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directed to her
before it had been concealed behind a smile of gratitude for the
benefit of Kendrick.
    By the time Kaitriana and
Kendrick had followed, the eager telling of the display of her
amazing magic was finished by one of the younger Warrior witches to
all within the manor. Kaitriana had experienced a sick knot of
dread in her stomach as all eyes riveted on her at her appearance.
Her gaze had first sought Myrrdyn and the anger evident in his
piercing eyes caused hers to dart away, only to land upon the
inscrutable countenance of Lorcan himself. Her breath had rushed
from her as she held that steely gray stare.
    Kaitriana had begun
worriedly chewing on her lower lip…what would he do in response to
the report of her powers and her slaying of the vampires? Face
still unreadable, Lorcan had given her a slight nod of greeting. A
smile had formed at the corner of his lips and she could have sworn
he had winked at her before he had returned his attention to the
Witch elders. All of them had still been gaping at her as though
she had grown a second head.
    The exchange between the
young Witch and the Warrior of Light had not gone unnoticed
entirely; two had taken special note. Myrrdyn’s mind had already
been trying to fathom how the appearance of Lorcan and the
revealing of his little girl’s powers would play into the ultimate
plan for the Light, while Kaitriana’s wicked rival had already
begun thinking how the connection between the two could be used to
suit her purpose.
    One elder had the thought
to demand, while forgetting the presence of the Vampire in the
group, “Is the girl the Chosen, Myrrdyn?”
    Kaitriana had been shaken
with the understanding that Myrrdyn was furious. She had not known
what to make of Lorcan’s acknowledgement of her; she had suspected
he may well be furious too, particularly then at the suggestion
that she was the prophesied female. Her secret was out. All present
knew that she possessed great magic and a substantial amount.
Without waiting to hear Myrrdyn’s reply, she had fled. Unbeknownst
to Kaitriana, her rival had trailed slowly behind and had flagged
down two Darks loitering at the far edge of the woods as she
did.
     
     

CHAPTER 5
    Kaitriana released a shaky breath as she
righted herself in the bed once more. Her eyes registered her
surroundings…Laverock, the abandoned Warrior Caste estate. The
visions were swamping her again and she tucked her knees under her
chin as she rushed through the final memories from that night five
hundred years ago.
    Cordelia had come to her
that same night at her parents’ camp, with an offer of thanks and a
message that Lorcan would be waiting for her two hours hence at the
loch. Kaitriana had spent a full hour in the cold moonlight at the
water’s edge before she had begun to believe that Cordelia had
mistaken the message. She had realized only on returning to camp
that it was no mistake but rather a deadly deception. Two Darks had
held her parents kneeling near the fire in the center of the
encampment and made the offer she had had no choice but to accept.
She had recalled seeing Cordelia wandering off through the woods
and had been sickened by the betrayal of her own kind.
    Kaitriana had been told to
let them try to transition her and in exchange they would spare her
parents. Lord Rhydach wanted to end the Prophecy and turn her to
his purpose, if possible. If the transition was unsuccessful, as it
most likely would be, the Ancient Dark would still be satisfied as
the Chosen would be dead. One of the Darks had flashed a bejeweled
vial at her, “All it will take is a few sips, pretty.”
    Despite her parents’
earnest protests, she had accepted their terms. Her body had broken
out in a cold sweat as the pain had swept her while submitting to
that enemy’s bite. As he had drained her, her legs had given out
from under her and she had been too weak to utter a cry as the
other bastard had swung his broadsword and had ended her parents.
She