Katrina, The Beginning (21 page)

“I don’t see anything, but
let’s get you back to your room. I shouldn’t be that close to you
while I’m on duty, but I’m not sorry.”

I laughed, “You’ve got no
complaints from me.”

Kate was the only one still
up when I got back.

“Okay, tell it. What’s
going on?”

I told her just enough to
satisfy her for tonight. This had truly been a memorable evening, I
thought as I undressed, brushed out my hair, slipped on a
nightgown, and eased between the down-filled bedding. I closed my
eyes, slowed my breathing, and called with my mind.

“Damien, can you hear
me?”

“Yes, it’s
amazing.”

“Nice trick
earlier.”

“It was for your own good.
It’s dangerous, Katrina; that’s why it’s forbidden, in case you’ve
forgotten.”

“How did you
know?”

“I was looking for you.
I’m a vampire. I can smell blood, remember - not as well as you,
but then, who can?”

“Can you read people’s
minds?”

“No, but sometimes I can
put thoughts into a receptive person’s subconscious.”

“That first night when I
saw you and Luena on the stairs, you…”

“Yes, that’s
right.”

“How far away from each
other can we be to communicate this way?”

“I don’t know. As I said,
I’ve never had anyone answer me before. You probably can talk to
your sister like this too, since you’re identical
twins.”

“Mirror.”

“You know what I
mean.”

“Maybe we’ll try it on the
way home. Father also mentioned the idea to us earlier, but we
really haven’t had a chance to try. Damien what is Luena’s
gift?

Silence.

“Damien, are you
there?”

“Yes, I’m here. She can
control the weak-minded; get them to do…things.”

“Oh, I see.”

I could tell the subject
bothered him, so I dropped it.

“Could you communicate
with her?”

“I never tried. I told her
I could only put ideas into receptive minds. By the time I
discovered my gift, I was older, and I knew what she was all about.
I set out to try to protect myself ,and those I cared about. I’m
glad to be free of her.”

“I’ve got to get to sleep;
I’m meeting someone very early in the morning.”

“Whoever it is, is lucky.
Then I’ll say goodnight. Sleep well.”

“Goodnight.”

I did sleep well, but not
long; I was up and out just before dawn. Thomas wasn’t on duty yet,
I took a vampire guard with me to the stables. I decided it was
time to talk to Father about easing off my Watchers. The increased
level of my training and fighting capabilities should call for some
middle ground between having a Watcher with me, at arm’s length
away, and having no Watcher at all. Watchers could be near, but
without being overbearing. Hadn’t I proven I could take care of
myself?

Nearing the stables, I saw
Damien had saddled the horses once again, and they were standing
ready for our ride.

“Good morning Nulla,
Theo.”

“What about me?” Damien
popped out between the two horses.

“Of course you,”
I
said with my mind.

“You’re getting better; you
didn’t have to concentrate so hard that time.”

“I’m a quick study,” I said
out loud.

“Obviously. Would you like
to ride Theo this morning?”

“I’d love to!”

He helped me onto the much
taller stallion, mounted Nulla, and we set off toward the back
gate. I checked the air as we exited the grounds; good, nothing out
of the ordinary for a change. Theo was a dream to ride, spirited
and graceful. His gait was so smooth, riding him was more like
flying than riding.

“How much did your father
ever tell you about your mother?” I probed as we slowed and walked
through the forest.

“He didn’t tell me
anything. In fact, my questions seemed to anger him whenever I
brought up the subject.”

“How about Luena? Did she
know anything?” I asked; of course I already knew she
did.

“She blamed Father for our
mother’s absence, and her anger turned to hatred. I always felt my
mother and her sister had gone into hiding with the others, but I
don’t know for sure. I don’t suppose your mother mentioned
them?”

“I…I asked her last night
if she knew what happened. She could only tell me your mother was
not hidden with them, and cautioned the truth can sometimes be more
painful than not knowing at all. Maybe you should just let it go,
Damien.”

He pulled Nulla to a stop,
I brought Theo beside him.

“I’m tired of people making
those decisions for me. Katrina, if you know more, please tell me.
Wouldn’t you want to know? I think you’re strong enough, so why
wouldn’t you believe the same about me?”

As I looked at him, he
continued to look straight ahead. My heart ached. How could I feel
so passionate about two different men?

When he turned toward me
again, we just stared at each other, and time ground to a stop. I
had blocked out everything but him; no sound penetrated the space
between us, except for the sound of our breathing. I understood
now; I had to tell him what I knew.

I told him exactly what my
mother had told me, and waited for his reaction.

“Damien?”As I recounting
the story, I had seen his jaw tighten.

“Are you all right?” How
could he be? This was his mother we were talking about.

“Thank you for telling me,
Katrina. It’s just going to take me some time to absorb the truth.
Since I heard your mother and sister had returned, I have been
fantasizing about a similar reunion of my own.”

“This news doesn’t mean
they were involved with Luena. There’s no proof of that. Your
mother may have changed. For that matter, she could have been
coerced by her sister, just as you were.”

“Do you really believe
that?”

“I don’t know what to
believe about her, but I do believe in you, so is it such a stretch
to believe in your mother?”

He softened as he
entertained the thought.

“I’m so glad you’ve come
into my life, Katrina Von Dracek. Remember what I told you that
first night?”

I had to think
back.

“You said I could save
you.”

“And so you
have.”

“Don’t forget, you saved my
life too.”

“The fates, it seems,
continue to want our paths to intertwine.”

