Page 1 (1/2)

Part 1

The scent of lavender woke ical connection

Bad sfor trouble Athe side of ht, I doubted he had come for a social visit His surface e a little deeper into his thoughts and encountered a strong barrier He was aone The blanket settling to the mattress and his musky scent were the only evidence of his recent presence How does he do that without ic?

Thanks, Kiki We’ll take care of the intruder, I said as I slipped out of bed and into ift froned just for me--sized to fit my body, hand embroidered, reversible and included various hidden weapons

Smells, Kiki said with alare of scents filled y Rank Earthy

Grain Five intruders not one I pushed my awareness out further, past the barn and pasture and into the woods surrounding e An owl A raccoon A mouse No others Which meant…

I snapped my focus back to the man and concentrated He protected his coic An icy wave flushed through er a simple problem I raced down the stairs

Metal picks scraped in the lock, I grabbed my switchblade and took a position next to the door

Between the faint low froht to discern the bigger shapes inroom A couch An overstuffed chair An end table No Valek Good If I could see hi toward me I waited as the five snuck in They didn’t talk to each other as they fanned out My heart did a little foxtrot in ician When he reached to shut the door, I ered rabbed the ainst his neck

"Don’t move or I’ll slit your throat," I whispered in his ear

The man froze, but called out, "Found her"

The others spun, but didn’t draeapons In fact, they held their hands out and away froe said "We’re not here to hurt you We have some business to discuss with you" He ht? And cloaked with a null shield? Try again" The comment about the shields was for Valek’s benefit He had to be nearby, waiting to see what develops

"Both are precautions We don’t want anyone to see us here"

"And the null shield?" I asked

"To protect my men If I had wanted to surprise you, I would be behind the shield as well"