by Linda Howard
“Don’t do anything rash,” Judah said. “I swear to you that keeping Eve safe is my number one priority. I won’t let Cael hurt her.”
“You’ve brought this evil here to us!” Mercy screamed. “If you’d never come to the sanctuary, if you’d stayed away…”
“You would be dead,” Judah told her. “Greynell would have killed you.”
“Why did you stop him from killing me?”
Judah hesitated, a look of anguish in his cold, gray eyes. “No other Ansara has the right to kill you.”
Mercy couldn’t breathe. Her pulse pounded in her head, and for a millisecond she thought she might faint. “I understand. Dranir Judah had already claimed me as his kill.”
Sidonia’s screams echoed up the stairs, down the hall and through the open door to Mercy’s bedroom.
“Eve!” Mercy cried as she ran past Judah on her way out of the room.
Judah followed her down the backstairs. When they entered the kitchen, they instantly saw what had frightened Sidonia. Levitating several feet off the floor in the middle of the kitchen, Eve hung in midair, her mouth open, her little body stiff, and rotating slowly around and around. Her long, willowy hair floated straight up, parting in the back to reveal a glimpse of the blue crescent moon birthmark that branded her an Ansara. Her eyes faded from Raintree green to shimmering yellow-brown, then back to green. Soft, golden light twinkled on each of her fingertips.
Mercy rushed toward her daughter but couldn’t touch her. A barrier of some kind protected Eve, sealing her off completely from everything around her.
Judah shoved Mercy out of the way, and he, too, tried to breach the shield around Eve. “It’s impenetrable.”
“This has never happened to her before,” Mercy said. “Is Cael doing this? Are you doing it?”
“No, I don’t think this is Cael’s handiwork. And I swear to you that I’m not doing it.” He stared at their child, who was deep in the throes of some unknown type of transformation. “Maybe it has something to do with Sidra’s prophecy.”
Grabbing Judah’s arm, Mercy demanded, “What about the prophecy?”
“He’s trying to change her.” Sidonia pointed a bony finger at Judah. “He’s drawing the Raintree out of her. You see the way her eyes are going from green to gold.”
“Hush, Sidonia.” Mercy looked at Judah, her gaze imploring him.
“Sidra says that Eve is a child of light, born for the Ansara.” Judah focused completely on Eve. “As her father, I’d die to protect her. And as the Dranir, I am sworn to protect her for the sake of my people’s future.”
Mercy wasn’t sure what to believe. Was Judah telling her the truth, or at least a half-truth? Or was he lying to her? “We have to do something to stop this.” She tried again to penetrate the force field surrounding Eve but was thrown backward from an electrical charge the shield emitted. “There has to be a way to break the barrier.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” Judah said. “Look at her. She seems to be returning to normal.”
Eve floated down to the floor, landing easily on her feet. Her hair fell about her shoulders, and the light on her fingertips disappeared. She glanced from Judah to Mercy, her eyes once again completely Raintree green.
“Eve? Eve, are you all right?” Mercy asked, choking back tears.
Eve ran to Mercy, her arms outstretched. Mercy lifted her daughter into her arms and held her possessively. Resting her head on Mercy’s shoulder, Eve clung to her mother. When Judah approached, Mercy gave him a warning glare, all but snarling in her protective mother mode.
Suddenly Eve lifted her head and gasped. “Oh, shit!”
“What?” Mercy and Judah asked in unison.
“Where did you ever hear such an ugly word?” Sidonia, ever the grandmotherly nanny, scolded.
Eve looked at Sidonia. “I heard Uncle Dante say it. And Uncle Gideon.”
Mercy grasped Eve’s chin to gain her attention. “When did you hear your uncles—”
“Just a minute ago,” Eve said. “I heard them both say it. Uncle Dante said it when he found out that the bad Ansara caused the fire at his casino. And Uncle Gideon said it when he found out that the person who killed Echo’s friend was a very bad Ansara.”
“How do you know about the fire?” Mercy asked. “And Echo’s roommate?” She hadn’t told Eve anything about either incident.
