Dark Possession (Dark 18)

MaryAnn placed one foot carefully out of the all-terrain vehicle and watched her beloved Kors boot sink deep into the muck. She gasped in horror. The boots had been a treasured find. Dark brown, antiqued stressed leather with a tapered toe, they were stylish with their high, thick heels, but comfortable, and very rain-foresty. More than that, they matched her Forzieri jacket in the same elegant color and leather, cut short, trendy and butter soft. She had even carefully rainproofed both for any and all occasions such as a trek in the forest. She'd come totally prepared, yet she wasn't out of the vehicle and already she was ankle deep in mud. She loved those boots.

As she pulled her shoe out, a squishing sound accompanied the unpleasant odor of too-sweet flowers mixed with rotting vegetation. She shifted back onto the seat to examine the damage, wrinkling her nose in distaste. What in the world was she doing in this place? She needed to be in a coffee shop with the music of the street singing to her and the bustle of people everywhere, not in this strangely silent world of... of... nature.

"Hurry, MaryAnn. We have to walk from here," Juliette said.

MaryAnn gingerly dragged her backpack to her and peered out the open door at the strangely quiet interior of the forest. "It's pretty muddy, Juliette," she said, grasping for any reason to stay in the relative safety of the Jeep. The forest terrified her in ways she could never explain to anyone. Her fears were deep-rooted and she'd never been able to overcome them. She couldn't just make herself walk calmly into that oppressive darkness like a sacrificial lamb. "Maybe you could just call him and tell him we're here. You can do that sort

of thing, right?"

"He would not answer," Riordan reminded. "He believes we mean him harm."

"I did mention I've never been camping, right?" MaryAnn said, scanning the ground for the driest spot.

"Three times," Riordan said, his mouth set in grim lines.

He was suddenly in front of her; he caught her around the waist and deposited her a short distance from the vehicle. There was impatience in the bite of his fingers. She didn't sink into the ground, but insects raced all around her. She bit her lip and heroically refrained from saying anything as she took a cautious look around. Whipping the can of bug spray out, she doused the insects in a businesslike manner, "accidentally" managing to spray a little on Riordan's stiff neck.

"Whoops. Sorry." She put the can neatly into one of the loops at her belt, ignoring his glare. Fulfilling the childish urge had given her a little burst of satisfaction. She knew she was stalling, but she'd work up to this her way, not be rushed by anyone.

The rain forest wasn't anything like what she'd expected. It was dark and a little frightening. The air felt heavy with moisture, yet was still with expectancy, as if a thousand eyes watched her. The drone of insects and the unceasing cry of birds were the only things she could hear.

MaryAnn swallowed hard and stayed perfectly still, afraid of moving in any direction. For some reason she thought the forest would be noisy, with the shrieks of a million monkeys, not just the calls of birds and the rustle of insects. Her heart began to pound. Somewhere in the distance a jaguar roared. A chill went down her spine and MaryAnn cleared her throat.

"I may have forgotten to tell you about my weird little thing with cats. House cats. I don't know any other kind, but cats scare me. They have that focused stare and dig their claws into people." She was babbling and couldn't stop herself. It was pathetic and a little embarrassing, but she hadn't signed on for this. "So don't, you know, turn into a big cat or anything. And if one happens to be stalking us, it's probably best not to tell me. I'd much rather remain completely ignorant."

"We'll keep you safe," Juliette assured her.

"I thought you knew you were coming to the rain forest," Riordan said, trying not to sound annoyed. Was this really his brother's lifemate? She wasn't in the least bit suited to their lifestyle. Manolito would eat her alive.

"Cattle ranch," MaryAnn corrected. "You said cattle ranch on the outskirts of the rain forest." And that had been bad enough, when she was thinking luxury five-star hotel dose by. "You didn't say a word about an island and being in the middle of the rain forest. I thought you would be bringing Juliette's sister to me there. I made it very clear I'm a city girl. Give me a mugger and an alley any day of the week."

For reassurance, she touched the two small canisters of pepper spray tucked safely beside the bug spray in the belt loops beneath her jacket. She'd come prepared for jaguar-men, not jaguars. And she could read Riordan's expression; he didn't bother to hide it. His opinion of her was hitting an all-time low, but she just didn't care. He wasn't the reason she was forcing herself to go into a place she knew was extremely dangerous to her. She had nothing to prove to anyone; she never had.

