Beverly Barton - Raintree - Santuary

Sidonia heard the car drive up and park. She had taken Eve back to her room and tucked her in for a second time, warning the little imp to stay put, but she doubted the child was asleep. Eve was concerned about Mercy, just as she herself was.

Pausing at the front door, Sidonia, peered through the left sidelight and gasped when she saw a large, dark man walking toward the veranda, an unconscious Mercy in his arms. The only vehicle in sight was Mercy’s Escalade, so who was this stranger and why was he with Mercy?

Closing her eyes, Sidonia called for her animal helpers to awaken and come to her. Within minutes, by the time the stranger set foot on the veranda, Magnus and Rufus, her fiercely faithful Rottweilers, appeared in the yard, one on the right, the other on the left, flanking the veranda.

Sidonia opened the front door, took one step over the threshold and faced the stranger. He paused as if he’d been expecting her, and his gaze connected with hers. He was not Raintree. His eyes were steel gray. Hard and cold, with no sign of emotion.

“I’ve brought your mistress home, old woman,” the man told her, his voice a deep, commanding baritone.

No, he was not Raintree, but neither was he a mere mortal.

A tremor of unease jangled Sidonia’s nerves. If he was not Raintree and he was not human, that meant…

“You assume correctly,” he said. “I am Ansara.”

Sensing Sidonia’s fear, Magnus and Rufus growled.

The man-the Ansara man-stared first at Rufus and then at Magnus. They quieted instantly. Sidonia hazarded quick glances to her right and left. Both large animals stood frozen like marble statues.

“What have you done to-”

“They’re unharmed. In an hour, they will be as they were and return to their sleep.”

“What are you doing with Mercy? Did you harm her? If you have, the wrath of the Raintree will-”

“Be quiet, old woman, and show me where to place your mistress so she can rest and recover from her ordeal. She healed a dying woman tonight.”

Confused by this Ansara’s concern for Mercy, Sidonia hesitated, then backed up to allow him entrance. He was a handsome devil. Wide shouldered, at least six-two, with flowing black hair that hung in a single braid down his back, and chiseled features that made him look as if he’d been cut from stone.

“Her room is upstairs, but I think it best if you-”

Ignoring Sidonia, the man headed for the staircase.

“Wait!”

He did not wait; instead, he took the stairs two at a time, Sidonia following as quickly as her old legs would carry her. By the time she reached the second floor, he already had the door to Mercy’s bedroom open, apparently being guided by his instinct.

Scurrying down the hall, Sidonia came up behind the Ansara just as he laid Mercy on her bed. From the doorway, she watched him as he stared at Mercy for a full minute, then turned and walked toward the door.

“Who are you? What is your name?” Sidonia demanded. He couldn’t be that Ansara, could he? Surely not.

“I am Judah Ansara.”

Sidonia gasped.

He smiled wickedly. “I once wondered if Mercy might have suspected I was an Ansara, and if that was the reason she fled from me so quickly that long ago morning.”

“Stop reading my mind!” Heaven help her, she had to do something to prevent this Ansara demon from listening to her thoughts. He mustn’t find out-shut up, you old fool, she told herself. Then she closed her eyes and recited an ancient spell, one that should protect her from this wicked Ansara’s mental probing.

“Don’t trouble yourself, Sidonia,” Judah told her. “I will leave your thoughts private. But when I leave, I’m afraid I must erase from your mind all memory of my visit here tonight.”

“Don’t you touch my mind again, you evil beast.”

Judah laughed.

“You find me amusing, do you? Don’t think because I am well past eighty that my skills are not as sharp as they ever were.”

“I would never insult you by underestimating your powers.”

“Why are you with Mercy?” Sidonia demanded. “What are you doing here on Raintree land? How did you-”

“Why I’m here doesn’t matter. I found Mercy in an unconscious state and brought her home. You should be grateful to me.”

“Grateful to Ansara scum like you? Never!”

“Does Mercy feel about me the way you do? Does she hate me?”

“Of course she hates you. She is Raintree. You are Ansara.”

He glanced at the bed where Mercy rested. Tempted to probe the old woman’s mind for answers, Judah snorted, disgusted with himself for allowing his curiosity about Mercy’s feelings to concern him.

“You can’t stay here,” Sidonia said. “You must leave. Immediately.”

“I have no plans to remain here,” Judah told her. “I leave your mistress in your capable hands.”

“Yes, yes. Leave now, and go quickly.”

When Judah turned to leave, his mind centered on a spell that would erase Sidonia’s memories of his visit, he spotted a small shadow behind and to the side of the old woman. He paused and waited, suspecting the Raintree nanny might have conjured up some deadly little spirit to escort him out of the house. But suddenly the shadow moved from behind Sidonia and came into the room, the light from the hallway backlighting the figure, making it appear a golden white, like the glow of moonlight. The shadow was a child, a girl child, he realized.

Judah stared at the little one and saw that her eyes were a true Raintree green, and her pale blond hair flowed in long, shimmering curls to her waist. If his eyesight had not told him that Mercy was the child’s mother, his inner vision would have.

So Mercy had married and had children. At least one child. This remarkably lovely little girl was so like her mother, and yet…

What was it about the child that puzzled him? She was a Raintree child, no doubt of that. But she was different.

Sidonia grabbed the girl and tried to shove the little beauty behind her, but the child wiggled free of the old nanny’s hold and walked fearlessly toward Judah.

“No, child, don’t!” Sidonia cried. “Stay away from him. He is evil.”

The child stopped several feet away from Judah, then looked up and stared right at him, her gaze connecting boldly with his.

“I’m not afraid of him,” the child said. “He won’t hurt me.”

Judah smiled, impressed with her bravery.

Seasoned warriors had trembled at the very sight of Judah Ansara.

When Sidonia came forward, intending to grab the child, the little girl lifted her arm and held her tiny hand in front of the old woman, who went deadly still, immobilized by magic.

Amazing. The child’s abilities were greatly advanced for one so young.

“You’re very powerful, little one,” Judah said. He had never known an Ansara or a Raintree to possess so much power at such a young age. “I don’t know of any five-year-olds capable of-”

“I’m six,” she told him, her shoulders straight, her head held high. A true princess.

“Hmm…But even at six, you are far more advanced than other Raintree children, aren’t you?”

She nodded. “Yes. Because I am more than Raintree.”

“Are you indeed?” He glanced at the stricken expression on Sidonia’s partially frozen face and realized that not only had the girl immobilized the old woman’s limbs, she had rendered her temporarily mute.

“You don’t know who I am, do you?” the little girl asked. When she smiled at him, Judah ’s gut tightened. There was something strikingly familiar about her smile.

“I believe you’re Mercy Raintree’s child, aren’t you?”

She nodded.

“Do you know who I am?” he asked, his curiosity piqued by the child’s precocious nature. He sensed an unnatural strength in her…and a kinship that wasn’t possible.