Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 715(@200wpm)___ 572(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Silke found herself frowning, still trying to puzzle out Tora’s concern. She wasn’t certain what Tora was trying to tell her. It was very unlike Tora not to be direct, especially with Silke. They were very close. Silke tended to follow where Tora led, trusting Tora to show her the things she needed to learn to better defend their people. More than that, she allowed Tora to take the lead because she loved and trusted her. Tora had never let her down.
“Justice, the beast we guard, was Carpathian.” Tora frowned. “Is Carpathian, or has remnants of his Carpathian code. Gaia would never stay with him otherwise. Gaia was brought to the underworld as a child. An exchange was made with Xavier, the high mage. I think Lilith wanted her for her ability to talk to animals. When she couldn’t mold Gaia to her likeness, she allowed demons to terrify her. Gaia hid in the beast’s territory, inside the gates with him. He protected her and made it known she was under his protection. That was how their friendship began.”
“Again, he sounds like a hero to me.”
Jagged lightning ripped through the sky, sizzling and crackling as almost simultaneously the roar of thunder shook the forest and ground. The strike was directly overhead, yet it never penetrated the canopy. Ground to sky, the energy couldn’t build because the heavy layers of fog were impenetrable. As if the lightning were dozens of swords and spears, the bolts rained down, seeking an entry.
The veil held despite the relentless battering. The lightning bolts couldn’t penetrate the mysterious fog that covered the forest.
“You would think they would recognize the touch of a Carpathian,” Silke said. “If Lilith has vampires at her disposal, and I can’t imagine that she doesn’t, why don’t they recognize that the forest is protected by a Carpathian?”
Tora gave her an enigmatic smile. “I was a young woman when the Battle of Baduhenna took place. Over the years I have learned many, many things. It seems that most Carpathians trained under the high mage, Xavier. The spells they learned to safeguard, even using just one weave that is familiar to vampires, would quickly identify a Carpathian, but I had no such experience. Everything I learned was through trial and error. My weaves are natural, all about the earth. I learned mainly from nature and all the creatures I came across from the time I was a child.”
“You never talk about your parents.”
“I was very young when they passed. My father hunted a vampire, and he was killed.” Tora’s voice was very matter-of-fact. “The vampire followed the trail back to my mother and me. My mother defended me, but he would have killed us both if it wasn’t for your ancestors. A group of women heard my screams, and they came running. My mother knew them and was able to tell them how to aid us in defeating the vampire. It was your ancestors leading the way fearlessly. They took me in and raised me when my mother succumbed to her wounds.”
Silke knew the battle and death of Tora’s parents had happened centuries earlier. Tora acted stoic about it, but Silke sensed her underlying sorrow.
“I’m so sorry, Tora. It’s never easy to lose one’s parents. I didn’t know mine, but if I were to lose Fenja, I know I would never get over the loss. I’m so happy it was my family that took you in. You’re my sister. I love you very much.”
They didn’t often express their affection for one another, although they showed it in the things they did for each other.
“This Carpathian warrior who is your lifemate,” Tora blurted out. “Like I said, he’s one of the ones that had been in the monastery. He’s lived longer than I have. I’m told he’s extremely dangerous. Even other Carpathians who were in the monastery are leery of him. He has developed gifts that would make him nearly impossible to defeat in battle, just the way Justice has developed them.”
“What are you saying, in plain language? Do you believe the man I’ve been promised to is like the beast you and the others have kept behind the gates?”
Tora frowned and rubbed her chin. “I don’t know. No one knows, only when you live so long and fight so many battles, something happens to you. It isn’t vampire but more like demon. Not the type of demon Lilith commands. One with all the knowledge of centuries of battles. Scary strong.”
Silke stared at her friend for a long time in utter astonishment. Then she burst out laughing. “You’re telling me the soul I guard could very well belong to a demon. I’m a demon slayer. He’s supposed to be my husband. I guess that’s very fitting. If he gets out of hand, I’ll be the one who is supposed to take him down.”