Dark Blood (Dark #26)(34)
Author: Christine Feehan

Damon ducked his head, shame creeping into his expression. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing else I can say, other than I really mean it—I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“You’re shadowed,” Branislava said, her voice so low it was merely a thread of sound. “Mage-shadowed.”

Tatijana’s gasp was loud. She reached out to Fen, who took her hand instantly.

“I don’t know what that means,” Damon said.

Daciana and Makoce moved even closer to Damon, closing ranks on either side of him. “Please explain, Branislava,” Daciana said. “None of us understand.”

“He’s showing all the signs. Look at him, Tatijana. He’s confused when asked direct questions about who sent him here. If he tries too hard to remember he gets a severe headache. You do, don’t you, Damon?” she asked.

He nodded. “The headache is so bad I can barely breathe, let alone think.”

“When he pushes past the pain in an attempt to get answers to why he would go against his beliefs to murder a young woman or shoot and wound a wolf to use as bait, his brain reacts with an actual bleed. If you keep questioning him, trying to force him to remember, you’ll kill him,” Branislava stated with absolute conviction. “He is definitely mage-shadowed.”

Tatijana nodded. “We’ve seen it many, many times.”

There was a small silence. Fen whistled. Dimitri sank onto the porch swing, pulling Skyler with him. Daciana gripped her brother’s arm and just held on tight.

Damon shook his head. “I don’t know what that is, but there’s nothing wrong with me except a nasty headache.” He looked around at the somber faces. “There can’t be.”

His gaze dropped to his sister’s face. “There isn’t.”

Daciana slipped her arm around him as if she could brace him. “What is it, Bronnie?”

“How do you get rid of it?” Damon asked. “There must be a way. I want it out of my head.” He shuddered.

“Only a highly skilled mage can shadow a person without his consent or knowledge,” Branislava said. “By that I mean someone of Xavier’s caliber.”

“Xavier’s dead,” Tatijana declared quickly. “There’s no way he survived.”

Fen wrapped both arms around her and pulled her close. “Obviously this couldn’t be Xavier, my lady,” he assured softly. “Whoever has done this infiltrated the ranks of the Lycans long ago or Damon would have noticed a stranger immediately. Lycans don’t bring outsiders into their meetings.”

“You were there, you infiltrated,” Damon accused, as if he suspected Fen of corrupting his mind.

“I am Lycan,” Fen said calmly. “I have Lycan blood just as you do. I am loyal to our people just as I am loyal to Carpathians. You might say, Damon, I have dual citizenship.”

Damon rubbed his face hard. “I don’t understand any of this.”

“What can we do about it?” Daciana asked. “Can you help him?”

“It can be undone,” Branislava said slowly. “Although it is risky. This mage has actually placed the shadow on his brain like a deep wound that has scarred over. I don’t know how to explain this. It isn’t the same as placing a sliver of himself into the person to possess that person at will. That can also be referred to as shadowing, although that’s not an accurate term.”

“Is it possible the mage is doing this to others?” Zev asked.

“Of course,” Branislava answered.

Zev didn’t think she was even aware of the slight trembling of her body. On the outside, she presented a cool, confident demeanor, but inside, he felt her fear, just like the terror that gripped Tatijana. The idea that Xavier or a mage as powerful as he was could possibly be behind the attacks was frightening to them.

“Could a mage mass-produce shadows, say, at a Sacred Circle meeting?” Zev asked as he threaded his fingers through hers and pulled her hand to his chest, over his heart.

Branislava and Tatijana frowned as they looked at each other. Tatijana appeared more agitated than Zev had ever seen her. Fen cuddled her close, clearly reassuring her.

“It isn’t Xavier, Tatijana,” Branislava said aloud. “Fen’s right. Whoever did this has been slowly trying to gain control of the Lycans, just as Xavier wanted control of the Carpathians. Mages are not immortal, but some of them want to be.”

“Neither are Lycans,” Zev said.

“Technically, neither are Carpathians,” Dimitri said. “We can be killed.”

“But both species have longevity,” Branislava said. “Much longer than a mage. Xavier wanted that for himself. It was the entire reason he kidnapped our mother and had us. He wanted our blood.”

“You don’t know if it’s Xavier,” Tatijana said. She looked close to tears. “You don’t know. Who else if not him?”

Branislava took a deep breath. “If Damon allows me, I can try to find the shadowing. I would recognize Xavier’s work anywhere.”

Tatijana shook her head adamantly.

“Sister,” Branislava said gently. “You know it is the only way for us to know for certain.”

“No. Not you. Zev, don’t let her. Skyler, Dimitri, you can’t let her,” Tatijana pleaded.

Damon dropped his face into his hands and sank down onto the stone floor, moaning. “I want it out of my head. Get it out.”

Daciana and Makoce immediately dropped down beside him to comfort him, although Zev noticed that both kept at least one hand close to their weapons—the silver ones. They believed that he could be dangerous to them all.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Zev persisted. “Could a mage mass-produce this effect without anyone knowing?”

Branislava let out her breath. “Only a couple might be able to. Two. Maybe three. We were prisoners for centuries, Zev, and Xavier only had a couple of students who might have been that good . . .” She trailed off, her gaze once more jumping to Tatijana’s face.

What is it, Branka?

She pressed her lips together as if by not speaking whatever she had thought of wouldn’t be the truth. Her fingers curled involuntarily into his shirt, nails raking through the material.

“Get it out of me. Get it out of me,” Damon yelled, his wolf surging to the surface, eyes glowing as he glared at Branislava.

Zev could see both Daciana and Makoce brace themselves to protect his woman, and he was grateful. “Damon,” he spoke in a low, commanding tone. “You are a wolf. A Lycan. You’re strong and you will not embarrass our people by this display.”