“Wretch.” She smiled grudgingly. “You caught me off guard for a moment.”
“I thought I mimicked my father exceptionally well.” Sacha shuddered. “What a ghastly thought.” He grinned slyly. “And I almost had Galen reaching for his dagger to stab the wicked villain and keep you by his side.”
“I was not amused,” Galen admitted, his arm tightening about Tess’s waist. “Your first act as monarch would have plunged Tamrovia into a war.”
Sacha’s eyes widened in shock. “Merde, I forgot I must start thinking about those boring kinds of repercussions. What a depressing thought.” He uneasily shifted his shoulders as he turned toward the door. “I don’t believe I’m going to like this business. I’m not at all suited for majesty.”
Four hours later Tess stood on the steps with Galen and watched Sacha mount his stallion in the courtyard below.
“I’ll miss him,” she murmured huskily.
“He’s not gone forever,” Galen said.
But they both knew Sacha’s road was taking a new curve that was leading him away from them. In spite of Sacha’s apprehensions she thought she could already see signs of new power and authority in his bearing as he turned to Count Mazlek and gestured impatiently for him to mount. “He’s going to change.”
“So are we all.” Galen gently brushed his lips on her temple. “Life would be very dull if we stayed the same. You wouldn’t like that either, my love.” He released her and nudged her forward. “Now, go and tell him farewell.”
She started down the steps. “Aren’t you coming?”
“I went to his chamber earlier to say good-bye. I have no liking for prolonged farewells.”
Sacha smiled down at Tess as she crossed the courtyard toward him. “Don’t look so forlorn, imp. Zalandan isn’t a world away from Belajo, and I’ll remember the way back.”
“Did you tell Viane good-bye?”
“Yes.” His smile faded. “As well as I could with Kalim hovering in the background. She was very … courteous.” He sighed. “It made me feel melancholy.”
“Nonsense.”
His eyes widened. “I thought you’d have more sympathy for my suit.”
“At first, I thought you should have Viane merely because you wanted her.” Tess met his gaze. “But now I realize she wouldn’t do for you at all. You and I are a great deal alike, Sacha. You wanted her only because she represented a safety and sanctuary neither of us have ever had. She would have driven you mad in three months. She’s much better off with Kalim. He told me once he’d give his life for her.”
He frowned. “I’m not without valor.”
“Valor has nothing to do with it.” She gestured impatiently. “That’s why she’s wrong for you. You’d enjoy risking your life for her, but what then? You’d go away and search for a new challenge to face. Tell me, why are you leaving Sedikhan so meekly after six years?”
“It could be because no one has offered me a throne before,” he suggested dryly.
She shook her head.
“No?” He lifted his brows. “Then I’m sure you’re going to tell me.”
“You have no desire to be a king. You’re leaving because, though the struggle here will continue, the unrest and danger is gone now that we have unity. Don’t you see? You don’t need a sanctuary. You need an adventure, a great adventure. Viane wasn’t your great adventure, Sacha.”
His expression softened as he looked down into her earnest face. “And is Galen your great adventure, imp?”
“Oh yes,” she said softly.
“No following in Marco Polo’s footsteps?”
“Perhaps someday.” She grinned. “But you can be sure I’ll take Galen with me. Kadines are much too well-accepted in Sedikhan for my liking.” She reached up and affectionately squeezed his hand resting on the reins before stepping back. “Go with God, Sacha, and return when you can.”
“I will.” He smiled down at her. “And come to Belajo in a year or two, and you may see a few changes at court.” He turned his horse and rode forward to join Count Mazlek and his escort. “I’ve always thought it needed a bit of livening.”
She chuckled as she watched him ride out of the courtyard, his hair blazing in the sunlight, his bearing indomitable yet insouciant. She had a sudden mental picture of him lolling on the Tamrovian throne, bejeweled crown slightly askew on his curly red head, his blue eyes shining with deviltry.
“Lord help them,” she murmured.
“Tess?” Galen called.
