet salty wine, I could feel his energy flowing into me, a current of blood’s pure pleasure. I didn’t want it to end, but I knew it had to, so I pulled away, licking the last trickle of blood from his neck, knowing he would heal in seconds without any trace. When I looked up into his face, his eyes were closed, and he looked so peaceful. Feeling invigorated, I kissed his lips gently and then his ear and he sighed and squeezed me closer.

“I’m going to come to this garden more often.”

“Good idea.”

“Were you just visiting the gardens or were you headed somewhere?”

“I was going to visit Eric, but I admit I was hoping to see you.”

“I’m sure Eric would love a visit. Why don’t you go over there now and meet me back here at sunset for a private dinner.”

“Sounds wonderful; it’s a date.”

After one quick final kiss, we parted. I practically floated down the path, after having one the most amazing experiences ever.

Soon I was at Eric’s door, hardly remembering how I got there. “Compose yourself,” I thought as I knocked on his door, I was shocked when Eric opened it. He looked so different; smiling, the pallor gone and looking stronger, so unlike the gaunt, lifeless man we’d rescued only days before.

“It’s so good to see you, Katrina; come in.”

His shoulder-length blond hair, now clean, wavy and vibrant, was the color of wheat shimmering in the morning sun, not the matted, dull straw from before. His skin was smooth, color had returned to his cheeks, and his blue eyes were bright and full of life.

“I hope you feel as good as you look.”

“Well, thank you, I do, and if it weren’t for all of you I’m sure I’d be dead. Now, with all your support and kindness, I feel hope for the first time. Damien thinks I’ll be fully recovered soon, and then I can venture out. I’m hoping you’ll have time to show me around.”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll have any shortage of people willing to show you around, Eric. Do you have any idea what your plans might be once you’re healthy again?”

“Not really. Damien has mentioned his expedition to the Americas, and although my training won’t be completed in time for this trip, the thought of going next time is exhilarating.”

“Well, I think you should stay and train with us. We have everything here to help you fulfill whatever dreams you have. I have no doubt you’ll be a tremendous asset to all of us.”

“That’s a very generous offer, and if everyone else shares your opinion, I’d love to stay.”

“It’s settled, then. I’m glad.”

He smiled at me, and I thought to myself, “He’s gorgeous”.

“Has Damien been able to answer all your questions?”

“All the ones I could think of, and some I never knew to ask.” He smiled then. “He’s been very kind, and he’s a good instructor.”

“You have no idea!” I thought.

“Someday I’d like to hear your whole story, Eric.”

“My memory is still coming back in bits and pieces. I hope soon, I can put them together.”

“El might be able to help you. I’ll send her by tomorrow.”

“Thank you. Maybe someday I’ll be able to repay all of you.”

“You’ve been through a terrible ordeal, Eric. Just concentrate on getting well. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

“Come back and see me again soon.”

“I will, but now I’ll let you rest.”

“Thanks again for everything.”

“You’re welcome.”

I opened the door and found Kate on the other side ready to knock, an arm full of books and now wearing a surprised look on her face.

“Well, look Eric, you have more company. I said you wouldn’t be lonely.”

“I thought you’d be gone by now, so I brought Eric something to read.”

“I see that, and the pack?” I asked as I gestured to the leather pouch slung over her shoulder.

“Well he has to eat, you know.”

“Of course. I’ll leave you it, then; have a nice visit,” I said to Eric, but turned to Kate with a smile and a wink. She gave me the merest glance, her eyes going to Eric

I turned to see Eric smiling back at Kate.

“Goodbye, Eric, I’ll see you soon.”

“Yes, soon,” he mumbled, not takings his eyes from Kate’s.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. Why was I thinking Eric needed company? My mind drifted back to Damien then. We were going to have dinner alone, and there wasn’t much time before dusk. I needed to change, so I quickly made my way back to my room.

“I want something that will look good with my green eyes,” I told Sarah as I sat in my bath.

“How about the hunter green, with the buttons on the sleeves?” Sarah said, as she rifled through the dresses hanging in my armoire.

“Pretty, but too formal.”

“How about the burgundy one then? You look so pretty in that one.”

“I love it too, but it’s so wintry.”

“This is perfect,” she said, as she brought it over for me to see.

It was perfect: grayish lilac silk, empire waist, square low neckline with short cap sleeves. The empire waist was accented with hand-embroidered white and yellow daisies.

“That’s the one.”

“When my hair was almost completely dry, Sarah twisted it around strips of rag cloth, rolled it up to my scalp and tied them. Then she helped me get dressed before brushing it out, letting it fall in soft curls down the middle of my back. She pulled thin strands from the sides, drew them up and pinned them with flowers at the back of my head.

“Lovely, just lovely,” she said, as she stepped back to take a look.

With just a touch of perfume behind each ear, I left to meet Damien. The sun was just slipping beyond the horizon as I walked to the gardens. When I got halfway across the courtyard, I spotted him. He wore black pants, a black vest, and a light blue shirt, and his hair was pulled back with a leather tie. He was magnificent male specimen.

He smiled, casually standing with one arm bent, his hand resting across his waist, the other behind his back. As I got close to him he sighed.

“I never thought it could happen, but it has.”

“What, what’s happened?” I said franticly looking around.

He stepped forward and pulled a bouquet of flowers from behind his back.

“You’re more beautiful than you’ve ever been before, that’s what’s happened.”

I could feel the heat on my cheeks.

“Lilies, my favorite,” I took the lilies from his hand, and took in their sweet fragrance.

“As I said before, they suit you. I’ve had dinner laid. Would you like to eat now?”

“That would be lovely, thank you.”

He offered his arm, which I accepted, the huge lily bouquet cradled in my other arm.

We turned the corner and entered the gardens through one of those ivy-covered archways, and what I saw next, took my breath away.

The garden was aglow with dozens and dozens of candles, set singly and groups, on stands, in votive containers or on candelabra, short and tall, their flames flickering in the moonlight. At their center a small table, set for two, made an intimate setting for our dinner. The atmosphere was truly magical. Damien guided me over and pulled out my chair. He took the bouquet from my arm and put it into a vase waiting for it on a side table, which also held the wine.

Once he took his seat, discreet waiters served course after course of a gourmet meal, each with a complementing wine. We laughed and held hands in between courses. With all that had happened since we met, the special connection between us was still there. Now more than just an attraction, our bond was growing stronger.

What I had thought in the beginning was menacing turned out to be a smoldering passion. Luena had tainted him, making him seem evil; freeing him from her gave him his humanity back. Now he was mine - I was so proud he was all mine - tears filled my eyes as the phrase ran through my mind.

“What’s wrong? What have I done to make you cry?” concern darkened his face.

“I can’t believe you’re mine. These are tears of thankfulness.”

He stood and taking my hands, he pulled me up and into his arms.

“We were meant to be together, my love. Never forget that, no matter what happens. For the rest of our lives, nothing and no one can keep us apart for long. We will always find a way to be together, for our minds and our hearts are linked, always.”

He kissed me passionately, and I knew he was right; we were meant to be together.

“I don’t want to leave you tonight.”

“We have a lifetime, Katrina, now I’ll escort you back to your room, your reputation intact, as your father would expect.”

“Thank you for such a lovely evening; it’s just what I needed.”

“I look forward to many more.”

We walked, arm in arm, across the courtyard. When we reached the bottom of the stairs, I stepped back into his arms and kissed him deeply, after which I whispered to him, “I want you, all of you, and soon I will have you.” Then I turned and walked up the stairs to my room without looking back.

“Have a nice evening?” El asked.

“I did. It was nice to be together and not have to kill anyone. How’s Thomas doing?”

“He’s staying busy helping Gunter with arrangements for the arriving the Council members and their families. I’m worried beside the sadness, he’s secretly feeling guilty.”

“Guilty? Why would he feel guilty?”

“Because he’s alive and they’re not. I’ve tried to talk to him about it, and so has Gunter, but I just don’t know what to say.”

“You could ask him if his brothers would want him to be dead too, or if he would want Gregor or Cedrik to feel that way if one or both of them had lived instead of him.”

“That’s a good point, I’ll talk to Gunter about it again, but he probably just needs more time.”

“Can I ask you to do something tomorrow?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Would you go and see Eric? He’s having trouble with his memory, and I thought maybe you could help.”

“All right, I’ll go in the morning. How does he seem to be otherwise?”

“His health is much better and his mood is much improved too, but I have a feeling the mood change is due to the fact Kate’s been spending a lot of time with him. I think she’s quite taken with our handsome new resident.”

“I hope she’s cautious until we know more about him. Well, I think I’ll go to bed.”  I stretched and yawned.

“Me too. See you in the morning. Do you want to go work out early?”

“Yes, but not too early, all right?”

“All right,” I said as I walked into my room; but then I didn’t feel like going to bed yet. After undressing and donning my nightgown, I took the flowers from my hair and took my brush with me back into the common room. I sat in front of the fire, where I brushed my hair mindlessly and reflected on my day.

I closed my eyes. “Damien?” I called.

“I’m here,” he replied.

“What am I going to do without you for all those months?”

“I’ll be as close as this, and I’ve decided I may not stay with the whole group. I think I can save time if I go out on my own or just with Demitrie and of course Ivan. Then we can meet up with the group later, tell them what we’ve seen, and head back.”

