He had to leave this place of sorrow and revenge before the emotions trapped inside became too overwhelming even for his strength. Unlike Judith, he didn't have that bright spirit prevailing over every dark emotion. He had shields, but the power in the room was overwhelming even to him.
Very carefully he replaced the ultraviolet light and the cells for the kaleidoscope and covered it, ensuring the cloth lay in the exact position he'd found it. Stefan took one last look around the studio to make certain that everything was exactly as he'd found it and there was no evidence that anyone had discovered Judith's secret. The drapes were put back in place and he secured both locks before sitting down on the patio and taking in great gulps of fresh air.
He dropped his head into his hands, oblivious of the rain coming down. It was a gentle shower, very light, and he welcomed the clean, fresh droplets of water on his burning skin. The rain felt like tears on his face when he looked up to watch the water fall from the sky. Judith needed him and he was eternally grateful for that revelation. He had thought she would be his salvation, but it was entirely possible he was bringing something to their union as well.
She needed to accept herself as she was, incapable of harming others. She had to realize everyone had dark thoughts, including her brother, but he would not want his sister to spend her life looking for revenge. If Paul loved her as much as she'd loved him--and that was evident, from everything he'd seen--the last thing he would want would be for Judith to waste her talent by fearing it. She was powerful in her creativity, and equally as passionate in her spirit and that included all emotions, not just the gentler ones.
Stefan stood up slowly, stretching out his muscles, aware just how tense the dark studio had made him. Fighting against the assault every moment had taken its toll. He felt wrung out, exhausted and in need of a safe place to retreat to. Not the hotel where Thomas Vincent was staying--that was out of the question. If Ivanov wasn't hurt as bad as Stefan suspected, then he'd come hunting. Already, there might be a trap in the hotel room and he was too damned tired to deal with it. Tired men made mistakes.
He was trained to keep going no matter the toll on his body, his will simply kicked in to provide the necessary impetuous to keep going until his mission was complete. He was used to working through fatigue, through wounds, through days without food or sleep, but the toll on him from the battering of emotions was the worst he'd ever experienced. He was left too drained from the battle to shield the bombardment of such intense destructive energy.
Stefan began to weave his way through the tall grasses and bushes, edging back toward the side of the house where Judith's bedroom faced. He half hoped she'd gone to bed, but the rain was still too directed and someone was conducting the symphony, each element contributing, but Judith amplifying the power of each. If he was honest with himself, he just wanted to see her once more to make certain she was all right. Now that he'd found her, he was reluctant to be away from her.
Out of the corner of his eye he caught something large coming at him from above his head as he rounded the corner of the two-story structure. Ducking low, he spun to face the creature coming in fast for the attack. The owl dove silently, talons extended, intending to rake his eyes and at the last moment recognized Lev's visual guide and tried to pull up, the great wings beating hard, in an effort to stop the rapid descent. Talons streaked across his face, under his left eye and then bird was gone, taking to the sky, heading for the nearest tree.
Stefan touched his face, a streak of fire burning like a brand. He'd been lucky. The owl could have taken out his eye. He might have to revise his opinion on the birds as guards. This one had come in savagely and without sound. The wing feathers of the owl muffled the swish of the raptor in flight, allowing the night raptor to attack in complete silence. If it hadn't been for his warning system, Stefan doubted if he could have escaped so easily, even with the bird recognizing him as a friend.
The owl settled into the top branches of the pine tree, wings slowly folding in close to its body, round eyes staring down into the trees growing thick on the knoll above Judith's house. Something about the way the bird concentrated on that knoll bothered Stefan. He was exhausted, fighting unfamiliar emotions and trying to ease the tension in his body, putting it all down to his experience in the dark studio. But now that the bird had made him aware, he wasn't so certain his body's warning system wasn't screaming at him in alarm.
Lev, you out here? He sent the question with great caution, not wanting to give his location even to his brother.