She turned to see Galen waiting on the steps, his dark hair lifting in the breeze, his expression a little impatient but very loving. Galen was a complicated man, one she might never know completely, one who would change and grow with every passing day. She could hardly wait to see what interesting challenge he would offer her next.
She smiled. “Coming.”
She started across the courtyard toward her own great adventure.
About the Author
IRIS JOHANSEN, who has more than eight million copies of her books in print, has won many awards for her achievements in writing. The bestselling author of No One to Trust, Final Target, Body of Lies, The Search, The Killing Game, The Face of Deception, And Then You Die, Long After Midnight, and The Ugly Duckling. She lives near Atlanta, Georgia; where she is currently at work on a new novel.
Look for Iris Johansen’s novel
FINAL TARGET
available from Bantam Books
No sooner does Melissa Riley arrive at her sister’s isolated Virginia country home than she finds herself entangled in a drama she never expected. Years earlier, her sister, the renowned Dr. Jessica Riley, had pulled Melissa out of the darkness of severe catatonic trauma. Now she’s attempting to do the same for the daughter of the President of the United States. But to free young Cassie Andreas from the terrors of her own mind, Melissa and Jessica must risk their own safety and sanity and place their trust in a mysterious, charismatic stranger, a man who made his fortune in the underworld. But does Michael Travis really want to help? Or is his show of concern a dangerous charade?
Far away from Virginia, an international game of deadly intrigue is under way It is a game of powerful criminals whose specialty is getting what they want—and whose means to do it is murder. It is the game of one killer in particular who is obsessed with the very thing at the heart of Cassie’s nightmares.
Turn the page for a sneak preview.
September
Vasaro, France
Wind Dancer.
Get to the Wind Dancer.
Blood was everywhere.
He was coming toward her.
Cassie screamed and ran from the bedroom.
“Come back here!” The man in the ski mask leapt after her.
Her white nightgown flying, she ran down the hall and the stairs, her breath catching as sobs choked her. She had to get to the Wind Dancer. She would be safe if she could just get to it.
“Stop that kid, dammit.” The man was now leaning over the banister. The man who had shot Pauley in her bedroom after Pauley had thrown himself in front of her. He was yelling at the three masked men in the hall below. More blood. More bodies lying on the floor …
She stopped in terror a few steps from the bottom.
Mama and Daddy weren’t here. They were in Paris. She was alone in the house with Jeanne, her nurse, and the Secret Service men. Where was Jeanne?
“Come, little one.” There she was, standing in the doorway to the study. The Wind Dancer was in the study too. She would be safe if she could get to it.
Jeanne smiled. “Come, Cassie.”
Couldn’t she see that those three men were between her and the study? But maybe she could get past them. The study was to the left of the staircase. She jumped over the banister and landed running.
“Clever girl.” Jeanne whisked her into the study and locked the door.
Cassie threw herself into Jeanne’s arms. “He shot Pauley. I woke up and he was standing by the bed and … Pauley was ble
eding.…”
Jeanne patted her back. “I know, Cassie. It must have been terrible for you. But you’re with me now.”
Cassie’s arms tightened around her in panic. “They’re in the hall. They’ll break down the door. They’ll shoot us.”
“They won’t shoot us. Don’t I always protect you?” She gently pushed her away. She nodded at the Wind Dancer on the pedestal in the corner. “Now go and see your friend while I think of something to do.”
“I’m scared, Jeanne. They’ll break down the door and—”
“Stop crying.” She turned away. “Trust me, Cassie.”
She couldn’t stop crying. She did trust Jeanne, but they would come in. Nothing could stop them.
The Wind Dancer.
She ran across the room and looked up at the statue. They needed magic and everyone said the statue had magic. Cassie knew it did. She always felt it whenever she was near the Wind Dancer. Even though this wasn’t the real statue, Daddy had said the hologram was like it in every way. So surely it had enough magic to save them.
“Help us,” she whispered. “Please. They’re going to hurt us.”