“As long as you can stay safe, I’d love to have you back sooner.”

“Would you like to go for a ride in the morning?”

“I’d love to.”

“Just after sunrise then?”

“Perfect.”

“Goodnight, Katrina.”

“Goodnight, Damien.”

Now I was ready for bed. It had been a wonderful day. As I got up from my chair, I sensed movement outside. Moving quietly to the door, I eased it open and crept out onto the balcony. Mother was in the courtyard, quietly pacing. She would stop periodically and peer into the darkness; obviously waiting for something or someone. I wondered where her Watcher was, and as I leaned over the balcony to scan for him, a man came out of the shadows. He was dressed in black from head to toe. She greeted him, and they embraced warmly. Mother held his arm close and in whispered conversation they went inside. “The wizard,” I thought. “Good; we should have some answers soon.”

I must have fallen asleep seconds after my head hit the pillow, because I awoke just before dawn, totally refreshed, having slept through the night without strange dreams or sleep interrupting visions.

I dressed in my riding clothes, tied my hair back, pulled on my boots, and left to meet Damien at the stables. It was a beautiful morning; the crisp cool air filled my lungs. I could hear Klaus singing as I walked past the kitchen. When I reached the stables I called out, but Damien wasn’t there. Nulla was eating her oats and hay.

“Hey, girl, finish up and I’ll give you a good brushing.”

As I went to the tack room to get the brush, I passed Theo’s stall and noticed he wasn’t in it. “That’s strange,” I thought, but I got the brush and headed back to Nulla. She had finished her oats and was now happily eating hay. I opened her stall door and walked in. After I finished brushing her, I lead her out so I could saddle her.

“Katrina?” I heard in my mind. “Meet me in the meadow.”

“I’ll be right there,” I replied.

I finished saddling Nulla and mounted. I suddenly shivered as a feeling of “wrongness” swept through me. Damn— something is wrong.

“Open the gate,” I shouted, “and be alert!”

I galloped through the gate and around the corner to the right and into the meadow. I could see Theo in the distance, but where was Damien?

“Damien?” I called with my mind. No answer.

I lowered my body over Nulla’s neck and asked her for more speed. I used my gift and I didn’t recognize the scent that raised my reaction and anxiety; I just knew it wasn’t good.

When I finally got to the top of the hill where Theo was standing, I could see a blanket had been laid out with a willow basket covered with a red checkered cloth, sitting at one corner.

“Damien?” I called out loud.

“Over here,” I heard from my right. I dismounted and left Nulla beside Theo. As I went in the direction of Damien’s voice over the rise of the hill, I could see him. He had his back to me, and when I approached, he turned.

“I want you to meet someone,” he said.

When he stepped aside, he revealed the woman standing in front of him. She was about my height, wearing a black riding habit including crop and hat, but I didn’t see another horse. I couldn’t get a good look at her face because the sun was at her back, putting her face in the shadow from her hat. Damien held out his hand to me, which I took. My heart was pounding - this couldn’t be good - but Damien seemed happy and perfectly calm.

“Katrina, I want you to meet the Countess Daniela Daminov, my mother.”

I wanted to run. I was sure Damien could feel my apprehension. My body tensed and he put his hand on the middle of my lower back, to steady me. I took the hand Daniela held out for me to shake. It was ice cold. As we touched, I looked into her eyes and felt a shock of surprise I hoped I kept from my face, because standing here with her hand in mine was one of the women from my vision, one of the three I’d seen in the dress shop.

“How nice to meet you,” I somehow managed to say.

“She’s beautiful, Damien, just like her mother.” Daniela said to Damien.

I managed a weak smile.

“I was just passing through. I have been visiting friends in Bulgaria and Romania. When Marcus mentioned Damien was here, I knew I had to see him,” she must have been nervous, she was speaking rapidly and gushing as she spoke her explanation to me.

Now she spoke to Damien. “It’s been so long. Your father never believed I wasn’t involved in the trouble, all those years ago; guilt by association, I suppose, Antoinette being my sister. Your father said he wouldn’t let me near you. I know I can’t stay here, Damien, I wouldn’t think of it, but I hope we can get together in Paris someday and get reacquainted.”

“As a matter of fact…”

“No!” I was yelling to him with my mind. No reply; why couldn’t he hear me?

“. . . .I’ll be in Paris later this month on business, and I’ll be staying at the apartment. Perhaps we could get together then.”

“I’d love that, Damien, really,” she said. “Well, I’ll leave you, then; I know I’m not welcome here.”

She came closer to Damien and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ve always loved you, my son; please believe that.”

They hugged each other and then she walked off into the forest.

Knowing this meeting was a dream come true for Damien, how could I tell him I felt his mother was evil?

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“I called to you earlier. Did you hear me?” I said.

“No, what were you trying to tell me?”

“That something was wrong. How about just a few minutes ago, did you hear me then?”

“No.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange we couldn’t talk to each other?”

“I suppose…what are you saying?”

I looked into his eyes.

“Can you hear me now?”

“Yes.”

“Does your mother know what your gift is?” I now said aloud.

“No, I’ve told no one but you.”

“Then she must have a way to block our gifts, maybe to keep anyone from finding her.”

“But that makes sense, don’t you think? She’s been banished, after all.”

“Banished from your home yes; but not from everywhere else. Mother said there would only be more sanctions against her if she got involved in any trouble again, so why would she need to hide herself like that?”

“She might worry with all this new trouble someone might mistakenly think she’s involved, and we don’t know she is involved do we?”

“No, not for sure. It’s just had a bad feeling, a foreboding, as I approached here.”

“It’s probably just because you couldn’t talk to me. I want to know my mother. You of all people should understand that.”

“Of course I do. I just want you to be careful, that’s all. A lot has happened lately, and her just showing up, by happenstance, a few days after we lost two Watchers, makes me nervous.”

“I understand, but I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. I promise I’ll keep my perspective. I will give you my word on this, if I get any proof she’s aligned with Luena, I’ll…I’ll…”

“You’ll what, kill your own mother? Of course not. What worries me is they, and I have to believe Luena, are part of this, know you’ve always wanted to know her, and they may use that to get you to their side. Even if your mother isn’t involved with them, they may still use her to get to you, by threatening to harm her. Luena’s already established that pattern; she did it to you before with your father. We’ve got to think about this very carefully and plan for every scenario. Please, Damien.”

“You’re right, I know you’re right, but we have plenty of time to figure this out.”

I pulled him close then.

“You know I want you to have a happy ending like mine, right?”

“I do, but there’s nothing more important to me than you. I will not let anything happen to your wellbeing because of my family, remember my earlier oath?”

As I hugged him now, I saw movement in the forest and could just make out the form of a woman just inside the tree line. I drew in a breath, knowing I wouldn’t forget her scent, and wondering what else I might learn about her from that scent. I detected some kind of herb and lilac. Maybe she just wanted one last look at her son. My vision had told me the feelings I had about her today were right, but for Damien’s sake I hoped I was wrong.

“I wanted to surprise you with breakfast.” he said now, taking my hand.

“I was surprised, all right,” I said. “So your mother just walked out of the woods?”

“I was as shocked as you are. I hadn’t seen her for years, but of course she looked the same. She said to me essentially what she just told you.”

“But why now?”

“I don’t know. All this time, and especially since the return of your mother, I’ve dreamed of this moment, and now I don’t know what to make of her visit. What if she had been under her sister’s influence then, as much as I was under Luena’s until recently? I’d like to believe her, because it correlates with what my situation would have been, if you hadn’t believed in me.”

“You proved yourself, before I believed in you.”

“I want to give her the chance to do the same. You understand, don’t you?”

“Of course, but trust your instincts, and don’t shut me out. We’re in this together, remember?”

“I know you’re right, and I do trust your instincts. It’s just that…”

“. . .she’s your mother, I know.”

“We’ll figure it out somehow. Now, how about breakfast?” he said leading me up the hill.

This was my life now, never a dull moment.

We had a pleasant breakfast, but we both had much on our minds. I still felt a foreboding sense of doom, when I thought of his mother. This wasn’t going to end well.

After helping him pack up the breakfast things, I jumped on Nulla.

“I’ll race you back,” I challenged as I galloped off. He let me win, I knew, but that didn’t stop me from rubbing it in as we walked back to the stables, and handed the horses over to the groom.

“Thank you for breakfast.”

“Thank you for being so supportive. What are you up to now?”

“I’m going to work out with El, and probably the others will come over once they drag themselves out of bed. How about you?”

“I plan to bring Eric over later; he’s to start his training today with Gunter, so I’ll see you there.”

I put my arms around him.

“Whatever happens, I’m here for you. We’ll figure this out together - not just me, but all of us, remember that”

“I will. You have changed my life, and I’d never forget it. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for any one of you. Now, I’d better go see if Eric is ready for his first day out.”

I felt a jab of anxiousness. “You’re sure he’s ready? I’ll bet he can’t wait; he’s been alone and a prisoner so long. Now he has a fresh start with a new family to support him.”

“Kate, especially has been giving him some extra attention, hasn’t she?” Damien chuckled.

“She has, but I’m thinking she’ll have some competition for his attention now he’s venturing out.”

“See you over there, then.”

“Very good.”

