Fenja shook her head. “No, sweet girl. Not for a minute. Life is too short for regrets. I remember every single wonderful moment, delivering babies, helping the women when they were scared. Each time my hands were in the soil as I learned about medicinal plants, I rejoiced.” Her smile grew radiant and her eyes were soft with open love. For a moment a sheen of liquid brightened the faded blue before she blinked it away. “Then you came into my life. My greatest blessing. My greatest treasure. The miracle I never thought I would have. You completed my life. I have had everything I could ever want.”
Silke’s heart clenched hard in her chest. Fenja always showed her love. Always. But she rarely expressed it in words.
“I’ve always felt so lucky to have you,” Silke said. “I grew up wanting to be just like you. Kind and considerate of others, and knowledgeable in as many things as possible.”
Fenja laughed softly. Happily. “Are you saying we both have a one-track mind?”
Silke laughed with her. “We both are tenacious, that’s for certain.”
“If you don’t connect with your Carpathian warrior, how do you expect to have children?”
Silke winked at her. “I’mverymodern.”
“That way doesn’t give you pleasure or fun,” Fenja pointed out.
“But it’s hassle-free,” Silke said. “No poor male will have a wounded ego trying to put up with me.”
“Any man you end up with will count himself lucky to have you in his life,” Fenja said, clearly meaning it. “If he doesn’t, he doesn’t deserve you.”
“You only say that because you love me.” She waved her hand toward the window. “I hate the fact that I must deceive so many people.” She sat up straighter, once again drinking the soothing tea.
“What is it, Silke?” Fenja coaxed. “I know you’re very troubled.”
Silke shoved her hand through her thick hair, wanting to yank at it. “I can’t figure out a very huge problem. I spent all day in the forestwith my hands buried in the soil. My mind was calm, and yet the solution didn’t come to me.”
“Sharing makes a burden lighter.”
Silke knew Fenja noticed her hesitation. “It isn’t that I don’t want to tell you. It’s that it involves demons, and sometimes you prefer not to know.”
“I asked you to share, sweet girl.” Fenja waited.
“It’s Raik. He’s in a bad way. He was bitten at sea by a serpent. I heard a suspicious story from Evi that seemed completely out of character. I went to visit him and knew immediately he was tainted with demon. I waited for Tora, and we were able to rid him of the demon. It wasn’t easy, and the serpent didn’t respond to the crystal sword the way demons normally do. But then I realized, after quite a battle, that a demon remained crouched in him. Tora couldn’t find it. I tried finding it while merged with her. I felt the presence of it but was still unable to pinpoint its exact location. In the end, we were both exhausted and very drained. Tora had to find a safe place to rest. We had to leave Raik in what would basically be a medically induced coma in the hopes that the safeguards and commands would keep the demon unconscious as well.”
Silke rubbed her temples. “I feel like an utter failure. Raik is a good man. I still need to give this tour to Gesina’s clients and then see to Gesina. Hopefully Tora will be able to aid me in drawing out the demon when we go back to Raik.”
“I am no demon slayer, but I have seen you time and again change direction in your battle with these creatures. You do so in a split second. Your mind works at an extremely fast rate. Trust yourself. Trust your instincts. Don’t think about Raik or anyone else. Whether you’re a failure or a success in defeating this demon this time, it is simply about gaining experience. If you are unsuccessful in drawing him out, it cannot be counted asyou’renot good enough. It means you will come up with another idea and learn from the one that didn’t work.”
Fenja’s voice was low and firm when she gave Silke her advice. Silke knew it was exactly what she needed to hear.
Chapter
7
Demon.
Silke didn’t so much as blink, her body relaxed, her smile one of welcome as the small group of men and women Gesina brought to the estate greeted her. Stepping off the stone steps to the walkway below the house, she willed Fenja to stay inside rather than come out to greet the tourists as she sometimes did. Not when one of the humans wasn’t really human. To make certain, she raised her hand to her hair, sweeping it back as she looked directly into one of the many cameras hidden on the property. Hopefully, Fenja was watching and would heed the warning.
This wasn’t a case of a demon finding a host body. She recognized the strength of the demon. This was one deliberately sent out in human form at Lilith’s command to infiltrate humankind and turn them to Lilith’s purpose. The demon was male, used to having his commands obeyed, and arrogant about his strength. Few opposed his will.
The leader of the group, then. Ares Castello was a man appearing to be in his late fifties. He looked physically fit, even tough. There were three other men in the tour group and two women. He must have been in human form for years because he was extremely comfortable in the body. It was possible that was his natural form. He moved with ease,even grace, for such a large man. He was entirely confident being the leader. He exuded a charismatic charm. Even Gesina had fallen under his spell. She laughed quite a bit with him and was even flirty, something Silke had never seen her do before.
The three men accompanying Castello appeared to be in their thirties. They were also physically fit. Two had dark brown hair and were brothers. They were introduced as Georgios and Callen Bakis. Silke didn’t think they were twins, but they looked quite a bit alike. Georgios had more muscle on his frame while Callen was leaner. Both had dark brown eyes. The third man, Herman Drakos, also appeared to be in his thirties. He had light chestnut hair and green eyes.
Silke paid attention to the eyes of the three younger men. At times, even if a demon could hide well, she might still detect a flicker of red flame smoldering low, like a tiny ember in their eyes. She saw nothing like that in the three men, but they were clearly under the influence of Castello. They hung on to every word he said. If he gave the slightest instruction, they instantly sprang to do his bidding. That worried Silke. If this demon had that kind of power over his followers, was it possible for him to recruit others from her village?
She kept her smile welcoming as Gesina introduced her to the two women. Melia Floros was older, somewhere between fifty-five and her late sixties. There was no taint of a demon in her, but she gave off a fanatical aura. She was short and slight, a bit bent, but she moved as if she could be a runner. Her hair was gray and cut severely around her face but off her neck and ears. She had several deep wrinkles around her mouth, as if at one time she may have been a smoker.
The second woman, Thea Gerou, was younger, somewhere in her late twenties or early thirties. She was good-looking with her shiny cap of dark hair and her very dark brown eyes. Silke was a tall woman, but Thea was taller by at least two inches. Silke thought Thea looked like a runway model. If she wasn’t one, she should be.
