I gasped, feeling as if the air had been knocked out of me. The equivalent of a telepathic battering ram smashed into my mind, sending my senses reeling. I vaguely understood I had fallen, but all I heard was his voice.
I tried to force my body to move or even my eyes to see something other than blackness. I screamed, but had no idea if it was out loud or just inside my own head. I swore I could feel him touching me, caressing me as a lover would. Desperately, I thrashed against him. The longer I fought, the more frantic I became and the weaker I felt. Tears spilled down my cheeks, but I heard another voice, no louder than the wind whispering through the trees.
Shocked by the words, I forced both my mind and body to be still. Was anything I was hearing or feeling real? The bastard might be in Stefan’s body, but he is still a spirit, capable of leaving said body to cause harm. He had exploited an opening in my defenses and was inside my head.
With that knowledge, I reached for the memories of my daughter and let them surround me in a soothing cocoon. Her inquisitive blue eyes, her infectious smile, her small fingers around my own helped give me strength. I felt the taint in my mind as the images tried to shift to cradling her lifeless body, but I stubbornly clung to the images of Marie alive.
Briefly, I felt the terrible sensations of him touching me again. Instead of reacting, I ignored it and focused on the three other minds I could sense beyond him and the memories they shared. We are ka-tet. I can rely on their telepathic power to do what I cannot alone.
Once again, I felt the invading presence try to force what memories and sensations I felt. I heard the voices, felt my time with Valentino, saw how I attacked the very people I was now trying to contact for help. Defiantly, I sought out the memories of the many years before that.
Mary Anne and her motherly gentleness, especially after I was first turned. Within seconds of thinking of our time together, I heard her voice.
Matthew who has been a brother and a mentor to me, tending wounds and helping me discover my own talents. A fiery sensation engulfed me.
Samuel. My rescuer, my friend, my teacher. I replayed the night we first met, although now the memory is stained with sadness and regret. As I reached out, unsure of his response, I felt a cool flow of energy course through me. There were no words, but the power was strong and reminded me of water.
I took it all and aimed it at Gregory’s unwanted presence.
***
The crackle of a fire burning signaled the return of my hearing. “Matthew,” I gasped and opened my eyes. It was a strange sight that greeted me. Gregory and four others stood motionless in front of me. A stake lay discarded by the feet of one of the men. Beyond them, a small fire blazed in a crescent shape. Without a doubt, my friend was on the other side of those flames.
There was no other sound as I turned a wary eye back to the non-moving Hunters in front of me. As I sat up, my head throbbed and I saw my dress had been ripped so much it barely covered me. Cradling my head for a second, I almost missed the blur of movement as three of the five men fell without a sound. Before I could make sense of what was happening, Gregory stumbled and barely blocked an incoming blade. “What . . . damn you! Remember, Juliana, I gave you a choice. What happens now is your own fault!” he screamed and fled.
“Never had that happen before,” a familiar voice said in bewilderment. The last standing Hunter fell a second later.
“Lane,” I mumbled as I put the pieces together. He must have arrived and hypnotized the Hunters while I had been locked into a telepathic struggle with Gregory. Again, I tried to get to my feet and failed.
The loner turned toward me and walked to my side. “Give yourself a minute.”
I felt my cheeks burn in humiliation at the condition I was in. Keeping my head low, I said, “Matthew’s injured. He needs help.”
“The other vampire is already with him,” Lane replied. “What the hell is going on? A human has never emerged from my power before.”
“That Hunter isn’t exactly human. He is possessed by a spirit,” I said.
“This is a very strange city,” Lane muttered.
I took a couple deep breaths and tried to evaluate my condition. The power of the ka-tet still hummed within me, slightly weaker now, but there if needed. Both my right arm and leg were bleeding, but it didn’t seem serious. I didn’t remember being cut, but I didn’t remember my black dress being reduced to ribbons either. Unsteadily, I climbed to my feet and wrapped my arms around myself. “What happened to my dress?”
Lane had knelt beside one of the fallen men. His back was to me when he simply said, “He was on top of you with a dagger.”
Disgust and horror flooded me and I almost fainted. Leaning forward, I rested my hands on my bare knees. I wanted to curl up somewhere and hide, but Matthew and Christina still needed me. I had to be strong for them. The sensation faded, replaced by rage. “Vile lewdster!”
“Take this.”
I looked up at Lane’s words and saw him holding out a bloody but mostly intact black tunic that he had cut off the dead man. “Thank you,” I whispered. Lane nodded and headed toward the few flames still burning. I wrapped the material around myself before following.