“What a strange morning,” I thought, shaking my head. El was already at the training grounds going through drills with Thomas. I couldn’t believe how good she was, and for that matter, all the girls were. Four girls who, just weeks earlier, had been social princesses, were now vampire warriors.

“Great job, El,” I told her as they finished.

“She’s brutal, just brutal; no mercy whatsoever,” said Thomas, smiling with obvious pride.

“What kind of training do you want to do, Kat?” he now asked me.

I thought and asked him, “Could you set up the new sensory drill.”

I explained to El, “Gunter’s been working on the new drill for weeks. We will begin by walking onto the course blindfolded, and I’ll warn you, he’s prepared some surprises for us that have not been included in other drills you’ve observed. We’ll have to use all our other senses to fight. It’s the most advanced of all our drills, but once mastered, it fills you with the confidence needed to do anything else.”

“Do you want to do it together or separately?” said Thomas.

“Together, please,” I looked to El for her agreement.

“You really think I’m ready for this?” I could see El questioning herself.

“I know you are. Let’s take a few seconds to get focused.” I assured her.

We held hands, closed our eyes, and slowed our breathing.

“Ready?” said Thomas.

“Ready,” El said, now more confident.

We walked to the course, which was about fifty yards long, lined with lots of different things, such as sheep pens, wagons, horses, guard dogs, and whatever else Gunter’s devious mind might have come up with.

When we got to the start of the course, Thomas handed us our wooden practice swords, tied on our blindfolds, and we walked side by side onto the course.

“Tune in with your hearing first, and then smell. We need to talk to each other the whole way, and above all trust yourself; your first instinct will be right,” I instructed.

We each took up a defensive posture, proceeding slowly, heads rotating from side to side as we scanned.

“Men on the right!” yelled El and the drill started.

We fought off two men easily.

“Stop!” I yelled as rocks flew in front of us. As we continued, men came from above us and behind us, and we had to duck under swinging planks and jump over covered pits, until finally we felt we were at the end.

“Six men,” I said. “We’re surrounded.”

“Back to back!” shouted El just as they attacked. We turned in our circle formation, fighting two, three, four, and all six at once.

“That’s it, thank you gentleman. Girls, you can take your blindfolds off now.”

“Okay Gunter, if you’re tired,” I said with a smirk, as I pulled the blindfold off my head.

He laughed. “I’m man enough to admit it. Good job, you two.”

“That was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” Eric said as we joined them.

“You should see what they can do at full speed,” boasted Damien.

“Nice to see you out and about, Eric,” I smiled at him.

“It’s nice to be out and about, thank you.” he shot back

“Gunter, this is your new student, Eric,” Damien reached to take Gunter’s hand.

“Well, let’s get right to it, then, if you’re ready?” said Gunter turning to Eric.

“Looking forward to it.” We could see Eric was excited at the prospect.

“Good, we’ll get your weapons and armor fitted and then we’ll do an assessment of your skills.”

As Gunter led him off, Damien commented, “I guess Gunter doesn’t waste any time?”

“No, I’ve never known him to,”

“Thomas, would you and El like to have lunch with us?” asked Damien.

“That would be great. Give us an hour or so,” Thomas replied, happy to be included.

“Perfect. I need to go talk to Mother for a few minutes,”

I turned to Damien, “I’ll meet you in a little while. Let’s eat in the gardens.”

Damien smiled, “My favorite place.”

“Mine too,” I said smiling back.

“Look,” said Damien as he motioned with his head for me to look at the training behind me.

There were Kate, Rosa, and Letta watching Eric as he worked with Gunter. He had taken his shirt off and they were practically drooling over him. I had to admit he was pretty gorgeous.

“Don’t you girls have some training of your own to do?” I called to them.

They turned and scowled at me, and Damien and I laughed. As they turned and walked away, Kate actually looked back and stuck her tongue out at me.

“Oh that’s mature,” I yelled back to her, and to Damien I said, “I’d better go if I’m going to get back in an hour.”

I gave Damien a quick kiss and left the compound, my objective to see Mother. I was interested not only about her visitor, but also getting her opinion on the incident this morning concerning Damien’s mother’s sudden appearance.

“Hello, Mother,” I called as I entered.

“I’ll be right out, sweetheart,” she called from her room.

I went to the sofa. Just as I sat down, I heard in my mind, “You’re as beautiful as your mother.”

I looked around but no one was there.

“Who are you?” I asked with my mind.

“I am Allwain. I have come to instruct you in the ways of magic.”

“Katrina, I want you to meet someone.”

I stood and turned toward Mother’s voice. With her was the man I had seen greeting her in the courtyard.

“I’ve already introduced myself, Elizabeth,” he said, a twinkle in his eye.

“Nice to meet you in person though,” I said as they approached.

He was amazing; not only was he a commanding presence, but there was such an aura around him, it made his pale skin glow, turning it almost translucent. His hair was snow white, his eyes, now smiling at my obvious appraisal of him, were a blue-grey; and although I’d been told how old he was, I would have thought he was middle aged - and maybe he was, for his race.

Without preamble Allwain began. “I sense great danger, an evil that is about to be unleashed. Katrina, our world has dealt with evil of this magnitude by bringing forth a champion, a force to fight for the ultimate existence of good. However, research of historical documents shows all the races have their tales of this force.” He paused. “You, your sister, and your friends have been brought together for a reason. I know you have felt this too. It is my belief you are to become Protectors of the Races, and I’m here to give you every instruction I can, to help you accomplish this, but we must keep the news of my arrival from the outside world.” He began to pace. “I must have time to observe and evaluate each of you and anyone you associate with you, while I’m here. This is why I have come to you now. In the week of the full moon, you will all turn eighteen, and if all goes well, we will do our Protection Ceremony on the last night of the full moon. This ceremony will increase your powers, your bonds with each other and seal your destiny as the Chosen of Prophesy. Until then, secrecy is paramount, Katrina, do you understand?”

“Yes, I understand.” What he’d just relayed to me was incredible; I would need some time to explore my feelings and to accept this prediction was indeed true. However, I could accept, for the time being, the need for secrecy. Now it came to the reason I had come to Mother’s in the first place.

“Something strange happened this morning,” I began.

Mother and Allwain looked at each other, as if they knew what I was about to say.

“Damien and I were to go for a ride this morning. He wasn’t at the stables, but called to me to meet him in the meadow. When I arrived he was having a conversation with someone…his mother Daniela. Damien introduced us. Mother, there was an undercurrent of evil about her. She was there for just a short time, saying she’d needed to have contact with Damien after all these years and happened to be passing.” I rolled my eyes and shook my head at this point in my tale.

“But if her being there, so soon after the attack by the fledglings, was not enough cause for concern, here’s something else strange.

Damien and I have developed the ability to communicate with each other using only our minds and have done so even at great distances,” I paused here, unsure now again, about sharing the existence of that ability, but took a breath and continued, “and the whole time he was with her, he couldn’t hear me with his mind. After she left us, our abilities returned to normal.”

“So that’s what we felt this morning,” said Mother as she looked to Allwain.

“What do you mean?”

Allwain explained, “We also felt the uneasiness in the air this morning. We tried to see what it could be, but unusual for us, saw nothing.”

“You were right, Katrina,” confirmed Mother. “They are blocking us somehow.”

“She swore she only came to see Damien and she asked he believe she was innocent of the charges against her. Damien so wants to believe her; she is his mother, after all.”

“And what do you think, Katrina? What do your instincts tell you?” Allwain asked, his fierce eyes drilling into me.

“That she’s evil and she is trying to use Damien. I think she believes she can turn him.” I stated emphatically, sure now I was right.

“Do you think they can, Katrina?” Mother asked, concerned now.

“No, of course not!” I said with conviction. “However, Luena has a pattern of using people other people love, to get what she wants. In Damien’s case, she threatened to harm their father in order to force him to comply with her plans. Damien fought her and when Damien informed his father of Luena’s, plot against, his father took steps to protect himself. But Luena’s a menace, and I’m afraid they’ll try again with us. I don’t want to see anyone else used or hurt. We need to know how to fight her, the groups that support her and their spells, charms, or magic.”

“You were absolutely right, Elizabeth, she’s ready,” he was smiling at Mother. “Now go about your regular routine. I’ll be observing, strategizing, and preparing.”

I hugged Mother.

“Thank you both. I feel so much better now.”

I did feel better as I left to meet the others for lunch. Our birthdays were next week, and people would be arriving soon. Then we were going to Paris, and what was to be a celebration trip now seemed to be so much more. When I got to the gardens everyone was already there.

“There she is,” called Kate. She was seated next to Eric, who had joined the group for lunch this afternoon. “How was Mother?”

“She’s fine, still making plans for next week. How was your workout?”

“Good. We didn’t do anything as advanced as what you and El did, but Gunter seemed pleased,” said Rosa.

I joined them on the rug rolled out for us on the ground.

“Eric, what about you? How did you like your first day with Gunter?”

“I enjoyed it. I don’t know if he did, but I did,” he said with a big grin.

“Gunter said you did well,” Kate beamed at him, radiating pride in his accomplishment. “Look what he’s done with all of us in such a short amount of time.”

“That’s true,” Letta chimed in. “In a few days he’ll have you believing too.”

“I’m just glad just to be out of my room,” Eric laughed. “Not that the room is not lovely; in fact compared to my last room, it’s amazing, but I’m glad to be out of it just the same. And now I have the good fortune to have all of you as company.” He gestured to the whole group. “You don’t know how great that feels.”

