I believe this is necessary, Ferro, or I would not ask this of you, Gary said.
He was asking it of Elisabeta, but Ferro wasn’t going to point out to the ancient healer what he already knew.
“I am sorry, minan piŋe sarnanak, it seems that once again, your gifts might be needed.”
Elisabeta wrapped her arm around his waist and nodded, uncertain what to think. No matter what, if Ferro asked it of her, or commanded it—which to her was the same—she would go.
9
As the hues of the sky, shift upon the shore;
The reds once gray, a spectrum once more.
What went wrong this time?” Ferro asked Gary. “Surely Dragomir didn’t throw a tantrum the way Sandu did.” “I do not throw tantrums,” Sandu denied with great dignity. “Dragomir, however, has long been jealous that down through the ages no one has sung his praises over the campfires. He most likely was bemoaning the fact, and young Josef could no longer listen. I believe it was the young Carpathian who flung the tablet at him.”
Ferro turned his attention to Dragomir. “Is this true?”
Dragomir gave his blackest scowl to Sandu. “Of course, it isn’t true. Why would I care whether songs are sung over the campfires of my exploits? Ancient hunters do not expect songs of their legendary battles. Only those vain carry on about them.”
“I was referring to young Josef throwing a tablet at you,” Ferro said, striving for patience.
“Yes, well. That part might be true. He muttered something along the lines of ‘dim-witted blockheads’ and flung the tablet at my head. Fortunately, I am very fast and caught it before it could fall to the ground. The little upstart thought he might go toe-to-toe with me.”
Ferro ignored the taunting amusement in Dragomir’s voice. He could see that Tariq, Maksim and Traian found the young Carpathian’s behavior laughable, but he found himself uneasy. He had known Dragomir for centuries and never once had the ancient had that particular mocking, almost snide tone when he was referring to the young tech. Ferro tried to change the sound in his mind but it always came out slightly sneering. The others around him didn’t seem to hear it, or at least if they did, no one reacted.
“You thought this warranted calling for Elisabeta to calm the situation? Dragomir, you have a lifemate, and unlike Sandu, there is no way for you to turn. Josef is not yet fifty years of age, his emotions have not begun to fade. When using any psychic gift there is a price the user pays. What about this situation did you feel made it worth Elisabeta paying this price?”
The amusement faded instantly from Dragomir’s expression to be replaced by pure ice in his golden eyes. He straightened to his full height, the lines deepening in his face. “What are you saying, Ferro? That I would hold your lifemate in less esteem than my own? Or that this child the new prince sent to force us to learn technology he didn’t bother to learn when he should have should be able to call me names? I should put up with the indignity of that after centuries of serving my people? I should have torn his head off his shoulders and thrown it into the lake.”
His voice was so cold that ice particles drifted in the air between them. Sandu coughed and moved back, away from the specks, and Ferro turned Elisabeta around.
Do not breathe those in. See if you can connect with him as you did Sandu and tell me what is happening to him.
“Dragomir.” Ferro pitched his voice very low even as he flicked his gaze around to his brethren.
They closed in around Dragomir, walling out Tariq and the others. To his relief, Gary removed Tariq altogether, although the leader the prince had chosen to represent him there in the United States stayed within viewing distance of the unfolding drama.
Emeline, Dragomir’s lifemate, raced unchecked from their home toward them. Dragomir saw her coming and stepped back, frowning. Shaking his head. Ferro felt Elisabeta instantly reach out to Dragomir and surround him with her soothing peace. He knew the moment all the brethren felt her gift and then when it encompassed Emeline as well. Emeline shot her a grateful glance. She’d skidded to a halt when Gary raised his hand and then stepped between her and her lifemate.
“Dragomir, your lifemate will breathe ice into her lungs. Get a hold of yourself. Let me in to aid you. Let the healer in.” Ferro kept his voice pitched very low.
Dragomir shook his head again, his gaze on Emeline. She held out her hand to him in entreaty. He pressed his lips together to keep from breathing ice particles, and then those golden eyes jumped to Ferro and the healer. He nodded.
Ferro and Gary used their blood-bond with Dragomir to enter. Elisabeta, merged with Ferro as she was, slipped in as well. Ferro found weird streaks of color in a ferocious red across Dragomir’s mind, almost like the vicious claw marks a cat might make. The lines were thin and already fading. Elisabeta’s gentle breeze sent them drifting away, thinning until the claw marks wore away to nothing. Gary’s healing spirit moved through Dragomir’s brain carefully, looking for any sign of damage or an intruder that had somehow managed to slip past their safeguards. Other than them being uneasy, they could find nothing.
