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contents still alive?
     

Chapter 4
     
    Saturday, late afternoon
     
    S tefan stood at Tabitha's bedside, his medical specialist, Dr. Marsden, at his side. He studied the pale face on the white pillows. Tabitha's beauty shone in an unearthly way. Her skin appeared luminescent. He asked, "So there's nothing physically wrong with her?"
     
    Dr. Marsden shook his head. "Nothing that is showing up on any tests. I think she's terrified...and has gone into hiding."
     
    "Originally..." Stefan rubbed his temple and tried to marshal his thoughts. "When I heard her screaming for help, I caught scattered bits of her thoughts. She believed she was going to die. When I found her, she'd curled tightly around her cord as if protecting it."
     
    The doctor nodded. "Sensible. What I can't be sure of is whether her previous attack had something to do with this one, or...if that attack left her open to this one and possibly others yet to come."
     
    "They weren't the same attacker. I know that for sure." The words barely out of his mouth, Stefan winced. There were no sureties in this world, but as far as he knew, the woman who'd attacked Tabitha a month ago was dead. Along with her murderous brothers. "But she's spent a lot of time in the ethers leaving her body unprotected. For all we know, someone in the ethers picked up on that and was planning to take over her body."
     
    "It's possible, but why wait until now?" Dr. Marsden walked to the end of Tabitha's bed.
     
    "We all sleep and dream walk, and there are many other people to target. So why Tabitha? Her energy? Her abilities?"
     
    That caught Stefan's attention. "Her abilities," he asked cautiously. "Why would her abilities make a difference?"
     
    Dr. Marsden glanced his way. "Many people would be mentally damaged by the experience, yet Tabitha obviously has an ability to stay in the ethers."
     
    That prodded something in Stefan's memory. The last time Tabitha had been in the ethers for a prolonged stay, she'd hidden out there until it was safe. "You think she's choosing to hide in the ethers?"
     
    "Exactly. Most people, even psychics, won't do that. Can't do that. It takes a special ability to walk in the space between life and death. I've heard of that space, the In-Between."
     
    "Hmm. Isn't that backwards? She hides there when she feels under attack...yet by leaving her body open like this, she's actually putting herself in a more vulnerable position."
     
    Dr. Marsden laughed. "You'd have thought so, but take a closer look."
     
    Startled, Stefan glanced back at Tabitha's long and lean frame. He shifted through the layers of energy, but it was hard because the energy was compressed, lying tight and hard against her body.
     
    "I can barely see her aura as it is!" Stefan exclaimed.
     
    "Exactly. It's some kind of defense system. Her energy is locked down in protective mode that stops anyone from accessing her body from the outside. Even her cord is hidden."
     
    Stefan had never seen a case like this. Or an energy system like Tabitha's. He searched the ethers looking for her cord – the so important connection to her physical body that kept her alive…and couldn't find it.
     
    Yet she was lying there breathing naturally. Normally, as if in a deep sleep.
     
    "See what I mean?" The note of wonder in the doctor's voice had Stefan walking closer to study Tabitha. "Her cord is actually dispersed all around the room. If you look closely you'll see signs of it. Just not how it connects to her."
     
    "So once again, something new." Stefan snorted at that. "Does she need anything from us?" The two men stared down at the comatose woman.
     
    "Not from me." Dr. Marsden turned to study him, one eyebrow raised in question. "Maybe from you."
     
    Stefan nodded his head. "Could be. I'll check." He looked around the small private room. Should he try contacting her here or from home? Here he'd have to deal with so many other interfering energies.
     
    "Do you want to try now, while you're