Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Petru knew she believed in the others because he did. He brushed a kiss in her hair and took her under the thin crack between the door and the floor.
The room was very warm in comparison to the cool of the night. This was the main room of the restaurant. Tables were set up, and chairs were either pushed in or set upside down on top of them. In the large foyer was the firepit where people could gather to talk. The men were seated around it, Aabis and Kadin carrying the lion’s share of the conversation, with the others nodding and agreeing occasionally.
“That family has always thought themselves far above everyone else,” Kadin said as they entered the room. “Any woman would be lucky to have you, Aabis. Many families have inquired if you would be interested.”
A round of agreement supported the statement.
“That stubborn little boy is a prime example of what they are like. No manners. He doesn’t respect his elders,” an older man said. He clasped his hands together and bowed toward the stairs leading to the offices above. “He should have been beaten like the dog he is until he knows how to speak to his betters.”
Safia gripped Petru’s arm. They call him Abbot. He has always been strict, even with his own children and grandchildren. I don’t see his son in the room. His son is always with him.
Aura, Lojos and Tomas have already located Charif, Petru informed her. They have him safe. They are building an illusion of the man who was beating him continuing to do so in case anyone goes to check.
He showed the images of the real Charif to Safia. The boy was only seven, but he had stoically remained silent under the interrogation he’d been subjected to. Aabis and his friends wanted to know everything about Safia’s intended. They wanted to know if the marriage contract had already been signed. They didn’t think it had been, but it was important to know if Aabis still had a chance.
They beat him.
Yes. Petru monitored her closely. He felt the swift intake of breath. The anger that she let flow through her and then let go of.
She continued to listen to Aabis and his friends talk about her family and how she should have been more protected. Aabis insisted it wasn’t her fault she was the way she was. He defended her, stating that she had a good heart, worked hard and would be an asset to him and his family once she was under his control.
The demon in the western corner lifted one hand, palm out, tracing symbols in the air. As he did, he shook his head slowly, his eyes taking on a reddish glow as if reflecting the firelight. He stared at the men gathered around the fireplace.
Abbot shook his head mournfully. “The woman must be disciplined, Aabis. Just like the boy.” He looked up toward the stairs. “My son knows the right way to ensure a child or a wife is obedient in all things.”
Petru kept his mind firmly in Safia’s. She wasn’t paying attention to what Abbot was saying. She wasn’t even following the progress of Aura, Lojos and Tomas as they took Charif toward the farm. Her entire attention was fixed on the demon in the western corner. He felt the flow of her mind moving like breath, slow and steady, a stream so light and airy it was impossible to detect. He flowed with her, as did Nicu.
Benedek waited with Mataias to take control of the human men in the room on Petru’s signal. To maintain that slow, infinitely light pace was extremely difficult. Petru was used to battling the undead, striking with the speed of lightning. This kind of attack was very different but utterly fascinating.
Carpathians shed their bodies to heal. In order to do so, their species lost all ego, all sense of self, to become pure spirit. In a way, Safia was doing something similar, but she entered the mind of the demon. It was a wrenching experience. Chaos, cruelty and need for violence assailed them. There was no thought but to destroy everyone around him in as vile and brutal a manner as possible. The craving for human suffering was uppermost in the demon’s mind.
His name had been Art when he’d been a mage. He could barely remember those days. Pain shredded his memory, tearing at his insides, stabbing at his head and eyes until he wanted to torture everyone around him so they would feel his pain. The knowledge flooded Petru the moment he entered the demon’s mind. It came all at once, just as the agony pushed into his brain.
Petru thought to buffer Safia, but there was no need. She had expected the assault on her senses and had been prepared—if one could be. More than the pain, it was the ugliness of the creature’s thoughts and needs. His only real objective was to carry out Lilith’s will and bring Safia out into the open so she could be murdered. She not only wanted Safia dead but her entire family destroyed. Art’s orders, along with the others, were to find Safia, kill her and burn her family alive, if possible. If not, kill them all.