Dark Possession Page 0,69

man was no jaguar; his build was all wrong. He was short and slender, his close-cropped hair blond. He stood facing the house, hands in the air, weaving a graceful pattern. She had only seen something like that once before and it chilled her to the bone. "Mage." She whispered the word.

"He's taking down the safeguards, isn't he?" Jasmine said.

"It looks like it."

Solange swore. Once again she'd crept up behind them. "I counted four of the jaguar-men. I recognize one of them. He's a tough fighter, Jazz. He knows our scent. The one you identified as a mage I've never seen before. He must have been brought here specifically to unravel the Carpathian guards."

"And that means they're here for a reason," Jasmine said, choking on fear, voice shaking. "They came here deliberately for us, didn't they, Solange? For me."

"Calm down, baby," Solange said. "You know they hunt any women with jaguar blood, particularly those who can shift. Both of us are of the age to have children; we carry purer bloodlines and we can shift."

Jasmine shook her head. "Not me. I can't."

"You don't want to. That isn't the same thing. Give me the gun, Jasmine." Solange held out her hand.

Jasmine shook her head again, this time much harder. "No. I need it."

"I mean it. Give it to me."

MaryAnn winced at the steel in Solange's voice. "Jasmine, there's no need to panic. It will take time for the mage to unravel the safeguards. After Juliette and Riordan put the locks in place, Manolito came with me in the early morning hours and he added to the safeguards. Give Solange the gun and let's get ourselves something cool to drink and we'll wait downstairs near the safe room. If we block off or rig some kind of alarm on the stairs, we won't have to guard them. We can concentrate on defending the downstairs, a smaller area. It will be easier and we can leave a clear path to the safe room. No matter what, we'll be fine until the Carpathians get here."

She kept her voice soothing, her features serene, dissolving the tension that had been building in the room.

Solange smiled at her. "That's right. Let them play their little games out in the hot sun. We're inside where we have plenty of food and water and shelter from the rain. It's started pouring again. The poor mage is looking like a wet dog."

Jasmine's smile was thin, but she managed one as she put the weapon in her cousin's hand. "What is a mage exactly? And why is he here?"

Both women looked at MaryAnn. She bit her lip and shrugged.

"I'm not really certain. I can only tell you what I picked up here and there when I was in the Carpathian Mountains. Juliette or Riordan can explain better than I can. My understanding is mages were the most like humans, but with psychic powers and the ability to weave energy. They were close to Carpathians and shared a great deal of knowledge, Something happened and there was a war between the Carpathian people and the mages."

"This was all years ago," Solange acknowledged. "I heard a bit about it from some of the storytellers when I was a child, but I thought they were long gone from this world."

"Apparently not," MaryAnn said.

"And they're all against the Carpathian species?" Jasmine asked. "Does that mean the jaguar species is as well?"

"It's been my observation, Jasmine," MaryAnn said, "that no entire race of beings is all good or all bad. Most

don't hate simply because others do. I met a jaguar-man who saved my life and was very troubled with what was happening to his people. I'm certain there are mages who don't approve of what is being done here. Many probably don't even know. Vampires are wholly evil, and once they infiltrate and influence anyone, they disrupt the entire balance of nature."

"So the vampires used the violent tendencies of our males to corrupt them and end our species," Solange said, a tinge of sarcasm in her voice.

"Not all males are bad, Solange, and reiterating over and over that they are, influencing Jasmine so that she fears a normal life, is no better."

"You haven't seen what these men do."

"Be honest, isn't it a small percentage? One small group? I believe the other jaguar-men have been trying to stop them. If that's the case, you are condemning some of the same men who have been working to stop this."

"I've never met any of these mythical men," Solange said,