Riordan beckoned with his fingers, and MaryAnn forced one foot in front of the other, reluctantly following his lead. Juliette was behind her, looking small and compact and alert. She moved with grace and ease

through the surprisingly spacious forest floor. The forest was damp and so relentlessly dark, yet she could see colors she shouldn't have been able to see. MaryAnn was a little shocked at the vast variety of shades. As she walked, she was surprised by the absence of animals. She'd always thought creatures were everywhere in the forest, waiting to pounce on the unwary visitor, but as they walked single file, there was only an occasional flutter of wings overhead.

She had also expected the forest floor to be an impenetrable jungle, but it was open and easy to walk through. Trees rose all around her, giant, smooth trunks rising without branches, nearly to the canopy. Roots flared out of the bases like snakes, writhing across the ground. Some trees appeared as if they were held up by a myriad of stilts. Climbing plants hung everywhere. Lianas tangled like ropes, knotting the trees together and forming a hidden highway up in the canopy. Vines crept up the trunks, weaving their way through orchids and over shrubs, ferns and the moss sprouting from the branches. She walked over dead leaves, seedlings, fallen boughs and twisted roots reaching in all directions like tentacles across the forest floor.

MaryAnn was so scared. Terrified in fact. She hadn't been this frightened since a man had broken into her home and nearly killed her. If her best friend, Destiny, had been there, she would have admitted it aloud, talked it over and maybe even laughed at herself. But she didn't know these people. She was entirely out of her element, and it was only her intense need to help others that drove her forward.

She'd dressed in her most comforting clothes, trying to give herself courage. Her Forzieri embroidered jacket, short and stylish in brown distressed leather, matched her boots and gave her added confidence. The embroidery on the back was too cute for words, and the linen ruffles gave the jacket an elegant renaissance look. Pairing the jacket with her Seven jeans, with their wide waistband settling below her belly button and so comfortable she barely knew they were there, and her all-time-favorite, wear-anywhere-and-look-like-a-million-bucks Vera Cristina V-neck tee with intricate beadwork in turquoise, gold and clear beads, she couldn't have looked better. Well. If you didn't count her hair. She reached up to pat it. Out of desperation, she'd managed to braid it into one very thick braid. She hadn't bothered with more than stud earrings because she figured anything else might be a hindrance. As her heel sank into the vegetation, she realized she was hopelessly out of her depth and totally inappropriately dressed. She blinked back tears and kept walking.

If Manolito was alive, where was he? Why couldn't she reach for him after she had that horrible moment when the knowledge had hit her that a jaguar was attacking him? She had tried to stop it, throwing up her hands to catch it, to put herself in its path, screaming a warning, but no one had understood, and how could she explain without sounding crazy that for one moment she had been there-in the forest-standing between Manolito and certain death.

Riordan and Juliette looked grim, but hadn't provided answers to her fearful questions. They had practically thrown her in the truck, Riordan almost rude. He had been intimidating, much like his brothers, but never really rude, not until now.

As if reading her thoughts, Juliette moved up beside her. "I'm sorry. This must be difficult for you."

"It's not my thing," MaryAnn admitted, wanting to turn around and run for the safety of the truck. She kept walking after Riordan. "But I can handle it." Because that's what she did when Someone needed help. And she wasn't about to leave Manolito De La Cruz alone in the rain forest with jaguars attacking him. She could barely breathe with her desire to see him alive and well.

Her chest hurt, her heart felt like a stone, and her eyes burned constantly with the need to weep for his death. She needed to see him. Hear him. Touch him. It made no sense, but right then it didn't matter. She had to be with him or she wasn't going to survive. Although she tried hard to keep her face averted from Juliette, she was aware of the woman casting anxious glances at her.

"He is alive," Juliette said quietly.

"You don't know that," MaryAnn choked out. "The jaguar-" She stopped to try to regain control before speaking. "It was attacking him. I felt the claws tearing through his flesh." She pressed her hand to her stomach as if she were wounded.

"Riordan would know." Juliette cast a swift, worried glance at her lifemate as she kept pace with MaryAnn. She didn't know why, but she was beginning to have misgivings about whether or not Manolito was alive. It was crazy, because the De La Cruz brothers would know if he was dead, and through them, she would know. "My people are jaguar. If one of them attacked Manolito, I fear what Riordan and his brothers might do in retaliation. The jaguar has always left the Carpathians strictly alone. Out here, one chooses one's battles. A single scratch can result in a life-threatening infection."