“I heard what Uncle Dante and Uncle Gideon were thinking when they said ‘oh, shit’ right before I said it.”
If Eve had heard her uncles’ thoughts correctly, then that meant only one thing. “They’re trying to kill us.” Mercy realized the horrible truth. “The Ansara went after each of us—Dante and Gideon and me and…oh, God—Echo!” Holding Eve tightly, she started moving backward, away from Judah. “You knew what was happening, didn’t you? Has it all been a lie? Are you and your brother really allies?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Judah said. “Everything I’ve told you about Cael is the truth.”
“Just like everything you told me about you was the truth?”
Judah took several steps toward her.
“Stop!” Mercy shouted. “I mean it. Don’t come near me or Eve.”
“Mommy, don’t be mad at my daddy.” Eve gazed into Mercy’s eyes.
Suddenly the telephone rang.
“Answer it, Sidonia,” Mercy said.
Sidonia scurried across the room and picked up the portable phone from the charger base. “Hello.” She sighed. “Thank God, it’s you. Yes, she’s here.” Sidonia brought the telephone to Mercy, all the while glaring at Judah as if she thought her evil stare could keep him at bay. “It’s Dante.”
“Dante?” Mercy said as she took the phone.
“Don’t talk, just listen,” he told her. “We’re under attack from the Ansara. They were behind the fire here at the casino, and behind the attempt on Echo’s life. Don’t ask me any particulars. Just believe me when I say that I know it’s only a matter of time before they strike the sanctuary. It’ll be soon. Today would be my guess since—”
“Today is Alban Heruin.” Light of the Shore, the summer solstice, lying between Light of the Earth and Light of the Water, the equinoctial celebrations. “The height of the sun’s power.”
“I’ve just boarded the jet, and we’re leaving Reno. I’m on my way home. Gideon has already left Wilmington. We should both be there by late this afternoon.”
“Dante, there’s something I need to tell you.” How could she explain to him that this was all her fault?
“Whatever it is, it’ll have to wait.”
“Please—”
“Just hold things together until we get there. Understand?”
“I understand.”
“And if a woman named Lorna tries to contact you—she’s mine.”
The dial tone hummed in Mercy’s ear. “Dante?” She flung the phone down on the kitchen counter, then turned to confront Judah.
“Daddy’s gone,” Eve said.
Mercy visually scanned the room. Judah was gone. When had he left, and where was he now?
A couple of seconds after Dante called Mercy, Judah heard Claude’s telepathic message. You’re not answering your cell phone again. Damn it, Judah, all hell’s broken loose and you’ve left me no choice but to—
All hell’s broken loose here, too, Judah told his cousin. Mercy knows that I’m the Dranir.
That’s the least of our problems right now.
Judah ran up the backstairs. Look, if you’re about to tell me that Cael not only sent someone after Mercy but after her brothers and her cousin Echo, too, don’t bother. Dante just called Mercy, and I listened in on their conversation.
Then they figured it out just about the same time the council did, Claude said.
Don’t say anything else. Give me a minute. My phone’s upstairs.
We don’t have a minute to waste.
Judah rushed into Mercy’s bedroom and searched for his cell phone. He finally found i
t lying on the floor next to his shirt, covered with one of his socks. He picked it up and called Claude.
“What do you know that I don’t?” Judah asked.
“We received information that Cael is somewhere in North Carolina,” Claude said.
“That’s no surprise.”
“We suspect that he has up to a hundred warriors with him, and they’re somewhere between Asheville and the Raintree sanctuary.”
“A hundred! How the hell did he—crap! He’s been recruiting these people for quite some time, hasn’t he? Which isn’t really a surprise.”
“Well, this will surprise you—according to our informant, Cael is planning an all-out attack on the sanctuary sometime within the next twelve hours.”
“Damn! What does Sidra say? Why didn’t she see this coming?”
“She’s not sure, but she suspects that Cael has somehow cloaked the details of his plan so that none of our Ansara seers were able to clearly foresee it. And he’s probably put some kind of spell on all the Raintree seers, as well.”
“We can’t let this happen,” Judah said.
“We can’t stop it.”