“We’re glad you’re here too,” Kate said, speaking for the group.

“That’s true enough,” I thought. “She’s really glad.”

“What’s for lunch? I’m starving.” I asked reaching for the basket.

Damien grabbed it first, teasing me by holding it just out of my reach.

“Well, let’s see. Klaus gave me a little bit of everything,” said Damien, while he looked through the basket. “There’s smoked meats and sausage, chicken, cheeses, bread and pastries, plus two kinds of wine.”

“That’s it?” Rosa said, with mock indignation. “Well, maybe Sarah will get us a snack later.” The group irrupted in laughter.

We ate our fill, and we were amused by Thomas’s really bad Gunter imitation. As I looked at the group, except for Kate, of course, we were all so different; but now we were very much a family. Even Eric, whom we hardly knew, fit in as if he’d always been with us.

Now I could see what Allwain meant; we had all come together for a purpose. Maybe that purpose was to protect the races from whomever or whatever threatened them. I felt several strong emotion then - pride, love, and fear - for all of us.

For the few days, we worked out every morning and studied every afternoon. Even Damien and Eric joined us in the library. Eric had much to learn about being a vampire, about us as a species. El had tried to help him regain his memory, but so far nothing had worked. He said not having his memory didn’t bother him as much as it had, because he was making new memories with a new family now.

Rosa’s family was the first to arrive for the birthday celebration and the Council meeting. El’s and Letta’s were next. The girls were tremendously excited to see them, and it was nice to have families at Mormont again.

Gunter designed a special exercise putting the girls’ greatly improved fighting skills on display. After the session was complete, Michael, Edward and Ricardo expressed shock, clearly impressed by their daughter’s new prowess, and proud of their newly acquired sense of confidence, as well.

“Very impressive, Gunter,” Rosa’s father, Michael shook the trainer’s hand enthusiastically.

“Yes,” added Ricardo, his pride in his daughter’s accomplishments written on his face. “You’ve managed to do so much with them, and in such a short amount of time. It was difficult for me to believe the warrior fighting the vampire guard to a stop, was my Letta.

“We’re very proud of you girls,” said El’s father, Edward. “You’ve all worked very hard, and although I had misgivings about your going to Paris to celebrate your birthdays, I’ve changed my mind. Now I think anyone who tried to harm any of you wouldn’t stand a chance.”

“Does that mean I have your permission to go, Father?” El asked expectantly.

“Yes, yes it does; you’ve earned it,” Edward said, his pride in his daughter evident.

“Ricardo and I agree and also offer you our blessings,” said Michael, but he waggled his finger, and added, “as long as Watchers accompany you.”

“Thank you, Father,” Rosa and Letta said in unison making us all smile.

Our celebration dinner was to be tomorrow night, just family and a few close friends including of course Damien, Eric, Thomas, Quinn, Avery, and Simon. In the back of my mind was the fact that the last night of the full moon week was Sunday.

After dinner Damien suggested we take a walk in the gardens.

“We haven’t had much time alone, have we?” I said

“Not enough for me, that’s for sure.”

“How many days can you stay with me in Paris?”

“Three, three days.”

“And three nights,” I said just before I gave him a kiss, one that said more than words could.

“I look forward to spending time alone with you, more than I could ever say, but for tonight I wanted to just be here in the gardens, our favorite spot, so I could give you this. Happy Birthday Katrina,” he said as he pulled a box out of his pocket.

I opened the box slowly, my hands shaking a little. Inside was a gold filigree heart, the most intricate, beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was just over an inch long and not flat but puffed like a real heart. As I inspected its perfection, I noticed something red sparkle from inside it, reflecting the moonlight. Damien lifted the heart out of the box and opened it like a locket. But instead of a picture that would have been contained in a normal locket, this one held a very large pigeon-blood ruby, cut in the shape of a heart.

“It’s my heart,” he softly. “And I’m giving it to you.”

Then he stepped behind me and placed it around my neck; the long gold chain let it hang over my heart just between my breasts.

“I love it, Damien,” I turned and threw my arms around him.

“I had it made especially for you in Salzburg, by our family’s jeweler.”

“It’s just beautiful! Thank you,” I kissed him again.

I didn’t want him to go on the expedition, but I knew he had to. We had to be established in America as soon as possible. I knew Damien would play a large part in the clan’s execution of their plan.

“I know what you’re thinking.”

“I thought you couldn’t read my mind,” I challenged.

“I don’t have to have any special skills to know that you’re thinking about the time I’ll be away.”

Tears welled up in my eyes.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to start crying, it seems as though we just found each other, and now you’re leaving.”

He laughed, “There was a time you wanted to be rid of me.”

“That seems a lifetime ago.”

“Katrina, your father did a fantastic job preparing you for this. Well enough, your training came to the forefront and you excelled, when you were challenged that first time. You have had to mature practically overnight and you were up to it, and you will survive being without me for a little while.” He smiled at me now.

“Oh, I know I can; I just don’t want to. Who’s going to keep you out of trouble?”

“I’m going to be too busy to get into any trouble.”

“Damien, when Kate and I were going over the new maps of America, we got a really bad feeling when we put our hands over New Orleans area. Kate experienced boost of energy that actually shocked her. We both sensed evil there - something we didn’t get from any other city.”

“New Orleans…I believe Philepe has been there. I could ask him about it. Anything else?”

“Not really. But as I studied the map and viewed the vast wilderness that exists in the West, I felt it call to me. I believe our future rests in that area of this new world. Will you be going anywhere in the west?”

“We’re going to cover the entire country from east to west, north to south. What I’m really going to look for, is a place where we can share our lives together. All of us have family histories, our ancestors’ legacies - well, except Eric - but now we’ll have a chance write our own legacy, to do something on our own.”

He made it seem even more exciting than I had already imagined for myself.

“You’ll find it, I know you will, and I can’t wait to start our lives together in that New World.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Hey you two,” I heard from a familiar voice.

It was Quinn, with that mischievous grin beaming across his face, eyes twinkling in the moon light.

“Gunter sent me to find you. He wants all of you to join us for a little celebration tonight, just something simple for your birthdays; how about it?”

“It’s very thoughtful of him.”

“Sounds good to me,” Damien said.

“Gunter thought it would do everyone good,” Quinn added.

We walked together to the Watchers’ compound. Everyone else had arrived and was sitting around the large fire—except there were five brothers now, not seven. The thought left a lump in my throat, and I had to bite my lip, so I wouldn’t cry. I reached over and gave Quinn’s hand a squeeze, but I couldn’t look at him because I knew if I did, I’d burst into tears. He squeezed my hand back, then let it go.

“Look what I dragged in,” he announced.

“Well good,” said Gunter. “Grab something to drink and have a seat.”

We did just that. We also laughed and told stories, sang folk songs, and even danced a few jigs.

“Now, since we’re celebrating your birthdays, we have something for you,”

“Gunter smiling, a rare show of emotion,” I thought.

“We all worked on them,” Thomas added.

Gunter handed each of us a small leather pouch.

“Well, go ahead, open them,” Quinn pantomimed opening the pouch.

I opened my pouch and poured the contents into my hand. It was a silver bracelet with double oval silver links, from which five silver charms dangled: two stars, a sun, a crescent moon, and a heart.

“Five girls, five charms—and the hope, wherever you are it will make you think of us, and how much we love you,” said Gunter.

“Happy birthday,” Thomas raised his cup in a toast.

“Thank you all,” I responded, looking at the friends surrounding us.

We all stood for the toast.

“We love them,” Rosa said, “but I want to thank you, Gunter. If you hadn’t trained Kat and Quinn so well, we probably wouldn’t be here tonight.”

“That’s right,” Letta added. “And thank you for putting up with all of us these many weeks.”

“That’s true enough, but you can nominate him for sainthood another day,” laughed Quinn.

“This night is for the five of you. You’re now a part of our family, so happy birthday this year and every year.”

“Hear, hear!” Thomas yelled.

We all drank a toast, and then we said our goodnights.

“That was really nice,” I said to the girls as we made our way back.

The others agreed it had been a special evening and a wonderful thing for the brothers to do for us.

“I didn’t want to ask you earlier, but show us your necklace Kat,” Kate said.

“Damien gave it to me earlier,” I said as I stopped to show them.

“It’s beautiful,” breathed Rosa.

Then I opened it and they all gasped.

“That’s the biggest ruby I’ve ever seen,” marveled Letta.

“He said it’s his heart, and he’s giving it to me.”

“Ahhh,” they sighed together.

“I’m going to miss him, so much, when he goes to America.”

“The time will pass quickly. We’ll keep you busy, and we planned to go to each of our homelands remember?” El said as we started to walk again.

“You’re right, that’s going to be fun,” I said, “And Damien is going to try to be back sooner than the others. Thanks, you all always make me feel better, El.”

We had a group hug.

“I love our bracelets, don’t you?” El was looking at it now.

“Yes, that was so thoughtful. See why Father and I have always loved them so much?”

“I certainly do,” El’s face took on a dreamy look. Rosa caught my eye and raised an eyebrow.

“We all do, Kat,” Letta said.

“Avery and Simon were still so quiet tonight,” Kate’s face showed her concern for her new friends.

