in where angels feared to tread, because they were used to getting away with things.
I’d also asked him why he never Changed women, but didn’t get an answer there. As the one-time diplomat to the North American Vampire Senate, Mircea’s secrets had secrets. I’d found out the hard way that I actually preferred when I didn’t know what he was up to.
The guards smiled at me, and one stubbed out a cigarette before they disappeared inside. Not that it mattered; they could hear us perfectly well from there or from a couple blocks away. But that sort of thing was intended to put people at ease.
They shouldn’t have bothered; Hilde struck me as the type who’d never been ill at ease in her life—and who never let anyone else take the lead.
“You’re going to tell me the initiates are too young,” she began, before I could get a word out.
“Because they are! And they’ve just been through a trauma—”
“Exactly so.” She looked at me kindly, but with resolve. “It’s been made very clear that our enemies will not take their youth into consideration, other than to view them as easy targets. They have to be able to defend themselves.”
“We have to defend them. It’s our job—”
“And what are we to use to accomplish this job, hm?” she demanded, her head tilting. “There’s you—and you’re always away, battling gods; there’s me, and while I am certainly formidable, I’m not as young as I used to be; there’s a bunch of vampires, God help us, who’re good enough for the simple things, I’ll grant you, but—”
“They helped!” I said, remembering the Battle on the Drag, as it had come to be known, the recent assault on our home base by several hundred dark mages.
“Yes, they did,” Hilde agreed. “But it was your ability with the Pythian power that saved the day. We must have more adepts.”
“We have Rhea—”
Hilde harrumphed. I stared. I’d never heard anyone actually do that before.
“Something might be made of that girl eventually, it’s true, if she has anything of her parents in her,” Hilde said. “But right now, she’s almost as ignorant as the rest of ’em. They need training, not coddling.”
She sounded like somebody else I knew. John Pritkin was a war mage who had helped to protect me when I stumbled into this crazy new life—well, eventually. Our first meeting had not gone well, and neither had a bunch of subsequent ones. But when he finally figured out that I was serious—that, untrained as I was, I was trying, goddamn it—he got on board.
And when Pritkin gets on board, he really gets on board. The guy doesn’t know what half measures are. Which had resulted in me hating my life more than I already did when he put me through a training regimen that would have done a marine proud.
Not everyone had agreed with that approach. Mircea, for one, preferred the wrap-her-in-cotton-balls-and-sit-a-ton-of-vamps-on-her method, which, to be fair, had helped me out more than once. But Pritkin’s training had increased my self-esteem and my belief that I could maybe, possibly, eventually, kind of do this, and had allowed me to save myself.
So I understood where Hilde was coming from, I really did. But there was one crucial difference. I was an adult and a Pythia, while the girls . . .
I looked back through the shop window and didn’t see warriors. I saw kids playing with toys and running around, finding new treasures with which to decorate their currently spartan bedrooms to make them their own. And laughing and talking in spite of everything, especially the little ones, because they were resilient, as children tend to be.
But there was a limit to what anyone could take.
And, suddenly, a huge surge of protectiveness swept over me.
I’d had to be an adult before I was ready, and it had left me with more scars than I could name. I passionately wanted these little girls to be able to be kids, as I never had. To live for just a few years free of worry, to be able to laugh and run and play, instead of looking over their shoulders every few minutes, lying awake at night riddled with fear, and walking on eggshells.
War or no bloody war.
I turned back around and realized that Hilde was watching me, and that her eyes had softened. “You’ve a good heart,” she told me. “But you can’t protect everyone all the time. Neither can I.”
“No,” I admitted. “I can’t. Which is why we
<<Previous page Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 1 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 2 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 3 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 4 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 5 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 6 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 7 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 8 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 9 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 10 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 11 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 12 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 13 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 14 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 15 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 16 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 17 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 18 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 19 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 20 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 21 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 22 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 23 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 24 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 25 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 26 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 27 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 28 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 29 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 30 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 31 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 32 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 33 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 34 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 35 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 36 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 37 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 38 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 39 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 40 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 41 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 42 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 43 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 44 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 45 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 46 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 47 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 48 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 49 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 50 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 51 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 52 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 53 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 54 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 55 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 56 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 57 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 58 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 59 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 60 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 61 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 62 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 63 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 64 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 65 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 66 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 67 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 68 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 69 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 70 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 71 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 72 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 73 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 74 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 75 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 76 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 77 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 78 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 79 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 80 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 81 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 82 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 83 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 84 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 85 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 86 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 87 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 88 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 89 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 90 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 91 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 92 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 93 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 94 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 95 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 96 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 97 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 98 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 99 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 100 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 101 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 102 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 103 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 104 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 105 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 106 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 107 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 108 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 109 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 110 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 111 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 112 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 113 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 114 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 115 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 116 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 117 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 118 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 119 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 120 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 121 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 122 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 123 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 124 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 125 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 126 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 127 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 128 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 129 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 130 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 131 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 132 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 133 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 134 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 135 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 136 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 137 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 138 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 139 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 140 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 141 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 142 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 143 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 144 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 145 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 146 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 147 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 148 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 149 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 150 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 151 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 152 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 153 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 154 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 155 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 156 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 157 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 158 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 159 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 160 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 161 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 162 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 163 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 164 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 165 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 166 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 167 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 168 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 169 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 170 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 171 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 172 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 173 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 174 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 175 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 176 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 177 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 178 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 179 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 180 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 181 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 182 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 183 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 184 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 185 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 186 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 187 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 188 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 189 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 190 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 191 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 192 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 193 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 194 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 195 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 196 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 197 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 198 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 199 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 200 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 201 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 202 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 203 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 204 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 205 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 206 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 207 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 208 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 209 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 210 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 211 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 212 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 213 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 214 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 215 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 216 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 217 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 218 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 219 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 220 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 221 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 222 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 223 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 224 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 225 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 226 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 227 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 228 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 229 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 230 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 231 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 232 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 233 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 234 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 235 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 236 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 237 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 238 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 239 Brave the Tempest (Cassie Palme) - Karen Chance - Page 240
Next page>>