The Pegasus stared at her with brilliant emerald eyes that seemed to know everything. It would be all right. The warmth that always comforted her when she was with the statue was gradually banishing the chill. She had Jeanne and the Wind Dancer. Nothing could hurt her. They would be safe now that—
A knock at the door.
She whirled to face it. Jeanne was walking toward the door, she realized in horror.
“No.”
“Hush.”
She ran across the room. “No, Jeanne. He’s going to—”
Jeanne pushed her aside and opened the door.
It was him, the man in the mask. “I told you—”
“It’s about time,” Jeanne said. “Where the hell have you been, Edward?”
“Finishing up. This place was teeming with Secret Service. I knew you had her secure, so I took care of business.” He walked into the study. “The helicopter is coming. I’m ready for the kid now.”
“Then take her. Get it over with.” Jeanne crossed her arms over her chest. “This night has left a nasty taste in my mouth.”
“Because you’re such a delicate soul. But not too delicate to take the money and run.” He looked at Cassie. “Come on, Cassie. We have places to go and people to see.”
“Jeanne?” She backed away from him. “Jeanne, help me.…”
“Go with him. He won’t hurt you as long as you mind him like a good girl.” Her voice was hard, not like Jeanne’s at all.
This man had shot Pauley and left him lying on the rug of her bedroom with the blood pouring out of his chest. How could Jeanne say he wouldn’t hurt her? How could she tell her to go with him? Why was she looking at Cassie that way? “Daddy,” she whimpered. “Daddy.”
The man’s green eyes gleamed through the slits in the ski mask as he came toward her. “Daddy’s not here. No one’s here to take care of you, so don’t cause me any trouble.”
She kept on backing away. “Jeanne?”
“Stop it,” Jeanne said harshly. “I can’t help you. I don’t want to help you. Go with him.”
Cassie felt the cold marble of the Wind Dancer pedestal touch her back, and she suddenly felt a surge of hope. “No, I won’t go. You can’t make me go. He won’t let you.”
“He?”
“She’s nuts about that crummy statue,” Jeanne said. “She thinks the damn thing can do anything.”
“Crummy?” He stared at the holograph. “That’s almost sacrilege, Jeanne. It’s magnificent. Have you no appreciation?”
“I appreciate the money the thing could bring us.”
“But it’s not real and Cassie is very real. Go get her.”
“Get her yourself.”
“If you want to be on that helicopter, you’ll earn your passage.”
I’ve already earned it. You’d never have been able to do this if I hadn’t given you the setup and opened—” She met his gaze. “Oh, very well.” She strode across the room. “Come along, Cassie. You can’t fight us. You’ll only be hurt if you do.”
Take me away, Cassie prayed. Take me away. Take me away.
Jeanne put a hand on her shoulder.
Take me away.
“You don’t want him to shoot you like he did Pauley? He’ll do it. You have to mind him or—”
“She doesn’t seem to believe you,” the man said softly. “I think she needs another example.”
“What do you—”
Jeanne’s head exploded.
Cassie screamed as brain matter splattered her chest.
She crouched on the floor, her gaze on Jeanne’s ruined face.
Take me away.
“Stop screaming.”
Take me away.
“Stand up.” He reached down and jerked her to her feet. “You shouldn’t mind my getting rid of her. She insulted your friend the Wind Dancer, and she was a Judas. Once a Judas, always a Judas. Do you know what a Judas is, little girl?”
Take me away. Take me away. Take me away.
It was happening. He was fading, as if he were at the end of a long tunnel.
“But I won’t do that to you if you don’t cause me problems. Just do what I tell you and it will—What the shit!”
Gunshots.
He let go of her and ran out into the hall.
She sank back down on the floor next to Jeanne. Blood. Death. Judas. She wasn’t afraid any longer. She was going away. She was the one in the tunnel now and the darkness didn’t frighten her. As long as she stayed in the tunnel, nothing could touch her and she’d be safe. With every moment she was moving deeper into that darkness.