“Gregor and Cedric’s death is still a fresh wound for them. Emotions are still close to the surface for all of us; it’s going to take some time,” I said.

When we got upstairs I decided to tell them about Damien’s visitor this morning.

“Did any of you have an odd feeling this morning?” I asked cautiously.

Kate thought about it and remembered. “Something woke me up, but I didn’t know what it was.”

El and Letta both said they’d had a passing feeling of ‘something’, but shrugged it off.

“What do you mean Kat? What’s happened?” El’s face showed an instant state of concern.

“Damien had a visitor this morning when he went for a ride…his mother.”

They gasped

“Did you see her?” Rosa asked.

“Yes. I went out to meet him, and he was there in the meadow speaking with her. When he introduced me I realized I knew her…from the visions I’d had recently. I’d seen her with another woman, who I now believe is Luena’s mother. The two of them met up with a third woman - the one Kate and I saw in the image we got from New Orleans.”

“But you still don’t know who she is, right?” Kate said.

“No, not yet.”

“Seems odd, she just happened to show up now, after all these years,” Rosa crossed her arms.

“What did Damien think about it?” El asked me.

“She’s his mother, and he’s dreamed of reuniting with her, just as I did with my mother; but I talked with him and I believe he realizes he needs to be cautious. He understands the meeting could have been driven by ulterior motives.”

“What do you think, Kat? In our vision the other woman felt truly evil,” Kate rubbed her arm as if suddenly cold.

“He wants me to keep an open mind. He also reminded me he was under Luena’s influence, because she threatened the people he loved, and he suggested it may be the same with his mother.

My thought is, I’d rather err on the side of caution, because my gut says she’s using him. They want him on their side, and I think they will use anything or anyone to achieve their goal.”

“Which is?” prompted Rosa.

“To destroy our family, for one, and then rule the vampires. If it means killing all the peaceful clans, just as they tried to do in the clan wars, they’ll do it.”

“They’ll have to go through us,” Rosa vowed.

“That’s right, and so far so good,” Letta added.

“We were right too - I mean about them blocking us, because none of us saw or felt anything to warn us before Damien’s mother, whose name is Daniela, by the way, showed up,” I emphatically pointed out.

“That’s right. What did Mother have to say?”

“She’s working on it; we should know something very soon.” Sunday, I thought to myself, the last night of the full moon.

“And we’ll be going on our trip to Paris soon,” El looked excited by the thought, but suddenly deflated.

Suddenly, we settled into a strange quiet.

“What’s going through everyone’s mind right now? What exactly are you feeling?” my anxiety levels were rising by the second.

“I’m feeling anxious,” admitted Kate.

“Me too,” While was glad someone else felt what I did, I was apprehensive about what it could mean.

“When El mentioned Paris I got chills,” Letta shivered again.

“Something is going to happen there, but I feel it’s still necessary we go,” said Rosa.

“That’s exactly the way I felt,” El looked to Rosa.

I gasped and said, “I just remembered something. You know Quinn was gone when his brothers were killed, and before Eric was rescued, right?”

Everyone nodded.

“I sent him to Paris, without anyone else knowing, not even Damien. His assignment was to watch Gerhardt and Philepe’s chateau and general area. When he got back, and after the funerals, he told me what he saw. He said he saw Ivan at Damien’s family apartment, having a heated discussion with someone - a woman. He also saw the same woman outside Philepe’s chateau with two other women. He didn’t recognize them, but they seemed to wait outside the chateau until Philepe left, and then all three entered—through the side gate, not the front, which he thought was strange. How do you interpret that?”

“Those women are the ones in our visions,” decided Kate.

“That means Damien and Luena’s mothers are, or were, in Paris. But didn’t you say she told Damien she had just been in Romania and Bulgaria?” Rosa had cut right to the answer about Damien’s mother and the probability she was using him for her own devices.

“And who’s the third woman, the one you both saw in New Orleans? And what were they all doing at Philepe’s?” El said.

“Obviously Philepe isn’t involved, because they didn’t want him to see them,” I reasoned.

“She doesn’t seem to be blocking us,” Kate pointed out.

“I don’t think she has any idea someone might be looking,” I said.

“We get these visions for a reason, and so far it’s never been good,” Kate said, with a deep sigh as she slumped in her chair.

“I have a feeling the mystery woman is the key,” Letta said with authority.

“I think you’re right,” I said. Letta as usual had found the answer.

“So should we try to ‘see’ what she’s up to and where she is, and maybe we’ll see the other two as well,” Kate said.

“She might get tipped off if we try it now. I say we wait until we get to Paris, but just have general look just, before we go,” I said worried about the implications of warning them in anyway.

“Sounds like a good idea,” El agreed.

“Everyone else agree, then?” I said looking for support.

Yes they did, proved by the round of head nods and ‘yeses’.

“Remember, we have to keep these things between us, agreed? What a day. I’m going to bed,” I said.

“Goodnight, Damien,” I said as I slipped into bed. “Thank you again for the beautiful gift. I love it, and I love you.”

“Goodnight, Katrina. You’re welcome and happy birthday. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

We worked out again in the morning, but in the afternoon we went over to see if we could help Mother with anything for that night or the next week.

“Thank you all, but I have plenty of help, and I want it to be a surprise, so go relax. Rest and pick out a nice simple but elegant dress, and be ready to come back here, when I send for you,” she said.

“Looks like we have the afternoon off,” Rosa quipped.

“I don’t feel like resting. We’re not those kinds of girls anymore, are we?” grinned Letta.

“Let’s go hunt; it’s been too long,” I suggested, warming to the idea after it left my lips.

El laughed, “Sarah’s going to yell at us.”

“She probably was going to do that anyway,” Rosa groused.

We knew only how true that was; we laughed as we walked over to the front gate.

“Sorry ladies, you can’t go anywhere without Watchers,” said the guard.

“You’ve got to be kidding,” I said.

“Those are the new standing orders,” he said.

“Problem, ladies?” Thomas asked.

“The guard says we can’t go out without Watchers,” El making doe eyes at Thomas.

“Those are your father’s - all your fathers’ - orders. Do you still want to go out?” he asked.

We looked at each other and shrugged.

“The moment’s passed now,” Letta said.

“I say Watchers can come,” Kate said.

She looked at me and gave me a wink.

“If they can catch us,” I said understanding her idea.

Kate and I leapt to the top of the wall; El, Rosa and Letta followed; we all looked down at poor Thomas; and then we turned and jumped down on the outside of the castle wall.

I could hear him in the background yelling for the others, as we ran into the woods, still laughing.

“Now then, they’re going to be mad, so let’s at least scan the area for safety’s sake,” I said.

I took a deep breath, sensing nothing out of the ordinary.

“Anything Kate?”

“No…oh, now I sense Watchers riding perimeter.”

“I don’t feel right, there’s something wrong at Mormont,” El said suddenly.

“We have to get to the Watchers. Let’s go,” instantly in on guard.

It took only seconds to get in front of them.

“Thomas!” El yelled. “Stop, we need to go back! Something isn’t right at the castle.”

“All right, let’s go,” he said.

“What is it?” asked Simon just then riding up Thomas.

“We don’t know. Let’s just get back to the castle,” I ordered.

“What’s happened?” Gunter said.

“Nothing, but something is not right—we all felt it,” El said.

“Don’t send Watchers, but someone should go back out to the perimeter with as low profile as possible, to see if we can find out something,” I directed.

“Done,” he said and ordered them all back leaving us to get back as we had arrived – on foot

“That was really weird,” said Letta as we came through the gate.

“It’s nothing like we’ve ever felt before,” Rosa said.

I looked at Kate, “I’m going over to talk to Mother”.

“I’ll go with you.”

“We should all go,” El said, unwilling to be left out.

“She’s probably still in the reception hall,” I said.

She wasn’t, so we went over to her apartment.

“Mother, are you here?” I called.

“I’m here; I’ll be right out,” She called from the back room.

She didn’t look well when she came into the front room.

“What’s wrong, Mother?” Kate went to her, taking her arm.

“I don’t know, I just don’t feel right,” she said looking puzzled.

“We felt it too,” Kate confirmed.

“Someone out there agrees with me; that you ARE the five prophesied and has just tested out our defenses. Whoever it is, doesn’t want you to go through with the ceremony,” Allwain said.

“Who are you?” Rosa said.

“This is Allwain,” Mother said. “He’s Lord of the Wizards, and he’s here to help you.”

“I have produced amulets and talismans to both protect you and alert you to danger. We won’t be able to wait until Sunday for the ceremony; we’ll have to do it tonight. I have prepared the chapel, so after dinner you must make your way there. Do not let anyone else know where you are going. Someone within these walls is a traitor,” he said.

We were all in shock. Someone we knew was betraying us. Who?

“Go back to your rooms, meditate together, and heighten all you gifts, in preparation for the ceremony. You must be prepared for anything and be able to concentrate only on me tonight. I’ll see you at the chapel,” he said.

Then he turned and went back into his room, leaving us to gather ourselves and try to absorb all he had told us.

“You girls stay together. Dinner will be promptly at seven, and I’ll see you then.”

We were in a state of shock. We just looked at each other for a few minutes, not knowing what to do next.

“All right, another day in our dull lives. What now?” Rosa prodded.

