 
### Table of Contents

Title Page

About Storm JK

Dedication

CREATURES OF EVE

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Coming soon

Acknowledgements

Copyright statement
CREATURES OF EVE

STORM JK

This is an IndieMosh book

brought to you by MoshPit Publishing  
an imprint of Mosher's Business Support Pty Ltd

PO BOX 147  
Hazelbrook NSW 2779

<http://www.indiemosh.com.au/>

Copyright 2016 © Storm JK

All rights reserved

**Licence Notes**

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favourite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author and publisher.

**Disclaimer**

This story is entirely a work of fiction.

No character in this story is taken from real life. Any resemblance to any person or persons living or dead is accidental and unintentional.

The author, their agents and publishers cannot be held responsible for any claim otherwise and take no responsibility for any such coincidence.

Storm works in the personal development industry as both a personal coach and trainer, she currently is an Alcohol and Drug facilitator and conducts workshops on goal setting and the Law of Attraction to assist people in realising their dreams and goals.

At present she lives in the Blue Mountains, Australia with her four cat companions, all of who are rescue animals.

For further information on future books or workshops, please visit www.stormjk.com or join her Facebook page at www.facebook.com/Stormjk
To my muse:

Vladimir (King)

The inspiration of who you are breathes life into my book.

I am loved by my wonderful father Wayne  
and my beautiful sisters and brother,  
Jacqui, Rebecca, Sharon and John.

How lucky I am.
CREATURES OF EVE

STORM JK
Chapter 1

Emily placed the wildflowers she had picked on her mother's grave and wiped down the gravestone with her hand so that she could see her mother's name - Marie Robyn Sinclair. Pulling out a yellow dandelion from the bunch, she reached over and placed it onto her father's grave that was nestled close to his wife's. It had been eleven years since the accident took their lives, leaving Emily alone in the world. Tears rolled down her face as she remembered the day and how the celebration of her sixteenth birthday had been so wonderful. Emily had worn a new dress of pale blue, the colour of her eyes, and her parents had taken her to a stylish waterfront restaurant on Sydney Harbour. After the restaurant, they enjoyed a concert at the Sydney Opera House. The music had been wonderful, with the Russian Symphony Orchestra playing classical pieces from Russian composers, favourites of her father, Edward. He had allowed her to have a small glass of champagne, leaving Emily feeling so grown up and special. _How can such a perfect moment turn to such horror?_ Emily thought to herself.

Emily didn't really remember the crash itself. Over the years, random images of wreckage and blood flashed through her dreams; she did not know if they were real or just imagined. Emily had not been hurt. In fact, she was found lying in a field fifty metres from the crash, unconscious, with not a scratch on her. The paramedics who found her had claimed it was a miracle and the doctors announced that the extreme exhaustion, which had lasted over a week, was due to shock.

With dawn breaking, a bird flew down and sat on her father's tombstone. After a moment, another bird flew down, and then another. They peered at Emily, causing her to smile as she opened up a connection to them. She felt simple waves of emotion emanate; they were curious. 'Hello my friends,' Emily cooed softly. She could feel that the little bird closest to her was happy in the moment.

It was her gift to communicate with animals. In fact, her talent had started when she opened her eyes in the field after the crash. While her body felt like lead, her mind was overwhelmed with information, as if she had woken to a new world. Mercifully, it was shut off as she passed back into unconsciousness. Over the next week in hospital, Emily spent large amounts of time sleeping, and her dreams were full of strange events and images. The emotions that came with the dreams left her feeling confused.

It was raining when Emily woke up on the seventh day. Feeling a little stronger, she eased out of the hospital bed and went to the window. As she looked out along the ledge she saw a large, black crow. She could sense that it wanted to find shelter from the rain so she opened the window and thought, _How good would it be for you to come in?_ Emily was momentarily surprised when the crow flew in and settled on the back of the chair. It spent the afternoon with Emily until one of the nurses came in to give Emily her dinner. The crow startled and flew out the window and Emily could feel its annoyance that its dry place had been invaded.

The next day, David Swan, a family friend, came to pick Emily up. She had known David her whole life and, being ten years older than her, David had often babysat Emily as their family's farms were adjacent to each other's. There were many days that Emily crossed the fields to see what David was up to or to bring him something from her mother's kitchen. They were firm friends and he was like her brother.

'How are you feeling?' David asked softly, once they had left the city. David was a man of few words and when he spoke people listened to him.

Emily was so grateful that he had not asked if she was alright; nothing felt alright. Pausing for a moment, Emily struggled to find the right words. In the end she simply said, 'I think something has changed in my brain since the accident.'

Stomping on the brakes of the truck, David pulled over. As a doctor specialising in gene research, her comment triggered alarm bells. He turned to look at Emily, saying, 'Are you in pain?'

'No, it's not like that,' she replied, feeling foolish.

David reached across and took Emily's face in his hands. He stared deeply into her eyes, to see if her pupils were normal. Her eyes were, at this moment, pale blue and clear. Her skin colour was good and he checked her pulse. Having satisfied himself that she was not in immediate danger he asked, 'What do you mean?'

'I ... I ... can hear what birds are thinking. Well, maybe not thinking but definitely feeling. In fact, see that cow in the field and how it's looking at us?' David turned and wound down the window to get a better view of the brown cow. 'I can sense its curiosity, wondering what we're doing.' David wasn't sure what to say; he'd never known Emily to lie in her whole life. For a minute he thought that it was a delusion caused by the death of her parents.

Emily got out of the truck and said softly, 'Watch me,' as she slipped through the fence and entered the field. She lifted her arms up above her head and within twenty seconds birds came from all directions and settled on her head and arms. Then, they all rose up and slowly flew in a big circle around her head before disappearing, going back to their business.

David's mouth was open as he looked at Emily, then he smiled and laughed. 'Oh wow, Emily, that is so crazy!'

Tentatively smiling back, Emily said, 'So you think I'm okay?' By now the cow had come over to Emily and was rubbing her head against Emily's body.

'Well, I would like to get some brain scans done just to make sure nothing is loose,' David said teasingly, 'but I think this is a gift.'

'A gift?' Emily murmured softly, rubbing the cow on the nose.

* * *

After putting Emily through extensive brain scans, David pronounced that she was physically well. He showed her a scan of her brain and explained how dormant parts of her brain had fired up and were now active. Putting the scan back into the large white envelope, David said, 'You know, Emily, I could write a paper on you and become famous.' Seeing the look on Emily's face he smiled and handed her the scan. 'Don't worry, I wouldn't put you through such a thing. Besides, I'm quitting human medicine.'

'Human medicine?' Emily echoed.

'Yes, Emily, I've decided to become a vet.'

'Oh, David, that's wonderful!' It was such good news that, for the first time since her parents' death, Emily felt a slight easing of her pain. It had always been David's dream but his father had wanted him to become a doctor. However, with his father dying the year before, and with the awakening of Emily's gift, he could see how they could work together.

It had only taken David two years to become a vet. Taking over a practice had been relatively easy with the previous vet in their area deciding to retire. With the help of Emily's talents, David was mostly successful in his diagnosis and treatment of animals. They worked as a team, sharing the vet practice, with Emily using her gifts to become an animal behaviour specialist.

* * *

Emily looked up from her parents' graves to see David in the field close by, feeding hay from the back of his truck to a group of young deer that he kept on his farm. Walking over to David, she helped him lift the last bale from the truck and took a moment to handfeed a doe. After they had finished, David walked to the driver's seat and reached inside his truck to pull out a large, brown paper bag. He never wrapped his presents - he thought it was a waste of time.

Handing it to Emily, he simply said, 'Happy birthday.'

Peering into the top of the bag, Emily gave a small cry of joy and carefully pulled out a delicate china teapot with yellow roses. She could see that it matched some of her mother's cups.

'Oh David, what a wonderful present. Thank you so much! Where did you get it?' she said, looking carefully at the bottom of the teapot to see if it was from the same manufacturer.

'I found it in that old shop in town, the one called _Past to Now_. Is it the same as your cups? I wasn't sure.' It had been a while since he had seen the cups but he knew that Emily would like it anyway as she had a fondness for old china.

'Yes it is. Oh, David, you're so thoughtful.' Emily was really pleased. 'Would you come over for dinner tonight?' she asked him.

'Of course I will,' David replied, feeling a little sad for Emily as she didn't have any other friends. While people liked her, being able to talk to animals made her an oddity. 'We have a full schedule today,' he added.

'I know, Trish texted me,' Emily said, affectionately thinking of the large woman in her early sixties. Trish had worked at the practice before David and Emily had taken it over. David often commented that she knew more about animal medicine than some of the vets he knew, plus she knew all about the town's history and scandals and was often on the phone to her friends sharing gossip in a good-natured way. Waving goodbye to David, Emily headed back to her farmhouse and, as she turned the bend to her home, she took a moment to admire the house her father, Edward, had built. He had been an award-winning architect and specialised in bespoke projects, with their home winning an award for design excellence. The house had two storeys and a nostalgic feel to the design, with both bedrooms having Juliet balconies and arched windows. The cottage was painted a lilac colour, with all the trim white, making the oversized porch that ran around the house look like it was straight out of a storybook. A wooden swing was connected to the roof of the porch and Emily remembered the times she sat on it with her mother as she read her stories. Standing on the porch, Emily removed her boots as she looked over to the field next to the house, where she could see that the lavender flowers were almost ready for harvest. Emily would get help from a couple of local crafters who would assist her in harvesting the lavender; one would use it to make bouquet soaps and lotions while the other one sold the lavender at markets. The income she made from the sale of the lavender just covered replanting the field again but Emily liked the way the field looked close to harvest and the smell that infused the air around her home.

Entering the house she found young Penny, a beautiful, soft coated black cat, waiting for her in the kitchen. Looking up at Emily with her round, yellow eyes, she chirped a 'meow' hello.

'Hello, pretty girl,' Emily replied back to the young cat and then connected to her, sending loving thoughts. Going upstairs to her bedroom, Emily found the rest of her crew snoozing lazily on her bed. They would stay there until later in the day when the room became too hot and then they would move off to find cool places to sleep until dinner-time. Taking a minute to connect to each one before leaving, Emily coaxed Harry, the large tom whose black coat had become peppered with white in his old age, to relax, as she could feel he was in a bad mood. He had been badly abused and half-starved before coming to live with Emily so many years ago, and this had caused him to have the occasional dark mood in which he would attack the other cats with furious anger.

Feeling him settle, Emily kissed his head before running her hands over the heads and necks of the two Siamese cats lying close to Harry. The small Siamese Queen was called Sigourney and she was the boss of the house; a look from her caused the other cats to defer to her whims. Morpheus, a younger Siamese male, lay close to the Queen for comfort. Emily had found him in the bush, dumped by heartless owners for no reason that she could ever work out as he was a loving cat. When he had joined the household, she had found that the cats seemed to hang out together more as Morpheus had a calming presence that seemed to bring harmony to the group. At the end of the bed, lying by herself, was Luxanna, a Russian Blue cat that had been surrendered because of the ugly lumps along one leg. The lumps were just growths that could not be removed without growing back. Her old owner had decided that the very pretty cat was no longer beautiful enough for her and had brought her in to be put down. Emily had stepped in and brought her home. The young cat carried the rejection personally and Emily had to tell her, all the time, that she was still a beauty and very welcome in her home. At night, Luxanna would often sleep on Emily regardless of what position she was in and showed indignation if Emily wanted to move during the night. Her last thought in the connection to the group, as Penny jumped on the bed to settle, was ' _Be kind to each other, I'll be back later_.' Dressing quickly in her work uniform of black pants and a white shirt with the logo embroidered of their vet practice - Swan and Sinclair Vet & Pet Services - on it, Emily ran down the stairs.
Chapter 2

Arriving at the vet clinic, Emily could see that David's truck was already in the parking lot. Parking her old jeep Cherokee beside the truck, Emily had to slam the door twice to shut it, groaning to herself that she would need to buy a new vehicle soon. It had been her father's pride and joy, and he had serviced it himself. Now the faded champagne colour was covered in rust spots.

Trish was already in place when Emily walked into the clinic, and David had the door open to his consulting room. On the other side of the long reception desk was Emily's consulting room, and at the back was a large space that had a section for surgery and cages to house any animals needing to stay overnight. The clinic was modern and clean having undergone a full renovation when Emily and David had taken it over from the previous vet.

Looking up at Emily, Trish gave her a smile and said in a sing-song voice, 'Happy birthday, Emily! Twenty-seven - you know that's a lucky year for most.'

Laughing, Emily replied, 'Do you think so?' and kissed the head of the old woman as she removed her coat and looked at the booking sheet.

Seeing who her first client was, Emily looked up at Trish who groaned, 'Her ladyship and the mutts.'

David walked over to reception smiling, knowing who Trish was talking about straightaway. 'Ms Butterfield and her four very precocious Pomeranians, I presume,' he said in an amused voice as he was doing up the buttons to his white medical smock.

'Actually, the dogs are alright,' Emily replied, 'they're just a little excitable at times; it's the owner that needs the training.'

'Isn't it always?' Trish replied dryly.

Suddenly a car pulled up in the car park, screeched to a stop, and a young woman with a child hurried into the clinic. The woman was carrying a bundle and the child was crying.

Carefully placing the bundle on the reception desk, the lady pleaded, 'Please help. I just ran over this cat.' Emily went to the front of the desk as David pulled back the towel that was wrapped around the cat.

'Is he dead?' the young girl asked between sobs.

David carefully examined the ginger tom that was unconscious and, in an absent tone, said, 'He's still alive,' and gently lifted the cat and took him out the back. Trish moved back to assist him with treatment.

'Is he your cat?' Emily asked the shocked woman, who had taken a seat in the reception room, her face flushed with emotion.

'No, I don't know this cat. I live on St Paul's Street and he just ran across the street. I tried to stop but... what should I do?' she asked Emily, her body tense and trembling with the release of adrenalin.

'Give me your number,' Emily replied. 'If the cat is micro-chipped, I'll let his owners know.'

'Please tell them I'll pay for his treatment,' the women replied, writing down her details.

As they turned to leave, the young girl looked up at Emily and said, 'I hope he doesn't die.'

'I know, honey, I hope he doesn't die either,' Emily answered her, liking the small girl for her concern.

Going to the back, Emily could see that David had the tom on his operating table with a drip set up to give the cat fluids. 'I think he'll be alright,' David said. 'I don't think he has any internal injuries apart from a broken leg. I think he's unconscious from the shock so we'll set his leg and wait to see how he is when he wakes up.'

'I'll attend to the desk until you're finished,' Emily said, knowing Trish would assist in the procedure. David's first client had arrived but it was the nature of the practice to run late and most people understood. If needed, Trish would gauge how the day would go and call people to let them know David was running late. Twenty minutes later, when Trish had returned to the reception desk, they heard the sound of yapping dogs approaching the clinic. Emily looked up and smiled as a very harried looking lady surrounded by four very noisy Pomeranians entered the clinic.

'Excitable? Right!' Trish muttered under her breath. Emily chose to ignore her comment as she went to greet her client.

'Clare, so lovely to see you again,' Emily said to the woman, helping her untangle the leads from around her legs. Clare Butterfield was a colourful woman who tended to be loud and domineering, but Emily knew she was also a kind and generous soul.

'Darling, it is so good to see you again,' she replied in her French accent, kissing Emily on both her cheeks. 'Oh, we need your help so badly. Sebastian has been so naughty all this week - he keeps biting poor Mr Banks' tail, which makes Foo Foo, and Trixie Dust so upset.'

Connecting to the dogs, Emily asked them all to settle down. They obeyed straight away, and both Trish and Clare sighed in relief at the silence from the little dogs' yapping. Inviting them into her little consulting room, Emily led the middle aged woman to a chair as she asked the dogs to line up. Taking a moment to wordlessly greet the dogs, Emily patted each one in turn, looking them in the eyes. Four tails thumbed happily at being in her presence.

Looking closely at Sebastian, she commented to Clare, 'He doesn't look any thinner. How is his diet going?'

Clare looked a bit guilty as she replied, 'Oh darling, he is so fast with his food and then he tries to eat Foo Foo's food all the time.'

Raising an eyebrow, Emily looked at Clare and said, 'Tries?'

Turning bright red, Clare admitted, 'I know, darling, it is my fault but he likes my biscuits. I mean, how can I say no to that face?'

Turning back to the not-so-little dog, Emily smiled but in a firm voice said, 'Clare, you need to be strong for him. After all, the excess weight is not doing him any good.'

'I know darling,' Clare replied with some tears in her eyes. 'I am too soft with him.'

Knowing the woman had good intentions, Emily turned back to the dogs and probed a little deeper to see why Sebastian was biting Mr Banks' tail. She could feel that all the dogs were holding quite a bit of tension. Trying to see what the underlying problem was, Sebastian suddenly looked scared and it took Emily a few moments to reassure him that he was safe. Not getting much sense from the dog, Emily turned her attention to Mr Banks, who was older and a bit calmer in nature. Seeing pictures from the dog, Emily could sense that they had felt threatened by a large man and she relayed the information to Clare.

The colourful woman took a moment to think before saying, 'Well, last Friday I took the dogs to work, as it was Take Your Pets to Work Day, but Emily, I was the only one. Can you imagine that! A few of my work colleagues were a little put out but darling, it was a national day after all.' Clare sounded a bit indignant.

Emily nodded at the woman, understanding that it must have been a little tense in the office with all of Clare's dogs being there.

'Well, they settled down fairly quickly and were sitting under my desk when my boss, Mr Adamec, came down to see how the event that I am planning was coming along.'

'What happened then?' Emily coached the women.

'Well, Sebastian got very upset and began to growl at Mr Adamec, then the rest of my boys began to growl as well. It was very embarrassing. Oh darling, what Sebastian did next was awful. He peed on Mr Adamec's leg! I almost died on the spot. I had to take them home. Oh, darling, you don't think they are becoming dangerous dogs do you?' Clare almost sobbed the last sentence.

Asking all the dogs to remember the incident, they all became quite scared and Emily again had to remind them that they were safe. 'Did this man try and hurt the dogs?' Emily asked Clare.

'No, not at all. Mr Adamec is a nice man and he never raises his voice to anyone.'

'Clare,' Emily finally replied, 'your dogs are not dangerous, they just got scared because they were in a new place with a bit of tension around them. From the pictures I see, Mr Adamec is a tall man and I think that when they saw him standing over you, they just got protective thinking you were in danger.'

'Oh, my darlings, you do love Mummy, don't you?' Clare gushed to the dogs, who broke the line to come over and lick her hands.

Now that Emily knew the cause of their fear, she reconnected to the dogs and reassured them that they were safe, and although she felt them ease at her thoughts, she could still feel a natural fear of this Mr Adamec. At the end of the session, Emily felt that Sebastian would no longer bite Mr Banks' tail, however, she didn't get a commitment from the dog not to eat the others' food. Reaching down to pat Sebastian on the head, Emily smiled. It made her feel good to know the animals were always honest in their responses to her, even when it was not what she wanted. Issuing instructions to Clare on how to feed Sebastian, Emily walked the group out to reception where Clare handed Trish her credit card. As she signed the slip, Clare took her copy and rummaged through her bag, pulling out an envelope made of fine linen with gold leaf text on it.

'This is for you, Emily. It is an invitation to the Adamec Charity Night. It is for the animals, darling.' The woman's tone was firm but in a more pleading tone she added, 'Please come Emily, it will be fun.'

Taking the envelope and pulling out the invitation, Emily noted the date and said in a non-committal voice, 'Maybe, Clare. I am not sure how late I'll be working and it's a long drive to the city.' Then, thinking of the dogs and how frightened they were of this man, Emily decided to go. She would see for herself why they were afraid. 'Okay, Clare, I will go,' and then she immediately regretted saying yes.

'Oh, darling, thank you so much. It will be fun, I promise,' Clare answered brightly and then she kissed Emily on both cheeks before departing.

Connecting to the dogs again, Emily bade them goodbye and watched as Clare harnessed the dogs in the back seat of her blue Mercedes. Thinking of the woman, Emily knew that she was a good owner for the dogs. They were well fed and she cared deeply for them. Unfortunately, it was her random acts that caused the dogs to misbehave. Clare just didn't understand that in Australia, people were not as accepting about bringing pets into public places as France was. Holding the door open for her next client, a nervous Dalmatian, Emily's mind moved on from Mr Adamec and Clare's terrified dogs.

* * *

After her last client, Emily tidied her consulting room and prepared it for the next day. Finishing up, she went to help sort out the back room and to see how David's day had gone. The only animal that was staying the night was the ginger tom.

Seeing Emily walk over to the cat, David said, 'He has no microchip and is not desexed. Can you see if he has a home? I could handle him alright so I don't think he's a feral cat.'

Opening up the cage, Emily slowly offered her hand to the tom who sniffed it, and then gently asked permission with her voice as she made the connection. While most animals welcomed the connection, Emily always took time to ask permission. Only a couple of times in the years since her gift had awakened in her was she refused; both times the animals in question had been in terrible pain and close to death. David had suggested that she focus on a part of the animals' brain which would calm them and numb the pain. This made it easier for him to treat the animal and, if they were dying, give them a chance for a peaceful death.

The tom's mind was a little foggy from being unconscious but Emily could tell he would make a full recovery. He showed her pictures as she enquired as to his name and from his mind she pulled out 'Gingersnaps', which was not surprising considering the deep orange colour of his coat. Then, the name 'Gingerboy' came through followed by 'Gabriel'.

Emily began to understand the nature of the tom's lifestyle and murmured to him, 'You're a bit of a gypsy aren't you?' Cats have different minds to other animals; they are not generally obedient in nature but they can understand humans well enough. In the link, Emily ran through the names and, after a moment, the tom settled on the name Gabriel as the one he liked the most. Scratching the cat under his chin, the tom purred roughly. 'David, his name is Gabriel and I think he is a bit of a Casanova,' Emily told her friend as he paused for a moment by the cage.

Frowning, David said, 'So, what are we going to do with this cat?' By law he was meant to hand any strays over to the Council pound where they were, if not claimed or rehomed, put down.

'Oh, David, he does have homes. I can see in his mind that many people feed and care for him,' Emily responded, knowing that David would not hand the ginger cat over to the pound. If an animal was hurt they would keep it until it was better and then find a home for it. Looking at his friend, David simply shrugged his shoulders. He knew that Emily would ensure the animal was cared for, even if that meant it ended up on her farm.

'Well, he needs to stay off that leg until it heals. Can you tell him to not put any weight on it?'

Emily nodded and wordlessly gave the cat instructions, telling him that he had to stay with them for a while and promising he would get regular meals.

At that moment, the phone rang at the reception desk and Emily locked eyes with David as Trish's tone became urgent.

'Right... sure... I'll send out David straight away... okay... bye.' Turning to David and Emily as they joined her in the reception room, she said quickly, 'Seth Thompson's farm is on fire. He has lost most of his livestock in a flash blaze. The fire trucks are there but they need help with the animals.'

'On it,' David replied. Rushing to the back, he opened up his medical bag and began to throw in more drugs and creams to help with burns.

'I'll come too,' Emily told her friend and grabbed the huge first aid kit for animal emergencies.

'Let's go in separate vehicles,' David said, 'in case we need to bring some of the animals back here.'

'Okay, David,' Emily replied, grabbing her handbag from under the desk.

'Trish, it looks like a late one. Can you stay and man the phones?' David asked Trish on his way to the door.

'Of course! I'll see if I can rally up some more help to go to the farm,' she replied before picking up the phone.

Emily threw the first aid kit onto the back seat of her jeep, before jumping in and following David's truck out of the car park. The farm was five kilometres from the small town centre and, as she left the outskirts of the town, she could see black smoke billowing in the distance. Within a few minutes, Emily slowed down as David pulled into a long driveway; to the right the field was on fire but a fire crew was attending to it. David had pulled up beside an ambulance and Emily moved her car to a spot that wouldn't block anyone in. A dense forest to the left of the old farmhouse was ablaze and that was where the rest of the fire-fighters were coordinating their efforts.

She could smell burnt flesh as she got out of the jeep and sensed overwhelming pain. Before moving any further, Emily closed her eyes for a moment and shut down her emotions by placing them behind an imaginary glass wall. This was something she had practised for situations like this; she would grieve later for the animals lost.

Only a few animals had survived the fire and David immediately euthanased four sheep that were too badly burnt to survive. Emily soothed the remaining animals so that David could see which of them could be saved or mercifully put to sleep. The first animal Emily saw was an old sheepdog called Bengi whose paws were badly burned. Even with the pain reduced, the dog was so distressed that Emily had a hard time remaining focused on the job. The next three animals were goats that all had to be put down as their burns were too extensive.

The last animal Emily was taken to was a mare in frightful pain. It took all of Emily's willpower not to cry with empathy. She pushed her mind into the mare's, sending it soothing thoughts and, as the pain began to recede, she received pictures from the mare of her young horse standing nearby in the river. The mare showed Emily how she had pushed the young horse into the water and then shielded its body with hers from the ferocious fire; the young horse was now somehow stuck in the water.

'David, the mare is telling me that a young grey horse has survived the fire but is stuck in the water somewhere,' Emily told her friend.

'Ask Seth, over by the truck, as he owns the farm,' he replied. Now that the mare was calm, he began to examine her. Emily walked to the group of people standing by a neighbour's old truck. The neighbour had come over with cold drinks and food for the fire crew who were still trying to put out the last of the fire.

'Who is Seth?' Emily asked them.

'I am, Missy,' an old man replied. He, himself, was in pain with burns to his hands and face; the day had pushed him to hell and back.

Pointing to the mare, Emily asked, 'This mare has a young grey horse, do you know where it is?'

'Well, she did give birth to a stallion a year and a half ago, and as he had a talent for stealing apples from the orchard we called him Applejacks, but he would have died in the fire.' Seth's grief for his animals was plain on his face. Emily liked him from that moment, recognising a kindred spirit. Pushing her mind out to see if she could sense the horse, Emily picked up a weak connection. The young stallion was still in the water and was very tired. She was trying to see where he was but the smoke and Applejacks' panic made it difficult for him to show her a clear image.

'Seth, where in the river is there a wall of stone with boulders around it?' Emily asked the old man.

'What are you talking about?' He didn't understand why Emily was there; he'd thought she was a vet nurse.

David walked over and instructed Seth, 'Just tell her and I'll explain later.'

Confused, Seth thought for a minute. 'Three hundred metres through the trees is a river. If you walk due east for another hundred metres, you'll find a spot that sounds like that. But it's still too hot for anyone to walk through.'

'Don't worry, Seth,' called Emily as she jogged over to her car, 'I plan to run.' She pulled an old oil slicker, which had belonged to her father, out of the boot. She was already wearing long, black gumboots and reached for a pair of heavy leather gloves and a short rope. Securing her long blonde hair under the hood of the slicker, she soaked a cloth with water from a water bottle and used it to cover her nose and mouth. Usually she enjoyed running but now, as she ran through the smouldering trees, her eyes stung from the smoke and she found it hard to breathe. She covered the three hundred metres in less than two minutes - it was hard going, dodging the hot spots - and looking east, she saw the river. She ran along it until she could see the stone wall and then she spotted Applejacks' head just above the water.

Reaching the water's edge, she slipped off her excess clothing and jumped in. The shock of the cold water took Emily's breath away for a moment and, whilst she was a good swimmer, the current was so strong that it took all of her strength to swim to Applejacks. The river was well over her head but Applejacks was standing on a ledge behind a boulder, which was lessening the current around him. Reaching down, she felt that one of his legs had become trapped between two rocks. Diving down, Emily struggled to get the rocks to move. The water was black as the light had begun to fade from the day and Emily could feel the young horse was close to exhaustion trying to stay afloat in the river. Dodging a large stick that almost hit Emily in the head, she grab it and, diving down again, used it as a lever. After a moment of pushing, Emily felt the rocks move and Applejack's leg became free.

Pushing her head up to the surface, she caught her breath and cooed to the horse, 'You're free now, beautiful boy.'

Applejacks nickered softly, trembling from cold and exhaustion as Emily placed a rope around his head and tied it to her waist so her arms would be free to swim. She looked around but the only way out of the river was to swim back to where she had entered. Behind them was a sheer rock face, over twenty metres high. Projecting to the young horse what she wanted him to do and promising that she would give him some apples, Emily pushed off from the ledge and started to swim towards the bank of the river. Applejacks followed but Emily had underestimated how tired he was and, as he struggled to swim, the strong current pulled him under. Emily was dragged below the surface and frantically tried to untie the rope around her waist, but the water had made the rope swell and she couldn't undo the knot. Applejacks had gone into shock, and she could sense he was losing consciousness and sinking like a dead weight, taking her down with him. Her lungs were bursting and she knew that in the next moment she would need to open her mouth for a breath knowing, if she did, it would be her last. As much as she tried, she was not physically strong enough to pull them both up to the surface.

Panic overtook her and as she opened her mouth to breathe, air - not water - rushed in. Somehow both she and Applejacks were on the bank. Before she blacked out, she saw that the young grey horse was breathing.

When she regained consciousness, she found that she was lying on the ground beside David's truck. She had a blanket over her and a coat under her head as a pillow. David was kneeling over her and had her wrist in his hand as he checked her pulse. Emily's head was foggy and her body was so tired at that moment she didn't even think she could raise her arm.

'What happened, David? How did I get here?' Emily's voice was soft but because David was listening hard for a sign, he heard her words.

'Hey, Emily, you are one crazy girl, did you know that?' he smiled at her. 'After you started running for the river, Seth called the crew and followed you with water to try and cool down your path. When we got there, we found you on the bank with the horse'.

'Applejacks!' Emily cried and tried to sit up, but she was so tired, her body wouldn't respond.

'He's going to be fine, Emily. He regained consciousness ten minutes ago. You've been out for half an hour,' David replied.

'Half an hour?' Emily echoed. Her mind was trying to sort out what had happened. Seth walked over to them and leaned down beside Emily with a cup of hot soup.

'Drink this Missy, it'll do you good.' Emily reached for the cup and, with David's help, sat up with her back against the wheel of the truck.

'I had to put the mare down,' David said sadly, 'but she got to see that Applejacks was alright. I told her that he'd be safe.'

Emily smiled slightly. She was always telling David that animals understand more than we think they do, and to talk to them and tell them what was going on.

'What happened?' David asked, happy that the colour was returning to Emily's face.

'I'm really not sure, David. All I remember is swimming across the river and then waking up here.' It was a small lie but Emily wasn't ready to face what had happened and didn't want to even think about it.

'I want to see the young horse David, please help me up.' For the oddest reason she needed to be with the horse. Lifting her off the ground was easy as she was so light. David held onto her arm as she walked slowly to the field where Applejacks was. Seeing her approach, Applejacks trotted over to Emily and nuzzled her waist. She could see that he was unharmed and when she touched him, the energy flowed back into her body. _How did I know he would make me feel better?_ she thought to herself, realising that she had known instinctively that she would feel better if she could touch the horse.

Seth had followed them and remarked, 'That horse would be dead if it wasn't for you.' He had tears in his eyes. It was too much, to see his farm burnt and his animals suffer. Feeling stronger, Emily laid a hand on Seth's arm, wishing her talent worked on humans as well as animals.

'I'm so sorry for your loss, Seth. Is there anything I can do for you?'

'Well,' Seth thought for a moment, 'I guess I'll be retiring now. I don't have the strength to rebuild the farm and my daughter is always on at me to move in with her. Applejacks and Bengi are the only animals to survive and the old dog and I are in it to the end, but this young fellow is going to need a new home.' Seth rubbed Applejacks' nose with the unburnt back of his hand.

'I'll gladly take him,' Emily responded gratefully. Whatever had happened to them in the river had forged a bond between them.

As Seth walked away he turned back and said, 'Missy, just keep him out of the orchard. That horse will eat all your apples if you're not careful. Makes himself sick, he does.'

Hearing the word 'apples', Applejacks pushed his nose against Emily, asking her where the apples were that she had promised him and then, as clearly as if he had said it out loud, Emily heard Applejacks say in her head, ' _Thank you!_ '

Emily was stunned for a moment. While some animals could clearly say their name in the link, the communication was with pictures and emotions, never words. Looking at the silver grey stallion, Emily tentatively said back to the horse, ' _You're welcome_.'

Applejacks snorted, shook his head with pleasure and then through the link, Emily heard him ask, ' _What is your name?_ ' His voice in her head sounded formal, almost like he had an English accent.

' _I am called Emily_ ,' she replied, adding, ' _how is it you can speak words with your thoughts?_ '

Emily could feel the young horse's confusion at the question. After a few seconds, he offered, ' _It is just so_.'

As she had a shocked look on her face, David interrupted and asked, 'Emily, are you okay?'

'Yes, yes, I'm fine,' she replied, still looking at Applejacks.

'Do you still feel tired?' he responded and grabbed her wrist to check her pulse.

'No, honestly, I feel normal,' which made them both smile as Emily was far from normal. Changing the subject, Emily asked, 'How's the old dog doing?'

'He's going to be alright. If you're up to it, could you take away the pain again before you leave? That way he should at least get a good night's sleep.'

'Of course I will,' Emily replied, laying a hand on David's shoulder. 'Are you alright?' She could sense her friend's distress.

'I have never had to euthanize so many animals before. I just hope I made the right decision, especially with the mare.'

Applejacks nudged Emily's shoulder and as she turned back to the horse she sensed he wanted to say something. Connecting to him again, he said in the link, ' _Please tell your friend that my mother would not have wanted to live with the hurt she was feeling_.'

Again, Emily was stunned. ' _You can understand what David is saying?_ '

' _Yes_ ,' Applejacks replied, ' _he is saddened by the death of my mother. I am sad too_.'

Quickly, Emily told David what Applejacks had said to her.

'Are you sure, Emily?' David asked in a concerned voice. 'You didn't hit your head?'

'No, David, I can really hear him speak words and he understood what you just said.'

Feeling awkward, David turned to the horse and said, 'I am sorry for your mother,' and then he noticed that Applejacks' back leg was bleeding near the hoof. 'May I look at your foot?'

Applejacks nodded and turned around, lifting up his hind leg to make it easier for David to look at. 'The world we live in,' David muttered in an unbelieving voice. After dressing the cut, David went back to the truck to talk to Seth about the treatment for Bengi. Seth's daughter had arrived with her husband and was fussing around the old man.

Looking over at him, Applejacks said in the link, ' _I will miss him, he is a good man_.'

' _Did he teach you words?_ ' Emily asked in the link.

' _Yes. He talks to all of us all the time, but most of my words come from the black box that talks and shows pictures in the barn_.'

' _You mean a TV?_ ' Emily replied and Applejacks showed her a picture in his mind of the television as he nodded.

' _Would you like to come and live with me on my farm?_ ' Emily asked, feeling that she had to give this special horse a choice.

' _Yes_ ,' Applejacks replied. ' _I like to talk with you_.'

Feeling affection for the horse, Emily realised that she had found a friend.

* * *

A week had passed since the fire and Applejacks had settled on Emily's farm and made friends with an old donkey called Don. Every morning and night when Emily spent time talking with Applejacks, she could see that the horse had a special wisdom about him and was very measured in his conversation. Emily had booked a local handyman to come around and change the latches on all the gates to the farm so that Applejacks could come and go as he pleased. She was also going to get the large window to the kitchen fitted out so that Applejacks could open it at any time to watch the television. David had also visited Applejacks a couple of times to ask him a lot of questions about the horse's abilities and it didn't take long for David to work out how to communicate with the horse without Emily. Working together, David and Applejacks worked out no, yes, and maybe, to the endless questions that David asked.

'I would love to do a scan of Applejacks' brain,' he had told Emily, but seeing the look on her face he reassured her that he wouldn't. If the world found out about Applejacks he would not be treated well. David knew too well what happened to animals in experimental situations. 'I think this is evolution or mutation,' David had explained to Emily and Applejacks. 'Both your abilities could be either. We see it all the time, especially with domesticated animals, how they've adapted to living with humans. I think it's more of a surprise that there are not more animals and humans like you both.'

Emily found that she enjoyed being with the horse. Applejacks filled a void that she had in her life from not having a friend, she found that she could tell him things that she didn't tell anyone else, and before long he became her best friend. Luxanna, the Russian Blue Queen, began to spend time with Applejacks, too, as she liked to lie along his back as he walked around the farm. The young cat liked to see the farm from higher up and Emily knew the horse would protect her from foxes and snakes. Applejacks made her farm complete.
Chapter 3

Emily rarely attended functions of any kind, preferring the solitude of her farm, but because the invitation had come from Clare Butterfield, a long-time customer with four pampered Pomeranians, and the fact that they had been so terrified of Clare's boss, she had decided to accept the invitation.

The function was hosted by one of the largest law firms in Sydney, Adamec Legal Group, whose offices took up several floors of the prestigious Comets Building. The foyer of the law firm was cut into three floors with a grand circular staircase that seemed to float up from the floor and connect the three levels. The white marble and pale green glass panels gave the space the illusion of the natural world. Around the foyer stood various sculptures of animals carved out of marble and one could almost imagine them coming to life. Soft music played and the waiters, all formally dressed, were gliding around with glasses of champagne and canapés.

When she arrived, Emily noticed that all the women were wearing cocktail dresses in dark colours and, as it was rare for Emily to go out, she had chosen to wear a white dress that had been her mother's. It was Greek in style, with a gold cord wrapped around her waist and matching gold sandals; she felt underdressed and out of fashion. _I'll stay ten minutes, see Clare and go_ , thought Emily, keeping her eyes low; she hated small talk of any kind.

A waiter offered her a glass of champagne which she gladly took before wandering over to look at a display of the charity's work. Near the display was a large sculpture of an eagle just taking flight and Emily marvelled at its beauty. The detail was breathtaking and she couldn't resist touching it.

Suddenly there was a buzzing in her head; of the kind when she was asked to find a missing animal. To help her find a connection with an animal, she would hold an item that it had touched, like a collar or blanket, and she would hear this same buzzing. As she removed her hand from the sculpture the buzzing stopped. This roused her curiosity so much that she put her glass of champagne down and placed both hands on the sculpture. Taking a deep breath, Emily closed her eyes and began searching for the source.

* * *

Upstairs, Vladimir was finishing up with some papers in his office when there was a small knock on the door before it opened to reveal Cathy, his stern secretary, who was in her late sixties.

'Mr Adamec, I think you should attend the function.'

'Whose idea was this again?' Vladimir grumbled in his Czech accent. He hated gatherings of any kind. Standing up, he rolled down the sleeves of his designer shirt. His arms were as big as small tree trunks. Vladimir was a large man who stood just under two metres tall. His largeness had nothing to do with fat as the man was pure muscle from head to toe.

'Not mine, I'm sure,' Cathy shot back. 'Don't think for a moment that you're the only one who doesn't want to be here. I think it's time I retired.'

Vladimir had heard her say this at least once a week for the last year. 'You will never leave me woman,' he boomed, but he knew that one day soon, she would. More softly, he said, 'Cathy, have a glass of champagne and go home.'

He liked Cathy very much. She was smart and professional, and she never minced her words. She was also tough and the only person ever to receive a smile from her was Eric, Vladimir's partner, on his infrequent visits to the office. Cathy left without further comment.

Vladimir had just received a text from Eric telling him he was not coming to the event, when suddenly a strange pulse hit him. It was sharp and intense like an electric shock; he jumped up from his desk and strode across the floor of his large office. He opened the door and scanned the foyer for any danger. Sensing none, he walked slowly down the staircase. Just before he reached the bottom of the stairs, he saw a woman at the back of the room. Her dress made her look like a Greek goddess and she was touching the sculpture of an eagle that Eric had made for him and, for no apparent reason, his heart began to beat faster. As he approached her, he had the overwhelming sensation that he knew her, and the rest of the room seemed to melt away. She turned suddenly and found herself looking up at Vladimir. He was caught by her smile, the purest he had ever seen.

'You like the sculpture, I take it,' Vladimir said, his deep voice tight. He didn't understand why he was feeling so strange standing near this woman.

Emily blushed and replied, 'Yes, it's so beautiful. The detail is stunning.' She was taken in by Vladimir's brutal beauty, almost at odds with how well he was dressed. There was a rawness to his face and Emily fought the impulse to touch it. Vladimir moved closer to her now and she could smell his scent. Instinctively, she reached out to touch the eagle again but at the same moment, Vladimir reached out and placed his hand on hers. The buzzing was suddenly louder and then, quite clearly, she heard his voice in her head, ' _My God, you are beautiful. Who are you?_ '

She replied to the message silently, ' _I'm Emily, who are you?_ '

Confused, Vladimir pulled his hand away. He had heard her in his head, he was sure of it. Before he could speak Clare was with them.

'Darling, you found Vladimir,' Clare hugged Emily. 'I didn't think you would come.'

Emily just smiled. Her heart pounded in her chest.

'Vladimir, this is Emily, the animal whisperer I told you and Eric about,' Clare added. 'Her work with my dogs has saved me a lot of grief.'

Vladimir smiled at that. Clare's Pomeranians were monsters and the work that Emily had done had saved everyone that knew the dogs a lot of grief.

Emily was confused. It was almost as if she had fallen asleep and was dreaming. Trying to think of something to say she stammered, 'We were just admiring the eagle.'

'I know, darling, isn't it beautiful? Vladimir, is Eric here tonight?' Clare asked, scanning the room.

'No, he is working on a piece for an exhibition next week,' Vladimir replied, glad that Clare was doing most of the talking as it gave him a moment to observe Emily.

'Shame,' Clare smiled, 'I like looking at him.' Clare was at an age where such things could be said. 'Perhaps you should show Emily his other sculptures in your office,' and with that she morphed back into the crowd, winking at both of them.

'Would you like to see the other pieces?' Vladimir asked Emily, wanting to get her alone. Emily paused. A part of her wanted to run away from this man, yet more of her wanted him to touch her again. She nodded, not trusting her voice.

Vladimir led her up the steel stairs to his office, taking care not to touch her as they climbed the steps. When they entered his office he shut the door behind them and for a moment they just looked at each other. Emily slowly reached out and placed her hand in his. A wave of peace and carefree emotions coursed through Vladimir, every cell in his body exploding with it. Then, her hand was gone and it was like a big door had been shut, leaving him feeling empty.

'How did you do that?' he asked her. His body was trembling and he could feel the blood rushing through his veins.

'I'm not sure,' she replied. 'This has only ever worked on animals.' A look of bitterness crossed his face and she might have missed it but for the flare of emotion that flashed from him. 'I'm sorry,' she said, 'it looks like I've offended you.'

'No, it's just...' and then his mobile rang. It was Eric. 'One moment, please,' and he turned his back on Emily as he answered the phone.

'Vlad, are you alright?' Eric's voice was tinged with alarm.

'Môn vieux, I am fine,' Vladimir replied, keeping his voice low.

'I was overcome with a strange sensation,' Eric said. 'It was very strong and it was... I was... I actually don't know! Where are you, Vlad?'

'I'm in the office. It's alright, Eric. Remember the woman that Clare told us about, the one who can talk to animals? I am with her now, and that feeling came from her.'

'From her?' Eric was silent for a moment. 'I don't like this Vlad. Come home!'

'Eric,' Vladimir's voice was softer now, 'relax - I need to see where this goes.' Eric was silent and Vladimir could sense that he was upset. 'Môn vieux, please, I will call you later,' and he pushed the button to end the call, turning back to Emily. 'You have a strong ability. Eric felt it as well.'

'Who is Eric?' Emily enquired.

'My lover,' Vladimir replied. Pausing, he thought for a moment and then asked, 'Do you think you can project only to me?' He wanted the experiment to continue, he wanted her to touch him again.

Emily thought for a moment, trying to work out what was happening. She could project her thoughts and emotions onto Vladimir and she could hear his thoughts and feel his emotions. This was new to her as she had only been able to communicate this way with animals before now, so how was it passed onto Eric? She knew Eric was upset, anxious and frustrated, but how could she know that? And why was she feeling the emotions of someone she didn't know? Reaching out to Vladimir, she could feel that he had calmed himself and that he was strongly attracted to her. _Oddly_ , Emily thought, _I feel I know you_. It was the strangest feeling; her body was flushed at the nearness of him and she needed to touch him. 'Just concentrate on this room,' Emily instructed. 'I want to try something.'

She shut her eyes to focus and placed her hands on his arms, but instead of sending him a feeling of peace, she opened up the connection to the emotions that she was experiencing.

Caught up in the honest, raw emotions, Vladimir felt a crumbling of the walls around himself and he ran his hands along her arms, tracing his fingers up her back and along her neck before pulling her body against his. With their first kiss, Emily surrendered completely.

* * *

Entering the luxury hotel suite, Emily felt almost disconnected from her body. When Vladimir had suggested that they go to a hotel, she did not imagine it would be the penthouse of Sydney's exclusive Kavanagh Hotel. The entrance to the suite was long and dark with gilded mirrors that glittered along a hallway that opened up into a room that was as large as Emily's house. To the left of the large room was a gold and glass staircase leading to the loft bedroom. Suddenly aware that she had come to the suite for sex, Emily blushed bright red and the palms of her hands began to sweat. She glanced across to Vladimir, looking composed as he sat on the edge of a large club lounge.

'1950s décor,' Emily observed as she looked around the room. 'Quite authentic,' she added, as she ran her hands along a glossy, black cabinet which had inlaid wood panels on white pine and red myrtle. 'You can only pull it off if you have a few original pieces like this.'

'You know design?' Vladimir asked.

'My father was an architect. He loved the 1950s but his favourite style was Eastern European Grandeur. One day I plan to visit Europe and see some castles for myself.'

'You loved your father very much?' Vladimir asked again. He liked to hear her voice; its melodic tone was sweet to listen to.

'Yes. He was a very kind man and he loved my mother and I very much. What is your father like?' Emily asked, picking up on the thread of the conversation.

'I didn't know him,' Vladimir replied darkly and again a flash of anger pulsed from his body before he shut it down. More lightly he said, 'I was raised by my mother. Actually, so was Eric.'

'Will he be mad that you are here with me?' Emily asked, thinking about how she had felt him briefly in the link earlier.

Smiling at Emily, Vladimir slowly walked over to where she was standing and touched her neck with his hand, feeling her pulse throb against it. Emily opened the link to him and he said in the connection, ' _You will love him as you love me and he will love you as I love you_.'

Feeling the sincerity of his declaration, Emily turned her face up to meet Vladimir as he kissed her lips softly and then with more passion. Running his hands along her shoulders, he pushed the straps of her dress down her arms and her dress fell softy to the ground.

* * *

Emily woke up in the penthouse suite. It was still an hour before sunrise and she was half lying on top of Vladimir, who was in a deep sleep. As she pulled away from him, she ran her hand along his hard stomach and across his chest. He was so big - yet he had been so gentle with her.

She remembered how he had tenderly moved his large hands across her body, seeking to know every part of her as she had explored him. His chest was covered in thin scars but it did not mar his beauty and momentarily she wondered what could have left such marks. Although her body was not quite finished with his, she had to leave. Her animals would need feeding and it would take her two hours to drive home. Slowly, so as not to wake him, Emily carefully untangled herself, got dressed and left.

* * *

Turning onto the long driveway to her house, Emily began to feel flat. The happiness she had felt from sleeping with Vladimir had slowly faded on the long ride home, although the night had been incredible. It felt so right to be with him but now, nearly two hundred and fifty kilometres away from him, Emily could no longer sense his presence. Nearing the house, she saw that David was standing on the porch talking to Applejacks. Don, the donkey, was in the field next to the house; it had heartened Emily that Applejacks had befriended the donkey. Don had been badly abused before coming to the farm and it had taken Emily two years to ease the depression which had lingered long after the physical abuse had been repaired. _He just wanted a friend_ , Emily thought, chiding herself for not thinking of that beforehand.

Pulling up, she could see that David was not happy and as she got out of the jeep she quickly connected to Applejacks asking him what was wrong with David.

Applejacks replied, ' _He arrived an hour ago and he was frightened when you did not come home. I was not worried as I could feel you were safe and happy_.'

' _I decided to stay in the city last night_ ,' Emily said. She was carrying her gold sandals and her long, blonde hair looked like it needed a comb run through it.

'Did you have too much to drink?' David enquired in an annoying, brotherly way.

Deciding to tell David the truth, Emily replied, 'No, I found someone I liked so I stayed the night with him.' Seeing the look of shock on his face, Emily pushed past David into the house, ran up the stairs to her bedroom, and changed into a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. In her wardrobe she found a checked shirt and put it on, tying it around her waist instead of buttoning it up. Looking in the mirror, Emily saw how messy her hair was and tried to run a brush through it before giving up and tying her hair back into a pony-tail. Connecting to the cats that were still on her bed, she felt that they were annoyed with her as well for not coming home - but only for the fact that breakfast was late. 'Well, come on then, I will feed you first,' she said readily. The cats stretched and slowly made their way downstairs after her.

David had filled the kettle and as Emily entered the kitchen she could see that he had stoked the fire to life a while ago, as it was ready to heat the water. She began to make the coffee.

'So, you had a one night stand. Well, Emily, that is fine as you are old enough, however, I just hope you used protection,' David blurted out, his face bright red.

'David, are you really asking me?' Emily replied and then she laughed, her musical voice trilling with mirth.

David finally joined in, realising that he had over-stepped the mark. Reaching over he pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head. 'I'm sorry. I just love you so much and I don't want you to get hurt, that's all,' he said quietly.

Pulling back, Emily looked her friend in the eyes and said, 'I know, David. We are family.' The kettle began to whistle so Emily poured the hot water into a plunger with some freshly ground coffee, a pinch of cinnamon and some nutmeg. Leaving it to brew for a moment, she lined up the cats' bowls and went to the fridge to pull out a mince mix that she made up for the cats. She threw a flat pan onto the wood fire stove and spread out the mince to take the chill off it before dishing it into the bowls and placing them on the floor. Returning to the coffee, she poured out two mugs and added a dash of cream into both cups.

As David gratefully took his cup, he took a deep sniff of the aroma and said, 'I fed the goats and Don, so you'll have time to tell me about this Mr Like.'

'I'm in love,' Emily blurted out before realising how insane that sounded. 'I mean, I really like him... no, I'm in love and he loves me too!' She finally settled on that as it was the truth.

David thought, _Oh, Emily, men don't think the same way about sex_ , and while Emily had had two boyfriends in the past, there was an innocence about her with the opposite sex and it had hurt her deeply when the relationships had failed. 'So, who is this lucky man?' he finally said, keeping his tone light.

'Vladimir Adamec,' Emily replied, smiling at the memory of the night before.

'The lawyer? Isn't he old? He must be in his forties at least,' David replied, his voice full of concern.

'He feels my emotions and I can project my thoughts to him, and I can read his thoughts as well.' Jumping up from the table Emily said, 'I'm hungry! Do you want some breakfast?'

'Of course,' David replied. Watching his friend for a moment as she bustled around the kitchen, David pulled out his phone, opened up a search engine, and typed in Vladimir Adamec's name. While scrolling down the few entries, David stumbled across a picture of Vladimir standing next to a man that was of similar height and colouring, and whilst the other man was leaner, both men looked very fit. _I can see why she's attracted to him_ , he thought. Vladimir had a presence about him. Under the picture he saw that it was from a newspaper article from the arts section of Sydney's _Sunday Times_.

The blurb said, _Eric Burak has taken out the prestigious Taylor Prize for his portrait of his partner, Vladimir Adamec, titled 'The Beast Within'. Eric is quoted as saying, 'The portrait of my lover is to show that we all struggle with the dark side of our nature'_ and as David scrolled down on his phone he saw a photo of the portrait. It was lifelike and showed Vladimir from the torso up in a cream, V-neck sweater. In one way the picture looked conservative as Vladimir was caught in a classic pose, but the way in which Eric had painted the light falling across Vladimir's shoulders and face had cast a brutal, almost violent look to the expression on Vladimir's face. David could see why it was worthy of the prize.

Putting down his phone he said, 'You know he has a lover?'

'Yes, I do,' Emily replied, flipping the eggs onto the plates she had warmed. Scooping up some homemade baked beans onto some sourdough toast, she added, 'and his name is Eric.'

Plonking the plate in front of David, Emily sat down and began to eat her breakfast. The first meal of the day was Emily's favourite; on the weekend she would have eggs and baked beans or wild mushrooms. During the week she ate a light, honey-roasted muesli mix, which she bought from the local market, with Greek yoghurt. In a way, this described Emily's life - utterly predictable.

They ate the meal in silence and when they had finished, David looked at Emily for a long moment before changing the subject. 'So, you can really hear his thoughts? Maybe this is your ability expanding. Try and do it with me.'

Relieved that he was no longer going on about her night with Vladimir, Emily replied, 'Alright.' She closed her eyes for a moment, then re-opened them and reached across to hold David's hands. Closing her eyes again, she listened to see if she could hear his thoughts but nothing came. Deciding to project, she sent a wave of happiness towards him. This caused Luxanna to jump up on the table and begin to rub her head against Emily's hand while purring happily. Opening her eyes, Emily smiled at the pretty cat and pulled her onto her lap, stroking the young Queen along her back. 'Did you feel anything?' she asked, looking up at David.

'No, nothing at all,' David replied feeling frustrated. 'Did you pick up anything from me?'

'No,' Emily said looking at the grey cat, 'and before you say it, no, I don't want a brain scan.'

This made David laugh and feel a little guilty as he had been thinking that it would be a good idea.

'I think I will go and see Applejacks,' Emily added and put the plates into the sink. Looking at Luxanna, she said out loud, 'Coming?' and the young cat followed her out of the house.

* * *

Vladimir woke with the sun streaming into the room through a crack in the curtains. It had been years since he had slept so soundly; Emily had made him feel safe. Before he even opened his eyes he knew she was gone and within a minute he was phoning Clare to get Emily's number. Clare sounded amused when she gave him Emily's mobile number but when he dialled it there was no answer, so he left a message.

Vladimir decided to go into the office and, as it was Saturday, he knew he would be alone. He sent a text to Eric letting him know his movements but the return text was terse; Eric was still upset. An hour later he again tried Emily's number and again it went to message bank. His next call was to Vince Haldane, a private investigator who worked for him, and within ten minutes Vladimir was in his white Porsche driving towards the Hunter Valley. He knew it was completely irrational but the need to see Emily was overwhelming and it took him just over two hours to reach her farm; he would deal with the speeding tickets later.