Dragomir scowled and shook his head several times as if he could shake loose whatever was inside his mind. “What happened to me, Ferro? I cannot turn vampire, and yet I could not stop wanting to rip that imbecile child’s head off, or worse, yours.”
Elisabeta, you said something to me about Sandu, and I dismissed it thinking, rather arrogantly, that I knew what you meant. You said there was something else at work here other than a dislike of modern technology. What did you mean?
Josef didn’t have a dislike of modern technology, and Dragomir could not possibly turn when Emeline was his true lifemate. Gary had not found even the slightest shadow in Dragomir’s brain.
The feel of evil was prevalent in Sandu’s mind, an overwhelming need for violence. It was there in Dragomir’s but not nearly as bad. She hesitated. Not evil exactly. That taint was there faintly, but more like malevolence. The need for violence.
Ferro turned what she said over and over in his mind. Ancients had no emotions. Sandu was incapable of feeling a need for violence. If Elisabeta said that was in his mind, then it had to have been there.
What do you think, Gary? he asked the healer.
Women often feel the emotions in the ancients that we cannot.
Ferro heard the speculation in his voice. Elisabeta didn’t say anything more. She didn’t weigh in one way or another, nor did he expect her to. He kept his arm firmly around her, holding her close there in the middle of the compound, trying to decide what was the best course of action, because something was very much off.
“Has anyone examined the boy?” he asked. “This is now two of our ancient warriors that have had a similar reaction after an encounter with him.”
Traian frowned. “Do you believe that Josef has managed to do something to introduce something evil to ancient warriors that would make them turn even if they had lifemates? A boy? A Carpathian boy who has worked hard to identify potential lifemates for those without them before the vampire can get to them? He’s placed himself in danger numerous times and proven himself over and over.”
“No one has accused him,” Gary said, his tone, as always, mild. “But something is wrong here. We have to make certain this compound is safe for our women and children, including Josef. There is no question that he is a valuable asset to our people. Like with Sandu and Dragomir, it is best, given the circumstances, that we examine him. I will need Elisabeta, Ferro. We will need to go to Tariq’s home to conduct the examination.”
Ferro gave an exaggerated sigh in order to make his woman laugh when he knew she would be nervous. “Of course you will. Is there anyone here who does not need my lifemate?”
He flicked his gaze at Sandu and Benedek, two of his brethren from the monastery. Entering Tariq’s home with his bodyguards close meant exposing Elisabeta to danger without anyone at his back. Gary was Tariq’s second-in-command and sworn to protect Tariq. As much as he would want to count on the ancient and the fact that their souls were tied together, he couldn’t do that, not when it came to Elisabeta’s safety, not when he still felt that strange, vague threat to her.
“I will need Sandu and Benedek with us,” he said.
Tariq had started toward his home but he spun around, his face darkening, as if his honor had been called into question, which—Ferro conceded—it had. “You do not feel as if you can bring your lifemate into my home, where Charlotte resides, without two of your brethren with you?”
It was a direct challenge and one Ferro hadn’t expected. Tariq was a man born to lead, one very careful of his tone and his wording. He wasn’t a confrontational man. In all things, he was diplomatic. He was also an ancient with an ancient’s patience. Having Sandu and Benedek in his home seemed a small thing and something often required when examining for any type of evil entity, especially if a lifemate was close. It was not an unreasonable request.
Do not answer him, Ferro, Gary said immediately. The healer glided in between the two ancients. Something is going on here that I do not understand.
“Tariq, you must have misunderstood Ferro. Elisabeta will have to be present when we examine Josef for any hidden evil intrusion. That presents a danger to her. Naturally, she will need to be guarded, as will you. Your safety is paramount and he knows that. We all know you chafe under the restrictions placed on you by the prince, but it can’t be helped. You must have guards.”
Tariq rubbed at his temples in much the same way Sandu and Dragomir had. Ferro and Gary exchanged a quick, uneasy glance. Something malevolent was invading the compound and it was spreading among the ancient warriors, even those with lifemates to anchor them. How could they possibly examine Tariq without offending him deeply and triggering the aggression that seemed to be pervading his mind?
“Yes, of course. I don’t know what got into me. Forgive me, Ferro.”
Sandu, make certain none of the brethren take their turn learning this new technology from Josef until we know what is going on, Ferro warned.