Christina was on her knees beside Matthew with her hands pressed against his abdomen. “I think the bleeding has stopped. Lane, is
Julia . . . ?”
“I’m here,” I answered so Lane didn’t have to. “Are you all right? How bad is he?”
“I think I’m all right . . . most of the blood isn’t mine. His wound is deep but I think it’s clotting. If we can, I want to give it a couple more minutes before we move.” She glanced up and her eyes widened. “Julia! What did he do to you? How are you even standing?”
She started to her feet, but I waved her off. “No, tend to Matthew. The blood isn’t mine,” I said. “It looks worse than it is.”
Christina turned doubtful eyes from me to Lane. Without taking his eyes off the road, he said, “All of her physical wounds are minor.”
She settled down beside Matthew again. “What happened? One second you were stunning attackers and the next you were on the ground without a sound.”
“Gregory attacked my mind.”
Christina wiped her hands on her dress and gently touched Matthew’s wound again. “It’s mostly closed. He’s lucky it wasn’t wood.” She eyed my tattered clothing and frowned. “It looks like he attacked more than your mind, Julia.”
I shuddered but said, “We need to get back to Villa Medici.” Lane looked back at us and arched a questioning eyebrow. “Long story,” I sighed and moved to help Christina pick Matthew up.
“How are we going to explain this to the humans there?” she asked as we supported our unconscious friend between us.
“Hypnotism and lots of it,” I answered as we shuffled forward. Lane walked beside me, his short sword still in hand.
“Thank you, Lane. If you hadn’t been so close, the Hunters would have overpowered me,” Christina said.
We shuffled a little more before Lane said, “I wasn’t. I sensed the power and followed it.”
“Oh! Thanks for, um, investigating the power?” she stammered.
He was silent as we continued traveling toward our destination. About a block away, I remembered our concern about the local vampires. “Lane, have you seen Amita or any of Rome’s vampires?”
“The last time I saw any of them was about two weeks ago. I thought your group or the Hunters drove t
hem out of the area.”
“We thought you did,” I replied.
“I don’t think the Hunters are hunting anyone but us,” Christina said as she adjusted how Matthew was leaning against her.
Lane frowned but said nothing. When we finally reached the gate I turned to thank him, but he was already gone. Christina seemed surprised, but I only smiled.
Chapter 25
Christina looked up as I stepped into Matthew’s bedroom. “How are you feeling?” she asked. I had taken a couple hours to wash and change, although I felt I could have scrubbed for hours without feeling any cleaner. The bastard had tried to rape my body and mind and almost succeeded.
“I have no idea,” I confessed. “I’m tired. Angry. Embarrassed.”
“Understandable. I’ve never had to hypnotize so many people in such a short time.” She shook her head. “Julia, from now on we should just feed here. It has to be easier than convincing people that you had more clothing on than you did, that Matthew wasn’t as hurt as he appeared, that a doctor had been called . . .”
“Agreed,” I replied as I sat down on the other side of the bed. “Thank you for tending to Matthew while I took care of myself,” I continued as I studied him. He lay on the bed, naked from the waist up, his torso wrapped in bandages. His skin was ashen, his breathing slightly labored, but only a small amount of blood stained the fresh wraps.
“I’m glad to help,” Christina replied.
“Did you warn me that it was a telepathic attack?”
“It wasn’t me.” She sighed. “Julia, I’m sorry. When you and Matthew both went down I had to make a choice. I went to his aid and not yours.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I snapped. She flinched and I tried to soften my tone. “If you hadn’t helped, they would have killed him. He’s the closest friend I have.” I blinked back tears and looked back at the bed. “I had help.”
Christina nodded. “Your ka-tet. Was it only Matthew that helped or was it all of them?”
I smiled. “All. Trust me, if it had been just Matthew and me, Lane never would have noticed.”
“Even Samuel?”
I nodded. “I should let them know about Matthew.”
“I already talked to my brother about what happened. He was going to tell the others.”
“I hope you didn’t give him every detail.”
“Of course not. I wasn’t sure if you wanted to talk so I informed them for you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” I glanced toward the window. “It’s a few hours before dawn. You should get some sleep.”
“I can stay with Matthew. You probably need the sleep more than I do.”
I smiled. “You’re young, Christina. You aren’t used to being up around dawn after a fight. I’ll be all right.”
“Are you sure?” At my nod, she stood. “Remember to get some sleep, Julia,” she said and left the room.
I sat in silence for a little while, before allowing myself feel what was done to me. The pain of having my mind invaded, the fear and disgust of him touching me, and rage that he tried to control what I thought or felt boiled within me. I thought of how I had appeared to Lane and the humiliation broke the dam. I curled into the chair and wept.
I lifted my head in confusion. It was Mary Anne. I knew she helped me earlier, but I couldn’t stop myself from snapping,
Mary Anne sighed.
Mary Anne sighed again.
Tears threatened to fall again as I replied,
I was quiet a moment.
I tended to Matthew, placing fresh bandages around the old ones and finding one of the first servants up in the hall. I knew it was a risk, but I hypnotized the man and led him into the bedroom. Matthew responded immediately when I cut the man’s wrist, holding the man’s arm to his mouth. Yet, I couldn’t let him feed as heavily as I would have liked. A servant who appeared drunk on his feet was better than finding the man slumped in a hallway.
A couple minutes later I forced my friend to let go, healed the servant’s cuts, and led the stumbling man back out into the hallway. He slumped against the wall and I instructed him to tell the other humans that the doctor insisted Matthew’s wound was a shallow puncture and he needed rest, before releasing him from the hypnosis as I scurried back into the bedroom.
The room was lighting up with the first gray tinges of dawn when I covered Matthew with a blanket and headed back to my own room. I would have liked to stay, but I was exhausted. I hoped my hypnotic instructions were enough to keep him safe during the day while we rested.
***
I stood silently listening to Belinda prattle on as she finished hooking the clasps on my blue dress. “Signora Giuliana, you must have been so scared! Grazie a Dio Matteo era lì!” she exclaimed.
“Sì, I was very fortunate,” I replied gravely. It was only a few minutes past sunset, but I had deemed it was useless to try to rest any longer. The villa had been in an uproar all day and my sleep hadn’t fared much better. The official story was that we were accosted on our way home from the play by a couple of scoundrels with intentions most vile. Matthew had been wounded defending us, of course.
Belinda inquired about attending to Christina. I told her to wait another hour or two, and then dismissed her so I could look in on my ‘brother-in-law’. As I passed whispering men and women in the hallway, I wondered if we had made a mistake coming here. Ferdinando had taken great offense that his friend and guests had been attacked and had sent men out to search for those responsible. We had come perilously close to exposing ourselves as vampires last night, which would have turned the Medici family against us and led to consequences I didn’t even want to consider.
As I neared Matthew’s door, I heard the murmur of two men inside. I had hoped to be the first one to reach him this evening, but someone had already beaten me there. I paused a moment to rethink my approach and listened again to figure out who the voices belonged to. Relief coursed through me when I recognized the softer of the two as Matthew’s. At least I didn’t have to worry that there were humans in there while h
e was still senseless.
Knocking on the door, I called, “Matteo? It’s Guilana.”
“Avanti,” the other man called. I stepped inside and realized it was Ferdinando who had spoken. He sat beside Matthew, looking worried.
“Master Medici,” I stuttered, gathering my skirts into an awkward curtsy.
A small smile touched his lips as he stood up. “Your sister-in-law looks anxious to verify your condition for herself. Rest, my friend,” he said and walked past me out the door.
I waited a moment before walking to Matthew’s side. “How are you feeling?” I asked, gazing down at him. He was still lying flat on the bed with his head slightly propped up. “I hadn’t meant to interrupt.”
“I’m feeling as well as can be expected. The pain is tolerable at the moment.” He turned his head to stare at me as I sat down. I could see the concern I felt reflected back at me in his eyes. “How are you? You’re up early.”
“So are you,” I answered, dodging his question.
“Noise in the hall woke me. I thought it would be good for appearances if I stayed awake.” He frowned. “Seriously, Julia, you look as if you’ve barely slept at all. How badly are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. I had trouble sleeping.” I leaned forward and picked up his hand. “Thank you for your help. I shouldn’t have leaned on you within the ka-tet. You could have used that energy to defend yourself.”
Matthew snorted. “It was the least I could do after getting myself stabbed. I owe you and Christina. If you hadn’t used your power then, I would be suffering from a lot more than a single stab wound, and she did a good job fighting them off after I was down.”
“Honestly, I’m surprised you managed to start a fire.”
“The others helped give me the needed energy to do so. It was my last option to give Christina help by restricting the number of directions the enemy could come at her from.” He studied me before giving my hand a squeeze. “Ferdinando relayed to me what the guards told him about the condition you were in when you arrived back.”
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