Storm of Shadows Ch. 11

Dara chuckled, nodding her head. "Yes, I know that feeling. I've had it a few times myself with Kothari."

It made her feel a bit better to hear that. Her thoughts were still in turmoil though. With a frustrated sigh Natalia gathered her hair up and dug a hair tie out of her pocket and secured it in place "I am so confused, Dara. I don't understand this strange sensation I have inside me that seems to connect me to Agony. Do you know what it is?"

She should have guessed that she wasn't going like what the other woman was going to say just from the startled, and then, apologetic expression that crossed her stunning features.

"I can't really say, Tali. Be yourself and understanding will eventually come. What I can tell you is the thing to understand about Kothari is that his actions are all a defence mechanism. No matter what he does or says, it is all designed to protect everyone from the monster he believes himself to be. He isn't a monster and has never been one. One day I believe he will see that. Just don't be afraid of him. Believe me when I say that he would never hurt you, no matter how much posturing he does."

It appeared Natalia wasn't going to get the answers that she was hoping for, but at least she didn't feel as alone as she had after her argument with Agony. There was also something comforting about the way Dara continually referred to him as Kothari. Clearly the blonde Vârcolac knew the truth as she did, Kothari and Agony were the same person, no matter what foolish thoughts were going on in the silly male's head. She guessed it was just a matter of time for Agony to get on the same page as them.

The object of their discussions entered the clearing at that point and all eyes turned to him. Dara stood, inclining her head for him to have a private word with her and the pair moved off together. Natalia sighed and made her way back over to Mila and Dante. She sat quietly beside them watching the two Vârcolac speaking without words passing their lips. To others watching it may have appeared that they were just standing close to each other, but she was fairly certain that they were communicating telepathically. Whatever was being discussed, Agony didn't like something that was said at one point as she watched his entire body stiffen. A moment later he released the tension and then motioned for her to join them.

"You are certain the blonde female of Louis' group has a changed shadow surrounding her?" he asked quietly.

Natalia ran her eyes over the group as nonchalantly as she could before answering. "It's still black."

Agony's tension ratcheted up again though it was so subtle most of the group wouldn't have noticed. He turned to Dara. "Can you get into her head?"

Dara nodded. "Yes, and I'm fairly certain I can keep myself protected against an intrusion. I can build a defence check which will have to be dismantled by anyone trying to get inside my mind. That way if anyone tries to tamper with it I'll know. What we need to discuss is what do we do if what we suspect is correct?"

For a moment Agony stared off to the distance before he seemed to reach a decision. "I hadn't considered there may be some danger involved, however, if anyone can protect themselves it is you," he conceded. "As to what we will do if our suspicions are correct, I think that is pretty obvious. We eliminate the threat."

Natalia didn't like the direction their conversation was taking, a shiver slowly starting to spread down her spine. She didn't feel the usual sensation of nausea that came over her when there was an imminent threat, but there was something there that was telling her that what was about to happen wasn't going to be good.

"What exactly is it that you suspect?" she asked keeping her voice lowered. "What is it that you think I am seeing?"

"You should go and stay close to Dante and Mila," Agony answered, with barely a glance in her direction. "They are tasked with ensuring your safety while we deal with this."

If he had still been looking at her he would have seen her mouth drop open before swiftly closing and an expression of fury cross her face. Dara, who was looking at her, swiftly raised her hand to cover her mouth. Natalia was sure the other woman was stifling a smile, but she was too angry with the infuriating male who had just tried to shoo her away as if she was some fragile little girl.

"Oh, I don't think so, Agony," she hissed out as quietly as she could. "I don't know where you've gotten the idea that I somehow answer to you, but I can assure you that isn't the case. I already have an Alpha, and it sure as hell isn't you. I will not be dismissed by you, not now and not ever so the sooner you get that through your thick skull the better it'll be. Now what is it you suspect? If you are going to do something based on something I see then I am entitled to know."

For a moment no one moved or said anything and then the Vârcolac slowly turned his head to give her an unfathomable stare, his gaze hidden behind his standard dark glasses. "You are a pain in the ass, little girl," he growled softly but there was no menace in his tone, instead she thought she detected a faint trace of amusement.