“Cassie?”
A man was kneeling before her. No mask. Dark eyes like her daddy’s. “I’m Michael Travis. The bad people have gone away. You’re safe now. I’m going to touch you and check to make sure you’re not hurt. Is that okay?”
She didn’t answer. She didn’t have to be afraid any longer. He’d made the monsters go away. Soon he would go away too, but it didn’t matter what happened outside the tunnel.
She felt his hands on her arms and legs and then they were gone.
“Come on, baby.” His lips tightened as he glanced at Jeanne. “Let’s get you out of here. I’ll take you into the kitchen and we’ll get you cleaned up while we wait for your mom and dad.” He picked her up and moved toward the door. “I know it’s hard to believe, but everything’s going to be okay.”
It wasn’t hard to believe. Not now that she was moving deeper into the tunnel. Everything was shadow and she wasn’t afraid of shadows. As they reached the doorway, she looked over Michael’s shoulder at the Wind Dancer. Emerald eyes stared at her across the room. Strange. They looked fierce and cruel like the picture of the dragon in the book Daddy gave her. But her Wind Dancer was never cruel.
And nothing else was cruel anymore either. Not here. Not now.
But just to be sure, she went deeper into the tunnel.
May
Cambridge, Massachusetts
“I’m sorry to have to throw this at you during finals, Melissa.” Karen spoke hesitantly. “If there was any other way …”
“You want me to move out.” It was no surprise. Melissa had known the decision was coming.
“Just until you have this problem under control. We’ve scouted out an efficiency for you about a block from here. You can move in right away.”
Melissa turned to her other roommate. “Wendy?”
Wendy Sendle nodded miserably. “We think you’d be better off in an apartment by yourself.”
“And you certainly would be better off without me.” She held up a hand as Wendy opened her mouth to protest and said gently, “It’s okay. I understand. I’m not blaming you. I’ll pack up and be out by tonight.”
“You don’t have to be in a hurry. Tomorrow would be—” Wendy broke off as Karen gave her a pointed glance. “We’ll be glad to
help you pack.”
Melissa had known they wouldn’t want to risk another night with her. “Thank you.” She tried to smile. “Now, stop looking so guilty. We’ve been friends for years. This isn’t going to change anything.”
“I hope not,” Karen said. “You know we love you. We took it as long as we could, Melissa.”
“I know. You’ve been very tolerant.” She should have moved out weeks ago, but she’d felt safe here. “I’ll just go into the bathroom and pack my toiletries.”
“Melissa, have you ever thought of going back to Juniper?” Wendy moistened her lips. “Maybe your sister can help you.”
“I’ll think about it. Right now Jessica’s pretty busy with a new job.”
“You’re very close. If she knew, I think she’d put her project on hold.”
“It’s hard to put off. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” She closed the bathroom door behind her and leaned against it, her heart pounding. Calm down. So she’d be alone tonight. Maybe it wouldn’t happen. Maybe it would go away.
But it hadn’t gone away in the last few weeks. It had started hazy and far away, barely discernible in the swirling darkness. But lately it kept coming closer. She knew she’d be able to see it clearly soon.
Oh God, don’t let her see it.
Juniper, Virginia
“Cassie’s had another nightmare,” Teresa Delgado said as she stood in the doorway of Jessica’s bedroom. “A bad one.”
“They’re all bad.” Jessica Riley rubbed her eyes before she sat up and reached for her robe. “You didn’t leave her alone?”
“There are other people around here who know their jobs besides you. Rachel’s with her.” She made a face. “But Cassie might as well be alone. She’s curled up in a ball with her face to the wall. I tried to comfort her, but, as usual, Cassie’s acting as if she can’t hear me. As deaf as a fence post.”
“She’s not deaf.” Jessica passed her and started down the hall. “She’s aware of everything around her. She’s just rejecting it all. The only time she’s vulnerable and lets anything in is when she’s sleeping.”