“Let’s head back,” I said. “No wait, I’ve got an idea. There are passageways under the entire castle, and I think we need to go check them out. If I remember, one leads to a chamber right underneath the chapel. Let’s meditate there.”

“You’re sure about this Kat? You don’t think the guard should check it out first?” Kate expressed her double in my plan.

“Everyone has always told me to trust my instincts, and this is what my instincts are telling me to do.”

“Can we get there from here without being seen?” wondered Letta.

“I think so. Kate, can you see, is there an entrance nearby?” I asked her to use her gift.

She closed her eyes for a moment.

“Yes, down the stairs, at end of the hall, just before you get outside,” she said.

“Do you see anything or anyone inside the passageway?” I continued.

“No, but it’s dark; and remember, there are things we can’t see,” she responded.

“We can handle the dark,” reminded Letta. “Let’s go.”

We flew down the stairs and at the bottom, turned into the hall. At the end, where Kate had said the entrance would be, we faced a stone wall.

“It’s a stone wall, Kate,” Rosa accused.

“I used to run around in these passageways with Quinn when we were kids.”

I pushed on the right side of the wall, and it instantly pivoted open. I let my vampire vision adjust, so I could see. Stone stairs led us down into the passageway. Letta was the last one in; she pushed the door shut behind her, and then met us at the bottom of the stairs.

“I didn’t scent anything or anyone in the passageways, let’s keep going. I know the chapel is to the west, so it should be straight ahead.” I called over my shoulder to them as I led the way.

After another fifty feet the passageway opened up onto a large chamber. Most castles used these passageways and chambers as safe havens, escape routes, and storage areas. This chamber was large enough for about forty people to sit comfortably on the floor, and I could see stairs at the far end that must have led directly into the chapel.

“Remind me to make sure we can get out that way,” I said pointing to the front stairway.

“It’s a lot like the dungeon,” shivered Kate, “damp, dark, and musty smelling.”

“I can fix that,” Letta said.

She stared at the floor in the center of the room and a small fire appeared.

“That still amazes me every time you do it,” I said to her, shaking my head.

“Let’s sit and hold hands,” El said, as we sat around the fire.

After we got settled, we closed our eyes and let the energy flow between us. We sat like that for about thirty minutes. When I finally felt both peaceful and renewed, I opened my eyes.

“I think we’re ready to move on,” I announced.

El asked, “What should we look for?”

“Let’s ask to see the one that wants to do us harm,” suggested Rosa.

“I wonder if we really want to know,” El said softly.

“We may not want to know, but we have to,” I said. “We may be able to use whoever it is to find the others. So concentrate and repeat to yourselves, ‘show me the one who wants to do us harm .’ And no matter what we see, don’t break the circle.”

Our grips tightened as we concentrated harder and harder. Finally we started to see an image began to form, slowly the cloudy figure was becoming clear.

It was Eric.

“Nooo!” I heard Kate moan, and she tried to pull away; but I held her tight. We had to see. Eric was in his room, seemingly asleep, moaned and then sat up abruptly in his bed. He grabbed his head as if in extreme pain, seemed to recover after a few seconds, and got out of bed. He looked strange, his eyes open but lifeless. He left his room and wandered from building to building, watching everyone. He saw us training, Damien and me alone in the garden, he had hidden just in time to avoid being seen by Gunter while watching us from the chapel and watched as Allwain arrived; then he went back to his room, lay back down, and went right back to sleep. The image faded away, and we opened our eyes.

“Don’t tell me we were set up,” El said, totally bereft.

Letta began to cry “These monsters are responsible for the deaths of Gregor and Cedrik.”

“This whole thing with Eric - all we went through, the Volator, all those poor villagers - was just part of a plan to get him close to us?” Rosa was furious.

Kate was quietly weeping.

“But what else could we do? Yes, they used the Volator, the villagers, the ones they made sick, and the ones they turned, but they still had to be dealt with, didn’t they?” I continued. “Damien told me Luena’s gift was being able to control weak minds. It’s my belief she must have been controlling the leader of the Volator, and not just this time.”

“And she’s controlling Eric now.” Kate jumped up as she put the two things together.

“That’s why he can’t remember anything and why I couldn’t help him,” El jumped up, finally understanding why her gift hadn’t worked on Eric.

Letta was frowning now, trying to understand the complexity of what we were suggesting. “You mean he doesn’t know?”

I could see the look of hope in everyone’s eyes, especially Kate’s.

“No, I don’t think he does,” I shook my head.

“Now the trick will be to keep tonight a secret without letting on we know about Luena’s possession of Eric,” Rosa said.

“Luena would know the ceremony is always performed on the last night of the full moon which is Sunday,” I said.

“Oh my God, Luena hasn’t been after your father,” El’s eyes widened. “She’s been after you—and then us!”

We stared at her, knowing she was right.

“Who do we know that is absolutely trustworthy?” I asked, then it hit me.

“Our Watchers,” we said in unison.

“We need to get back to our apartment, now,” I said. “But first let me make sure we can get in and out of the chapel from that stairway, and then we’ll go back the way we came.”

We went to the stairway at the far end of the chamber. Kate and I detected nothing in the chapel, so I went to the door and pushed against it; the door stuck at first and then opened. I peeked into the chapel and since I could see all the way to the entrance doors at the back, I knew it was empty. I had to see where the door was and how it opened.

“Come up to the door, Kate,” I whispered. “I need to see how it opens from the inside.”

When I entered the chapel, I saw the door was exactly behind the altar, and when I closed it, it was impossible to see where it had been. I could see no handle, so I pushed on the left side of where I knew the door to be, and it pivoted easily.

“Kat, come on; we have to go,” Kate whispered.

So I left and closed the door carefully behind me.

“Okay, Letta, kill the fire,” I said.

“Is everything clear? Do either of you ‘see’ anything in the passageway now?” Rosa asked.

“Everything looks fine to me. How about you, Kat?”

“All clear, but be careful. It’s what we don’t see, I’m worried about.”

“Let’s run!” Letta urged.

We were at the bottom of the back stairs in seconds. Rosa pushed the stone open and peered out.

“See anyone, Rosa?” El asked.

“No, it’s clear,” she said over her shoulder.

We left the passageway and came out to the courtyard, where we found Thomas.

“I wish Mother would give us more to do for the dinner,” Kate said, acting normal.

“Good cover,” I thought to myself.

“Oh well, let’s just go and get some rest, as she told us to do,” I said aloud. “Thomas, can we see you and your brothers back at the apartment please? I’d like to talk to you about our Paris trip.”

“Right now?” he said.

“Yes, right now,” I said, giving him an urgent, wide-eyed look.

“Of course,” he said catching on immediately. “I’ll get them as soon as I get you back.”

Rosa’s Watcher was at the bottom of the stairs as usual, so Thomas left us to get the others.

“Any visitors, Max?” Rosa asked.

“No, my Lady. Any instructions?”

“We’re going to rest for a while, after we speak to the Voss brothers, so please don’t let anyone else up unless it’s an emergency,” she instructed.

He nodded and we continued up the stairway and down the hall to our rooms.

“Who’d think it would be so difficult to act normal,” said Letta once we got inside.

In a few minutes there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” I said and all five remaining Voss brothers entered.

“We can’t explain much right now, but you’re the only people we trust without question.”

“What is it you need us to do, Katrina?” Gunter asked, accepting my words.

“After dinner tonight, I need someone to keep Eric and Damien entertained, but they cannot realize they’re being kept away from us.”

The girls and I have something to do and it needs to be completed in secret. Don’t give me that look Gunter. This is absolutely necessary for our continued safety, and we will tell you more about it later. But tonight, we need your help to keep Eric and Damien occupied while we conduct our business. Your job will be to do this without giving away , you’re covering for us.

“I’ll ask your father to take Damien and some of the others aside under the pretext of going over plans for their trip,” Gunter suggested.

“Excellent,” I said.

“I can take Eric hunting,” Avery volunteered.

“You will need to keep him in sight, so maybe training or games would be better,” Thomas said.

I continued, “We also need Watchers to guard the lower entrance to Father and Mother’s building and be on guard at the chapel, both at front and the back. And these things must be done discreetly.”

“Now to the last request. The five of us will need to get to the chapel after dinner tonight without being seen,” Kate said.

“You and Kate can escort your mother, who may have a headache, back to her room, and then you can use the underground passageway leading to the chapel,” suggested Gunter.

Of course he knows of all the passageways, I thought. He’s the lead Watcher, our protector, so he has to know all the castle’s secrets.

“There’s another passage leading to the storage room for the chapel,” he continued

“Does it have an entrance directly into the chapel, and can they get to it without being seen?” Avery asked.

“The closest entrance to the dining room would be in the kitchen pantry; it leads to that storage room and there’s a door from it directly into the chapel,” Thomas answered.

“That’s right. The rest of you can make your way there while everyone is saying goodnight,” said Simon.

“Actually, this was supposed to be a surprise, but your father has planned fireworks for after dinner,” Quinn, saddened by having revealed a secret.

We all looked at him as if he were crazy.

“I know, it was supposed to be simple; but he’s had it planned since we got back. He did ask us if we minded a celebration under the circumstances, and we all agreed it was fine. It’d be what Gregor and Cedrik would want. We all want you to remember their lives, not their deaths, and how much they cared about you. Anyway, it’ll be the perfect time to slip away,” Gunter said.