“We can try. Call in the Select Guard. Have as many as will fit on the jet come with you immediately. Have the rest follow as soon as possible. Bring them here to North Carolina. Fly into Asheville. Civilian dress for everyone. Understand?”
“Yes, my lord. We need to be as inconspicuous as possible. They can change into uniform on the way to the sanctuary.”
“I’ll arrange ground transportation for you, and when you arrive outside the sanctuary boundary, I’ll be waiting for you,” Judah said. “Contact me when you’re close. In the meantime, once I’m certain Mercy can safeguard Eve during the battle, I’ll make plans of my own.”
“I know your first priority is to protect Princess Eve. But once she’s no longer in harm’s way, it will be too late to turn back. It will be all-out war between the Ansara and the Raintree. Cael has left us no choice but to fight now.”
“Then we’ll fight,” Judah said.
“Where’s my daddy?” Eve asked as Mercy knelt in front of her daughter. “Where did he go?”
“I don’t know,” Mercy lied. She suspected Judah had either left to join Cael or was making plans to do so. “But you mustn’t worry about your father.” She cupped Eve’s beautiful little face with her open palms. “Listen to me, sweetheart, and do exactly what I tell you to do.”
“All right,” Eve said, her voice shaky. “Something really bad is wrong, isn’t it?”
‘Yes, something really bad is wrong. Your father’s brother is going to come here and bring some other very bad men with him. So I’m going to send you with Sidonia to the Caves of Awenasa, and I’m going to invoke a cloaking spell to keep you and Sidonia safe.”
“I need to be here,” Eve said. “With you and Daddy. You’ll need me.”
Mercy choked with emotion. “You can’t stay here. Your father and I can’t do what we have to do if you’re here. I’ll be—we’ll be too concerned about you. Please, Eve, go with Sidonia and stay there until I or Uncle Dante or Uncle Gideon comes and gets you.”
Eve stared at Mercy, a soulful expression in her true Raintree green eyes.
“Tell me that you understand and that you’ll do as I ask,” Mercy said.
Eve put her arms around Mercy’s neck and hugged her. “I’ll go with Sidonia to the caves. You can go ahead and do the cloaking spell. I won’t try to stop you.”
Mercy heaved a deep sigh of relief. “Thank you, my sweet baby girl.” She hugged Eve with the fierceness of a warrior facing possible death, knowing she might never see her child again.
When Mercy finally released Eve, she stood and turned to Sidonia. “I’m trusting you with the most precious thing in the world to me.”
“You know that I’ll guard her with my life.”
Eve went to Sidonia and took her hand. The two waited while Mercy spoke the ancient words, invoking the most powerful cloaking spell she knew of, one that would make it difficult—hopefully impossible—for anyone to track and find Eve.
Mercy stood at the kitchen door, and watched while Sidonia led Eve across the open field and toward the higher mountain range. The Caves of Awenasa were over three miles away, deep in the forest that covered the far western mountainside. Within minutes, both Sidonia and Eve disappeared, the cloaking spell in full effect now, protecting them from detection, guarding them from harm.
Believing that Eve was safe and that she would instantly know if anyone had penetrated the cloaking spell, Mercy hurried upstairs to dress and make preparations for what was to come: battle—perhaps the final battle—with the Ansara.
Fifteen minutes later, dressed in black pants, knee-high black boots and a crimson blouse, Mercy came down the front stairs and headed for her study. Dante would contact all Raintree within driving distance first, and then word would go out to Raintree around the world. How many could actually make it to the sanctuary before the Ansara attack, she didn’t know. There were only a handful visiting the home place right now—less than twenty in all, and some of them not at full strength. And her guess was that another twenty-five or so could be here within a few hours.
She also had no way of knowing how many Ansara comprised the forces Judah and Cael would bring down on the sanctuary, or exactly when the first attack would take place. Soon, certainly. Within a few hours? Before sunset?
After entering her study, she picked up the phone and dialed Hugh’s cabin. He answered on the third ring. “Hugh, it’s Mercy. I need you to gather up all the Raintree visiting here at the sanctuary and bring them to the house. Do this as quickly as possible.”