Riordan, are you certain Manolito is alive? I am feeling grief and a terrible sense of oppression and dread. Juliette needed her lifemate to reassure her; she was no longer able to discern the truth.

Riordan took a breath. He, too, was feeling grief and an unreasonable fear for his brother's life. He reached out to his eldest brother, Zacarias, the one person they could always rely on. Do you feel Manolito'? Can you tell if he still lives?

There was a moment while Zacarias touched Manolito. He is alive, but shielding himself. Do you have need of me?

Zacarias was at the ranch house with the rest of the family, and Riordan wanted him to stay there. Zacarias would not allow Juliette's younger sister and cousin freedom. He would insist on bringing them back to the ranch to protect them, and neither would come willingly. That wouldn't stop Zacarias. He ruled with a snap of his bared teeth and his enormous power, expecting-and getting-everyone's instant obedience.

It is best if no one is here when we contact Jasmine and Solange. Jasmine needs MaryAnn's help, and neither she nor her cousin will come forward voluntarily if you and Nicolas are here.

Do not cater to stupidity, Riordan. I realize you must make your lifemate happy, but not at the expense of endangering women, especially potential lifemates. Just like that, Zacarias was gone, giving his opinion and expecting that Riordan would follow his advice. It wasn't that easy if you had a lifemate. Solange would fight him to the death for her freedom, and if he put so much as a scratch on her, Juliette wouldn't forgive him.

Riordan sighed and once more tried to reach out to Manolito. The man was hiding. He had risen, and he was most likely close to the fertile bed of terra preta. As badly as he was wounded, he would need the rich black soil to survive.

MaryAnn was very aware of Riordan's scrutiny. She didn't turn around to look at Juliette, but she knew they were talking telepathically about her. She didn't quite trust them; after all, what did she really know about them?

Juliette prodded Riordan. Why am I feeling so upset?

I believe it is the woman broadcasting. She may be a much more powerful psychic than we were led to believe. I, too, am feeling her emotions. Is it possible she is jaguar?

Juliette inhaled MaryAnn's scent and watched the movements of her body closely. MaryAnn was nearly running in her fashionable, high-heeled boots, the soles barely skimming the forest floor. She looked utterly out of place but... There is no sound, Riordan. She makes no sound when she moves. No leaves crackling, no branches snapping. She should be awkward-she feels awkward-but she moves like one 'born and bred here. But she is not jaguar.

Riordan sucked in his breath, slowing the pace just a bit so that MaryAnn wouldn't notice. Was the woman part of a trap? What did they know about her after all? Manolito had never claimed her openly, as any lifemate would. He had never told his brothers to watch over her, as a true lifemate would do. Riordan probed gently, keeping the touch light and casual.

MaryAnn brushed her head with her hand as she continued walking, and Riordan felt the psychic slap as if she'd actually struck him. He jerked back to himself and threw a quick glance at his lifemate, truly shocked.

What are we dealing with, Juliette?

MaryAnn had been protected by no less than three powerful Carpathian hunters. If she was vampire, surely they would have detected it. Deliberately, just to be safe, he turned the wrong way, moving away from where he knew his brother had been buried.

MaryAnn took three steps and immediately everything in her shifted and reached back in the other direction. The feeling was so strong she stopped. "That's the wrong way. He's not there. He's..." She gestured, her heart pounding.

What was Riordan doing, leading them the wrong way? Didn't they want to find him? Why were they keeping him away? The seeds of suspicion were growing, and she couldn't suppress them. She turned away from the direction Riordan was leading, suddenly confused. She couldn't figure out why she thought she knew where Manolito was. She tried repeatedly to reach for him, to brush her mind against his, but she couldn't do it, couldn't find him. The more she tried, the more she knew she wasn't in the least psychic. She had no talents, and no ability to be anyone's lifemate. Still, she was afraid the man was in trouble, and she had to get to him.

Confused, she took another step away from the Carpathians and stumbled over the stabilizing buttress roots from one of the taller emergents, an enormously tall tree bursting through the canopy to tower over the other trees. The roots were twisted into an elaborate, artful shape, roaming along the surface of the ground, tips probing for nutrients. A small tree frog, bright green in color, leapt from a particularly thick root to land on MaryAnn's shoulder.