When the shock wore off, we realized he was right.

“Now then, here’s the plan,” Gunter said. “After dinner everyone will head outside to see the fireworks. As soon as they start, your mother will say she doesn’t feel well, and Katrina and Katherine will go back with her to her apartment. A few minutes later, the rest of you will separate yourselves from your families and head to the kitchen; Thomas of course, will be with you. Quinn will be with Katrina and Katherine as their mother’s Watcher, and he’ll guard the passageway entrance once you’re in. Your father will keep Damien busy. Avery will be with Eric, and Simon and I will be at the Chapel. There will be plenty of Watchers around your fathers while they’re in the meeting with Damien, so we won’t be missed. Is everyone clear?”

We all nodded our heads.

“All right, we’ll see you at dinner,” Gunter said, satisfied with the plan.

I walked them to the door.

“Thank you all. I knew we could count on you,” I said.

“I’ll go now and speak with your father about our plans,” said Gunter and turned to leave.

As they were leaving, Sarah came in with a tray full of snacks, wine, and Crimson.

“How about a little something to help keep your strength up?”

“Just what we needed, Sarah; thank you” I sighed.

“As usual Sarah knew what we needed before we did,” Kate chuckled.

Sarah gave us the “yes I did” look, smiled and put the tray on the table.

“Do any of you need anything else?”

“I don’t think so. Thank you, Sarah.”

“Then I’ll see you in a few hours and we’ll get you all ready for tonight,” she said she turned to leave.

“I didn’t realize how hungry I was,” Letta said, as we finished every last thing on the tray.

El said, “I wish we could have hunted, but the Crimson will give us longer-lasting energy.”

“I just thought of something,” said Kate.

“What?” Rosa looked a little anxious.

“We need to wear our weapons under our dresses, just in case,” she said.

“How are we going to get to them in a hurry if we need them?” I said.

“How about skirts and blouses instead of dresses? We can wear our leggings underneath and just rip the skirts off if we have to,” El suggested.

“That’s a great idea,” Letta conceded.

“For the Paris trip, we should probably have special dresses and skirts made to feature openings hidden the folds, or pocket access points so we can hide our weapons and get to them easily.”

“If we make it through tonight, I’ll get right on that,” Rosa’s voice dripped sarcasm.

“Kat, what do you think about Eric? In our vision the Volator said they happened upon him while he fed on an animal in the forest. Do you think it’s true, or do you think Luena actually made him?” asked Kate.

“I don’t know for sure. None of us ever sensed any evil in him when we first saw him, strange since we had no trouble doing so in other situation or even our visions

El held her chin as she often did when she was reasoning something out.

“Even when someone or something is actively blocking us, we’re still able to sense a wrongness, but we don’t have any of those feelings with Eric,” she said thoughtfully.

“He’s an awfully good actor if he’s in with them.” Although she voiced it, I could see Rosa didn’t think he was acting at all.

“He said he’d been a vampire for about three years, but that memory might have been planted into his mind,” I suggested. I knew Kate, out of all of us, closest to Eric, wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I also knew I could count on her if it turned out Eric was the problem. If I had any doubt of that, her next thought convinced me.

“Allwain will know,” Kate said, “and we’ll deal with it then.”

“Let’s go rest for a little while, but after we get ready, let’s channel our gifts before we go,” Without waiting for the others to follow, I went to my room.

I flopped down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. What kind of a feeling did I have about tonight? I closed my eyes and slowed my breathing. I felt power around me; my skin tingled, my face felt flushed, and then it was gone and I fell asleep.

“Wake up sleepy-head, time for your bath,” Sarah said, as she gently shook my shoulder. “You could have at least taken off your boots before you took your nap,” she grumbled.

“I meant to,” I said sheepishly.

Girls started coming in with hot water and I could hear water going into the other tubs as well.

“I’m glad your father had that huge new water vessel made so we can heat all this water at the same time,” Sarah said as she added bath salts, lavender, and mint to the water. “All right, into the tub with you and have a good soak. I’ll be back in a little while to wash your hair.”

I sank down in the hot, sweet-smelling water, until it was up to my chin. It felt delicious. I shut my eyes and luxuriated in my own private world. In a little while Sarah came back and washed my hair, rinsed it, and combed it out.

“You sure you want this outfit?” she asked, wrinkling her noise in distaste.

“Yes, I’m sure, thank you, Sarah. I can get dressed myself.”

“All right, if you’re sure. Oh, and Gunter sent over some fresh Crimson. Why he thought you needed more, I don’t know, but it’s out there on the table, if you want it,” she said as she closed the door.

I took out a clean pair of lambskin leggings and put them on over some silk undergarments and a pretty lavender off-the-shoulder blouse. Then I strapped my short sword and dagger as close to my hip as I could and covered everything with a full, light grey skirt. I put on the necklace Damien had given me for my birthday, and, even though one was gold and one silver, I added the bracelet gift from my brothers, onto my left wrist. I brushed the charms with my finger and took a look in the mirror. The skirt effectively hid my weapons, I decided. Then I brushed and smoothed my hair, slipped on my shoes, and headed out the door.

“You all look just lovely,” Sarah gushed.

She had made us each a small bouquet of flowers.

“Happy birthday, girls. I love you all,” she said, tears filling her eyes.

“We love you too, Sarah. Thank you,” I said.

We each drank a little bit of the Crimson Gunter sent over and crossed into the hall, down the stairs, and across the courtyard. We were joined by Thomas and Simon, who both looked even more handsome than usual, I thought. Quinn and Avery met us at the door. Father and Mother were already inside, as were most of our friends and families.

“You all look beautiful, as usual,” Avery said.

Quinn added, “Happy eighteenth birthday, ladies.”

When he smiled, it was still hard not to melt. I couldn’t help myself; I walked over to him and brushed the hair from his brow with my hand and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you, Quinn.”

We went into the reception hall, which was filled with flowers and candles. We set our little bouquets down on the side table, and were greeted with ‘Happy Birthday’s’ from all our friends and families. Damien was standing by Father, and when our eyes met my stomach fluttered. He was breathtakingly handsome man, in his white open-collared shirt, dark pants, and boots. His hair wasn’t tied back tonight, but was left free and sexy; and as he walked over to me our gaze never wavered, until he kissed my cheek.

“Happy birthday, Katrina,” he whispered.

His hot breath on my neck gave me chills. I closed my eyes so I could bask in his scent.

“Happy birthday, darling,” I heard Mother say.

“Thank you, Mother,” I answered, “Where did Father go?”

“He went to check on something,” she said as she winked at Damien. “What a beautiful necklace.”

“My birthday present from Damien,” I said and proudly held the heart up for her inspection.

“You have excellent taste, Damien,” she told him while examining my gift.

“I think so,” he said as he smiled at me.

“And what’s this?” she said, as she examined my bracelet.

“The brothers made one for each of us; five charms for five beauties, they said.”

“Lovely, just lovely. Oh, there’s your father, over there with Katherine. I’m going to wish her happy birthday. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“Oh, there’s Eric, let’s go say hello,” Damien said.

It’s all right, I told myself, it’s not his fault…I don’t think. He looked healthy, happy, and ever so handsome.

“Thank you for inviting me,” he said. “And happy birthday.”

“Thank you, Eric, and you’re welcome. I’m glad you have your health back. Are you sleeping well?” I said, thinking back to our vision.

“I still need a lot of it. Sometimes I fall asleep right after dinner and I don’t even remember dreaming. I sleep like a rock,” he laughed.

His eyes were full of life. I knew somehow Luena was responsible for doing this and hated her for it.

“Gunter said he’s learning almost as fast as the girls,” Damien said.

“Speaking of Gunter, here he comes.” I nodded in the direction of the approaching Watcher.

“Happy birthday, Katrina,” he said as he kissed my cheek.

“Thank you, Gunter. I’m so glad you’re here.”

Just then Mother called out, “All right everyone, dinner is served. Katherine, Katrina, Rosalinda, Arletta, and Eleanor, please lead the way.”

“Happy Birthday, Katrina,” Father said, while giving me a big hug. He had a huge smile on his face, and I knew he was happy his family was together again, and we could share this day. It was an important occasion, after all, the last birthday vampires really celebrate, a rite of passage since we age so slowly from then on.

The dining room was simply beautiful. Delicate tendrils of wisteria in hues of purple and lavender had been draped from candle chandeliers, from large floor vases, and down the middle of the long table, filling the room with the soft, sweet aroma of summer.

“What do you think?” said Mother.

“You’ve outdone yourself Mother; this is stunning,” Kate said as we all stood in the doorway looking at the elaborately decorated room.

We all agreed it was divine. We took our seats and had a wonderful meal. However, I felt a current of tension; the closer it got to dessert, the more anxious I was becoming. All too soon it was over. We were presented gifts from our families, mostly jewelry and money for shopping in Paris.

“Now for my surprise, we’ll need to go outside,” Father said.

We all looked as each other quickly and followed him into the moonlit night.

The fireworks started immediately and everyone oohed and ahhed. The show was fabulously loud.

“Katrina, suddenly I don’t feel well,” said Mother.

“We’ll take you back to your room, Mother,” Kate said.

“I’ll go with you,” said Damien with concern.

“No, it’s okay,” I said quickly. We’ll be back as soon as she’s in bed.”