“All right,” he replied. “Can you tell me what this is about?”
“I’ll tell all of you as soon as you get here.”
Mercy could hardly believe what was happening. She felt like such a fool—for the second time in her life. Both times thanks to Judah Ansara. How much of what he’d told her had been lies? Part of it? All of it? One thing she didn’t doubt: he wanted Eve and was willing to kill Mercy to get her.
And she also believed that he had killed one of his own people to stop the man from killing her. Because Judah had claimed her as his kill and wouldn’t allow anyone else the honor of taking the Raintree princess’s life. No doubt Dante was also Judah’s kill. And perhaps Gideon, too.
How was it possible that she loved Judah, loved him as much as she hated him? Why had she let down her defenses, even for a few days, a few hours, a few moments?
All the while Judah had proclaimed Eve was in life-threatening danger from his brother, had it simply been a ruse, a plot the brothers had concocted together? Had Judah’s purpose in staying at the sanctuary been to keep Mercy distracted?
No, it wasn’t possible that he had fooled her so completely.
Then where is he? Why isn’t he here explaining himself to me?
Damn you, Judah. Damn you!
Reno, Nevada, 9:15 a.m.(Reno time)
Lorna hadn’t taken the time to make any calls while she’d still been at Dante’s house; instead, she’d grabbed his address book, checked to see that both Mercy and Gideon were listed, then run for her old Corolla. While she was on the way to the airport, she put her cell phone to use. She knew she didn’t have time to fly commercial, but she didn’t know how to go about renting a jet. She had a pocket full of cash and one credit card with a five-thousand-dollar limit. If that wasn’t enough money, she didn’t know what she would do.
The only person she knew in Reno who might be able to help her was Al Franklin, Dante’s chief of security. He wasn’t exactly on her favorites list, but Dante not only liked him, he trusted him—and this was an emergency.
Thank God, thank God. Al’s number was listed, too. She’d been afraid Dante would have all his numbers stored on his cell phone, which he had with him. Swiftly, keeping one eye on the twisting road, she punched in the numbers.
“’Lo?”
The slee
py voice reminded her that it was—she glanced at the dashboard clock—not yet ten o’clock on a Sunday morning.
“This is Lorna Clay!” she half yelled. “Dante’s gone—there’s trouble at Sanctuary—he might get killed! I have to get there. How do I hire a jet?”
“Whoa! Wait—what did you say?”
“Sanctuary. There’s trouble at Sanctuary. I need a jet!”
“How is Dante getting there?”
“I don’t know!” Why was he playing twenty questions? Why didn’t he answer her questions? “He just ran out. I’m about half an hour behind him, I think.”
“Go to the airport,” Al said swiftly. “He has two corporate jets. He’ll take the bigger, faster one. I’ll call and have the smaller one fueled and ready. It’ll take longer—you’ll have to put down somewhere for fuel—but you still won’t be more than an hour, hour and a half, behind him.”
“Thank you,” she said, almost sobbing with relief. “I didn’t think—”
“You didn’t think I’d help? You said the magic word.”
“‘Please’?” She didn’t know if she’d said ‘please,’ but she’d definitely said ‘thank you.’”
“Sanctuary,” he said.
Wilmington, North Carolina, 1:00 p.m.
Hope Malory paced the kitchen nervously as she waited for the phone to ring. Gideon hadn’t been gone much more than an hour, so she really shouldn’t expect his call so soon, but still…she was anxious. He owed her a serious explanation.
When the phone finally did ring, she lurched forward and grabbed the receiver. “Hello?”
She held her breath as she waited for Gideon’s calming, reasonable voice on the other end of the line. Her first clue that it wasn’t Gideon was the lack of static.
A woman’s smooth voice caused Hope’s heart to drop. “Is this the Gideon Raintree residence?’
Great. An old girlfriend. A wannabe girlfriend. Maybe a telemarketer. “Yes, but he’s not—”
“Not there, I know,” the woman said, not quite so smoothly this time. There was an almost undetectable hint of panic in her voice. “There’s no time for a proper explanation, but—”