Her words tumbled over one another as if she were very eager to finally have someone to talk about the strange phenomenon with.Benedek found himself admiring her even more. She didn’t tell a lie. The mage might have been able to discern deceit, but she was careful to tell the truth. Her deception was in the delivery, but the mage didn’t know her. She was giving him what he expected.
Are you able to read his thoughts?Benedek was Carpathian, an ancient, and he couldn’t see into the mind of the mage.
I don’t read his mind like you envision.
Benedek merged further with her, staying very still and quiet. Silke put out the lowest energy of any living creature. He doubted if before he had tied them together as lifemates he would have been able to detect her presence. She had called the demons to her with a similar takeover. He watched the mage carefully. They could be very sensitive to magic.
I don’t use magic.
Benedek wanted to smile, and that shocked him. He was in hunter mode, and yet he found himself amused by her. She didn’t know herself at all.You are magic. Just managing to make me feel emotions, making me want to laugh, even in a situation such as this one, just proves to me how magical you are.
“Sound doesn’t get through the stone walls?”
“No. Not even the windows.”
Drakos frowned. “That’s highly unusual. Did you ask your mother about it?”
Silke’s laughter was sweet. Musical. Benedek saw the mage wince. He shook his head and then brought his hand up, pushing at the air between Silke and himself. That pure note in her laughter bothered the mage, telling Benedek he was far darker than he appeared. That meant his skill level was extremely high. He moved his body between his lifemate and Drakos.
“Yes, several times. She said the house and walkways had been constructed by someone famous in the village. She had always loved the estate, and when it came up for sale, she bought it.”
“So she didn’t have this house built?”
Benedek detected the subtle flow of magic streaming from the mage as he asked his questions. Benedek held up his palms as a barrier. He doubted if Drakos’ dark magic would work against Silke. She seemed to have built-in protections. Nevertheless he was remaining between them to ensure the mage couldn’t get to her when he struck—and he would. Benedek felt his underlying frustration.
“I’m going to be very honest with you, Silke,” Drakos said. “May I call you Silke? And please call me Herman.”
That is not his real name,Silke said.It has a false ring to it when he says it.
Mages rarely allow anyone to know their given names. There is power in a name.
“Please do be honest with me,” Silke encouraged.
Benedek became aware of Silke’s silent, stealthy invasion into the mage’s mind. Just as she had drifted, low-key, into the minds of the demons, she did the same to Drakos. His woman was fearless. Throughout the centuries, he had fought beside many Carpathians, humans, jaguars and werewolves. Her courage rivaled any of those he had gone into battle with.
Drakos gave her another of his charming smiles and shifted in his chair, fully facing her, his pale green eyes intent on her face. “Ares Castello is the head of a very dangerous cult. He’s here recruiting, but more importantly, he’s looking for one woman. He believes there is a person in your village known as a demon slayer.”
Silke drew back, one hand fluttering defensively to her throat. She gave a little frown of disbelief, but she didn’t respond.
Drakos took the bait, continuing to spin his web of lies. “Castello has made many people disappear. I fear for your mother.”
“Yet you travel with him,” Silke pointed out.
She had shrugged off the small backpack she never went anywhere without. It sat close to her hand on the opposite side, away from the mage. She didn’t so much as glance at it, but Benedek followed her thoughts as she meticulously assessed each weapon she had availableto her and precisely where it was in the pack. Then she turned her attention to the mage, looking not at his physical body but examining his mind, looking for hidden weaknesses. She looked for the way he practiced his dark magic on others. How he enslaved them. How he killed them. She was methodical about it, her touch light, her energy so low it was impossible to detect her.
“I’m working undercover investigating him. It’s a precarious position to be in. He seems to have the ability to influence his followers to do anything he desires, including end their lives.”
“But not you.”
“Some people are born protected from certain sounds. I am one of them, which makes me a good investigator when it comes to people such as Castello. He runs a good con, but it’s his voice that others find so compelling.”
“I didn’t find him compelling in the least,” Silke confided.
“He’s very frustrated, and that makes him dangerous. Many of the people he’s encountered in this village don’t react to his voice. He’s never encountered so many in one place, and there doesn’t seem to be an explanation for that.”
Silke frowned. “Really? I would have put it down to the fact that we tend to cling to the old ways. Even our medicine is homeopathic for the most part. Our doctor uses a mix of modern and ancient techniques. We’re mostly direct descendants from old lineages. What kind of explanation do you have for being able to resist his compulsion? You’ve had plenty of time to think about it.”
Benedek had to hand it to her. It was a natural question. She’d been forthcoming in her explanation—to a point. Tora had reinforced all barriers in as many of the townspeople as possible. Neither the demon nor the mage would be able to find those Carpathian-woven shields because Tora used unique, ancient weaves neither man had been exposed to.
