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 even with my misgivings about going with Damien, 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!”
Away from the palace, we turned the canter into a full gallop down along the river and into the open. From behind me I could hear Theo, breathing hard, and a glance showed that he was closing the gap. 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 pulled Nulla back to a canter then reduced her pace to a trot. Damien had caught up to me by then and drew 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 blowing of the horses. “I assume Ivan will take care of 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 into the forest towards his voice and using my gift found 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. 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 from 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. We attacked the two bandits terrorizing the poor passengers. With a mortal blow to his head, I knocked the bandit to the ground; then with a leap, 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 had easily dispatched the other two as well.
Now 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 bound bandit secured to his horse now tied to the back of the coach, the new driver cracked the whip and the coach began to move down the road. Ivan followed behind to insure 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 move. It happened so fast, I wasn’t sure if he or I had initiated the kiss. This was so different from kissing Quinn. With 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 adrenaline 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.”
&n
bsp; “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 begin to drink our fill. Later, 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 girls’ 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 is meant to be your one true love. One will make you face mortality; the other may only be a passing fancy. 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 because - 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,” Kate assured.
“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 fr
iends 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 me 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.” He turned to the guard, “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 as 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 it was, exactly like the picture in my mind.”
“That’s fantastic. It makes perfect sense, when you think about it, 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, forehead wrinkling, as she concentrated 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, and 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, as if they were being held close to a flame. The warmth seemed to move up my arm, across my shoulders, down my other arm, and continued on throughout the group - 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 anythi
ng 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 and 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, horrified to find that she had sustained a massive head wound. Instinctively, I put both my hands over the jagged injury, closed my eyes, willing 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 hands, the wound was gone; not even a scar remained. If it hadn’t been for the blood on my hands and the stairs, 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 said 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.
Over time I’ve practiced and refined my healing gift, mostly on animals and humans, but all these years I’ve felt like I should keep my ability 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?” Kate teased.
We all had a good laugh.