"We suspect that you may be able to see when someone's mind has been taken over by whoever our enemy is. The only way to determine if this is true is for Dara to search the blonde vampire's mind. She should be able to find any intrusion. If the enemy is among us then we will need to take care of it without alerting them that we're on to them."

He sighed deeply. "Naturally we don't want our nemesis to determine how we can track the incursions therefore we need you to be as far from any action as possible. Now will you please stay with Dante and Mila until we deal with this?"

Shock didn't begin to cover the riot of emotions that threatened to overwhelm Natalia. She wasn't sure what shocked her most, the fact that she may be able to tell when someone has been compromised or the fact that Agony had actually answered and said please. She knew what dealing with it would entail, and while she didn't want to be responsible for anyone's destruction, she was Pack and understood the need to protect the group.

"Okay," she finally said. "Just be careful. Louis isn't likely to react well to one of his coven being dealt with when he doesn't know the reason for it. He might be a little annoyed and react accordingly. Please don't hurt him. It isn't his fault he's been left out of the loop." With that she turned and walked over to Dante and Mila, leaving the two Vârcolac to do what they needed to keep everyone safe.

Dara let her smile show as Agony watched Natalia walk away with a frustrated expression. "I think you've met your match there, my friend," she said. "I like her...a lot."

He didn't deign to answer, turning his attention to the issue at hand. "Can you do your thing from here?"

Dara viewed the distance to the vampire in question. "I need to be closer," she said. "I'll head over to Louis, that way if he reacts I can be close. You go in the other direction and get behind her. If we're right I'll let you know. If we come at her from behind there's a good chance whoever has taken over her mind won't see us coming."

Agony headed off back in the direction he had come from making it appear as if he was heading in the opposite direction. He shadowed and slipped around to the back of Louis and his coven, standing silently in the trees as he watched Dara settle beside the European coven leader. Louis gave her a side glance but didn't say anything though his body language indicated that he was alert and his eyes quickly swept over the group trying to catalogue where everyone was.

Dara didn't appear to be doing anything but Agony knew she was concentrating hard. He felt a whisper touch his mind and tensed, but relaxed when he heard her voice. "I've had to go deeper than expected, but I can sense another presence underneath the female's persona. It's really faint and I can't get any closer without alerting them that I'm there. She's definitely been compromised, Agony. We need to contain the situation immediately."

He was moving before she even stopped speaking, appearing behind the female vampire and detaching her head before she had a chance to realise that she was under threat.

"What the fuck!" Louis yelled flying up from the log he had been sitting on. Fury filled his face, turning into his feral state in a blink of an eye.

Dara jumped up too, and placed herself between Agony and the coven leader. Not that Agony needed any protection, but it was preferable to prevent any misunderstandings as quickly as possible. They still had a long way to go. "She was compromised, Louis. We couldn't risk whoever was in her mind knowing that we were on to them." Her words made the coven leader pause though he remained in his feral state, raw fury wafting off him in waves.

"You have five seconds to explain 'compromised' or we will be gone from here and I will go to every European coven leader and tell them you are a threat to all. If I do that you will have a war on two sides, Vârcolac, and blood will flow until only one group remains standing. Do not presume that the Vârcolac will be the last ones standing."

"If I slaughter all of you right here there will be no threat," Agony growled softly, his own feral side fully in control at the threat the coven leader issued.

"Hold, Louis," Dante interjected, joining them with Mila and Natalia at his side.

Natalia moved over to Agony, standing close enough for her body heat to be felt but not quite touching him. Her closeness seemed to calm the volatile Vârcolac slightly though the tension in the clearing was off the charts.

"You know what my skill is, Louis," Dante continued in a calm tone. If anyone could get through to the coven leader it would be him. He had the long standing relationship with him. "Another here possesses a similar skill. They can see when someone's mind has been compromised by the enemy. Christine had been compromised, and we needed to take care of the issue without alerting the enemy that we were aware of the incursion."

