Chasing Shadows (Shadows 2)

Lenore frowned as she looked at me before turning to my father. "You can't incapacitate her if we're going to put her under."

"She's fine," my father answered shortly. "Let's just get on with it."

Lenore turned back to me, looking almost sad. "I appreciated your concern for my disappearance. You were the only one that cared that I vanished." The corners of her mouth turned down. "My family always thought I was crazy so they were glad to be rid of me."

I finally found my voice. It exploded out of me, harsh and intense. "What the hell is going on?!" I took a deep steadying breath, trying to get my tumultuous emotions under control. I needed to be clear-headed. "You too? How long ago did you overtake Lenore?"

Lenore shook her head. "It's still me. I just realized we couldn't win. It's inevitable. The vardogers are going to take over. They're too strong for us. I'm just ensuring that I secure a place for myself before all hell breaks loose."

This was absolutely the last thing I expected to hear. "Are you telling me you're working with the vardogers? You're a seer! You're supposed to protect people!" I was on the edge of hysteria and I screamed at her, "My aunt trusted you!"

Lenore's eyes darkened. "I tried to reason with her, but she wouldn't see it any other way. She didn't have the ability to see the potential of seers joining forces with the vardogers. She was too concerned with the petty humans she wanted to protect." Lenore's voice turned fierce. "We're better than them, yet we spend our entire lives trying to protect them. I'm ready to live my own life now." Her intensity melted away as she smiled. "I was pretty convincing, wasn't I? I was supposed to gain your trust by pretending to battle Claudia. But she got a little overeager and tried to overtake you and you almost destroyed her. I had to disappear before you figured out the truth. A pity you were able to destroy her later on. She was useful despite her recklessness. She's been the only one that's been able to sustain other vardogers without bodies and give them the power to enter any human, instead of just

their own person."

Lenore sighed and looked past me and nodded her head. "Let's get started."

My revulsion grew when I saw Marie and Cecelia walk over to Lenore. I was almost shaking with rage, sickened by the fact that my aunt had been so savagely betrayed by her inner circle. Neither Marie nor Cecelia would look me in the eye.

"You're cowards," I spat out. Cecelia resolutely avoided meeting my eyes but Marie glanced at me at my insult. Her face looked tense and her gaze was almost apologetic, but her eyes flickered away as quickly as they had met mine. Marie incensed me most of all. She knew this was wrong, but she was willing to go along with it.

"Caitlin, we're going to put you under hypnosis."

I jerked my gaze back to Lenore, looking at her like she was crazy. "You're insane if you think I'm going to let you put me under."

Lenore looked at me resignedly. "Don't make this any harder on yourself."

I laughed, although there was no humor in the sound. "Gee, thanks for your concern."

My father crouched in front of me, crowding my vision. "You're going to go under hypnosis and then you're going to tell us everything you see." He smiled cruelly at me. "Unless you want me to send someone to pay Sarah a visit. I'll make sure it's videotaped so that you can watch her being tortured. Maybe I'll even bring her up here and have it done in front of you." His eyes lit up with a barbaric gleam. "Better yet, maybe I'll make you do the torturing. You'd be amazed by how much blood a person can lose before they actually die."

Nausea roiled through me, coupled with a gripping fear. I had no defenses against his words because I knew they weren't threats. They were promises.

"Don't hurt her," I whispered. "I'll go under hypnosis."

"That's better." My father straightened and backed away, allowing the three women to circle me.

"Close your eyes and chant just like before," Lenore ordered. The three women linked hands around me and I followed Lenore's directions.

"Be as one," I repeated as the women joined me in my chant. I was afraid that my paralyzing fear would prevent me from being able to slip under hypnosis. The women's chanting sounded farther and farther away as I sank into a dense blackness, as if I were sinking into quicksand. It started getting hard to breathe, as if my airways were becoming filled with the thick blackness, and I slowly started drifting away from consciousness.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I was floating. The water was calm and felt cool and soothing as I was gently rocked by the tiny lapping waves. I felt complete peace as I closed my eyes against the sun, relaxing and letting the water lull me into a state of tranquility. There was a niggling concern in the back of my mind but I pushed it away, not wanting to disturb the serenity.

At first I didn't notice the waves becoming more forceful since it changed so gradually. But then I noticed that the water started churning violently around me, and my eyes flew open as I coughed from water getting into my mouth.

Suddenly, I felt something grab my hair and I was being sucked underwater, plummeting down with an explosion of speed. I panicked and started flailing my arms and legs to escape the iron grip on my hair, but my struggles were futile as I continued to descend rapidly. I stopped fighting the pull and allowed myself to be dragged lower and lower.

The grip that had shackled me by the hair was gone as abruptly as it had appeared. I distractedly noted that I had no problems breathing underwater, but my concentration was focused on a figure swimming towards me. It was pitch black but I could still make out a fluid body undulating closer.

"Caitlin..." I heard the whisper in my head and there was a dreamlike quality to it. The voice sounded teasing, as if it were tempting me to follow it.

"Who are you?" This was a thought in my head rather than a spoken question. The figure stopped moving when it was about five feet away from me.

"Caitlin, you're not alone. Trust your instincts."

"Mom, is that you?" I asked in my head. The voice giggled and I noticed that it sounded girlish and not at all like an adult.