Total pages in book: 182
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 165649 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 828(@200wpm)___ 663(@250wpm)___ 552(@300wpm)
Ferro was a little shocked when he saw the deep burn marks slowly disappearing as if they had never been. It didn’t make sense. What had she done? Just willed the scarring away? No one healed that way. She was patient, taking her time until there was no evidence of any damage at all on Tariq’s brain. Then she was gone, and Ferro went with her, slipping back into the room.
Elisabeta felt light and insubstantial, as if she might slip away from him at any moment. Sandu was there instantly, holding out his wrist to her. Even in her need, she tipped her head up, her dark eyes meeting Ferro’s as if asking for permission or needing him to command her to take sustenance from another male.
Take his blood, piŋe sarnanak. You are so pale you look as if you might disappear.
She did as he instructed, politely taking what Sandu offered. Benedek gave Ferro blood while Maksim offered Gary his wrist. Tariq sat quietly at the table, his eyes on the young Carpathian boy still standing frozen in place by the healer’s command. There was a look of belligerence on Josef’s face.
Tariq waited until the three finished feeding before he spoke. “Clearly, whatever infected Sandu and Dragomir infected Josef and me as well. Have you any idea what it is, or how it is getting to us?” He looked across the table to Elisabeta. “Thank you, Elisabeta. I owe you a great deal. All three of you, but clearly, you seem to be able to deal with the violence this infection is causing.”
Elisabeta attempted a small smile but Ferro could feel how uncomfortable she was with the spotlight on her.
“Gary might be better at explaining what is happening than I am,” Ferro said, more to shift the attention away from Elisabeta than for any other reason. “Elisabeta, when you feel ready, you and I will do our best to aid young Josef.”
“Before you do, I’d like to see just how deep the burns are and where they are on him as well,” Gary said. “Tariq, did you train with Josef? Use his tablet?”
Tariq shook his head. “No, I’ve been using these programs from the time they were first developed. Josef actually wrote some of the software programs a year or so ago, and I trained myself to use them by the tutorials.”
Show-off, Sandu whispered into Ferro and Elisabeta’s shared merge.
Elisabeta’s expression didn’t change, but Ferro felt the amusement flare briefly in her mind and he was grateful to Sandu. Elisabeta really was uncomfortable in the presence of the others, even when they were saying things complimentary. He knew she just wanted to go back to their home and be alone with him. He was grateful. He felt the same way.
“Sandu, you and Dragomir both used the tablet and trained on the same program?”
Sandu nodded. “We compared notes. It really was not as difficult as it seemed at the time. We pulled the knowledge out of Josef’s mind and then went over it several times. It seemed easy enough. Neither one of us could figure out why we had problems with it.”
“This evening, Tariq,” Gary continued. “How did the trouble start between you and Josef?”
Tariq frowned, tapping the table. “I barely remember, only that I had a major headache, but truthfully, I’d had one for several risings. Charlotte had tried to get rid of it for me. This rising, Josef stormed in very angry because he didn’t want to work with any of the ancients tonight. I told him to get out. He did, but he was muttering under his breath. He had those piercings, and for some reason I felt like he was being deliberately disrespectful to me by wearing them. I yelled after him to get rid of them before he came back around. Then I sent someone to him to train. I don’t even remember who right now, but I do remember I wasn’t going to let some kid tell me what to do in my own home.”
“All of that is completely out of character for you,” Maksim pointed out. “Were you aware that it was?”
Tariq nodded. “I couldn’t stop myself. I kept feeling this intense rage, so much so that I told Charlotte to keep the kids away from me and not to come around, either. I didn’t tell her why. I tried to have the house quiet and just get work done.”
“Work?” Gary prompted.
Tariq nodded. “I’ve been neglectful of the nightclubs and needed to oversee them. I try to be hands-on as much as I can, but lately, with everything going on, I’ve left them in the hands of the managers. I thought I could go over the books, the orders, that kind of thing. My head hurt so much, it was nearly impossible.”
“Has anyone new come to work here at the compound? For the security team? Sergey has recruited human male psychics,” Ferro said. “Could he have planted someone?”