Dark Possession Page 0,30
inept and afraid.
The biggest question is whether or not she is a danger to Manolito.
I think she is very confused about all of this, Riordan. I feel sorry for her. The blood tie to Manolito is strong. If it was only the one exchange, why is the connection so strong in her that she knows more than you where your brother is? Because, make no mistake, she knows exactly where he is and she's heading straight to him. He's a good six miles away, but she's making fast time even though she's never been in a rainforest in her life.
MaryAnn felt a buzzing in her head, as if insects were fluttering in her skull. The Carpathians were talking to each other again. She detested that. Were they using her to get to Manolito? If Riordan really wanted to find his brother, why didn't he approach him directly, call to him, draw him out? Why hadn't they simply buried the body at their ranch, where Manolito would have risen among family members who would have helped
him? Why hadn't they mentioned a second home? And why were Juliette's sister and cousin too afraid to even go to the De La Cruz home? Something was very wrong.
It all should have frightened her-and it might have-but Manolito's voice once again slid into her head.
Where are you? He sounded so lost and lonely. Her heart twisted in answer, aching for him.
She wasn't a runner, but she picked up the pace, smoothly, easily, leaping over fallen tree trunks as if she'd been born with the reflexes, something inside her urging her to hurry. As she ran, her mind became still, quiet and certain, assessing everything around her with uncommon speed.
Her vision was odd, as if her other senses being so enhanced had robbed her of normal vision. The vibrant greens and reds of leaves and flowers blended and dulled until it was hard to distinguish color, yet even with the dull gray, she caught the movement of insects and lizards, the flash of the tree frogs and monkeys as they scurried overhead. Her night vision had always been excellent, but now it seemed more so; without the colors to dazzle and blind, she could identify a wider spectrum of things as she raced by.
It was exhilarating to have all of her senses so sharp. Her hearing was definitely much more acute. She could hear air rushing out of Juliette's lungs. The ebb and flow of blood in veins. Deep inside of her something wild unfurled and stretched.
MaryAnn caught her breath, frightened. She stumbled and nearly tell, stopping so abruptly Riordan and Juliette nearly ran her over. She backed away from them, her palm covering the mark over her breast where it throbbed and burned.
"What did he do to me?" she whispered. "I'm changing into something else."
Juliette caught at Riordan's wrist and squeezed tightly to prevent him from saying the wrong thing. He might not see how fragile and lost MaryAnn looked, but she did. There was a different, very real fear in her eyes now, wary, like a cornered animal. They didn't know how MaryAnn would react, but more importantly, she didn't know, and that had Juliette spooked.
"We don't know exactly what Manolito did do to you, other than he probably took one blood exchange." Juliette drew in a deep breath, trying to be honest. "Maybe two. You're not Carpathian, so he didn't convert you."
"But Nicolae took my blood to better protect Destiny."
And she wasn't afraid of him. Riordan picked that out of her mind. Not like she is now. Why wasn't she afraid to have Nicolae take her blood when it would be the natural thing to be?
MaryAnn put a hand to her head, brushing as if to sweep away insects, taking another step backward, away from them. Fear grew with every breath she took. Something was terribly wrong; she knew it, could feel it deep inside her. Closing her fist, she dug her nails deep into her palm to test herself. She was beginning to doubt what was real and what might be illusion.
She knows we are talking privately, Riordan cautioned, and it upsets her.
And have you asked yourself how she knows? She shouldn't. She doesn't even think she's psychic.
She's more than psychic, Juliette, Riordan said. She wields power without effort.
Or the knowledge that she's doing it. "This is crazy, MaryAnn," Juliette added aloud. "Neither Riordan nor I know what to make of it."
"I want to go home." Even as she said it, MaryAnn