8
Silke Vriese Reinders was absolutely beautiful. In his long existence, Benedek had never once considered what was beauty in a woman. They came in all sorts of forms and sizes, with various hair and eye coloring. To him, they had all been the same. He lived in a gray world, so he’d never really seen the differences other than in height and shape.
He had never expected to find his lifemate attractive in the sense of physical beauty. Above all else, he valued loyalty and intellect. Looks didn’t matter in the least. There was just something compelling about her that drew his attention. She was truly fascinating to him.
There was no question that she was suspicious. He could feel her reaching out, extending her senses in an effort to locate the watchers. Somehow, as impossible as it should be, she knew they were there. He had wanted a chance to observe her before he introduced himself to her. Nicu, Lojos and Tomas, like him, struggled with the continual whispers tormenting them to kill while feeding. As if the bloodlust weren’t bad enough, the cravings grew around the close proximity of the villagers. Mataias fed and brought the necessary blood to each of them. It was the only way to ensure they could keep the villagers safe.
They had entered the home of a fisherman when a woman openedthe door and invited the healers inside. As she didn’t specify who she was inviting, the Carpathians were free to enter as well. Silke and Tora greeted her warmly, calling her Imka and asking after her husband and daughter.
Benedek and the others were adept at concealing themselves in the air itself. Tora hadn’t been in the least aware of their presence in the house. His lifemate, on the other hand, had acted suspicious from the moment they had gotten close to her home. Now that they had followed her into Imka’s home she was doubly suspicious. That was unprecedented. They were ancients, and no one should have been able to detect their presence. Was the lifemate pull that strong? Had she sensed they were close to her because she carried the other half of his soul? That didn’t make sense to him.
Silke looked cautiously around the room. Benedek could feel her reaching out, trying to ferret out if they were alone. The ancients remained very still, becoming part of the room they were in. Settling into cracks in the fireplace. A knot in the wood panel. On the ceiling fan blades. It should be impossible for his lifemate to be aware of them, but he knew they were the ones making her uneasy.
Benedek admired her for that ability. She was a warrior. A fit partner for someone like him. She understood duty.
“How was Raik last night?” Tora asked Imka.
“He was very quiet and is still sleeping,” Imka confirmed.
“That’s good. That’s what we hoped for him,” Tora said. “We’re going to do another healing session with him. Come with me into the other room.”
“Tora.” Silke stopped her.When you go out, safeguard them. Close off all access to every part of the house from this room. I feel very uneasy, as if something got into the house when we did.
Tora looked around carefully, all the while chatting with Imka about her husband.
Silke warned Tora that she is aware of our presence,Benedek told theothers. He was very careful to keep his energy low and use the ancient path.We are being hunted, ironically by my own lifemate.
The first time Benedek heard Silke’s voice, his world had turned upside down. She had spoken to Tora aloud at her home when they were leaving, her voice clear and musical. Soft and sweet. Colors blinded him. His stomach had lurched, his vision completely disrupted. He had to tone down the colors, until they were nearly nonexistent, to see around him.
Emotions, unfamiliar and useless as far as he was concerned, crowded in until he couldn’t distinguish one from the other. He shut those down as well. Not only did they serve little purpose, but the craving for blood he couldn’t shake increased tenfold.
Tora gave Silke a slight nod and accompanied Imka out of the room. Silke moved into a more defensible position. Benedek thought it significant that she didn’t go near the fireplace or the wooden panels with the knots in them. She stayed across the room from the overhead fan.
How is she aware of us?Mataias asked the question each of the ancients was wondering.
She must be very sensitive to energy,Nicu guessed.But is she more so than a Carpathian woman?
That can’t be,Lojos said.Yet Tora would never have known we were present if Silke hadn’t warned her.
She doesn’t know for certain,Tomas said.She is wary but unsure.
Benedek didn’t believe that to be true. Inexplicably he felt pride in Silke’s ability to detect their presence. She might not know exactly what they were or where they were, but she knew something or someone had entered the house when she did. The more he observed her, the more he found himself fascinated with her.
It was very clear she and Tora often worked together. Their interactions were smooth. Neither seemed to have an ego that insisted one was the leader and the other the follower. He admired that trait aswell, although he found it interesting that Tora, a Carpathian woman, would give deference to a human.
Tora came back into the room, bringing a man with her. He was a big man and clearly in bad shape, moaning and rocking and holding his head. His eyes were by turns flickering with red embers, appearing cunning and sly, and then he would look sorrowful, filled with despair. Benedek didn’t like the way his head would turn in a slow scrutiny of the two women when his eyes flickered with those low red flames. There was menace there. Intent. He wanted to put his body between the man and the women.
Benedek didn’t move, mostly because Tora turned toward the entrance and began weaving safeguards. What was most interesting was that the weave she created was one he had never seen before. He could see that it was effective and would keep out vampires and anything else trying to get into the room. Had the ancients not made it into the house when the door was opened and Imka invited them inside, they never would have been able to unravel that weave.
“Tora, be ready. I’m going to draw the demon out. You’re going to have to safeguard Raik and yourself if I’m successful,” Silke said.
“What if he has immunity to the crystal sword the way the parent demon did? You could be in real trouble, Silke. The serpent was fast and clearly designed to attack you specifically.” Tora made her protest, but she did so low-key, her tone more interested than objecting.
I don’t like the sound of that,Nicu said.
Tora clearly believes Silke is up to the task,Lojos said.
Not sure if that is true,Mataias ventured.She’s worried but hiding it. I can feel her reluctance.