As he drove up the small road to the farmhouse he saw Emily with a grey stallion. The stallion had a cat lying along its back. She looked so beautiful that his heart began to pound again. He just had to be near her.
Chapter 4

As she locked eyes with Vladimir, Emily sent a surge of joy which pulsed so strongly all the animals on the farm felt it. Crossing over to where Vladimir was standing, Emily threw herself into his arms, kissing him fiercely on the lips. Vladimir's body stiffened as he noticed David come out of the house, and Emily could feel his mood darken. Stepping back, Emily looked up at David who looked shocked at seeing Vladimir.

Quickly Emily introduced the men. 'David, this is Vladimir,' Emily said brightly. She could feel the tension begin to build in Vladimir so she sent a wave of calm towards him, which he instantly responded to. _I wish this would work on David_ , she thought to herself.

David suddenly asked Vladimir in a stern tone, 'What are your intentions with Emily!'

Emily gasped and said, 'David, please!' Turning to Vladimir she said, 'I am so sorry. Please excuse David; he's like a brother to me.'

_A brother_ , Vladimir thought. Feeling the affection that Emily had for the man, he knew that he had to show him respect. 'I love her,' Vladimir said forcefully and then smiled down at Emily.

'I told you so,' Emily said, looking back at David before looking shyly up at Vladimir.

'Yes, you did,' David replied. Looking at the couple, you could see quite clearly that they were besotted with each other.

Sensing that she needed to bridge the gap between the men, she said to Vladimir, 'I work with David, he's a vet and I'm an animal behaviourist; we own a practice in town.' Then, turning to Applejacks, she decided to introduce the horse to Vladimir as well. Opening up the link to include the horse, she simply said, ' _Vladimir, this is my friend Applejacks_.'

Vladimir was stunned into silence when Applejacks said, ' _It is a pleasure to greet a friend of Emily's_.'

Blinking a few times, he looked at Emily before responding in the link, ' _The pleasure is mine_.' He gave the horse a half bow.

Quickly, Emily showed Vladimir pictures of how she had met Applejacks. It only took a few seconds and Vladimir had to shake his head when the images had finished.

'Are you alright?' Emily asked out loud.

'Yes, that was amazing,' he replied in a tight voice.

'Welcome to my world,' David quipped. 'This all makes me feel like I am in an episode of _The Twilight Zone_.' Looking at his watch, he saw it was close to 10 am. 'I'd better get into the practice as I have a client at 10.30.' David opened the practice for a few hours on a Saturday, when needed. 'Will you be alright?' he said, looking at Emily.

Laughing, she replied, 'Of course!' and she came over and gave David a hug. Immediately another pulse of displeasure escaped from Vladimir, causing Emily to frown and Applejacks to swish his tail. Connecting again to Vladimir, Emily sent a wave of calm and said, ' _Easy, Vladimir, we are all friends here_.'

Vladimir instantly felt embarrassed with his outburst saying softly, 'My apologies for being rude.'

Not realising what had happened, David replied, 'No, it was me who was rude by putting you on the spot in regards to your feelings about Emily.' Looking into David's brown eyes, Vladimir decided that he liked the man and reached out to shake his hand.

Getting into his truck, David waved goodbye, and thought, _Emily's life is certainly not dull_. He was glad that she had made a friend of Applejacks as he knew that Emily was lonely sometimes; however, he was not too sure of Vladimir yet, even though the man was clearly in love with her.

Turning back to Emily once David had gone, Vladimir quickly said, 'I want you to move in with me and Eric.'

'Oh,' Emily replied. She had forgotten about Eric. But strangely enough, it felt right to move in together.

'I have a penthouse in Sydney with incredible views of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge.'

'Will it fit a horse, a donkey, four goats and four cats... no, make that five cats,' she replied lightly, thinking of Gabriel.

'Right, I see,' Vladimir replied, looking around the farm. All the space made him feel uneasy. He couldn't control so much space.

Looking up at Vladimir, Emily said, 'I can't leave them, especially Applejacks. He is my best friend. You could live here.'

'Of course we could live here,' Vladimir replied feeling a little stunned at how his life had suddenly tipped upside down. Deciding to take action, he grabbed his phone and dialled Eric's number. After a few rings, his mate answered sounding very upset.

'Where are you, Vlad?' Eric demanded before Vladimir could get a chance to say hello.

'I am in the Hunter Valley with Emily,' he said quickly.

'You're kidding!' Eric roared back.

'Môn vieux, it is the same as I feel for you, it is the bond,' Vladimir spoke softly trying to will his mate to calm down.

Eric said nothing for a moment and then in a flat tone said, 'Are you sure?'

'Yes, I am sure. Please come and meet her. I know you will feel the same way.' Giving Eric Emily's address, Vladimir hung up and turned back to Emily who had moved back over to the horse. _What am I doing?_ he thought to himself, but then Emily smiled at him and he knew it was the right thing to do.

* * *

It took Eric three hours to find Emily's farmhouse but finally his black Porsche Cayenne came slowly up the drive and parked beside Vladimir's white 911 Porsche. He slowly exited the car, gazing around the property before looking at the house.

'Oh, wow,' Emily said, shocked at how beautiful Eric was.

Vladimir smiled, hearing her, and replied, 'I know. He is perfection, isn't he?' Eric just stood by the car. He was casually dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt with a black leather jacket that looked very old and while Vladimir's look was hard with rawness in his features, Eric's face was chiselled, almost to perfection, and his fuller mouth gave his face a youthful quality, which made him look young and carefree when he smiled. He was not smiling now, however.

'One moment,' Vladimir said to Emily as he got up to greet his lover by the car. Feeling nervous, Emily walked over to the edge of the porch where Applejacks was standing. Opening a link, she enquired how he was going.

' _I think my day is not as adventurous as yours_ ,' he replied kindly.

' _Do you think this is weird?_ ' Emily asked, feeling a bit foolish looking over to where Vladimir and Eric were standing.

' _At least you don't live in a bottle_ ,' Applejacks replied.

' _A bottle?_ ' Emily asked, curious to the meaning.

' _Yes, Jeannie lives in a bottle and her boyfriend is an astronaut. I watch it on TV_.' Applejacks showed Emily images of the show in his head.

' _Oh, Applejacks, I think we need to talk about what is real and what is just a story_ ,' Emily replied with affection.

Applejacks' ears flattened for a moment in confusion.

' _Don't worry, my friend_ ,' Emily said kindly in the link, ' _all stories have some truth in them_.' Emily thought of the stories that her mother had read to her as a child. ' _We should get you into books_ ,' Emily added, thinking that David could make a special stand for Applejacks to use. Looking back to Vladimir and Eric, she asked the horse, ' _Do you like Vladimir?_ ' It mattered to her what the horse thought.

' _I do_ ,' Applejacks replied. ' _I feel he really loves you, but there are secrets he carries_.'

' _I felt that too_ ,' Emily replied to her friend. ' _Maybe that is normal with humans. After all, animals don't always tell you everything_.' Feeling frustrated, Emily thought to the horse, ' _I wonder what this all means?_ ' To that, Applejacks just snorted.

'Isn't she beautiful?' Vladimir asked Eric, looking back over to where Emily was now standing with Applejacks.

'Many women are beautiful,' Eric replied sternly. Looking at Emily, he saw a pretty woman who looked soft and sweet. 'So, you slept with her?' Eric demanded.

Vladimir was stunned with Eric's reaction. Occasionally, they had both slept with other women and men over the years they had been together, but it had never caused any conflict between them before. 'Môn vieux, it is the bond, I am sure of it. You must feel something for her.'

'I feel nothing,' Eric replied bitterly. He was not going to make this easy.

'What!?' Vladimir felt panic as he had been so sure Eric would feel the same way about Emily.

'What do we really know about how the bond works except for how we feel about each other? Just because you feel the pull to be with her, doesn't mean that I'll feel it,' Eric added coldly.

'My feelings for you haven't changed. We're still one,' Vladimir replied, placing his arm around Eric's shoulder, 'but I also need to be with her. I can't explain it, only to tell you that it is real.' Pausing, Vladimir went on to tell Eric everything. 'I plan for us to move in with her here, on her farm.'

Shaking off Vladimir's arm, Eric crouched down for a moment shaking his head in disbelief. After a moment, he stood back up and said, almost choking out the words, 'You are kidding Vlad, just like that?'

'Come on Eric, you remember when we were apart for six months all those years ago? You almost died and I almost killed myself. You know how this works; we need to be together. Do you honestly feel my love for you is any different than it was before?'

'Whose bed were you in last night?' Eric responded, angrily adding, 'Did you sleep? Because I didn't!'

'That's why I asked her to live with us,' Vladimir replied quickly.

Changing tack, Eric asked, 'So, she knows about what we really are?'

'She is like us,' Vladimir replied.

'But does she know what we are?' Eric demanded.

Vladimir shrugged his shoulders looking guilty.

'She is nothing like us,' Eric responded, looking at his mate in disbelief. 'You will just bring about her death.'

Vladimir seemed to shrink within himself as he looked over to where Emily was.

Seeing that Vladimir was looking at her, Emily gave him a tentative smile; looking at Eric, she could see that he was avoiding her gaze. Opening the link to Applejacks, Emily said, ' _I can feel how angry he is but it is more than that; I feel real fear of being near me_.'

Applejacks' ear flattened down as Emily showed him the emotion she was feeling from Eric. It was raw and intensely strong. ' _He does not know you_ ,' Applejacks offered, not understanding how anyone could be afraid of Emily.

' _You are right_ ,' Emily replied and patted Applejacks' neck before turning and walking towards where the men were standing. Vladimir offered her a strained smile. Emily responded and projected a calm feeling as she walked up to Eric, putting her hand out to shake his.

Eric stared blankly at her hand as it hovered between them. Looking down at Emily's face, he coldly said, 'Stop trying to manipulate me!'

'Oh,' Emily cried, putting her hand over her mouth and blushing bright red. 'I am so sorry. I was only trying to...to...'

'Calm me down! Make me more pliable to your suggestions,' Eric interrupted Emily in a heated voice.

'Môn vieux!' Vladimir cried, 'Emily is not like that!'

'No, he is right,' Emily said with tears in her eyes. 'I am so sorry. I have not been able to project my emotions or thoughts to humans before, only animals. You are so right. It is inexcusable. I didn't think!' Tears began to pour down Emily's face as the guilt and confusion at her actions washed over her.

Eric softened slightly at seeing the young woman's remorse.

Applejacks walked over to where Emily was standing and placed his head on her shoulder. Opening up a link, he said to Emily, ' _He does not understand you, that is all_.'

Emily replied to the horse, ' _No Applejacks, what I did was wrong. I feel so ashamed_.'

Picking up that Emily was talking to Applejacks, Vladimir asked, 'May I join you?' To which Emily nodded and then in the link he said, ' _Eric will come around; it is I who should be sorry. I just know when he links with you, Emily, that he will feel the same way_.' He was looking across at Eric who had moved off and was leaning on his car with his arms crossed. ' _Do you have feelings for him?_ ' Vladimir earnestly asked.

' _I'm not sure. I can feel his emotions clearly. It is just so hard to like someone when they have such contempt for you_ ,' Emily responded honestly. ' _What now?_ '

' _We'll go and get some things and move in with you_ ,' Vladimir replied tiredly in the link.

'Will he come with you?' Emily whispered out loud.

'Yes, he will come,' Vladimir replied and, to himself, he thought, _He has no choice_. Kissing Emily lightly, Vladimir walked back to Eric's Porsche and climbed into the passenger's seat. Eric paused for a moment and then walked to the driver's seat and got in. He knew that he had lost and that they would be returning. Driving off at high speed, the Porsche flicked up dust all the way along the driveway.

* * *

After two weeks had passed since Vladimir and Eric had moved in, Vladimir still felt uneasy living in such an open environment, but Eric felt as though he had come home. His artistic eye appreciated the beautiful design of the farmhouse and he enjoyed running around the farm, amused that Applejacks joined him. He had never had a running buddy before as he was too fast and while Eric still refused to link with Emily to talk to Applejacks, he had learned the horse's body language. Whist Vladimir preferred doing weights and running on a treadmill, which he had in his office, Eric loved the open sky and the rough tracks to run along. On his first run he discovered an old barn that was 500 metres from the house and decided that it would make a perfect studio. He had felt guilty at how willingly Emily had handed over the use of the barn to him and how Vladimir had thrown money at the renovations so that builders were already turning it into a workable space for him to use. The builders were also adding a fireproof room in case the bush around the farm caught fire so that Eric could store his art in it for safety.

* * *

Waking alone, Emily stretched, feeling a little mirth that the cats were not on the bed. Vladimir went to bed with her until she fell asleep and then he would go to Eric. As he rose early to drive to Sydney for work, the cats took advantage of him to give them an early breakfast, causing Emily to wake up alone. She didn't want to say anything to Vladimir as he was tired from trying to please two lovers. As it was Saturday and Vladimir would not be going to work, Emily got dressed in her usual jeans and a blouse with small purple flowers embroidered on it. Moving downstairs, she found the men sitting together on the porch swing. Eric had a sketchbook and was drawing with charcoal while Vladimir was looking at his iPad. Both men looked relaxed and Vladimir had one arm loosely around Eric's shoulders.

'I have an idea for the day,' Emily began nervously, unsure of Eric's reaction.

'We are free,' Vladimir replied with a smile. Eric just frowned and kept brushing the paper with his hand.

'There is a place not far from here that has a small clearing on top of a 300 metre precipice. The view is incredible and there is an old tree that grows right over the side. We could have a picnic there.' Emily ended her request sounding like she was begging.

'That would be great, don't you think, Môn vieux?' Vladimir responded readily, giving Emily a reassuring smile.

'I am sure you would have a better time without me,' Eric answered sourly, still not brothering to look at Emily.

'You are right, we would,' Emily shot back, finally tired of Eric's rudeness. Turning back into the house, she slammed the door and went into the kitchen. Within seconds, Emily was sorry for her outburst; it was rare for her to lose her temper or to even feel negative about something. Putting her hand to her face, she could feel the tears building. Feeling a nudge on her leg, she looked down to see Sigourney, the Siamese Queen at her feet. Emily picked up the old cat, looking into the Queen's sapphire blue eyes and saw the concern in them. Holding the cat up around her neck, Emily pushed her face into the side of Sigourney's thin body and let the tears flow while the Queen gently licked her face. 'I love you, I love you, I love you,' Emily cooed to the cat. 'Why is it so hard with that stupid man?'

Laughing softly, and causing Emily to jump slightly, Vladimir entered the kitchen. 'Your cat must love you a lot to let you use her as a hanky,' he said as he looked around the kitchen, found a tea towel and handed it to Emily to dry her eyes with. Pulling out a chair, he patted it and said, 'My turn to make coffee this morning.' Moving over to one of the unpacked boxes still on the floor, Vladimir lifted out an antique silver coffee pot. It had a rustic scene carved into the sides that showed a young boy playing with a dog on a farm. Emily ran her hands over it as Vladimir heated some water in a saucepan on the wood fire. Once it had boiled, he poured half into the silver pot to warm it. Placing the rest of the water onto the fire again, he added a vanilla bean, which he crushed slightly with the flat edge of a knife. He let the water boil for a few minutes, then brought out an electric coffee grinder and ground up some coffee beans, adding a pinch of salt. Emptying out the hot water, Vladimir pulled apart the silver coffee pot and Emily could see that there was a mesh basket for the coffee to be put into. Taking the hot water off the boil, Vladimir said, 'Now we have to wait for the water to cool as we don't want to burn the beans.' After a few minutes of stirring the water, Vladimir decided it was the right temperature. Slowly he poured the water into the pot and shut the lid.

Emily said, with humour in her voice, 'Let me guess the next step... a few more minutes!'

'Perfection can't be rushed, you know,' Vladimir replied playfully as he went to the cupboard and pulled out three mugs, which he heated with some of the hot water. Opening the cupboard, he pulled out some honey that Emily had received from Trish whose husband kept bees, and put a generous amount into each mug. Then Vladimir slowly poured the coffee over the honey, which released the sweet smell infused with vanilla and coffee into the room. 'Try it black first,' Vladimir replied, knowing that Emily liked to put cream into her coffee. 'Coffee up!' he called to Eric who made his way into the kitchen, placing the sketch pad on the kitchen table as he picked up his mug.

'Oh, wow, this is so good,' Emily murmured with her eyes half closed in delight. It was stronger than she was used to but the flavours were a perfect balance between the bitterness of the coffee, the sweetness of the honey and the infusion of vanilla.

'You haven't made this in a long time, Vlad,' Eric said, sipping the hot coffee. He wanted to say sorry to Emily but the words wouldn't come out. Instead he offered, 'This place you suggested sounds interesting. do I have time to get a run in before we go?'

'Of course,' Emily replied, feeling relieved that he had accepted. 'That will give me time to make lunch for us.'

Putting the mug on the bench, Eric went back outside. Hearing him call to Applejacks that he was going for a run, Vladimir and Emily heard the horse nicker enthusiastically, then the click of the gate as Applejacks came out of the field where he had been standing with Don.

Taking another sip from her mug, Emily finally said, 'It's not going well, is it?'

Vladimir laughed lightly in his deep voice and then, sobering up, he reached across and held Emily's hand in his. 'If you knew what Eric has gone through, you would understand, but I know my bond mate and he does love you, even if he will not admit it.

'You keep saying bond mate. What does that mean?' Emily asked, realising it was something different from what she first thought.

Pausing, Vladimir thought to himself, _What can I tell her?_ Finally he asked, 'Do you feel jealous that I am also with Eric?'

'No, of course not. How could I?' Emily replied after thinking about it for a while. 'How can I be jealous of someone that you love?'

'Do you think most people could be like this,' Vladimir asked her again, 'without jealously? Even Eric is not jealous of you.'

'That's a relief,' Emily replied. 'You're saying that he just hates me.'

Vladimir's laughter boomed loudly. 'No, my love, he does not hate you.' Reaching across to where Eric had placed his sketchbook, Vladimir handed it to Emily. Looking through the pages, Emily was surprised to see that page after page held sketches of her. Some were with Applejacks or the cats but most were pictures of her face capturing the different emotions that she felt.

'I love him, I know I do,' Emily replied. She felt emotional in seeing the pictures of herself.

'I know that all I can say, my love, is that we have all the time in the world. He will come around.' Vladimir rose leaving Emily alone for a moment. Running her hands along the page, Emily felt hope.

* * *

Laying a blanket on the ground in the clearing, Emily watched as the men walked through the dense bush along the top of the cliff to the edge of the precipice. Emily could see they were in awe of the view. Emily had learned about the place from one of David's clients who was a rock climber and had accidently found the small meadow when climbing up the wall of the precipice. Marking the spot, he had come back with some friends and made a narrow trail from the nearby road for people to use, and while not many people knew about the place, Emily knew it was only a matter of time because the trail was more worn than the last time she had come.

'This tree is incredible,' Vladimir called back to Emily; it was huge and hung part of the way over the immense drop.

'I know, it's amazing,' Emily replied, walking over to the tree. 'It must have deep roots to hold the tree in place.'

Eric looked across to Vladimir and smiled before he suddenly leapt across to a branch that was two metres from the edge of the cliff. Vladimir laughed as Emily's heart began to beat faster with fear but before she could call Eric back, Vladimir leaped to the same branch. There was no fear in the men as they swung from branch to branch, going further out from the cliff. Emily froze to the point of almost not breathing. Eric then gave a mighty push and leaped towards the furthest branch from the side and swung on it for a moment. The crack was so sharp, Emily felt that it almost assaulted her senses.

'No!' Vladimir cried as the branch snapped off and Eric began the plunge to the valley floor. Without hesitating, Vladimir pushed himself off the tree and within seconds he caught up to Eric and wrapped his arms around his bond mate as they fell together in a hug.

Looking on in horror, Emily felt herself go cold before she fainted on the spot. Eric and Vladimir suddenly hit a ledge about twenty metres down, the impact winding them both for a moment. Opening his eyes, Vladimir laughed weakly. He loosened his arms from around Eric, and took another minute to slow his heart before saying, 'Are you alright, Môn vieux?'

Eric slowly opened his eyes. 'What happened?' he asked, feeling dizzy for a moment.

Vladimir carefully sat up, his legs dangling over the edge of the narrow ledge. Looking around, he slowly flexed the different muscles in his body and realised he wasn't hurt.

Eric added, sounding confused, 'How did we manage to hit the ledge? We were falling away from the rock face.'

'We must have been caught by a gust of wind,' Vladimir replied. Looking at the rock face, he could see they were just twenty metres from the top. _Surely we fell further than that_ , he thought to himself before calling out, 'Emily! Emily! We're alright!' Hearing nothing from the top, he called again, much louder, 'Emily! Emily! Can you hear me?' but again, there was no answer and Vladimir knew something was wrong. 'Quick, we must get to her,' he said to Eric and the men began the climb with Vladimir leading the way. Reaching the top first, Vladimir pulled Eric up over the ledge and together they saw Emily lying on the ground. They rushed over to her and Vladimir lifted up her hand and checked her pulse. It felt weak in his large hand.

Eric touched her face, then her arms and legs saying, 'Her body is so cold.' Vladimir felt her face and neck. Emily was freezing.

Pulling off his jacket, Vladimir threw it over her as Eric fetched the picnic blanket from the clearing for Vladimir to wrap gently around Emily's body. Picking her up, he said in a voice full of concern, 'Come, Môn vieux, we need to get her home.' Emily was light in his arms as they ran the trail back to the jeep.

Eric looked at his phone and said, 'We have no reception here.' All Vladimir could do was growl in frustration.

Vladimir carefully put Emily in the back seat, placing her head on his lap. Eric jumped into the driver's seat and started the jeep, driving as quickly as the old car would go. Twenty minutes later they pulled into the driveway. They could see Applejacks waiting and he moved quickly over to where Vladimir had opened the door, pushing past him to place his head on Emily's head.

'Hey, Applejacks, back off,' Vladimir said, as the horse was in the way of getting Emily out of the car.

'It's okay,' Emily said softy and she weakly reached up to pat Applejacks' neck. Within seconds she felt strong enough to sit up and within a minute she felt that she was back to her old self. Remembering what had happen, Emily leaped from the jeep and threw her arms around Vladimir's neck, kissing him fiercely, and then to Eric's surprise, she threw herself into his arms saying, 'You're alive. I was so scared.' Releasing Eric, Emily stepped back, unsure of his reaction to her emotion.

'I am so sorry,' Eric said, 'it was so stupid of me not to check the branch before swinging to it. We were so lucky that the wind took us to the ledge.'

Applejacks snorted in disbelief so Emily connected just with the horse as he said in the link, ' _I felt you push and then I felt you lose consciousness. It made me afraid for you_.'

' _I'm sorry, dear friend. I'm not sure what happened. I was so frightened and all I remember is the both of them falling and being so cold_ ,' Emily replied.

' _You were ice cold when I first touched you, but you feel warm now_ ,' Applejacks added.

' _I feel perfectly well now_ ,' Emily said, trying to soothe the horse's anxious feelings.

Vladimir interrupted them and said firmly, 'We need to get you to a doctor.'

'Really, Vladimir, I'm fine, truly I am,' Emily replied. Seeing the look on his face, she added, 'What about you two? Are you okay? You must have hit the ledge hard.'

'We're not hurt,' Vladimir said, finally realising that they were all safe. 'I think the gods must have been looking out for us today.'

Applejacks nudged Emily's shoulder so she opened up the link to him. ' _Do you think it was the wind that saved them?_ '

' _It must have been the wind. I mean, what else could it have been?_ ' Emily knew something else had happened but she was just unsure as to what.

Abruptly, Emily let out a loud, almost hysterical, laugh. 'This was not the picnic I imagined we would have.' She then controlled herself and said, 'What a morning!'

'Let's eat here,' Eric said. 'I am so hungry.' Going up to the house, Eric laid the blanket on the wooden floor of the porch. Vladimir got the basket and Emily took the food out of the basket as Vladimir opened a bottle of wine and poured it into three plastic glasses. The lunch went by with little conversation; the events of the morning weighed heavily on the trio.

Later in the day, Emily had gone to feed the animals on the farm. Eric and Vladimir had not moved all afternoon, relaxing as the late afternoon sun flooded the porch with the last rays of light.

'Why did you jump after me?' Eric asked Vladimir, breaking the easy silence that had fallen between them.

'You really have to ask?' Vladimir replied, sounding surprised at the question.

'I just thought... that now you have Emily...' Eric paused, looking at Emily in the field as she placed a bucket of feed down for Don the donkey.

Moving closer to his mate, Vladimir put his arm around Eric's shoulder, kissing his neck. 'We are in this life together. I understand that you don't think Emily is good for us and I know I am being selfish, and that it is madness to involve her with us and our danger but, Môn vieux, I love you and I could not live a moment longer if you were not on this earth.'

'If it had been her, would you have jumped as well?' Eric asked but he knew the answer.

'Yes,' was Vladimir's simple reply.

'We have been careful for a long time. After the horror we have lived through, do you honestly feel that we are safe here? That she is safe?' Eric said bitterly.

'Is that why you won't link with her?' Vladimir responded, 'because you are worried for her safety?'

'Remember Jacinta and how she disappeared all those years ago?' Eric said quietly.

'We were not bonded with her,' Vladimir replied, realising that what he had said sounded cold.

Pushing Vladimir's arm off his shoulder, Eric's voice was heated. 'Maybe we were not bonded, but I loved her.'

'I know you did and I am sorry. That was not what I meant. I know this is madness but I can't leave Emily. I tried not to see her and that lasted five minutes.' Vladimir rose and began to walk to where Emily was. Turning back to Eric, he added, 'Link with her, Eric, and you'll see how well she fits with us.'

'Are you really willing to bring her into our world, knowing what we are?' Eric asked, shaking his head at Vladimir's words.

'Does she really need to know our dark side?' Vladimir threw back at his mate.

'Maybe if we had told Jacinta she would have not disappeared,' Eric shot back.

'Eric, she just left,' Vladimir said sadly, remembering the months that he and Eric had searched for her.

'Are you sure?' Eric asked again. 'Vlad, can you really be so sure it was not our past?'

'We would already be dead if that was the case.' Vladimir thought back to the time when Jacinta was in their life. He had just started his practice and Eric was finishing his arts degree. He had been so tempted to pack up and leave when she had disappeared and had vowed that if he felt anything they would have left-\- but nothing came; not in the months or years that followed after Jacinta's disappearance. 'We are safe,' Vladimir replied, trying to make his voice sound sure. But he was not sure, he never felt safe. His job had been to make Eric feel secure. That had been his mission from the first moment that Eric had entered his life. 'I know this feels like madness but we need to be with Emily.' Turning back, he walked over to give Emily a hand feeding the goats.

* * *

Running around the farm was pure joy for Eric. He was beautiful when he ran, and his lean body moved with a rhythmic ease and grace. Running around Emily's farm suited Eric. In the city, he had to hide how fast he could really move but on the farm he ran as fast as he wanted to. Applejacks had to do a swift canter to match his pace as they both jumped over obstacles that were in their path. He pondered his feelings for Emily as he ran. He had lied to Vladimir; from the first time he had met her he had felt the bond. He would never have moved in with her if the bond had not been there. He liked the way she made Vladimir feel. His bond mate was usually so serious and Eric knew that he had devoted his life to his safety and care. _I never gave that to him,_ Eric thought to himself and came to a stop at the bottom of a steep hill. Applejacks stopped as well, his body covered in sweat from the pace. Patting the horse's neck, Eric said to the horse, 'I wish we could talk. Vladimir says that you have a wisdom that is vast.'

Applejacks just nudged Eric's shoulder, indicating that he should go on.

Deciding to give it a go, Eric said to the horse, 'I don't think we're good for Emily.' Applejacks' ears pitched forward at that. Eric continued, 'There is a part of our life that is dangerous for her and, for that matter, you.' Looking at the horse, he could see the look of understanding in his eyes. Realising that he had said too much, Eric shrugged his shoulders and said, 'Maybe I'm being foolish.' Then he laughed. 'Forget what I said. Let's race to the top of the hill.' Taking off with a few seconds' lead, Applejacks just managed to beat him to the top of the hill. Looking back over the farm, Eric could see the lavender fields around Emily's farmhouse in the distance. His thoughts turned dark as he said to himself, _This is too good to be true_ , and he stood for a long time looking down as Applejacks stayed with him, wishing he could tell Eric that all was good.

* * *

Unable to find a home for Gabriel the ginger tom, once his cast came off, Emily brought him home to the farm. As she got out of her jeep, she carefully took out the cage that held Gabriel and placed it on the ground. Linking to the large, ginger tom, she told him that this was his new home. He was a bit shaky on his legs after having had his movements restricted for so long, but on exiting the cage, he walked to Emily and rubbed his head against her legs, purring happily. Looking up at the porch, she could see her crew all lined up to inspect the newcomer. The night before, Emily had told them that Gabriel would be coming to live with them and she had shown them pictures of the cat. Both Morpheus and Penny had shown displeasure at the thought of him arriving but this didn't surprise Emily as cats were territorial and reluctant to share their space. Gabriel walked to the bottom of the porch steps and lay down on the bottom step. After a few minutes, Sigourney slowly came down the stairs and stretched her neck out to sniff Gabriel's body. She made a queer sound to let the tom know she was the boss. Gabriel's ears flattened in response, refusing her, which caused Morpheus to fly down the stairs and a fight was on. Emily forced a link and ordered the cats to stop. They moved apart but continued to circle each other with their tails swishing angrily.

'Not going smoothly, is it?' Eric called from the front door. He had left the studio and had come to the house to get a sketch that he had done the night before.

'Good things take time,' Emily replied warmly, smiling at the double meaning. The last couple of days with Eric had been easier. He was softer with her.

Asking the cats to go inside, Emily picked up Gabriel and placed him on a small table beside the double swing that was next to the lounge room window. The rest of Emily's crew gathered around the window on the inside staring intently at Gabriel. Emily projected a soothing feeling as she sat on the swing beside the tom. She could see all the cats start to relax as they began to purr. Sitting next to Emily, Eric felt the emotion as well and, instead of trying to repress it, he allowed himself to feel it fully.

After a few moments, Emily pointed to the field and said, 'Eric, look at that, can you see the rabbit?' At the edge of the lavender field, a small brown rabbit was hopping along. It jack-knifed around and boxed the air playfully. 'He's so happy with the day. Oh, Eric, if you could just feel what he feels,' and she reached out to take his hand.

Eric quickly stood up. 'Maybe another time.' He smiled at Emily to take the sting out of his words and walked down the steps to the path leading to his studio.

Emily watched him leave, feeling frustrated. Her feelings for him were intense.

Later that day, Emily opened the door for the cats to come out onto the porch. All afternoon the cats had sat and watched Gabriel. After her first projection of calm, Emily had pulled the feeling back, and while some of the tension remained she felt it subside. Sigourney came out and sat by the door; after a few moments Gabriel slowly moved over to her and they rubbed noses. Sitting up on her hind legs, Sigourney set her paw in a swiping gesture and Gabriel slowly lowered himself to the ground, showing that he had accepted her as the boss. The old Queen lowered herself and rubbed her head along the tom's body, purring. This made Emily smile that the old cat had so much power over the rest, who were all bigger and stronger. Her leadership stemmed purely from her force of will. Looking up, she saw Eric coming back to the house and when he stopped she knew, from the look on his face, that something was wrong. Walking quickly over to where he was standing, Emily's eyes followed to where he was looking.

'Oh, no!' Emily cried, as she saw the small rabbit they had seen earlier in the day, lying with his throat ripped out. Kneeling beside the little rabbit, hot tears fell from Emily's eyes. 'This is my fault. He would have sensed the calm I sent to the cats and felt safe here in the field.' Emily sobbed and Eric could feel the sadness pulse from her.

Kneeling beside her, he pulled Emily close to him and let her sob her heart out. Eric felt that Emily was trying to control herself so he murmured softly, 'Don't hold back. It's okay. I'm here for you.'

At his words, Emily opened a link, and showed him her feelings of sadness and guilt at the death of the small buck. Eric was surprised at the depth of her grief, realising that she truly respected all animals. Then he felt her feelings for him begin to pour out of her and he could feel that she struggled to stop the flow, but he just held her close whispering, 'It's alright, I love you too.' She felt him and his love but there was a wall that he held in his head just like Vladimir, a wall she couldn't push into.

Then she saw in his mind how afraid he was for her and she pulled back from his arms asking out loud, 'What do you fear for me?' It made no sense. They were safe. Looking around she could determine no danger to herself or Eric. The fox that had killed the rabbit would not come near them as they were too big and Emily could not feel him close to the house.

Eric didn't answer her question but said, to change the subject, 'Let me dig a hole for this rabbit,' and he began to dig out the dirt from the side of the field using his hands. After a few minutes the hole was deep enough and Emily gently laid the little rabbit into the ground. Lifting his hands, Eric saw they were caked with dirt. Standing up he told Emily, 'I'll go and have a shower,' and walked back to the house. In the warm water of the shower, Eric tried to work out what had happened in the link with Emily, as he had never felt such a warm and innocent love before. There was no doubt or confusion in her feelings for him and he completely understood Vladimir now. They could not leave her. Fighting an overwhelming need to link with her again, he felt Emily's hand touch his shoulder as she stepped into the shower with him.

Gathering Emily up in his arms as the water splashed on them, Eric breathed, 'Link with me!'

* * *

Lying on the bed, Emily dozed lightly with her head on Eric's chest. Eric ran his fingers through her hair, basking in the joy that Emily was projecting. Hearing Vladimir's Porsche pull up beside the house, Emily raised her head and smiled at Eric.

'Emily! Eric!' Vladimir called from downstairs as he threw his briefcase on a chair by the front door.

'Up here!' Emily called back, her voice full of mirth.

Running up the stairs, Vladimir laughed seeing Eric in bed with Emily and said in his deep voice, 'About time, you two!' as he removed his clothing.

* * *

Both Emily and Vladimir took the next few days off work; the trio took long walks around the farm, resting in a link together. Eric had enjoyed getting to know Applejacks, now that he could join Emily when she linked to him, and spent hours asking him questions. He shared with the horse an interest of fast cars and Eric was surprised at the depth of knowledge that the horse had. Emily still noticed that, in the link with the men, there was a place they did not share with her. It puzzled her as she was completely open with them but she didn't push it, thinking that time would make them feel secure enough to let her in fully.

Sitting down to a dinner that Eric had cooked, Vladimir spoke, sounding a bit awkward. 'Eric and I plan to go back to the penthouse tomorrow for a couple of days. We have business we need to attend to.'

'Oh, okay, I can join you after work,' Emily said, thinking she could get David to feed her animals.

Eric shot Vladimir a tense look and then he gazed down at his food, frowning. 'Em, we were hoping to have a few days alone together.' Eric's voice sounded tight.

'Have I done something wrong?' Emily asked. The tension was strange and she could feel the men had withdrawn from her.

'No, my love,' Vladimir began and reached out, pulling Emily onto his lap as he ran his hand down her back tenderly. 'We have been together for so long that Eric and I need to keep the balance, and I think it would be good for us to take a few days out every month.'

'Every month?' Emily felt hurt. It was wrong that they should be apart. Then, realising that it was what they wanted, she added, trying to sound bright, 'Of course, if it's what you want,' but the words were thick and hung in the air with so many unanswered questions.

'I want to show you something,' Eric announced. 'Wait here for a moment.' He went out to the hallway and they heard him leave the house and run towards his studio. Emily helped Vladimir clear the table before Eric returned with a large picture, the back facing his mates. Emily could feel his excitement as he asked them to go into the sitting room.

Vladimir and Emily sat on the old, dark green chesterfield lounge with Eric asking Emily to close her eyes. She sensed him taking down an old painting of a ship that hung over the fireplace and hanging his painting up.

'Ok, Em, open your eyes.'

Emily gasped. The painting was stunning; it was a portrait of the three of them. Eric had painted Emily dressed in a crimson ball grown and she was sitting on a deep blue, velvet chase with Vladimir and Eric standing behind her wearing tuxedos; the detail was breathtaking. It could have been a photograph but for the fine brush strokes on the canvas. Emily got up and walked over to the picture, tracing her fingers around the images. On closer inspection, Emily could see that the chain of daisies that Eric had painted around her neck were actually diamonds that formed the petals of the daisies, and in the middle of the daisies were rubies. There must have been thirty in the necklace, all linked together.

'Gosh, that is truly beautiful,' Emily commented, noting the level of detail that Eric had put into the painting.

'My turn,' Vladimir said, and as Emily turned around he handed her a long, black box with a pale green ribbon around it.

'It's not my birthday, you know,' Emily said. Her hands were shaking at the excitement of the gifts; the feeling was almost overwhelming as no one had ever spoiled her so much before. Opening the long box, Emily's eyes widened in surprise. The necklace was the very same that Eric had painted in the portrait. 'I don't know what to say,' Emily said. 'I ... I ... oh thank you both so much,' and she hugged each of the men in turn. Turning back to look at the picture, Emily missed the dark look that Eric gave Vladimir.

* * *

The men left early the next day taking Vladimir's white Porsche. Emily was still puzzled over their need to be alone but she accepted their wish to spend time together. Getting ready for work had taken a little extra time, as she had needed to spend some fifteen minutes with Morpheus and Gabriel after they had started another fight. It was not as vicious as the first one, but Emily took a few extra minutes to check that they had not hurt each other too badly. Heading out to the jeep, Emily noticed a dark puddle under the front of the car. Getting down on her knees, she saw a puddle of oil underneath that had leaked from the chassis.

'So, today is the day, old girl,' Emily murmured softly as she patted the bonnet of the old jeep. She felt really sad that the jeep had finally stopped because it was the last link to her father. Heading back into the house, Emily went to ring David but, looking at the time, she saw that he would have left for work already.

Looking at the hooks where all the keys were hanging up, Emily decided to take Eric's black Porsche. _I know he won't mind_ , she thought to herself, feeling a little guilty. Hopping into the car was exciting and Emily had to mentally pull herself up from speeding; the car was light and so much fun to drive. Before long, she pulled into the practice's car park beside David's truck. As she was getting out, both Trish and David came out of the practice to the parking lot to admire the Porsche. 'My truck died,' Emily said, smiling at how much her friends liked Eric's car.

'This is a pretty good upgrade,' David replied, running his hand along the top of the car.

'I wish! It's actually Eric's car. I just borrowed it for the day. Do we have much on today?' Emily asked Trish.

Trish took a photo of the car with her phone, no doubt to show her husband that night.

'You have a full morning but so far you're free this afternoon,' she replied.

_Now that would've sounded good if Eric and Vladimir were still at home_ , Emily thought, trying not to get down with the men gone. Another car pulled into the car park and a large St Bernard puppy fell out of the door, all paws and ears.

'Hello, Sue,' Emily called, going over to pat the puppy. 'How heavy is Jackson now?' she asked, looking at the large puppy.

'Eighty-two kilograms!' Sue replied brightly. 'He's getting to be a handful though and I'm hoping we can sort out his pulling on the lead - when I walk him now my arm is about ready to drop off.' Sue patted Jackson's head. He was a sweet dog but not too bright.

'Trish, can you take my bag? We might as well stay out here and get stuck into practising here.' Emily gave Trish her bag and asked Jackson for permission to talk to him.

The morning went quickly and Emily saw five more animals. It was around 1 pm and Trish had gone to the local bakery and bought some salad rolls. David was, yet again, behind in his clients and had only stopped to quickly wolf down his roll, when the phone rang. Trish took her time with the call, asking all sorts of questions before hanging up. Looking up at Emily, she said, 'Sorry to do this but your free afternoon is not free anymore. That was Mark from Animal Rescue and he needs you to go to North Sydney. There is a little dog stuck in a drain and the mutt won't budge, but they don't want to rip up the street to get him out.'

'Sure, where do I go?' Emily replied, feeling anxious about the long drive to the city.

Trish pulled out a map and said, 'There is a marathon going through there today so the main roads are closed. You can go in through the back streets but you won't get a parking spot for miles.'

Looking at the map, Emily could see it was not far from Vladimir and Eric's apartment. Getting out the car keys from her bag, she saw that it had a pass-key to open the apartment's car park. 'I can park at Vladimir and Eric's apartment, I know they won't mind,' she said, pointing to a spot on the map. 'It's only a few minutes to South Street where the dog is.' Sending a text to Vladimir and Eric to let them know what she was doing, Emily jumped into the black car.

The Porsche made it easy to navigate the highway from the Hunter Valley to North Sydney and within two hours Emily had found the apartment and, sure enough, as she pressed the pass-key to the panel, the big iron gate to the car park silently rose up. Pulling into the car park had been easy enough but it took Emily a few minutes to determine how to get out of the large apartment building and back onto the street.
Chapter 5

By the time Emily reached the site there was chaos. The little dog was a prized Shih tzu with a grey face and silver body. Its owner, a chubby middle-aged woman, was sobbing and a small group of people had stopped to watch the scene. Mark, from the Animal Rescue Team, saw her and motioned her over to the drain. Emily liked Mark and over the years of working together they had developed a good working relationship. Years earlier they had dated for a while but the relationship had only eventuated in a friendship. This had disappointed Mark but he had moved on and was now married with two children. Emily enquired after them before peering into the drain. The drain's only entrance was small but Emily could put her head into it and she shone a torch that Mark had passed to her, locating the small dog.

'What's his name?' Emily turned her head back to Mark.

'Barney,' he replied, 'short for Barnabas.'

Emily gave him a smile and thought, _What a silly name for a dog_. Barney was scared and shaking all over and Emily could sense that he was feeling very sorry for himself. It took a few minutes to connect with the little dog and she had to ask Mark to move Barney's owner away as her cries were upsetting him.

Barney had fallen just over three metres but there was enough rubbish to break his fall and Emily sensed that Barney wasn't hurt.

'I need a bucket and some rope,' Emily called back up to Mark but he had already thought of her needs and handed them to her.

It took twenty minutes to explain to the dog what he needed to do and, after a couple of tries, she was able to slowly lift Barney into the bucket, sending images of food and cuddles if he would just stay still. Once free of the drain, Barney was ecstatic and jumped into Emily's arms, licking her face. By the time Emily released the animal to his owner, who was still crying but now with joy, she was covered in slime and smelled disgusting. After saying goodbye to Barney's owner, who promised to send Emily an email with a picture of a clean Barney, Emily said goodbye to Mark, who would ask the owner for Emily's fee at a later stage. This time, Mark did not give Emily a hug goodbye, which Emily understood.

Walking back to the apartment, Emily realised that she would dirty Eric's car in the state she was in. She usually carried a spare set of clothes but, as she had taken Eric's car, she didn't have a set. The thought of visiting the apartment to clean up was very tempting but Emily knew how Vladimir had insisted she give them their space. She decided to call and explain but, after ringing both mobiles, neither of the men picked up. This was odd as Vladimir was permanently attached to his phone and because she rarely called him on his mobile, he would always take her call even if he was in a meeting. The stench around her was strong and her skin crawled with imaginary bugs.

Emily reached out with her mind to the men; if they were in the building they would hear her and she could ask for permission to enter. The response was puzzling. She could sense them but there was no clear bond; it was as though they were far away.

Believing that they were not in the apartment, Emily got into the elevator, used the pass-key and pushed the button to the penthouse. She would be quick; they wouldn't know she had been there. Entering the penthouse, Emily was amazed with the fact that both Vladimir and Eric had moved in with her. The penthouse was stunning: it could featured easily in a style magazine with its high ceilings and dark wooden panels; very masculine in taste. Calling out, Emily paused by the door for a moment before slowly walking through the apartment. The kitchen looked over Sydney Harbour; the view was incredible and Emily took a few minutes to take it all in. The furnishings in the apartment were luxurious and Emily thought about her farmhouse. While pretty, all the furniture was old and slightly dated. _Maybe I could buy a new couch_ , she thought and then realised how silly that was. It would take more than a new couch to have her home look like this! Entering the main bedroom, she saw the clothes that Vladimir and Eric had worn earlier in the day lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. This surprised her as it was unlike the men; they were both so neat. The bed had the rumpled look of passion and she could smell their fragrance. As she undressed, she pulled a crisp white shirt of Vladimir's out of the built-in wardrobe to wear.

The shower was hot and felt good on her skin, and she longed for one or both of the men to be with her in the water. She scrubbed her body until her skin was clean, liking the scent of the spearmint, lemongrass and rosemary soap Eric used. Again, she pushed her mind out to the men but, while the bond was there, she couldn't sense any thoughts; the connection was peculiar and murky.

After drying herself, Emily threw on Vladimir's shirt and ran her fingers through her hair. She picked up her dirty clothes and went to the kitchen to find a plastic bag to put them in. That's when she noticed a strange smell coming from the smallest bedroom. The room was tiny in contrast to all the other rooms in the apartment, which were quite large. In the room, the odour was animalistic, like a damp dog, but she couldn't see any signs that a dog had been in there as the bedroom was as neat as the rest of the apartment. The single bed had a blue throw on it and the only other furniture in the room was a small butter-yellow armchair with gold stripes. Emily decided she needed to leave. While she desperately wanted to know why the men excluded her, she didn't want them to be displeased with her if they found her in the apartment, but as she turned to leave, she noticed the built-in cupboard's sliding door was slightly ajar.

The urge to leave had become stronger and she thought she would just push the door shut, but instead of closing the door, she opened it and found ... nothing! The shock of the empty built-in cupboard made her laugh and she wondered what she had expected. Turning to leave, a draught hit her leg, which was still a little damp from the shower. _How odd_ , she thought and reached down to find where it had come from. Kneeling down, she reached into the back of the closet, trying to find where the draught was coming from, when her hand touched a small lever. Her mind screamed not to push it but her hand did not obey and she heard a click as the back of the closet swung away from her.

The smell assaulted her and it felt as though time stood still. The light in the apartment had faded with the late afternoon and her eyes struggled to adjust to the darkness of the room. Emily took a step forward and heard a low growl, and then she was hit so hard, she fell to the floor and was knocked out for a couple of minutes. When she came to, she found a big, grey wolf with the darkest blue-black eyes standing over her, its face up against hers, snarling, and its teeth bared. Emily froze. Knowing she was in mortal danger but pushing away the panic that was rising in her, she reached out to the wolf with her mind, trying to make a connection that would save her life. Effortlessly, her mind slipped into the wolf; it was familiar. It took Emily a few seconds to realise that it was Vladimir's mind and then she sensed another wolf in the room and knew it to be Eric.

Relief flooded through her and when she projected this to the wolves, they backed away in confusion. Now focusing on Eric, Emily could feel the connection grow stronger, so she brought her mind back to Vladimir and the connection with him became clearer.

She spoke softly with her voice as well as with her mind, and repeated over and over again, 'It's me, Emily, we are family and we are safe,' until the tension began to ease in the animals.

Slowly, she approached Vladimir with her palms up. He had lowered his body to the ground but he was huge and even lying on the floor, his head was at Emily's waist. Eric's coat was the colour of pale wheat, just like his hair, and his eyes were as blue as his own. He began to edge forward and Emily realised her mistake - he was moving towards the open door, and she could feel his desire for freedom and his hunger for blood. Emily sprang back as Eric leaped and their combined weight pushed the door into place. Eric howled with frustration yet he did not attack Emily; he knew her now.

Other emotions and images were pouring from them now: frustration for freedom, hunger, and the need for blood. Emily threw images back at them of the three of them together, her watching Eric sculpt, waking to watch Vladimir get dressed in his expensive suits and helping him put cuff links on his shirts, eating together, walking together, loving and laughing.

Eric was the first to come to Emily. He licked her face and nuzzled her, and she ran her hands around his neck, giving him kisses on his head. Vladimir was still tense and his body shook when she touched him. She ran her hand down his back until he became accustomed to her and then he ran his nose against her, smelling her scent; he licked her hands and face. Finally, both wolves lay down and Emily sat between them, resting her head on Vladimir's neck and reaching her arm out to Eric. Looking around the room she could see it had been reinforced and had no windows. The walls were soundproofed, and there was ducted air-conditioning in the ceiling to provide the room with fresh air. Bolted to the wall were two troughs; one had water in it and the other was empty, covered in blood.

Although questions were forming in her head, Emily knew that she needed to focus on being calm as the connection with the wolves had no language except that she could hear them call her name. Vladimir occasionally emitted a low growl but it was not aimed at her, it was more of a reflex. She kept sending out thoughts of love and that she was part of their pack, and as the night swept past she fell asleep.

Emily woke with Vladimir shaking her arms and for a moment she was confused; the previous night seemed like a dream. Seeing that Emily was alright, Vladimir rose. His naked body still had a grey tinge to it and he reached up to press a small button that neither wolf would have been able to reach, and stalked out of the cell into the apartment. Eric stood up and held his hands out to help Emily up. His mood was solemn and he seemed almost embarrassed.

'You shouldn't be here, Em. We could have killed you. This is something we cannot control.' Then he turned and walked out of the cell. She stood for a few minutes, bewildered at their reaction and surprised at herself for how accepting she was of the situation. When she left the little cell, they were both in the shower and as she waited for them she could sense Vladimir's anger from the other room. Emily struggled to understand what had happened. _What are they?_ she wondered.

She had read all the vampire and werewolf stories. _Is that what they are?_ she thought. In a way it explained so many small things about them. The undercurrent of emotions that ran deep inside them was almost primeval. The way they would both just stop talking and listen for sounds she could not hear, and how the animals on the farm sometimes shied away from the men who were so gentle with them explained how she could hear their thoughts when she couldn't hear any other humans' thoughts. 'They aren't human!' Emily gasped.

Vladimir appeared, dressed. 'I want you to leave,' he commanded. 'I will not return with you.' He shook with rage and his voice was coarse.

'Vladimir, please,' Emily pleaded. 'I'm so sorry that you think you need to hide this from me. I don't care what you are.' She took a step towards Vladimir. 'I didn't disobey you. I had reached out for you and I thought that you were not in the apartment.' Emily's head felt like she was in a fog, her world no longer sane.

'All I can see is how close you came to being slaughtered by us.' He turned his back to her and walked to the window. 'God, I was so stupid to think this would not impact on you.'

Emily had never seen Vladimir so angry. 'I was never in any danger. I talked to you; I talked to you both. You were gentle with me, don't you remember?' Emily was almost in tears now.

Eric came into the room and, feeling the pain in Emily, put his hands on her shoulders and spoke softly to her. 'We only remember fragments and usually it's after we've killed.' He opened the front of the shirt Emily was wearing and said, 'Look at your body. It's covered in bruises and there are scratches on your face and neck.'

'I caught you both by surprise, Eric. You wanted to get out so I threw myself against the door just as you jumped. You landed on me but you didn't mean to hurt me,' Emily replied, touching Eric's face gently.

She turned to face Vladimir again, pleading. 'Please don't be mad with me.'

Vladimir was less angry now but the reality of Emily learning their secret saddened him.

'If I had found you dead, I would have killed Eric and myself instantly. I vowed never to kill again. We have both killed people we loved.' His voice became gentler. 'I cannot return with you to the farm. It is better if you never see us again.'

'No! You don't mean this!' Emily sobbed and threw herself into his arms and, although he put his arms around her, she knew he wouldn't come home.

Emily cried all the way back to the farm, while Eric drove. He was confused and distressed.

'I must eat and you need to get warm.' He had his arms around her as they walked inside. Emily started the fire after changing into jeans and a warm turtleneck jumper, and Eric cooked up eight large steaks. Emily was too upset to eat so she made a large hot chocolate and sat on the couch watching Eric eat his food.

When he was finished, he joined her in front of the fire. It had started to rain heavily, large cold drops that splattered on the roof. She pushed herself close to him and the tension finally began to ease in both of them. Eric kissed her neck and ran his tongue along her jaw to her ear. Their lovemaking was tinged with sorrow but it built to a passion and they made love until the room was dark. They lay together drowsily; the fire had made the room warm and the rain on the roof made the world seem very small to them both.

'What are you, my love?' Emily murmured.

'What am I?' Eric echoed as he lay beside her stroking her hair. 'I am a monster.'
Chapter 6

Two weeks passed before Vladimir called Eric. Emily could hear them arguing on the phone and she was sad at how displaced they had become. Emily and Eric had drifted through the fortnight like ghosts - they just didn't work as a duo. The first two days after Vladimir's declaration that he would not come home, Emily constantly found herself looking at her phone. She had left countless messages and had tried to make a connection with Vladimir but every time she did he shut the connection to her and her frustration had turned to despair, leaving her empty and tired. When she was with Eric they barely spoke; he was suffering too.

Mark, from the animal rescue unit, had called the day before concerning a prized Rottweiler that had gone berserk and attacked its owner. But instead of putting it down the owner had insisted that the dog be saved. Emily had agreed to look at the animal and Mark arrived mid-morning, bringing the dog in a cage. Emily had asked him in for tea but he was on a mission, the detour to Emily's having taken up most of his morning.

The Rottweiler, Rumour, was a young bitch and she was truly a beauty. When Emily approached the cage, Rumour snarled, baring her teeth. Before she attempted to make contact with her, Emily connected to Eric, who was out running, letting him know that she was going to connect with another dog. Sometimes, sensing that she had opened up a connection, Eric would join in without warning, causing momentary confusion.

'Hey, beauty,' she cooed. Emily's voice had a musical quality that animals responded to and Rumour's ears pricked at the tone and snarled half-heartedly, understanding that Emily was not a threat. 'Let's see what's worrying you,' she said and slowly pushed her mind to merge with the bitch's. Random images poured from Rumour, who was still very agitated, so Emily released the latch on the cage hoping her touch would soothe her.

Suddenly Emily heard the crunch of tyres on the drive and she turned to see a white Porsche driving up the narrow road.

Vladimir! Emily's heart sang and she instantly connected to Eric, calling him to come. 'Vladimir is here!'

Forgetting Rumour for a moment, Emily turned to go to Vladimir as he exited the car. Rumour, seeing her chance for freedom, pushed out of the cage and, feeling scared, became feral again. The snarling was so raw and violent that Emily instantly knew she wouldn't be able to soothe her quickly. Slowly turning towards the bitch, Emily tried to reconnect with her but in Rumour's frantic state of mind she wouldn't allow it. Vladimir cried out but it was too late, Rumour leapt at Emily.

