Beverly Barton - Raintree - Santuary

Spellbound his ass! He wasn’t some lovesick young fool. And he certainly wasn’t in love with Mercy. Once he’d screwed her again, this fever in his blood would cool.

“Mercy!” Sidonia cried as she came across the open field, three people following her. “Is Eve all right? Did that devil…?”

“She’s fine,” Mercy called.

“I’m getting damn sick and tired of her calling me the devil,” Judah said.

“Oh, great. Just great.” Mercy heaved a deep, exasperated sigh. “She’s got Brenna and Geol and Hugh with her.”

“A Raintree lynch party, no doubt.” Judah turned to face the approaching hangmen.

“You keep quiet.” She gave Judah and Eve stern looks. “Both of you. Let me do all the talking.”

Huffing and puffing, Sidonia stopped a couple of feet from Mercy. “I turned my back for two seconds, and he ran off with her.”

“It’s all right,” Mercy said. “It won’t happen again. Will it?” She looked from father to daughter.

Eve shook her head, then bowed it in a contrite manner. Totally false regret, of course.

Judah didn’t respond.

“What happened over there?” Hugh, a robust, gray-haired Raintree, pointed to the wide bare spot in the nearby woods. “You aren’t cutting down timber are you, Mercy?”

“Just a little psychic accident,” Mercy said. “I’m completely to blame.”

Hugh stepped forward, looked Judah over from head to toe, and held out his hand. “I’m Hugh Sullivan and you’re…?”

“This is Judah Blackstone,” Mercy said. “Judah and I went to college together. He’s visiting for a few days.”

Judah hesitated, then took the man’s hand and exchanged a cordial shake.

Hugh studied Judah with his green Raintree eyes. “Well, you are a handsome devil, all right.” Hugh chuckled. “I couldn’t figure out why Sidonia kept referring to you as the devil.”

“I’m afraid Sidonia and I got off on the wrong foot when I first arrived,” Judah said, then looked right at the nanny. “I’m sorry if our little game of hide-and-seek worried you. Eve and I were having so much fun playing that it never entered my head you’d be concerned about her.”

“Humph.” Sidonia gave him a condemning glare.

Judah glanced at the other man and woman, who seemed as intrigued by his presence as Hugh had been. He nodded to them.

“Hello,” the woman said. “I’m Brenna Drummond, a distant cousin of Mercy’s.”

The other man held up his hand in greeting. “I’m Geol Raintree, a not so distant cousin.”

“Forgive us, Mr. Blackstone, for being so curious, but Mercy having an old boyfriend visiting is quite an event.” Brenna smiled knowingly at Mercy, apparently giving her approval.

“Judah wasn’t my-” Before Mercy could finish her sentence, Judah slipped his arm around her waist. She went stiff as a board.

As if on cue, Eve cuddled up to Judah’s other side.

“Well, it looks as if our little Eve likes you, Mr. Blackstone,” Hugh said. “It’s always a good sign when a woman’s child likes you.”

“Hugh is grilling trout tonight, and I’m making homemade ice cream,” Brenna said. “Why don’t all of you come to my cabin for dinner?”

“Thank you, but I’m afraid-”

Once again, Judah cut Mercy off mid-sentence. “We’d love to, wouldn’t we?”

“Yippee!” Eve shouted. “Brenna makes the best ice cream in the world.”

Mercy forced a smile. After the search party went their separate ways and Mercy sent Eve back to the house with Sidonia, she confronted Judah.

“What did you think you were doing, agreeing to have dinner with my guests?”

“I was making an effort to be polite so they wouldn’t suspect there was a wolf among the sheep. Wasn’t that what you wanted me to do?”

“What I want you to do is disappear from my life and never return.”

“If I left, you’d miss me.”

“Like I’d miss the plague.”

“I’ll be leaving soon enough.” Going home to Terrebonne to fight and kill my brother, he added silently.

“Once you’ve taken care of Cael, please don’t come back here. Leave us alone. You’re bad for Eve. You must know that.”

“As a Raintree princess, you may be accustomed to issuing orders and having them obeyed, but I’m not one of your loyal subjects. Between us, I’m the master. And you’re my willing slave.”

“When hell freezes over!”

Friday Afternoon,

Cael Ansara’s Compound in North Carolina

Cael had tried unsuccessfully to crack the shield surrounding Eve Raintree’s mind. All protective devices, no matter how strong, could be breached. It was simply a matter of finding the key. Every spell had a reversal spell. Every charm could be destroyed. Every power could be deflected. Given enough time, he could find a way into Eve’s thoughts so he could influence her thinking, but time was one thing he didn’t have. In two days he would lead his troops against the Raintree sanctuary. In two days he would kill his brother and become the Ansara Dranir. Only one thing stood in his way: little Princess Eve. She, too, had to die-along with her parents.

But the child was an unknown. Half Ansara, half Raintree. Such children possessed the talents of each parent. With Eve’s parents both royals, the girl’s capabilities could be uniquely powerful.

Cael laughed at his own foolishness. Eve was six. No matter what abilities she had inherited, they would be immature and untutored. Her supernatural skills couldn’t possibly be a threat to him. But her being Judah’s daughter could.

Projecting his thoughts, Cael directed his message to one recipient. Can you hear me, little Eve? Are you listening? I’m your uncle Cael. Don’t you want to talk to me?

Silence.

Talk to me, child. Tell me why I shouldn’t kill your father. I’ll listen to whatever you have to say. Perhaps you can change my mind.

No response.

You want to help Judah, don’t you? If you’ll talk to me, I’ll listen.

A boom of psychic energy thundered inside Cael’s head, the sound deafening in its intensity as it radiated through his body and brought him to his knees. As he doubled over in pain there on the rough wooden floor of his private compound quarters, an outraged voice issued a warning.

Stay away from my daughter, Judah said. She is off-limits to you. Don’t try to contact her again.

The pain stopped as quickly as it had hit him. Cael staggered to his feet, thrust his fist into the air and cursed his brother.

Get ready. I’m coming for you. Do you hear me, Judah? And when you die, our people will rejoice that they have a true Ansara leader, one who can return them to the old days when we ruled the world.

Judah heard Cael’s threats like a distant echo as he shut out his half brother’s ranting. Cael had finally crossed that thin line between instability and full-blown insanity. He wasn’t surprised. It had always been a matter of when, never if.

Knowing that, sooner or later, Cael would force his hand, Judah had put off killing Cael all these years for one reason only: his father’s dying request.

“Do all you can to save your brother. Kill him only if you must.”

In his own way, their father had loved Cael and had chosen to overlook his many faults. But in his heart of hearts, he had known that the seeds of insanity needed very little nourishment to burst open, bloom and ripen.

Kill him only if you must.

I must, Father, to save the Ansara. To save Eve.

Daddy?

No, Eve. Don’t use your thoughts to speak to me.

I’m sorry. It’s just that bad man tried to-

Shh…I’ll come to you.

Undoubtedly Eve had heard Cael’s threats. Damn his brother! Damn him to hell! Hurrying downstairs, Judah took the steps two at a time.