She stifled a scream and froze. "Get it off. Get it off me, right now," she ordered, her hand closing around the small canister of pepper spray.

Where are you? I need you. Please be alive. Because she wasn't a woman made for tree frogs and beetles, but she wasn't leaving the rain forest until she found the man or his body. She could handle the dark of an alley in the city any day of the week, but she detested walking in the mud and rotting leaves, with the oppressive darkness and the silence closing in around her. She felt eyes watching every step she took.

Juliette whispered softly, although it was her mind she reached out with, to ask the frog to get off MaryAnn. Juliette had an affinity for animals, and even reptiles and amphibians sometimes responded, but in this case, the frog moved closer to MaryAnn's neck, clinging with its sticky feet.

Get off me! MaryAnn screamed it in her head, not able to wait for the frog to obey Juliette's command. Right now! "Get off!" she yelled aloud.

Evidently the creature had had enough of humans, and it leapt to the nearest tree trunk, landing near two other small frogs. Overhead, in the canopy, a small monkey threw leaves at the trio of amphibians.

MaryAnn closed her eyes, took a deep breath and began walking again, this time, in spite of the high heels on her boots, picking up the pace until she was practically running. She pushed past Riordan, who looked

shocked. When he would have started after her, Juliette caught his arm and gestured to the trees around them. Small frogs dotted the trunks and branches, leaping from one tree to the next, following MaryAnn's progress. Overhead, in the canopy, monkeys used the highway of tangled vines to converge and follow the woman as she made her way through the forest.

Do you think the vampire is here? Juliette asked.

Riordan did another, much more careful and thorough scan of the surrounding forest. If so, he is a master at hiding his presence. I know they are getting much more clever about such things, so we will need to be fully alert to all danger to her. She is drawn to Manolito, and perhaps can find him even faster than we can, as he is shielding his presence from me.

Juliette frowned as they began to follow MaryAnn. Your blood bond should keep you informed of his whereabouts.

Riordan sent her a small smile. We are ancients, Juliette, and we have studied many things over the centuries. Manolito can hide his presence even from our best hunters, and there is no detecting Zacarias when he does not want it known that he is near.

MaryAnn realized tears were running down her face. The sense of dread and fear was overwhelming. Where are you? Find me. She continued to try calling to Manolito mentally, although clearly she didn't have the psychic gifts they all thought she did.

As she moved deeper into the interior of the forest, she noticed that the greens weren't quite so vivid. Leaves and shrubs appeared to have a veil of fog over them, changing the vibrant color to a dull gray. Shadows grew where there had been none. First she had seen bright colors in the dark, and now she was seeing shadows when she shouldn't be able to. Terror moved through her, but she couldn't stop going. Whispers plagued her mind as she began to jog. She didn't jog. She wasn't a jogger, or a runner of any kind, but she found herself hurrying through the forest in an effort to get to Manolito.

Something pushed her onward when all around the forest grew darker and the rustling above her head more pronounced. Once, she risked a look up, but there were small furry things swinging over her head, and it made her feel dizzy and slightly sick. She stumbled and nearly fell, putting out her hand to break her fall. Her long, beautifully manicured nails dug into the wet moss. One nail broke. A dozen green frogs leapt onto her arm and clung with their sticky webbed feet.

She froze. The frogs stared at her with huge, black, green-lidded eyes. They were shiny, with spots on their underbellies and matching green toenails, as if they wore polish. Tongues darted out, tasting the leather of her jacket. MaryAnn shuddered and looked back at Juliette.

"Why are they doing that?"

Juliette didn't have an answer for her. She'd never seen the frogs congregate together in such numbers before, and she'd spent most of her life in the rain forest.

"I don't know," she admitted. "It's unusual behavior." Riordan, they ignore even the strongest of pushes. There was alarm in both her voice and her mind.

Riordan set Juliette behind him, regarding the frogs with suspicion. "When creatures do not act as they should, it is best to destroy them."

