outside, bringing even more noise to the chatter filling her head.
And underneath the general rumble of discontent she was receiving, Elise detected something darker...just out of her reach.
Would you like to see the letters?
Irina's voice snapped Elise back to attention. Yes, of course.
She followed the woman out of the dining room and into a cozy little den at the end of the hall. A man's desk sat across from an inviting reading nook, the masculine furnishings impeccably polished and organized, as though awaiting the imminent arrival of their owner.
Irina motioned Elise over to the desk, where an open shoebox sat next to an old weaving that had been laid flat. A stack of folded papers rested on top. Here they are.
May I? Elise asked, reaching to pick up the collection of letters.
At Irina's nod, she unfolded the first one and glanced at the page. It was filled with a hasty, violently uneven scrawl. The words were barely legible, written in what appeared to be Latin, by a hand that seemed guided by madness. Elise fanned through the other papers, finding more of the same on them.
Do you think it means anything?
Elise shook her head. I can't be sure. I'd like to show it to someone, though. You're sure you don't mind if I take these?
Do what you'd like. I have no use for them myself.
Thank you. Elise glanced at the weaving that lay on the desk. It was incredibly beautiful and obviously very old. She couldn't resist tracing her finger over the intricate stitches of the medieval garden design. This is lovely. The detail is incredible, like a painting done with a needle.
Yes, it is. Irina smiled. And whoever made it had an interesting sense of whimsy too.
How so?
I noticed it when the piece was wrapped around the stack of letters. Let me show you.
She folded the square cloth diagonally, turning up one edge so that the designs on the lower left and upper right corners touched. At the place where they met, the delicate embroidery revealed the hidden shape of a teardrop falling into the basin of a crescent moon.
Elise laughed, delighted by the clever artistry of the work.
The woman who made this was a Breedmate?
Apparently so. Irina carefully smoothed it out again. It must be from the Middle Ages, don't you think?
Elise couldn't answer, even if she had a guess. At that instant, a lancing blast of pain sliced into her mind. It was pure menace, something deathly evil...and it was suddenly very close.
Inside the house.
Irina, she whispered. Someone's here.
What? What do you mean someone--
She held up her hand to silence the woman, fighting through the mental assault as her mind filled with the violent thoughts of the intruder.
It was a Minion, sent on a mission to kill.
We have to get out of here right now.
Get out of here? But I don't-- You have to trust me. He'll kill us both if he finds us.
Irina's eyes went wild with fright. She shook her head. There's no way out from back here. Only the window--
Yes. Hurry! Open it and get yourself out of here. I'll be right behind you.
Elise silently closed the room's door, then dragged the bulky leather chair in front of it while Irina worked on opening the ground floor window. The Minion was quiet in his stealth as he prowled farther into the town house looking for his prey, but the savagery of his thoughts betrayed him as loudly as a screaming alarm.
He'd been sent by his Master to kill her, but he meant to drag things out. Make her bleed. Make her scream. That's what he enjoyed the most about his job.
And he was almost giddy with the idea that he'd get to exercise his perversions on two women instead of just the one.
Oh, God, Elise thought, revulsion surging up the back of her throat.
She called upon the power of Tegan's blood inside her and her own determination, working furiously to focus through the chilling knowledge of what was stalking toward her up the hallway.
The window lock is stuck, Irina gasped, struggling in her panic. It won't open!
That worried shriek drew the Minion like a beacon. Heavy footsteps pounded toward the end of the hallway now. Elise grabbed a thick book from a shelf and ran to Irina's side, smashing the heavy binding against the window casement to loosen the sticky lock.
There it goes, Elise said as the mechanism finally gave way. She dropped the book and pushed the glass aside, then knocked out the