Out of nowhere a cream wolf hit Rumour, sending her crashing to the ground. Eric had turned.

Looking back at Vladimir, Emily saw that he had turned into his grey wolf as well and together with Eric they were circling Rumour, snarling and snapping. Rumour was in a full blood lust and Emily knew that at any second a fight would start.

Taking a deep breath Emily yelled, 'Stop!' She also yelled as loud as she could with her mind and the three animals were momentarily paralysed. Projecting calmness she slowly approached the three. Both Eric and Vladimir had calmed the moment she had asked them to, but Rumour was beyond settling. She paced back and forth spitting foam. Connecting again to her men Emily was clear with her instruction.

'Become men now!' she commanded and within seconds they both began to morph back into human shape.

Both men were stunned at what had happened. Neither had ever become wolves without a full moon before; however, the need to protect Emily had been primal. Rumour was getting ready to pounce again as Emily locked eyes with her, and then suddenly the dog disappeared from the spot. Both men gasped as Emily fell to the ground in exhaustion.

'The cage,' she said. 'Shut the cage.'

Vladimir scooped Emily up as Eric turned to the cage; Rumour was lying inside it, unconscious. Before Emily passed out, she heard Applejacks neighing in the background.

When she came to, Emily found herself on the couch in the farmhouse. Eric was sitting at her feet and Vladimir was in a chair by her head.

'Hey,' she spoke softly. 'Vladimir, you're here.' His eyes were red and he seemed deflated.

'My sweet girl,' he said and kissed her head.

'I need to be with Applejacks,' Emily's voice was still weak. 'He'll make me feel better.'

Puzzled but compliant, Vladimir scooped Emily up in his arms and they all went outside to where Applejacks was waiting. He snickered softly to Emily, pushing his nose into her hands. Instantly she felt the energy flow back into her body and indicated to Vladimir to put her down so she could place both hands on Applejacks' muzzle.

After a moment and feeling restored, Emily turned back to the men and said, 'I don't want to talk about what happened just now but while the bitch is unconscious I'm going to make a connection with her.'

'I think she should be destroyed,' Vladimir replied. 'She's clearly out of control.'

'Em, I agree,' Eric added. 'I could sense her madness.'

'No!' Emily's voice was firm. 'Something has happened to her and I'm not ready to give up.'

Eric reached for her hand. 'Em, you are too soft. This dog is dangerous.'

'Maybe, but I don't just give up when things become difficult,' Emily replied, shooting a meaningful look at Vladimir as she walked over to the cage.

'I think she's mad with you,' Eric murmured to Vladimir.

'I think you're right,' Vladimir softly replied. 'Tell me, Môn vieux, are you mad with me as well?'

Eric was silent for a moment before saying, 'Vlad, our life together is not normal. Our whole life revolves around the moon and our curse. We have found a home here with Emily, the one person in the world who truly understands us. Why do you want to throw that away?'

Vladimir was deep in thought as they watched how gentle Emily was with the dog. It worried him how much she hurt when she failed with an animal, and while it was rare, her heart broke every time it happened. Placing his arm around Eric's shoulders and looking into his eyes, Vladimir spoke softly.

'I am so scared we will get her killed. We have stayed hidden for so long that I have forgotten the danger we represent. Tell me, Môn vieux, do we have the right to include Emily in our trouble?'

Eric replied firmly, 'I love her too and I understand what you are saying but Vlad, we have known of this danger our whole lives; maybe we are finally free of it.'

They both stood for a moment more, looking at Emily, before walking into the farmhouse.

Meanwhile, Emily opened the cage and ran her hands over the unconscious dog. Rumour's muscles were soft and small and while she was a beautiful dog, Emily could see her legs were small for the size of her body. Emily was beginning to understand what had happened to her. Underdeveloped muscles were the result of having been housed in a small cage for a long time with no exercise. Emily placed her hands on Rumour's head and slowly built a connection. By the time the bitch regained consciousness, Emily had forged a strong bond with her and Rumour remained calm. Images of living in a cage came from the dog followed by images of delivering puppies and having them ripped away over and over again. Emily could see the bitch had been treated as no more than a breeding factory and, suppressing her anger, Emily sent Rumour waves of calm and showed her that she was now free.

'No more cage for you, sweet girl,' cooed Emily, both vocally and with her mind. She could see that Rumour had hurt herself when she had leapt at Emily and one of the unused muscles in her back leg had ripped. Emily sent a soothing thought and blocked the pain. This would not last long but Emily knew the bitch wouldn't become vicious again; the crisis had come and passed.

Emily made Rumour a bed on the porch near the back door and Vladimir carried her out to it. After bringing Rumour some food Emily showered the dog with images that this was now her new home. She sent a warning to the cats on the property to use the front door for a while. It would take some time before Rumour would understand the harmony of the farm. The cats were used to strange dogs and Emily smiled at the thought that, as animals came and went to new homes, every cat to land on the door stayed on the farm. But whereas her relationship with Applejacks was that of friendship with an equal, Emily's relationship with the cats was simple affection.

Emily sat with Rumour for a while wondering what was going to happen next. She could hear the men talking in the kitchen where Eric had been preparing an eggplant lasagne; she could smell it cooking in the oven. How could she get it through to Vladimir that everything was still the same?

Now that she knew why they had decided to spend time alone she felt better; understanding brought relief. Taking a deep breath in and smelling the fragrance of jasmine from the bushes that surrounded the house, Emily went into the kitchen leaving the back door open to let Rumour know she was still there.

Vladimir was building a fire and Eric had poured her a glass of white wine. The men preferred red and they each had a glass as well.

Eric was the first to break the silence. 'Em, can you please set the table? Dinner is almost ready.'

He was trying to act like everything was normal. They exchanged a look before Emily replied lightly, 'Sure,' and started to set the table. On a whim, she also pulled out two candle holders and some long red candles left over from Christmas. Her mood had lightened and she found herself projecting happiness. She could see that Eric had picked up on her mood; they were both relieved that Vladimir had returned home.

As she watched Vladimir lighting the fire, she could see that he was struggling to keep her projection of happiness out but as the flames grew brighter his shoulders relaxed and he joined his mates in the connection. Dinner was full of laughter and comradeship with the three skirting around the issue at hand - tonight was not the time to go there. Emily sensed a new trust forming between them but it felt fragile. After a while, the talk became flirtatious with Emily throwing her napkin on the table and moving to sit on Vladimir's lap. Eric moved his chair closer and the three exchanged long kisses and caresses as Emily felt relieved that they were together again.
Chapter 7

Emily woke just before dawn and slowly untangled herself from the men. It amused her to see both the girl cats lying on top of Vladimir; they had missed him too. The boy cats had tucked themselves around her and Eric for heat. Emily went to the walk-in wardrobe and threw on a pair of old jeans and a shirt before heading quietly downstairs to begin the day. It was now Emily's duty to put on the coffee and the smell would entice the men out of bed to make breakfast while Emily fed the animals. This was her favourite time of day, saying good morning to each one of her motley crew on the farm, and often Applejacks would join her on her circuit. Eric and Vladimir would feed the cats before making breakfast - the cats made sure they were fed first.

Applejacks was waiting for her by the back door. All the gates on the farm had special latches that Applejacks could use and he came and went as he pleased. Eric had moved the TV to a position so that Applejacks could watch. This had come about after Applejacks had made it known that he liked to watch car racing. This still astonished the trio, especially at the intensity of Applejacks interest when a race was on.

When Emily had asked why he liked it, all Applejacks would say was, 'It's fast.'

Kissing his muzzle, Emily said a soundless good morning; her communication with Applejacks was rarely vocal now.

' _So, this is the new one who caused so much trouble yesterday_ ,' Applejacks observed. He wanted to smell the dog but knew better than to do so without Emily's introduction.

Rumour was still sitting on the quilt and Emily knew she had not moved off it all night; freedom would take a while to sink in. Reaching out to Rumour, Emily invited the bitch to follow them around the farm. They would take it slow as it would take weeks to build the muscles in her body. Rumour's tail wagged with happiness. The night had been so strange and she had not been able to sleep with all the new sounds and smells. Limping slightly, she hopped slowly down the few steps of the house. Applejacks touched Rumour's nose with his muzzle to say hello while Emily reassured Rumour that Applejacks was her friend. Rumour stayed close to Emily; after having been in a cage for three of her four years she did not remember what it was like to walk around. Projecting to the bitch, Emily reassured her that she would get used to her freedom, it would just take some practice.

Emily stopped in her tracks. A wave of excitement came over her; suddenly she knew what to say to Vladimir to make him stay. After feeding the animals she returned to the farmhouse and Rumour flopped on the quilt; the exercise had made her tired and she slipped into a natural sleep. Applejacks had decided to go to the bottom field which held a big old fig tree and a large dam. The day was looking to become hot and this was the coolest spot on the farm. He would see if the old donkey wanted to come with him.

Entering the kitchen, Emily could see a bowl of yogurt with nuts and berries waiting for her and a large mug of coffee. The men had eaten and were in the shower. She could hear Eric laughing and was glad that he had repaired his relationship with Vladimir; the argument on the phone had been especially bitter. After breakfast, Emily had a quick shower and asked the men to join her in the large barn that Eric now used as his studio. The men could tell that Emily was up to something as she shot a request to Applejacks to join them as well.

The barn was almost empty as a shipment of Eric art had just been sent to the Cultural Centre in the Blue Mountains for exhibition. The big doors that opened and shut with a remote system - they were much too heavy to manually move and the large space was insulated and air-conditioned.

After the group had gathered, Emily turned to Eric and asked, 'Why did you turn yesterday? That was the first time without a full moon wasn't it?'

Eric was quick with his response, 'You were in danger, I had to protect you. I didn't think, it just happened.' Turning to Vladimir Emily asked the same question.

Vladimir took longer to answer. 'I think it was because Eric had turned. I knew he had saved you but we have always turned together.'

'Was it different from the moon change?' she asked them.

They were silent then Vladimir responded, 'I remember everything clearly from when I turned yesterday.'

Eric added, 'I remember everything as well and I was different, less aggressive, more in control.'

'How did you feel about me? Would you have hurt me?' Emily was leading them with her questions.

'No!' both men replied quickly.

'But,' Vladimir added, 'we aren't able to control ourselves like that during a full moon.'

'How do you know?' Emily shot back. 'Have you ever tried?' Emily delicately reached out to the men; she wanted to gauge their emotions. Eric was getting excited, he could see where she was going. But Vladimir was the opposite. He was aggravated and unsure what Emily was asking of him. Emily decided it was time to tell them her plan.

'You need to practise being around me in wolf form. I believe that if you are wolves often enough, you'll be able to control yourself during a full moon.'

Eric spoke, turning to Vladimir, 'We need to give this a try, Vlad. I hate living like this.' Changing the subject to give him more time to think about Emily's plan, Vladimir threw a question at her.

'What about your trick of teleporting Rumour to the cage? How did you do that and why did you get so tired? And how did Applejacks heal you?'

Now it was Emily's turn to pause. 'I think I've done this three times before. Years ago when my parents died in a car crash, I was found in a field 50 metres away from the car. Then I think it happened again when I first met Applejacks. As I don't remember us swimming across the river, I think I teleported Applejacks and myself out of the river.'

Applejacks projected to Emily, ' _And you still owe me apples from that day_.' Emily smiled; she loved his humour, and reached out to pat his muzzle.

'The third time was moving us to the ledge when we were falling wasn't it.' Eric asked.

Emily smiled and said. 'Yes I am pretty sure that is what happen.'

Vladimir shook his head in amazement.

Laughing Emily added. 'So it looks like we all need to train then.'

Vladimir laughed. Emily had trapped him; he knew he couldn't say no to her.

Eric was smiling now and Applejacks was snorting. The mood between them had become playful. 'Where should we start?' Eric asked.

'Try to turn,' Emily replied.

Both men removed their clothes and Emily marvelled at how beautiful their bodies were. After concentrating for a few minutes nothing happened, and then Emily had an idea.

'Eric, you were in motion when you changed, try that.' The men began to jog around the large space and suddenly Eric morphed into his cream wolf. Vladimir, who had been jogging behind Eric, flowed into his grey wolf at the same time. They continued to lope around the barn, finally coming to a stop a few metres from where Emily and Applejacks were standing. Emily had prepared Applejacks for the change but she was still amazed at how calm he was.

' _I like them better as men_ ,' he informed Emily. ' _They smell different but the same_.'

Emily wasn't surprised. Applejacks had always had a highly developed sense of smell for a horse.

Eric came up to Emily, pushing his head into her arms. She caressed his ears and ran her hands down his back along his well-developed muscles. Vladimir was more guarded approaching Emily. He was as serious a wolf as he was a human.

Emily probed their minds and asked, ' _Do you understand me?_ '

Both wolves projected back, ' _Yes_ ,' but it was not in words.

' _Who am I?_ ' Emily asked.

Vladimir was first to reply and she heard him clearly in her head say, ' _My Emily_.'

Eric echoed, ' _Emily_.' This time they had both said her name perfectly. Pointing to Applejacks, Emily asked them who he was. Again they both replied, ' _Applejacks_ ,' and again the words were perfectly formed. Emily was excited. She knew that with practice they would both remember the human language in their wolf form. She requested that the pair change back and watched closely as they morphed back into human shape.

Eric was excited, almost high with exhilaration. 'God that was great!'

Vladimir was more reserved with his reaction but added, 'I was in total control.'

'Let's do it again,' said Eric, and they morphed back into wolves. Eric was now in a playful mood as he loped around the room testing his body by jumping then changing direction and mock fighting with Vladimir.

Vladimir too tested his body with a number of manoeuvres. His wolf form was bigger than Eric's and very strong, but Eric was faster, quicker in his movements. Either wolf could have taken down an elephant.

' _Let's try talking_ ,' Emily thought, and the pair both circled Emily and Applejacks before coming to a stop close to her. ' _Vladimir_ ,' Emily thought to him, ' _raise your right paw_.' Vladimir instantly raised it. To Eric, Emily requested ' _Roll over_.'

' _Roll over?_ ' Eric replied, sounding a little indignant. Slowly he dropped to the ground and rolled his body over.

' _Ask me something_ ,' Emily requested to the pair. She wanted to see if they could form a sentence.

' _Emily, sit down_ ,' Vladimir said. The words were perfectly formed and she could hear his accent in her head. Sitting on the ground, Emily looked at Eric who had an intense look on his wolf's face.

Slowly he formed the words ' _Emily, scratch my head_.' Laughing, Emily scratched Eric's head. Instead of asking the men to change back into their man shape, Emily waited to see if they could make the change by themselves. But when, after ten minutes neither of the pair had changed back, Emily asked them to become men, which they did instantly.

'Why did you not change back as men?' she asked.

They both paused for a long moment and then Vladimir replied, 'It didn't occur to me to change back.'

Eric nodded and added, 'I didn't want to.' This shocked Emily. She had sensed a peace from both of them that was stronger than when they were in their human shape.

'Do you want to change back into a wolf?' Emily asked tentatively. Both men paused again; it felt good and natural to be a wolf.

Vladimir finally replied, 'I do not have the need or desire to change back into a wolf right now,' and Eric murmured in agreement. The relief was evident on Emily's face and Vladimir reached out to her pulling her into his arms.

'Now it's your turn Emily. See if you can move something with your mind.'

Looking around for something small to move, Emily picked up one of Eric's boots.

'Be careful with that boot Em, I want it back,' Eric teased. By now both men had pulled their pants back on.

Feeling nervous, Emily laid the boot in front of her and placed a hand on Applejacks' shoulder. She concentrated on the boot and within a second it was gone. In the quiet of the large barn they all heard a small popping sound.

'Where did you send it?' Eric asked in awe with what had just happened.

'I sent it to the other room,' Emily replied, hoping that it had made it.

So the four walked over and opened up the door and there, in the middle of the room, was the boot. Eric picked it up; it was cold. He passed it to Emily. She too was surprised at how cold it was.

'I wonder why?' Emily mused.

' _It is cold in between. I remember from that time when we came out of the river_ ,' Applejacks thought to the group.

'Yes, I remember now,' Emily said out loud. 'I thought I was cold from the water and I was so tired before I touched you. I don't feel tired now.'

'Try moving the boot again without touching Applejacks,' Eric suggested.

Vladimir was against the idea, remembering how Emily had collapsed the day before. 'We need to know more about your ability before you try another experiment.'

'I don't think there's a manual where we can look this up,' Emily softly teased. Vladimir was always very protective of her. 'I'll get Applejacks to stand right beside me. He can touch me straight away if I begin to feel weak. I want to try moving the boot again.'

Not touching Applejacks this time, Emily concentrated on the boot and within seconds it popped away. Emily fell to her knees; the exhaustion was instant. Applejacks pushed his head against her back, propping her up and within seconds his energy flowed into her and she could stand again.

Vladimir had rushed to Emily. 'How are you feeling? Your skin is cold.' His face showed his concern for her.

'I'm okay,' Emily responded. With Applejacks' touch she was instantly better. ' _Applejacks, how are you my friend?_ '

' _I am cold. I did not feel this when you moved the boot while touching me_ ,' he thought to them.

Eric asked Applejacks out loud, 'Did you feel tired when Emily moved the boot without touching you?' He indicated no with his head. ' _I just felt cold_.'

'I want to try moving us but only if you want to,' she said to Applejacks. Applejacks snorted his approval and Emily asked Eric to give her a leg up onto Applejacks' back. Vladimir and Eric were now looking very uneasy.

'Emily, are you sure you want to do this now?' Vladimir's voice was tight.

Eric added, 'There's no rush for us to work all of this out right now.'

Emily smiled and replied to the men 'When is now a good time?' That phrase had been a favourite of her Fathers'.

Leaning down she kissed Vladimir on the lips and reached her hand out to Eric, who opened her hand and kissed her palm. The men stood back and with a loud popping sound Emily and Applejacks were gone. Not knowing where she had chosen to go, the men just stood there for five then ten seconds. Vladimir could feel the panic rising in him. _Where was she?_

Suddenly they were back, both breathing heavily. Vladimir and Eric rushed to them and found that Emily and Applejacks' skin was ice cold.

'Applejacks, are you okay?' Emily gasped. She felt close to passing out.

All Applejacks could do was snort his response as the air rushed into his lungs. As Emily slipped off Applejacks, Vladimir caught her and wrapped his arms around her. She welcomed his heat. Eric had picked up his shirt and was rubbing Applejacks, trying to get the heat back into his body.

'What happened, where did you go?' Eric asked. Applejacks' body was trembling from the cold.

'I don't know where we were,' Emily replied. 'There was no air and it was so cold.'

' _We went between_ ,' Applejacks thought. ' _It is the space we rest in before we move to another place_.'

'Why did you stop there?' Vladimir asked.

'It was me,' Emily cried. 'I lost focus and wondered how we moved. I stopped thinking about where we were going. Oh, Applejacks, I nearly got us killed!'

' _We are here_ ,' was Applejacks' only reply.

'This is enough for today,' Vladimir told the group in a tone that brooked no resistance. 'We will take this up at another time.'

He carried Emily to the house and wouldn't put her down until he had reached their big bed. He lay down beside her, allowing the heat from his body to warm her while he thought about what they had done in the barn.
Chapter 8

Over the next week the men practised changing into wolves by taking long runs around the farm with Emily joining them on Applejacks. And Emily practised sending objects, although she didn't try to transport herself and Applejacks again. She found that, while she could send items without touching Applejacks, the level of exhaustion didn't improve with practice. With Applejacks she found she could move objects the size of a small car without difficulty, but she was now very careful to always take a moment to visualise the exact spot she was sending it to. Because, if she was not clear about where the object was to go, it disappeared for good.

They had also set about reinforcing the spare room in the barn as Vladimir insisted that he and Eric be put in it during the next full moon. Emily had reluctantly agreed not to join them until the full moon had passed; she could watch them through the window. They filled the room with straw and bolted a water and food trough to the wall.

* * *

On the day of the full moon both men were distracted. The night before Emily had made a connection with the men and had kept it open, wanting to experience what was going on for them during the full moon. The cats had left the house early; they could sense something was up and Rumour became timid every time one of the men walked by her. Emily too could sense the violence coming to the surface and how Vladimir and Eric struggled to suppress it.

They both had a large meal for lunch; Emily had never seen them prepare so much food. Eric barely seared the outside of the steaks so that the meat was still very bloody. Emily found she couldn't watch them eat, so she went outside until they were finished.

Late in the afternoon Vladimir suddenly rose and gestured for Eric to come. 'We need to go to the barn now.' Their faces were flushed and they were breathing fast and, as they entered the barn, both men started ripping their clothes off. Vladimir's skin had a grey tinge to it while Eric's skin had become paler. Sensing that they were close to losing control, they shut the door to the room, instantly morphing into their wolf shapes, snarling and snapping at each other.

Emily's connection with the men was now muddy and confused. It was not the same as when they trained in their wolf forms. _Why?_ Emily wondered. _What is going on for them?_

All through the first night they paced the small room, unsettled and aggressive, and Emily was distressed that she could not communicate clearly with them. As the next day progressed, Vladimir and Eric settled down and the connection started to get clearer and stronger. She sent them thoughts of love and peace, which they both responded to. On the second night she could talk to the pair, their connection almost as clear as it had been during the training sessions. But she could still sense an underlying violence in them; both were hungry for blood.

On the third night Emily decided to sleep in her bed. The bond with Vladimir and Eric was clear but she respected Vladimir's request not to open the door to their room until the following morning. As she walked back to the farmhouse, Rumour met her along the trail. The bitch was upset and when Emily arrived at the house she saw a dark grey Hummer sitting in the driveway. A large man appeared from the vehicle. He was tall and heavily muscled. His hair was dark and he was well dressed, but his good looks radiated meanness tinged with cruelty.

'Hello there young lady, my name is Roy Cartier. I have come for my dog.' He spoke softly but his tone was menacing and she knew that this was a man who got his own way.

Rumour's hackles were up and she snarled at Roy. Taking a step back, Emily connected to Rumour and instructed the dog to run away and hide, but she had to tell her three times before Rumour finally turned and ran off into the dark night.

Trying to sound confident Emily told Roy, 'She doesn't want to go back to you. I would be happy to pay you for her.'

'I would be interested in hearing your proposal.' Roy answered mildly.

Reluctantly, Emily invited Roy into the house. Alarm bells were going off in her head but the need to protect Rumour was strong, and if she could settle the matter tonight it would seal Rumour's fate. She brewed coffee for Roy and herself and thought about the $200,000 cash that Vladimir kept in a safe. The amount had seemed excessive to her but Vladimir had told her it was emergency money, to be used if needed. She would try to settle on a price and pay Roy tonight.

As she brought the coffee to Roy he took a moment to look at her. 'I work for an international organisation. We are looking for people like you.'

'People like me?' Emily replied. 'What do you mean?'

'I have heard of your ability with animals and sent the bitch to you as a test.' Roy's smile almost looked genuine.

Confused Emily took a step back. 'So Rumour doesn't belong to you?'

'Yes, she does; she's from my breeding farm. I sell her puppies to people all over the world. But with her becoming unstable I almost had her destroyed, until I heard of your talent from one of my men; it seemed like a good test.'

'A test!' Emily was horrified and seeing the look on her face, Roy realised that Emily would not join their team willingly. Looking around the room he noticed the painting above the fireplace.

'What a beautiful painting,' he said, excitement showing on his face. 'Who are the men with you? Are their images captured as accurately as your own?' Emily pointed to a small silver framed photo on the bookcase of Vladimir, Eric and herself.

'See for yourself. They are the men that I live with. This one is Vladimir and Eric is the artist who painted the picture.'

'You know,' Roy added after looking closely at the picture, 'Vladimir looks like a man I know in Europe; he could almost be his twin.'

Suddenly Emily was compromised. While Vladimir had never asked her to guard his past she understood his desire for privacy.

'He has no family alive,' she told Roy and then, changing the subject, 'I would like to resolve Rumour's future. She doesn't want to go back with you. She'll just become aggressive and dangerous if she does.'

'Then perhaps we should put her down,' Roy responded with a menacing look; his manner had turned cold. Emily paused trying to think of what would sway this man.

'She would thrive in this environment. She's already displayed affection and her body condition has begun to improve.'

Suddenly Roy dropped the mask of civility and his face contorted with cruelty.

'You know, I didn't expect that you would be so beautiful. If you want to keep the dog I will allow that my dear, but you will have to pay the price I want for her.'

Emily's heart was pounding. _No_ , she thought, _this is not happening_. She began to back away when suddenly Roy pounced on her. He grabbed her arms and pulled her body against his. His anger was now tinged with lust and his fingers bit into her arms.

Emily cried out in pain. 'I'll give you whatever money you want for her,' she offered, but she could see that he was enjoying hurting her.

'I have no need of money,' he sneered as he pushed his face close to hers, before picking her up and slammed her onto the table. Emily hit her head hard on a large solid vase and her head became foggy. It became hard to concentrate and she couldn't focus enough to teleport herself away.

Roy pinned her down with one arm and pulled a knife from his coat. He cut her T-shirt away to reveal her breasts. He ran the blade lightly down from her chest to the waist of her jeans and started to cut her pants off. Emily had stopped struggling, still stunned from banging her head and in shock at the unexpected attack. Suddenly Roy was pulled away from her. Applejacks had come into the house and grabbed Roy's jacket with his teeth, yanking him off Emily.

Surprised at being manhandled by a horse, Roy regained his balance and moved behind the couch where Applejacks couldn't get to him. But now the cats were in place and both the female cats jumped, biting and scratching at his face, while the tomcats wound themselves around his feet, causing Roy to lose his balance. Suddenly a snarling Rumour was there and Roy knew he was outmatched and needed to get out of there. Picking up a chair he threw it at Rumour hitting her squarely on the head, dazing her momentarily.

Escaping to his Hummer he screamed as he jumped in, 'Bitch, I'll be back!' Then he roared off down the driveway, tyres screeching. The silence that followed was surreal.

Applejacks pushed his head under Emily's arm and helped her to a chair.

'You need to get help,' Applejacks thought to Emily.

'I know,' Emily replied and asked Rumour to get Vladimir's mobile phone from the bench in the kitchen. She also got Rumour to pull a shirt out of the clothes hamper for her. Within fifteen minutes of dialling David's number he had arrived. Seeing the bruises on her arms and face, David was shocked.

'My God Emily! What happen to you? Where are Vladimir and Eric?'

Emily was feeling very sleepy and she murmured, 'They're away, I just fell.'

'Emily, I'm no fool. I can see that you've been attacked by someone - your arms have handprint bruises on them.' But David was gentle with her; he could see she was in shock.

Emily spoke softly, 'What do you think Vladimir and Eric would do if they found out?' David was silent as he finished checking Emily's head. It upset him deeply that someone had been so violent with her. In all the years he had known Emily her gentleness had been like an armour and he wanted to protect her from the world. And now, seeing Emily's eyes, he hated the hurt and confusion that he saw there.

'He said his name was Roy Cartier, he was after Rumour,' Emily's voice trembled.

David's concern for Emily intensified. 'Roy Cartier! My God! Emily, he's real bad trouble. He has more money than just about anyone in this country and there are stories that he runs guns and mercenaries in Eastern Europe. Give him the dog back Em, because if he wants to he will destroy you.'

'I can't,' Emily cried. 'Rumour doesn't deserve to go back to such a monster.'

Kneeling in front of Emily, David took both her hands in his and said, 'When I was finishing my veterinarian degree a friend of mine, Debbie, got a job working for Roy. At first she loved it, then one day I got a message on my phone from Deb. She was crying and said she needed to see me. That was the last time I heard from her and she was never seen again by anyone. I went to the police but they told me to drop it; this man has powerful friends.'

Emily started to shake; the night's events had affected her to the core. She was so tired and scared and just wanted to be with Vladimir and Eric. The tears were a release from the horror of the attack and David helped Emily to bed, propping her head up against a pillow. He was worried that she might have a concussion so he sat next to her for the rest of the night. Rumour lay on the floor and all five cats cocooned themselves around Emily to provide what comfort they could, while Applejacks waited outside the door in case Roy came back.

In the morning, Emily sent David to feed the animals but before he went home, she had to promise him that Vladimir and Eric were returning that day. After David had gone, Emily slowly walked to the barn. In the room both men had morphed back and were waiting for her to open the door.

The moment the door opened Vladimir ran to Emily. 'My God! Emily, did we do that to you?'

'No my love, I didn't open the door.' Emily's voice was shaking, her body was still so sore and her head was pounding. Eric came over to Emily and both men inspected her injuries.

Vladimir was gentle with his touch and he asked her softly. 'Who did this to you?'

For a second Emily was almost lulled into telling him before she remembered her conversation with David. Both men would want revenge and while Emily was sure that they could handle themselves against Roy Cartier, he was ruthless and she didn't want any blood to run because of her.

Emily pulled away from the men and for the first time in their relationship she lied to them both. 'I don't know who did this to me, I didn't see him.'

Eric asked softly. 'Emily, were you raped?'

'No. Applejacks and the cats saved me and then Rumour forced the man outside. I don't think he'll be back,' Emily replied, wishing that the last bit was true.

'Maybe Applejacks could identify who it was,' Vladimir suggested.

Emily could see he was not going to let the matter rest. 'I already asked him and he doesn't know.'

'Sometimes it just takes time to remember the details. Did you call the police?' Vladimir was almost undeniable in his intensity and while he was soft with her, he expected straight answers, answers she was not willing to give.

Eric interjected, 'Vlad, she's in shock, let's get her home.' Turning to Emily, he asked 'Have you eaten Em? You look so pale.'

'I'm not hungry Eric. I'm sick from the bump on my head,' she replied, relieved at the change of subject.

The men quickly dressed and Vladimir picked Emily up and carried her back to the farmhouse. They showered separately, one of them staying with Emily at all times. Eric cooked up their usual meal of rare steak while heating up a previously made vegetable soup for Emily. She took a few sips and began to feel better, and by the time she had finished the cup, her stomach was settled and her head hurt less.

'Do you think if you touched Applejacks your head would be healed?' Vladimir suggested.

'I've tried but that doesn't seem to help. Vladimir, can you help me shower?'

Vladimir put a stool in the shower and Emily sat with the warm water running soothingly over her while Vladimir gently soaped her skin. He then dried Emily and helped her put on her favourite pyjamas. Her headache had been reduced to a dull ache and the events of the night before had begun to fade. The afternoon was quite cold and Vladimir sat Emily down in front of the fire. He decided not to press her for answers - that could wait until tomorrow. Vladimir understood she needed silence. Drifting off to sleep, Emily felt loved.

* * *

Waking abruptly, Emily realised that David was in the room checking her pulse. Both Vladimir and Eric had become stern as soon as David had walked into the house and for no reason that David could fathom, a bead of sweat trickled down his back. As he looked into Emily's eyes he could see her pleading with him not to say anything.

'Your head looks good Emily. I've written a prescription for a stronger pain relief if you think you need it.' He handed it to Emily.

Vladimir interrupted sternly, 'How can you write a prescription David? You're a vet.'

Emily shot Vladimir a look begging him to be polite to David, which Vladimir ignored, so she said, 'David is a qualified doctor as well as a vet.'

Looking back at David, Vladimir responded, 'So, how does such a thing come about?' His challenge to David was unexpected but David understood why. Emily had been hurt and he knew that Vladimir wanted answers - which he would not give.

'My father insisted that I go to medical school, so I became a doctor and actually ended up in genetics. But when he died I decided to become a vet. It was always my goal.'

Emily added, with pride in her voice, 'And he did it in two years, quicker than anyone else.' She smiled at David then added, 'Thank you David, I'm so much better now. My head hardly hurts anymore.'

'I'll come back tomorrow to see how you are. If you don't feel better by then I'll give you a pill that's for pigs,' David replied teasingly, returning her smile; she was such a dear friend to him. Emily laughed and the men relaxed at the sound.

'Whatever you think David, you are the healer and I do feel better.' He smiled at her and turned to pack up his bag.

Vladimir was onto him instantly, 'What are her injuries?' he asked in a tone that was reasonable and calm but that demanded total compliance.

David again had to steady himself; he was unsure why they intimidated him. 'As far as I can see she has a concussion and bruising but no broken bones. I think within a week she'll be back to her old self.'

'Do you know who did this?' Vladimir asked in a tone that hinted at violence.

David knew Vladimir would pick up on a lie so he said, 'I wasn't there when Emily was attacked.' The answer didn't satisfy Vladimir. He sensed that David knew something more and he shot a look at Eric, indicating for him to go outside. Eric picked up on his meaning and left the room.

Extending his hand to David, Vladimir looked him in the eye and said, 'Thank you, David, for helping her.' David could see in Vladimir's face how much he loved Emily and he could also see that this matter was not over. Looking back at Emily he waved goodbye then stepped outside.

Eric was waiting for him by his truck and as he placed his bag in the back, Eric spoke softly. 'David, I think there is more for you to tell us.'

David was surprised at how cold Eric was - out of the pair he was the friendlier one. 'Maybe,' David replied, 'but it's for Emily to tell you, not me. I'm her friend and she's like my little sister, I won't betray her.'

Eric paused and then said, 'Yes, you are her friend and she does think of you like a brother. I just hope you made a wise choice because Vlad and I will not allow anyone to ever hurt her again or to get in the way of keeping her safe.'

David got in the truck and as he turned the key he found his hands were shaking.
Chapter 9

After putting Emily to bed that night, Vladimir asked Eric to stay with her. He reached for the phone and dialled the number of Vince Haldane. Vince had been a Special Forces Operative before coming to work for Vladimir's firm. Vladimir recounted to him what had happened to Emily, and Vince gave Vladimir instructions not to touch anything or wipe anything down. He would have a team of men there in the morning to search for clues. Vladimir would have to think of a way to get Emily out of the house as he knew she would object to Vince coming over. He didn't blame her for not telling them who had attacked her. She knew what the punishment would be.

The next morning Emily woke up early and set about doing her morning chores. While her head felt better, her body was still sore when she moved about, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Applejacks was glad to see her and they touched heads for a long moment. After breakfast Vladimir suggested to Emily that Eric take her for a drive.

'Will you come with us?' Emily asked, slightly suspicious.

'Sweet girl, I have been off work for almost two weeks. I need to take a conference call with my associates to see if I still have a business.'

Emily saw tiredness reflected in his face. 'Did you sleep last night?'

Vladimir replied, 'Only half the night. I stood guard till 2am then Eric took over till morning.'

'Vladimir, Eric, there is no need for all of this. I just want to forget it happened, please. We have other things we need to focus on.' Emily was upset that her men were so affected.

'Come Em,' Eric said, 'let's go for a drive. We can talk about this later. It's a nice day and it will do you good to get out of the house.'

Vladimir gently helped her into her coat, kissing her goodbye, and as he gave Eric a hug he whispered into his ear, 'Keep away until I call you.'

Within fifteen minutes of their departure, Vince Haldane and his team arrived and started searching the house for clues. As Vince looked around the room he asked Vladimir if there was anything missing.

Vladimir paused. He had a photographic memory so he closed his eyes and remembered the last time he sat in the room. Vladimir realised the small silver framed picture of the three of them was missing. They looked everywhere for the picture and Vladimir muttered, more to himself, 'Why would someone want our picture?'

Vince overhearing him replied, 'Maybe as a trophy. Any idea why Emily won't tell you who did this?'

'I think she is trying to protect us; I think she knows who has done this,' Vladimir offered.

Vince thought for a moment; he had known Vladimir and Eric a long time and knew they were lovers. The first time he had met Vladimir was at a gym in the city. Vladimir had been taken him down in hand-to-hand combat; it wasn't even a close competition. He had also tried to best Eric but Eric had won as well. Vince knew he had met his masters and was totally committed to serving Vladimir and Eric. He had been surprised when Emily suddenly came on the scene but had found Emily to be kind and thoughtful.

Vince also realised the man who had attacked Emily was as good as dead; he knew there was a killer in Vladimir and that it would only be a matter of time till they found out who had done it.

'I found plenty of prints,' one of Vince's men interjected.

'Who's been in this room?' Vince asked.

'Only Eric, Emily, myself and our neighbour, David Swann. I'll give you his address so someone can stop by and get his prints; he lives on the next farm.'

'We'll run the prints straight away and I'll let you know what turns up.' Vince began to pack up the equipment he had brought.

Vladimir looked over to where the picture should have been. A chill had settled over him and he knew the danger that Eric and he had tried to outrun was back. It was time to tell Emily everything. He asked Vince to leave four men to guard the property.

'Vladimir, what sort of threat are we looking at?' Vince asked. It took a moment for Vladimir to reply and he turned and looked Vince in the eye.

'Just make sure your men are ready to shoot to kill. I think an old wound has reopened and this time I don't think we can hide from it.'
Chapter 10

Eric drove Emily to the small clearing that was on the edge of a precipice where the men had fallen previously. Today Eric spread a blanket on the ground and grabbed a couple of cushions from the car. Sitting down with Emily he pulled another blanket over her, carefully tucking it into her sides to keep her warm. His tenderness brought tears to Emily's eyes and she realised for the first time that her love for Eric, while different from Vladimir's, was just as deep.

Lying down, Eric nestled his head in Emily's lap. They often sat like this at night, Emily sitting in Vladimir's arms and Eric's head on her lap. She played with his hair, which was untameable; she loved how it felt in her hands.

'Have I shown you a picture of my mother?' Eric suddenly asked.

'No my love, you haven't.' Emily was surprised; neither of the men had ever spoken about their past.

Eric pulled out an old pocket watch from his jeans. It was tarnished and quite ugly, yet she knew that Eric carried it on him at all times. Opening it up, he pulled out a lock of hair the same colour as his and passed the watch to Emily. Inside were two pictures. The first picture was of a young girl who looked no older than sixteen; Eric had her soft mouth and sensual lips. Her face was beautiful and had a youthful roundness, and even though she was smiling, her face held a sadness that touched Emily. The other picture was of a woman with dark hair pulled back into a tight bun; a stray curl had broken loose and it hung down her neck. She was very beautiful yet there was no joy in her face; life was hard for this woman.

Eric shut his eyes and spoke softly. 'My mother's name was Dusana; she died when I was born. I always imagine that she would have been a kind person but I don't really know. The other woman is Valeskia, she is Vladimir's mother and she raised me after my mother's death. She was an extraordinary woman - you would have liked her.'

Emily responded by kissing his forehead. She had opened a connection to him and found that he was focused far away. Not wanting to break his mood, Emily remained silent, caressing his neck and shoulders with her hands.

_What are they afraid of?_ she wondered to herself. Kissing Eric's head Emily posed the question. But Eric wouldn't say, side-stepping only with. 'It is for Vladimir to tell you.'

An hour later Eric's mobile rang with Vladimir instructing Eric to return immediately. Eric's heart sank as he gathered the blankets and cushions. From the tone of Vladimir's voice he knew the past had caught up with them. Living with Emily the last few months had been liberating for his spirit and as they sped back he knew that their life on the farm was over.

As they drove back in silence, Emily decided she would tell Vladimir and Eric the truth. Surely once they knew who had attacked her they would calm down.

She was surprised to see four men at the gate of the farm, and they did not look very friendly. As Emily got out of the car Rumour loped over to her, thrusting her nose into Emily's hand. The strange men had unnerved the dog so Emily sent her soothing thoughts, ' _I won't let you go back to that man_ ', but the thought was more to reassure herself.

Vladimir was waiting for her in the doorway and gave her a warm hug, and then he hugged Eric for a long moment, whispering into his ear. As they pulled apart, Eric slowly nodded his consent to Vladimir and they all went inside to the lounge room.

Inside, Vladimir had made fresh coffee in the centuries-old silver pot. Applejacks' head was through his special window and Vladimir had moved the lounge and a chair to face him.

'One lump or two?' Eric joked, trying to lighten the mood. Applejacks was fond of sugar, which Emily disapproved of, but that didn't stop Eric from giving Applejacks a few lumps every now and then.

Emily finally broke her silence. 'I'll tell you what happened to me. I feel bad that you are both so upset.' The men sat together on the lounge while Emily stood; she was not ready to sit down and her heart was pounding. 'I was attacked by Rumour's owner. He said that he wanted to take her back but I couldn't bear for her to go back to such a cruel life.' Emily's voice was trembling. 'I thought I could buy her from him but he didn't want money, he wanted ...' Emily broke down and tears flowed down her face as she remembered the attack. The thought of Roy's hands on her breasts made her shudder with revulsion.

Vladimir's voice was gentle but inside he was raging. 'Who is this man?'

'He said his name was Roy Cartier,' Emily responded.

Vladimir was instantly on his phone to Vince, instructing him to find out what he could about Roy.

'No,' Emily pleaded once Vladimir was off the phone, 'I don't want this to go any further. This man can hurt us,' and she recounted the story that David had told her about his friend.

Vladimir lifted her hands to his chest and gently pushed her to the sofa. 'I think this has to do with our past Emily, not just Rumour.'

'I don't understand,' Emily responded. 'How can that be?' And then she remembered the odd comment that Roy had made about Vladimir. 'He said you looked like a man he knows in Europe; he said he was looking for special people and had heard about my gift.' Emily now realised her silence had put the men in danger. Feeling sick to her stomach, Emily moaned, 'Oh God, what have I done?'

Eric moved closer to her and spoke softly. 'Em, this is not your fault. We should have been truthful with you from the start. It is for you to forgive us.' He looked up at Vladimir. 'Vlad, I think it's time to tell Emily about our lives in Czech Republic.' He took out his pocket watch and handed it to Vladimir. Vladimir opened the old pocket watch and saw the picture of Dusana and then his mother. Seeing Valeskia's face again upset him. He missed his mother, she was often in his thoughts, and while he knew that Eric had the watch, Vladimir had never asked to see it. The memories of his mother were not happy, their life together had been - hard. But she had taught him how to be strong and how to protect himself and Eric. The need for security and power had come from her and was the motivation behind his law firm.

Money was the ultimate protector, or so he had thought. He had made millions to try and protect Eric and now Emily. Looking at Eric, his life mate, Vladimir remembered the first time he had met Eric. In a way they had been brought up as brothers, but the bond was stronger than that. Vladimir had loved Eric from the first moment he laid eyes on him as a child. As his mother had wanted to protect Dusana, Eric's mother, so Vladimir had felt about Eric. When Emily came into their lives Vladimir had been grateful when Eric and Emily had finally become lovers. Emily gave Eric the affection that Vladimir could not and while Vladimir had worshipped his mother, she hadn't been able to show him or Eric affection. He knew that she loved them; he saw her work day and night to ensure that they were safe. Whenever Valeskia sensed they were in danger, they would grab the packs that were always ready and leave, never looking back.

Eric had started doing carvings at the age of seven and would pack away his favourite pieces until his pack was so heavy he couldn't carry it. Valeskia scolded him until Vladimir had swapped his lighter pack with Eric. As a teenager, Vladimir was strong; Eric's pack didn't slow him down. He knew how important Eric's carvings were to him and Vladimir went to great lengths to make Eric's life as good as it could be, living the way that they had to.

Returning his thoughts to the present, Vladimir, standing beside Applejacks, said, 'I will tell you the story of how my mother met my father, how Eric and I came to be and finally, how we became the monsters that we are now. Then you will understand the danger that we bring to you and we will need to make some hard decisions.' He whispered, 'I will start with my mother.' Then more loudly, he said, 'this is the story she told me.'
Chapter 11

It was a spring day and Valeskia lifted her face up to the sun, shutting her eyes against the glare as the warmth spread through her body. She lived in a small village with her father, who owned the local laundry. Most of the work came from a large manor close to the village, which was owned by Lord Von Weller.

At fifteen Valeskia was tall. She looked older than her years but that was mostly due to the seriousness in which she carried herself. Valeskia's mother had died when Valeskia was six but her father had insisted on providing her with the very best education he could. As there were no formal schools in the little village, Valeskia's father would buy or borrow books for her to read. His hope was for her to become a teacher; it would be an easier life than cleaning clothes in a hot laundry.

Valeskia had proved an intelligent student with an ear for languages and Valeskia's father when he could afford it would pay for tutors to school her. The previous summer Valeskia father had fallen and broken his leg so Valeskia had taken over the deliveries.

On this particular day Valeskia arrived at the Von Weller manor, presenting herself at the staff entrance around the back. Valeskia didn't like going to the manor at all as the staff were always unpleasant. They looked unhappy and there were rumours of Lord Von Weller being an agent of the Nazi regime. After pulling the rope that would ring the bell in the kitchen, Valeskia waited patiently. As it was the staff entrance it could take up to half an hour for someone to come.

'You girl, what's your name?' a man's voice commanded in a most arrogant tone.

Turning to face the voice, Valeskia saw a man on a horse. He was handsome and for a brief moment she felt an attraction to him.

'I have come with the laundry, Lord. My name is Valeskia Adamec.'

'Turn around girl, I want to see you,' he ordered. Putting the basket down, Valeskia slowly turned around, flushing red at the command. 'How old are you?' he ordered again. He liked what he saw - the girl was stunning.

'Fifteen, Sir,' she replied. Valeskia didn't like the questions.

'Are you married?' he demanded.

'No, Sir, I am unwed.'

The door opened and the old butler came out of the manor.

'Oh, my Lord Varrick. I didn't know you were here.' The man bowed, waiting for a command.

'See to the girl,' Varrick ordered, 'and send her to me in the library afterwards.' Turning the horse towards the stable, Varrick trotted off. He had issued his command and expected compliance.

'Come child, we should see about the payment for this week's laundry.' The butler placed his hand firmly on her arm.

Knowing that she was in danger, Valeskia pulled her arm from the old butler and said, 'I'll get the payment next week, my father is expecting me home now.' Valeskia turned and ran down the laneway, away from the manor. She was no fool - there were plenty of men in the village who looked at her the way that Varrick just did and it meant only one thing.

Pushing open the door to their small home, Valeskia went straight to the kitchen and began dinner. Cooking was something she loved to do, her father had given her an old notebook that had belonged to a cook who had been a friend of his. In it were all sorts of recipes, which Valeskia would try from time to time. She added her own creations to the notebook as well - it was her favourite possession. On hearing her return, Valeskia's father joined her in the kitchen.

'I didn't get this week's payment from the manor,' Valeskia confessed to her father.

'Were they too busy to give it to you this morning?' he asked. It wasn't odd, it happened occasionally.

Not sure how to express what she was feeling, Valeskia turned back to preparing the food and said, 'I think you should make the delivery to the Von Weller mansion next week.'

'I see,' her father replied. He could see she was upset and guessed why - his daughter was beautiful. As he rested his hand on her shoulder, he said 'We need to find you a husband. I cannot protect you as I should.'

Turning to face her father, Valeskia's voice took on a scolding tone.

'We shouldn't think of such things. We're a family and I'm staying with you.'

He smiled at her, breaking the mood. While he wanted more than anything to stay forever as a family, he knew it wouldn't happen. 'After dinner I have a new book for you.'

'What's it about?' Valeskia was excited and smiled at her father, forgetting the afternoon.

'You'll see. It's a surprise, something new.' He was pleased with himself - the book was on the old Roman civilisation and why it had fallen. He knew that after she had read the book they would have many wonderful discussions. He loved her mind and was so proud of her intellect, more than her beauty. _But_ , he thought despondently to himself, _I can't protect her any longer_ , and putting his mind to the problem, went back to the laundry room to continue working until supper.

Valeskia stayed up late that night, reading the book her father had given her; it was wonderful. The candle beside her bed had almost burned down and Valeskia knew that she should sleep, but the book was so interesting it made her keep turning the pages. A noise caught her attention and she got out of bed, putting on her dressing gown and slippers. Not hearing anything else, she almost got back into bed but decided to go to the kitchen to get another candle. Tiptoeing quietly down the stairs so she wouldn't disturb her father, Valeskia went to a small cupboard by the fireplace. Opening the door, she reached in for one of the candles that she had made the previous winter. Holding it to her nose she took a deep breath in, it smelled of the lemongrass that she had cut up into small pieces to infuse with the beeswax. It was her favourite scent. She had also put it into a soap that she used on her body and hair, so the smell lingered on her all day.

Suddenly a hand covered her mouth and she was pulled backwards.

A voice said quickly, 'If you make any noise, I will kill your father.' Valeskia froze. It was Lord Varrick! 'Will you keep quiet?' he asked again, his tone cold.

She nodded and Varrick released his hand from over her mouth, turning her around to face him. The moon was full and the light shone into the kitchen, making the room quite bright. Valeskia's hair was down and Varrick ran his fingers through it, pressing her curls to his nose and smelling the scent of lemongrass.

_God, she is so beautiful_. He thought he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her the whole day - it confused him. Varrick had used many women for his pleasure before but he had never fancied one. 'Why didn't you come to the library when I asked you to?' he demanded coldly. He was surprised at how cool the girl was; young girls usually trembled in his presence. But this one just stood calmly in front of him and he found that this excited him.

'I didn't think we were going to read,' Valeskia replied directly.

Varrick smiled thinking to himself. _Good answer_. She was smart. 'So, you can read?' he asked, still playing with her hair. Valeskia decided to get to the point. 'Are you going to hurt me?' Her voice was calm; she knew she was in trouble. What was confusing was that a part of her was very attracted to Varrick but her sixth sense was telling her that she was in extreme danger.

Pausing for a while, Varrick lifted Valeskia's curls to his nose before answering. 'Yes, I imagine I'll hurt you.' And so suddenly that Valeskia didn't see it coming, he hit her on the side of the head, causing her to instantly become unconscious. He caught her before she hit the floor and threw her over his shoulder. Touching her body was so good that he had to pause for a moment to collect himself. The smell of her skin and her beauty confused him.

Moving quietly out of the house, he gently placed Valeskia in front of him over his horse. He had hit her in a spot that would keep her out for a couple of hours but he didn't want to damage her body. He would dispatch his men to kill her father and burn down the house. As far as the neighbours would be concerned, father and daughter would have both died in the fire.

* * *

Waking with her head pounding, Valeskia found herself in a bed. The room was large and luxurious with expensive furniture and drapes, and she guessed that she was in the manor. The fire was lit and as she got out of bed she realised that she was wearing a different gown to the one she'd had on in the house. Going quickly to the door, Valeskia tried the handle and was not surprised that it was locked. Checking the large windows, she saw that they had bars on the outside and she was on the second floor. It was dark outside and she searched the room for a clock, as she didn't know what time it was. Hearing a key turn in the lock of the door, Valeskia froze. The door opened and Varrick came in with a tray of food.

'Good, you are up; I hit you harder than I thought. You have been out a full day.'

Looking at the food on the tray, Valeskia instantly felt nauseous. Her head hurt and she was unsure of what to do. Softly she spoke to Varrick. 'Please let me go, my father will be worried about me.'

'Don't worry about your father. I've spoken to him, he knows that you're here.'

This confused Valeskia. Surely if he knew where she was he would demand her release? 'May I see him?' she asked.

'No.' Varrick's tone was firm and he put down the tray on the table adding, 'That part of your life is over; you belong to me now. Your father understands.'

Valeskia's heart sank. She knew that her father wouldn't give her up and in her heart she knew that he was dead.

'What are you going to do with me?' she asked, tears welling in her eyes.

'I plan to breed with you. You look strong.' He folded his arms and stood looking at her.

'Breed? Oh God.' Valeskia thought, _Why would this man want that?_ She had hoped that he would use her and then let her go, but to have his baby!

'I am low born, Lord Varrick. Surely you want to have a child from a noble lady?' Valeskia tried to think of words to persuade Varrick to let her go.

'I do not care for rank,' he replied coldly. He moved closer to Valeskia and she took a step back. The look in her eyes caused Varrick to stop. She was not afraid of him, her whole demeanour was cool and he saw that she was weighing up her options. This pleased him - finally, a challenge. He paused, thinking for a moment about his plans for her. He would arrange for her to have the gene treatment that he had been given by the Continuum and then he would get her pregnant.

The Continuum had approached Varrick two years earlier for his resources. The gene therapy had promised a long life but there had been side effects for some people. Varrick himself had taken the gene therapy but all it had done was to amplify his strength and any injuries he received healed at a fast rate. _What will happen to you?_ Varrick thought, looking at Valeskia. He quickly turned and left the room, before his desire for her became too much.

Calling to one of the guards outside the room, he demanded, 'Get me a girl from the kitchen, the one with the long brown hair, and bring her to my room.' The guard ran down the hall.

Realising that there was no one to help her, Valeskia broke down and cried. In her heart she knew her father was dead. She was always able to sense the truth so her tears were bitter. 'Why? My father was a good man!' She let out a scream.

People from all over the district came her father for advice and as a very young child Valeskia had asked him how he knew what to say to people who asked for his help. It was late at night, and outside it was raining. She was sitting on his lap in front of the fire and he had just told her a wonderful story in his warm baritone voice.

'I never tell people what to do. I just keep asking them questions until they have the answer. It is so important not to tell people what to do.'

'Why, father?' Valeskia had asked. It had seemed like an important question.

'Because our fate can only be changed by the decisions or actions we take. We can help people, but each man,' and he poked her stomach lightly with his finger, 'or little girl, needs to live their own lives.'

'But how father?' Valeskia asked. It was exciting to think about how her life might go.

'By never giving up.' And he picked her up and tucked her into bed, rubbing his beard lightly against her face until she laughed.

The memory was fresh and as Valeskia stood in the bedroom of the manor, she realised that her life from now on was going to be hard, but she resolved within herself that she would never give up.

The next day two men came to her room and took her away to a cold room that stank of chemicals. As they were strapping her down to the cold metal bench, Valeskia had cried. But her tears were silent, she didn't beg or plead. She knew that it wouldn't make a difference to the men holding her.

The dark purple fluid slowly entered her body and hurt with a pain she had never experienced before in her life. She could feel her blood burn hot and she screamed with terror, before her body went so cold that she was sure she would never be warm again. After a while she slipped mercifully into a slumber which lasted for two days.

When she woke up her body was sore and tired, her limbs like lead. Over the next couple of days different men came in and poked and prodded her. In a way they seemed disappointed. After a week she was moved to another small cell. Men still came to look at her but mostly it was to test her reflexes. They rarely spoke but this didn't matter to Valeskia, she knew they were not the kind of people she wanted to talk to anyway.

It was a month before Varrick came to see her. She had prayed that he had forgotten all about her, but now he stood before her with a parcel that was large and had a ribbon tied around it.