The two dark haired vampires stared each other out for a long moment and then Louis finally relaxed though his expression wasn't happy. "You should have told me," he spat out. "My coven is my responsibility."

"We had to move quickly," Dara answered, trying to exude as much calmness as she could. Agony still hadn't let go of his feral side and until he did she wouldn't fully relax either. "Now that we know that we are susceptible I suggest that everyone puts a defence check into the most public layer of their mind and have another check it every hour. We should rotate who checks too just in case both the person and the checker is compromised. It's the only way we will be sure that what we're thinking and saying is really our own thoughts, and we're not a danger to the mission."

"And then what?" Louis asked. "We start slaughtering everyone that's compromised?"

His question had everyone looking at everyone else, clearly unhappy with that idea.

"If we have defences set then we should know if anyone attempts an incursion. We all build stronger defences past that first layer," Dara replied. "I'm not saying that will protect everyone, possibly some of the weaker minds may still be in danger, but for the stronger minds here, it should be enough."

She glanced at Agony and noted that he had let him feral side drop. His gaze wasn't on her but on the woman at his side who was watching him closely. If she didn't know better she would have suspected they were communicating telepathically though they couldn't do that...yet.

They both seemed to be thinking the same thing yet it was Natalia who voiced their concern. "What about me, Dara? I'm human and don't have the same mental capabilities that you all have. How will we know if I've been infected by the enemy?"

It was an excellent question and one she didn't have an answer to. She could see Agony becoming tense again as everyone looked to Natalia with suspicion on their expressions. Dante and Mila moved closer to the girl, making it more than clear that if anyone was considering taking action into their own hands they would have to go through them, as well as Agony first.

For the first time she saw genuine fear on the younger woman's face and she didn't like it one bit. "Tali, I want to try something. I need you to stay calm for a couple of minutes. I'm going to enter your mind and take a little look around. I promise that I will not do anything that will cause you any harm. Will you trust me?"

Agony growled deeply, his expression starting to morph back into his feral state. A small hand rested on his arm and squeezed gently until he looked down at Natalia. "You trust Dara with your life, Agony. She would never do anything to hurt you and I trust that she wouldn't hurt me either. We have to know how to safeguard my mind. You know this. We all do."

Her words calmed him down enough that he nodded his agreement though he didn't speak. It was the most he could do while he was so tense. Dara gently probed at the most public area of Natalia's mind and stifled a surprised gasp. She concentrated harder and pressed again. Five minutes later and a bead of sweat rolled down her temple and she stepped back with a huge smile breaking out.

"She's the same as Mara," she told Agony, relieved laughter bubbling up.

"You're absolutely certain?" he quizzed, his expression starting to clear.

"Positive," Dara answered with a laugh. "She's a natural shield. I couldn't even touch her most public mind. The only way anyone is going to get into her head is if she allows it, and maybe not even then. If I remember correctly even when Mara was still human and tried to let Demetri in he couldn't access her mind. It was only after they mated that they shared a telepathic link."

"Then for now everyone is clear and the only issue we had has been taken care of," Agony announced leaving no room for objection. "You have ten minutes to perform the necessary safeguards Dara has implemented. Then we move on. Anyone who doesn't want to come with us can feel free to fuck off now. Once we move on, we're all in this together."

He turned and walked away, Natalia going with him as her hand was still on his arm. Dara watched them go supressing a smile as she watched the link between the couple grow the longer they spent time together. She let the others mutter under their breaths for a moment and then turned back to them. "You heard him, let's protect ourselves as best we can and get this mission back on target."

She watched them for a moment and then followed Agony and Natalia with Dante and Mila just behind her. She heard Louis instructing two of his coven to clean up the mess of their fallen comrade, and then get ready to move out. It seemed they weren't going to lose any of the group despite the dangers facing them.

Glancing up into the forested areas of the formidable mountain range they had to traverse, she was glad to know that they were not going to split up. There was no telling what further dangers lay ahead and there was some comfort that they would have numbers on their side should they have need of them. Her instincts warned her that what was still to come would be worse than what they had faced so far, but she was confident that whatever came their way they would win through. There wasn't any other option but to win.

To be continued...