The owl had gone for his eyes. Had he pulled up because Lev had warned him off, or had it been Stefan's reflexes? Something was up on the knoll that had caught the bird's interest. Owls had keen eyesight, and their acute hearing was amazing. Stefan continued to move around the house until he had Judith's balcony in sight.
She stood outside, her face turned upward toward the light rain, the water molding her tank top to her lush curves, emphasizing her narrow ribcage and flaring hips. Her hair should have looked like a drowned rat's tail, but instead, wet, it glistened like a waterfall cascading around her body. Stefan's breath hissed out, afraid for her. Anyone concealed in that stand of trees on the knoll could easily see Judith and that could be considered a killing offense.
Stefan? Are you all right?
Stefan's heart thundered in his ears. Lev's voice was faint, as if coming over a good distance. The range of their telepathic abilities had never been tested, but Stefan knew it couldn't be too far.
Where are you?
With Rikki. You need me?
I think we have company. On the knoll above Judith's home. Thick stand of pine trees.
Stefan felt Lev's reaction, a kind of jerk of awareness. The entire farm was pulsing with energy as the elements came together and power flowed through Stefan heightening his abilities, yet at the same time, the force was so strong, it was easy to attribute the uneasiness and tension to the building intensity. Lev had to be feeling the power as well and it could be misleading all of them.
The owls would warn me.
Even with the disruption of power, all the energies merging together like they are?
The owl had attacked, although Lev had previously sent Stefan's image to the predators in the area, clearly showing them that Stefan belonged to the farm. Something had confused the bird. If the pulsing power in the air could confuse a raptor belonging to the night, no doubt it could also mislead Stefan's warning system.
I'm on my way. Disgust edged Lev's tone.
Immediately Stefan felt the break in the whips of pulsating power as if one of the threads had snapped. Energy crackled and snapped in the air, thin lines glowing, radiating out from a central point. The bright lights could have been electricity zipping out of control, like a dazzling light show. No doubt when Lev abruptly rushed from the house, his wife had stopped playing her rain symphony, breaking the connection between all five elements.
He glanced up at Judith. She stood in the suddenly driving rain, looking toward Rikki's house in surprise, but she made no move to take shelter. Stefan's vision blurred for a moment. His stomach lurched, his mind disoriented. When it cleared, he was merged with his brother, looking through the eyes of the owl down into the grove of pines trees. The shadowy figure of a man crouched there and he was pointing something at Judith.
Judith! Both brothers called the warning at the exact same moment, their voices thundering in her head. Drop to the ground and stay down now.
Stefan poured sheer steel into his command and wasn't surprised that Lev did the same. The result was gratifying. Judith didn't hesitate. Stefan didn't know if it was the shock of hearing such a decided command or that both men were near her.
Stefan dropped all pretense of stealth and sprinted for the grove of trees. Lev was a distance away, but he was on his way. A branch snapped audibly, the sound carrying in the stillness of the night. His prey was fleeing, having spotted Stefan.
Send the owl, he instructed his brother. Block his p
ath to his vehicle. He has to have one. I can't get to him in time. Slow him down. Now, Lev, slow him down!
He ran with his weapon drawn, fear for Judith tripping his heart. Had the man been trying to kill her? Was it Ivanov? Ivanov wouldn't have anything to gain by killing Judith. He couldn't possibly know how Stefan felt about her. Even if Stefan told the exterminator the truth, swore to him his feelings for Judith ran deep, Ivanov would never believe him.
He had an abundance of cover as he ran through the gardens, the taller flowers and brush screening him from a good marksmen. He made certain to weave and duck, not choosing a straight path, expecting a hail of bullets any moment.
The owl took flight, joining several others suddenly circling around to the other side of the grove of trees where they disappeared.
Where is he? Stefan demanded.
On the western trail. I can't see his car yet, but he has to have one. If he makes it to his vehicle, I'll be able to cut him off before he gets to the front gate or tries to make it around to the back part of the property. These upper acres are fenced in.
He could go through a fence, Stefan pointed out.
Lev had to be driving partially blind if he was connected to the owls, but his information was vital to Stefan. Knowing his prey was running allowed Stefan to choose the shortest route instead of the most protected. He veered from the garden and cut across a field of wild flowers that took him up the slope of the knoll.
Get inside, Judith, he ordered. Stay low, and for God's sake, set your security system. If anyone tries to break in, call the sheriff.
He expected her to pepper him with questions and demand, but she did neither. He felt her quiet acceptance and risked one look over his shoulder to see the doors to the balcony closing firmly.
I will expect to see you both alive and well, she replied softly. With a good explanation.
12
I'VE never worked with anyone else, Lev, not like a team. I was trained to work separately, completely alone and cut off from all aid. Often, as a teenager, I'd be sent into hostile environments with another boy from my classes, one I'd trained with, slept in the same barracks, ate with and inevitably, halfway through the mission, when my back was turned and I was totally focused on accomplishing the task, the other boy would try to kill me as part of the assignment.
He wanted his brother to understand why trust came so reluctantly to him.
It was a tactic used often, late in our training, turning the students on one another, keeping them separate and heightening their sense of awareness as well as the belief that no one else could be trusted.
He loved Lev. There was no doubt in his mind that he loved his brother, but the Lev that he loved and was infinitely loyal to was a small boy who, like Stefan, lay beaten and bloody in the snow, horrified as soldiers murdered their parents. He was loyal to the boy who had clung to him, had been ripped from his arms and taken to another part of the country so they couldn't form an alliance against their enemies.
They did the same thing to me.
So he wasn't so alone after all. Lev had shared those experiences, that childhood, and he knew how surreal it felt to run through the night chasing an enemy with someone else closing in on the same man. Ahead as he raced through the trees, he could hear the heavy, almost frantic breathing of the intruder as he sprinted for his car. He must have parked outside the gates, climbed over the fence and hiked through the property to get to Judith's home.
That's worrisome, Lev said. There are six houses on the property. How the hell did he know which one was hers?
That was a damned good question, one Stefan wanted the answer to. Don't kill him, Stefan cautioned. We need a few answers.
He was closer. He could hear the thud of the footsteps and the sound of twigs and small, dead branches snapping in two as the intruder raced through the forest back toward the road.
Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.
Stefan burst into the open, running at a steady, fast pace, falling in behind the intruder, slowly closing the gap. There was little cover in the meadow and as the man gained the other side, the owls swooped down, seven of them, great wings beating hard, flying straight for the man's face. He screamed and dropped to the ground, covering his head to escape the wicked talons.
We might not be the ones to kill him. Call them off now, I'm on him, Stefan said.
His father had been able to merge with animals, and he vaguely remembered a time when they were all together in a park and squirrels and birds had flocked around them. The squirrels had performed tricks that made him, along with his brothers, laugh. It was a scene far different from this one, where owls flew at a man's face with every intention of taking out his eyes. That had been a different time, back then, when he was a child, one he hadn't revisited until he met Judith. She'd given him back precious memories.
SHE'D given him back precious memories.
Judith sat on the floor shivering uncontrollably just to one side of the windows. Ice-cold, she wrung out her hair, uncaring that water dripped onto her carpet. She didn't really know much about Levi's past, only that he'd been working undercover on a yacht that had gone down and he wanted to stay dead. That brought up the disturbing thought that Thomas Vincent was not the gentle soul she'd thought him to be. It was very obvious Levi and Thomas knew each other--that much was certain--and the two of them were chasing someone who had come onto the property.
She often lost track of time when she was weaving spirit through the other elements and she had no idea how long she'd been on the balcony before she heard the voices commanding her to crawl back inside the safety of her house. She recognized the two men instantly. Energy was so powerful, swirling around her gardens and out into the farm, that both men's psychic talents had naturally been included in the woven circle, amplifying their ability to speak telepathically. Because her spirit was the thread weaving the entire tapestry together, she shared their natural link. She still did.
A part of her wanted to pull back, not know the truth, but she'd been blindsided once and others had paid the price for her poor judgment. She refused to be a coward and hide under her covers. She'd let Thomas Vincent into her life, wanted him with every fiber of her being. If he was as corrupt as Jean-Claude had been, she needed to know. Worse, if Levi had deceived them all and was using Rikki in some way, that would be unforgivable and Judith would have to find a way to tell Rikki.
She didn't have telepathy, not in the true sense of the word. Brain waves generated pure energy and her element boosted energy, it was really that simple. She didn't hear thoughts, but if someone like Thomas--or Levi--was a true telepathic, her spirit would easily amplify and retrieve the conversations so that she was part of them. It was intimate and sexy when she shared telepathy with Thomas, but truly frightening when she was hearing Levi and Thomas. They were obviously familiar with each other--yet not.
She wiped her face with her hand and climbed unsteadily to her feet, making her way to the shower. She'd been more than halfway in love--or lust; it was difficult to tell--with Thomas. She'd felt so right with him and yet she didn't really know him at all. How could she? She'd just rushed into something headlong and impulsively in much the same way she had five years earlier with Jean-Claude.
She let the hot water pour over her, slowly driving the chill from her bones. They had spoken with Russian accents and the assassin sent to kill Levi a few weeks earlier had been Russian. The conclusions she'd drawn from the horrific images of Thomas's past had obviously been erroneous. He had been in some kind of military training camp at a very early age. He'd been sympathetic and understanding--truly understanding of how she felt about her brother's murder because he'd witnessed the murder of his parents.
There was a connection between Thomas and Levi--she'd almost caught it in the sudden emotion rising in Thomas. But the answer was as elusive as what or who Thomas really was. She drew in a deep breath and stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her, determined not to panic. I
f not for her own sake, then for Rikki's, she had to fight through the need to pull a blanket over her head and retreat from whatever mess she'd gotten into.
She'd given him back precious memories.
In spite of her determination to remain distant from Thomas, Judith couldn't help but hug that small gift to her. She had given him something he obviously treasured. She could hear it in his voice and feel it in his mind. If he was using her, his emotions for her were still very real.
THE intruder lurched to his feet the moment the owls backed off. He cast one wary look toward the sky and took off running again. His shirt was torn in several places, long slashes that had cut into his skin. Bloodstains spread rapidly across the taut material. The man was in good shape, but the birds had rattled him. Suddenly, he veered away from the road and made for the far side of the meadow where the taller grass grew.
The sudden departure from the fastest route warned Stefan this was no peeping Tom who had come to spy on the women who lived on the farm. The fact that he'd chosen Judith's home meant he hadn't done so randomly.
Cut the engine, Lev. He can hear you coming and he's up to something. Do you have a visual?
The man had disappeared into the thick, tall grass and there was no movement to give him away. Stefan halted the chase abruptly and slipped back into the shadow of the trees.
Who is he? Ivanov?
Hell if I know. He doesn't move like Ivanov, but he's up to something. Watch yourself. Stefan studied the grass as he replied to his brother. What the hell was the intruder up to? He had to be crawling through the grass, staying low, making certain there was no ripple to give his position away.
Overhead, the owls circled. One gave a cry, and instantly Stefan's vision blurred. He pulled away from his brother immediately. Judith was still feeding the energy, boosting the power, and he was picking up remnants of his brother's craft. He took a step to his left, looking for a better visual and something spat wood splinters into the side of his face. He dropped to the ground and rolled, then, on his belly, using his elbows and toes to move fast, scuttled across the open ground to the patch of small boulders at the start of the meadow. There was a shallow depression and he fit his body inside it.