'I looked up your birth records,' Varrick told her smugly. 'Did you know that it is your sixteenth birthday today?'

Valeskia was stunned and she thought to herself, _I have been here so long_. Her birthday seemed so surreal. In the past, with her father, it had been such an important event - now it was frivolous.

'Here, I got this for you,' and he placed the parcel on her cot. 'Go on, open it.' His voice was soft, he wanted to be gentle with her.

Prompted by the need to move more than wanting the gift, Valeskia slowly untied the ribbon. Inside the parcel were some clothes and underneath the clothes were a couple of books. Valeskia lifted them up, eyeing them hungrily. One was on flowers and the other on herbs. After having been deprived of everything for so long, Valeskia yearned to pick up the books and begin to read them. Turning to face Varrick again, she almost said 'Thank you' before remembering the horror that Varrick had put her through.

Realising that she wasn't going to speak to him, Varrick stiffened. 'My men will take you to have a bath and then you will join me for dinner.' Pointing to the clothes, he said, 'Wear those,' and stalked out of her cell. Reaching the end of the hallway he smashed his fist into the wall, chipping the stone. He hated the emotions the girl invoked in him. He wanted to touch her so badly although he wasn't sure if it was for pleasure or pain - but he would find out.

Over the next week he had dined with her every night. Her conversation was intelligent and knowledgeable. He thought about her all the time and began to hate that he only felt good in her presence.

A call came with a message for Varrick to go to Germany. It looked like he would be gone a month so he left orders for Valeskia to join the general populace in his compound. On the morning of his departure men had come to her cell, packed up her possessions and taken her to the compound at the back of the manor.

It was wonderful to be in natural light again. Her cell had been underground and there were moments when Valeskia had not known what time it was, or even if it was day or night. As she was pushed through the gate, Valeskia looked at the people in the camp. They looked normal but the stories from Varrick about the gene treatment had frightened her.

The guards dropped her possessions on the ground and left her standing alone. For a moment Valeskia was scared. She had only lived in one place her whole life, knowing everyone around her. There was no one familiar here but as she bent down to gather her possessions a young man approached her, helping her gather them.

'Are you alright?' he asked in a soft, quiet voice. Looking into his blue eyes Valeskia knew that she could trust this man. His hair was dark red and Valeskia thought that it looked nice; it was a colour she had never seen before.

'I'm not sure,' she replied truthfully. 'Where am I and who are all these people?'

Reaching his hand out to help her stand the man replied, 'I'm Jonas and most of the people here are like us.'

'Like us?' Valeskia asked, not sure what he meant.

'Scared,' Jonas replied smiling. He had a kind face and looked only a little older than her.

Valeskia laughed and her whole body relaxed, knowing she had found a friend. 'Yes,' she said, 'like us.'

'Come,' he said, 'let's find you a place to stay.' He led her through the tents until he came to one that looked like the rest.

'How do you tell which tent is which?' she asked him, confused as to where they were.

'Small things but most of the time I just wander around until I've found where I need to go,' Jonas replied shyly, his voice kind.

Valeskia doubted this as he seemed the sort of man that would know exactly where he was. Opening the flap to the tent, Jonas poked his head inside, and softly spoke and then beckoned for Valeskia to enter. Feeling nervous, she bent her head down to go inside.

The tent was surprisingly neat inside; the floor looked freshly swept and a woman was sitting on a chair by a small table. The tent also held three cots with two pushed to the side of the tent and tipped on their side to make the room bigger; the one laying down had a pillow on it. Gesturing for Valeskia to sit on the cot, the woman introduced herself.

'My name is Thora and I am from a small village to the south.' Thora smiled kindly at the girl knowing that she would be frightened.

'My name is Valeskia. I am from the small village that is close to here. My father runs a laundry, or did. I think he is dead and I ...' Valeskia couldn't hold on any longer. The tears ran down her face as the horror of the last month hit her so hard she couldn't bear another moment.

Thora helped her to sit down and asked Jonas to go and fetch some water. She knew the best thing for the girl was to let the tears fall - shock always needs to be released from the body. Looking at the poor girl, Thora noticed how young she was and from the bruises on her arms and face Thora guessed at how she had been given the treatment. After Jonas returned with the water, Thora wet a rag and placed it on Valeskia's face. The cold water slowly brought her to her senses. The grief was just so unbearable and up until now Valeskia had tried to put the whole experience down to a bad dream. She put her knees up and rocked slowly back and forth.

'Don't cry, please,' a new voice spoke softly. Valeskia looked up and saw a young girl of around nine standing in front of her. The girl was perhaps the most beautiful child that Valeskia had ever seen. Her hair was the colour of wheat and she had the palest blue eyes. However, she was dressed like a boy and was very dirty.

'Dusana, where have you been? You were clean when you left here this morning,' Thora scolded.

'Just having fun with my friends,' Dusana replied, looking down at her clothes and liking that they were especially dirty. She showed Thora some nuts she had found, pulling them out of her pocket. 'Can we eat these?' she asked, her face very hopeful.

Thora sighed and said, 'At least you have the good sense to ask before you eat something strange.' Pausing to look at the nuts, Thora handed them back Dusana. 'Yes, you can eat these. They'll be good for you.'

Dusana turned to Valeskia, who had stopped crying and was watching the girl. 'You can share my nuts but only if you smile,' the girl said, and she held out a nut to Valeskia, who was stunned with the request. But the child's blue eyes demanded compliance and carried the look of mischief. So Valeskia gave her one of her rare smiles and Dusana sat down beside her and began to ramble on as to what she had been up to.

After a while she patted Valeskia's arm and said, 'Don't worry, you'll be alright. It's all a bit strange to start with but the mean men leave us alone.' Pausing, she added 'Mostly, that is.'

'Have you been here a long time?' Valeskia asked Dusana.

'Oh yes, since I was six years old. I'm nine now. Can you tell?' And she stood up, standing on her toes to make herself taller.

Valeskia laughed - the child's mood was infectious. 'Mmm, I would've thought you were ten.'

'Really?' Dusana squealed. 'I look ten?'

'At least,' Valeskia said and the little girl jumped into her arms for a hug.

Feeling the child's heart beating against her, Valeskia realised that she was in love and vowed to protect the girl.

Thora looked at them both and realised that they had bonded. It was a relief for her that the child would have someone else to protect her. Thora was in her fifties and felt it. Dusana had been thrown into the camp with no one to look after her, so Thora had picked her up and taken her into her care. Standing up, Thora spoke to the girls. 'Come, we'll go to the food tent to get some dinner. You'll meet my husband Sven, and Jonas will be there as well.' Dusana reached for Valeskia's hand and it felt so natural to be holding it.

Leaving their tent, Thora turned to Valeskia and said, 'It can be chaos in the food tent as we're all hungry, but the men will see that we get some food.'

Inside the food tent there was a long bench at one side and the rest of the tent had plain wooden tables and benches. The food was in two large pots and it smelled awful, but the worst of it was the people, all yelling and pushing. Some of the younger men were grabbing food out of women's and children's hands. It was chaos. Valeskia was shocked at how desperate everyone was. Looking at the guards for help was pointless as they just stood back and laughed.

'The guards won't let anyone leave with more than one bowl so we all have to be here,' Thora said to Valeskia. It was awful to watch the struggle for food but Jonas and Sven eventually pushed through the crowd to get food for the girls. Valeskia felt so guilty when Jonas handed her a bowl. After all the trouble he had gone through to get it for her, it smelled so awful that she honestly wasn't hungry enough to eat it.

Seeing the look on her face Jonas said, 'I know it's not good food but it's all we get every day.' Valeskia looked at what was in her bowl and saw that there was a little meat and some vegetables but mostly it was just broth.

'How on earth do you survive on this?' she asked the small group. Sven was the one to reply.

'Not all of us survive. It's only the strongest ones that do.' Valeskia's mind was racing. _How could Varrick treat them all so badly? This is madness_.

After the group had eaten they left the tent. As the shock began to fade, Valeskia looked around at the people in the camp. She could see how wretched they had all become - normal people, kind people, driven to such desperate measures.

Turning to Sven and Jonas, Valeskia asked, 'I don't see any guards around except the ones that came to give us food.'

Sven replied, 'They stand guard around the fences. There's no need for them to come in. If we don't do as we're told they just stop the food for a couple of days.'

'Where do they get the food from?' she asked.

'I don't know,' Sven replied, 'they just bring in the pots once a day.'

Dusana piped up, 'I have a friend, his name is Thomas. He gives me food sometimes. Last time he gave me an apple and it was delicious,' and she pretended to eat one.

'Who's Thomas?' Valeskia asked, worried for Dusana but smiling at the young girl's playfulness.

Knowing what she was thinking, Thora replied, 'He's the son of one of the guards. He's just twelve - he's alright. They're just friends and he's good at getting her more food.' Thora smiled and added, placing her arms around Dusana's shoulders, 'Which is just as well as she's a guts.' Dusana laughed and the rest of the adults smiled at her innocence.

'We must get back to our tents now, the guards will shoot us if we're out of our tents after dark,' Jonas stated, breaking the mood.

'No,' Valeskia breathed, every moment this place got worst.

'They usually miss,' Dusana added, trying to sound wise, 'but it's scary.'

Arriving at their tent, Valeskia asked Jonas, 'Which tent is yours?'

'We stay in the next one,' he said, pointing to a tent to the left of theirs.

'It's not as tidy as ours,' Dusana joked.

Jonas bent down and gave the young girl a hug and replied seriously, 'But it is quieter than yours from all the snores that come from your tent,' and he laughed as Dusana pretended to be offended.

Looking at Dusana again, Valeskia realised what a gift the girl was. She could make the darkness of their existence seem like nothing at all. Looking into her face again, Valeskia thought of the vow she had uttered to herself on meeting Dusana: _I will protect you_.

Lying in the cot that night, Valeskia thought of her father. She missed his gentleness and his sharp mind; he would know what to do now. Falling into an uneasy sleep, she had dreamed of her father. In her dream he was covered in blood, standing before her saying over and over, 'Use your mind! Remember, you are in charge of your life.' Valeskia woke. It was still dark and there were tears on her face from her dream, but she knew what she needed to do now, and as the dawn broke on the camp, her mind set about thinking of all the plans she needed to make.

The next morning she pulled Sven and Jonas and Thora aside. Dusana had left to find Thomas and the day was warm with the scent of jasmine filling the air.

'We can't live like this,' Valeskia stated once they had all gathered in the small tent.

Sven put his hands up and said, 'All we can do is survive.' He was a large man with white hair and a beard but he carried a kindness in the way he acted.

'No, we can live better than this. So far everybody is just looking after themselves. We need to work together.' Valeskia was firm with her reply. Sven thought for a moment. He admired Valeskia's passion but he wasn't sure she understood the whole situation.

'Have you had the gene treatment?' he asked her.

'Yes, I have,' Valeskia replied, not sure what he was asking.

'Thora and myself have had the gene treatment. Occasionally I dream of events that happen in the future and most of the time they come true, although sometimes they don't.' Sven looked at Jonas, adding quietly, 'But some of us become wolves.'

'Wolves?' Valeskia replied shocked.

Jonas had turned bright red and she could see that he was ashamed of the fact. Standing and turning away from Valeskia he added, 'On the full moon we're taken away and locked up with chains; we're nothing more than animals.' Looking at Thora he then said, 'I'm sorry Thora, you're not just an animal.'

Thora just replied, 'I am what I am Jonas. You need to accept what we've turned into.'

'When I turn into a wolf all I do is fight. Thora, you never fight.'

'That's because she is a keeper of the peace,' Sven added, and it was true. In wolf form Thora stopped fights between the alpha males. 'Plus she is the prettiest wolf I have ever seen.'

Thora laughed and gave her husband a hug.

Turning to Jonas, Valeskia smiled and said, 'I'm sure you're not as bad as you think.'

'You won't say that when you see me turned into a savage beast.' Jonas couldn't look at Valeskia and he turned away from her and left the tent. Valeskia knew the gentle man was upset. Pondering the information, she was unsure of what to do.

Sven rose to leave as well - the guards didn't like to see any group gather for longer than a few minutes. 'Don't worry about Jonas, he won't stay upset for long. In fact, right now he'll be more upset at being upset, if you know what I mean.' Smiling, he left to find his friend. Thora picked up, from underneath the table, a large pile of clothes and pulled out her sewing box.

'I try to mend as much as possible,' she said. 'We never get new clothes.' Seeing how apprehensive Valeskia was Thora added, 'Why don't you go and see if you can find Dusana? The compound is not so big and all you need to do is look for mud.' Valeskia nervously went to the flap of the tent; everything was still so strange to her.

'It's alright, just move slowly and the guards won't bother you,' Thora prompted, and Valeskia stepped out into the sun. Moving down between the tents, Valeskia walked past several people who nodded hello. They were all performing different tasks and at the end of the tents she could see children playing a game of catch. Dusana was there with a group of children and while she was small for her age, she was very fast. After a moment, Valeskia noticed a young boy who was better dressed than the rest of the children and she guessed it was Thomas.

Suddenly, a group of guards approached the children and a man with a red face yelled, 'Thomas, get away from her!' He marched up to the boy and grabbed him by his collar.

'Leave him alone!' Dusana screamed, launching herself at the man. He just swatted Dusana away and she fell onto her back. Thomas reacted by pulling himself from the guard's grasp and he ran over to where Dusana lay.

'Are you alright?' he asked, helping her up.

Dusana nodded. She was a bit winded so Valeskia went over to check that she wasn't badly hurt. Her anger flared out of her.

'What are you doing?' she demanded of the guards, 'they're just children.'

The guards formed a circle around Valeskia and Dusana. The guard with the red face moved closer to her, noticing how beautiful she was.

'Perhaps we should discuss this elsewhere,' he said, running his eyes up and down her body. Realising her mistake at having been noticed, Valeskia's mind raced. Then a thought popped into her head and she knew what to say.

'Varrick is planning to breed with me. I think he would mind if you touched me.' The guard looked confused, not sure if he could believe the girl; but he was afraid of Varrick.

'She's right,' another guard volunteered, and he laughed in a cruel way.

The guard with the red face stepped back and turning to Thomas he said, 'Your father will beat you for being here. You know he said that if he caught you again he'd send you to live with your aunt.'

'No,' Dusana cried and grabbed Thomas' hand. But the guards pushed past Valeskia and grabbed him. Valeskia had to pull Dusana away as she was worried the guards would hit the girl again. Thomas was marched off and Valeskia picked up Dusana who was sobbing.

'Shh, it will be alright,' she crooned and walked slowly back to the tent.

* * *

Valeskia woke with a start. It was early in the morning and still dark. Reaching her hand out to Dusana's cot, she realised that the girl was gone. Quietly getting up, Valeskia wondered what to do. She was afraid that if she woke Thora, her friend might wake Sven and Jonas. Knowing that the guards would shoot anyone that was out at night, Valeskia grabbed a dark blanket and threw it over her clothes. The moon wasn't out so Valeskia crept silently through the tents, not sure where to look for the girl. As she peered behind the tent closest to the fence, she caught sight of Dusana by the fence and on the other side of it was Thomas. Valeskia crouched down slowing, approaching the pair - she could see that they were holding hands through the fence.

'Dusana, what are you doing?' Valeskia whispered.

Both Dusana and Thomas jumped at the sound of her voice. Looking at her face, Valeskia saw that Dusana was crying. She could see tears on Thomas' face as well.

'What's wrong?' Valeskia asked, scared that at any moment a guard would come and see them.

'Thomas' father is sending him away,' Dusana cried quietly.

'Oh Dusana, I am so sorry,' Valeskia replied, putting her arm around the young girl's shoulders.

'I hate my father,' Thomas vehemently declared.

They heard a noise and realised that the guards were walking down the stairs from the guardhouse.

'We must go,' Valeskia said and pulled Dusana away from the fence.

'Wait!' Thomas called and he gave Dusana a piece of folded paper. 'I will return for you, I promise,' and Thomas ran off into the darkness. Valeskia lifted the young girl into her arms and as quickly as she could, went back into the tents. It took her a moment to work out which tent was hers as the sobbing Dusana was no help. As she entered the tent, she found Sven and Jonas inside.

Thora cried, 'Oh my God! I was so worried.' Moving to help Valeskia with Dusana, Thora led them to one of the cots and helped Valeskia sit down.

'What were you thinking?' Sven asked Valeskia. He was really cross with her.

'Don't be angry with her,' Dusana sobbed, 'she came looking for me.'

'Dusana, what were you doing? You know better than that,' Thora asked gently, but Dusana was inconsolable and just pressed her head into Valeskia's neck, sobbing even more.

'Her friend Thomas is being taken away,' Valeskia softly told the small group.

'Oh child,' Sven said and patted her on the head. They all felt so bad for Dusana but the truth was, their lives were bitter. There was no hope and it was foolish to give it.

Thora told the men to go back to the tent and try to sleep a little before dawn, kissing Sven as he went.

Valeskia lay down on the small cot with Dusana pressed against her. _This is not living_ , she thought before closing her eyes. After a few minutes she felt Dusana's breathing slow down and the sobs become less until the little girl fell asleep.

The next morning, Valeskia woke as soon as Dusana did. Kissing the girl on the head, Valeskia gave her a hug before getting up.

After they had straightened up the small tent, Thora said to them both, 'Today is bath day.'

'Oh no,' Dusana cried, 'not again.' Thora smiled, knowing that Dusana was only happy when she was covered in mud.

'I think every second day is not enough young lady. Be grateful, that I don't throw a bucket of water over you every night.' Dusana gave a small smile but her heart was sad at losing her friend.

Valeskia remembered the paper that Thomas had given Dusana and asked her, 'What was on that paper Thomas gave you?'

'Oh, I don't know, I forgot about it,' Dusana replied. The pair found the paper under the cot and Dusana unfolded it on the small table. It was a hand drawn map of the world and Thomas had drawn a circle around one of the countries. He had written on it, 'Dusana and I live here.'

'What is this country?' Dusana asked. The map had words but Dusana didn't know how to read.

'It is a place called Australia,' Valeskia told her. 'See, the words say it here.' Dusana was interested. 'You can read?'

'Yes, I can,' Valeskia said. 'Would you like me to teach you?'

Looking at Thora, who smiled and nodded, Dusana said, 'That would be good. Would you teach my friends as well?' Valeskia thought about it for a moment and a sharp wave of sadness caught her as she thought of her father and the dream he had for her to become a teacher.

However, she straightened her back and put a determined look on her face saying, 'Yes, I will teach you all.' And she thought to herself, _Maybe this is what will bring the people together_. Looking down at the young girl, Valeskia smiled and said, 'Go round up your friends, we start today. Tell them to come to the food tent.'

As Dusana left the tent, she turned to the women and said, 'I'll be able to read when Thomas takes me to Australia,' and while both women smiled at the girl, they both felt a touch of sadness knowing that such a thing would never happen.

A week passed and Valeskia's school now had all the children in it and a couple of the adults had begun to come along as well. With no resources, Valeskia just used a stick in the dirt. A few of the adults had given her some books, which she had read to the class, on different subjects.

The guards had been nervous at having Valeskia gather the children in one place but after they saw that she kept them busy and that they had less fights to break up, it was decided that she could continue the lessons, at least until Varrick came back.

The class finished every day when the guards brought in the food. After a week, Valeskia had decided to have the children line up first to get fed. A couple of the men had tried to push the children aside but the stern looks that Valeskia gave them and the fact that Jonas, Sven and two more men stood between them, caused them to wait before the frenzy. Over the next few days, more of the people began to line up without pushing others out of the way. When the food ran out, Valeskia ordered the people to share, telling the ones that missed out that they would be first in line on the next day. By the fourth day, there was no pushing in. By the sixth day, people were talking and laughing over dinner. The food was still awful but everybody trusted that they would at least get a little bit. Valeskia didn't eat until everyone did and her stern gaze kept them all in line.

On the seventh night, as everyone was eating, a guard walked up to Valeskia and ordered her to come with him. Everyone fell silent.

Valeskia turned to the group and calmly said, 'I will return soon,' and to the children, she said, 'Be good until then.' Inside she was shaking, knowing what was going to happen to her.

Dusana ran to Valeskia, grabbing her leg. Scared that the guard would try and kick her, Valeskia beckoned for Jonas to pull her off.

'It's alright, little one.' Valeskia's voice was soft but she was scared. Leading her back to the manor the guard said nothing, simply leading her through the hall to the bedroom she had been in previously.

'You are to bathe and change into the clothes on the bed. You have one hour.'

Standing alone, Valeskia's mind was racing. She knew Varrick had returned. This time she wouldn't be afraid. _I'll give him what he wants_ , she thought, undressing and slipping into the tub of hot water. Washing her long hair, she quickly rinsed it and stood in front of the fire, running her fingers through her hair to help it dry. He had provided soap that smelled of lemongrass and the smell made her homesick for her old life. She scolded herself and thought, _It's no use being weak_. This was her life now and she would make the best of it.

The dress that Varrick had picked out for her was pale yellow. She knew that he liked that colour and Valeskia quickly washed her old clothes in the bath water, putting them in front of the fire to dry. Unsure of what to do, she looked around the room and noticed a chest of drawers. Going over to it she saw a picture of a woman in a silver frame on top of it. Picking it up, Valeskia wondered who the woman was. She had a handsome face but looked cruel.

'That's my mother,' Varrick called from the doorway. Valeskia jumped, almost dropping the picture. Placing it down on the chest she turned to face him.

'How was your trip?' Valeskia asked. Varrick was taken aback by the question. The girl had previously acted as if she hated him and never spoke before he did.

'I had business - it is now over. Are you hungry?' he asked. Perhaps being in the camp had softened her towards him.

'Actually yes, I'm hungry,' Valeskia said, keeping her voice pleasant. Lifting her dress so that Varrick could see her legs, she said, 'I'm now as thin as a rake. If I carried your child it wouldn't do well from the lack and quality of food.' Varrick had to think about that. It was true that the girl had lost weight. And while she was still beautiful, she looked better with more flesh on her.

Pressing the conversation, Valeskia continued with, 'Why do you give the people you create so little food?'

'They live, do they not?' Varrick answered coolly. Valeskia went over to the fire, letting the light from the flames outline her body in the dress she wore. 'It takes my guards at least half the day to prepare your food,' he added. He could smell the scent of lemongrass from her body. His desire for her was building.

'Why should they do such work?' Valeskia said gently. 'Give us whole food and we'll cook it ourselves. Let us grow food and tend to livestock ourselves, it will save you and your guards work.'

Varrick laughed. He could not believe how bold this girl was. 'Is there anything else you want?'

'Yes. I need books and writing materials so that I can teach the children to read.'

'Why bother?' Varrick was becoming annoyed.

'Because it will keep them busy and maybe they'll become useful to you.'

Pausing to think on her words, Varrick eyed her body and then demanded, 'What will you give me in return?'

Valeskia paused and played her only card; she prayed that she had judged his desire correctly. 'I will bear you a child,' Valeskia paused. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

'You think you have a choice with this?' Varrick replied coldly.

'I will find a way to kill myself; this is no way to live,' Valeskia spoke firmly. 'I'm not an animal. I was raised for a better life than this.'

Varrick smiled coldly at the girl's thinking. Maybe this could work, getting them to look after themselves. The guards complained all the time about looking after the people and what he gave he could take away. He was impressed with this young girl. She stood calmly, waiting for him to answer her. A child from this woman could be the one that survives; he just knew it in his bones. The doctors couldn't explain why child after child of his were born either dead or died shortly after birth.

Gesturing to the girl to go to the bed he said, 'Let's discuss the finer details.' Knowing she had won for the moment, Valeskia prayed she could pay the price as she slowly removed her dress.

* * *

Six months later, the first of the crops from the garden in the compound delivered. The people celebrated by preparing a feast. Valeskia had taken over the preparation of the food and had trained several helpers. The extra food and the fact that Valeskia prepared it, improved the condition of the people. Jonas worked hard putting together the garden and tending to the animals. He would meet every morning with Valeskia and they would go over the work for the day, and who would be allocated to do it.

School was attended by every child and Dusana proved to be the star pupil. Her mind was quick and her wit was funny and insightful. She turned ten but really didn't grow much taller. However, she was still faster than anyone and still ended the day covered in mud.

Once a week Valeskia was taken into the dark manor to Varrick. Afterwards she would be sent to the doctors who would poke and prod her. On entering the bedroom, she found the usual hot bath and change of clothes. Valeskia loved the bath - it was the only time she allowed herself to think about her old life, with the hot water on her body. Dressing in the gown that Varrick had left for her she found a book placed under it. The book was on natural farming methods and had been handwritten. Valeskia took the book, sitting with her back to the fire so that her hair would dry, and began to read it. It was a wonderful source of information and it would help the people with the development of the farm. As she was reading the book, she didn't notice the door open. Varrick watched her for a moment. He was in a good mood - he had just been with the doctors and they had told him that Valeskia was finally pregnant.

'I thought you would find the book interesting,' he spoke softly. Valeskia jumped at the sound of his voice.

Gathering herself she said, 'Thank you for the gift. It will be useful.'

Varrick walked into the room carrying a pear. He handed it to Valeskia who smiled in thanks. It had been so long since she had seen a piece of fruit. Putting it beside the book, she thought to herself, _I will share it with the children_. She knew that some of them would have never seen a pear before. Standing up, Valeskia went to remove her gown but Varrick held up his hand and gestured for her to stop.

'The doctors say you are pregnant. I am most pleased.'

'Oh, I see,' Valeskia replied. She had felt strange for the last week and had thought she was slightly ill with the flu.

'I want you to stay in the manor until the child is born,' Varrick said firmly.

'No, please,' Valeskia stammered, pausing when she saw his face becoming angry. 'The children need to learn, it keeps them busy.' Knowing that he wouldn't change his mind she asked, 'May I please go back to the compound during the day? The fresh air and the exercise will be healthy for the baby.'

Knowing he wouldn't say no to her and hating the part of him that craved for her affection, he said, 'Only until you are six months gone, the last three months are when I lose my spawn; the babies abort. You will sleep with me in this bed and maybe, in time, you will like me.'

But the look she gave him bode no hope, so he ordered, 'Help me with my clothes,' and Valeskia knelt down to help Varrick take off his boots, despairing at the turn of events.

The next day, Valeskia sliced up the pear so that all the children could taste a piece. There were 'ooos' and 'ahhs' as the children slowly savoured the fruit. Jonas had just popped into the tent as it was the end of class for the day. Valeskia could see that he had something on his mind but he wouldn't volunteer it; she knew that she'd have to draw it out of him.

'How did the preparation of the new vegetable bed go today?' she asked, handing him a tiny piece of the pear. He smiled at her before popping the delicious fruit into his mouth.

'It went well. The south block doesn't have as many boulders so we've almost cleared it up. I think it will be ready in another two days.'

'What do you think we should grow in it?' Valeskia asked, pushing the last of the children from the tent so she could start to prepare food for the evening. Jonas went quiet and Valeskia knew he had an idea.

'Lavender,' he almost whispered.

'Lavender?' Valeskia was surprised, thinking to herself, _What does he have on his mind?_ She had grown to trust his counsel but this was an odd idea. Keeping quiet, she waited for Jonas to share his idea.

After a few seconds and knowing that she was waiting he said, 'Varrick has been kind to give us seeds to grow and livestock as well. We now produce enough food for our needs.'

'True,' said Valeskia and thought, _although not from kindness_. But no one knew of the pact she had made to get the resources.

'We're still no use to Varrick and it is only at his whim that he keeps us alive. If we grew lavender we could make things for Varrick to sell at the markets; soap, perfume, creams. Thora knows of such things. We need to develop an industry so we won't be so expendable.' Valeskia smiled at Jonas, who was now bright red.

'You're so right. I hadn't thought of such a thing.'

Jonas added, 'Sven is very good at woodwork. He's made all the furniture we have here. With the right tools we could make quality goods to sell. In return, maybe we could barter for some more materials to build huts. These tents get so cold in the wintertime.'

Smiling even more, Valeskia put her hand on Jonas' shoulder. Looking into his eyes, she said, 'This is a good idea. I'll put it to Varrick tonight.'

'You're going back again tonight?' Jonas remarked although he was not so foolish. He knew what Varrick wanted her for - she was the most beautiful woman in the camp.

Knowing it would hurt him Valeskia replied, 'I carry his child, there's nothing I can do except pray that he tires of me.' Jonas didn't think that would be possible; Valeskia was the most wonderful woman he had ever met. His heart was sad because he knew she only liked him as a friend. Changing the subject, Valeskia brightened and said, 'We need to see what else we can do. Ask around and see what other talents we have here.' Jonas left with the task and Valeskia went through all the different ways she would present the idea to Varrick.

* * *

The birth of her son had been easy but when the doctors took the child away from Valeskia it left her sobbing for hours. Finally the boy was brought back to her and she clutched the child tightly to her chest.

Varrick entered the room, beaming. 'You've done well, Valeskia. As a reward I'll give you the tractor you've asked for and extend the compound another two hundred feet.' He was pleased with the work the people produced; they had already begun to make him money. He reached for the child and Valeskia regretfully handed the boy to him. Holding him up, Varrick counted all his fingers and toes. The boy didn't cry. 'I'm pleased with the child so I'll give you another gift, woman,' and he handed her a silver tray. On it was a coffee pot, milk jug and sugar bowl. 'These belonged to my mother.' Valeskia looked at the tray. She had never seen such beautiful objects. The silver glistened in the firelight. Handing the child back to Valeskia, he said 'Now, to name the boy.'

'May we please call him Vladimir?' Valeskia asked softly. It was the name of her father, who Valeskia still missed daily. Thinking for a moment Varrick decided.

'Why not? Vladimir is a good name for my son.' Looking at the boy again, he added, 'His hair is an odd colour, it looks silver.' Valeskia had noticed that as well. 'Still, he is perfect,' Varrick remarked, his mind elsewhere. 'Rest, Valeskia, and when you're ready, we'll have another child.' He didn't notice the horror that flashed across her face, so Varrick left feeling very good. Valeskia realised that her life would never change and she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

A year passed and Vladimir could walk; he was very steady on his feet and almost never cried. Thora looked after the child while Valeskia taught the children. Small huts had been built and the people were now producing new clothes. One of the men had been a shoe smith and had taught one of the older boys how to make shoes. They now produced enough shoes for all the people and some to sell. That morning, Valeskia had picked up a new pair of black boots for herself and a pair of small shoes for Vladimir. Smiling to herself, she thought how cute he would look in the shoes.

Suddenly the guard came and demanded, 'Where is your boy?'

'Why do you want him?' Valeskia asked coldly.

'Varrick has ordered that the doctors run tests on him. Where is he?' A chill went down her spine. The tests the doctors performed were horrible.

'He's too young to be subjected to such things.' Valeskia replied feeling sick and the panic began to rise in her.

The guard just shrugged his shoulders. 'I have my orders. I need to take the young girl, Dusana, as well.'

Knowing how futile it was to argue with the guards, Valeskia told him, 'I will bring them after dinner.' She hoped that she would be able to see Varrick before the tests took place and plead for their safety.

Thora cried at the news and Sven had to pull Thora off Dusana before they could go. Standing at the gate, holding Vladimir in one arm, Valeskia held Dusana's trembling hand in the other.

'It will be alright,' Valeskia whispered to the girl, but neither believed the words.

The guard went to take Vladimir off Valeskia but she firmly told him, 'I'll carry him. I will not leave him with you.'

Her stern manner did not bode well; the guard knew she could complain to Varrick as they all knew she was his favourite. A few months ago another guard had touched Valeskia's breast and Varrick had the man shot when he found out. He had done it himself in front of all the other guards.

Entering the sterile room, Dusana pressed herself into Valeskia's skirts.

'I wish to see Varrick,' Valeskia demanded.

'I thought you would,' a voice responded. Valeskia turned to find Varrick standing in the doorway.

'What are your plans for our son?' Valeskia asked. She kept her voice calm and soft.

'Just a check-up,' he said. 'And while you are here you can have a check-up as well. It's time we tried again for another child.' Turning to Dusana, Varrick cupped her face in his hands. 'Hard to believe that this one is such a pretty girl under all that dirt.'

'Varrick,' Valeskia pleaded softly, 'the girl is too young for the treatment, please give her another year.'

'No, she is eleven now, that is when all the children have the treatment.' Varrick was cold.

'I beg you!' Valeskia pleaded. Varrick responded by slapping her face. Vladimir began to cry and Dusana threw herself at Varrick, beating him with her fists.

She screamed, 'I hate you, I hate you.'

Laughing, Varrick picked her up and placed her on the metal table. The doctors tied her down and as he turned to leave the room he spoke to Valeskia. 'It will be easier for the girl if she is calm otherwise it will hurt more.'

Vladimir had stopped crying when the doctors had taken him off Valeskia. For a moment hatred consumed Valeskia and her body trembled with the emotion, overwhelming her senses. She quickly regained herself and went over to Dusana. Keeping one eye on Vladimir she kissed the girl's head, shushing her, and said, 'It's alright Dusana, you will live through this.'

'Will it hurt?' Dusana whispered back, as the doctors prepared the injection.

Knowing it was pointless to lie, Valeskia replied, 'Yes, child, but it will pass and I will be here.'

Vladimir began to cry again as Dusana screamed in anguish.

* * *

At first there had only been the change in Dusana's spirit. She rarely joked and ended most days as clean as she had started. This worried both Thora and Valeskia, as the young girl was a ghost of who she used to be.

One night, while sleeping, Valeskia had a strange dream. Dusana was in it and they were sitting on the grass in a meadow with rows of lavender around them. The dream was so vivid that Valeskia could smell the flowers, the grass and the dirt. Dusana was smiling and spoke clearly in the dream.

'This is my favourite place.'

'Where is it?' Valeskia asked, looking around the large field.

'Australia. It's a farm but it doesn't belong to me,' Dusana replied, taking in a large breath of the fragrant air.

Valeskia could sense the breeze and sun on her skin; her whole body was relaxed and she looked down at her pale yellow dress.

'It's so beautiful here.'

'Our freedom comes from here,' Dusana responded and she reached for Valeskia's hand. Valeskia could feel Dusana's warm skin.

She woke with a start, her hand in Dusana's, and as she opened her eyes she found that Dusana was awake as well.

Whispering, so as not to wake Thora and Vladimir, Dusana asked, 'You were in my dream field, weren't you?'

'Yes, I was. It was so real,' Valeskia whispered back.

'It is a real place,' Dusana added, 'but it hasn't happened yet.'

'You mean it was the future?' Valeskia was amazed. 'You have the sight, like Sven?'

'I think so. Can I tell you a secret?' the young face was so earnest it touched Valeskia's heart.

'Of course,' Valeskia replied, touching Dusana's face and tapping her finger on her nose.

'I think I can see what's going to happen to our people. I think one day we'll be free.'

Valeskia was silent for a moment. 'Dusana, I don't think you should tell anyone else, not now. It would be wrong to give everybody false hope.'

'Maybe,' Dusana replied. 'But I know I'm right even if I won't get to see it.'

'What does that mean?' Valeskia asked her quickly.

'Never mind,' Dusana whispered, 'but we won't be together much longer.'

'Dusana, don't say that. I will never leave you. Never!' Valeskia was shocked at her statement.

Yawning and falling back to sleep, Dusana said, 'It's okay, we'll never really be apart,' and the young girl slipped back into sleep, leaving Valeskia awake and wondering at her words.

The next day, as Valeskia was finishing up her lessons for the children, Thora came into the tent. Her face was white but as the children left she gave them a weak smile.

'What's wrong?' Valeskia asked as soon as the last child had left.

'I was out by the fence at the north guard tower. I overheard a conversation between a couple of the guards.'

'What did they say?' Valeskia asked, lowering her voice in case the children overheard.

The woman packed up the books and said in a quiet voice, 'They have a new doctor coming and he's going to do different tests.'

'What do you mean, different?' Valeskia asked, not sure that she wanted to know.

'He's going to cut into our brains.' Thora's voice was close to panicking.

Shocked, Valeskia thought for a moment before the ramifications hit her. Putting her hand to her mouth, she knew she must go to Varrick straight away.

'They also said that they would only take a few of each ability.'

Locking eyes with each other, Valeskia knew that meant Sven. So far he was the only person who had mind powers because they had been able to hide Dusana's gifts from Varrick.

'How soon is the doctor coming?' Valeskia asked, trying to think.

'In a week's time.' Thora was close to tears; Sven was her life and she couldn't bear to think that they would be parted.

'Oh, that's good, we have time to think of something,' Valeskia replied. 'Over dinner, we'll talk to Jonas and Sven. We'll find a way out of this.'

That evening the group met in the girls' hut. Dusana was nursing Vladimir, who pulled her hair with his strong little hands as she bounced him on her knee. Sven and Jonas sat quietly as Thora recounted what she had overheard. After she had finished no one spoke for the longest moment. Thora began to weep and Sven stood, wrapping his arms around his wife.

'I have dreamt that some of us escape; I guess that time has come,' he said.

Dusana added, 'I too have dreamt of it.' She locked eyes with Sven; he didn't look happy.

Quietly he said, 'Not all of us will make it.'

'No,' Valeskia replied, 'we all go, all of us,' and she gestured to the group. 'We just need to be smart about it.'

'Don't worry,' Dusana smiled at Valeskia, 'you'll think of a plan,' and totally unconcerned with their predicament, Dusana blew bubbles at Vladimir. He screamed with laughter, clapping his hands together.

Valeskia took from Dusana's manner that they would all escape and set her mind to the task. By the third day Valeskia still had no plan. Every night the group met and discussed options but nothing seemed to be workable.

Deciding to talk about something else, Valeskia asked Jonas, 'How are the crops coming along?'

'Good,' he replied. 'Tomorrow we're getting a delivery of apple trees. They're quite mature so we should get fruit within three seasons.'

Valeskia paused, her mind sharpened by the idea. 'How will they get here?'

'In a large, covered truck. That way the trees don't get damaged by the wind,' Jonas replied. He was tired after another long day working in the fields and worrying about the doctor coming to the manor.

Clicking her fingers Valeskia cried, 'That's it! We'll use the truck to escape. It will be able to fit us all. We can hide in the hut by the north field and get into the back once the trees are unloaded. If we arrange for the truck to leave around midday, I can make some pies for the guards to eat.' Oddly enough, Dusana had asked Valeskia six months ago to make treats for the guards and while she had been uneasy about doing it, she now realised that Dusana had prepared the way for them to escape. The guards had become lazy now that the people looked after themselves and over the last year there had been no hint of trouble from any of the abnormals. The guards hardly took any notice of their comings and goings now.

'This will work and it will be hours until we're found to be missing,' Sven said. He could see that his vision of their escape matched the plan - it was confusing to him that he could not see the plan until Valeskia had thought it up.

'Where will we go?' Thora asked. She was relieved now that they had a chance to escape.

'We still have friends out there,' Sven said. 'We can get help.'

The group stood looking at each other until Dusana said, 'This feels good to me,' and everyone smiled except Sven. 'Don't worry, Sven,' Dusana said, 'this is meant to be.'

Sven bent down, lifted her into his arms and looked at her. 'You're not a young girl anymore; I think there's a lady emerging.'

'Mmm,' Dusana replied, 'that means I need to go and grab some more mud,' and the group laughed at her joke.

The truck arrived just before midday. Sven and Jonas greeted the truck and led it over to where they wanted it to unload. Dusana had been on the lookout and ran to let Valeskia and Thora know.

In the four days since the news about the doctor's coming, Valeskia had started a new game with Vladimir called 'quiet as a mouse'. His mind was quick and he picked up on the game eagerly. Valeskia would say, 'Here comes the cat, his tummy is hungry,' and Vladimir would run and hide, and stay very quiet.

The men had taken packs to the hut just before dawn and they were filled with extra food and clothing. Valeskia had decided to take the silverware that Varrick had given her. She could sell it for money when needed; it was the only possession of any value that she had.

Thora was a bundle of nerves. She looked pale, her hands shook and her heart was beating fast. Valeskia was surprised at how calm she was; she looked at her hands, they didn't shake.

'Dusana, help me with the pies,' she asked the girl. They had made hot berry pies that smelled good.

'I would love to,' Dusana replied smiling.

Valeskia walked over to the guards and called out to them, 'We have spare pies if you would like some.' She wore her most colourful dress; it was cut low and her smile was bright and friendly.

'What sort have you got for us today?' the guard asked. Having eaten Valeskia's cooking before he knew it would be good.

'Blackberry, of course. I believe it's your favourite,' Valeskia laughed, looking young and sweet.

'Good, good,' and he opened the gate, lowering his gun as he took the pies.

'Maybe I should have a slice just in case there's poison in them,' Dusana joked.

The guard laughed and replied, 'Good try, little one,' and he took the pies off the girls and then locked the gate again.

Dusana ran off, giving the guard a wave; she would go the long way around to the hut.

In a loud voice, Valeskia said to Thora, 'Come, let's see if Vladimir is awake, he'll be hungry.' They locked arms and casually walked down the row of huts. Disappearing into their hut for a moment, they re-emerged with Vladimir, carrying a blanket.

'Let's sit in the sun,' Valeskia told Thora, 'the sun will be good for him.'

'That's a good idea,' Thora replied. Her voice was strained and her smile was fake, but no one noticed.

The women walked around to the side of the huts. The hardest part was the walk to the hut by the truck, as at any moment the guards could call them back. Putting Vladimir down provided an excuse for the women as he ran towards the truck. The women realised their luck and pretended to give chase. The guards looked but the warm pies soon pulled their attention back.

As the women rounded the back of the hut, they could see the men had the flap of the truck open. Jonas was talking to the man who drove the truck; they were laughing at some joke he had just told. Sven was hiding at the back of the truck and as soon as he saw them, he beckoned the women to get into the back.

'Where is Dusana?' Valeskia whispered, feeling panicked.

'I don't know,' Sven whispered back, 'but we need to get into the truck, now.'

Lifting both women in, Sven followed and Valeskia pulled the blanket over them, whispering to Vladimir that they would now play the game 'quiet as a mouse'. Vladimir snuggled into his mother's arms and quickly fell asleep.

'God has given you a good child,' Thora whispered.

'I know,' Valeskia replied, but she was uneasy. Where was Dusana?

Jonas poked his head in the back and saw that Dusana was missing. He told the group he would go and look for the girl but the minutes passed and Jonas still didn't return.

The truck suddenly started and Valeskia almost got up but Sven put an arm around her and whispered in her ear, 'This is how it must be.'

Valeskia struggled but Thora spoke, 'This is the only chance for your child.' Valeskia was now paralysed; she didn't know what to do. Tears streamed down her face as she realised that the truck had passed the guards and that they were on the open road.

After a couple of hours, the truck pulled over and the group got out and hid in the bushes.

'I think I know where we are,' Sven told the women. 'There's a shelter nearby.'

They reached an old barn by nightfall. Too scared to light a fire the group huddled together, with Vladimir in the middle, to keep him warm. Finally falling asleep, Valeskia wasn't surprised to find Dusana waiting for her in her dreams. They were in the same field again.

'Oh Dusana, why didn't you join us?' Valeskia asked her.

Dusana looked so beautiful. She was wearing a lovely white dress and as she smiled at Valeskia she said, 'It wasn't my time to leave. I must wait for Thomas to return. Jonas will escape but not for many years, for he will lead our people until they are free.'

'Oh Dusana, you should have told me,' Valeskia cried. The tears that fell on her face felt so real.

'Valeskia, I promise we will see each other again one day but until then, every night we can meet here and be together.' Holding her hand out to Valeskia, Dusana added, 'Come, let's lay together in the sun and you can tell me a story.'

And so, for many nights after that, Dusana would come in Valeskia's dreams and Valeskia always looked forward to her slumber. It was the only time she felt complete.

The group decided, after a while of being together, to part ways. Varrick was looking for a group. So Valeskia tied a piece of cloth around her head to hide her hair and, as it was coming into winter, Vladimir wore a woollen cap to cover his silver hair. No one noticed her and the child.

The years passed and, trusting Dusana's vision, she trained Vladimir to be all that he could be and while every night she was with Dusana, during the day her heart ached to be with the young girl again.
Chapter 12

Dusana had just turned 17, and while she was small and heavily pregnant she could still move very fast. She had never been so afraid in her life and she could hear the dogs getting closer; the pains in her belly were so strong now, she was unsure how much longer she could go on. Suddenly her feet slipped and she fell down on her bottom, hitting the ground so hard she lost her breath for a moment. She slid down a small hill, then onto a road and almost got run over by an old truck. The man driving pulled over to see what he had nearly hit. At first, the dark lump on the road did not move but as he stepped closer he realised it was a young girl and under her coat he saw that her belly was swollen with child.

'Please mister, help me,' Dusana pleaded.

She was so out of breath he could barely hear her but he could hear the dogs getting closer and whatever trouble the girl was in, he should just leave her to it. But as he looked into her face she reminded him of his granddaughter, who was almost the same age.

'Quick, get in the truck.' As he pulled back onto the road, he saw two men with dogs appear and prayed to St Lucy that they hadn't recognised him.

They drove in silence for a few minutes before Dusana screamed; the pain in her belly was so strong and it hurt so much. Not sure what to do next, the man only knew he wanted to get rid of this trouble and fast.

Reading his mind, Dusana said, 'Please, can you take me to Jelm village? I have a friend there, she'll help me.'

It was fifty miles to Jelm and the man didn't think the child could hold off having the baby that far, but he turned down the road that would take them to the village and when Dusana screamed again, he pushed his foot to the floor of the old truck.

It was midnight when they stopped in the village square. There was no one around and by now Dusana's contractions were only five minutes apart. Her water had broken in the truck and for a moment, between the pains, Dusana had felt embarrassed. The man opened the door for Dusana and helped her from the truck.

'Mister, you saved my life,' Dusana whispered, and reached for his hand and kissed it before turning and moving off into the shadows. Hearing the truck take off, Dusana realised that she hadn't even seen the face of the man who had saved her. For a moment Dusana paused; she needed to get her bearings and racked her brain for the instructions from her dream. She caught her breath again as another contraction gripped her small body. Then she caught sight of a sign with a lion on it and realised that she was close. Dusana stumbled on and finally, when she felt as if she could no longer move, she saw the blue door with a white handle and a cross on it. Using the last of her strength she went to the doorway.

As she knocked on the door, tears were streaming down her face and she prayed, 'Oh Madonna, let this be the right door.'

After a long moment the door opened a crack and suddenly she was in Valeskia's strong arms and carried inside. Dusana swooned with relief, as she felt the warmth of the room around her. As the next pain ripped through her small body she became fully awake. But her fear was gone: she was with Valeskia, who was so strong and brave. Valeskia would fix everything, she always did.

As the women locked eyes, a deep understanding passed between them and Valeskia gave Dusana her rarest gift, a smile of real gladness on seeing her friend. The next contraction was so strong - the baby was on its way. Dusana had worried that she wouldn't know how to give birth but her body took over and after three more contractions the baby was out.

'It's a boy!' Valeskia said, cutting the cord. She wrapped the small infant in a warm towel and placed him into Dusana's arms. But she could see the life leaving the small girl - there had been too much blood. The trauma of the night and the many nights before had been too much for her, but the last words that Dusana spoke were very clear.

'His name is Eric,' and in the last moment before her death, her body pulsed with joy.

A moment passed before Valeskia could move. Her mind raced. Survival was her only goal and she knew that with the arrival of Dusana, others would follow. There was a small window of time to escape the danger that would surely follow.

Lifting the child out of the arms of her dead friend, Valeskia looked at the boy who was already deep in the infant's slumber that most babies enjoy just after they are born. Laying Eric on a small pile of fresh laundry in front of the fire, she pulled out a pack that had all the essential items for a quick escape. Valeskia added a few more items to accommodate the infant and walked into the next room. She paused, looking at her young son sleeping on a bed. He was seven and already big for his age. Valeskia was tall for a woman, over six foot with a straight back, and a grace that many men admired. A few had tried to press their advantage, but they had been cut to the core by Valeskia's stern tone and manner.

Going back into the kitchen, Valeskia removed a heavy blanket from a cupboard and gently wrapped Dusana in it. She scooped to pick up an old pocket watch and a map that had fallen out of Dusana's coat pocket and put them in her pack. Then she left the small house and carried Dusana halfway across the village to the lake. Gently laying Dusana down on the grass, she found some large stones and tied them into the blanket. Then, taking the bundle, she waded out into the cold lake until the water was up to her neck. After saying a prayer she let Dusana's body go and allowed herself a minute to cry, remembering how sweet the girl had been. Dusana had been a funny girl who had liked to play jokes. She had been the only one who could get Valeskia to smile when they were in the camps.

'Oh my friend, I'm so glad you're free. I worried every day we were separated.' Valeskia prayed. Her love for Dusana had been the truest she had ever felt.

Then, knowing that she had spent too much time there, Valeskia turned and waded back to the bank. As she left the water she shook herself; she would no longer allow herself the luxury of grief, she would channel the emotion into action.

When she arrived back at the house, she found her son, Vladimir, sitting in a chair holding Eric. She was surprised at how tender the child was with the infant. Bending down, she spoke softly to the boy.

'We need to leave here right now, so change into warm clothes and put your walking shoes on.'

Vladimir knew they lived in danger but his Mother would never tell him what the danger was. He trusted what she said was real; he could sense her fear. He carried the baby into the small bedroom and didn't put him down until his clothes had been gathered and then he quickly dressed. Reaching out again for Eric, he held the baby to his chest.

After changing out of her wet clothes, Valeskia checked the packs one last time. Realising that Vladimir would carry the baby she made a sling and put it around his neck. Before they left the house, she pulled an old wool hat off a hook and placed it on Vladimir's head, wondering again why his hair was silver, as it had been from the day he was born.

They put quite a few miles behind them before the sun rose. They would stay off the main road and would move like this for a week or so until Valeskia was sure that they were safe again. She needed to find a village large enough that a new woman and her children would not be noticed.

'Don't worry, Môn vieux,' said Vladimir, using a term he had heard a neighbour call his friend, 'I will protect you.'

Hearing this declaration from her son, Valeskia felt rage at the injustices done to them all. She vowed that one day she would take revenge. The small group did not stop again until it was dark...
Chapter 13

Sixteen years after Eric's birth Valeskia had barely changed. There were a few fine lines around her mouth and eyes but her hair was still the same rich, chocolate colour and there was always a curl she couldn't control. The latest village they had moved to was by the sea. Valeskia liked the village. It was the first time they had stopped by the sea and every morning she would walk down to the beach and along the sand with her shoes off, smelling the salty air. It had a busy port and both Vladimir and Eric worked on the docks.

Vladimir was a young man of twenty-three but his heavily muscled frame, silver hair and serious manner had earned him a leadership role with the dock crew. Eric, while lightly muscled, was still stronger than boys his age and could move faster than anyone in the small village. He had a part-time job running messages around for all the businesses and when he ran his body was graceful and his movement fluid.

On this particular day, Vladimir had been unloading a shipping container. Most of the work had to be done by hand and as his crew were the strongest, they made extra bonuses for speed.

'Be careful with that,' Vladimir instructed. The piece was a piano and two of his crew were struggling to lift it. Vladimir beckoned to the men to hold one end of the piano and he picked up the other, taking most of its weight. His men were no longer surprised by his strength and boasted about Vladimir's ability in the local pub.

It was late in the afternoon and as Vladimir packed up for the day he wondered where Eric was. Earlier in the afternoon the mayor of the village had asked Eric to deliver a parcel to a nearby village less than five miles away and it should have taken Eric just over an hour to get there and back. Walking back to the small house where he lived with his mother and Eric, Vladimir began to feel uneasy. Valeskia had always been so strict about times and it was unusual for Eric to be late.

Still, Vladimir thought, he might be caught up with Rachel. She was a pretty young girl, the same age as Eric, who had set her sights on him and it amused Vladimir to see her try and catch Eric's unsuspecting eye. Vladimir had taken a few lovers but he had not fallen in love; it hurt to leave without saying goodbye, a lesson he had learned early.

Arriving at the small home, Vladimir paused before entering the house. Usually he would be greeted with the smell of dinner and smoke coming from the chimney but tonight, as the light was fading, the house looked dark and cold. Slowly pushing the door open, he looked into the kitchen and at first it looked normal. Valeskia was a neat housekeeper, nothing stayed out of place for long.

_Maybe she is still at the market_ , Vladimir thought, but the hair on the back of his neck was raised and his mother had taught him to trust his instincts.

Moving through the house quietly he entered his mother's bedroom - his heart sank. A chair that she kept by the bed was tipped over. Nothing else was displaced but Vladimir knew she had been taken. For a split second Vladimir felt lost. Many times Valeskia had lectured the boys that if something liked this happened they were to run, but he could not leave Eric and he would never leave his mother.

Leaning down to look under the bed, Vladimir pulled out three packs that were always ready for their escape. Moving quickly, Vladimir walked to the back of the house. He would hide the packs in the woods at the edge of the village and try to pick up some clue as to what had happened to Eric and Valeskia. As he walked down the lane, Vladimir imagined that a dozen eyes were on him and at the end of the street he broke into a run. While he could not move as quickly as Eric, Vladimir was still fast for his size.

By the time he reached the woods the day had finally ended and, feeling more secure in the darkness, Vladimir placed the packs at the bottom of a tree trunk, picking up some ferns and brush to cover them.

Now his mind was racing. _Where could they be?_ He pondered for a moment then decided to circle the village to see if he could pick up a clue. Vladimir wished that Valeskia had told him more of what the danger was, but when pressed all she would always say was, 'Later, later.' Now it was too late and Vladimir wasn't prepared.

But his mother had trained him well with complex problems and challenges from when he was a small child; staying one step ahead of the danger had become a game. Both Eric and he had never been to school so Valeskia had taught them literature, history, mathematics and, most importantly, war strategy. Vladimir and Eric had learnt five languages, including English, from his mother - he was proud of how intelligent she was.

Vladimir had almost circled the village once before seeing a new car that he had not seen before. It was parked outside the pub that his dock crew frequented. Creeping up to the window, he could see a few members of his crew talking to three strange men. They were all laughing in a friendly way but Vladimir could see that there was something wrong - their body language was off.

Suddenly Vladimir felt a sharp sting to his neck and then another. Reaching up he felt a small dart and then the world began to spin. By the time he hit the ground he was unconscious.