MaryAnn's breath caught in her throat. She shook her head. "No, I didn't mean for you to kill them. Maybe

they're just curious about my jacket." She made a scooting gesture with her free hand. "Move along, little froggies." Hurry before the big bad Carpathian fries you all. I mean it, you've got to move. Silently she urged them to cooperate, while mentally rolling her eyes. For heaven's sake, how much damage could a tiny little innocent tree frog do, after all? She didn't want to see Riordan do anything like rain down fire on the poor helpless things. "Shoo, shoo. Go back to your little froggy homes."

The frogs took to the trees, the movement sending a strange wave of green over the tangle of roots, as dozens of frogs skittered away toward the safety of the higher branches. MaryAnn sent Riordan a small little sniff. "What were you going to do, make them into shish kebab? Poor little things. They're probably as scared as I am."

Did you feel that, Juliette? That surge of power? She made the frogs leave. And she's sneering at me. Sneering. He was going to have to revise his thinking about his brother's lifemate. "Those frogs are poisonous. Natives used them for years to tip their arrows," he couldn't resist adding.

MaryAnn straightened slowly, automatically looking at her broken nail. Her nails grew abnormally fast, they always had, but now her nail polish was going to be a mess. And it was hurting like hell. It always did when she broke off a nail. Her finger would throb and burn and tingle as the nail regenerated.

She nicked a scowl at Riordan. "Don't try to scare me with frogs. I don't like them, but I'm not that big of a city girl." She was, but he didn't need to know that.

"They really are toxic," Juliette confirmed. "Riordan is telling the truth. It isn't normal to see so many frogs in one area, and they certainly shouldn't be following us."

MaryAnn glanced at the frogs surrounding them. "Are they following?" The idea made her nervous. She didn't want them killed, but she wanted them gone. Out of sight. Of course then they might be hidden in the foliage, staring with their giant eyes just like everything else in the rain forest seemed to be doing.

"Yes, and so are the monkeys," Riordan said, folding his arms across his chest and indicating the canopy with a nod of his chin.

MaryAnn was afraid to look. Frogs were one thing-and she chose to leave out the poisonous part-but monkeys were furry little beasts with near-human hands and big teeth. She knew that because once, just once, she'd gone to the zoo and the monkeys had all been insane, screaming and jumping around, baring huge teeth at her through what appeared to be smiles. It had been a horrible day, not as bad as this one, but she'd vowed never to go to a zoo again.

MaryAnn squared her shoulders and elevated her chin a notch. "Do you have an explanation for why these creatures aren't behaving normally?"

"I thought I did," Riordan admitted. "I believed a vampire might be using their eyes and ears to gather information, but now I am not so certain."

Her heart jumped when she heard the word "vampire." She'd been expecting it ever since she'd entered the dark oppression of the rain forest, but she still wasn't prepared. She longed for the normalcy of gangs hanging out on the corner. She could quell the street toughs with one look, but a herd of frogs or monkeys commanded by vampires... Was it herd? She didn't even know. She didn't belong in the animal kingdom. She desperately wanted to go home.

As soon as the thought was completed, grief welled up, swamping her. More than sorrow, she felt need, a compulsion to keep moving, to hurry. She turned away from Riordan and Juliette, toward the direction the

pull was strongest. She couldn't leave this terrible place until she found Manolito.

She turned her head from side to side, not seeing anything, only thinking of him, the lines of pain and fatigue etched deep into the handsome features. His broad shoulders and thick chest. He was tall, much taller than she was, and she wasn't exactly short. Where was he?

She could hear the high-pitched sound of bats calling to one another, and somewhere in the raging river one porpoise beckoned to another. The world seemed to narrow, or maybe her senses expanded, making her hearing far more acute, so that her brain processed every individual noise. The rustles in the leaves were insects, the flutter of wings were birds settling for the night, the monkeys overhead disturbed leaves as they kept pace. She heard the sound of voices, two men, about six miles away, and she recognized Manolito's sensual tone, His voice shimmered in her mind, sent goose bumps skittering over her skin and her stomach clenching in anticipation of seeing him.

MaryAnn walked fast, urgency driving her. He was in trouble. She knew it. She felt him now, close, where before she couldn't reach him. She didn't try connecting mind-to-mind; she wasn't psychic, but it didn't matter. She heard his whispered command floating in the air. dome to me. She knew he was injured. Confused. He needed her. Scents burst through her brain, the three-day-old trail of a tapir rooting for vegetation. A margay hidden deep in the canopy a mile to her left. So many creatures, even... jaguar. Her breath hitched and she drew her knees higher, pumping her arms, picking up speed.