He smiled that intoxicating
smile of his.

“We’d better get back.
Remember, I’m going home this afternoon.”

“You would have to bring
that up. All right, let’s go.”

As we turned the horses, I
heard in my mind…
“Race you.”

And we took off, our horses
seeming to enjoy the race as much as we did.

“I let you win,” he laughed
as we led the horses back to the barn.

We handed Nulla and Theo
off to a groom. “Give them both a bath and a rub-down, please.”
Damien told him.

“Do you wish them to be
left in the breeding pen again this afternoon, My Lord?”

“What?”
I exclaimed, and stopped dead in my
tracks.

Damien grabbed my arm and
started to lead me away, but I jerked forcefully away from
him.

“How dare you breed our
horses without my permission?!”

“It was supposed to be a
surprise next year, but okay, I’m sorry. But don’t tell me you
wouldn’t love a foal fathered by Theo.”

I had to admit he was
right, and as I pictured the black colt running alongside Nulla, I
sighed.

“Katrina, admit it,” Damien
cajoled.

“All right, all right,
but
I would have liked to have been
consulted first.”

“That kind of spoils the
surprise, don’t you think?”

I just shook my head.
“You’re hopeless. I’m going to stop at the training grounds, before
I change for lunch. I’ll see you later,” I said leaving him. I
thought as I walked swiftly away from him, it would be good for him
to wonder if I was still angry. He was handsome and may be
desirable but he was also arrogant

The girls were doing their
full speed fighting today. I couldn’t believe how far they’d come
in just a few days. I think Rosa was right; the fact we’re all
together seemed to have enhanced all our skills, as well as our
gifts. I couldn’t help feeling there was a reason we had all been
all brought together at this time, in this place. There was more at
stake than just Luena’s army, and we had to be ready.

CHAPTER TEN

All our things were busily
being loaded onto wagons and Mother’s coach by a squadron of
servants. Pack horses were strung together and waiting lazily for
someone to pull them ahead. All our personal mounts were being
saddled, when I returned to the stables after lunch. I hadn’t seen
any reason to change, when I was just going to spend all day riding
anyway. I had eaten quickly and hoped to say goodbye to Damien, but
he was nowhere to be found. On the other hand, I told myself, I
could say goodbye to him - or anything else for that matter - any
time I wanted.

“Damien?”
I called in my mind. No response. He was
either too far away or didn’t want to hear me. I thought,
maybe it’s for the best.

“Hi, Nulla. Ready to go
home, girl?”

I scratched her neck and
leaned against her shoulder. Everything in my life had changed; and
now, even Nulla had even changed; she was going to be a mother. I
could tell that already from her changing scent. All my life I had
wished to do more, be more, and now what kept running through my
head was my mother’s warning: “Be careful what you ask for.” Was
all this excitement, stress, and change finally getting to me? I
walked over to say goodbye to Theo, but he wasn’t in his stall. No
Damien, no Theo. I thought I’d see them one more time; otherwise I
would have said goodbye this morning. What else was there to say
anyway?

“Let’s go, girl, time to go
home.”

I led her out of the stable
into the bright afternoon sunlight.

“Going somewhere?” I heard,
and there, mounted on Theo, was Damien.

“Time to go home,” I
said.

He laughed, “You’ll have
plenty of company on your way. You won’t be lonely.”

As I look up at him, the
sun silhouetting his face, I was overwhelmed with sadness. I was
truly going to miss him.

“I’ll be
with you
,”
I heard in my mind.
“Always.”

Tears filled my
eyes.

“I can’t do this. I can’t
say goodbye to you. I’ll see you in a month. We’ll talk then.” He
turned Theo and cantered away.

Grooms were leading the
other horses out now. The time had to be close, and everyone would
be waiting. I mounted and rode towards the front gate. I was right;
everyone was gathered, the girls in their riding clothes, now
sporting new short swords and daggers at their waists. It was going
to be so great to have them with me.

“Katrina, good,” said
Father. “It’s a long trip home, so let’s get started.”

Everyone else mounted up.
Father joined Mother in her coach, his horse tied on behind, and
the drivers whipped up the horses.

“I’m so excited!” exclaimed
Kate. “Did you know Father sent word for our rooms to be prepared?
They’ll be ready when we get home.”

“No, I hadn’t heard. That’s
great. You’re going to love it there, Kate, It’s so beautiful -
open meadows, a large lake where swans raise their young, a forest
full of game - but the best part is for the first time, we’re all
going to be together, a complete family, right?”

“Plus three extra sisters,
don’t forget.”

“Oh, I don’t think there’s
any chance of that,” I laughed.

When we got to an open
place, I instinctively took a breath in, just to check our
surroundings. I recognized a scent in the air right away, and
looking around I spotted a black horse at the top of the hill on
our right, mane blowing in the wind, his rider still, watching us
pass.

“Goodbye,”
I said silently.

“Soon,”
was his only reply.

Rosa came back to ride with
us.

“Gunter was telling me,
after we set up  camp tonight, we’ll have a chance to hunt,
and he suggested we all go together for the first time.”

“Rosa, that’s a fine idea,”
I was excited at the prospect.

“And
we should find time each night to practice our
skills,” Kate added.

“You’re right; we can’t
waste whatever time we have along the way,” I agreed.

Eleanor was riding with
Thomas, and Letta was riding with Avery and Cedrik. I looked around
for Quinn; he was riding next to the coach with Gunter. I pulled
Nulla to a halt.