Stealing Kathryn (7 page)

But when Adrian had accepted his post those many years ago, he had told Aerlyn that he would take it for as long as he could and then take it some more. Anything to keep another from suffering the way he was now suffering. He had been strong in such amazing ways then. Now he was strong in frightening ones.

They had to fix this problem without the Ampliphi knowing about it. They somehow had to give the girl back to the Earth plane and not risk exposure at the same time. Then, once the girl had been safely returned to her life, Aerlyn would force Adrian to retire from his post. He had done enough. More than enough. As it was, she knew she would never know her brother as the man he had once been. His corruption was too deep.

But for the moment, she had to deal with Cronos.

“Very well,” she said through tight lips, “you shall have a reprieve…for now.” Aerlyn didn’t like the smug look that crossed his features, but there wasn’t much she could do about it. As Adrian’s Companion, Cronos was exposed to a great deal of the energies Adrian managed. The backwash of it had poisoned him just like it had her brother, although not nearly on the same scale. Also, Aerlyn wasn’t certain she’d ever really liked Cronos to begin with. A relatively simpleminded creature, Cronos was very dedicated to his work, and to Adrian, but his motives had never been clear to her. Adrian at least had dedication to his people to compel him.

But Cronos…

“Your Master is at the foot of the stairs, injured and bleeding. See to him immediately.”

Cronos jumped at the command, a look of despair entering his eyes for a moment. Whatever his motivations were from moment to moment, Cronos was devoted to his Master.

Aerlyn gave the woman in the bed one last look, then left the room and bolted the doors.

Chapter 4

Kathryn moaned softly, stirring in her sleep.

As she felt consciousness coming on herself, she felt piercing soreness in her throat, the heated, burned feeling of her face, and stiffness throughout her hands and her entire body.

She opened her eyes, dreading what she would see.

She saw a very normal-looking wood-beamed ceiling.

Her eyes widened in shock. What had happened to the colored streamers? She sat up swiftly, twisting around…

…and fell out of the bed.

She landed on a wooden floor with a crash. Pressing her torso up on trembling arms, she stared in dizzy confusion at the pretty, but rather ordinary, Turkish-style rug beneath her. She looked rapidly around herself, turning her head like an owl’s as she tried to make sense of where she was. It was a large room, yes, but no bigger than her father’s bedroom. In fact, the four-poster bed, the polished wooden floor, and the stone walls were all very similar to the ones in her own home.

But not quite. This room was somewhat newer, better kept, and of a more modern design. The ranch she had grown up on had been in her family for generations and the wear and tear of the years certainly showed, no matter how much she had tried to keep it up.

Kathryn shook her head to clear it, wondering if she was dreaming. Truly, this was simply a figment of wishful thinking. She was probably still sleeping in that awful room on the floor before those horrid, entrapping doors.

She looked down at her hands suddenly. They were black and blue and cut, as if she had been pounding on a door in desperate need to escape. Then she noticed her gown. It was plain white cotton, reaching neck to ankles, with ruffles at the borders of her wrists, hem, and throat. So simple and conservative. The fabric so wonderfully plain. But before she let herself get excited about any of what she was seeing, she narrowed her eyes and went about making a closer inspection of her surroundings.

“What trick is this now?” she wondered aloud.

Just then, the doors to the room swung open swiftly, startling a cry from her.

Kathryn’s shocked eyes ran the entire course of the tall, stunningly beautiful woman who had entered. She had never fathomed that a woman could be so tall! Surely she must be almost six feet in height, only an inch or so shorter than Kathryn’s own father. Her entire carriage made her seem taller still, as she held herself in an erect and statuesque manner. Her figure was divine. Round and full at the hips and breasts, flat across the ribs, and almost absurdly thin at her waist.

She was wearing a gorgeous dress made of ice blue linen, its tailored perfection and the elegance with which she wore it speaking volumes for her wealth and sophistication right off the bat. She had sleek black hair, peppered with shiny silver strands, that was swept into a high catch, only to let loose a cascade of coils and waves down the back of her head and neck.