She cut through a series of slopes running along a swollen stream, uncaring when the lower shrubbery tore at her hair. Water poured from every conceivable outlet, creating waterfalls everywhere. The sound was loud in the stillness of the forest. With little moon and the thick canopy overhead, the interior was dark and eerie. Low-lying fog wove a trail of ghoulish gray vapor in and out of the trees, covering the buttress of tangled roots so when she got close to them, the thick knots and snakelike limbs appeared to be dark fortresses hiding secrets. The huge trunks rose up out of the fog, seemingly disembodied from the roots holding them to ground.

Juliette's nails dug into Riordan's arm as they paced behind MaryAnn. Look at her. She runs so smoothly. She's not jaguar, but I don't know what she is. I've never seen anything like her. Have you?

Riordan struggled with his memories, trying to remember if he'd ever seen such a transformation. It was difficult to see MaryAnn as more than the beautiful fashion plate she always appeared to him to be.

She was intelligent and courageous for a human, he had always given her that, but her courage wasn't the kind needed to be the lifemate of a Carpathian hunter like Manolito. Riordan's brother was dominating and hard, with no soft edges to make him more palatable for a woman like MaryAnn. Yet there was a steel core in her. And there was far more to the package than met the eye. She wielded power and energy without conscious deliberation, yet the moment she thought about it, she became inept and afraid.

The biggest question is whether or not she is a danger to Manolito.

I think she is very confused about all of this, Riordan. I feel sorry for her. The blood tie to Manolito is strong. If it was only the one exchange, why is the connection so strong in her that she knows more than you where your brother is? Because, make no mistake, she knows exactly where he is and she's heading straight to him. He's a good six miles away, but she's making fast time even though she's never been in a rainforest in her life.

MaryAnn felt a buzzing in her head, as if insects were fluttering in her skull. The Carpathians were talking to each other again. She detested that. Were they using her to get to Manolito? If Riordan really wanted to find his brother, why didn't he approach him directly, call to him, draw him out? Why hadn't they simply buried the body at their ranch, where Manolito would have risen among family members who would have helped

him? Why hadn't they mentioned a second home? And why were Juliette's sister and cousin too afraid to even go to the De La Cruz home? Something was very wrong.

It all should have frightened her-and it might have-but Manolito's voice once again slid into her head.

Where are you? He sounded so lost and lonely. Her heart twisted in answer, aching for him.

She wasn't a runner, but she picked up the pace, smoothly, easily, leaping over fallen tree trunks as if she'd been born with the reflexes, something inside her urging her to hurry. As she ran, her mind became still, quiet and certain, assessing everything around her with uncommon speed.

Her vision was odd, as if her other senses being so enhanced had robbed her of normal vision. The vibrant greens and reds of leaves and flowers blended and dulled until it was hard to distinguish color, yet even with the dull gray, she caught the movement of insects and lizards, the flash of the tree frogs and monkeys as they scurried overhead. Her night vision had always been excellent, but now it seemed more so; without the colors to dazzle and blind, she could identify a wider spectrum of things as she raced by.

It was exhilarating to have all of her senses so sharp. Her hearing was definitely much more acute. She could hear air rushing out of Juliette's lungs. The ebb and flow of blood in veins. Deep inside of her something wild unfurled and stretched.

MaryAnn caught her breath, frightened. She stumbled and nearly tell, stopping so abruptly Riordan and Juliette nearly ran her over. She backed away from them, her palm covering the mark over her breast where it throbbed and burned.

"What did he do to me?" she whispered. "I'm changing into something else."

Juliette caught at Riordan's wrist and squeezed tightly to prevent him from saying the wrong thing. He might not see how fragile and lost MaryAnn looked, but she did. There was a different, very real fear in her eyes now, wary, like a cornered animal. They didn't know how MaryAnn would react, but more importantly, she didn't know, and that had Juliette spooked.

"We don't know exactly what Manolito did do to you, other than he probably took one blood exchange." Juliette drew in a deep breath, trying to be honest. "Maybe two. You're not Carpathian, so he didn't convert you."

"But Nicolae took my blood to better protect Destiny."

And she wasn't afraid of him. Riordan picked that out of her mind. Not like she is now. Why wasn't she afraid to have Nicolae take her blood when it would be the natural thing to be?

