Isai was patient, allowing the necessary time to pass until Andrew was still, lying on the hillside, staring up at the night sky with one wide-open eye.
My brothers have separated. Avram is closest to you. He has the female cat with him. She is looking right at you, and Avram has hunkered down just near the rocky section of the ridge. He looks to be building a spell, Julija warned.
Thicken the fog so he cannot see. Isai took a careful look around him. He knew Blue was close. The cat was determined to protect him whether Isai wanted his protection or not. It wasn’t easy to spot the shadow, up high, just above his position.
Blue. Can you make your way down to the little female? Is it possible for you to communicate with her? Comet and Phaedra are her parents. She is not your littermate, yet she is of your blood. I do not want to kill her if it is possible.
Six cats were a lot to care for. They would need blood nightly and they would have to be very disciplined. They had been given Carpathian blood already, which meant they would grow even stronger, more difficult to kill. If he didn’t take them under his wing, he would have no choice but to destroy them. He wasn’t certain if it was entirely ethical to keep them alive, but he felt the cats deserved a chance at a decent life.
Blue sent him the equivalent of a shrug. Before Isai could give the order, the cat was already moving, picking his way down the steep slope, angling toward the ridge. He disappeared immediately into the thickening fog.
Do not expose yourself to danger. Avram is there. He will not hesitate to kill you, or try to reacquire you. Just talk to her. See if she is willing to come with us.
There was no answer, but Isai felt the cat’s assent. Communicating with the shadow creatures was different than the paths he forged with Julija or his brethren. Still, he understood them.
He moved away from Andrew’s body and began to circle around, coming at Avram from a different direction. No doubt Avram heard the blast as the rifle exploded, accompanied by Andrew’s loud, horrific screams. The mage would expect any assault to come from that direction.
“Julija. This is your only chance. Come to me. If you don’t, I will summon Barnabas and his hounds. They will track both of you. That Carpathian cannot protect you from all of us. Even now, Vasile has completed the circle of power. You are caught within it.”
Isai, I have asked Phaedra and Comet if Barnabas is close and they say no. He has not yet arrived.
Isai didn’t like the fact that her voice was shaky. She was truly terrified of Barnabas. More so than she seemed to be of her brothers. They had to be dangerous mages, coming from the lineage they did. Their DNA makeup was more mage than Carpathian. So much so that they were unable to sustain themselves in immortality. Without their sister, there would be no centuries of longevity. They needed her.
They will not kill you.
That is my fear. I would much rather be dead than go back with them. And certainly not with Barnabas. I will not let him take me alive.
Isai pulled up sharply, turning his head toward the bluff where his woman waited. You will know that your lifemate will always come for you. Always. We have not had time together, but that knowledge must be already stamped into your very bones. It matters little if these people get their hands on you. Even without me, you can defeat them. You are powerful on your own, Julija. Far more than they are. Believe in yourself and always, believe in me.
She worried him. Her father, stepmother and brothers had drilled into her from the time of her birth that she was less than they were. They’d done a good job, making certain she had no idea what her true lineage made her.
He softened his voice. There are few, if any, like you in the world. I am privileged to call you lifemate.
He felt Julija’s smile. It burst through him like the brightest star in the universe. You make me happy, Isai. You do. No one has ever said the kinds of things you say to me. I can’t recall ever receiving a single compliment until you came into my life. I do believe in you, and I promise to try