The woman’s eyes widened suddenly as they fell on Kathryn’s stunned, upturned face. Kathryn watched in fascination as the peculiar sterling gray color of her eyes gleamed in the light. Kathryn’s own eyes were gray, but this woman’s were so light and shining they were almost like silver.

“Oh!” the woman breathed, an elegant hand sweeping up to her throat in surprise. Then her eyes warmed and her breathtaking countenance became the very epitome of concern and sympathy. “You’re awake, at last!”

The woman swept into the room farther, gliding down to Kathryn’s level in a cloud of a divine lilac-scented perfume. She took up Kathryn’s limp hands in her own.

“How are you feeling?” Then she was pressing her palm with gentle, fluttering concern all around Kathryn’s forehead and still-damp face. “You’re still a bit feverish, my dear. You really should not be out of bed!”

“I…I fell,” Kathryn said dumbly. What on earth was going on? What place was she in this time? Who was this woman?

“I can see that.” The woman smiled radiantly at her and Kathryn felt a little calmer for it. Whatever was happening, this woman was a marked improvement from the beast she had encountered in that horrid chamber. “Come now, back to bed. You need a bit more rest before you should be getting up. But I must say,” she went on as she helped Kathryn to her feet and back amongst the covers, “it is such a relief to see you conscious and lucid. You gave me and my brother a terrible fright.”

“Your brother? Is he that awful creature I saw? With the hideous face?”

The woman laughed, looking down at her as a mother would look down at her fanciful child.

“I’m not sure my brother would take kindly to that particular description. He’s rather vain, all ego, you see.” Then the woman seemed to notice Kathryn’s fearful and suspicious expression and frowned with sudden worry. She sighed with a look of understanding entering her eyes. “I can see you are still not well.”

“I don’t understand. What’s happened to me?” Kathryn was very confused.

“Why, you’ve been ill. My brother was riding the estate when he came across you. You were acting quite out of your head, you poor thing, but it was obvious you were riddled with fever. Adrian scooped you up and rushed you to me as fast as he could. That was well on a week ago. You’ve been in bed with a raging fever ever since.”

Ill? With fever? That could explain a lot, but…but it had all seemed so real! She looked down at her hands.

“What happened to my hands?” She held them up defiantly. She wasn’t going to be tricked by a soothing voice, a convenient explanation, and a lovely face.

“Well, you did that to yourself. You would become quite violent with delusion. You kept throwing yourself against the wall, demanding to be let out. I hated to see you hurting yourself, but there was nothing we could do to stop you. You’ve scratched yourself all over. But the doctor says he’s seen that and worse with the fever you’ve had. It seems to be going ‘round the entire county.”

Kathryn stared in shock at the woman. Was it true? Was she supposed to believe that this had all been nothing but a delusion? But…didn’t that make much more sense than what she had thought she’d seen? Kathryn looked piercingly into the other woman’s eyes, but she saw not even a glimmer of deception.

“Are you all right? Really, you should lie back and rest.” The stranger put warm hands on her shoulders and pushed her down into soft—not abnormally soft, but just plain soft—pillows. Kathryn let herself relax a little.

“What is this place?” Then she shot into an upright position again. “My family! How is my family?”

“Your family? Well, I hardly know who you are, never mind your family. But if you tell me, I’ll send my brother out right away to find out. As for where you are, we call our home the Willows. Perhaps you have heard of it?”

Kathryn shook her head slowly, her blue eyes wide with confusion.

“Well, never mind. We’re just an estate and horse ranch. We’ve bred some of the finest thoroughbreds on the continent. I’ll show you some of our special beauties once you’re well enough to walk about. Now, can I get you anything? Something to drink or eat?”

Kathryn was suddenly famished and, she realized, extremely thirsty. She nodded eagerly, hoping this was a good sign that she was getting better.

“Yes. I would love something to eat. But I’m sure I can come with you—”

A sharp staying hand had her sitting back in the bed and pulling covers up against her chest. There was a stern no-nonsense feel to the action that so reminded her of her mother. And even though she had been wife and mother for their household for three years now, she was surprised how readily she wanted to give over that power to someone else. If only for a little while.

“You’re not to get up unless the doctor says you can. He should be here shortly to check on you. Do you promise me to listen to all that he tells you to do or not do? I am relieved to see you lucid at last and I would hate for us to lose hard-earned ground because we didn’t follow the rules.”

“I promise to do exactly what he says. Only…can I have a phone? I need to call my dad. I need to make sure they are all right.”

“I tell you what. I’ll send Adrian out to check on your family. You can call them in a day or two when you’re stronger. I don’t want you getting all upset or excited.”

“But—”

“It’s only a day or two more. And Adrian will check on them to make certain all is well. Tell me where they live.”

Kathryn did so with haste, but she still didn’t see why she couldn’t just call for herself. Would anyone even answer? Were they even alive? She couldn’t simply sit there waiting and resting while she didn’t know if they were safe!

“You see? Just talking about it has you flushed and your heart racing. Imagine if the news weren’t good, how you would react.” Aerlyn tried to smile kindly at her, knowing very well that there would be no rest for this girl until she had spoken to her family or knew what had become of them. “You must behave yourself if you are to get well.”

“I’m sorry,” Kathryn said absently.

But in truth, Kathryn was ecstatic with relief that she was here, in this place, being a trouble to this kind woman, rather than being in trouble in a gilded hell with a monster who wanted to keep her there forever. A monster who wanted to relish the corruption of the beauty he saw in her.

“Don’t worry yourself so much,” the kindly woman urged when she saw the upsetting memories reflecting on Kathryn’s face.

“It’s okay. I”—she pressed fingers to her forehead—“I am just remembering some of the awful things I was…um…imagining while I was ill. It seemed so real that…all of this now seems like a dream.”

“Nightmares are quite common with a fever. The memory will pass,” she promised, giving Kathryn’s hand a comforting pat. “Now, for introductions. My name is Aerlyn Winston. My brother, Adrian, and I own this home and the land around it. As you can no doubt tell from my accent, we were not born here. But we like it here well enough. And you are?”

“Kathryn. Macdonough.”

“Now then, Kathryn, I’m going to send my brother out to your family while I make you something to eat. You rest,” she reiterated sternly.

Aerlyn then swept through the door with her perfectly elegant posture and Kathryn doubted she’d ever once seen the inside of a kitchen. She seemed too refined and far too wealthy to waste time and her beautiful skin on tuna fish sandwiches and dish soap.

But Kathryn did take note of one very important detail.

She’d left the door open.

Just a crack, but it was open. Not locked.

Kathryn couldn’t help herself. She crept out of bed, wincing when her steps made the floor creak. She made it to the door and realized that she was utterly exhausted by the trip. It lent credence to the claims that she had, indeed, been ill. Just the same, though, she peeked out the door and into a hallway. She could see stairs nearby. There was no one about. No toady-looking little men, no huge frightening ones either. She was tempted to find the front door and walk out, just to prove she could, but her legs were beginning to shake. She hurried back to the bed, but before she climbed in she heard loud voices. A woman calling out.

“Adrian!”

Kathryn hurried to her window and quickly pulled it open. It was a brisk, cool day, but she didn’t care. What she did care about was the huge amount of land she saw, the enormous paddocks and meadows all boasting the most beautiful horses with their brilliant gleaming coats. Not too far off there was a dust trail being kicked up, a horse and rider turned to race toward the house.

They were a magnificent thing to behold. The large man in the saddle leaning close to the horse’s neck and the shining, rippling muscle of a well-made beast. Actually, she thought as he came close enough for her to see him in better detail, he was a well-made beast as well. A very big man, but not as big as the creature she had encountered. She shivered, glad to think it had just been a dream.

He reached the back of the house and dismounted to speak to his sister, holding the horse with one hand and using his hat to smack dust off himself with the other. He had long, black hair, settled into curls similar to his sister’s, and it was caught in a rather full ponytail at the nape of his strong neck. He was taller than her by almost a full head, and he was roped with thick and powerful muscle. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she could hear how deep his voice was. Then, suddenly, he looked up at her window and she gasped and ducked back without even understanding why. In that brief instant, though, she’d seen his handsome face and the very grimly serious expression on it. She had seen the chiseled definition of his features even from this vantage point. He was stunning and remarkably good-looking. Well, in a dark sort of fashion. But very striking just the same.