* * *

Waking suddenly he found it was still dark and he was stripped naked with shackles on his arms and feet. As his vision cleared, he saw that Eric was beside him. He was also naked and shackled the same way. As he worked his way onto his knees Vladimir exchanged a look with Eric, he could see that Eric was trying to be brave.

'We will be fine, Môn vieux,' Vladimir said. His voice was calm - he would remain calm. 'Are you hurt Eric?'

'I'm not hurt,' Eric replied, but there were large bruises along his torso and blood around his mouth. He had obviously taken a beating.

'Do you know where Mother is?' Vladimir asked, praying that she was still alive.

'I think she's in that tent,' Eric indicated the direction with his head.

Looking over to the tent, Vladimir saw that there were two guards standing outside of it. Seeing that Vladimir was now awake, one of the guards went into the tent and returned with another man. The man looked at the boys and Eric gasped; he was an older version of Vladimir. Going back into the tent he returned, dragging Valeskia whose hands were tied tightly behind her back.

'Well, my dear, I can see you have done a good job raising these boys.' His voice was gentle yet he was rough with Valeskia as he dragged her closer to Vladimir and Eric. Pushing her to her knees he asked her, 'Aren't you going to introduce me to them?'

Valeskia stayed silent. She would not do anything for this man. Realising that she wouldn't speak he faced the boys and said, 'I am Varrick De Weller and you are both my property.' Looking at Vladimir, he remarked, 'So far you are the only one of my seed to have survived to adulthood.'

Stepping closer to examine Vladimir he was pleased with what he saw - his son's body was powerful and well formed and there was intelligence in his eyes. He then examined Eric. 'Yes, I remember your mother, such a sweet girl. I forget who mated with her.'

Eric tried to leap at Varrick but the shackles stopped him.

'I see you have a temper, must be from your father's side,' he taunted Eric. Turning back to Valeskia he said, 'You know my dear, I enjoyed mating with you and I have to say I'm pleased with the results.' Her beauty and manner thrilled him and he cupped her face in his large hand. He remembered the many nights he had been with Valeskia. Her reluctance at the start had made him want her more.

'Let them go,' Valeskia pleaded. Her voice was soft - she would use her charms - anything to see her boys safe.

Varrick smiled at her coldly. 'Of course I will let them go but I want you to come back with me. I plan to breed with you again.'

Valeskia was confused. This was too easy. Why would he let the boys go? Varrick gave another cold smile and, turning to the boys said, 'But before I let you go I intend to finish your training,' and he reached into his jacket and pulled out two syringes filled with a dark purple fluid.

'No!' screamed Valeskia, 'Not my boys, please let them go.'

Turning back to her, Varrick smashed his fist into her mouth, knocking Valeskia onto her back and yelled, 'Shut up, woman! For years, I have looked for you and my spawn. Did you honestly think I would let you go?'

Gesturing to the guards, they pulled Vladimir along the ground, his shackles groaning with the strain of his muscles against them.

'I will kill you,' Vladimir declared. He was controlled and his calmness was unnerving. This pleased Varrick.

'Ah, my son, you are a man after my own heart.' It took four of his men to sit on Vladimir so he could inject the fluid into his neck. Eric struggled and screamed, thrashing his body around. Varrick had to strike him, almost breaking his neck, before he could plunge the needle into him. Valeskia had made it onto her knees and crawled over to the boys, tears streaming down her face. Vladimir had started to fade. He could see everyone around him becoming blurry and his body felt lighter, but it was like he had stepped away from the moment.

His last conscious memory was of looking at his mother. Her mouth moved and it took him a moment to realise what she had said to him.

'My son, there is nothing you can't escape from.'

* * *

Eric was running. It was good to be moving so fast but it felt different to how he had run before and for a moment he couldn't understand why. Then he became aware of his body and skidded to a stop. He had four legs and his vision was different as was his hearing - sounds were coming from all over the place, assaulting him. He could feel the panic rising. Suddenly a large grey wolf came out of the forest and stopped before him. Complete terror had taken over and Eric dropped to his belly, trembling all over. The grey wolf approached Eric slowly and started to sniff his body. Eric responded in kind suddenly realising that it was Vladimir. Vladimir responded by licking Eric's face and lying down beside him.

Vladimir had just become conscious of the fact that they were changed. His thoughts were still confused but he knew that the cream wolf was Eric and it was good to be together. Random images came to Vladimir but he did not know what to make of them. Pushing closer to Eric for heat, they lay together until they slept, waking the next day as men. Vladimir was the first to get up and he checked his body all over. Then he made Eric stand and checked him as well. The bruises that were on Eric's body had almost faded. _How long had they been wolves?_

Eric was silent and Vladimir knew he was in shock. 'Môn vieux, we are safe. Stay here, I will climb a tree to see where we are.'

Vladimir was surprised at how calmly he was acting. In his ears he could still hear his mother's words and realised the fear that she had been trying to escape from had caught them. They were monsters!

Finding a tall tree he climbed to the top. It took him a few minutes to work out where they were but then he estimated that they were at least six or seven miles from the village. Trying to think of what their next move should be, he decided that they would return to where he had hidden the packs and then he would decide what to do next. Eric had not moved from the spot where Vladimir had left him so, talking gently to him, he told Eric of his plan. There was no response so Vladimir took his hand and began to walk in the direction of the village.

It took just over an hour to walk to the packs and putting on the spare clothes seemed to bring Eric around. As he focused on his surroundings he began to cry big, silent tears. Vladimir, who could never bear to see Eric upset, placed his arms around Eric's shoulders.

'Môn vieux, we are okay and we are still together. Tell me, are you hurt?'

Eric shook his head. 'No.' His body felt good, strong, as the pain from the beatings was gone.

'Do you remember what happened?' Vladimir asked him.

'No, I only remember running,' Eric replied, his distress evident.

Vladimir returned to his thoughts, knowing he needed answers. He knew what they had to do next.

'Môn vieux , we need to go back to the clearing where they held us.'

'No Vlad, they might still be there. We need to run, that is what Valeskia would want us to do.' Eric was close to panicking again. Stepping closer to Eric, Vladimir spoke gently.

'I know what Mother would want us to do but my gut is telling me that we need answers.' He knew Valeskia would be furious with them but he would not leave her behind. He loved her and she had taught him to trust his judgement.

'We will be careful. Do you know where the spot was that we were taken to?' Vladimir hadn't recognised the clearing.

'I think it was at the back of the old quarry. I went there once with Rachel.' Eric's face turned red. Vladimir's eyebrows went up. So, the girl had got her prize after all. Catching Eric in a warm hug he laughed.

'Come, we need to try this,' and they both turned and ran towards the quarry. Stopping a quarter of a mile away from it, Vladimir instructed Eric, 'I want you to stay here, out of sight. I will be back soon.'

Slowly, he moved through the underbrush and as he approached the scene he was unprepared for the devastation he saw. Vladimir had wondered why he could smell blood so strongly and it took a moment for him to realise that the faded brown marks everywhere were blood. As his eyes adjusted, he could see what looked like body parts scattered around and realised a slaughter had taken place. Hearing a sound, he quickly turned and saw that Eric had followed him. He was in shock. His body was quivering and he was transfixed by the scene.

'Eric, I told you to stay there.' Vladimir quickly checked to see if there was any danger around. Seeing that there was no immediate threat, Vladimir concentrated on the scene. He moved slowly through the carnage and was horrified to see how mutilated the bodies were. At the edge of the clearing he saw a body that looked intact and as he moved closer the man's eyes suddenly opened. He was clearly dying - blood gurgled in his throat.

'What happened to you?' Vladimir asked, kneeling down to look at him. He recognised the man as one of the guards that had held him down. Eric stood behind Vladimir.

'You did this to us, you boys became demons,' the man's voice was rasping. The blood made it hard for his words to be clear.

'No, you lie,' Eric interjected.

But the man did not hear him for he had died and Eric knew in his heart that what the man had said was true. He had vague memories that were muddled and in them he saw men screaming and trying to run from him. Vladimir had the same thoughts and for a split second he was close to panicking. Then he turned and saw Eric's face, and the wall of control came down again, and he was surprised at how clearly he could think.

Suddenly his eye caught an item of clothing and as he bent to pick it up he realised that it was the blue blouse that Valeskia had been wearing. It was covered in blood. He looked further and saw the skirt she had being wearing.

Vladimir's heart was beating fast as he thought, 'Oh, my God, what if we have killed her as well?' but he found no memory to support that. The thought made the bile in his stomach rise and he vomited tuning quickly away from it, as he did not want to see what the contents were.

'Vlad, come here.' Eric's voice was low; he was looking at something.

Vladimir didn't want to look. Something in Eric's voice told him it was going to be awful. Slowly he looked in the direction of where Eric was, and at first his mind refused to acknowledge what he saw. And then it hit him. It was hair - dark, chocolate, curly hair and it was covered in blood. It looked like all of Valeskia's hair. Vladimir knew she was dead and fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. He let out a scream that was not quite human. Rage pulsated through his body and he so badly wanted to kill something.

Eric was now in full shock. His body was cold and his mind had shut down behind a big curtain that he wanted to hide behind.

Vladimir stayed on his knees for over an hour as the rage pulsed over and over in his body. It was so strong he couldn't move. Then he had a memory of his mother and a lesson she taught him.

'You are strong in body, Vladimir, but your greatest strength is your mind - always think before you act. If you can't think of a way out, just think of the next step.'

Her words were so strong in his mind that Vladimir slowly felt the rage subside. She would expect him to save himself and Eric.

It was late in the day and Vladimir knew they had to act quickly. Instructing Eric to help collect the body parts, they built a fire and burned them. It wouldn't cover what had ultimately happened but Vladimir wanted to make it hard for anybody to work out what had actually occurred.

Vladimir and Eric hiked another twenty miles before they stopped for the night. Eric caught a couple of rabbits for dinner while Vladimir made a small fire to cook the food, but as soon as Eric had skinned the rabbits both men devoured them raw. This upset Eric after he had finished. _I am an animal_ , was all he could think.

Unrolling the sleeping bags from two of the packs, Vladimir instructed Eric to get into one. He could see how exhausted he was. _Actually_ , he thought to himself, _so am I_ , and climbed into the other. Both sleeping bags were unzipped for a quick escape if needed. Valeskia had taught them that trick many years ago. The night brought dark dreams for both of them with Vladimir coming awake when Eric cried out in his sleep. Moving his body closer to Eric, Vladimir put his arms around him. Eric relaxed at his touch and soon drifted back into an easier sleep.

Lying in the dark Vladimir's mind drifted to the past. He knew there was a clue, something that he should remember, something his mother had told them. And just before dawn a memory popped into his head.

He must have been about twelve and Eric five when, after another quick departure from a village, Valeskia had taken them to a farm. It was small but it was kept neat and tidy by an old couple. What was unusual about them was that they knew her. Vladimir had never met anybody from Valeskia's past before. After greeting her warmly they showed the group to a barn with the old woman bringing the boys a most delicious stew to eat. After Valeskia thought the boys had fallen asleep, she got up quietly and went to the farmhouse.

Vladimir followed and waited outside a window where he heard his mother ask the couple, 'Thora, Sven, do you know of any others that have escaped the camps?'

Thora replied, 'We have heard of a few. Varrick has become good at tracking down anyone who escapes. Those with the curse usually die though, it's too hard to live in this world transformed.'

Vladimir stepped on a stick and in a flash Sven was outside with a shot-gun.

'It is only me,' Vladimir choked - he had never had a gun pointed at him before.

'Vladimir, why have you left Eric?' Valeskia scolded.

'He is asleep,' Vladimir replied, feeling guilty.

'If he wakes and you're not there you know he will be upset. Go back to him, I'll be along shortly,' Valeskia said sternly. Vladimir ran back to the barn, but Eric was still sleeping soundly.

The next day as they journeyed on, Vladimir tried to get Valeskia to talk about the couple but all she would say was, 'Later, later,' and that was the end of it.

'That's it,' Vladimir thought to himself, 'we need to find that couple; they will have the answers we need.'

After Eric had woken, Vladimir told him of the plan.

'Where is the farm?' Eric asked. He had no memory of the place.

'I am not sure,' Vladimir replied. In the early days of his life he did not always know where they were. 'I remember that I saw the Bohemian Ore Mountain peak; it was close to where the farm was.'

'Vlad, that's over three hundred miles from here.' Eric was dubious about the plan.

'I don't have any other ideas, Eric, and we need answers.' Eric knew that Vladimir was right but he was so tired. 'Can we just go back to town?' Eric asked quietly.

Vladimir knew what was going through Eric's head and could see that he had fallen in love with Rachel. Softly Vladimir he, 'No Môn vieux. If we go back the people we care about will get hurt.'

Vladimir hated the look on Eric's face so he turned and picked up Valeskia's pack. It was fruitless carrying it anymore so he opened it to see if he could use any of the items. The smell of her perfume wafted out and a wave of sorrow flooded over him. Apart from her spare clothes, she had over 34 500 Czech dollars and a small silver coffee pot, which surprised Vladimir as it was so unlike Valeskia to have anything sentimental. He also found, at the bottom of the pack, an old pocket watch and a map of the world. When he opened up the watch he knew instantly that it belonged to Eric. He could see a lock of hair the same colour as Eric's and the picture of the girl looked too much like Eric to doubt who it was. He then opened up the old map and saw that Australia had a red circle around it. Folding the map back up, he tucked it and the silver pot into his bag. He would carry on with his mother's mysteries, whatever they were.

Before he handed the pocket watch to Eric, Vladimir removed an old leather wallet and took out the only picture of Valeskia that he had, then placed it in the watch next to Dusana.

'This is a picture of your mother, keep it safe.' He gave the watch to Eric.

Eric was silent as he looked at the watch for a long time before putting it into his pocket. As they placed the packs on their backs to begin the journey to the peak, Eric asked the burning question, 'Why has this happened to us?'

Vladimir was silent for a long time before answering. 'I don't know, I only know what matters now! We must survive.'

Eric began to answer Vladimir but instead turned in the direction of the mountain peak. The men ran for hours and did not stop until the sun had set on the day.

* * *

It took the boys just under a week to find the farm. It was more run-down than when Vladimir had been a child and they watched the place for hours to see if it was safe to approach. They couldn't see the old couple anywhere until just before sunset, when the old man came out of the dense woods carrying four rabbits he had hunted. He stood for a moment outside the front door and it looked like he was sniffing the air. The boys crept closer but neither was ready to make themselves known.

After a while the door opened again and the old man called out, 'I know you're there. Come on inside, dinner is almost ready.' The boys froze. Eric was hungry and the smell that was coming from the small cottage was delicious. They looked at each other and Vladimir nodded. Slowly they came out into the clearing in front of the house.

'Arr, you must be Valeskia's children. My you have grown,' the old man said to the boys then muttered to himself, 'Yes, yes, so many years, where do they go?' Then, to the boys, 'Come, come, you are safe, there is food for you to eat,' and he disappeared back into the cottage.

After they entered the house the old man shut the door; this made Vladimir very uneasy.

'Where is the old woman?' he asked Sven.

'There is only me here now, I buried her out the back two seasons ago. God was finally kind to her and took her quickly,' and he thought to himself, _I would have died with her that day except for my work today with you both_.

He scooped the steaming stew into two large bowls and gave them to the boys. It was delicious and it was the first hot meal either boy had eaten in a week.

'My mother is dead,' Vladimir finally declared.

'I thought as much with you both showing up here without her,' Sven replied sadly.

'Can I have some more?' Eric asked. He felt like his hunger was never going to end.

'Yes, yes, of course,' and the old man scooped more stew into both of their bowls.

Vladimir relaxed slightly; the room was warm and for the first time in over a week his belly was full. He could see that Eric was sleepy but Vladimir wanted answers.

'Old man,' he said, 'my Mother did not tell us what we were running from.'

'We have become monsters,' Eric interjected, 'we turn into wolves.'

'I see,' the old man replied calmly, he could feel the change in them both.

'I need to know what we are.' Vladimir's tone demanded answers.

The old man was impressed with how commanding Vladimir was. Valeskia had done a good job raising him.

'You are part of an experiment that started many years ago. A part of who you are has been altered by witchcraft or science, I really don't know. You are lucky to have been cursed as a wolf.'

'Lucky?' Vladimir stammered.

'Yes, lucky,' the old man replied. 'There are darker creatures being created in the camps.'

'Can you tell us what will happen to us?' Vladimir asked.

Sven paused. He thought of Valeskia and knew she would want him to help the boys. But the truth was, no one survived outside of the camps once the curse had been activated. Looking at Vladimir, the old man decided he would be truthful.

'No one has lived after the curse has taken hold of them.'

Eric gasped, 'You mean we're going to die?'

Putting his hand on Eric's shoulder, Vladimir asked, 'Why do you say that? How does it happen?'

'Varrick has spies everywhere. When you are wolves you will attack people's livestock. The stories start and he tracks you down to capture or kill you; it is only a matter of time.' The old man was genuinely sorry for the boys.

'Maybe we won't turn back into wolves; it has been a week since we turned,' Vladimir said while trying to stay calm.

'No, you will turn with the full moon - the pull will always make you transform. I'm sorry but there is no antidote. There is no way to save you,' Sven's voice was soft.

Eric had begun to tremble. His hopes were gone; they would die.

'There has to be a way out of this mess,' Vladimir declared, his mind desperately trying to work out a plan.

'Vladimir, we are doomed, we're going to die,' Eric murmured.

Vladimir grabbed Eric's shoulders and turned him to face him. 'Môn vieux, we will get out of this, please don't give up. I just need time to work this out.'

'Well then,' the old man said, 'you have three days till the next moon. If you can think of a plan, you will have to think it out by then. Come, you can make your beds in the barn,' and he gave them some extra blankets.

The next day Vladimir kept watch on the area outside the house. Eric hadn't wanted to get up so Vladimir had left him to sleep the day away. He knew that he needed to give Eric some hope as he could see that his spirits were low. Vladimir was also aware that his feelings for Eric had changed, his body had responded differently. Last night, lying next to Eric, he was aroused and he couldn't escape the sensation that he wanted to touch Eric's body. As the day progressed the rise of passion in him became almost all-consuming. That night at dinner Eric couldn't meet Vladimir's eyes. The tension between them was overwhelming. The old man wasn't surprised. He knew what was happening to them. _How can I ease their minds?_ he wondered.

After dinner, Vladimir pulled out the old map that he had found in his mother's pack. 'Do you know why my mother carried this map?' he asked the old man. Sven slowly opened the map and when he turned to Eric he had a small smile on his face.

'This was your mother's, Dusana's map. Your father gave it to her when she was little. She would spend hours looking at it.'

'Why is Australia circled in red?' Vladimir asked pointing to the map.

'It was Dusana's dream to go there; she thought that she would be safe. It was her belief that the person who could stop the curse would come from there.' The old man folded the map and gave it back to Vladimir then muttered to himself, 'Who knows why we fancy things.' Seeing the tension between the boys had become almost unbearable, he said, 'You both feel different about each other now, don't you?' Eric looked at the ground. He was too embarrassed to say anything. Vladimir just nodded. 'It is part of the gene treatment, the only good part. You have bonded with each other. My wife told me in her wise way that God had not forsaken us by granting us true love. Take pleasure where you can, there are only bleak days ahead. Now, I must go to bed.'

But before he did, he turned to looked at Vladimir and said, 'You need to work out a plan boy, time is running out.'

'I know,' Vladimir replied, but no plan had come to him.

* * *

As they walked back to the barn, Vladimir's body burned with desire for Eric. He could not take his eyes off his body. Lying down, Vladimir shut his eyes and tried to keep still. Images were flashing in his head and then he felt Eric's arm touching his chest; he responded by pulling Eric closer and kissing his lips.

The next morning Vladimir woke with a start. He knew what they needed to do. Gently unwrapping Eric's arm from around his neck, he rose and went to the cottage to talk to the old man.

'I have a plan,' Vladimir said to the Sven, who was tending to breakfast. He nodded for Vladimir to continue. 'We need to be locked away when it is a full moon, in a place we can't be found,' and then he reached into his shirt and pulled out the map. 'We need to go there,' and he pointed to Australia. 'Varrick will never find us so far away.'

'I see,' the old man replied and he thought for a moment. 'The plan just might work.'

'Do you know of a place where we can be locked up?' Vladimir asked. He wasn't sure if they would have time to build a cage.

'I do know of a cave close to here; it's where I locked up my wife on the full moon.'

'Your wife was a wolf? Are you?' Vladimir was puzzled, he hadn't sensed that Sven was like them.

'No, my change was different. I sometimes see the future, which is how I knew you were coming.' Pausing for a moment he decided to let Vladimir know the truth. 'Just before Thora died I dreamt that I would help you cross the seas to Australia. It is the only thing that has kept me going since her death.'

'Why did you not tell us that when we arrived?' Vladimir asked, confused.

'Because, I am in charge of my life as you are in charge of yours; you needed to make the decision.' Sven went to the stove and started scooping the steaming porridge into two bowls, handing one to Vladimir.

'What are you talking about?' Eric asked, entering the small cottage. He was still waking up. Sitting down next to Vladimir he smiled at Sven as he handed him a bowl; he was so hungry. Vladimir put his arm around Eric's shoulder, while he ate a large breakfast, telling him the plan. Eric's reaction was hopeful - he trusted Vladimir's judgement. Being with Vladimir the previous night had been natural and the terrible tension between them had, for the moment, eased.

'Australia,' Eric remarked and then he laughed, 'my mother would have liked that.'

'Yes, she would,' the old man said and then, turning towards Vladimir, 'and so would yours.'

'I know,' Vladimir responded, knowing in his heart that Valeskia would be glad he was keeping Eric safe.

After breakfast, the old man took them to the pigpen and they slaughtered a boar. 'You will need this,' he told the boys. 'Always make sure you have a fresh kill otherwise you will want to feed off anything. This boar will keep your belly full for a few days. We also need to make sure you have enough water.'

Vladimir carried a large barrel that he had cut in half and put a large stone on the bottom of it to stop it from tipping over, while Eric ran back and forth to the river with buckets of water to fill it. By late afternoon both boys were beginning to feel the effects of the moon.

'It is time for you to go into the cave,' the old man instructed. He knew the signs, having seen his wife go through this for years.

Both Vladimir and Eric removed their clothes and entered the dark cave. Sven pushed a large boulder across the entry behind them, blocking the cave's only escape. As they were encased in the darkness, Vladimir reached out and pulled a trembling Eric into an embrace, holding him until the change took place.

* * *

Three days later Sven pushed the boulder out of the way. When the boys came out of the cave Sven had made a fire and was cooking a meaty stew. As soon as the boys got dressed he handed them large bowls of stew. Both Vladimir and Eric grabbed the food and rushed through the first bowl and then a second. It wasn't until their third one that they began to eat slower.

Sven spoke as they were eating. 'I spent last night in the local tavern and told them that a traveller passing through had killed two wolves. I said they were the biggest wolves that I had ever seen and that the colours were funny, one grey and one cream.'

'That's good,' Vladimir replied. He was beginning to regain his composure with the food in his stomach; the hot meal had made him feel in control again. 'That is step one of our plan.'

When Eric finally couldn't eat one more mouthful he moved closer to Vladimir, who put his arm around his shoulder as they sat by the warm fire.

'I think I have found a way for you to get to Australia,' the old man said. 'There is a boat leaving from Prague in two days that goes to England. If we catch the train tonight you'll make it. From England you can get a cargo boat to Australia, but it will take you over a month to get there. You will turn again on the boat; I haven't being able to work out what to do about that.'

Vladimir thought for a long while before saying, 'We can buy a shipping container and make sure it is stacked in a place where we can get to it, but old man, we need your help. Could you come with us?'

Vladimir's request didn't surprise the old man and he paused. He knew that he didn't have much longer to live. He had seen that he would die soon from a lump that was growing inside his chest and while he didn't want to leave his wife, he knew that there would be no one to bury him beside her. Besides, he knew Thora would be pleased that he was helping the boys.

'I will come. I will help you get to Australia,' he finally declared, and his heart was filled with gladness, as he thought, _Maybe these boys could have a good life together over there. Maybe they will be safe_...
Chapter 14

Bringing his mind back to the present, Vladimir focused on Emily's beautiful face; he loved that she had taken the story so well.

'Sven lasted for two years with us here in Australia, before he died of lung cancer.'

'He helped us get here and then he worked hard helping us to find our place in this country,' Eric added. 'He encouraged Vladimir to go to law school and helped me set up my own business selling my sculptures, but most of all he taught us to be careful. He taught us how to hide in plain sight.'

'We have been careless - I have grown soft,' Vladimir said.

'We both have,' Eric added, turning to Emily. 'We should never have brought you into our world.'

'I'm here now,' Emily replied looking at both men. 'We can figure this out.'

'I am worried that if Varrick finds us he will be able to control us when we are wolves and turn us back into killers,' Vladimir replied.

'I don't think that will happen now, not with our connection being so strong. I don't think he could break it.' Emily was sure this was the case. The short time they had spent together had forged a tight bond.

'Em, I hope you're right, your life depends on it.' Eric wasn't hopeful, the events of the last few days had opened up old wounds.

'We need to leave here right now,' Vladimir suddenly said and he turned and went upstairs with Emily and Eric following him into the spare bedroom. He picked up the bed with one hand - underneath it were three packs.

'How long have they been there?' Eric asked Vladimir.

'Since we moved here to Australia the packs have always been ready. When we moved in with Emily I added a pack for her.'

Emily started to feel panic rising in her. 'I can't leave my animals; I won't leave Applejacks.'

'Emily, we need to go. We will get David to look after the animals but we will take Applejacks.' Vladimir knew she wouldn't leave without him.

'Eric, bring the car around with the horse float. I will get the cash from the safe.'

Emily felt so small and she was frightened to the core. 'Where will we go?'

'I have a couple of safe houses that we can go to.' Vladimir had put his arm around her as they walked back to the kitchen.

Pulling herself together, Emily connected with the cats, telling them to be nice to David and that she would return for them as soon as she could. When she connected with Rumour, she could feel that the dog was close to panic and Emily knew she couldn't leave her.

'Oh girl, don't worry, you're coming with us,' she reassured her and Rumour moved closer to her. The dog wasn't about to let her out of her sight.

She could hear that Eric had pulled up outside and she could see through the window that he had attached the horse float. Vladimir had gone to the kitchen pantry and opened a false wall to reveal the safe, and was stuffing cash into his pack, his mind busy as he tried to work out the next couple of steps. He knew that both Eric and Emily trusted him to know what to do - he would protect them with his life and he buried any doubts he had.

As he left the pantry he met Emily in the kitchen, putting dog food into her pack.

'We need to take Rumour, she needs to be with me.'

Knowing it would just distress Emily if they left the dog behind, Vladimir agreed.

'Okay, she can come.' He knew that Rumour would give her life to protect Emily and that would be another line of defence.

Suddenly they heard a shot and then another. _God, we are too late!_ Vladimir thought, running to the door.

'Eric, come inside!' he yelled and Eric was so fast, he was inside within seconds. Both men worked quickly, moving furniture in front of the door and windows. Three more shots were fired, then silence.
Chapter 15

'I need to know what's going on,' Vladimir said turning to Emily. The shots that had being fired had come from the entrance where Vince's men were.

'Wait a minute,' she responded and focused on opening a connection with the goats that were in the field by the gate. It was hard to get any information from them as they were panicked, so she connected to Applejacks, who was still at the back of the house. Emily asked if he could get a view of the front. ' _Be careful, Applejacks_.'

' _I will_ ,' he replied and moved around the side to see Roy's dark grey Hummer coming up the drive.

' _Move back out of sight_ ,' Emily instructed as he relayed the information to her.

Vladimir commanded, ' _Go to the barn Applejacks, we will join you shortly_.'

Looking out from the corner of the window, Vladimir saw five men and one woman get out of the car. He guessed the tall man with dark hair was Roy and he ached to get his hands on him; he could see Eric was feeling the same way.

Peering out again he began to feel a strange sensation, and realised that the woman and one of the other men were abnormals. The woman was tall, with long jet-black hair and ebony skin; she was beautiful in an exotic way. A scar ran along one cheek and the way she smiled towards the house was chilling. Her companion was tall also, with snow-white hair; he looked like a Euro skinhead. He too had a smile on his face that made him look cruel. The other three men carried automatic machine guns and looked like hired thugs; they quickly spread around the house.

Emily checked with Applejacks. He had reached the barn and was waiting in the woods behind it.

'I feel odd,' Eric murmured.

'So do I, Môn vieux,' Vladimir replied sounding unfocused.

Emily tried to open a connection with the men to get some idea of what they were feeling but someone else was forging a more dominant mental connection. She looked outside and could see the woman had closed her eyes and Emily guessed it was coming from her. Both men had stopped moving and Emily realised the woman was gaining their control. Throwing images at the men of their lives together, Emily broke the woman's bond then projected a wall around each of the men's minds, like the one she sometimes used to shut down her emotions. Within seconds she could feel both men come back and regain their consciousness.

'What happened?' Vladimir asked.

'That woman tried to connect with you but I stopped her,' Emily responded. 'We need to maintain our connection so I can stop it happening again.'

'This is what I was afraid would happen,' Vladimir's deep voice was tense.

'Vlad,' Emily soothed him, 'we're still in control.' Eric was relieved; his biggest fear was of losing control and hurting Emily.

'Come on out, we won't hurt you,' Roy suddenly bellowed.

'I bet,' Eric muttered. Vladimir picked up his mobile but the line was dead.

'They must be jamming our signal.'

Eric tried the landline but it too was dead.

'I suggest you come out, you have nowhere to run,' Roy bellowed again.

'What do we do?' Emily asked. She was having a hard time keeping focus as the other woman was still trying to force herself into the men's minds.

'Can you teleport us to the barn?' Vladimir asked.

Thinking for a moment Emily replied, 'I would have to break the link with you both to do it.'

All of a sudden they could hear another car coming up the driveway and as they looked out the window, they could see a small truck pull up.

'Oh, no, it's David,' Emily panicked and screamed. 'David get out of here!' But it was too late. Roy pounced on him as soon as he stepped out of the truck and held a gun to his head.

'Come out now or I will kill this man,' Roy yelled again.

Not knowing what was going on but knowing what sort of man Roy was, David yelled, 'Emily don't come out, he'll kill me anyway.'

The skinhead remarked with a heavy accent, 'You're right, man, but it's how you go that counts,' and he pulled off his clothes and turned into a huge snow wolf. The wolf approached David and without any warning, leap at him, sinking his teeth into David's arm and ripping a chunk of muscle and flesh from it. David screamed and Emily felt her barrier keeping the woman out, start to slip.

'I can't keep this up,' Emily told the men. 'She's too strong and we need to help David.'

Again the snow wolf attacked David, this time biting his leg, ripping off flesh and muscle, exposing the bone. David's scream was pure agony.

'The next bite will be at his throat if you don't come out,' Roy bellowed.

'We will come out,' Vladimir yelled at Roy, then turning to Emily and Eric he said, 'Emily, you need to go to David and teleport him to the barn. There is a first aid kit in one of the packs.'

'But then I can't keep the connection open to you,' Emily replied.

'I know. We will be exposed for a time but come back on Applejacks as close as you can without being seen. If she has us under her control, teleport us to the barn and try to regain control of us. It will take them a few minutes to find us there.' Seeing the look on Emily's face Vladimir added, 'He doesn't want to kill us.'

The men moved the furniture away from the door and then the trio slowly moved outside to where Roy and his group were standing. Emily wasn't sure if she could pull off Vladimir's plan. After almost losing herself and Applejacks to the void when she had rescued him, she was worried she would lose herself and David, but there was no time for anything else. She felt small and insignificant, and looking at David's suffering almost overwhelmed her - there was so much blood.

'Let me help him,' Emily implored softy and slowly walked towards David. So far no one thought of her as a threat and she held their three packs in her arms. Nearing David, Emily could see that he was on the verge of losing consciousness. She knelt down and whispered to him, 'It's okay, just close your eyes,' and then they were gone.

The woman let out a scream of surprise, furious, but the snow wolf had transformed back into a human and was laughing. 'What a good trick.'

'Ivan,' the girl barked at him, 'this is not funny.'

'Oh Sarah, you need to get a life. Nothing is fun if you get it too easily,' he replied, laughing.

Sarah now looked back at Vladimir and Eric, thinking about how she hadn't been able to control them. _Maybe the girl had something to do with it_ , she thought. So she reached out again and this time, found that she could easily slip into their minds. They both tried to fight her but it only took a couple of minutes to make them strip and change into wolves, snarling and snapping.

Ivan was laughing again. 'New playmates,' and he morphed back into a snow wolf with Sarah following suit. She was a slightly smaller wolf than the others and leaner, her fur was pure black and you could still see the long thin scar along her jaw.

In wolf form Sarah's connection to Vladimir became clearer. He could hear her words telling him that he was part of her pack, although he knew that he was not, and he could tell that Eric was equally unconvinced; yet there was a part of him that was excited to have found his own kind.

' _Come, let us see if we can find the girl_ ,' Sarah commanded.

It took a moment for Vladimir to realise that she meant Emily and that she wanted them to hunt her. The command brought back Vladimir's control and he leapt at Ivan at the same instant that Eric leapt at Sarah. The fights were vicious and bloody.

Sarah couldn't believe it. What had gone wrong? With Eric fighting her, she couldn't regain control over them. She needed a moment to make it happen but Eric was on her again and again. He seemed to have a lot of skill as a wolf and he was so fast. The snow wolf was almost an even match for Vladimir, but Ivan was a more practised killer and he was inflicting some severe wounds to Vladimir's torso.

Roy could see that his companions were not going to win easily and he reached inside his Hummer for a tranquiliser gun. Taking careful aim, he fired first at Eric and then at Vladimir; the anaesthetic would take a minute to work. As they fell unconscious to the ground they transformed back into humans. Sarah and Ivan also changed back and Sarah grabbed a first aid kit out of the back of the Hummer, instructing one of the thugs to tend to her wounds, while Ivan held his arm laughing madly.

'I want to kill him,' he growled.

Roy's men were uneasy around Ivan - he was prone to violence without warning. Sarah was the only one who could control him.

'Ivan, come, let's look at your wounds,' she said. The medic was trying his best to see what was wrong with Ivan but he was high with exhilaration from the fight, repeating, 'I want to kill him,' over and over.

Roy went to check that Vladimir and Eric had not received mortal wounds. After he was satisfied they wouldn't die, he asked his men to tie them up and put them in the back of Hummer. Once the abnormals had dressed, he pulled out a petrol can and flung petrol over the front of the house. Pulling out his lighter, he set Emily's house ablaze then he turned to the group and instructed, 'We will return to the compound.'

'What about the girl?' Sarah barked; she was angry at the confrontation.

'We'll worry about her later. Your master only wanted these men. We'll let him know that we have them and then we'll hunt the girl.' The thought amplified his desire for her and he thought, _I will own her_. He imagined, in his mind, the pleasure he would have with her when she was caught and thought, _I have ways to control such power_.

* * *

Emily and David arrived in the barn landing on the ground with a thud, but Applejacks was with her within seconds and as he nuzzled her back she felt the energy flowing back into her. Sitting up she looked across at an unconscious David.

'Oh God, the bleeding!' and she rummaged through one of the packs trying to find the first aid kit. 'This will do nothing!' she cried in frustration, but pulled out two bandages and wrapped them tightly around David's wounds. His leg wound was especially bad - she could see that a major artery had been nicked. Knowing that she didn't have long she remembered Vladimir's last words. 'He doesn't want to kill us.'

Emily decided to teleport David to the Rapid Health Clinic in town; if she stayed and went back for the men David would die.

'Applejacks, we need to get David to town,' she cried out loud.

' _I'm here, lead the way_ ,' he thought back to her.

Emily thought for a few seconds - she wasn't sure how far she could teleport; the town was over twelve kilometres from the farm. The trick was clarity. She tried to focus on the Rapid Health Clinic but Emily had only driven past it a couple of times. Then a thought came to her, _Maybe if I focus on the Animal Barn_. It was the place where she picked up feed for the animals and it was just around the corner from the Rapid Health Clinic.

' _I think that would work_ ,' Applejacks responded. It was clear in Emily's head where the animal barn was and Applejacks knew the way from her visualisation of the animal barn. Just before Emily teleported, she picked up the three packs and tied them onto Applejacks' body.

'We'll need these,' she said and then, taking a deep breath, she focused and the coldness enveloped them for a few seconds. Suddenly they were in the car park of the Animal Barn. Emily ran inside and up to the counter yelling, 'There's an injured man outside! Call for help, now!' The staff moved quickly and Emily ran back to David, who was still unconscious.

'Come on David, please don't die,' Emily pleaded, kneeling down to hold his hand.

Applejacks thought to her, ' _He'll live, I know it_ ,' and Emily responded by kissing David's hand and then touching Applejacks' leg as he stood by them. Hearing the ambulance approach, Emily knew David would be in good hands and they could go back.

'We need to go behind the dumpster, there are too many people for us to teleport from here,' Emily told Applejacks. As the ambulance approached, Emily moved behind a dumpster and focused on the spot they had left by the barn. The moment they reappeared at the farm she could smell the smoke and looking in the direction of the farmhouse she could see clouds of black smoke pouring over the trees.

'Stay here Applejacks, I'm going to see what's going on.' She quickly ran through the bush at the side of the track hoping that everything was alright. Staying behind cover she saw that the Hummer was gone. She reached out with her mind to the men but couldn't get a sense that they were near. Pushing down the panic she slowly walked into the clearing in front of the house. It was completely alight now and for a moment Emily was at a loss. The house had always been her home - her mother and father had built it themselves. Then she remembered the animals and mentally called for Rumour, who was still hiding in the bushes behind the house. Rumour's joy at receiving Emily's connection was strong and within seconds she had flown out of her hiding place and was thrusting her nose into Emily's hands, her whole body trembling with happiness. The cats appeared more slowly from the bushes and the Siamese boy, had burns to his paws because he had been the last to escape the flaming house. Emily immediately took the pain away and wrapped him around her neck; she would tend to his burns in the barn.

Then, unable to connect with any of her other animals, she realised that the goats and Don the donkey were dead. Tears flowed down her face but this didn't stop Emily from taking action - Vladimir had given her instructions and she knew she was no longer safe at the farm. Moving quickly, she told the small group of animals to follow her and as they gathered at the barn, she quickly tended to the small cat's paws, giving the rest of them instructions on what they needed to do. Pulling open Vladimir's pack she saw a small address book; in it were the addresses of the safe houses that he had told her about. She also found a key ring with six numbered keys on it and the numbers matched the addresses.

Having visited David's place so many times, it was easy for Emily to teleport the whole group to his home. Using his phone she called Trish their receptionist at the clinic - to come and collect the cats. She was brief answering her questions but told him that David was in hospital after a bad dog attack - whatever David told Trish would be up to him. Emily had to pause for a moment as a wave of nausea washed over her, she wanted to throw up with worry for David. She whispered a small prayer that her mother had taught her, 'Life is short, life is long, may the Lord take us home.'

The saying started to loop through her head, so she focused on the words until the feeling of dread within her had softened.

David had an old ute that he only used on the farm and after searching through the drawers in the kitchen, Emily found the keys and hooked up David's horse float.

' _We'll need to drive to a safe house. I don't know where it is so I can't teleport us there_ ,' Emily told Applejacks.

' _I understand_ ,' Applejacks replied. He didn't like travelling in a horse float but knew it was necessary.

Saying goodbye to the cats was hard as Emily was not sure if she would ever see them again. Opening the door to the old ute she told Rumour to jump in and as they drove out of David's property, Emily knew that she would never come back.

It took over two hours to find the safe house and more tears flowed as she opened the large garage to find bags of horse feed. Vladimir had thought of everything. After feeding Applejacks and Rumour, Emily opened up the three packs to see what was in them. In her pack was a letter addressed to her and when she opened it she recognised Vladimir's handwriting.

Dear Emily,

If you have opened this letter then we are lost and your life is in danger. Do not try to find us, it is too dangerous, please take the money and hide. Do not use your phone. I want you to take out the SIM card right now and destroy it. There is another phone that you can use in the pack with my security chief Vince's number. Ring him, he will help you to escape. Emily, you were the best thing to happen to Eric and myself. I detest myself for the danger we have put you in. Knowing you are safe will be the only comfort that Eric and I need. Be safe.

Love, Vladimir.

Reaching for her phone, Emily took out the SIM card and crushed it with her boot. As she removed the small mobile from Vladimir's pack, Emily allowed herself a small smile and thought how deluded her men were in thinking she wouldn't come for them. She rang Vince and told him what had happened.

'Where are you?' he asked. 'Just tell me the number on the key. We need to be careful.'

'Number six,' Emily replied.

Pausing for a moment to recall which property that was, Vince said, 'It will take me eight hours to get to you, I need to be careful. Then we'll get you to safety.'

Emily knew she'd have to be firm with Vince. She knew that Vladimir had left instructions to get her to safety but she wasn't leaving without Vladimir and Eric.

'Vince, I need to be clear. I am not leaving. We need to find Vladimir and Eric.' Emily was surprised at how firm her voice was.

'Emily, Vladimir told me...'

Emily interrupted. 'I know what he wants but Vince, you either help me or I won't be here when you arrive.' Pausing, Emily said more softly, 'I need your help Vince, I can't do this alone.'

Knowing that Vladimir would be furious with him, Vince replied, 'Alright, just wait there. I'll see what I can find out before I join you.' Hanging up the phone, Emily felt exhausted and lay down on the sofa, pulling a blanket over herself. Rumour sat on the floor by her head and Emily sobbed herself to sleep.
Chapter 16

Eric was the first to wake. He was flat on his back and tied to a cold metal table. Looking to the side he could see that Vladimir was tied to another table. Softly, Eric spoke, 'Vlad, wake up,' and then a little louder, 'Vlad, wake up.' Vladimir slowly started to come round; his head was very sore.

'Eric, are you okay?' he asked as he began to test the ropes that were tying him down.

'Never felt better,' Eric responded. His head was pounding as well but he too began to pitch his muscles against the ropes.

'Enough of that!' a voice commanded as they heard a key turn in the metal door of the cell. Roy entered first follow by Ivan and Sarah.

'Where's the girl?' Roy ordered.

Vladimir remained silent but Eric laughed.

'Do you honestly think we'd tell you?'

'No, I don't,' Roy responded smiling coldly. 'But one has to try.' Smiling, he stood over Vladimir and said, 'I just spoke to your father. He was surprised to find you still alive but is preparing a welcome reception for your return to him.'

Vladimir felt fear rise in him at the thought of seeing his father again. 'I thought he would be dead by now, he must be seventy years old.'

'Oh no, he is still fit and strong. Our gene program extends life - once you hit fifty you age more slowly. Roy paused, then added, 'He should last a couple of hundred years and so should you both if he doesn't kill you first, but I wouldn't count on that if I was you. I'm not sure what his plans are for you.'

Ivan interjected. 'Can we play some more?' He had not had such a strong confrontation before; he liked the close match and the fighting. Vladimir was a good test for his skills.

'No, Varrick wants them intact.' Roy responded firmly.

Then Sarah spoke sharply, 'Don't be dumb, Ivan, you almost got us killed before.'

'That's because you're too slow,' Ivan snapped back.

'Damn it you two, shut up! We have plans to make,' Roy said and, turning back to Vladimir laughed, 'I _will_ get the girl, you know. It's only a matter of time and when I do I will enjoy her flesh.'

Once the tio had left Vladimir threw his weight against the ropes, which creaked with the strain but did not break.

Eric asked, 'Do you think Emily will be safe?'

'I left her a note to contact Vince and hide. He has the means to keep her safe.'

Eric paused and then said, 'She'll come for us, you know that.'

'I told Vince that might happen. He will take measures to protect her.' But Vladimir knew that Emily would pursue them. It would only be a matter of time.

'We need to get out of here, Môn vieux,' he murmured to Eric, and both men set about testing the ropes again.

* * *

Emily woke with a start and for a moment forgot where she was. Then Rumour's wet nose touched her face and the memory of the day before came back. She looked at her watch and saw it was 2am.

_Vince should be here soon_ , she thought and then set about making herself some coffee. Fifteen minutes later she heard a car pull up in the driveway of the small house.

To Applejacks Emily said, ' _I think it's Vince_ ,' and she peered out the window and saw his familiar shape. ' _It_ is _Vince and we'll come out to you_ ,' Emily told Applejacks.

As she opened the door to Vince, Emily indicated that they go to the garage. She knew that Vince wouldn't be willing to go against Vladimir's wishes so she got straight to the point.

'Look Vince, I know that Vladimir told you to protect me but I'm going to go after them.'

Vince replied confidently, 'Emily, we have a plan. Frankly, the best thing for you to do is to stay out of the way.'

'Stay out of the way,' Emily choked. 'I think I can be of some help.'

'Come on Emily, have you even held a gun?' Vince was getting short. He had plans to work out and if need be, he would force Emily to stay here with a couple of his men. Knowing what he must be thinking and realising that he was not going to back down, Emily stepped back and touched Applejacks' shoulder. Two seconds later, they were both gone.

'What the hell?' Vince yelled. He could feel his body turn cold; the temperature had dropped in the garage.

'I think we can be of some help,' Emily responded, having teleported herself and Applejacks behind him.

Vince spun around and opened and closed his mouth a few times before sputtering, 'How did you do that?'

Emily smiled. 'Actually, I'm not really sure how but we are good at it. All I need to do is see Vladimir and Eric and I can teleport them to a safe place.'

The shock had started to fade and Vince, a born survivalist, knew that Emily would come in handy; he wasn't sure if he had the man-power to break Vladimir and Eric out.

'Do you know where they are?' Emily asked, trying to sound confident.

'I think Roy has taken them to his compound in the Hunter Valley. I have men there now and they have reported that security has been ramped up.'

'What's the plan?' Emily asked.

'I am meeting my men two kilometres away from the compound in a side road.' Looking at his watch, he added, 'In two hours a satellite we have tapped into will pass over the compound and we will gather intel and then finalise our strategy.'

'Let's go then,' Emily told him adding, 'we need to take Applejacks and Rumour as well.' She quickly went into the house to retrieve the packs.

Vince stood for a moment before ordering his men to hook up the horse float to their four-wheel drive; his mind was racing and he thought to himself, _What the hell is she?_

Two hours later, as they were nearing the rendezvous point, Emily reached out to see if she could connect with the men. She had never tried to connect with them without knowing where they were. After a few minutes, she picked up a thread and zoomed in on it, connecting to Applejacks as well.

' _Vladimir, Eric, can you hear me?_ ' she thought as hard as she could.

Both men responded at once, reassuring her that they were unharmed.

' _Can you tell me where you are?_ ' Emily asked, her relief at finding them was intense.

' _In a room with no windows_ ,' Vladimir replied. ' _The walls are made of brick and the door is solid metal_.'

' _I'm with Vince. We're coming for you_.'

' _Emily_ ,' Eric started, but Emily cut him off.

' _It's no use, Eric. I am coming for you. Stop wasting time trying to talk me out of it_.' She could sense the men's fear for her.

Turning to Vince, she told him that she had connected to the men and relayed their information.

'You can read minds as well?' Vince sputtered.

'Yes, but only Vladimir and Eric's,' Emily replied.

'I see,' and thought to himself how glad he was of that. Some of the thoughts he had about Emily weren't too wholesome.

'Ask Vladimir how many men are holding him.'

After a moment Emily replied, 'He's not sure. They were knocked unconscious before they were taken and he's only seen six people so far. Vladimir has told me that they plan to take them by plane to the Czech Republic. I think they have a private airfield nearby.'

'Tell Vladimir,' Vince said, 'that we'll know more soon once we receive the satellite images.'

After relaying the message to Vladimir he decided, ' _Emily, we should cut the connection until we need it_.'

' _Because of the other two?_ ' Emily thought back.

' _Yes, they might be able to pick up on it_.'

' _I love you both so much_ ,' Emily thought before breaking the connection. She felt so lost without them and severing the connection hurt her physically. She turned her head towards the side window trying hard to fight back the tears.

Within ten minutes Vince had pulled into a side road next to a semi-trailer; the cab of the truck was tilted up exposing the engine making it look like the semi-trailer had broken down.

'We need to get the horse off the float and hide it. They'll be looking for that,' Vince told Emily.

As soon as the float's door was opened, Applejacks backed down and moved off to stand under a group of trees and Emily sent Rumour to stay with him. Vince took her to the back of the truck and as the door opened up, Vince lifted Emily inside, following after her. Once the door was closed, he pulled back a big block-out curtain and Emily gasped at all the equipment in the trailer. It looked like a set from a war movie with a man sitting looking at a bank of computers monitors.

'Emily, this is Ross. He's my communications specialist.' As Vince introduced them, he walked over and picked up a clipboard, reading the information on it.

Ross was of Asian descent and was just a bit taller than Emily. His well-muscled frame was lean and he looked very fit. Emily liked him straight away - there was warmth to him - and he smiled at Emily as he pointed to the computer screen. 'Two minutes till the satellite feed.'

'Are you ready to patch into the satellite when it comes over?' Vince asked.

'Yes,' Ross replied. 'All the equipment across the board is green to go.'

Vince turned to Emily and told her, 'We can only hack into it sixty seconds at a time before the security program shuts us out.'

'Will that be enough time?' Emily was worried.

'Usually, we just need to make sure that we pick the right spot to hack in, that's the trick.'

'Twenty seconds,' Ross announce suddenly and then, 'ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.' The screen came alive with the images. 'Recorder on,' Ross added as he fine-tuned the picture.

At first Emily couldn't work out any of the images and then she saw red shapes that were moving.

'Thermal working now,' Ross reported, sounding focused.

'Zoom in here,' Vince instructed, pointing to a section of the screen. Emily's heart almost stopped: she could see two human shapes lying flat.

'That's them!' she cried.

'I count sixteen men,' Ross reported calmly. 'Looks like the compound is heavily guarded. Okay, the feed has gone dead, we've been blocked,' Ross added as the screens went blank.

Looking at his watch Vince instructed Ross, 'Let's run the recording again but this time slow it down.'

Emily stayed silent as Vince and Ross pored over the footage. After a few minutes Vince grabbed a piece of paper and started drawing plans.

Looking at it, Emily knew she had to tell Vince about the wolves. It would do them all no good to be surprised.

'You might find wolves in the compound.'

'What do you mean?' Vince asked. 'We didn't see any in the satellite feed.'

Not knowing how much she should say, Emily carefully responded, 'There might be four wolves. If you see a grey one and a cream one, you're not to shoot them. If you see a white or a black one, you can shoot them.' Emily felt bad saying that; it was confusing for her to hate Ivan and Sarah in their wolf forms - it was easier to hate them as humans.

'Emily, that makes no sense. Why would we only shoot two of them?' Vince thought Emily had cracked under the stress.

Pulling Vince aside Emily whispered, 'Because the grey one will be Vladimir and the cream one Eric; the other two are there to take them.'

Vince could see that she was telling the truth. Emily was showing him a world he hadn't known existed and he knew that he had to push aside any doubts otherwise the mission would fail.

He said to Emily, 'Only tell me what I need to know.' Emily nodded. She understood that it must all seem surreal for Vince and she was impressed with how he was taking the news. Vladimir had chosen him well. Turning back to Ross, Vince thought for a moment before saying, 'The compound is too heavily guarded. I think our best move is to wait until they're moving them,' and then looking at a local map he added, 'I wonder which airfield Cartier uses?'

There were three private airfields within ten kilometres of the compound. Talking on his radio, Vince dispatched men to each one with orders to report on any activity. He hated to split up his men but he could see no choice. The smart thing for Roy to do would be to have an airstrip near the compound for a quick escape, but there was no guarantee that he did have one close and Vince just didn't have the man-power to go further afield in the short time he knew they had. Thirty minutes later he got a call from one of his men.

'I see the jet. It's being fuelled and there are techs checking it. I can also see six guards but I can't be sure if there are more because there's a large shed.'

Picking a point close to the airfield, Vince ordered all his men to rendezvous; he could see that it would be their only chance to get to Vladimir and Eric. He told Emily of the plan and said, 'Can you contact Vladimir again to let him know what's happening?'

'I'll try.' Emily was glad for an excuse to connect again with the men; the last hour had been so slow. Reaching out first to connect with Applejacks, she then projected to Vladimir and Eric. ' _Are you alone?_ ' Emily asked them.

' _Yes, for now_ ,' Vladimir replied. ' _We need to be quick. After our last connection Ivan and Sarah came in to see us_.'

Emily outlined the plan and then broke the connection. 'They told me I may not be able to connect again,' and she told Vince about Sarah and Ivan's abilities.

'All we can do now is wait,' Vince said. Looking at Emily he noticed how grey her face had become.

'You look tired. Come with me,' and he led Emily back to the trailer where, behind another block-out curtain, were a couple of bunks.

'Rest while you can, I'll call you when they're on the move.'

Lying down, Emily was too wired to sleep but her body was glad of the rest. She struggled to keep the dark thoughts from overwhelming her but it was all too much. Images of David and the destruction of her farm assaulted her. It was painful to think of how terrified her animals would have been before they died; it made her feel so powerless.

* * *

After Emily broke the connection with the men, Ivan and Sarah again burst into the room.

'What's going on?' Sarah demanded, her beautiful face contorted in rage.

Eric laughed, 'God you're stupid.'

Ivan laughed with him, before smashing his fist into Eric's face.

'My bond mate has her good points,' he remarked.

'Môn vieux!' Vladimir called but Eric was unconscious. 'Touch him again and I will kill you,' Vladimir warned Ivan.

'Ah, my friend, I truly like you,' and he ran his hand up Vladimir's leg.

'Enough!' Sarah barked. 'I felt something like this before! Tell me what's going on?'

'I don't know what you mean,' Vladimir replied coldly. He could see Eric was coming around.

'Such a light tap,' Eric murmured not wanting Ivan to know how hurt he was.

Ivan laughed again, 'I want to play some more with you,' and he banged his hand on the metal table that Eric was lying on.

'Ivan, back off!' Sarah yelled, feeling frustrated. 'It doesn't matter, we'll move you soon and then you will be reunited with your father again.' Touching Vladimir's chest, she spoke more softly. 'He has plans for us to mate.'

Calmly Vladimir replied, 'You will see me dead before I touch you.'