“It’s just a headache. I’m sure I just overdid it today,” Mother improvised smoothly.

Quinn had appeared at my elbow, and he escorted us away after informing Father of our intent.

“It’ll be fine; I’ll be right back,” I told Damien with my mind, hoping it was the truth.

Mother was holding her hand to her head, playing the part perfectly, and Kate and I were on either side of her, our arms around her waist. Once we got into the entrance to the building we rushed to the end of the hallway, and mother went upstairs. I pushed the stone and it pivoted open. Before we went through it, I looked at Quinn’s face. He looked frightened, but gave me a determined nod to go ahead. Kate and I went in, rushed down the stairs, and ran through the passageway. We entered the large chamber room and stopped.

“We forgot to meditate and channel our energy. Quickly, let’s do it now,” I said, holding out my hands.

We held hands and energy again pulsed through us; we could see Allwain waiting for us in the chapel above.

“Let’s go,” Kate said.

And we ran up the stairs and pushed the door open. Allwain had his back to us, but turned as we entered.

“Come, stand in front of me and meditate until we are all together. Hurry; there’s not much time.”

A sound came from our left, the other door opened, and in rushed Rosa, El, and Letta.

I could still hear the fireworks. Their lights danced across the chapel, making the stained glass figures in the windows seem alive.

“Quickly,” called out Allwain. “Form a circle facing out.”

The fireworks ended now, but another sound was filling the air - thunder. Then lightning flashed, in what, just moments, ago had been a clear starry night sky.

“I charge you to think of nothing but me, repeat everything I say, and don’t let go of each other or open your eyes until I’m done. You won’t understand the ancient language I’ll be speaking, but the forces of good and evil will, so repeat it just as you hear it. Are you ready?” he said in a loud voice. He was almost yelling now, the thunder was so loud.

“I can’t stop it,” Letta said.

“It’s all right, just close your eyes and concentrate on me. Block out everything else,” he said as he started to chant.

We held on with all our might and repeated every word. We heard a loud noise and felt the wind, a wind became so strong, I had to lean into it to stay upright, but we held tight. Allwain was shouting the ancient chants and as we shouted them back, the wind swirled around us like a cyclone. We were determined to finish. The current of our combined powers pulsed through us faster and faster as we continued to chant, and even though my eyes were closed, I could see the impression of lightning through my eyelids, as if it were inside the chapel now. Finally the wind was so strong, I felt my feet lift off the floor, but Allwain continued chanting and we kept repeating.

Then abruptly he stopped chanting. And then we heard,

“They are protected now and forever, under the laws of all that is good and right in this world and the next. Evil, be gone from here!” As we finished repeating the last word the chapel went silent and we dropped with a thud to the floor, still clasping each other’s hands, so tight we couldn’t feel our fingers anymore.

“You may open your eyes now. It’s over,” Allwain said, sounding weak and exhausted.

I slowly opened my eyes.

“Is anyone hurt?” I asked anxiously.

“I don’t think so,” answered Kate, looking around.

We all started to get up and brush ourselves off.

“Wait until Sarah sees our hair.” El was pointing and laughing.

We all laughed.

“How about you, Allwain? Are you hurt?” I asked.

“I’m not as young as I used to be, and it’s taken a lot out of me, but I appear to be in one piece.” He answered good naturedly.

“Let us help you,” said El. She walked over to him, placed her hands on his chest, and closed her eyes, and we all joined her by placing our hands on her back, to make her gift much stronger than if we just concentrated with her. In a few minutes she pulled away.

“How do you feel now?” she asked him.

“I…I…feel…young!” he said, full of surprise.

He looked younger, too.

“Amazing, El. Good job,” Rosa said, reacting to the physical change in Allwain.

Gunter, Simon, and Thomas burst into the chapel, swords drawn.

“What’s happened? Are any of you hurt? We couldn’t get in.”

“We’re fine,” I said.

Quinn and Avery came running in next.

“They’re fine,” Gunter said. “Everything’s fine.”

“I’ll go and speak with your mother,” Allwain said, as he left through the secret stone door.

Our Watchers stood by expectantly; I could see Gunter was asking for an explanation without speaking the words. The silence grew and finally Gunter gave me ‘the ‘look’ and then shrugged. The brothers knew if I could tell them, I would.

“We’d better all go see our families and tell them we’re all right,” El prodded.

Gunter was just about to leave when he turned back and asked, “Was there thunder and lightning in here?”

“Yes, wasn’t there outside?” I said.

“No,” they all said together.

“We had quite a wind as well,” Letta added.

Thomas said, “Not out there.”

“Amazing. I’m sorry we can’t tell you more,” I said.

“We understand it’s safer for all of us,” Gunter said.

Then, out of nowhere, Eric came rushing toward me. He was so fast, the brothers couldn’t see him, and so close I couldn’t get to my sword in time. His eyes were like glowing coals.

“Die!” he screamed, in a voice that wasn’t like his.

Then I couldn’t see him anymore, for Damien had jumped in front of me at the last possible moment.

“Damien!” I screamed, and grabbed his shoulders.

He slumped against me and we both fell to the ground. Eric’s sword was protruding from him just below his rib cage.

The brothers had Eric on the ground, and Quinn with his sword raised was just about to separate Eric’s head from his shoulders, when I cried out, “Stop! It’s not his fault! Bind him and take him to Mother’s.”

I looked at Gunter. He knew the man he had glimpsed in the chapel was there. Eric was so strong, it took all five of them to hold him down and bind his arms and legs, but when they were finished he suddenly went limp and they carried him off to Mother’s.

Quinn stayed by my side. My concentration was now on Damien.”

“We need to get the bleeding stopped, now!” demanded El. Looking up at Quinn she directed, “As soon as I get my hands next to the wound, pull the sword from him as quickly as you can, Quinn.” She said to the four of us urgently, “Help me.”

I hoped we had enough strength left to save him. She put her hands on Damien, and Quinn quickly pulled the sword from his ribs. Damien screamed, and passed out, blood gushed from the wound, soaking his shirt and covering El’s hands.

“The sword pierced an artery,” she said, as she closed her eyes. Just like before, we placed our hands on her back and concentrated with her. “Heal, heal,” I concentrated as hard as could, “please heal!” I felt hot, the energy draining from me to El and, I hoped, to Damien. After what seemed like hours, but probably was only minutes, El pulled back and I opened my eyes.

“I healed the wound, but he’s gone dormant, because he lost so much blood. He’ll recover, I think; I just don’t know how long it’ll take. We’ll try again tomorrow, when we’ve regained our strength. There’s nothing more we can do for him tonight.”

Quinn called for guards, who were standing close by.

“I’m not leaving you,” Quinn told me, and Thomas agreed; so the guards took Damien to his quarters.

“There’s nothing you can do for him tonight, but go back and rest, so you’ll have enough strength tomorrow to help him. I’ll have Avery stay with him all night. Where’s his Watcher anyway?” Thomas said.

“Damien sent him ahead to take care of business in Paris for his trip,” I said.

I was weak, dazed and in shock from what had just happened. “I feel a little dizzy,” I said.

“Me too,” said El.

“We need to get back to our rooms. Gunter left Crimson for us earlier, remember?” I said, thinking it took a lot of effort just to speak.

Quinn and Thomas helped us get back. Of course Sarah was frantic, wondering what had happened. She poured us each a cup of Crimson, which we gulped down; then she filled our cups a second time, and again we gulped them down.

I felt better - not perfect, but better. “I’m going to see Mother,” I said and tried to stand.

“Not until tomorrow you’re not,” Sarah said sternly.

“I should go and sit with Damien.”

“No!” everyone said at once.

“You’re going to bed right now, all of you. Now scoot,” Sarah said. “And what in heaven’s name happened to your hair?”

“Ohhh,” we all groaned, and rolled our eyes.

Elizabeth Loraine

About the Author

I always knew I was supposed to write a book someday but as my family grew; my artistic bent was fulfilled through interior design, painting and garden design work. Now, as my son and daughter left home and I left commercial design and painting, I found I had more time on my hands for ignored creative desires.

I have been a lifelong fantasy fiction fan and for years devoured books that depicted vast worlds, populated by heroic characters. But a particular focus of my reading enjoyment for many, many years has been vampires and vampire lore. My passion for the subject, you could say, has spanned the ‘Bellas’; from portrayals of them by Bella Lugosi to books about them featuring Bella Swan.

Although I found their world exciting, filled with romance and adventure, somehow at ‘The End’, I always wanted to know more. Vampires, after all, we know are long lived; where had they come from; where had they been; what had they done; what had then seen? I longed to know their timeline and history.

From that curiosity and those questions, my creative side picked up a pen, a notebook and out came The Royal Blood Chronicles. These books feature young, strong, self-reliant, intelligent, interesting woman as lead characters. No wimpy women victims allowed here.

Continue following Katrina. Enjoy her vampire past and look forward to the exploits in her future.

Elizabeth Loraine

Books by Elizabeth Loraine:

Royal Blood Chronicles Series

Katrina - the Beginning

The Protectors

The Dark Prince

Cain – the Quest

Bloodline

Legacy

Redemption

Destiny

Royal Chronicles Short Stories

Quinn – a Watchers Story

Marcella – Vampire Mage

Phantom Lives Series

Collier

Power

Other Books

Lillian – A Vampire Tale

Table of Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN