“I have wanted to tell Rand what a worm he is from the first day I ever read my mother’s diary. And I don’t want to feel about Jacques the way she felt about Rand. Not to the extent that I would neglect a child, live as if I was already dead, just waiting until she was old enough to be on her own.”
“Not everyone is strong, Shea,” Raven counseled gently. “Look at how long Gregori has lasted without his lifemate. Mikhail and Jacques, Aidan and his brother Julian, have all lasted far longer than most of the others. There have been so many over the years that have turned, not strong enough to hold out. Why? Why Gregori and not this vampire? What happened to your mother would not happen to you because you are not the same person. You’re very strong. And your mother had no way of knowing what was happening to her.”
Shea paced the length of the room, suddenly restless. The conversation was giving her a knot in her stomach. Was Gregori really capable of creating an earthquake that could destroy cities? Keeping the unborn child safe was even more important than she’d thought. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of lives could depend on it. That was what Gregori was trying to convey to her. He needed this child in order to survive much longer without turning vampire.
“I’m sorry, Shea, you’ve been thrown into deep water and told to swim without a lesson. I wish I could help you,” Raven said softly.
“I feel as if I’ve been afraid for so long now, I don’t know any other way of life,” Shea confided. “Jacques depends on me to keep him sane, and now all this is happening. I hope you’re right, Raven. I hope I’m very strong.”
* * *
Chapter Thirteen
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Jacques reached the edge of the meadow at the timberline to find Mikhail pacing carefully across a patch of earth. “Wolf traps,” he said tersely and continued his inspection.
“Watch for thin wires, perhaps not visible to our eyes,” Jacques cautioned. “He must be able to do something to hide the wires from us.”
Gregori’s form shimmered into solidity. He stood very still, inhaling the early-morning air. “This is one giant trap, my friends. I am very uneasy finding only one human with Byron.”
“If Byron is even inside,” Jacques agreed. “Where are the others?”
“The vampire must be in the ground, away from the sun,” Mikhail said. “There is nothing that could allow him to see the light of day once he has turned.”
“So where is the human’s partner?” Jacques asked aloud.
Mikhail shrugged uneasily. “I suggest we approach soundlessly and invisible to the human eye.
“Spread out so we can help one another should there be need.”
“The wire.” Gregori’s voice was a mere thread of sound. “It is strung crisscrossed throughout the meadow at various heights. A thin, garrote-like affair meant to slice through the throat, but also hung in such a way as to cut us in many places, making us weak. Obviously no thought was given to other humans or animals who might venture near this place.” .
“Ah, yes, I see them now. Very clever, our vampire,” Mikhail said. “We are definitely expected, though not, I should think, until tonight. Perhaps his human friends have gone for supplies, thinking they have the entire day to torment Byron without fear of interference.”
“I do not know, Mikhail. Something here makes me uneasy,” Gregori warned. “Something not quite right.”
“I feel it also,” Jacques agreed, “although I cannot explain what it is exactly. It is as if this is all prearranged, and we are walking into a spider’s web. I know this place. I can feel the pain and torment as if it was happening all over again.” And he was, his insides writhing and his gut clenching. It was difficult to maintain his outward calm when his flesh crawled and pain tore at him, splintering his mind so that he didn’t know what was real and what was part of his never-ending nightmare.
“Perhaps you are feeling Byron’s pain,” Mikhail suggested with concern. Jacques’ face remained impassive, but the lines in his skin deepened, and crimson smeared his forehead.