Now Sarah laughed. 'With or without your consent, I will bear your child. I might not be able to control you but your father will.' She and Ivan left the room, laughing.

'Why do you aggravate them?' Vladimir asked Eric gently, blood coming from his mouth.

'Because we are going to die, Vlad,' Eric replied, 'and I'm not going to do it on their terms.'

Vladimir was silent for a moment. He had forgotten how easily Eric had given up hope before. _Still_ , he thought, _it is up to me to give him hope_.

'I do not think we will die. Vince knows what he is doing.'

'So we escape this time, what about the next?' Eric asked bitterly. 'Now that Varrick knows that we're alive we'll have to run for the rest of our lives. And we have doomed Emily. Varrick will want her now as well, because of us. We have destroyed her life.'

'I know,' Vladimir replied, wishing that what Eric said wasn't true; he knew it was on his head. 'What you say is true but I don't plan to run, not this time.' Pausing, he repeated, keeping his deep voice low, 'Trust me, Môn vieux, this day has been a long time coming and I am ready for it.'

Eric felt guilty. 'All this time you made me feel safe, as if we were free of the danger.'

'Do you remember when we were at Sven's farm back in the Czech Republic and he was telling us about your mother's map and how she had seen that we would be freed by someone from Australia?' Vladimir spoke softly.

'Yes I remember, a small child's talk.' Eric missed Sven; he had been a true friend to the boys.

'Maybe, maybe,' Vladimir replied. 'You know, at the end of Sven's life when the cancer was closing in on him, you were out running.'

'I couldn't bear to see him die,' Eric whispered.

'I know, Môn vieux,' Vladimir's voice was soft. 'He grabbed my hand and said, 'She will come, the one that can speak to the wolves. With her you will free our people." And then he died. For years, I thought that it was just words from an old man's hallucinations.'

'Until we met Emily,' Eric spoke, his voice a whisper.

'Yes, then we met Emily,' Vladimir replied, 'I never wanted this to happen. For a time I refused to believe.'

'What changed your mind?'

'Look at who we are, Eric. Emily has never turned away from us, even when she found out what we really are. She accepts who we are and there are other people out there like us.'

Eric knew that Vladimir was right. 'We need to save them.'

'Yes, Môn vieux, we need to try. I understand that now.'

'Why did you not tell me of your plans?' Eric asked.

Vladimir took his time before answering. 'Because there was a part of me that wanted our lives to go on like it was. I have been selfish.'

'I'm with you, Vladimir,' Eric replied feeling resolve to fight till the end. He didn't think they would live but he would go down fighting.

'We'll first need to escape,' Vladimir responded, 'and that is up to Vince and Emily.'

* * *

Vince opened the curtain to find Emily sitting on the bed. 'I have my men in place. I think I've found a spot where you and Applejacks can see the plane.'

'Vince, I don't know if I can transport them from a distance,' Emily said.

'How close do you need to be?' he asked, wishing he had known this fact beforehand.

'I'm not sure. I've never tried this before.' Seeing the look on his face she quickly added, 'I can move them but I've never tried it from a distance.'

Vince absorbed the information thinking and rethinking his plan. He had hoped to keep Emily hidden. Moving her around was one thing but she said she had to be touching the horse and that was another. Turning to Ross he said, 'Get Emily a bulletproof vest and see if you can tie a couple over the horse.'

Ross jumped into action and Emily was impressed that he didn't ask any questions. Picking up a two-way radio, Vince showed Emily how to use it.

'I'll stay with you. If you can't teleport them from where we are, I'll try to open a route for you to get closer.' Vince helped Emily out of the truck and they walked over to Applejacks. Vince asked Emily, 'There will be a lot of noise from the automatic weapons. Will your horse handle it?'

Applejacks understood what Vince had said and thought to Emily, ' _I'll be alright_ '.

Emily told Vince and again Vince was astounded. 'He understands me?'

' _Tell him I only know English and a little bit of Czech that Eric taught me_ ,' Applejacks projected.

Emily laughed, relaying what Applejacks had said.

Vince looked at both Emily and Applejacks, realising how special they both were. He worried that Emily might break under the pressure of battle as she seemed so fragile. But, looking at her small form standing next to the large horse, he realised that she was calm and focused.

'I'll tell Rumour to stay by the truck,' Emily told Vince. 'She's too young to take into a fight,' and she instructed Rumour to sit under the trailer. Rumour obeyed but she was unhappy about leaving Emily's side.

'Okay,' Vince spoke, pulling out his radio, 'everybody take your places. Section three, you move in to protect the girl and the horse, we might need to get them closer so wait for further instructions. No radio chatter. Do not move until I give the signal.'

Emily asked quietly, 'How long do you think we'll have to wait?'

'Not long. I have a man watching the compound. He's told me that they're loading bags into the car and have brought a small truck around. I imagine they'll transport Vladimir and Eric in it.' Seeing Emily's face, Vince added, 'Don't worry, with your talent this is a much better plan than I had before. Just keep a cool head and stick to the plan.'

'I will,' Emily responded, but to Applejacks she thought, ' _I'm scared_.'

Applejacks just snorted - he was afraid as well.

Vince looked away for a few seconds and Emily realised that someone had spoken to him via his earpiece. Putting the radio to his mouth, Vince spoke softly.

'They're on their way, the packages are in the truck. Keep sharp.' Pausing, he looked at his watch and added, 'Incoming in seven minutes.'

The next few minutes were the longest of Emily's life. Her heart was beating so fast that she wanted to throw up. Focusing on Vladimir's words to her, she realised that she needed to trust that Vince knew what he was doing. She could hear the vehicles moving up the road to the airfield before she saw the lights. Apart from the noise of Roy's group the world seemed empty. As they drew nearer, Emily felt the fear rise in her to the point where she was not sure if she would be able to move.

Vince whispered to her, 'Steady, focus on the plan.' This helped and the fear subsided a bit.

Once the vehicle had pulled up besides the small jet, Emily saw Roy, Sarah and Ivan get out of the Hummer. Six other men with machine guns hopped out of another car and went to the back of the truck. Opening the door of the truck, Emily saw that Eric and Vladimir were strapped to two vertical metal boards. First Eric and then Vladimir was lifted from the truck by the men.

'Can you teleport them from here?' Vince whispered.

'No.' Emily had tried but it was too far. 'I need to get closer.'

'I can get you twenty metres closer without being seen,' and he slowly moved the small group to behind a large shed on the airstrip. 'Are you close enough now?'

Emily reached out again. 'No, they're too big to move. I need to be closer.'

Vince was unsure how. It would mean that they would be exposed and he knew a gun-fight would start.

'Wait, I have an idea,' Emily whispered. 'They're too big to move but I think I can remove the ropes that are around them. I'll let them know and tell them to run to the shed. Then, as soon as they're close enough, I'll project them away.'

Vince nodded and radioed the plan to his men; they would lay down a cover of fire from the west.

Emily briefly connected with the men, outlining their plan, and then she broke the connection. Both Sarah and Ivan had already gone into the jet, but as soon as Emily had broken the connection they were at the door coming down the stairs. They were about fifty metres away from where Eric and Vladimir were and Emily focused as sharply as she could, willing the ropes away, and within two seconds the men were free. Meanwhile, both Ivan and Sarah had stripped off their clothes and morphed into wolves.

Vladimir looked back and said to Eric, 'We need to change! They will catch us if we don't.'

Vince's eyes bulged out of his head at seeing Vladimir and Eric change from men into wolves. If he had not seen it with his own eyes he would never have believed it. However, instead of running towards Emily, Vladimir and Eric suddenly stopped and turned back to Sarah and Ivan.

'No!' Emily cried as she tried to connect with the wolves again to see why they had turned. But she struggled with the connection and realised that Sarah had taken control again.

Emily mentally shouted, ' _Come to me now!_ ' and that broke the hold that Sarah had forged.

Regaining themselves, Vladimir leapt at Ivan but Sarah wasn't willing to fight Eric again and she turned and ran back towards the jet. Eric turned to follow her but when Emily asked him to help Vladimir he turned back.

Vladimir's fight with Ivan was furious and bloody with both wolves suffering deep wounds. Eric jumped on Ivan, sending him crashing to the ground and sinking his teeth into his flank. Sarah, realising that Ivan was outmatched, turned back into a human and yelled for the guards to come with their guns. Within seconds Vince's men had opened fire, sending Roy's men back for cover.

'Come on Emily,' he yelled 'get them out of there!'

Emily almost panicked but then a thought hit her. She told Applejacks her idea.

Applejacks replied calmly, ' _I'll be ready_ ,' but he didn't like the plan. Emily would be in the line of fire.

Moving quickly, Emily decided to follow her gut and headed straight for where Vladimir and Eric were fighting Ivan. A gun-shot rang out, followed by another, and within seconds Emily was in the middle of a firestorm. Throwing her body to the ground, Emily realised she was not going to get any closer. Closing her eyes for a moment she found the connection to Vladimir and Eric and then to Applejacks and in a split second, they had all teleported to behind the shed.

Applejacks touched Emily within seconds but the fatigue was instant and it took Emily a moment to regain her concentration. Both Vladimir and Eric morphed into men and without words reached out to touch Emily. Allowing a small smile, Emily focused on the truck and in an instant they were standing by it. Emily reached for the radio and told Vince that they were clear.

The truck departed with Emily, Vladimir and Eric, and Applejacks was quickly loaded onto the float and secured behind the black four wheel drive; Ross would drive him to the safe house. One of the technicians pulled out clothes for the men and the trio moved to the front of the trailer where the bunks were. Vladimir was first to reach out for Emily and as he gathered her into his arms he kissed her head, cheeks and then her lips. Emily responded, laughing, and then she turned and embraced Eric who kissed her silently for a long moment, and then the three embraced.

'I am so proud of you,' Vladimir told Emily.

'I knew you would save us,' Eric added smiling.

'Really?' Emily replied. 'In that case, I don't want any more demands that I leave you for my own safety.'

Sitting on the bottom bunk, Vladimir pulled Emily into his lap and Eric sat beside them with his arm around Vladimir's shoulders.

'Do you really know what you are getting into, my love?' Vladimir murmured.

'You're kidding, right? After tonight I'm pretty clear,' Emily laughed lightly, the relief at being together again with her men making her feel giddy. Eric reached across, took one of her hands and pulled it towards his mouth. Opening her palm he kissed it, knowing Emily liked that.

'Emily, this is not the end of all of this but the beginning. We may not survive what comes next.'

'I don't want to think of that now,' Emily responded. 'We're together and on the move. Right now there is nothing for us to do and it will be hours until we stop.' Getting off Vladimir's knee, Emily crawled onto the large bunk and lay down, instructing the men to close the curtain.

'This looks like a bit of a squeeze.' Vladimir's low voice was soft.

'It'll work,' Emily replied simply. Her need to be with the men was strong; she pulled Eric beside her and Vladimir on top.

* * *

Awakening slowly, Emily was warm and happy. The rocking truck was relaxing and she reached out for Applejacks to see how he was faring, but he too was asleep. Emily was lying on top of Vladimir and her hand was entangled in Eric's hair. His head was on Vladimir's chest and both men were in a deep sleep. Having realised how tired they were after the past few days, she had lulled them all by projecting happiness and contentment. Keeping focus, Emily allowed herself a moment to reflect back on the last week. It all seemed like a bad dream and after a moment she could feel her mood start to change to sorrow. Vladimir murmured her name in his sleep. Pushing the negative emotions away, Emily regained control of the happiness of the moment, of being safe and together with her men. Vladimir slipped back into a deep sleep.

Two hours later the truck came to a stop and Vladimir instantly woke. Emily, who had been dozing, shared a kiss with him before waking Eric, who woke with a start and bumped his head on the top bunk. This sent Emily into giggles and Eric, trying to remain grumpy, laughed anyway.

'Vladimir, are you awake?' Vince called from behind the curtain.

'Yes, we are all awake. Give us a moment,' and the trio dressed before moving to the centre of the trailer.

'What's our status?' Vladimir asked Vince quietly.

'We're at safe house number three. I have men positioned along the road and on the cliff tops. In this location we have a five kilometre view in all directions. The horse is twenty minutes behind us; I got Ross to take an alternate route. The men I left at the airport reported that the jet took off ten minutes after you escaped. It had,' Vince paused and then said, 'the unusual couple and Roy. We have tracked the plane leaving our airspace; it looks like they're heading to Singapore, I imagine for a stopover and refuelling. Six men remained but they have been dispatched by my men.'

_Dispatched_ , Emily thought and then she realised what it meant and gasped. Eric moved and placed his arms around her knowing that Emily was against killing.

'How many men did we lose?' Vladimir asked Vince.

'Four. Chan, Reece, Simms and Esat,' Vince replied stolidly; he had recruited and trained all the men and they were like brothers to him.

Vladimir placed his hand on Vince's shoulder and said, 'I am sorry Vince, they were all good men,' but it didn't feel like it was enough.

'They knew what they were getting into,' Vince replied. Vladimir had always been very clear that the job was life or death.

Turning to Eric and Emily, Vladimir said, 'Let's get out of the truck and into the house, I need a shower and some food.' Turning back to Vince he said, 'We will meet in thirty minutes and I will tell you exactly what we are up against. That is, old friend, if you are still with us now that you know we are ...' pausing Vladimir added, 'abnormal.' Everyone fell silent as they waited for Vince to answer.

Looking for the right answer, Vince smiled and stuck his hand out to Vladimir who took it. 'So, the world is no longer as black and white as I thought. I pledge myself to the end.' Vladimir smiled and pulled Vince into a bear hug. Eric reached out and took Vince's hand and Emily reached up and kissed his cheek.

As they left the truck Emily saw that they were by the sea. The house was large and looked like a Californian bungalow that had seen better days. Emily loved architecture. Her father had been an architect and Emily had spent hours as a girl watching him draw and design different structures. The farmhouse had been one of his creations and a fresh pang of sorrow hit her, as she remembered that her father's legacy had gone.

'My father would have loved this house,' Emily said softly, her eyes taking in the details of the structure.

Knowing how much Emily had lost, Vladimir put his arm around her and whispered into her ear, 'My love, I am so sorry.'

Emily shut her eyes as hard as she could and when she felt she could answer without crying she replied, 'It's not your fault. You didn't start this.'

'Oh Emily, why do you always understand?' Vladimir murmured back.

Shaking herself Emily responded, 'I need a shower and I want to look at both of your wounds. Applejacks will be here shortly and I want to be ready to greet him when he arrives.'

The water was hot and after the shower Emily felt more restored. Entering the kitchen Eric handed her a cup of coffee and some scrambled eggs. Both men were eating steaks and Emily could see they were very rare. After they'd finished eating Emily heard the Jeep pull up with Applejacks. She told the men to shower and that she would come back to check their wounds once they were clean.

Applejacks backed down the ramp of the float and Emily touched his head to hers, staying that way for a long moment.

' _Are you alright?_ ' Applejacks asked.

' _Yes, my friend, are you?_ '

' _I have a small scrape on my back leg but otherwise I am well_.'

Emily set about checking the scrape, which was quite deep. She cleaned the wound and wrapped a bandage around it to keep the dirt out.

' _That should heal within a week or so_ ,' she told Applejacks. Looking at the beach below she added, ' _We'll swim later; that will help it heal_.'

' _Maybe_ ,' Applejacks replied. He didn't like water. He remembered his mother pushing him into the water during the fire that took her life.

' _I need to run and stretch, my body is stiff_ ,' he told Emily.

Looking around at the land near the house, Emily pointed to a dirt road that led to the cliff top. It was over three hundred metres long.

' _Run over there_ ,' she pointed and Applejacks took off, swishing his tail.

Ross, who had driven him in the Jeep asked, 'Is he alright?'

'Oh yes, he just needs to stretch his legs,' Emily replied.

'Vince told me to keep an eye on him.'

Emily laughed. 'Applejacks would like that, he finds humans interesting. He can understand what you say so please be polite.' Emily warned him.

Ross nodded. 'Vince told me he's special. I was raised with horses - my parents have a stud farm.'

Again Emily was impressed with Vince, obviously thinking of their needs.

'I don't suppose you brought a curry brush; I forgot to take one with all this madness,' she enquired.

'Actually, I have,' and Ross walked over to the Jeep and pulled out a large canvas bag, opening it to show Emily what was inside. It had all sorts of brushes and even a pick for horses' hooves.

'That's great,' Emily replied. 'After we feed him he'd love to be brushed. I'll point out his ticklish spots.' As Applejacks was cantering along the cliff top, Emily went back inside to check the men's wounds. After she was satisfied they were clean she spent the rest of the morning with Applejacks and Ross. She was amazed at how willingly Ross communicated with Applejacks and within a couple of hours Applejacks had shown him a number of ways to work out what he was saying by using his body.

' _I like this man, he's gentle_ ,' Applejacks told Emily.

' _I like him too_ ,' Emily responded. It was good that she could share how special Applejacks was with someone else apart from Eric and Vladimir and she could tell that Ross really liked horses with the way he kept talking and chatting away to Applejacks as if they were old friends.

At the house Vince had set up a large room full of computers and when Emily returned with Rumour, Vladimir was on the phone and Eric was with Vince pointing to a map of a place that Emily didn't recognise. The rooms buzzed with activity and Emily went to the kitchen area, which was connected to the lounge, and made herself another coffee. Someone had made a whole lot of sandwiches and she helped herself to one.

Once Vladimir was off the phone he gesture for Eric to join him and asked 'Emily, will you join us in the bedroom?' Emily's eyebrows went up. From his tone, she knew it wasn't good news. As they entered the bedroom, Eric picked Emily up and gave her a big hug then placed her on Vladimir's lap.

'What's going on?' Emily asked. She knew when they wanted something and Vladimir was smart enough to ask her in the bedroom. Running his hand down her back, he took a moment to look at Emily. In the time that he had known her, she had never stopped surprising them with her ability to be non-judgemental.

'The last couple of days have been so crazy,' Vladimir said. He gently pushed Emily off his lap and stood up. 'In my heart I knew our past would catch up with us one day. I have been selfish, Emily, bringing you into our lives but the truth is, I can't live without you.'

'I feel the same way, Em,' Eric added. 'Being with you has given me the happiest days of my life.'

'In a way, I think you were meant to come into our lives,' Vladimir's deep voice was soft.

Eric added, 'My mother foresaw that the person to help our people would come from here.' Looking at Emily he muttered to himself, 'I wish I had known her.'

Vladimir then said, 'Sven, on his death-bed, told us that one who can speak to the wolves will free us forever. Emily, I believe that person is you. We are planning to go back to the Czech Republic and confront Varrick.'

Emily jumped up from the bed and cried, 'What! You are insane both of you. I am barely able to save myself.' She began to pace back and forth. 'We need to run. We need to get away!'

'Emily,' Vladimir's voice was firm, 'it is up to you. Whatever you want, I will make happen. I know now that Eric and I must go back. There are so many lives that are trapped in the compound under Varrick's control.'

Emily was now in tears. 'You can't ask me to go and you can't leave me,' she raced out of the room and went outside, running down the track to the edge of the cliff. Once she was there Emily sat on the grass and cried. After a while she heard Applejacks and Rumour approach; the dog just sat down beside her and placed her head onto Emily's lap. Applejacks pushed his nuzzle on her head, gently breathing on her face.

' _Why the tears?_ ' Applejacks thought to Emily.

' _Vladimir and Eric want us to go to Europe and confront his father. They think I can help them free their people_.'

' _Well, you are helpful_ ,' Applejacks thought back.

' _In what way?_ ' Emily replied.

' _In talking to animals and moving things around_.'

' _What good is that?_ ' Emily responded. She was unsure of her abilities now that it had come to life and death.

Applejacks thought for a while and said, ' _Do you remember when the old donkey came to the farm in such a wretched state. He was so skinny and one of his hooves was split_.'

' _Yes and everybody wanted to put him down_ ,' Emily replied, fresh tears pouring down her face knowing that he would have been terrified when he died.

' _Remember when you met him, you asked him if he wanted to live?_ '

'Yes,' Emily whispered aloud. 'He showed me that he liked to stand in the sun.'

' _You gave him five good years and he liked that you saw him for who he was and not just a dumb donkey. Maybe Vladimir and Eric's people need someone to talk to them as well, to see them for what they truly are_.'

' _Who says that they'll listen to me?_ ' Emily thought back. She felt so small and cold to the core.

' _They might not_ ,' Applejacks replied.

'You wouldn't be afraid to go?' Emily asked out loud.

' _If we are together I won't be afraid_ ,' Applejacks replied softly.

'But I am,' Emily replied aloud again, 'I am afraid.'

Applejacks stayed with Emily until the sun began to dip below the sea and as they turned back to the villa, she could see Vladimir and Eric waiting for her on the balcony and she knew that, regardless of her fear, she would go.
Chapter 17

Emily woke with a start and it took her a moment to realise that she was on a steam train in the Czech Republic. It was now dark and her dreams of the past seemed so close that being on the train wasn't quite real. Her head was in Vladimir's lap and Eric was stretched out on the seat opposite them. Reaching out with her mind to the men, she realised they were both awake.

' _Do you think Vince's men are in place?_ ' Emily thought to Vladimir.

' _Yes_ ,' he replied, ' _they should be. The extra day we stayed in Paris would have given him time to get them in place_.'

' _Do you think seventy-five men will be enough?_ ' Eric thought.

' _They are highly trained and know what the situation is_ ,' Vladimir replied, hoping that he was right. To himself he thought, _I pray surrendering ourselves to Varrick will work_.

'I wish I knew how David was,' Emily mused out loud, more to herself than to the men. Just before they had left the villa by the sea, Vince had received word that David had lived through the surgery but had not yet woken. Vladimir knew how much David meant to Emily; she had few friends and no family - he was all she had left. Most people didn't understand what Emily did and she only made friends with people who were kind to animals.

'He is a strong man, he will survive this,' Vladimir spoke out loud. He ran his fingers over Emily's cheek, down her jaw and along her neck.

Emily asked, 'Do you think it will be much longer before we get off?'

'I don't think so, maybe thirty minutes,' Vladimir replied. He had a quickly estimated how fast they were going and how long they had been travelling.

Emily connected to Applejacks and Rumour in the next carriage, telling them that it wouldn't be much longer.

' _I am glad_ ,' Applejacks thought. ' _The little one is missing you and I want to stretch my legs_.'

Emily then connected to Rumour and sent her reassuring thoughts. The bitch was nervous and Emily regretted her decision to bring her along on the journey, but Rumour was devoted to her and Emily felt the same way.

A sharp knock landed on the door and a voice said, in Czech, 'Fifteen minutes until your stop, be ready!'

Eric stood up and stretched, gathering up the packs from the luggage rack. Emily's heart began to beat faster and she thought to herself, _This is insane_ , as the train began to slow down.

Eventually they stopped in the middle of nowhere and a special ramp was brought to Applejacks' carriage so that he could get off the train. Rumour followed Applejacks down from the compartment, growling as the strange men approached her. She ached to see Emily again and stood nervously under Applejacks. A few minutes later the conductor unlocked the cabin door and they disembarked, Eric first followed by Emily and then Vladimir. Both men were wary and quickly looked around to see what their situation was.

The three were dressed in heavy coats with fur on the top. Emily had almost rejected the coat until Vladimir had explained how cold it would be. Both Applejacks and Rumour wore coats as well but poor Rumour had to walk in the snow. As soon as Rumour saw Emily, she ran to her and Emily took a moment to connect with the dog, expressing her joy in the reunion.

Looking around at the people who had met them, she didn't see Roy, Sarah or Ivan, and she was glad of that. However, the men looked just as mean and several had machine guns - and they looked ready to use them. There were several other men without guns and Emily could sense their emotions. It took her a second to realise they were abnormals like Vladimir and Eric. The men understood this as well - they could sense the animal within the men around them.

Pausing to open a connection with Vladimir and Eric, Emily tentatively forged a light connection with the other abnormals telling them simply, ' _I am Emily, these men are Vladimir and Eric and we come to you as friends_.' The abnormals quickly looked at each other as Emily tried to project calm and sincerity. Then one of the men pointed a gun at her and barked, 'Don't use your mental powers here, witch, I have orders to shoot you if you do.'

Emily smiled at the man and broke off her connection. She knew closing the connection quickly would unsettle them. Her eye caught one of the young abnormals - he looked familiar. He was young, no older than eighteen, and he flashed her a small smile before turning his face away. Looking more closely at the boy, Emily noticed that he was tall and lean, although he had not yet developed a man's body, his hair was the same colour as Eric's.

Emily gasped and when she looked at Eric she knew he had noticed too. Vladimir was the first to speak and he looked grim, 'Who is your mother, boy?'

The boy replied, 'My mother is dead. Her name was Jacinta. She died after giving birth to me, but perhaps you should be asking the question. 'Who is my father?' The boy's voice carried dark emotion.

'Enough,' another guard spoke roughly. Turning to the boy he said, 'Go back to the compound. You've had the family reunion you wanted.'

'Wait,' Emily cried. Turning to the youth she asked in a soft voice, 'What is your name?'

'Eben,' the youth replied, then turned and ran ahead, his movements very fast.

Looking at Eric's face, Emily realised that whatever had happened to Eric's lover, Jacinta, her child had ended up here. Emily reached out and put her hand into Eric's and Vladimir moved closer and rested his hand on Eric's shoulder. ' _He looked strong, like you_ ,' he thought to Eric, as the three were still connected mentally.

But Eric had tears in his eyes. ' _My son hates me; I felt it_.'

' _No_ ,' Emily thought to Eric. ' _He doesn't know you_.' And then she spoke, ' _Eric, you have a son. I'm so glad we came_.'

Keeping close together, the small group walked through the dark forest with a few of the guards carrying torches. Rounding a bend they left the track and moved onto a road; before them was a huge manor. In the moonlight it looked cold and scary.

' _I do not like this place_ ,' Applejacks thought to the group.

'No one does,' Eric murmured softly. But Emily was in awe; she had never seen such a building.

'My father would have loved to have seen this,' she said, 'it's so incredible.' Looking at the old manor, Emily forgot for a moment the trouble they were in. The dark building was huge and stretched at least 400 metres across and four storey high and was built with a dark stone. Gargoyles were spread intermittently across the different levels, all baring their teeth in expressions of hate.

Before speaking, Vladimir thought to himself. _How does she stay so much in the moment?_ 'Sven told us that there were laboratories where all the testing is done underneath the manor. That is where our people are.'

Hearing him the guard said, 'Only the ones who don't obey. Varrick only keeps them to breed. I imagine you'll see that place. ' He laughed coldly then added, 'You two are somewhat of a legend here. I remember when Varrick thought you were dead, he killed the group that he'd sent to look for you.'

'Interesting management style,' Vladimir replied.

'We have to keep your kind in check.' The man gestured for the group to move on.

Emily could feel the abnormals around her bristle at the comment. The guards were all full humans. _I wonder why he only uses full humans as guards?_ she thought and she sent the information to Vladimir and Eric who exchanged a look.

The group could now see a stone bridge that ran across a small stream in front of the manor. It was lit with fire torches and, at the entrance on either side, were men with machine guns. Standing beside them were Rottweilers like Rumour, who growled as the group approached. Emily opened a connection with the dogs and sent reassuring thoughts. She asked both the dogs to lie down as they passed and both guards yanked at the chains around their necks trying to get them to stand up. The guards that had brought them from the train stopped at the entrance of the stone bridge.

'Keep going,' one of the other guards ordered.

Stepping onto the stone bridge, Applejacks' hooves made a sharp rapping sound and Rumour was pressed so tightly against Emily's legs that she almost tripped, but Vladimir caught her and held her hand as they crossed. Walking into the courtyard they could see where they needed to go, as on either side of them groups people were lined up. Emily sensed that these people were abnormals and when she opened up a connection with them she felt no aggression; most of them were just curious. It was overwhelming to feel so many people at once and Emily had to close down the connection and place it behind a wall in her mind. As she looked at the people, Emily thought to herself how beautiful they were even though their clothes were in rags and they all looked underfed. A small child smiled at her before its mother pushed him back into the crowd. There were six steps to the hall; Emily stopped at the bottom and looked at Applejacks.

' _It is fine_ ,' he thought to her and walked up to the steps before the others.

The large doors swung open. Inside was a large room with ceilings that were over twenty metres high. Emily had never seen such a room, it was so luxurious. There were rugs and tapestries, silk chairs and couches, and there were about fifty people in the room who were all dressed in ball gowns and suits - such a contrast to the people in rags outside. At the end of the room were six steps up to a landing and in the middle of the landing was a sinister looking throne carved out of dark wood with dark designs.

At the base of the stairs was a young blonde woman dressed in a low cut black gown, but around her neck was a collar with a chain that was connected to a large metal ring in the wall to one side. She sat on the lower step and as the group approached the woman looked up, her beautiful face showing shock. Suddenly, a door behind the throne opened and a man came out followed by Ivan, Sarah and Roy. Emily guessed it was Varrick as he looked so much like Vladimir. The chained woman rose and started to walk towards Emily's group but Varrick caught the end of her chain and pulled it sharply. The woman fell back but she didn't look hurt.

'Vondra, stay where you are,' Varrick barked at the woman. The woman sat down again on the bottom step and Emily could sense hatred coming from her but it was not aimed at them. She hated Varrick. Sitting on the throne, Varrick looked at the group for a moment before saying, 'So son, you have returned to me. May I introduce you to your sister Vondra.' Varrick looked pleased as he gazed on the small group.

Looking at Vondra in surprise Vladimir stepped forward and said forcefully, 'We are here for our people! They deserve to go free.' The chamber went quiet and Vondra smiled at him. Then Varrick stood up and walked down the couple of steps towards him, smiling.

'I see, my son,' he said smugly, 'and how is that going?' Vladimir was confused, he hadn't expected Varrick to be so calm. Varrick gestured to the guards who disappeared from the chambers. After a moment they returned with Vince, Ross and several other men, bound and chained; they were bloody and hurt.

'I've failed you,' Vince told Vladimir. 'The rest of our men are dead.'

Vladimir looked at Vince and replied, 'No my friend, I have failed you.' He felt so stupid; he had clearly underestimated Varrick and knew now that they were all dead. Suddenly Emily fell to her knees, clutching her head.

Helping her to her feet, Vladimir asked, 'What's wrong?'

Eric had reached out to her as well. 'Em, are you alright?'

'Get her out of my head,' Emily moaned. The pain was unlike anything she had ever experience before.

Rumour suddenly snarled and started to approach Sarah, who looked like she was in a trance. Realising that it was Sarah that was hurting Emily, both men tore off their clothing and changed into wolves. Within seconds several of the other abnormals had changed and formed a circle around the group.

No one in the room moved for a moment and then Applejacks suddenly reared up and lashed his hoof out at one of the wolves. It was unexpected and, realising their advantage, Vladimir and Eric leapt at the other abnormals. Laughing, Ivan changed as well and he jumped at Rumour who was almost on Sarah. Vladimir had seen what he was going to do and jumped over the group, knocking Ivan away from Rumour, but Roy was also behind him and sent a kick into Rumour's side causing her to flip over and go flying down the stairs, yelping.

'Remember who your master is,' he screamed at the dog. Rumour struggled to get up; Roy had broken several ribs. Suddenly coming to life, Vondra moved swiftly and pushed Sarah over. This caused Sarah to break her mental hold on Emily and with the release of the pain Emily was able to reach up to Applejacks; then she teleported Sarah away.

' _Where did you send her?_ ' Applejacks thought.

' _To the void_ ,' Emily replied, realising with horror that she had just killed her.

Focusing on Vondra, Emily teleported her chains away and within seconds of freedom Vondra had transformed into a white tiger. She leapt into the fight crashing into two wolves, slashing them deeply with her claws.

Roy yelled for his men to shoot. 'Target all of them,' and Emily knew she only had seconds to teleport her group away. But everyone was moving so fast and she had never teleported moving objects before. As she was trying to focus, one of Varrick's wolves leapt at Applejacks, pushing him out of Emily's reach. Realising that she had run out of time Emily knelt down and took in a deep breath. There was a loud pop as Rumour, Applejacks, Vondra, Ross, Vince and his three men teleported away.

Vladimir and Eric had been behind her and knowing this, Emily had chosen to stay with them. Before she fell into unconsciousness, she saw that both Eric and Vladimir had been shot with a tranquiliser gun. As darkness enveloped her, she sent out a thought to them. ' _My loves_.'
Chapter 18

Vladimir came to and realised he was shackled to a wall. Next to him Eric was moaning, also coming to. The chains were thick and as Vladimir tested them he knew he couldn't break them.

'Môn vieux, are you alright?' but Eric moaned again. Vladimir was nauseous, his head hurt and he was dehydrated. The cell was dark with no windows and he detected a dirty dampness that smelt of terror and blood. It could be any time of the day or night as a bright light was on in the cell, which was modern in design.

'Vlad,' Eric moaned again, 'Vlad.' There was something wrong. Eric wasn't coming around and Vladimir could see blood in his ears. _Oh God, what have they done?_ he thought.

He called softy; 'Eric... focus. Come on, Môn vieux, wake up!' He threw all his strength against his chains and for a moment he thought they gave a little. Concentrating, he tried to change into a wolf but he couldn't; he needed to be running to make the change. Then he heard a key turn in the heavy metal door and Roy and Ivan stepped into the room.

'Where's Sarah?' Ivan barked, with madness in his eyes.

'I don't know,' Vladimir replied, although he guessed that Sarah was dead. The look on Emily's face when she had teleported Sarah away told him that.

'I can't feel her,' Ivan raged. Turning to Roy he screamed, 'Where's the witch? I want her dead!'

_He's out of control_ , Roy thought and then said in a soothing voice, 'Ivan, get it together. Come on, we'll form a search party. Remember, the girl transported the others away; they may be with Sarah.' He didn't care if Sarah was dead, even though he had slept with her a couple of times. But then, so did half the guards.

Ivan turned and left the small cell; his face was white with rage and he wanted to hurt something.

'Something is wrong with Eric.' Vladimir loathed speaking to Roy but he was worried about his mate.

'So, what do I care?' Roy replied, but he walked over to Eric and lifted his head. Looking at Eric's eyes he saw they were completely bloodshot.

'Your kind heals fast, he will recover soon,' Roy declared coldly. 'Varrick doesn't want you dead just yet.'

'Where is Emily?' Vladimir demanded. His deep voice carried death in it.

'Oh yes, your witch. Varrick has special plans for her. As we speak she is undergoing the gene program. It will be interesting to see what happens to her.' He paused before adding, 'That is, if she survives.'

Vladimir's answer was to throw himself against the chains, but Roy just looked at him without fear.

'Your father will soon realise that you're only helpful to him by being dead. Rabid dogs get put down,' and Roy left the cell laughing.

Vladimir's body pulsed with uncontrollable rage. _I can't believe that I was so brainless_ , he thought. All his years of planning were for nothing. He had doomed them all.

Eric slowly lifted his head and said, 'Vlad, are you alright?'

Eric's voice brought Vladimir back into control. He would remain focused. There was always a way out and he let that thought repeat over and over in his head while he spoke to Eric. 'Môn vieux, I am so worried about you. Are you alright?'

'My head hurts. God I'm thirsty. How long have we been here?'

'I'm not sure; I would say a day,' Vladimir replied.

The door to the cell opened again and a man with light brown hair that reached his shoulders, walked in. He was pushing a trolley with food on it.

'My name is Janak; I'm here to feed you.' Looking at the men he added, 'I'm sorry but I can't let you down.'

'How do we know it's not poisoned?' Vladimir asked him.

Janak grabbed the drink bottle, put it to his lips and took a swig. Then he pushed it towards Vladimir, holding it while he took a drink and then did the same for Eric. Both men felt better with some fluids inside them. Janak got the food, took a large spoon from the trolley and fed both men. The stew was thick but it was very bland in taste. There was a guard watching them and he told Janak to hurry; it was obvious that the guard didn't think much of him. Turning back to the guard, Janak accidentally tripped and smashed the bowl, splattering stew on the guard's boots and trousers.

The guard turned the gun around and punched it into Janak's stomach, commanding, 'You fool. Clean this up.' Then he went to the hallway and barked for another abnormal to bring a cloth for his boots.

A blonde woman appeared, smiling at the guard. Her dress was cut low and the guard's eyes moved to her chest as she got down on her knees and began to clean the boots. Janak was picking up the pieces of the bowl and when the guard was distracted whispered to the men, 'We're only few but we'll get you out. Plans are in place.'

Vladimir whispered back, 'What about Emily? Do you know where she is?'

'She's in the lower dungeons. We can't get to her right now.'

'Can you get us out?' Vladimir whispered.

'We'll try in two days' time. I've heard that they're going to torture you both tomorrow. If you live through it, we'll get you out,' Janak said, keeping his voice low as he wiped the floor.

'Are my men still alive?' Vladimir almost didn't want to ask the question, afraid that Vince and his men had been captured again.

'I don't know but Varrick has not been able to find them yet.' Janak stood up - he was finished cleaning.

The guard returned to the cell and barked, 'Move it. You've caused me to be late for my replacement.' Janak lowered his eyes as he silently walked past the guard.

After they were gone, Vladimir looked at Eric. 'Maybe we will get another chance.'

'Only if we live past tomorrow,' Eric responded.

'If we don't, Môn vieux, then Emily is dead,' Vladimir countered.

'Or worse,' Eric replied, locking eyes with Vladimir.

* * *

The next morning, Varrick walked into the jail cell with Ivan and Roy.

'Where is Emily?' Vladimir demanded.

'My new pet is safe,' Varrick replied. 'Perhaps you should be more concerned for yourselves and the plans I have for you today.'

'We've been looking forward to it,' Eric quipped, refusing to show Varrick any fear.

Vladimir remained silent as Varrick's men unchained him. It was surprising how much pain flooded through his body as the blood rushed back into his limbs. Eric grunted but neither man showed that it hurt.

Varrick smiled. He would enjoy torturing these men as he could see that neither would give in easily. Two men had guns and Vladimir had realised that this was not the moment to try to escape. As they were led down a narrow hallway past more cells, Vladimir noticed that they were full of both men and women. They looked out at them as they walked past, but there was no hope in their eyes and Vladimir didn't have to be Emily to feel their suffering.

_God_ , Vladimir thought, _why is Varrick doing this?_ He couldn't comprehend how someone could be so cruel to another.

They entered a lift which carried them down a floor before opening up to a large white room. It had modern medical equipment that looked sinister against the chains hanging from the ceiling and a trolley with instruments that looked as if they were made to inflict pain rather than heal. One section looked like an operating theatre with large lamps above it. There were large grates to catch the fluids from dismembered bodies.

The men were strapped onto metal tables and Varrick put a record on an old turntable. The music was operatic and at any other time Vladimir would have thought the music beautiful.

'I prefer something a bit more modern,' Eric volunteered, sounding friendly.

Varrick turned his attention to Eric. Then he pulled out a metal stool and sat down just a metre away from him.

'I looked up who your father was last night; his name was Thomas. I believe your mother was fond of him.'

'Was?' Eric responded. His heart had skipped a beat when Varrick had mentioned his father; he had spent a lot of time wondering who his father was.

'He was the son of one of my trusted guards. Unfortunately for him, he helped your mother escape; at the start I was so disappointed with him. But he lasted three days in this very room. I was proud of him for holding out but in the end he begged for his life.'

Vladimir could see how this was affecting Eric so he said, 'It seems like a lot of your people betray you. If I was you, I would put some thought into that fact.'

Varrick laughed, 'My son, if you join me maybe you can show me the error of my ways.'

'Never,' Vladimir replied coldly.

'Many men have said never to me in this room,' and then turning to Ivan he said, 'I believe you were one of them.'

Ivan looked pale and washed out, his eyes were bloodshot and he seemed not to be able to focus on anything. The broken bond with Sarah had somehow weakened him.

'I want to kill the witch.' His voice was hoarse. He had spent the night as a wolf in the forest, howling for Sarah.

Varrick was gentle with his words. 'Ivan, I need the girl for a little longer. Once I have harvested her eggs I will let you kill her.'

Looking at Vladimir he smiled and added, 'Anyway you want to.'

Vladimir's rage was building in him; it was in his head and consuming him. He imagined ripping Varrick to pieces.

Varrick just laughed and, turning to Roy, said, 'Now, where do we start?'

Roy picked up an electric coil and replied, 'Let's start with this - it's a bit cold in here.'

* * *

Emily woke with a start; the men were in pain. Her whole body pulsated with it and she let out a scream that was primeval. Her thoughts were confused. It was so hard to gather them... again a wave of pain ran through her body.

A voice. She could hear a voice. It sounded close but it was not in the same room as her.

'You are safe.' It was a woman's voice with a heavy Czech accent.

'No,' Emily cried. 'The pain! Vladimir and Eric are in pain.'

'Vladimir and Eric?' The woman's voice asked sounding startled. 'Tell me girl, who are you?' But Emily screamed again. It was so hard for her to think. Then, as suddenly as it had started the pain stopped. She heard the door of the cell open but she couldn't lift her head. Why couldn't she move?

The woman's voice was harsh and demanded, 'What are you doing to this girl?'

A man dressed in a white lab coat barked back, 'Shut up, Valeskia, get back to your room. Why Varrick doesn't put a bullet into your head I'll never know.' But he knew why - the woman meant something to Varrick.

She had the run of the level although she wore a collar that stopped her from leaving it. Her cell was large and comfortable, like a small apartment, and once a month Varrick would join her for dinner. Over the years a peace had come to Valeskia. Varrick had told her that Vladimir and Eric were dead. Everyone she had loved was dead and, in a way, it was freeing. She didn't need to protect anyone from Varrick and he had nothing to hold over her. Her faith had stopped her from killing herself over the many years of capture. The gene therapy meant her life was extended, so in the last thirty years Valeskia had hardly changed.

Varrick had expected to breed with Valeskia again. But Valeskia had taken a knife from one of the guards and stabbed her belly, cutting her womb. Varrick had managed to harvest an egg from the wound, which he had used to make Vondra, but he had been so angry with her that she thought he would kill her on the spot. But instead he'd her sewn up, and while he hadn't touched her again he would visit her sometimes to talk, sometimes just to look at her. Over the years Valeskia realised he had feelings for her.

Maybe it was love, if a man like him could feel such a thing.

Why had this woman called out Vladimir and Eric's names? Coming back from her thoughts, Valeskia asked the lab assistant who was injecting an anaesthetic into Emily's arm, 'The woman talks of Vladimir and Eric. Who are they?'

The lab assistant, who was quite young and didn't know of Valeskia's past with Varrick, responded, 'Varrick's son has returned. He brought this girl with him and another man called Eric. They are both on the floor below getting special treatment from Varrick.' The lab assistant chuckled. The lower floor was a threat that kept the abnormals in line. No one returned from that floor. The hair on Valeskia's neck prickled and her heart started thumping in her chest; her son was alive. _My son and Eric, they live_ , she thought. And then Valeskia realised that they were on the white floor and, more than ever, they needed her protection.

'Pup,' she ordered the lab tech, 'tell Varrick that I want to see him.'

'Woman,' the lab tech responded briskly, 'I'm busy.'

Cutting him off, Valeskia's tone was firm. 'You know I'm a favourite, tell him I want to talk.' Softening her voice Valeskia added, 'He won't be angry, I promise you. But he will be if he finds out that you didn't deliver my message.'

The lab tech looked at Emily and checked her pulse. The anaesthetic had put her under again and she would not wake for another six hours. So far, her body didn't show any signs of stress with all the drugs that they had used on her. Looking back at Valeskia he decided to pass the message along to a supervisor. He would know what to do about this crazy woman.

* * *

Roy threw a bucket of water on Vladimir who had finally, after four hours of torture, fallen unconscious. 'Very impressive,' Roy said to Varrick. Even with all the different methods that they had used on Vladimir, he had not spoken once.

'Yes, he's a good specimen.' Varrick was pleased, he liked that his seed was so strong. It seemed a waste to have to kill him.

Eric had lasted three hours and was unconscious before Roy and Varrick focused on Vladimir. Varrick had liked seeing the pain in his son's eyes as he had tortured Eric.

'Will you mate him before you kill him?' Roy asked.

'No, I will just harvest his sperm. I can't imagine he would mate willingly. I will harvest this one's too,' Varrick added pointing to Eric. 'His reflexes are incredible.'

'I prefer to keep my sperm to myself,' Vladimir mumbled, coming to. His body was covered in blood and sweat.

There was a knock on the door and an old man in a white lab coat walked in and whispered something to Varrick. A look of displeasure came over his face.

'How did she find out?' he barked at the old man.

The man looked scared and Varrick paused before saying to Roy, 'Enough for today. Get them back to their cells,' then he stalked out of the room.

Eric was also coming round as Roy picked up a phone and ordered someone to come and take the men back to their cells. As soon as the guards arrived he walked out, cursing.

'What's going on?' Eric murmured. His body had never hurt so badly in his life.

'I'm not sure but I think we have copped a break.'

Eric laughed weakly, 'This is a break?' and after a moment Vladimir laugh too.

* * *

Varrick stormed into Valeskia's cell. He noticed that she had taken care of her appearance and had let her rich, chocolate-coloured hair down. He could smell the deliciousness of the curls and it bothered him that she could affect him so. After all the years he had held her captive, she still excited him in a way no other woman could.

'Is it true?' Valeskia asked. 'Are Vladimir and Eric here?' She would remain calm. The old game between them had started again.

Moving behind her Varrick stuck his hands into her hair, lifting it to his nose to smell it. Reaching down her front he fondled her breast; he liked how she tried to control the shudder.

'Let's discuss this in your bed,' he suggested.

'After we see our son and Eric we can discuss anything you like in my bed,' Valeskia replied coolly.

'Our son, I like the sound of that.' And thinking for a moment Varrick added, 'Yes, maybe that is what I need to do to bring him onto my side. Come then my love, we go to see our son.'

Valeskia's heart was beating so hard in her chest, she was sick to her stomach. What if this was another one of Varrick's tricks? And yet, the girl had called their names. Walking along the hall, Valeskia stumbled and Varrick grabbed her. He could feel how fast her heart was beating.

In a moment of compassion he said, 'They will look bad. I've been trying to persuade them to join me.'

As the cell opened Valeskia was assaulted with the smell of sweat and blood. Both men were now shackled to the wall. In an instant Valeskia recognised them both; her boys had become men.

'Please don't leave them like that,' she pleaded with Varrick, but he was silent and stood leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. Hearing her voice, Vladimir looked up. On first sight of his mother in front of him, he thought he was dreaming, and then Eric gasped.

'Valeskia, you are alive!' and she was kissing them both and they were laughing and crying.

'I thought you were dead,' Valeskia sobbed.

'We thought you were dead, too,' Vladimir replied, tears rolling down his face.

'I couldn't believe it when the girl spoke your name.' Valeskia was wiping the blood from their faces with the corner of her shirt.

'Girl?' Vladimir asked. 'Emily. You have seen Emily?' From his tone Valeskia knew that this woman meant something to her son.

'A small blonde woman?'

'Yes,' breathed Eric. 'Is she alright?'

'Enough!' Varrick boomed. 'You have seen them now. Come woman!' He felt strangely moved by the love Valeskia was showing for the men.

'Please Varrick! I beg you, don't leave them like this. They're not a threat to you,' Valeskia pleaded softly.

_God, she looks so beautiful_. Hating himself for his weakness, Varrick looked at the men and then called for the guards to come in.

'Let them down and clean them up, but make sure they can't escape.'

'Wait,' Eric called. 'Valeskia, is my son safe?'

'Your son?' Valeskia replied confused.

'His name is Eben. I saw him when we arrived. Do you know him?'

Valeskia thought for a moment. No wonder the boy had always seemed familiar to her.

'I know Eben, he's a good boy.' Valeskia cursed herself under her breath, 'Oh, Dusana, how could I not see he was your grandchild?' She had seen the boy when they had brought him in for tests - he had a cheeky way about him that was endearing.

Turning to Varrick, she asked softly, 'Where is the boy?'

Varrick smiled coldly at Valeskia and then turned to Eric. 'I sent him away from you. I didn't want to test the boy's loyalty with you here. Once you've joined me I will call for him to come back.'

'We'll never join you.' Eric's voice was cold and there was no doubt that he meant what he said.

'Well then, when you are both dead, if that works for you,' and he grabbed Valeskia and pushed her from the cell.

Vladimir broke for a moment and screamed, 'Mother!' as Valeskia was led down the hall, tears streaming down her face. She sobbed all the way to her quarters.

Varrick was unmoved by her display and barked, 'Clean yourself up, woman. I'll return shortly for our discussion,' before striding off down the hallway.

Valeskia was numb for a moment and then she cried softly to herself. 'Think. Think.' Suddenly, feeling alive, she cried out loud, 'Oh Dusana! I didn't fail you. Our sons are still alive. We still have hope.' For the last year she had dreamed of Dusana and in her dreams Dusana had told her, 'It is not over'. The dream had haunted her with the fruitlessness of her life. Now at last she knew what Dusana was telling her.

Washing her face and pulling a comb through her hair, Valeskia's mind was racing. She would welcome Varrick into her bed. She would give him what he wanted to keep her son and Eric alive. As she removed her clothing she heard the cell door open. She stood naked at the edge of the bed, facing the wall, wondering to herself if she could go through with it. Then she heard Varrick remove his clothes and then his hands were on her and they were so cold ...

* * *

The joy of seeing Valeskia passed as soon as he left the cell. 'Oh, my God,' Vladimir cried, 'I should have made sure she was dead.'

'Vlad, we thought she was. The signs were there,' Eric replied. He too felt guilty that they had left her behind.

The guards had let them down and brought fresh water for them to clean up. One guard stood outside the cell with a machine gun pointed at the men. Clean clothes were given and food and water were brought in. The men dressed and ate the food, bland as it was - they were so hungry. After they had eaten the guards brought in two shackles with long chains for their legs.

'Stay still,' the guard commanded.

'Or what?' Eric baited. But he was still as the guards put the shackles on him and Vladimir.

'This is titanium, no one has ever broken it,' the guard said coldly.

'Good to know we'll be the first,' Eric quipped, and the guards left them, snarling under their breath.

'How is your body?' Vladimir asked. He was still racked with pain from the torture.

Eric replied smiling slightly, 'A bit tender here and there,' then both men laughed. Their bodies were throbbing with pain. Vladimir's leg was so sore he was not sure he could stand on it, but they both knew they would heal quickly as long as they were not tortured again.

'Do you think Janak will come through tomorrow?' Eric quickly asked Vladimir.

'He'd better,' Vladimir replied. He knew that neither Eric nor he would last another session in the white room, and he so badly wanted to live now; he needed to free his women.
Chapter 19

Vince was stunned for a moment after materialising by where the train had left them; the dense forest looked menacing around him. The small group - Rumour, Applejacks, Vondra, Ross and Vince's men, Martin, Frank and John - froze for at least five seconds before moving. Vondra had transformed back into her human form and looked at Vince and Ross.

Ross gently asked her, 'Can you untie us?' He was trying not to look at her perfect, naked body. Vondra untied Ross and then he untied the rest of the men.

Rumour was whimpering and Ross bent down to look at her while Vince removed his shirt, handing it to Vondra to put on. Applejacks was distressed. He couldn't contact Emily, Vladimir or Eric - he was unsure if they were still alive.

Realising that Applejacks was upset, Ross spoke softly to him. 'It's okay, we'll get them out, but I don't think we should stay here.'

Applejacks nodded, glad that at least Ross could understand him.

'Vince, Rumour is hurt. We need to make a sling to carry her in.' Ross spoke calmly. Vince nodded and gestured for another man to take off his shirt; they were all wearing thermal singlets that would keep them warm until they could find some supplies.

Vondra looked at Ross intensely as he tenderly looked over Rumour - she had seen how he had spoken to the horse as an equal. 'You care for dog?' Vondra asked Ross in broken English.

'Of course, she is important,' Ross replied as the men put together a sling for her. Gently lifting Rumour, Ross' voice was soothing. 'It's okay girl, you'll be alright.' Vince instructed the men to form a protective circle around Applejacks and Ross.

'Where are we going?' Ross asked Vince, lifting Rumour into the sling and gently putting it onto his back.

'I'll send John and Martin to where we've hidden the spare weapons and supplies. If they're still there we'll meet up. Right now we move east for two kilometres; we need to vacate this area immediately.'

Before moving off, Ross turned to Vondra and asked, 'Will you stay with us?'

Pulling Vince's shirt off she responded, 'I will stay with you,' and turned back into a white tiger. Ross picked up the shirt and tucked it into the sling. When he turned he found Vince smiling at him.

He repeated Vondra's last words to Ross. 'I will stay with you?' Vince asked. Ross turned bright red. He wasn't sure what she had meant but he had an uneasy feeling that he would find out.

* * *

Emily's thoughts started to come together and slowly she became aware of her surroundings. But it was like another person was thinking her thoughts: they didn't make sense, she couldn't understand them. The noises around her were confusing - she could hear dripping, and metal scraping, then nothing.

Not knowing how long it was between thoughts, Emily came to and realised she was still strapped to a metal bench. Her body hurt, especially her arm, and it was so hard to move. It was hard to understand why her body didn't want to respond to any commands that she made of it. After what seemed like hours, she moved her head slightly to the left and opened her eyes. The bright light hurt and the pain stabbed through her head. Closing her eyes quickly, she waited for a while before opening them again. The pain was less but her vision was blurry. Her mouth was dry and she tried to lick her lips but there was no spit.

Much later, she didn't know how long, her vision cleared and she could see the drip that was connected to her arm. The fluid was bright purple. _I know that colour_ , she thought to herself. Another thought popped up, _I don't like purple_ , but the thought seemed odd; her favourite flower was lavender.

After a while there were people in the room. They were talking but the words, while familiar, didn't make sense to Emily.

'She has almost completed the final dose,' a man's voice said.

'Yes, her body seems stable,' another voice said. 'Should we put her under again?'

'Yes, I think she can stand another six hours.' Then darkness spread through her body and Emily's last thought was, _Why?_

Waking again, Emily felt different. The purple drip was gone and in its place was a clear fluid.

'Hello Emily,' a voice boomed - it was Varrick. He was standing over her, his face close to hers, looking down as she lay on the metal table. _I know this voice_ , Emily thought. Looking at his face she thought he looked familiar, but it was not a face she wanted to see. Again Varrick spoke, 'Emily, focus here.' And he snapped his fingers in front of her face. 'Her reflexes are slow,' he said, turning to the tech.