MaryAnn put a hand to her head, brushing as if to sweep away insects, taking another step backward, away from them. Fear grew with every breath she took. Something was terribly wrong; she knew it, could feel it deep inside her. Closing her fist, she dug her nails deep into her palm to test herself. She was beginning to doubt what was real and what might be illusion.

She knows we are talking privately, Riordan cautioned, and it upsets her.

And have you asked yourself how she knows? She shouldn't. She doesn't even think she's psychic.

She's more than psychic, Juliette, Riordan said. She wields power without effort.

Or the knowledge that she's doing it. "This is crazy, MaryAnn," Juliette added aloud. "Neither Riordan nor I know what to make of it."

"I want to go home." Even as she said it, MaryAnn knew she couldn't, not until she found Manolito De La Cruz and assured herself he was alive and well and not in some kind of terrible trouble. Damn her nature, the one that always needed to help and comfort others. She lifted her shaking hand. Her nail had already grown, much, much faster than even the accelerated rate normal for her. "What do you think he did to me? You must have, a guess. And is it reversible? Because I'm human and my family is human and I like being human. This is what comes from having a skinny bloodsucking white girl as my best friend." And she was so going to have a few things to say to Destiny when she saw her again-if she ever saw her again.

Juliette cast Riordan another anxious glance. "I'm so sorry, MaryAnn. If I knew what was happening, I'd tell you. The thing is this-humans have lived for centuries side-by-side with other species. In all those years, you and I both know, eventually the species are going to mix. Maybe several centuries ago, there was something we don't know about. I have jaguar blood. So do a lot of the women who are psychic."

MaryAnn shook her head. "Not me." It felt wrong. She knew her mother and father and her grandparents and great-grandparents. There weren't any spots in her family and no one sucked blood.

Could she be mage? Juliette ventured.

Mages hold power, that's for certain, and most are good people, but she would be weaving spells. She does not appear to be doing that. She gathers energy as we do and uses it, but she is unaware. That is why she is such a good counselor. She unwittingly urges them to feel better. She wants them happy, so they are. She senses the right thing for each person to hear and she says it.

MaryAnn's heart went into overdrive. They were clearly talking to each other again. She turned on her too-high heel and ran headlong into the underbrush, thinking she might outrun them, forgetting they could take to the air if they wanted. And they wanted.

She felt the rush of displaced air all around her, and Riordan dropped down out of the sky, cutting her off.

MaryAnn screamed and backpedaled, her heels catching on one of the many roots snaking across the ground. She went down hard, landing on her bottom, looking up at him as he stood over her.

"That way is dangerous," Riordan explained, extending his hand to her.

She kicked at him, furious with him, but mostly angry with herself for being in such a vulnerable position. How many times had she counseled women about going off with strangers-people they met through the Internet, or through friends, but didn't really know themselves. She curled her fingers around the small canister of pepper spray. Did it work on Carpathians? Or vampires? No one had mentioned them in her pepper-spray class.

"MaryAnn," Riordan cautioned, frowning at her. "Don't be silly. Let me help you up. You're sitting on the ground. Did you know that there are a million and a half ants per half acre in the rain forest?"

MaryAnn suppressed a yelp of fear and scrambled to her feet without help, backing away again, brushing at her clothing, feeling the swarm of insects on her legs and arms. I hate this! She screamed it so loud in her head she felt the echo through her clenched teeth. Her eyes burned with tears again.

The air around them charged with electricity so that the hair on her arm prickled.

"Take cover," Riordan yelled and leapt back.

Thunder rolled. The ground shook. Monkeys howled. Birds screeched and rose from the trees. Lightning sizzled and snapped, slamming to earth in a near-blinding display of energy. Fog poured in all around her. MaryAnn felt strong arms slide around her, and one hand pressed her face into a large, muscular chest. Her feet left the ground, and she was flying through the treetops so fast it made her dizzy.

Riordan swore and caught Juliette's arm when she would have pursued. "That was Manolito and he gave us a clear warning to back off. We have no choice but to do so. She's his lifemate and we have no business interfering."

"But..." Juliette trailed off helplessly. "We can't just leave her."

"We have no choice, not unless we want to provoke him into a battle. He will take care of her," Riordan assured. "We cannot do any more here."