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“Roger, Maelle, or whoever the fuck is currently in there, it’s me, Lizzie Grace.” Thankfully, the slight tremble in my hand was not reflected in my voice.
He didn’t respond, and even though standing still, his body was making odd, almost jerky, movements. It was almost as if he was having trouble controlling… fuck, someone was in his mind.
Someone whowasn'tMaelle.
Belle, can you—I broke the rest off as he lunged for me, his fingers sharp claws ready to rend and tear. He hit the barrier hard, briefly bending it inward and sending a concussion-like wave through the rest of it. He was so close that I could not only smell the blood on him but also see the desperation in eyes that bulged in his now emaciated features. An outside force might be in control of his mind, but somewhere in the background, Roger not only existed but was aware.
Then the wild magic responded and sent him flying across the room. I quickly created a containment net, using more wild magic to strengthen it, and cast it after him. I had no idea if the person wielding control over Roger was a telepath or one of our witchy vampires, but at least with wild magic woven through my spell, it couldn’t easily be dismissed.
He smashed against the black glass with enough force to crack it. It would have knocked out—or at least severely hampered—anyone else. But Roger slid down to the floor and almost immediately scrambled upright.
Before he could take a step, my net hit him, flowing over his body like a wave, surrounding him in a globe of glowing threads. He screamed—a raw, furious sound—and clenched his fingers so tightly blood oozed between them and dripped slowly to the floor.
Then his eyes rolled back in his head, and he collapsed.
Belle, was that you?
“No, it was not.” She stepped into the room and offered me a hand up. My barrier made no move to stop her—in fact, it expanded to include her within its protection. Which was a new development and one that I welcomed, even if it was also rather scary that these things seemed to be happening without any direction from me.
“Maybe not on a conscious level,” Belle said, “but given all the other changes it’s making, it’s obviously working at a subconscious one.”
I flicked my knife over to my gloved hand, then gripped hers and let her pull me upright. “Yes, but this is the first time it’s included you in the response.”
“Maybe it’s got a checklist of tasks it’s slowly working through, and I’ve finally reached the top.”
I snorted and glanced at Roger. If he was breathing, I still couldn’t see it. “I’m guessing his mind is as messed up as Joselyn’s?”
She narrowed her gaze and studied him for several seconds. “Yes, which surprises me given Maelle’s deep connection to the man.”
“Could she have been caught in whatever snared his mind?”
“It’s notionally possible, but I’ve never heard of a telepath capable of imprinting and controlling two minds at the one time.”
“I can’t imagine there’d be many telepaths who’d have come across a thrall and their master, though.”
“True.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not sensing an ongoing connection to either the telepath or Maelle, though.”
“Would you sense his connection to Maelle, given it works on a deeper level than mere telepathy?”
“Yes, because in many ways it resembles our link.”
Even though I hadn’t actually thought about it until now, I guess our ability to share energy and allow our souls to partially step into each other’s bodywasvery similar to that of a thrall and his master. We just didn’t have to eat each other’s flesh to make it happen.
“Thank God for that,” Belle muttered, and waved a hand toward Roger. “Whoever was controlling him has definitely retreated.”
“Can you block a return?”
“Possibly, though it might be a good idea to also cast a protection spell of some kind around him in the event they try a magical takeover next.”
“Surely they wouldn’t, given Maelle is more than capable of defusing any such attempt.”
“I would have said the same thing about their telepathic connection, but here we are.”
I studied the sack-like figure for a moment. “I’m not sure any spell we cast is going to stand up against the might of an old vampiress who’s also a mage.”
“Except you have control over the one thing she does not,” came the softly accented, deeply furious reply behind us.
My heart just about leapt out of my chest, and both Belle and I spun around, repelling spells buzzing around our clenched fists.