'It's normal. She's been under for over forty-eight hours,' another man said. 'She needs more time to recover, her body is dehydrated. The serum always depletes the fluid levels in the body.'

'How long?' Varrick asked again.

'At least a day. We need to get some solid food into her as well,' the tech responded.

'Good. Keep me informed,' and Varrick stalked out of the room.

Emily felt a sponge being pushed between her teeth. 'Suck on this, it will ease your throat.' The voice was business-like.

She pressed her lips on the sponge and it released fluid into her mouth; it was water with sugar and it tasted so good.

'We are going to sit you up now,' the voice spoke again and Emily felt hands lift her head as the metal bench was tilted to bring her into a seated position. Slowly Emily opened her eyes, she could see two men working around her. One man had a clipboard while the other was checking her drip. She could see another machine was hooked up to her but she didn't know what it was for.

'Where am I?' Emily choked. Her throat was on fire.

'Oh, hello,' the man with the clipboard said. 'How are you feeling?'

'My head hurts,' Emily choked again.

'Hmmm, yes, that is to be expected. Don't worry my dear, it shouldn't last long.' The man was trying to be nice but Emily knew he was not her friend.

'Where am I?' she asked again.

'Safe and sound, my dear, just relax, all will be fine,' and as the men had finished with their tasks, they left the room.

Feeling weak and alone, Emily couldn't brush away the tears as they fell on her face.

'Emily, can you hear me?' A woman's voice came from a small window in the door.

'Yes,' Emily replied.

The voice then spoke words that were magic to her. 'Vladimir and Eric are still alive.'

'What?' Emily cried on hearing the men's names. She raised her head but fell back onto the table. It was too much, her body just didn't want to move.

'Who are you?' Emily asked, tears still falling down her face.

'Vladimir's mother,' Valeskia replied.

'What? You can't be. She's dead.' Emily was confused; maybe this was another trick.

'No, that was just another lie that Varrick spread,' Valeskia replied. She needed to make this girl believe her.

Emily's head was so foggy, she wasn't sure if this was the truth. Her instincts were blurry and she wasn't sure of the feelings in her body.

'Why do I feel so awful?' she choked again.

'Oh child, I am so sorry for you. They have given you the gene therapy. They have given it to all of us.'

'Will I become a wolf?' Emily asked softly.

'I don't know what you'll become. For myself, I didn't change after the treatment, only my age has slowed down. For others it can be ...' Valeskia paused, knowing that she would tell the truth, but how to say it? 'For others, it's difficult. There are many dark creatures locked away in our DNA.'

'How soon will it happen?' Emily asked again.

'It's almost instantaneous but they have kept you unconscious. Even now you are sedated. They will keep you like this until they understand how to control you.' Valeskia's voice was tender; she was sorry for the girl.

Emily could hear a door open and footsteps.

'I must go now,' Valeskia called and then she was gone.

After a moment the door of her cell opened and the two techs came in again; one had a bowl of soup.

'Are you feeling better?'

Emily was silent; her thoughts were so slow. She knew there was a way to get free but it eluded her. If she could just focus on it she would know how to escape.

Lifting the spoon to her mouth the tech ordered her to eat. 'Come, you need the food.'

Emily was sure she shouldn't eat the food but her body overrode her concerns and, while plain, the food was warm. After eating all the food in the bowl, Emily was sleepy again.

'Oh good, the drugs have worked,' the tech told the other one, and again Emily felt the darkness envelop her.
Chapter 20

As exhausted as Vladimir and Eric were they didn't sleep. Vladimir had tried to come up with a plan to free them but he couldn't see how they could get out and the thought was driving him to distraction. Guilt washed over him for bringing Emily into this. Then his thoughts went to the years that his mother had endured in this prison, and the death of his men.

Eric's thoughts were similar. He didn't want to die without seeing Emily and Valeskia again. He wanted, so desperately, to see his son, to talk to him and to know him. So the night had passed with each man experiencing their own worst hell in their minds.

The guards opened the door at sunrise and the blonde girl who had distracted the guard the day before came in; she was carrying a tray of food. It was porridge.

'You're kidding, right?' Eric quipped, bringing a smile to the girl's face and a snarl from the guards.

Putting the bowl in front of the men, Helena mouthed, 'Be ready,' before she turned back to the guard and left the cell.

'What's happening to us today?' Vladimir asked the guard.

The guard smiled cruelly. 'Why, another round of torture. I'm not sure why we're wasting food on you but don't worry, it won't be long until we're ready to take you back to the white room.'

'Great,' Eric mumbled, 'another day in paradise.'

After the guard left Vladimir said, 'We must be ready when they move us, that is when they will have to free us.' At least, he hoped it was when they could try. He didn't think that either of them would last another day of torture - the damage to their bodies would be too extensive.

When the guards came, both men were standing in the cell. The pain in Vladimir's leg was excruciating and he didn't think he'd be able to walk very far. After the guard removed the foot shackles Vladimir tried to flex his leg but the movement was stiff. As the men left the cell and came into the hallway there was no one else in sight. Vladimir's heart sank as they approached the lift. He looked at Eric who just shrugged his shoulders; he too had given up hope. As they entered the large lift the guards moved both men to the back. Pushing the button to the floor below, the lift doors closed and they began to move down.

Vladimir realised that the lift was taking longer than it did the previous day; Eric had picked up on this as well. As the doors opened Vladimir pretended that his leg gave out and he stumbled, causing the guards to look back at him. When they turned back to step out of the lift they were faced with Janak, Helena and three other men, facing them with guns. The lift had taken them to a space under the white floor; it resembled a cavern and appeared to have been dug out by hand.

'I think this is my floor,' Eric remarked and within seconds the guards had their guns removed and were being tied up. Producing the key, Janak unlocked the men's chains.

'Come, we must be quick. Varrick and Roy are waiting for you above.'

'Do they know about this floor?' Vladimir asked quietly.

'No,' Helena replied, 'it's taken us five years to make it. The hard part was joining another section to the lift and changing the wiring so the lift would continue down. We hadn't had a chance to test it so we're glad it worked.' Vladimir was impressed with their commitment; the tunnel was over two hundred and fifty metres long.

'I am glad it worked too,' he commented drily.

On seeing daylight, Vladimir stumbled again. This time it was for real - his leg was too hurt to carry him.

'Give me a moment,' Vladimir panted.

'No time,' Janak replied. He gestured to two of the men, who gave their guns to Janak and Helena then picked Vladimir up in a fireman's lift. Eric was in no better shape but he was able to move. The events of the previous day had affected them badly.

Reading their minds, Janak encouraged, 'It's not much further. We've got a truck and it will take us to a safe place,' and as he said it, they rounded a corner and there it was. The motor was running and they took off as soon as they had all climbed in.

Catching their breath, Vladimir looked at Eric. It was good to be free but Vladimir felt disempowered. He had left Emily and Valeskia behind and for a split second a wave of dread almost overpowered him. Would he see the woman he loved again? Reaching out he pulled Eric close to him, placed his arm around his shoulder and whispered into his ear; 'We will get them back.' But Eric was silent, his eyes full of tears - it was so hopeless.

* * *

The alarm sounded as Varrick and Roy were walking to the torture chamber. Varrick walk across to a phone, and rang the head guard.

'What's going on?' he demanded. Roy watched Varrick's face turn bright red. He knew that, whatever the news was, it was bad. Hanging up the phone, Varrick paused trying to get his emotions under control. His face red.

'Vladimir and Eric have escaped.' He choked out the words.

'How?' Roy asked. He stepped back from Varrick feeling the rage pulse off him.

Varrick responded by picking up a chair and throwing it against a wall. 'I've been too soft on these people, I can see that now. Call the guards; we need to find my son and his mate. This time I don't care if they bring them back alive or dead.'

Roy just nodded; he knew that Varrick could easily turn on him as well. He pitied the guards who had been with Vladimir and Eric when they escaped - if they were still alive they wouldn't be for long.

As if he had read Roy's mind Varrick turned and said, 'Bring me the guards who have failed me, but first kill them slowly. I only want their heads.' Then, thinking for a moment, he said, 'Have Ivan do it, he needs to vent some steam.'

Roy thought to himself, _Now that will be gruesome_.

Since Sarah had gone, Ivan's control over his constant desire to kill had diminished. Already Ivan had killed two abnormals for just being near him and Roy knew he would soon have to send Ivan from this world. He was like a nuclear time bomb; it wouldn't matter who was around if he went off, he would try to kill them all.

Hearing the alarm go off, Valeskia realised that Vladimir and Eric had escaped. Varrick had come to see her but all he had done was look at her. Valeskia knew to say nothing; she understood her life was in danger. The rage pulsating off his body was almost visible and their years together had attuned her senses to his. When he left she took a deep breath. The years had taken her anger away and for the first time in thirty years she longed to be free, and not just herself, her people as well.

In her dream the previous night, Dusana had come to her and told her that Emily was the key. Valeskia couldn't imagine how the girl could free them all, but this time she wouldn't turn her back on her dream. Dusana's gifts were never really understood; all Valeskia knew was that there was a bond and it was so strong, death couldn't part them. She needed to free Emily but she didn't know how. She knew that Varrick would triple the guards around them now that Vladimir and Eric had escaped. _But there is always a way out_ , she thought, always...

* * *

It seemed like they were rolling along for hours in the back of the truck. Helena had pulled out a basket full of food and Vladimir and Eric ate their fill. Eric had looked at Vladimir's leg but they could see it was beginning to heal and there was no infection. After some rest he would be able to walk on it again. While they relaxed in the truck, Vladimir observed Janak and Helena. They seemed to work as one, rarely talking but knowing what the other needed. After thinking for a moment he asked them, 'You are bonded?'

Helena smiled and Janak replied, 'Yes, we are, like you two.'

'Does it always happen?' Eric asked, curious.

'Yes, it is rare for us not to find a bond mate. It usually happens after the gene therapy.'

'What happens when one of you dies?' Vladimir asked, thinking of Ivan.

'Usually the one left does not exist for long. Sometimes they go mad but mostly they kill themselves.'

'We are bonded to Emily as well as each other,' Vladimir spoke softly. 'We need to free her.'

Janak looked away. 'I'm sorry, I don't know how we can free her. Varrick will make sure that no one gets to her now.'

Eric smashed his fist into the side of the truck in frustration but Vladimir remained calm as he thought to himself, _There has to be a way_. Putting his head on Eric's shoulder, he whispered, 'We will find a way, Môn vieux, I promise you.'

The truck turned off the small road onto a track that was covered in bushes. The branches smashed into the truck and it seemed that at any moment the truck would have to stop because of the vegetation. Finally the truck pulled into a clearing and stopped in the middle of a camp. Eric jumped off the truck and helped Vladimir down. There were dozens of children playing tag and they all stopped and looked at the men. Adults were gathering and Vladimir counted over fifty people, all of different ages. They were dressed in rags and looked under-nourished but they all stood proud and defiant.

Eric turned to Vladimir and smiled. Vladimir thought to himself, _Now, these are the kind of people we are._

A small boy ran up to Janak and he scooped him up in his arms, tickling his tummy and kissing his head. Turning to the men he introduced the boy.

'Gareth, these are our new friends. This is Vladimir and this is Eric.' Gareth buried his head into Janak's chest; he was shy but soon peered back up, smiling at the men.

Helena beckoned for the men to follow her and she led them into a large tent. Inside were two cots and the floor was covered with sheep skins; the only other furniture in the tent was a table with two chairs.

'This is yours. I'll gather the Council and we'll meet with you.'

'The Council?' Vladimir asked.

'This is how we run the camp, through a Council. We make our decisions together.'

'Before you go Helena, please tell me, are all the people here like us?' Vladimir asked.

'You mean wolves?' Vladimir nodded. 'Yes, we are all wolves here, although some of us don't turn after the treatment. Varrick sends the other dark creatures to a different camp. We don't know where it is, we've only really heard about them, and Vondra is the only tiger we know of.'

'She's mad,' Janak added, coming into the tent. 'She hardly talks to anyone.'

But Helena replied, 'I don't think she's mad, I think it's because she hasn't bonded. I think it's because she's alone.'

'What about the children?' Eric asked.

Helena replied sadly, 'All the children here are from the people that are free. So far none have lived past the age of fifteen without the gene therapy. We've only been able to steal enough serum for half of the children and even then only half will live to be adults after the gene therapy.'

'What do you know about my mother?' Vladimir asked softly.

Helena responded with a smile. 'She's a kind woman. I've always known her. Varrick has kept her for as long as I've been alive and I'm twenty - six years old.'

Janak added, 'She has helped many of us escape.' Eric and Vladimir shared a small smile; they knew how smart Valeskia was. Vladimir felt pride in his Mother.

Helena moved to leave and said, 'I'll gather the Council, it will take an hour. Please rest, you're safe here.'

Janak reached for her hand and as they left he said, 'We have patrols all around us. We'll know if Varrick comes close to us, and our people know how to move quickly.'

After they had left, Vladimir lay down on the cot.

'Let's try to connect with Emily,' he suggested. They had tried the night before and the day before that with no luck.

Eric lay down on the cot next to Vladimir and joined him in a connection as he tried to connect with Emily. For a moment it felt like she'd joined them but within seconds it had gone.

Eric sat up feeling frustrated. 'Damn it!'

Vladimir thought for a moment then said, 'Let's see if we can connect with Applejacks.'

Eric and Vladimir had never forged a connection with the horse without Emily before, as whenever they wanted to speak to Applejacks they just went through Emily's connection. And when the men had spent time alone with Applejacks, they had learned to communicate without words.

Lying back down, Eric shut his eyes and connected with Vladimir. After a moment, Applejacks joined them and they could sense his relief at their contact.

' _Are you well?_ ' Applejacks asked formally.

' _My friend, we are both well_ ,' Vladimir replied. The connection to the horse was different without Emily but it was still very clear.

' _We can't contact Emily_ ,' Eric said. ' _Have you been able to?_ '

' _I do not hear her thoughts_ ,' Applejacks replied, ' _but I feel her essence; she is still alive_.'

It was like a huge weight was lifted off both of them. The fear that Emily was dead had echoed in the back of their minds.

' _Where are you, friend?_ ' Vladimir asked.

' _I do not know_ ,' Applejacks thought to the men. ' _I am with Rumour. She is hurt but Ross takes good care of her_.'

' _Is Vince with you?_ '

' _Yes, and three other men. We went to the place and found some guns but we keep moving. The tiger woman is with us as well_.'

_Vondra_ , Vlad thought, _my sister_. He wasn't sure what to think of that.

Eric thought, ' _Applejacks, we'll find a way to join up with you_.'

Vladimir added, ' _Until then, we should not use this connection unless we need to. I am not sure if Varrick can pinpoint us from it_.' Pausing he added, ' _My friend, be safe_.'

' _As you both_ ,' Applejacks replied, breaking the connection.

'I'm glad he's alright.' Eric sat up again, stretching - he missed Applejacks.

'I am too,' Vladimir replied. He felt more hopeful knowing that the horse and his men were alright.

'Vlad, are you sure you're okay?' A ripple of pain had gone through his body and Eric had seen it flash across his face.

'I think the torture has caused my nerve endings to spasm. I will be alright; all I need is time.' The pain was nothing to Vladimir. He could sense his body healing; it was the only part of the gene treatment that he liked.

Eric pulled his cot over to where Vladimir was lying and lay down, wrapping his arm around Vladimir's neck. They lay together in silence until they heard a light knock on the tent post.

'Are you awake?' Janak called.

'Yes,' Vladimir responded, sitting up.

'The Council has convened, when you're ready.'

'We'll come now,' Eric responded, helping Vladimir stand. As they left the tent, Janak handed a crutch to Vladimir.

'Good, this is just what I need,' Vladimir nodded to Janak. He was impressed - this man was resourceful.

A small fire was burning in the middle of the camp and a few people had gathered around it. The afternoon had grown late and the forest made the camp seem darker than it was.

The Council consisted of three women and three men. Vladimir was surprised to see that Helena was one of them. The others were much older than she was.

'My name is Jonas,' one of the men said. He was tall with long, red hair and a beard that was red as well. 'I am the leader for today.'

'For today?' Eric asked.

'Yes, we take turns. If we need to make a decision it is by vote and as there are six, the leader determines the decision if the vote is split.'

'I see,' Vladimir replied. He was used to making decisions by himself. Still, he would listen to these people.

The group paused. No one was sure where to start so Vladimir asked, 'We need to find our companions. Can you help us with that?'

Helena responded, 'Yes, we have a fair idea where they are and we'll send someone to guide them here.'

'Thank you,' Vladimir breathed with relief. Looking at Eric, he could see his mate was relieved as well.

Helena beckoned to Janak who was standing a little away from the group. Wordlessly he nodded at Helena's silent request, stripped off his clothes and changed into a large tan wolf. Before he entered the dense trees he looked back to Helena and she blew him a kiss goodbye. Walking over to his clothes, Helena picked them up and returned to the fire.

'He always drops his clothes,' she said to the group and they all smiled. It was an old joke between them.

With the tension eased Helena began to speak. 'There is a story we tell our children before they go to sleep. It's a tale of a better life for us, where we can be free in the world as normal people.' She paused and drew her cloak around her; it was cold. 'In this tale, two men and a woman come from far across the sea to save us. This story has been passed down for as long as I can remember.'

Jonas looked at Eric. 'I knew your mother, Dusana.' He smiled deeply remembering the girl. 'In the camp she was the only one who could make us laugh; she was the only one who gave us hope. This is her story.' Turning to Vladimir he added, 'At first, Valeskia used to get so mad with her when she told the story but now she is the one that whispers it to our people who are still trapped with Varrick.'

'My mother is a practical woman,' Vladimir replied. It was still so raw to know that she was alive and right at this moment he wished for her counsel. 'How many people are still in the compound?'

Jonas replied, 'Around a hundred. Varrick has twelve of our strongest men as his honour guards; they have been trained to be killers since they were small boys. Apart from them there are few adults still left alive, and then there are two batches of children.'

'Batches?' Vladimir asked, thinking to himself what an odd thing to say about children.

Helena spoke softly, her voice low. 'Varrick used to breed us by picking a mate through his selected breeding program, but twenty years ago he got the technology to genetically engineer children so he keeps certain women to carry the babies to term. He breeds the children in batches every five years. There is a group of children that are nine and children that are four. I know Varrick has begun planning the third batch - his scientists are busy with all sorts of tests. When the children turn twelve they will all undergo the gene therapy.' Tears were forming in her eyes; Jonas reached out and put his hand on her shoulder.

'I do not know if it will be us that will free your people from my father,' Vladimir said quietly - he could only be truthful to these people. 'I thought we were but the plan I had put together failed. Most of my men are dead and the rest are lost. Emily is captured, perhaps dying because of what I believed. The truth is, right now we only have one goal,' he gestured to include Eric, 'and that is to free Emily and my mother. After that, I am not sure that we can help you.'

The group was silent for a moment and then Jonas spoke. 'We'll help you free your women - if we can. Maybe it's too much to ask for you to help us but we are failing as a people. Our children are dying and we are starving. If things don't change soon, we'll die out and there will be no hope for the remaining group under Varrick's rule.'

Eric looked at Vladimir for a moment then said to the group, 'We'll not leave you; this is our fight as well.'

'We will do what we can - that is all I can promise,' Vladimir added.

'Maybe that will be enough,' Helena responded, allowing herself to hope.
Chapter 21

Ross had stopped the group when he realised that Applejacks was focused on something away from them. Gesturing to Vince he said, 'I think Applejacks is communicating with someone.'

'Are you sure?' Vince asked. Right now his only plan was to keep the group moving - so far they had not come across anyone else.

'Yes,' Ross replied. He had grown close to the horse and his instincts told him to stop. While they waited for Applejacks' focus to come back to the group, Ross gently put Rumour down and checked her ribs. Rumour gratefully licked Ross' hand. It had been four days since she'd broken her ribs and she was feeling better. Ross unwrapped her from the sling and Rumour took a few steps; it hurt but she could walk. Running his hands along her body, he could feel that the two broken ribs were in place. He gave her ears a rub and told her to go easy. Applejacks nuzzled Ross' back to get his attention.

Ross thought for a moment and asked, 'Did you talk to Emily?'

Applejacks shook his head 'No.'

'Vladimir?'

Applejacks nodded 'Yes.'

'Eric?'

Another nod, 'Yes.'

'Are they alright?'

'Yes,' again.

Vince joined him and asked, 'Are they still captive?'

'No,' Applejacks shook his head again.

'Do you know where they are?' Ross asked.

'No,' he responded again.

Not sure what else to ask, Ross paused. It was so frustrating to have to ask yes or no questions. Vondra appeared out of the bush. She had stayed close to the group and had changed back into a woman. Ross handed her the shirt he had kept for her, lowering his eyes until she had put it on.

After explaining what had happened, Vondra asked Applejacks, 'Are they with the free ones?' Applejacks nodded.

Turning to Vince and Ross, Vondra said, 'Don't worry, they'll find us. I've found a safe place to camp for the night. It's a bit further up the trail we're on and we'll be able to see if anyone comes.'

'Who are the free ones?' Vince asked. He'd come to trust her judgement over the last couple of days.

'They're people who have escaped from my father over the years - they move around a lot. Varrick doesn't want to capture them as he uses them to train his special guards in hunting,' Vondra replied.

'Let's move out,' Vince called to the group and they began to move.

Vondra didn't change back into a white tiger as she walked besides Ross. Suddenly she asked him, 'Do you have a woman?'

Ross just about jumped out of his skin at the question. Pausing to regain his composure, he responded, 'No, I'm not with anybody.' Then he asked, 'What about you, do you have someone special?'

'Special?' Vondra enquired, a puzzled look on her face. 'I do not know the word.'

'Oh, it means someone you hold above all others.'

Vondra thought for a long moment and said, 'Yes, I know someone special.'

'That's great,' Ross replied feeling relieved. 'Who?'

'You,' Vondra replied, smiling. Then she removed her shirt, handed it to Ross, morphed into a tiger and ran off into the forest. Ross had stopped so Vince doubled back, slapping Ross on the shoulder.

'You do like your animals, don't you,' he said, a big smile on his face.

Ross couldn't respond. He was in awe of Vondra but a part of him was uneasy with her wildness. He had seen her take down a deer for them all to eat in her tiger form - then she had complained that they had cooked the meat, preferring to eat it raw.

After twenty minutes they were at the spot that Vondra had found. Vince and his men set up the camp. The site was situated at the base of a cliff that rose hundreds of metres behind them - the spruce trees were dense around the area. No one would be able to spy on them. There was a small cave in which they could build a small fire that no one would see, and with the view they would have lots of warning if anyone approached.

Vince thought, _The girl has talent_. While her infatuation for Ross amused him and the other men, Vondra was still an unknown. But she was Vladimir's sister so Vince would protect her. He laughed out loud when he thought, _Or maybe she's protecting us_.

Twenty minutes later, Vondra returned to the camp carrying six rabbits. Giving them to Vince she said, 'I have had my fill, these are for you to cook on your fire.' Rumour came to Vondra and with a knife Vondra skinned a rabbit, cutting it into large chunks for Rumour to eat. Then she took first guard so that the men could eat in peace; they were feeling better with the warm fire and hot food.

After they had finished eating Vince told the men, 'I think Vladimir is looking for us and we have to stay free until he finds us. Each of us will take a three hour shift - I'll start,' Vince said, getting up. 'And try to keep warm,' he ordered his men. He knew that the last week had taken its toll. They had all lost good men - friends - and now they were fleeing for their lives. But in Vince's heart he knew he wouldn't live any other way, he and his men were warriors.

Ross threw some more sticks that he had gathered onto the fire and unrolled a blanket. As he lay down, Vondra walked over to him and said directly, 'I wish for some heat from you.'

The other men chuckled as they settled down, she was a good looking woman and they all wouldn't have minded getting some heat from her. Ross pulled up the blanket and Vondra lay down next to him. Her body was cold so he wrapped his arms around her, very aware that she was only wearing a thin shirt. Vondra closed her eyes and was asleep in minutes. Ross lay besides her for a long time, realising that it felt good to hold her in his arms. When he woke the next morning he was warm and he rubbed his head into his pillow - it was so soft and furry.

Furry? He woke with a start - he was wrapped in the white tiger paws. Sensing his discomfort, Vondra morphed back into her human form, and then Ross found he was in her arms but she was naked.

'You were cold so I changed into my tiger form - it is warmer. Did I do something wrong?' she was confused by his reaction.

Jumping up, Ross stammered, 'Sorry, I have to take my watch,' and ran from the cave.

Vondra was so hurt by his reaction that she transformed and left the camp for the forest, thinking to herself, _Why does he not like me?_ As a young girl she had loved her father. He would visit her in the nursery to play games and tell his stories. When Vondra turned twelve, a few of her friends disappeared and Vondra had tried to find out where they had gone.

Realising that her father was a monster was devastating for her, as she saw for the first time how he tortured her people. She realised that she had to do something about it.

Confronting her father had been a mistake. Vondra had honestly thought that she could change his mind but he had taken her to the white room and subjected her to the gene therapy. Vondra had never been so scared as she was in the laboratory that day, but once she had changed into her white tiger she was stronger. However a part of her was missing. She had seen that the other abnormals had bonded with others but there was no one there for her.

That was, until she met Ross. From the first moment he had spoken to her, she knew that he was her bond mate. She felt it to the core of who she was. Vondra didn't understand why he didn't like her as all the other abnormals bonded with their partner straight away.

Suddenly she picked up the scent of an animal and slowly, out of the forest, a tan wolf approached her, morphing into Janak. Making sure he was the only one, Vondra morphed into her human shape.

'I have come from Vladimir,' Janak said, wary of Vondra.

'Where is he?' Vondra asked.

'With the free ones, fifty kilometres north.'

'Follow me back to camp.'

Vondra turned but before she morphed back Janak asked her, 'You were easy to approach. What's wrong with you?'

Turning back to Janak, Vondra reflected on the question. She was embarrassed that she had not been aware of her surroundings but instead of replying to his question she asked, 'How did you bond with Helena?'

'It just happened when we went through the change. I remember just looking at her and she at me and we were bonded,' Janak replied, smiling when he remembered. It had being the only good thing to come out of the gene therapy.

'I have bonded,' Vondra offered.

'That's great,' Janak replied. Then looking at her face he added, 'Isn't it?'

'My bond mate does not want me,' Vondra replied coldly.

'Are you sure?' Janak asked softly.

'I'm sure,' Vondra added and morphed into a tiger.

Janak looked after her for a moment, feeling sorry for her pain - so few of them could live without a bond mate.

It took them ten minutes to return to camp. Vince was relieved that Janak had found them so quickly, he was not under the illusion that he would be able to stay out of Varrick's path for long. Varrick had gone through his men with no mercy.

'Let's pack up camp. We're moving now,' he commanded to the group. If they moved quickly they could be reunited with Vladimir within a day.

Ross checked Rumour, she was alright to travel under her own steam. Applejacks was glad to be moving towards his family; he liked Ross but longed to be able to connect with Vladimir and Eric again. They would know how to free Emily and bring her home. Since he met her Applejacks had never gone for so long without connecting with her and it felt as if a part of him was missing.

Vondra stayed as a tiger. Ross had tried to talk to her but as he approached her she had roared at him before bounding off into the forest.

Janak looked at Ross and said, 'So, you are the one.'

Ross was confused, 'What do you mean?'

'She has bonded with you so why do you not bond with her?'

'I don't understand what you mean,' Ross replied. He had never had any luck with women. He struggled to understand the idea of romance, and while he had feelings for Vondra unlike anything he had experienced before, he did not know what to do with them.

'Our kind have just one bond mate for life,' Janak volunteered, 'Vondra has never found hers.' Pausing, he said kindly, 'Until you, that is.'

'But I'm not like you. I'm ...' pausing for the right word, he said '... ordinary.'

Janak stopped walking and looked at Ross; he could see why Vondra had chosen him. The man was tall and strong but he carried a perception that was both keen and kind.

'Ordinary is what my people dream of,' and then he morphed back into his wolf and moved to the front of the group where he could keep watch and lead them.

Vondra was nowhere to be seen but Janak sensed she was close - she wouldn't leave Ross. Thinking of his bond mate, Janak thought, _Helena will know what to do, she always does_ , and he picked up the pace.
Chapter 22

'Emily, Emily, can you hear me?' Emily could hear the voice and while it was now familiar, Emily couldn't respond. Her grasp on reality was slipping and she was unsure of who she was. Her whole body was so sore and it didn't respond to her commands to move. For a moment on waking, she had experienced a pulse of connection that was so very familiar, but it was too hard to hold onto.

'Fight, Emily. You must fight the drugs,' the voice pleaded.

_Drugs?_ Emily thought, and slowly she remembered the purple fluid that had been put into her. _What's it done?_ But Emily didn't want to think - it hurt to think. _I am alone_. But there had been a voice and it called again.

'Emily, fight it. Come on girl, you can do it.'

'No,' Emily choked and she slipped back into the darkness.

After some time had passed, Emily became aware of herself again. Her body hurt less but she was still unable to move her limbs. Turning her head slowly to the left she saw that a drip was being fed into her arm. It was not purple but a pale, yellow fluid and Emily guessed it was that which was making her so sleepy.

'Emily, are you awake?' the woman's voice called again.

'Yes. Why do I feel so bad?' she croaked; her throat hurt to talk.

'It's the drugs, they're making you sleep. You need to fight the effects.'

'I'm so tired,' Emily responded. Talking was too wearying for her.

'Emily,' Valeskia's voice was sharp, 'Vladimir and Eric are safe. They have escaped.'

'Escaped?' Emily replied and for a second she didn't know who they were. Then the memory of the three of them laughing hit her - they were her lovers! The news that they were safe cleared her head a little and she became more aware of her surroundings.

'Where am I?' she called to Valeskia.

'Under the compound, in the laboratories.'

'What's happened to me?'

Valeskia paused, 'You have been changed, my dear. I'm sorry.'

'Into what?' Emily asked. She felt the fear rise in her.

'I honestly don't know,' Valeskia replied softly. 'The drugs that they are putting into your body now are suppressing it.' Tears leaked out of the corner of Emily's eyes; she felt so helpless.

'Why?' was all she could think to say.

'Oh child, who really knows the mind of another? I only know that you're in danger. Varrick will harvest your eggs and then he'll kill you.'

'Harvest my eggs?' The terror began to overwhelm her. 'Why would he do such a horrid thing?'

'He can't control you so he will breed from your eggs.' Valeskia's voice carried the sadness of such a horror. 'I must go now Emily; remember your gift. We need to find a way for you to escape.'

Feeling sleepy again, Emily drifted back into the darkness. Her last thought was, _My gift?_

Waking later and not sure of the time, Emily's head was clearer. Her body still didn't respond to her thoughts but she could think and an idea on how to free herself became clear. Concentrating for a moment, she looked at the fluid that was entering her body and visualised it, all of it, pulsing through her cells and moving through her veins. Then Emily moved the fluid out of her body and into the sink in the corner of the room. Instantly she felt better as the energy flowed back into her body. She could move her limbs again but as she flexed her toes the door opened and the technicians walked in. Emily lay still, her eyes closed.

The men started checking her vitals and one said, 'She looks good. I'd say we can operate on her today to remove her eggs.'

'Such a waste,' he murmured, 'she's a beauty.'

The other tech laughed, 'Maybe Varrick will let us play with her before we kill her.'

'I really doubt that,' the other tech responded. Varrick was strict with the abnormals' blood-line; guards had been put to death for such things.

'Come, let us tell Varrick she's ready,' he said, looking at Emily and again thinking, _What a waste_ , as they left the room.

Lying still for another couple of minutes, Emily tried to think of a plan. She jumped, hearing her name.

'Emily, are you awake?' Valeskia's voice was full of dread.

'Yes, I am,' Emily responded. Now, with her mind clear, she knew that the woman was Vladimir's mother. Emily slowly got off the bed and walked to the door. Valeskia reached for her hand through the small window and Emily touched it.

'I heard the techs say they were going to operate on me today.'

'Oh my God, we need to get you out now,' Valeskia said. 'Emily, I don't have a key.'

Emily smiled and said, 'I don't think we need one,' and released Valeskia's hand. She disappeared and reappeared behind Valeskia.

Surprised, Valeskia gasped, 'Oh my,' and took a moment to look at Emily before pulling her into an embrace.

'Quick, come with me. We must hide you.' Valeskia took Emily back to her cell and asked, 'How far can you teleport?'

'I don't know. I have moved at least ten kilometres away but I need to be able to visualise where I'm going,' Emily replied. She felt good; transporting from the lab to the hallway had left no tiredness. _My powers have been amplified_ , she thought to herself.

'I see,' Valeskia responded. She was trying to think of a plan.

'I want to see if I can connect with Vladimir, Eric and Applejacks,' Emily told Valeskia. She ached to be in a connection with her family. Quietening down her mind, she sent out a connection to the men and then to Applejacks. Within seconds they all joined the bond. For a moment so much emotion poured into the connection, it was impossible to clarify words. Vladimir was the first to send clear thoughts.

' _Emily, are you alright?_ '

' _Em_ ,' Eric followed, ' _where are you?_ '

And Applejacks formally greeted her with, ' _Are you well?_ '

' _My loves_ ,' Emily responded, sending joy down the link, ' _I'm free for the moment and with Valeskia. Where are you all?_ '

Vladimir responded. ' _Eric and I are in the camp of the free abnormals. I do not know where. Applejacks is with Vince and Rumour, but they are not far from our camp now_.'

Applejacks added into the link, ' _You feel different in our connection?_ '

' _I_ am _different - I teleported without getting tired. I think the gene therapy has amplified my abilities_,' Emily answered.

' _That is a good thing Emily. Can you lock onto us and transport here?_ ' Vladimir asked.

Pausing, Emily tried to sense if that was possible but it didn't feel like she could.

' _What about to me?_ ' Applejacks asked. Their bond had always been stronger.

Reaching out to Applejacks, Emily could see through his eyes to where he was. ' _Yes, I can come to you Applejacks_.' Then turning to Valeskia Emily said, 'Hold my hand,' but Valeskia pulled back.

'I can't go with you child.'

Emily was surprised. 'Why not?' It hadn't occurred to her that Valeskia wouldn't want to be free.

'Because of this collar. If I leave the laboratory, my head will blow off.' Pausing she added, 'And also, it is my duty to stay.'

'Vladimir will want you to be free,' Emily countered. She knew what his wishes would be.

'Tell my son that I am waiting for him to free our people. We may be created as dark creatures but there is good in us, I know it!'

Realising that she wouldn't be able to change Valeskia's mind, Emily embraced the woman and told her, 'We will return, I promise.' And, connecting to Applejacks again, she popped out of the room.

Valeskia sat calmly on the edge of the bed. Varrick would be along as soon as he discovered that Emily had gone and she hoped that his anger would not be too great. As much as he loved her, Valeskia knew that he could kill her if he lost control and for the first time in years, Valeskia desperately wanted to live.

* * *

Applejacks had stopped again and Ross could see that his focus was far away. Stopping also the group, waited for Applejacks to mentally rejoin them. After a moment, Applejacks turned his body back to the group and pushed them out of the way. In the next instant, Emily was beside Applejacks. Rumour immediately started barking with joy. She was so happy to see Emily, her whole body trembled with excitement. Emily pressed her head to Applejacks' for a long moment before embracing Vince and Ross. They were both surprised at her affection.

Vondra and Janak had returned to the group and had both changed into human form. As Ross introduced them to Emily, Vondra didn't look happy; she had seen Emily hug Ross.

'How far are we from Vladimir and Eric?' Emily asked. Her whole body ached to be near them.

'Less than an hour away,' Janak replied.

Turning to Applejacks, Emily asked formally, ' _My friend, may I ride you? My body's not strong_.'

' _You are always welcome_ ,' Applejacks replied, just as formally, and Ross lifted Emily onto his back.

' _Oh, my friend, I'm so glad to be with you_ ,' she thought to Applejacks.

' _You do feel different_ ,' he replied, thankful they were together again.

Picking up on the thread of his joy, Emily projected it outwards. She noted that Vince, Ross and his men had picked up on the mood.

' _This is new_ ,' Applejacks thought to Emily; she had never been able to affect humans before.

' _I just hope it's a good thing_ ,' Emily replied. Her mind felt powerful and she could sense she was stronger somehow.

* * *

It was almost dark when Emily's group reached the free ones' camp, and as the group entered the compound, children gathered around them. Emily looked at their faces thinking to herself, _What beautiful children_ , and while they were a little skinny, the hope on their faces was beautiful.

Seeing Vladimir and Eric come out of the tent almost overwhelmed Emily and she slipped off Applejacks and ran towards them. Eric ran to meet her and scooped her into his arms, lifting her and spinning her around in a circle. He planted kisses on her face and neck before putting her down in front of Vladimir. Emily couldn't stop laughing as Vladimir wrapped his arms around her. Then Eric wrapped his arms around both of them and for a brief moment the three merged into each other as one. Then Vladimir and Eric greeted Applejacks and the men. Rumour was bouncing around, caught up in the joyous reunion.

Helena greeted Janak with his clothes and as he dressed they couldn't take their eyes off each other. But Vondra stood apart, unsure of what to do. Then Emily went to Vondra and, taking her hand in her own, led the woman over to Vladimir and Eric.

'This is Vondra,' she stated simply.

Vladimir was overcome with emotion at being with Emily. He wasn't sure what to do with Vondra so he pulled her into a hug and they stood together for a long moment. When they pulled back, Vondra was crying.

'Little sister,' Vladimir asked, 'why are you crying?' He wasn't sure if he had done something wrong.

Smiling back at Vladimir she replied, 'Because I am a little sister,' and the pair embraced again.

Jonas approached the group and announced, 'There's hot food for all of you by the fire.'

The night was cool but the group didn't care - the fire was warm and the food was good. Vladimir felt a bit guilty eating so much of the food as he knew that the group didn't have much to spare, but he resolved to make plans to obtain better provisions for them. Janak had pulled Helena aside and explained Vondra's predicament.

'What do you mean, he doesn't want her?' Helena gasped.

'I don't know,' Janak replied. 'Maybe it's because he's a full human.'

Looking across at Vondra, Helena could see that her eyes were constantly on Ross and her heart went out to the woman. An idea came to Helena and she smiled. Calling to one of the women helping with the food, she gave her instructions. Satisfied with her plan, she joined the group for dinner. It was close to midnight when the group began to disband for sleep. Eric had flung Emily over his shoulder and the trio laughed all the way to their tent. Helena walked over to Vincent's men and gave instructions on where they would be sleeping.

She added, 'One of you will have to share a tent with Vondra. There is not enough room for you all in the other tent.' Everyone's eyes fell on Ross, who turned bright red, and on seeing his face Vondra turned and fled to the tent, throwing herself on the cot. She gave herself over to tears that turned to sobs, but after a few minutes her fatigue took over and she fell asleep.

The next morning, as Vondra slowly came awake, she heard soft snores. As she opened her eyes, she saw that Ross was asleep in the cot beside her. Vondra allowed herself a moment to look at him. His face looked ordinary but, as she took in his strong jaw, full lips and square face, she decided that he was handsome in an exotic way - she had never seen an Asian man before. He looked so gentle while sleeping that it took all of Vondra's willpower not to give in to her desire to run her fingers over his face. Ross made a snuffling sound and Vondra realised that he was going to wake up, so she lay back down, turning her back to him and pretending to sleep. _This way_ , she thought, _he can leave without having to talk to me_. She could sense him stretch, yawn and sit up - but he didn't leave the tent.

After a few minutes she felt his hand on her shoulder and he gently shook her saying, 'Vondra, please wake up.' Cursing under her breath, Vondra pretended to wake up and as she sat up, Ross was straightening his shirt and running his fingers through his hair. A section stuck up and Vondra resisted the urge to run her fingers through his hair and put it in place.

Ross was clearly uncomfortable with what he was going to say and then suddenly he blurted out, 'I'm not very good with women! I think I've hurt your feelings.'

Vondra shrugged her shoulders and replied, 'You tell the truth, you don't like me.'

'No, no, that's not true. It's just... like I said before, I'm not very good with women.'

'Oh.' Vondra paused and then said, 'You prefer men?'

'What? No! Umm, I don't think you understand.' Pausing to find the right words he said, 'Maybe when we free your people, we could, I mean, if you want, umm ... we could go out to dinner.' Ross' face had gone red and his heart was pounding in his chest.

Vondra was confused. 'Dinner? But we have to go to breakfast now.'

Ross stood up - this was not going very well. 'I mean, I can take you to a restaurant.'

'What is a restaurant?' Vondra stood up too, a puzzled look on her face.

'It's place where we go to eat. Usually it has soft music and then we can dance and we can see if we like each other.' Ross' voice was shaking.

'I like you already,' Vondra responded, moving closer to Ross.

Ross had turned bright red. Looking into Vondra's face, he could see that she really meant it.

'It's just,' he stammered, 'the way my family does these things.'

'Oh,' Vondra replied, finally understanding. 'I get it now, you have a custom. We free our people then we go to this restaurant and then we are bonded.'

Ross breathed, 'Yes, I mean no, I mean...' but Vondra wasn't listening anymore - she was excited.

'Come, let's free my people today. Yes, today,' and she left the tent then returned to take his hand and drag him outside.

Ross had a sinking feeling that his go-slow speech had backfired but he did notice that it felt good to hold her hand.
Chapter 23

Varrick walked into Valeskia's cell followed by Ivan and Roy. He looked at her for a full minute before ordering Ivan to take her to the white room. Valeskia felt a wave of fear go through her body but outwardly she showed no sign of the emotion. As Ivan approached her she simply stood up and walked to the door. She wouldn't plead or beg for her life; she wouldn't give Varrick the satisfaction.

Roy had a small smile on his face but Ivan looked terrible. He was distracted and he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Valeskia was almost sorry for him but she remembered all the killing of their kind that he had performed and her pity disappeared.

Valeskia was surprised at how strong her body still was when she stood. She had thought her legs would turn to jelly with the initial wave of fear but she walked to the lift as if she had purpose. When they got into the lift, Varrick turned to Valeskia and laid one of his large hands on her shoulder.

'I had hoped for so much more from you,' he said. 'Tell me where our son is and I'll let you go free.'

Valeskia replied softly, 'I feel sorry for you, Varrick. This is the reason everybody looks to betray you. You don't have the right to decide who can be free. Our son will free us from you.'

Varrick responded by slapping Valeskia so hard she fell to her knees. Pushing the button to the lower floor, Varrick struggled to keep from hitting her again. As the doors closed he told Valeskia in a cold voice, 'I'm looking forward to our conversation in the white room and don't worry my dear, it won't be a short one.'

Valeskia, who was still on her knees, felt tears form in her eyes as she knew she would not escape his anger this time.

* * *

Valeskia could hear a woman screaming. It was so loud she thought to herself. _Someone please help that woman_ , but the screams continued. After a moment, Valeskia realised that the woman screaming was herself and she became fully conscious of the pain exploding through every cell in her body. Varrick had decided not to physically torture her, instead insisting that Roy use chemicals.

Her blood was turning to acid - the pain was excruciating and she worried that she would break. Her mind was fuzzy. She knew too much about the free people as, in a way, she had been in one of the first groups to defy Varrick many years ago. There had been six of them, three women and three men. Their faces popped into her head so fresh, it was as if she had seen them all yesterday. Sweet Dusana - her dear friend, Thora, dependable Jonas, Thomas - whom she never really knew, and Sven, so keen with his gift of foresight.

Valeskia's head hung down. She was tied to a metal table that was pitched vertically. Sweat dripped from her body and all the colour had drained from her face.

Varrick lifted her head, realising that she had lost consciousness. Frustrated he turned to Roy and Ivan. 'I need answers,' he barked.

Roy responded, 'The woman is strong; you know she won't break easily.'

Ivan was almost unapproachable. He just sat in the corner, rocking back and forth, muttering under his breath, 'Kill the witch, kill the witch,' over and over. Varrick looked at Roy. They both knew Ivan was lost to his madness.

Whispering to Roy, Varrick told him, 'The moment he no longer follows commands, destroy him.' Roy nodded - he was ready. Ivan was their best killer but only Sarah could call him back when he was let loose. He made Roy nervous, he always had, and right now even more so. Ivan followed orders from Roy and Varrick more so than ever and this was what worried Roy, that Ivan was, seemingly, compliant.

The phone rang and Varrick picked it up. After a moment, Roy heard him say, 'Ok, I'll come,' and then he turned to Roy and said, 'Make sure she doesn't die before I return.' He then beckoned for Ivan to follow.

Roy was relieved that they had both left. He went over to Valeskia and checked out her vitals. Although they were steady she was still unconscious. What Varrick saw in this woman was beyond Roy; she was beautiful but she defied Varrick at every turn. Roy preferred young girls who thought he was a God even if they bored him after a few days. Still, there were plenty of young girls. He always thought that loving someone was a weakness and he felt superior being a full human. He didn't need to bond with anyone like the people Varrick had created. Checking Valeskia again, Roy sat back on a stool and wondered, for the thousandth time, why he followed Varrick at all.

Valeskia regained consciousness but her mind was in the past. There was information she needed to get, a memory that was important, but what? Her fear was that whatever she would say in the white room would bring her people down. Varrick created them all but they were a real people and Dusana had been the first of them to acknowledge that they could alter their fate. Then she remembered her father, and how gentle and kind he was with her. The memory of him reminded her that she was in control of her fate and she wouldn't break, not now, not ever.

Slowly Valeskia lifted her head, allowing the pain to flow through her body as her mind returned fully to the present.

'Hello Valeskia, I'm glad you're back.' Roy's voice was soft and friendly. Another bolt of pain whacked Valeskia's body and a scream slipped out without her permission.

'I can make this all stop, Valeskia,' Roy said.

Valeskia smiled at Roy, which unnerved him. 'My son will make this all stop.'

Roy knew the woman would not break and threw his hands into the air. Calling to the guards he ordered them to take Valeskia back to her cell. He knew Varrick would be mad but he could handle him. Then an idea hit him. He knew how to find the free people - he would just have to convince Varrick of his idea. Looking at Valeskia as the guards lifted her down, Roy smiled.

'Make sure the doctors see her,' he ordered. 'We need to look after her.' He could see that Valeskia had passed out again.

Feeling good, Roy's mind went to the new girl who had arrived a week ago. He would arrange a visit; it would distract him for a moment. Then he laughed as he thought to himself, _Maybe now Varrick will see that these people all need to be destroyed_. Looking at Valeskia as the guards carried her to the lift, he added to himself. _Especially, that one_.
Chapter 24

Waking in Eric's arms, Emily found that Vladimir had already risen. As she got up, she could hear the rain tap lightly on the roof of the tent. For no reason she felt uneasy and she dressed, quickly waking Eric.

'Where are you going?' he asked sitting up; he could see that she was upset.

'To find Vladimir,' Emily responded her voice tight.

'What's wrong, Emily. You sound scared?' Eric stood up to be near her.

'Emily, are you okay?' Vladimir asked entering the tent. He was carrying cups of hot tea for Eric and Emily. Emily flew into his arms, almost causing him to spill the hot liquid.

'It's just that you weren't here when I woke up,' Emily replied sheepishly. 'I'm sorry - I freaked out.' Vladimir could feel her heart beating wildly in her chest. Eric got dressed and sat on the cot. He gestured for Emily to sit beside him and they both took the tea that Vladimir had brought them.

'You know Emily, we haven't asked you what happened during the treatment.'

'Or how it has changed you,' Vladimir added, sitting across from her.

'I don't think I've changed that much,' Emily said quietly. 'I'm stronger with my abilities. When Applejacks and I were coming here and knew I would see you both, I was so happy I projected it and Vince and his men felt my happiness.'

'So you can project emotions to full humans?' Eric remarked. This was a surprise.

'I still can't talk to them but I can affect their moods. I haven't tested it but I think I can teleport items over a longer distance now without the need to touch Applejacks, although with him I'm more accurate.'

Vladimir was silent for a moment.

'This could be very useful,' Eric added. 'But we should test it first.'

'I agree,' Emily responded. 'After all, I know you don't want to risk another shoe.' Eric smiled thinking that it was not so long ago that they had found out about each other's secrets.

'Where were you Vlad?' Eric asked. The tea was now cool enough to drink and Eric was glad for its warmth.

'I was talking to Vince. I wanted him to check out the camp and I want to make sure we are safe here.'

'Your leg is better?' Eric asked. As Vladimir had entered the tent he hadn't limped as he had the day before.

'It is almost healed again. I guess there are benefits from all of this madness.' Vladimir showed them the area where he had been hurt; there was now just an angry red scar - the skin had completely healed.

'Vladimir, what are we going to do now?' Emily asked. Eric looked at Vladimir as well.

Sighing, Vladimir said, 'We can't abandon these people.'

'I agree,' said Eric, thinking about his son and wondering where Varrick had sent him to, and if he would ever see him again.

Emily nodded her agreement and reached out to pat Eric's arm. Last night, in his sleep, Eric had murmured Eben's name.

'My first attempt failed and many men were killed because of me.' Emily began to protest but Vladimir put his hand up. 'No, Emily, I take full responsibility for their deaths. Whatever plans we come up with, I refuse to endanger these people. It must rest with us. Sven's journal said it would be the three from overseas that would right the wrong. I have reread his prophecies and I now believe that we must do this.'

'Do you have a plan?' Eric asked. His voice held no doubt that he would follow Vladimir.

'No, not yet,' Vladimir replied, feeling frustrated.

'Then,' Emily said getting up, 'we go and eat.' Taking both Vladimir's and Eric's hands, she led them from the tent and walked over to where Helena sat stirring a large pot over the fire.

'Good morning,' the young woman smiled brightly. 'I've made porridge for breakfast.'

'Porridge?' Eric sounded disappointed. Vladimir also didn't look pleased.

Emily laughed and thanked Helena as she served them up bowls of the hot porridge. It was delicious with fruit, nuts and spices.

'This is a recipe from your mother,' Helena said to Vladimir. 'She taught me how to cook at the compound. We steal the oats from farmers fifty miles from here. I hate doing it but we have no money for such things.'

'Helena, after breakfast I would like to speak to Jonas and yourself. I have a few ideas on getting some supplies for the group,' Vladimir told her. He admitted to himself that the porridge was good; he remembered it from when he was a small child. Eric still looked unconvinced; however, he asked for second helpings.

'That would be wonderful,' Helena replied enthusiastically. 'I would like that.'

Jonas came out of the forest carrying a deer on his back. Putting it down, Helena smiled at him and Jonas smiled back then turned to the trio. In his quiet, gentle voice he said, 'Emily, may I ask you a question?'

'Of course,' Emily replied. She had liked this gentle man straight away.

'How is Valeskia?' The question was casual but the tone of his voice spoke volumes of emotion.

'The last time I saw her she was well. She refused to come until all the people are free.'

'That would be Valeskia,' Jonas replied and allowed himself a small smile.

'She had a message for you,' Emily told the quiet man. 'She said we will be planting the fields soon.' Jonas looked at Emily for a moment before turning away to look into the dark forest and Emily could see that he had tears in his eyes.

Sitting around the fire, Emily caught sight of Rumour. She had left the tent early - as soon as she had heard the children walk past. They were throwing a ball for her to chase and Emily marvelled at how fit and strong she had become. Her barking was joyful, and when she got the ball she would toss it to a different child. Applejacks had come over and Emily asked Helena if she had some apples.

'I do,' Helena replied, and she reached into a sack for three apples and gave them to Emily. Emily cut them in half and gave them to Applejacks, simply resting in their connection together.

As they looked at Rumour, Applejacks said, ' _The small one is happy_.'

' _Yes, it's a beautiful sight to see_ ,' Emily replied.

Noticing that Emily was out of the tent, Rumour bounded over, thrusting her nose into Emily's hands, her tail wagging. Connecting to her, Emily projected good feelings and love.

'Jonas, Helena,' Vladimir called for their attention. 'I want you to make a list of what supplies the group needs for a few months. I will send two of Vince's men to buy them for you. I also want the camp to move. Before we came here we found a location that would be safer for you all. There are a few supplies and structures already in place. It was where I was going to house the men I brought with me.' Helena looked at Jonas who nodded at her; the relief was evident on their faces.

'Thank you so much. If possible can we get some medicine?' she replied. Her eyes glistened at the offer from Vladimir.

'Get whatever you need,' he smiled back.

'What's your intention with Varrick?' Janak asked. He had just arrived and overheard the conversation on supplies and moving.

'The four of us will go to the manor,' he gestured to Eric, Emily and Applejacks. 'We will confront Varrick there.'

'And how will you do that?' Janak asked.

Pulling the journal from his shirt, Vladimir held it up to show them, 'This is the journal from Sven.' Jonas smiled hearing the name of his old friend. 'Before he died he gave me his journal. He told me that two who had escaped would return with the woman who could talk to the beasts. I was a young man at the time and did not put any credence to it. After I met Emily I put the plans together for our return, praying that I would never need to use them, but here we are.' Pausing, he opened the journal to a page and read; 'The three and the beast will confront the father of us all. Only then will the moment come to pass for freedom or destruction of the new people.' He stopped. No one spoke for a moment.

Then Eric quipped, 'So, which one of us is the beast?' and even Applejacks laughed, snorting and shaking his head. With the tension eased Jonas thought for a moment.

'I know Sven, his prophecies were almost always right.'

'Almost,' Eric quipped again, bringing another smile to the group's faces.

'While I agree that you three, err ... four,' Jonas said, pointing at Applejacks, 'have to go, it does not say alone,' then added, 'I plan to come with you.'

'I disagree,' Emily voiced. 'You need to ensure the rest of your people are safe.'

Pausing for a moment before replying, Jonas augured, 'I know my friend, Sven. Just because he didn't say we'd come with you doesn't mean we don't. This meeting will either free or destroy our people; I must see it through to the end.' Turning to Vladimir, he added, 'This is not for you to make right; we need to make a stand together.'

Suddenly Vondra, in tiger form, burst from the forest with Ross running beside her. As they joined the group, Ross took his shirt off before Vondra had time to change back, handing it to her as soon as she changed. Helena put her hand over her mouth to hide her smile at Ross' change in attitude.

