“Branislava wants to take a look at the shadow. She won’t remove it, not yet. She is just going in to look, Damon. Without knowing what or who we’re dealing with, she doesn’t have a chance of removing it. Do you understand? You can’t fight her. You can’t move or endanger her in any way. If you do, I will put a stake through your heart. If you prefer, we will shelve this and seek guidance from the council.”
Bronnie, what are you doing? Tatijana asked. You know how dangerous a mage-shadow is. What are you thinking? A mage can use the shadow to spy. He can force the body he’s in to do anything he wants. You can’t reveal yourself to him.
Do you really want to go the rest of our lives without knowing who has committed such an abomination? I know I don’t. Even if Gregori tries to remove the shadow, he won’t recognize the maker. Only you or I can do that.
Tatijana pressed her fingers to her eyes and then turned her face into Fen’s chest. You’re going to do this, aren’t you, Bronnie?
You know I have to. I’m just as frightened as you that it’s him. But we can’t be running scared the rest of our lives. We have to know.
What if it’s . . .
Don’t think that. He’s dead, too. All of them are. This has to be one of the students.
Zev took a deep breath and let it out. Branislava was terrified. Surrounded by Fen, Dimitri and him, she was still terrified. He didn’t want her to take this chance. He wasn’t certain what the danger actually was, or how he could help her.
“Fen, this is so far out of my territory,” he said. “Tell me what to do to make certain she’s safe.” Because Branislava was going to go inside Damon’s head and find the shadow on his brain. Zev felt her absolute determination. She needed to know who had put that mark on him. Truthfully, all of them needed to know, but he would much rather be the one to take the chance.
“Mine as well. I know very little about mage marking and shadows. Razvan would certainly know more, but Tatijana and Branislava were there with Xavier for centuries, seeing everything he did. We’ll have to trust Bronnie that she knows what she’s doing.”
Damon pushed both hands through his hair. He lifted his head and looked straight into Branislava’s eyes. “I want this thing out of my head more than anything, but not at the risk of your life. It sounds like just looking at it might be dangerous.”
She shook her head. “If I don’t draw the mage’s attention by tripping his safeguard, I’ll be perfectly safe. I intend to be very careful. I’ve seen this done several times. It’s a matter of having patience. I learned that particular quality in the ice caves enduring my captivity.”
“What do you need me to do?” Damon asked.
“Have patience, too. Just sit there and let me see if I can do this. It may take a couple of tries.”
She looked at Zev, and his heart turned over. I’m really scared, Zev. If I trip that safeguard, he’ll know we’re on to him. He can strike at all of us through Damon.
I can take care of Damon. You just need to be safe.
Branislava threaded her fingers together at the nape of Zev’s neck and stared into his eyes. He looked back just as steadily, willing her to know that he wouldn’t let her down, that he would be with her every step of the way.
“You’re a very strong man.” She smiled at him. Wolfie.
He managed an answering grin. Branislava turned to face Damon, sinking gracefully onto the stone floor to one side of Zev’s feet, giving him plenty of room to move if needed. There was no point in wasting any more time, but she needed a moment to steady herself.
She looked out into the forest. The mist covered the trees like a gray blanket. She felt the tiny droplets on her skin. The wind teased her hair and kissed her face. This is freedom, Tatijana, she whispered to her sister.
She closed her eyes and let go of her body, trusting Tatijana and Fen to watch over her as she made this journey. Zev had to watch Damon. Traveling as spirit only, she moved slowly into Damon’s open mind. He was just as terrified as she was, but for different reasons. She couldn’t blame him—realizing someone else had infiltrated his brain and directed his movements had to be abhorrent to him. Once inside his skull, she stayed very quiet, unmoving, keeping her light as dim as possible to keep from tripping any safeguard. Spirit traveled as light, moving easily where a body couldn’t go, but the High Mage knew that and had always prepared for such an invasion when he placed his shadow in someone.
When she was absolutely certain her light was as dim as possible she began to move around Damon’s brain to find the shadow.
“She’s not breathing,” Makoce said anxiously.
Zev felt his own heart accelerate. Panic began to rise in spite of his determination to allow Branislava to ferret out the name of their enemy. Her body had slumped to one side, and Makoce was correct. Zev couldn’t detect a breathing pattern. He looked to Tatijana for reassurance.
Tatijana’s face was stark white. Her eyes glittered like two huge gems, and color banded through her hair.
“Tatijana?” he said softly, insistently.
Tatijana’s body jerked as if she suffered a blow. Her gaze jumped to Zev’s face. She hunched her body, pressing closer to Fen. “She’s alive,” she said softly. “She’s making certain she doesn’t trip a safeguard.”
Zev resisted the urge to merge with Branislava, knowing he couldn’t distract her, but the need was strong in him, his every protective instinct rebelling.
Branislava drifted closer to the brain, studying it carefully. The brain was large, barely fitting inside the skull, with several folds. At first the surface appeared wrinkled with hills and valleys everywhere. The individual cells, neurons, were connected very closely, almost too closely for her microscopic study to actually see where the shadow might be located. The neurons were necessary for information to travel through, chemicals signals entering the cell and then traveling through the filament to carry out orders. The mage had to have burned his shadow into the millions of cells living outside the brain.
Her spirit continued to move carefully. Her light was indistinct, making it difficult to see the ridges and valleys. Up close, the brain appeared quite gray when she inspected the densely packed cells, but the filaments, so closely bundled together appeared white. Mapping out his brain took time. There were millions of cells and the mage-shadow could be on any of them.