You fought him, and that’s why you were wounded when I found you.
I was in bad shape, he admitted. I could not open the earth enough to crawl in. I was that weak. Fortunately, I was able to open it just enough that the nutrients in the soil helped to rejuvenate me enough that I could eventually heal myself.
I would have healed you, she said quietly. Not like you can do it, but I really can heal people tuning crystals to them and centering on the problem. She had wanted to heal him. That had been important to her, but when she saw his gift—it had been so much more than hers.
Not so much more, sivamet. Different. Move to the top of that little mound of dirt just above the drop off.
Do you think they have found another victim to bring to their master instead of me? She couldn’t help the tremble in her voice. She couldn’t imagine how it would have felt to be taken to someone worse than the vampire she’d encountered.
I do not know. I will hunt him, but if he has someone with him, csitri, it is already too late.
The gentleness in his voice turned her heart over. She even felt a caress inside her mind. How was that even possible, and yet he soothed her with his nonphysical touch.
He would kill them immediately?
He hesitated, and her stomach churned. She wasn’t certain she wanted the answer, not if he was hesitant about revealing what a master vampire would do to his victim.
There is no way of knowing. I doubt it. He would want to feed as long as possible on his victim while he heals. He knows I am hunting. He will not wish to move until he thinks it is safe.
That said volumes. Teagan realized the master vampire had to be afraid of Andre. He had taken on the master vampire and several of his pawns. She couldn’t help the little surge of pride she had in him as well as the fear for him. She wanted him to stop the vampires from taking any more victims, but at the same time, she didn’t want him hurt. Not one scratch.
Stop thinking about vampires, Teagan. This will require complete concentration. You have to allow your owl to take flight. You will need to recede into the background enough that whatever form you take can behave naturally with you present enough to guide it. Do not try anything else. One skill at a time.
He didn’t have to remind her of that. She was a climber and she was terrified of heights. She knew how to focus her entire brain on a single problem, especially when she was afraid. She was about to try to fly. She didn’t risk looking at the sky, because she considered the sky pretty much as high up there as she was ever going to get.
Um, Andre. Her heart began to hammer. She heard it. The birds heard it, and so did he. There’s something you should know about me.
Tell me.
I often, as in every time, completely fall apart when I’m around fifty feet up. I freeze. I always cry. It’s a total panic thing. I can’t stop it. I talk myself out of it, or my climbing partner does, but no matter how often I climb—and it’s a lot, both bouldering, and with ropes on the higher trad climbs—I always panic.
Teagan.
Her heart turned over. No contempt. No arguing. No telling her not to do this. Just her name. Tender. Sweet. Silk and velvet. His voice helped to settle her.
I will be with you. If you get too high and panic, I can talk you out of it. I will be right beside you. Look to me. I have got you, always.
She believed him. That calm, absolutely confident man wouldn’t allow anything to happen to her. He didn’t seem to mind that she needed reassurance, or that she confessed she panicked. He was there, right next to her, and she sensed that he was proud of her, whether or not she actually got into the air.
You are allowing me to show you my world, csitri, and I am honored and privileged to do so.
He was so formal. So gallant. She so wanted Grandma Trixie to meet him. She knew her grandmother would love him. So would her sisters. Unless of course, Grandma Trixie didn’t take the time to know him and staked him instantly.
Teagan. Keep your mind on flying. You are distracting yourself.
Of course she was. She was about to take a leap of faith and throw herself off a very high cliff. She’d looked down, and it wasn’t pretty. Rocks. Below that, trees. She needed a minute, but if she didn’t just close her eyes and go, she might never experience flying on her own.
She deliberately retreated in her mind, sliding back to allow the owl to the front. Instantly the bird spread its wings and took flight. No hesitation. She was in the air. Almost immediately she was aware of the night. The mist on her. The way her down feathers trapped air and provided insulation. The fringe on her primary wing feathers actually broke down the turbulence from air rushing over the surface of the wing. She realized that was the reason the owl was silent as it flew across the sky.
She was flying. Teagan Joanes, flying. Crazy cool. If she didn’t let herself look down—let the owl do it—she would be fine. Perfect. The sensation of the air moving through her and over her was amazing.
You have to guide the owl. You are the owl, and yet you are not. I am right beside you. Nothing will happen if you look down. Seeing through the eyes of an owl is wonderful and not to be missed.
That’s total bribery. If she was being honest, bribery was working. She wanted to see through the eyes of the owl. Fear shimmered through her. I don’t want you to see me in panic mode. You already think I’m irrational. I don’t need you thinking I’m unreasonable as well.
I do not think you are unreasonable, Teagan.
That’s because you haven’t seen me in full panic. I am unreasonable. It takes me forever to get myself under control.