'We were at the compound,' Ross offered, getting his breath. Vondra's breath was normal as soon as she changed into a woman's form. Ross added, 'They're gathering the children from the breeding pens.'

'What children?' Vladimir asked.

'The second batch, the little ones that are four,' Vondra replied. Ross put his arm around her as she started to cry. 'Maybe some of those children are mine; they have taken my eggs.'

Ross continued, 'We got close enough to overhear that they're going to murder the children tomorrow.'

'What?' Emily gasped, looking at Vladimir. 'We have to stop this.' The rest of the group voiced their outrage as well until Vladimir put his hand up.

'Stop!' The group became silent. 'I need a moment to think.' And he turned away from the group, walked over to a large log and sat down on it.

Eric gathered Emily into his arms and said to the group, 'He'll think of a plan, he always does.' After a while, Applejacks wandered over to Vladimir who absently patted his muzzle. Realising that the horse had something to say, he connected to him.

' _Are you well, my friend?_ ' Applejacks asked formally.

Vladimir, feeling frustrated, replied, ' _I'm not sure of what to do. I don't know if I can come up with a plan_.'

' _Then don't_ ,' Applejacks replied. His answer was so unexpected, Vladimir stood up.

'What do you mean?' he asked out loud.

' _Trust that the next moment will bring you the answers you need to move onto the next moment_ ,' Applejacks replied.

Pausing for the longest moment Vladimir thought carefully about Applejacks' words before saying, 'My whole life I have always had a plan for the next step.'

' _Not always_ ,' Applejacks replied.

'When?' Vladimir challenged him.

' _There was no plan when you met Emily and look how that turned out_.' Vladimir's deep voice boomed laughter, and he reached out to pat the horse's neck.

'My friend, what a good day that was.' He spoke out loud and looked across to Eric and Emily, and a wave of love washed over Vladimir for both his bond mates.

' _It was the day that was always going to be brought about_ ,' Applejacks added ' _just like this day has been brought about and will end as it should_.'

'Thank you, friend,' Vladimir replied. 'Your words have been what I need,' and he walked back to the group.

'What's the plan?' Eric asked. The group had hushed and were looking at Vladimir intently.

'The plan is that we go to confront Varrick with whoever wants to come. Sven wrote that the four of us would go but you are right, Jonas, he did not say that no one else would be with us.'

Turning to Vince he said, 'Old friend, if you want to leave I would only wish you well but can I ask one more thing of you, and that is to ensure that the supplies are brought and that the people are moved to the safe location.'

'I'll go with you,' Vince replied. 'But my men will ensure that the supplies are brought and the camp is moved.' He knew his role was to be beside Vladimir.

'I'll go as well,' Ross said, tightening his arm around Vondra. He wasn't going to let her out of his sight.

'I'll stand beside you,' Jonas pledged giving his hand to Vladimir, who took it.

'As I,' Janak replied, reaching for Helena's hand.

But before Helena could say anything, Jonas stepped forward and said, 'I know your heart lies with us but you will need to lead the people.' Helena began to protest but Janak stepped in.

'My love, please,' and the look that passed between them was so intense that the others had to look away.

As Vladimir faced Vondra she smiled and said, 'My brother, I stand at your side.' Turning to Ross, she added, 'After we free our people, we go to your restaurant,' causing everyone to laugh. Emily looked at Vladimir and Eric and Vladimir winked at her. If Vondra wanted a restaurant after all this, then they would supply it. _That is_ , he thought to himself, _if we live_.

Twenty minutes later, the group was on its way to the manor. Ross and Vince rode motorbikes that belonged to the free abnormals. Emily was on Applejacks and Vladimir, Eric, Vondra, Jonas and Janak were all in animal form. They moved with a purpose, only stopping to regroup one mile before the manor. Vladimir morphed back into human form to give instructions on how they would approach it.

'Eric and I will approach the manor to check out the compound. The rest of you stay here. Emily, keep a connection open to us.' And they morphed back into animal form. After ten minutes they were back.

'The children have been rounded up in the compound, and Varrick has them sitting outside the front of the manor,' Vladimir told the group.

'How many children?' Vince asked. He wanted details.

'At least twenty five,' Eric responded. 'They look around the same age, around four.'

Vondra's face was hard, 'Are they hurt?'

'I don't think so but they all look scared,' Vladimir replied. Turning to Emily, he asked, 'Can you transport the children all at one time?' Emily wished she'd had a chance to try out her new strength; her ability was still unknown.

'Maybe.' Then she said, more strongly after connecting to Applejacks, 'Yes I can. I just need to be close to the children.' Pausing to think, Vladimir finally told them what the group's next move would be. He smiled at Applejacks, who nodded back.

'Vondra and Ross, you need to stay here, Emily will teleport the children to you. Janak and Vince, you need to find transport for the children and take them back to the new camp. The children are the priority. Once we get them clear, we will see what we can do about Varrick.' Vince thought about Vladimir's plan.

'Can I make one comment?'

'Of course.' Vladimir completely trusted Vince's judgement.

'It sounds like you, Eric and Emily are taking a one way trip. We all know it. You could be sacrificing yourself for nothing.'

'We still have the advantage,' Vladimir replied.

'What's that?' Vince asked.

'Emily! She can talk directly to all the abnormals. When we first came to the compound, Emily picked up on how unhappy they all are. If we can turn enough of them to our side, it might give us the edge we need.'

Vondra spoke in her low husky voice. 'That is a big risk, they're all pretty...' pausing she thought hard for the right word in English, 'brainwashed.'

Emily answered her. 'I know what you're saying but I really felt their unhappiness. Maybe we can get them to not fight us.'

'It is the only plan we have right now,' Vladimir said, and by his tone they knew that the discussion was over. Looking at the group, each nodded their agreement.

'What about me?' Jonas asked, aware that Vladimir had not given him a task.

Vladimir turned to Jonas and said, 'You my friend, have to save my mother. I will get Emily to teleport you into the compound.'

'I can get you into her room,' Emily added 'we just need to get close enough.'

'What about her collar?' Jonas asked.

'I think I can teleport it away before it can blow,' Emily told him.

'You think?' Jonas replied. Emily looked down at her feet.

'I'm not sure. There's always a moment before the transport starts when taking hold of the subject causes a slight vibration that could make the collar blow. It would depend on how sensitive the device is.'

'I've seen it blow a man's head off when a bolt of lightning hit a tree twenty metres away,' Jonas added, but he knew they had no choice.

'Brother,' Vondra cried, reaching out to touch Vladimir's arm 'please be careful.

Smiling at his sister, Vladimir touched her hair then turned into his wolf form. Emily mounted Applejacks and Eric morphed into his wolf form as well. Just before Vladimir turned towards the manor he looked back at the group and thought to himself what extraordinary people they were.

At the edge of the trees in front of the compound, Emily looked at Jonas and concentrated on him for a moment before he popped away. The small group then turned into the compound. Within seconds an alarm sounded and the guards were all around them with guns pointed.

' _Vladimir, something is wrong_ ,' Eric thought in the connection.

' _I know, I see it too_ ,' Vladimir replied.

' _What's wrong?_ ' Emily asked. She couldn't see what they were talking about.

' _There are only a few guards. There should be more_.' Vladimir replied.

' _Should I move the children?_ ' Emily asked.

Vladimir paused before saying, ' _Yes_.'

Quickly turning, Emily focused on the children who were holding each other's hands. They all looked very frightened but none were crying. _They're trying so hard to be brave_ , thought Emily to herself. Concentrating hard for a moment, she visualised where they were to go and they all popped out of sight. The guards shot a dart gun at Emily but this time she was prepared. It was effortless to place a force field around the three of them. The guards, seeing that the darts didn't hit them, changed to machine-guns; the noise was deafening.

' _That's new_ ,' Eric said in the connection; he had almost jumped into the dart to protect Emily.

' _And very handy_ ,' added Vladimir.

' _The only thing is, I can't do anything else while the force field is up_.' Emily replied. ' _I wasn't even sure if it would work but I sensed that it might_.'

' _Don't keep your feelings to yourself, Emily_ ,' Vladimir responded. ' _Come, let's move inside. We need to find Varrick_.'

* * *

As soon as Jonas materialised in Valeskia's cell, he changed into his human form. Valeskia jumped as he teleported into the room. Taking a moment to look at each other after all the years apart, Valeskia gave him her deepest smile before turning to business.

'What's the plan?'

'I need to take you to the girl; she thinks she can take off your collar,' Jonas replied looking around the small cell.

'Jonas, the guards have told me that Varrick's plan is to kill the latest batch of children,' Valeskia told the gentle man.

'We know and that's being taken care of. Emily has the power to teleport them away and Vondra is waiting to take them to our new camp.' Suddenly the alarm went off and the pair could hear guards running down the hallway.

Jonas turned to Valeskia and said, 'You know, perhaps this was not a good idea. I realise we're both locked in your cell.'

Valeskia laughed. 'The cell has never been the problem. Emily knew that.' Walking over to the door, Valeskia pulled a key from the top of the doorframe.

'I've had this for years, let's hope it works now.' Putting the key into the lock, Valeskia slowly turned it. Hearing the solid clunk as the door lock popped open brought a smile to both her and Jonas' face.

'I will turn into my wolf,' Jonas said. 'In case we come across any guards, I will attack so that you can escape.'

'My oldest friend,' Valeskia replied, 'after all these years apart I don't intend to lose you so soon. We stay together.' Jonas replied by changing into his wolf form, but not before she saw that his face had turned red.

Moving into the deserted hallway, Valeskia was surprised. There should still be guards here. Something was wrong! Hearing gun-fire, the pair quickly moved up the stairs to the entrance to the ballroom. Pausing, Valeskia opened the door a crack to see how many guards were in there. She could see three and again she was surprised. Only three. What was going on? Where were they all?

Peering through the crack again, Valeskia saw the front door to the ballroom bang open and Vladimir, Eric and Emily - who was on Applejacks - entered the room. The guards were firing their guns but none of the bullets seemed to be touching the small group. Gesturing to Jonas, Valeskia mouthed to him, 'We need to create a diversion.' He nodded and they moved quietly into the ballroom, hiding behind the throne.

Looking around the room, Valeskia saw a heavy vase to the left of the throne and whispering to Jonas she said, 'I'll throw the vase into the corner. You jump on the two guards and knock them down. I'll jump on the guard to the left.' Jonas shook his wolf head at her but Valeskia was firm.

'I can do this,' she whispered back. Realising that she was determined - and really, he could never say no to her - Jonas moved into position. Valeskia picked up the vase and threw it down the stairs. The noise worked and as the guards turned, both Jonas and Valeskia threw themselves at them. Seeing their advantage, Vladimir ordered Emily to lower the force field and both he and Eric raced up the stairs to where the guards were. It was all over within seconds and the guards were rounded up and forced to sit on their knees with their hands locked behind their heads.

Morphing back into human form, Vladimir demanded, 'Where is Varrick?' None of guards said anything. Turning to Emily he asked her, 'Can you send one of them into the void for ten seconds and then bring him back?' Looking at Applejacks, Emily thought about it.

'I might lose him during the connection, but I can try.' The guards looked at each other nervously. Turning back to them, Vladimir's voice showed no mercy.

'This is your last chance! Tell me where Varrick is.' He gave them a few seconds to reply before turning to Emily and simply saying, 'Do it.'

Choosing the youngest guard, Emily concentrated for a moment and then he was gone. Applejacks had closed his eyes as well; the pair were linked with Emily's arm resting on his neck. After ten seconds the guard popped back into the room. His mouth was open and he filled the room with a scream, shaking uncontrollably. Emily shut her eyes and turned from the man. Vladimir knew she was upset at having to hurt him.

'Tell me where Varrick is!' he demanded again. 'Or I will send you back again.'

'No, no! Please don't send me back,' the guard pleaded. 'I will tell you what you want to know.' Pulling himself up so that he was sitting on his knees, he looked at Emily with terror on his face. His skin was red from the cold of the between void and he was having a hard time catching his breath. 'He is following the children.'

'What?' Eric moved closer to the guard.

'He has placed a tracker on a couple of the children. He guessed that you would free them with the witch's ability. He has set off with the rest of his guards to follow them to your camp.'

'What does he plan to do?' Vladimir asked, already knowing in his head the answer.

'His plan is to kill your people, to kill all of you. We were meant to kill you here but we didn't know the witch could make a force field.'

Turing to Eric and Jonas, Vladimir ordered, 'Tie them up!' Turning to Valeskia he said, 'Mother, we need to remove your collar.'

'I think it will explode as soon as she tries to teleport it,' Valeskia replied calmly, 'but I'm willing to try.' Valeskia knew that she had to lose the collar and there was no other way to get it off.

'Applejacks has given me an idea,' Emily interjected. 'How big will the blast be?'

'Not too big, it's designed to just take off the person's head. It works inwards,' Valeskia replied calmly.

'Alright then, stand over there,' Emily requested.

'Wait!' Jonas cried as he morphed into human form. Walking over to Valeskia he took her hands, his face showing the emotion from his heart. Valeskia reached up and touched his face, and then she simply turned and walked to the spot that Emily had asked her to go to. She stood calmly and Vladimir smiled at his mother. He was so proud of her bravery.

Emily reached out to Applejacks and concentrated. Suddenly Valeskia disappeared and the collar exploded, falling to the ground. In the next instant, Valeskia reappeared again by Jonas.

'You did it!' Jonas yelled, lifting Valeskia up off the floor in a big hug.

'Jonas, you really need to wear clothes to do that,' Valeskia replied, smiling.

'Oh yes.' And to hide his embarrassment he changed back into his wolf form, looking very sheepish.

'We need to warn Vince that Varrick is tracking the children,' Vladimir said, turning to Emily.

'I'm not sure I can do that,' Emily said, 'but I'll try,' and she reached out to Applejacks and shut her eyes to concentrate. After a few moments, Emily opened her eyes. She looked frustrated. 'I can't make the connection. I also tried with Vondra but I'm not sure if she got it.'

'Okay, transport us back to the old camp. This will get us closer to where Vince is taking them. We will need to beat Varrick to the new camp.'

'I'll have to do it in three goes,' Emily replied. 'It will be cold and you'll need to hold your breath.' She sent Jonas and Valeskia first and then Vladimir and Eric. Looking at Applejacks she said, 'Are you ready, old friend?' He nodded his readiness and seconds later they were at the old camp site.

Both Vladimir and Eric were jumping, trying to get heat back into their limbs.

'Boy, that was cold,' Eric remarked. He was slapping his arms and thighs. Seeing Emily and Applejacks appear, Vladimir reached out and pulled Emily into his arms.

'I just want to say that I know how hard it was for you to send that guard into the void. It was something that had to be done and it was my decision.'

'Maybe you made the decision,' Emily replied softly, 'but I did the act.' Her voice was thick with emotion.

'Em, we are at war. It is us or them.' Eric joined the pair, touching Emily's hair with his hand.

'Well, it's us then, isn't it?' But there were tears in Emily's eyes. Vladimir knew that Emily would do whatever he asked but, seeing her face, he knew that he would not ask her to do anything like that again.

Vladimir told the group, 'We need to move quickly. I would like for all of us to stay together, but Eric, you have the advantage of being the fastest one. You need to get to Vince before Varrick does.' Vladimir put his arm around Eric's shoulder.

'I understand,' Eric replied, and he morphed into his wolf form. After one last look at the group, he ran into the trees.

'Applejacks, will you take my mother as well as Emily?' Vladimir asked the grey horse.

' _It would be my honour_ ,' Applejacks thought back. After lifting Emily onto Applejacks' back, Vladimir lifted his mother.

'I've never been on a horse before,' Valeskia said as she sat behind Emily.

' _Tell your mother I will look after her_ ,' Applejacks thought, ' _and to hold onto Emily tightly_.' Vladimir passed on the comment and changed into his wolf form and, with Jonas, bounded off into the forest. Applejacks started slowly so Valeskia could get used to the motion. After a few minutes he moved into a smooth canter. Vladimir and Jonas were already out of sight and Emily prayed that Eric would get to Vince in time. The people had to be saved!

Eric's paws hardly touched the ground as he poured every bit of energy into running. To the naked eye he was a blur that moved along the landscape. The miles melted away as he ran and his only thought was the continuous rhythm of the movement.

* * *

Vondra was in the back of the truck with the children and she had felt Emily's connection to her but had been unable to understand her message. The images that Emily projected had to do with the children but she didn't get anything else from the connection. Sticking her head through the window of the truck cabin where Ross and Janak were, she told them what had happened. Ross decided to pull over to discuss the event and saw a little alcove where the truck could hide. Vondra told the children to remain in the truck as Ross helped her down.

'Tell me again what you heard from Emily,' he asked the small woman, taking the opportunity to hold her hand in his.

'I didn't really hear her say words but I think that it was about the children and danger.'

Janak suggested, 'Why don't we ask the children if they're alright?'

'They're all very scared,' Vondra said. She was worried about them; as brave as they were all trying to be she could see how frightened they were.

'I know, Vondra, but this could be important,' Janak replied. 'It would be better if you asked them.'

'Alright,' but the men could see that Vondra wasn't happy and they understood that she wanted to protect the children from anymore drama. Pulling back the heavy canvas on the back of the truck, Vondra looked at all the little faces thinking to herself, _One of these children could be mine_. Then she put a big smile on her face and asked brightly, 'Children, you don't have to be scared anymore, we're taking you to a safe place, but I need your help. Can any of you remember what happened to you when the guards brought you together?'

'We are always together,' a young voice spoke quietly. It was a boy with bright red hair. 'We live together in the nursery.'

Then one of the girls said, 'No, that's not true. Josef and Iva were taken away for a while, remember?'

'Oh yes,' the boy replied. 'I forgot.'

Still smiling and in a gentle voice, Vondra asked, 'Which one of you is Josef and which one of you is Iva?' Two hands slowly went up and Vondra's heart almost broke from the fear that was on their faces,

'Come here you two,' Janak said quietly, smiling. The children both got up, pushing their way through the group to get to the end of the truck.

Lifting them down, Vondra knelt beside them and asked gently, 'What happened when the guards took you away?'

Josef was so scared, he stuck his thumb in his mouth. Iva looked like she was going to cry, so Vondra reached out and drew them into her arms and cooed, 'It's alright, you're safe.'

The little girl said, her voice quivering, 'The monster man told us that you would leave us behind if we told you.'

Vondra replied her voice firm, 'I promise I won't leave you.'

'You promise?' the boy asked, his little face serious.

'I promise,' Vondra pledged again and tapped her finger on his nose. Pulling up his sleeve the boy showed Vondra his arm. It had a big purple bruise on it.

'They gave me a big needle right here. It hurt so much, I cried.'

'Me too,' Iva added, rolling up the sleeve of her dress; the bruise was large and ugly. 'They said they would be able to find us if we got lost.' Vondra put her hand to her mouth but quickly pulled herself together. Putting the children down, she asked them to sit by the tyre of the truck for a moment.

Pulling Ross and Janak over to where the children wouldn't hear them, she whispered, 'They've been injected with trackers.'

'But why?' Ross replied, but in the next instant he realised they were leading them to the people.

'What do we do?' Vondra asked 'I won't leave them behind.' Suddenly Eric appeared out of the forest. He was going so fast, it took him fifty metres to stop. Circling back, he morphed into a man. He was breathing heavily but regained his breath quickly.

Reaching the group he said, 'Two of the children have trackers on them.'

'We know,' Janak replied. 'It's the two little ones sitting by the tyre.'

'What do we do?' Vondra asked. Eric looked over at the two small children. They were holding hands and looked so frightened.

'Give me a second,' he said and opened up a connection to Vladimir, Emily and Applejacks. He told them that he had caught up with Vondra, Ross and Janak, where they were and that they'd found the children with the trackers.

' _How far away are you from the new camp?_ ' Vladimir asked.

After consulting with Ross, Eric relayed, ' _I'm guessing four kilometres_.'

Eric could sense Vladimir's frustration through the link as he ordered, ' _Take the other children from the truck and have Janak and Vondra stay with them. Get Ross to take the two children with trackers and drive back to the old camp, but tell him to take his time. Eric, you need to go to Vince, collect the men and as many guns as you can and return to the old camp. Emily, you and Valeskia head back to the old camp and I will turn back now with Jonas. Stay out of sight until we get there_.' Eric relayed Vladimir's instructions to Vondra, Ross and Janak.

'No!' Vondra cried. 'I won't leave Josef or Iva, or Ross for that matter. I promised the children I wouldn't leave.'

Janak added in support, 'I'll be fine with the children. It's not far to the camp.'

'Okay, let's go,' Eric replied and he morphed back into his wolf form and turned towards the camp. Vondra and Ross quickly got the children out of the truck and led them to the edge of the road.

'I think it's best for you to stay off the road until we're underway. Varrick may not be far behind us.' Then to Ross, 'If you drive a bit furtheron, there will be a road on the left. It'll take you back to the camp. It should take you an hour if you go slowly.' Ross nodded as he helped Vondra with the children.

Vondra sat between the children near the cabin, and as she put her arms around them Iva asked, 'We're monsters aren't we?' Her small face was turned up to look at Vondra, her eyes serious.

Josef added, looking at Vondra as well, 'When we grow up, we'll be bad won't we?'

Kissing both of the children on their heads and tightening her arms around them, Vondra replied, 'We're a new people, each of us is special, but we choose whether or not to be monsters. You'll have a choice.'

'I won't be a monster,' Iva declared strongly.

'I won't either,' Josef added. 'I'm going to be a truck driver like that man,' pointing to Ross in the front.

Vondra laughed and the children smiled, relaxing in her arms. 'What a splendid idea,' and they could hear Ross chuckling, having overheard the conversation. 'Would you like me to tell you a story?' Vondra asked. The children both nodded and she began a story that Varrick had told her when she was young and life had seemed so sweet.

* * *

Eric had made it to the new camp in under three minutes from where he had left the truck. Within ten minutes, Vince had organised his men and they were on their way to the old camp site. Helena ran to find Janak; she would bring the children back so he could join Vince and return to help Vladimir. She knew Janak would want to join in the fight.

Eric had quickly eaten a large bowl of stew that one of the other women in the camp had been cooking over the fire, before turning back to the forest and morphing into his wolf. His speed was incredible and within seconds he had left Vince, in the old jeep, behind.

Vince tried to think of a plan. He was worried that they might not make it in time and knew if they did they'd only have minutes to come up with a plan. He knew that Vladimir would expect him to have one on the spot. They each had a machine gun but ammunition was limited; they also had a rocket launcher but with only one rocket. Still, it was better than nothing.

Janak, in his wolf form, suddenly came out of the forest and joined the jeep, matching its pace. Looking at Janak, Vince had an idea and thought about it for a moment; he was sure it would work.

Talking out loud, more to himself than his men he said, 'We've got to get to the camp before Varrick,' and he pressed the accelerator to the floor.

Emily and Applejacks stopped as soon as Eric forged the connection. After the discussion, Emily told Valeskia what Vladimir had ordered. Valeskia was clearly uncomfortable on Applejacks. She didn't say anything but both Emily and Applejacks could feel her tension.

'Instead of riding back, I'll teleport us,' Emily told Valeskia. Valeskia nodded and within seconds she felt the in-between coldness, then they were back at the old camp. Taking a moment to orientate herself, Emily asked Applejacks to take them back into the forest where they would be out of sight from anyone entering the camp. Twenty minutes later, Vladimir, Eric and Jonas loped into the camp. 'Over here,' Emily called from the bushes. The men morphed back into human shape as they gathered near Emily, Applejacks and Valeskia.

Vladimir said, 'Ross and Vondra will be here with the children soon. Emily, as soon as Varrick shows up at the camp, transport the children and Mother to a safe place.' Emily nodded. Vladimir added, 'Then I want you to teleport away as many of his men as possible, but leave Ivan, Roy and Varrick. Eric I need you to go two kilometres down the road and let me know as soon as Ross and Vondra pass, then wait for Varrick. I need to know how many men and their configuration.' Eric nodded and hugged Vladimir, Emily and finally, Valeskia, before turning into his wolf form and bounding off. Vladimir came and stood behind Emily, wrapping his arms around her. He gently kissed the top of her head as she reached back into his arms.

'What's your plan, Vladimir?' Valeskia asked.

'It is very simple, Mother. I need to kill Varrick! But I won't ask Emily to send him into the void.' Vladimir's voice was tight. 'I know most of the abnormals will join us.'

Valeskia felt a pang of sadness. Varrick must die. In her heart she knew that Varrick was evil but after so many years together she wasn't sure how she felt about killing Varrick. They could hear a vehicle approach and Vince's jeep broke into the compound with Janak coming out of the forest a few seconds after him.

'Vince, over here!' Vladimir yelled and Vince drove the jeep into the forest towards them. As he stopped the vehicle, he ordered his men into different positions.

'Vladimir, I have an idea. We have only one rocket launcher but we also have two packets of C4 to place at the entrance. As Varrick comes through I'll rocket the C4, it should take down most of his men.'

'Good idea, Vince. That is a good plan.' Vladimir had known Vince would come up with something. Vince lifted the pack from the jeep and went to a spot at the entrance of the camp. Carefully he placed the pack at the base of a large tree.

_The explosion should cause the tree to disintegrate and that will add to the destruction_ , Vince thought to himself. After placing the bomb at the base of the tree, Vince moved to a spot that would hide him yet give him easy access with the rocket launcher.

Vladimir looked at Jonas. 'I need you to come around the rear and I will draw the group past the entrance.' Jonas nodded, locking eyes with Valeskia.

She nodded and said, 'Make sure you live, Jonas. We still have a lot of work ahead of us.'

'I have a secret field to show you; we've kept busy,' Jonas replied.

'I expected no less of you.' Valeskia smiled at him. Jonas returned the smile and morphed into his wolf form. He bolted to the spot where Vladimir had asked him to go. Eric forged a connection and spoke. ' _Ross and Vondra have just passed me_ ,' and within a couple of minutes they heard the truck come down the dirt track to the camp. Ross drove the truck to the centre of the camp and stopped, and Vladimir came and helped Vondra and the children out of the truck. Valeskia joined them and Vladimir told Ross and Vondra of the plan.

Kneeling in front of the children, Vondra told them gently, 'You're going to go on a special trip with Valeskia. It will be cold for a few seconds but you'll be safe.'

Iva looked at Vondra and said, 'But we don't want to leave you.' Josef nodded, clutching Vondra's arms.

'I don't want to leave you either but the monster man is coming and you need to be safe.'

'What if he kills you?' Josef asked. His voice was small and there were tears in his eyes.

Ross stepped forward and said, 'I won't let that happen.' He placed his hand on Vondra's shoulder and with the other hand tousled Josef's light brown hair. Turning to Janak, Vladimir told him to join Jonas and as he ran off Vladimir called, 'Be careful, friend.' Then Eric connected again.

' _Varrick is passing me. He has at least fifty guards with machine guns and two jeeps with rocket launchers. All twelve of the abnormal guards appear to be with him as well. I can see Varrick and Ivan, but Roy is not with them_.' Even through the link Eric sounded angry about that.

' _How are the guns positioned?_ ' Vladimir asked, wondering where Roy was and why he was not with Varrick.

' _Close together - the whole group is moving tightly together. I estimate they'll be with you in less than four minutes_.' He told Ross what Eric had said and sent him over to let Vince know. If Varrick came into the camp in a tight group, Vince's plan might just work. Emily stood in the shadows of the trees; her whole body trembling with anticipation. Hearing Eric describe Varrick's group, it all seemed so overwhelming. She rested her head on Applejacks' shoulder.

' _Don't worry, Emily. What will be, will be_ ,' Applejacks soothed her.

'I know,' Emily replied out loud. 'It all seems so surreal compared to our lives just over two weeks ago.' Pausing, she asked Applejacks, 'Do you think we'll win?'

Applejacks' mind was silent and then he replied, ' _I do not know what will happen but no one will win today_.'

'Oh my friend, you're so right,' Emily said, hugging him. Emily opened up her connection to the other abnormals before she could hear the rumble of jeeps. They were confused and felt disoriented and jumping into their energy. Emily amplified the confusion by throwing pictures of the abnormal children in danger. She could feel their resentment of Varrick grow and Emily added into that emotion before asking them to join Vladimir.

' _Help us free you and your people! Join us! Please, this is your last chance_.' She then sent a vision of Iva and Josef huddled together in terror. ' _Is this what you want for your children?_ ' she yelled telepathically. ' _If you want to join us, move to the end of your convoy_.' She could feel in the link that at least half of the wolves had begun to move back. She told Vladimir what had happened and seconds later the vehicles entered the camp.

A moment later, Vince stood up and released the rocket. The explosion was massive. The large tree next to the entrance exploded into a million pieces that rained down on the camp. Emily barely had time to transport Valeskia and the children away before the wood hit the ground where they had been just a second before. Vladimir and Vondra hid behind the truck as the explosion caught the jeeps and there was a huge fireball. There was screaming from the men who did not die immediately from the blast but at least twenty of Varrick's men were still alive and they started firing in the direction of the truck.

Emily started transporting them away as Vladimir had ordered and within seconds they started to pop away from the camp site. Suddenly Varrick broke through. He had been injured but he could still walk.

He yelled at the top of his lungs, 'Stop Witch, or the children die!' and he held up a small device that looked like a remote. Varrick ordered his men to stop firing.

'Emily, stop for a moment,' Vladimir ordered and stepped from behind the truck in his wolf form. Vondra followed, growling at Varrick.

Now, slowly entering the camp site were all the abnormals. Varrick smiled as they moved behind him, then he snarled as half of them moved to stand behind Vladimir.

A black and white wolf turned to Vladimir and said through the wolf connection, ' _We're with you_.' The other wolves behind Varrick began to snarl; they were ready to fight.

'Tell your witch that if she teleports one more of my men away I will kill the children.'

'How?' Vladimir demanded morphing back into his human form.

'They've been injected with more than just trackers. Inside them is a small device that, once activated, opens to the size of a coin. It will rip their insides to bits.' Laughing he added, 'Very painful and very slow. The remote is in my body and if the witch tries to transport me away it will send a kill signal.

' _Oh my God, Vladimir, what do we do?_ ' Emily thought; she could feel his frustration.

In the next instant, Eric ran into the clearing, with Ivan just behind him. The pair were in the middle of a vicious fight and both had major wounds to their bodies. Ivan had blood pouring from a bite that Eric had delivered to his throat but Ivan was in a total blood lust and had not noticed that it was a mortal wound.

' _Vladimir, I have an idea_ ,' Emily thought. ' _I need time_.'

' _Then time is what I will give you_ ,' Vladimir replied. He looked at Vondra in her tiger form and then morphed back into his wolf form. Connecting to the abnormals that had joined him, he simply commanded, ' _Kill!_ ' and as the abnormals clashed, the grounds became a frenzy of snarls and screams. Varrick stood back and laughed. Touching Applejacks, Emily transported over to where Valeskia, Iva and Josef were.

'What's happening?' Valeskia asked. She was worried about what was going on; it was hard for her to stay with the children.

'The children's trackers have a device that Varrick is threatening to explode.'

'That man must die!' Valeskia screamed in frustration before calming herself as the children jumped at her rage. 'It's alright, I'm sorry,' she said to the children. It had been years since she had lost control and her nerves were raw. Emily looked at the women knowing how worried she must be.

'I have an idea. When I was in the cell and they drugged me, I was able to escape by removing the drugs from my system. I think I can remove the trackers but we must do it quickly.'

Kneeling in front of Iva, Emily smiled gently, reaching out to touch Applejacks' leg.

'Iva, think about the injection,' and Emily slipped into the young girl's mind, sending soothing thoughts. As she joined the girl's mind, her body began to match the small girl's, and her heart and breath started to move faster to match the child's body. Exploring her arteries, Emily felt the blood course through her veins until she came to a stop at something that was not natural. Focusing her mind on the spot, Emily teleported the strange object behind a tree that was a couple of metres away. The device did not go off so Emily released her thoughts from the girl. After hugging her, Emily turned to Josef. It took a few more seconds to connect with the young boy as he was so frightened but within seconds, knowing now what she was looking for, she had transported the device from the boy's body.

Running to the tree, it took Emily a few seconds to find the small metal objects. She could see that it must have taken a large needle to inject the children and it must have hurt when it was given to them.

Running back to Applejacks, Emily prepared to transport them back into the camp. Valeskia laid a hand on Emily's arm and looked deeply into Emily's eyes.

'I must come back with you,' and Emily nodded; she wouldn't deny Valeskia.

Looking at the small children she said gently. 'I need you both to be brave and sit here until we come back.'

When they reappeared in the camp, the scene was chaos. Ross and Vince were firing the machine guns at the few guards that were left from Varrick's group, and they were shooting back. The abnormals were a blur of flesh and fur. Apart from Vladimir and Eric, it was hard to tell who was who as most of the wolves were now red with blood.

Stepping into the clearing, Emily projected at the top of her mind a telepathic blow.

' _Stop!_ ' and all the abnormals froze. Then, slowly, the abnormals backed away from each other, forming two groups. There were only four abnormals, apart from Vladimir, Eric, Jonas and Janak, left alive. Ivan morphed back into human form and Emily had to look away as the wounds to Ivan's body were hideous.

He fell to his knees and as he collapsed his last words were, 'Sarah,' and then he died. Emily quickly teleported the guns away from Varrick's men - the silence of the camp was almost overwhelming.

Then Varrick stepped forward in a total rage and screamed, 'I told you, witch. Now, those children will die.'

Valeskia faced him coolly and said, 'You don't want to do this, Varrick, please. This is your chance to show us that you're human.'

'Human! Why on earth do I want to be that?' he snarled at Valeskia. 'Why can't you see what I have created! We are better than humans and we'll take over the world.' Varrick was beyond reasoning. He couldn't see that he was beaten and he would punish them for defying him, and so he lifted his hand up to press the button. Vondra morphed back into human form and stepped forward pleading.

'No Father, please do not kill the children,' but Varrick had no mercy in his heart and he pushed the button. Suddenly the look on his face changed from fury to confusion and then to pain. He fell to his knees, clutching his stomach.

'Oh God,' he cried as he fell to the ground, withering in agony.

Vondra ran over to him with tears streaming down her face. 'Father,' she sobbed.

Varrick's thoughts were simply, _She cries for me_ , and he felt amazed at the thought. Softly he whispered to his daughter, 'My love, I cannot die.'

The camp was eerily quiet for a moment and then Ross called out from the end of the clearing, 'Help, I need help. Vince has been shot.'

Vladimir and Eric ran to them but Vince was in a bad way. He was losing a lot of blood from two wounds, one in his lung and one in his stomach. Eric looked at Vladimir. He didn't hold any hope in his eyes.

Vondra walked over to Vladimir, seeing how upset Ross was over his friend, said, 'He is gone, unless we give him the gene treatment, and even then it may not work.'

Looking at his friend, Vladimir wondered if he had the right to put such a dark curse on him and then he thought selfishly, _I need him; we still have a long way to go_.

'Emily, can you project us back to the manor?'

'Yes. Do you want me to take you to the lab I was held in?' Vladimir nodded, lifting Vince in his arms. Turning to Applejacks, Emily said, 'You, my friend, will stay here. There's not enough room for you.' Applejacks nodded his great head and Emily reached for Vladimir and Eric's hands as she teleported them, with Vince, to the lab.

Carefully Vladimir lifted Vince onto the metal table. Emily went to the small fridge and removed a dose of the gene treatment. Giving the syringe to Vladimir, Eric held him down.

'Emily, stand back, we don't know what Vince will become,' Vladimir commanded and under his breath he prayed that he was doing the right thing. Emily stood by the door, watching Vladimir inject Vince. Suddenly Vince started to convulse and Emily thought he was going to die. His body shook for a long time and then he became still. Eric and Vladimir backed away from the bed.

'Look,' Eric said pointing to Vince's chest. 'His wounds, they look like they're closing.'

Vladimir came forward and suddenly Vince began to transform. It took a moment for the men to realise he wasn't transforming into a wolf but a huge, black bear. Luckily, Vince was still unconscious.

'You're kidding, right?' Eric was stumped. 'Does that mean he's stronger than us now?' Emily laughed nervously. She knew that Vince had tested himself against both Vladimir and Eric.

Vladimir replied, 'I don't think this is the right time to find out. Let's move him to a cell. We need to keep him locked up until he changes back.'

It took both men to move the bear and after Vince was secure, Vladimir and Eric morphed back into wolves to check the manor for any other of Varrick's men, but they found no one. When they were back with Emily, Vladimir asked her to teleport back to the group at the camp then send everybody back to the manor, as he wanted to make sure everyone was alright and in a place that he could control.

It took just twenty minutes for everybody to materialise in the great hall. Emily insisted that she look at everybody's bodies to see if they needed any medical attention but the abnormals had started healing, and Ross only had a few scratches and was already under Vondra's care.

Janak and Jonas, under Valeskia's instructions, set about making a meal from the vast kitchen that was in the manor. The children ran to Vondra as soon as they saw her and that night the group huddled around the huge fireplace in the ballroom. The abnormals took turns at keeping watch. Vladimir was unsure if the danger was over; Roy was still out there somewhere.

Finally Valeskia fell asleep and she found herself in the meadow. The dream was so real she could smell the flowers and feel the warm sun on her skin. A hand fell into hers and she turned her head to the side knowing already who it was.

'We did it, Dusana. Varrick is dead and our people are free.'

The young woman smiled at Valeskia. 'Our people will now taste freedom and for a while, they'll have peace.'

Something in Dusana's tone caused Valeskia to turn and face the girl. 'What is it, Dusana?'

'Bad times are still to come; I cannot yet see if we will survive them.' Dusana turned her beautiful face to the sun and smiled.

Valeskia looked across the meadow and said, in her beautiful voice, 'Then, sweet girl, we will prepare.' She took Dusana's hand and they lay in the sun holding hands.
Chapter 25

It took Vladimir three months to have all of Varrick's holdings bequeathed to himself and Vondra. They both had to take a DNA test to prove that they were his children. With Varrick's fortune on top of Vladimir's, they now had over 400 million Euros in a Swiss bank account. Vondra had handed Vladimir her share of the money to use as needed, except she asked him for a hundred Euros. Puzzled, Vladimir handed the money to her and asked what she needed it for.

'To take Ross to a restaurant, of course,' she replied in her serious way. Vladimir smiled; he had forgotten Ross' request.

'Where will you go?' he asked looking at his sister. It was easy to be with her - it felt like he had known her all his life.

'I don't know,' Vondra replied. Her face had a frown on it - she knew it was very important to get it right. Vladimir thought about it for a minute. He didn't like the thought of Vondra mixing with people outside of the abnormals village as her behaviour was still very unpredictable.

'I know,' he said, reaching for Vondra's hand, 'I will make a restaurant for the night, here in the manor.'

'You will have soft music?' she asked, 'Ross needs music and good food.'

'Of course, whatever you want,' Vladimir replied thinking to himself, _How hard can this be?_

However, the task did not go as easily as Vladimir had thought. Vondra had seen a picture of a restaurant in a book from the great library that Varrick had. Her requests started small and then became more demanding.

'The music must be a violin, the room has to have lots of flowers and the table must have white linen.' Emily had to step in when she requested that Vladimir dress in a tuxedo to be a waiter.

Finally the night came and Emily spent hours with Vondra getting her ready. As they were the same size, Emily had given Vondra many of ter clothes that Vladimir had shipped over for her from Australia. Vondra had chosen a tightly fitted red silk dress for the big night. She had tried to wear high heels but couldn't quite get the hang of walking in them.

'Women actually wear these shoes?' she asked Emily in frustration.

'I know,' Emily replied laughing. 'It seems silly but they look good.' Going through her shoes, Emily found the same strappy gold sandals she had worn when she had met Vladimir for the first time. Giving them to Vondra, she told the girl the story and the two women hugged.

'They will bring me luck,' Vondra cried. She felt good and she liked the way she looked in the mirror.

'Trust me, in that dress you don't need any luck,' Emily replied. Vondra was truly breathtaking.

Ross was waiting nervously downstairs. He was wearing a suit that was tight at his neck and he kept tugging at the tie. Vladimir saw Vondra first and smiled at her - his sister was truly a beautiful woman. As soon as Ross saw Vondra coming down the stairs, he flushed. Her wildness had been tamed and he saw how fragile she really was. They held hands as they went into the ballroom.

Jonas was playing the violin and Helena was the waitress with the menu that Valeskia had put together herself. She had prepared stuffed duck - slowly roasted - with garden vegetables and a light sauce that was from the cream of the goats they had, and herbs from the kitchen garden. The dessert was a crème bruleé that Valeskia had only read about, but it had turned out perfectly.

Ross looked at the room and back to Vondra, then he promptly picked her up and took her back up the stairs to the bedroom. Their lips were sealed with passion as Ross shut the heavy bedroom doors. The others looked at each other for a moment then burst out laughing.

It took at least ten minutes for them to regain control enough for Eric to quip, 'That girl owes us a hundred Euros.' This made the group laugh again and when, finally, they were in control, they all sat down to share the food and wine together, talking and laughing.

The next morning, when Ross appeared for breakfast, he had a slightly baffled look on his face. The same look was in place a few days later when, after the group had finished poring through all of the genetic records in the breeding files, they found that Vondra's eggs were used on twelve of the children, eight girls and four boys, including Iva and Josef. Vondra promptly moved them into the west wing of the manor and you couldn't pass by without hearing the sounds of children playing and laughing.

Vince had a dark time with the changes from the gene treatment. For the first month he had no control over morphing into the big black bear. Emily worked with him constantly until he found what caused him to morph. He practised meditation daily and when the day came that he didn't change, and then another, and then a week, he allowed himself to leave the cell and go for a short walk with Emily. He insisted that Vladimir, Eric and Jonas come along in case he turned. Emily knew he wouldn't hurt her but he was so fearful that she invited the men along to ease his mind. After two weeks of being in control, Emily and Vladimir approached Vince with the next step.

'My friend, I know I have betrayed you,' Vladimir began. He held up his hand as Vince began to protest. 'I needed your friendship. I could not let you die. For after Eric, Emily and Applejacks, you are my most trusted friend.' Pausing and looking at his friend he continued. 'The gene therapy has brought you much grief and for that I can never forgive myself, and while it looks like we are at the end of our quest, we have so much more to do. I need you.'

Vince looked dejected. 'I don't trust myself anymore Vladimir. I have feelings and impulses that I can't control. I'm afraid I'll hurt someone.'

Emily looked up to Vince and, taking his hand in hers, said, 'My friend, that's because you don't embrace who you've become.'

Vladimir added, 'We were all like that at first. The only reason that you feel this so strongly is that you are older, your thinking is less flexible.'

Vince knew that Vladimir and Emily were right but his whole life he had always been in control and knew what his body could do. He was afraid to move now as any odd movement could trigger a turn. He let out a big sigh and realised he didn't have a choice. Squaring his shoulders he spoke with more confidence than he felt.

'Alright, what do you need me to do?' And from that moment, Vladimir knew Vince would be alright. Together with Emily, Eric, Jonas and Janak, the group would spend hours in the forest in their animal forms, learning how to communicate together, and slowly Vince began to trust his body again.

Valeskia set up a school for the children and Eric showed her how to use a computer; he was amazed at how quickly she picked up on it. Every morning she would meet with Vladimir and Jonas to discuss the plans for the abnormals. The new people had come back to the manor and that very first day all the fences and bars were taken down and burned. It was cold comfort - there was no satisfaction in beating Varrick. At least with him the abnormals understood who they were. Vladimir was an unknown but Valeskia stood by him. Vladimir knew it would take time for them to trust him - he looked too much like his father.

Vladimir's first goal was to organise more permanent dwellings for the villagers. In his head he imagined neat, functional houses. But the look on the faces of the abnormals when he had presented the idea to them had made him ask his mother what he had done wrong.

'Our people have been told how to live their whole lives,' she replied. 'Have you asked them how they want to live?' That night, in bed, he discussed what Valeskia had said with Eric and Emily.

'She's right. I can see that they're afraid to express themselves,' Emily said in a sleepy voice. Eric sat up and shared an idea he had thought of.

'Vlad, the drawings from the architects are sound designs but they're just so dull. I could adapt them to how each group wants to live. I'll ask them what they want and they can choose the colours and fixtures and materials they want to use on their homes.' Emily raised her head, smiling at Eric's suggestion.

'That will be a lot of work for you Eric,' Vladimir responded. 'There would be at least fifty houses to build.' While the people were hardy, Vladimir wanted them all under a decent roof before the winter months.

'It would be work I'd love, Vlad,' Eric responded, tickling Emily's feet.

Vladimir realised that Eric had not done anything creative since they had returned to the Czech Republic so he sat up and put his arm around Eric's shoulder. 'Môn vieux, you are right, this would be a good thing.'

'A good thing would be if you both got under the covers. It's cold,' Emily responded, yawning. Eric threw a pillow at her.

* * *

The first two houses that were built were quite small but they both shared a courtyard. The abnormals had decided that Valeskia and Jonas would get the first dwellings. Valeskia had decided she wouldn't live in the manor.

'Too many memories,' she told Vladimir. 'I've lived too long in that place.'

After consulting with Eric, the design changed from a square box to two curved villas. The windows were oval and Eric added special features to make it look more graceful. The abnormals had found a source of sandstone on the vast estate and the houses gleamed with the pale richness of the stone.

In Valeskia's home, the main living area was transformed into one large kitchen. Vladimir had bought her just about every known piece of equipment you could have in a kitchen, and the benches were made of a cream marble with splashes of red. On Jonas' side he didn't put in a kitchen. There was an understanding that he would eat with Valeskia. His main room was turned into a music room with two large chairs by a large fireplace for when he practised his violin, and where Valeskia could sit by the fire reading.

Rumour stayed with Vondra and the children, yet every day she would greet Emily as she went to Applejacks, following them around to the growing number of animals under Emily's care. The formal dining room had been turned into a stable for Applejacks and, as the hallways were large, he could move through the manor if he chose to. As Emily always joined Applejacks in the morning for a ride, Ross had taken to requesting a ride every afternoon for an hour or so. Applejacks guessed it was more about needing some space from Vondra and the children, but he enjoyed Ross' company. The young man would ramble on about nothing and everything, and he would ask Applejacks for advice. He had found that he really understood Applejacks after their time spent together.

When Janak and Helena eventually got their own home, Janak had it painted red with white trim. The house looked stunning in contrast to Valeskia and Jonas' white sandstone villas.

'I'll plant white flowers everywhere,' Helena had told Emily when everyone gathered around their house, as was the custom now when a home was finished. Janak scooped Helena up and carried her into the house with the rest of the abnormals throwing flowers over them.

Vladimir had discovered that Janak had a sharp mind for business so he became Vladimir's assistant. Helena spent time under Valeskia's tutorage in both the kitchen and with teaching the children; her counsel was much sought after.

After a particularly busy day, Emily went to visit Applejacks.

' _Are you well?_ ' he enquired.

' _I'm just tired_ ,' Emily replied. ' _A solid night's sleep would be good_.'

And then, Applejacks snorted.

' _What's so funny, my friend?_ ' Emily asked, but he refused to say and swished his tail in amusement.

Walking back into the large hallway from Applejacks' room, Eric and Vladimir were waiting for her; they both had a look of mischief on their faces.

'We have a surprise for you,' Eric laughed.

'You will love it, I promise,' Vladimir added smiling.

He put his hands over her eyes and any feeling of being tired vanished as they led her into the large library that spanned two stories of the manor. She could feel the heat from the large fireplace on her skin and then she sensed the presence of...

'Oh, my cats!' and Vladimir pulled his hands away. Sitting on the couch were all her cats. Sigourney leapt into Emily's arms and as she sank to the floor, the rest rubbed their heads against her, purring loudly. Vladimir and Eric stood back, watching the happy scene in front of them. Emily was lost in pure joy; her dearest friends had returned to her.

After a few minutes, Vladimir asked, 'Would you like one more surprise?'

Emily laughed. 'There can't be more than this. This is perfect.'

'We'll see,' Eric winked and Vladimir went to the door that led to the small study by the fireplace. As he opened the door, Emily gasped. It was David.

'Oh my goodness! Oh David!' Emily rose with Sigourney still in her arms and went over to kiss him, tears running down her cheeks.

She had talked to David many times since his ordeal. He had sounded weak and confused about all that had happen. His body had taken a long time to heal and as he moved into the room, he used a cane to help him walk.

'Vladimir called me and told me the truth about all of this,' David explained. 'I was surprised when he asked me to join you.'

'We need a man of your talent,' Vladimir said. 'Your skills are just what we need; a doctor and a vet - but most of all, your genetic knowledge.'

Turning to Eric, Emily said, 'You knew about this and you didn't tell me?'

Laughing again, Eric kissed her neck and said, 'And miss the look on your face right now? I don't think so!'

Sitting in front of the fire that night was wonderful for Emily. Both Vladimir and Eric sat on the floor in front of her as she lay stretched out on the sofa, with each of the cats claiming a part of her to cuddle against. For hours they spoke to David about their hopes and plans for the abnormals. It was well past midnight before they turned to go to bed.

Waking with the first light of day was such a habit for Emily. Regardless of how tired she felt she got up. Vladimir and Eric didn't suffer from such a habit and rose refreshed whenever they were ready, and always together. The cats were packed tightly around them and it took Emily a few minutes to untangle herself without disturbing anyone. Sigourney opened her eyes but Emily mentally soothed her back to sleep.

Dressing, Emily walked quickly to the door. It was cold in the hallway after the warmth of the bedroom. Halfway down the stairs she paused as a wave of nausea washed over her.

_What is wrong with me?_ she thought and then the answer hit her. _I'm pregnant!_ And as shocking as the thought was, a wave of pleasure surged through her body.

Pushing her mind into her body she found a speck of consciousness so tiny, there were no thoughts to hold onto. Emily continued down the stairs, pausing at the kitchen to make some toast. Maybe the dryness of the bread would take away the feeling of nausea; she hoped so but she wasn't sure. She would check with David after breakfast.

As she walked to Applejacks' quarters, Rumour greeted her with a short bark of happiness.

'Hello little one,' Emily responded back, bending down to scratch her ears. She knocked before entering Applejacks' stable. He had the television on.

' _A bit early isn't it?_ ' she asked.

' _Grand prix time_ ,' Applejacks replied and added, ' _I see you have worked out the secret_.'

' _How did you know?_ ' Emily asked him. She hadn't had a clue before this morning.

' _I felt that you were more than you were before_ ,' was the formal reply.

Opening the doors to the outside, the sun had fully risen and Emily could smell the fragrance of the wet grass. The manor didn't look so menacing in the sunlight, especially since the gargoyles had been removed.

'What a beautiful day.' Emily lifted her face towards the sun, closing her eyes.

' _I think, my friend_ ,' Applejacks responded, ' _with the mood you are in, it would still be beautiful if it rained_.'

' _Oh Applejacks, I honestly didn't think we were going to survive all this_ ,' Emily mused out loud.

' _But here we are_ ,' he replied.

Emily climbed onto his back and Applejacks walked to the lane beside the manor. As he turned down the side they saw a large, grey wolf and a cream one waiting for them.

' _What took you so long?_ ' Eric asked when he and Vladimir connected with her.

' _Oh, just enjoying the day_ ,' Emily replied, smiling at the pair.

Sensing that something was up, Vladimir asked, ' _Are you alright?_ '

Emily laughed and said out loud, 'My love, nothing could be better.'

' _Well then_ ,' Vladimir's deep voice boomed down the connection, ' _now it is time to run and see what's out there_.'

THE END
Coming soon

CHATTELS OF EVE

Following on from _Creatures of Eve_ , a new generation of abnormals are ready to embrace their gifts. The Eve Continuum has finally revealed itself and Emily, Vladimir, and Eric must face their ultimate pain as the children they love are taken from them.

Can they triumph against the creator of them all - as The Dom makes himself known?

Not ready for the final battle, only fate will decide if they will prevail or if the final trial will see the annihilation of the abnormals from the earth forever.
Acknowledgements

No project is ever completed alone and I have been so fortunate to have found two beautiful Aries women to play with: Debbie Hope, you were able to take my dyslexic rambling from pencil to computer and your enthusiasm of the project was so wonderful and needed. Sonja Van As, your ability as a proof reader and editor made my tale into a story; your talent has made this story into a real book. Thank you both. I really hope we always continue this journey together.

A friend put me onto the very talented cover designer, Stephanie White. I was so blown away with her work, I just knew she would come up with something amazing. The night before she sent me the proof of my cover I dreamt of the moon. I was more astounded that the picture of Applejacks on the cover was one I had found and made as a mock-up on my website but didn't send to Stephanie. Talk about a connection! Plus she picked my favourite colour - orange! Thank you beautiful, I look forward to seeing what the covers for book two and three will look like.

Then the universe brought me the Mosher girls from MoshPit Publishing. What can I say? You both are the final piece of the puzzle. Ally, your endless patience with my questions was truly appreciated. Jenny, you have made the whole project fun and very easy. Having you cast your very wise and talented eye over my work to give it the polish it needed was so appreciated. I look forward to the journey my book will take knowing you are both at my side.

Final thanks have to go to my father, Wayne Kavanagh, for the many times you have had to save me over the years. I have been blessed to have a father that has dedicated himself to his misfit children, regardless of the setbacks and failures. I have finally found myself, Dad!

This book is no _War and Peace_ but a simple story of love and acceptance. I sincerely hope that in reading this book you will experience some of the joy I felt in writing it.

Life is good, if you choose it to be.

Kind thoughts,

Storm JK

www.stormjk.com

www.facebook.com/Stormjk
Copyright statement

This is an IndieMosh Book

brought to you by MoshPit Publishing

an imprint of Mosher's Business Support Pty Ltd

PO Box 147

Hazelbrook NSW 2779

<http://indiemosh.com.au/>

First edition © Storm JK 2016

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted by any person or entity, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, scanning or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the author and publisher.

Cataloguing-in-Publication entry is available from the National Library of Australia: <http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/>

**Title** :

Creatures of Eve

**Author** :

Storm JK

**ISBNs** :

978-1-925447-38-5 (paperback)

978-1-925447-39-2 (ebook - epub)

978-1-925447-40-8 (ebook - mobi)

Cover by Stephanie White at Steph's Cover Design

www.stephscoverdesign.com
