Collette handed her a note along with her coffee. "For you madame."
She took the small envelope and opened it. There was a note card tucked in the envelope with a printed message from Vanderau. "Forgive me, Katherine. Business followed me home. I will see you at dinner."
She tucked the note back into the envelope and put it in the pocket of his robe she had taken to wearing over her lounging pajamas. She sighed. It would be another long day with Sauvageon!
At dinner, everyone assembled once again in Vanderau's tower suite. Vincent collected Katherine and they walked across the second floor to a large wooden door. He rapped on the door and Mrs. Tremeur greeted them in French. "Good evening! The Dominus is expecting you."
"Thank you, Mrs. Tremeur," Katherine replied. "How are you this evening?"
"Very well," the housekeeper answered. "Your accent is very good!"
"I have excellent tutors," Katherine answered.
"Immersion is usually the best way to learn a language," Vincent replied. "But I think tonight we will set our lessons aside."
Katherine expelled a relieved sigh. "Bless you."
They entered the suite, went up a small hallway, and entered the living area, passing several house staff who were setting up in the dining room. Katherine could hear Vanderau and Sauvageon talking. It was in another language entirely. It sounded like German. "German or Dutch?" she asked Vincent.
Vincent listened and nodded, "An old Germanic dialect."
When they entered the room Vanderau was folding up a document and stuffing it into a document wallet. He smiled at Katherine, "Just in time! No more business tonight Pierre!"
"Agreed," the old gladio answered. He winked over at Katherine and Vincent. "Business and a lovely lady do not make for an interesting evening."
Katherine passed on the wine being served and sat on the couch where she took one of the tapestry pillows and used it as a cushion to prop her elbows up. Vanderau took the chair that faced Katherine and Vincent perched comfortably on the other end of the couch. The conversation was idle chatter. Then Sauvageon looked over at Katherine. "So how is your orb practice?"
She grinned then sobered trying to keep a straight face. "Oh, it's cracking along."
He arched an eyebrow at her. "Indeed?" then he turned to Vanderau, "You still have your training orb, Nicklaus?"
He nodded. "Yes, it's in my office. Shall I get it?"
Sauvageon nodded and Vanderau immediately rose and went to his office as he was coming back into the living room. The gladio held up his hand and Vanderau stopped. "Katherine, take the orb from him. Nicklaus, do not let it go."
During an intense lesson, Katherine discovered a skill unique to her. Sauvageon had been skeptical at first, then intrigued.
Earlier that Day
Pierre and Katherine sat in one of the small libraries in the manor with the practice orb. It was currently glowing like a giant spotlight with glittering lights of iridescent colors swirling in and around the orb as it hung in the air between them.
Katherine then watched as it began to change color and as it did a rope of light spun out from Sauvageon's hand. She recognized it immediately. "The dream! I can see the ropes of light!"
"You can see the tether?" Sauvageon breathed sitting forward.
"Yours is different from the dreams," Katherine replied, she watched in fascination as the tether began to develop other threads of light around the core of brilliant molten orange. "It looks like burning coals or lava!"
Sauvageon was fascinated by this development. "Try to take control of the orb, Katherine. See if you can break the connection of the tether."
She tried over and over, without success! Then when she was about to give up she tried something completely different – she reached out and simply snapped the power tether from the orb and it flew into her hand. Sauvageon gasped as he felt the connection break away. It was not exactly painful, but it was shocking to his system! He laughed in delight!
Once she had realized what to look for it had been relatively easy to best the old gladio each time he tried to break through her defenses. Katherine was anxious to show off her learned skills to both Vanderau and Vincent. She was not sure she could take the orb from Vanderau, but she would try.
She exerted slight pressure, and he felt the orb tug against his fingers. He tightened his grip and placed more control over the orb. Katherine felt something like a push, break her focus. Sauvageon wagged a disapproving finger at Katherine, "Take it from Nicklaus, Katherine."
As Vanderau held the orb in his hand and placed more control in place to keep it in his possession, he felt it begin to vibrate. He looked at the orb and it began to grow warm. He smiled and he pushed back against her. Then he felt something snap! The orb sprang from his fingers and shot toward Katherine. It flew into Katherine's hand! She grinned in triumph, as it rose into the air in front of her face, and she took a fingertip and pushed it away. It floated gently back to Vanderau's outstretched fingers. He smiled. "What happened?"
"Took me hours to master!" she exclaimed.
"Katherine, this was different somehow," Vanderau told her. "You did as Pierre told you. You took possession of it all on your own, but how could you break the connection?"
"She can see the power tether," Sauvageon told them proudly. "Her own and everyone else's."
"Really?" Vincent questioned. "That is not usual among gladio potentials is it?"
"It takes a lot of effort to visualize the power tethers," Vanderau said, examining the orb in his hand and then studying Katherine closely. "But it did not seem difficult at all for you to snap the tether."
"Come testing," Sauvageon said to them all, "Katherine will now recognize your tether. Now that she has seen your power tether, she can and will reject the others."
"How? They all look the same." Vanderau replied.
"Not to me," Katherine said. "They're all different. Different colors, different thicknesses, all different strands of light woven together."
"And my tether?" Vanderau asked her.
"It looks a little like your crest," Katherine replied, "Emerald, silver, and brilliant white strands are woven around a crystalline core – it's quite beautiful."
He had to smile, then he looked over at Sauvageon, "And your tether, Pierre?"
"According to Katherine, it is like coals in a brazier, ashes, orange and blue, and a core like molten lava."
Mrs. Tremeur came in, "Dinner is served."
They rose and as before Vanderau was at the head of the table, Katherine facing him at the other end. Vincent and Sauvageon on either side. Their conversation was delving further into the yet undiscovered abilities Katherine had. According to Sauvageon, Katherine had very unusual abilities that with further tempering and training, would be legendary!
They were just beginning to eat when something caught Katherine's eye. It was a red laser! It floated briefly on the rim of Vanderau's wine glass as he drank from it before it danced at his temple. Without even thinking, Katherine jumped up and shot out her hand, her power tether slamming into Vanderau's chest and sending him out of the way of the laser point. At the same instant, there was a loud pop! She flung her other hand up and the missile was frozen in mid-air! It flattened out into a small disc. Everyone else immediately dove under the table.
There were shouts and loud popping sounds outside the tower. Vincent was on his feet, his pistol drawn. Yells and screams from the serving staff sounded as the security detail arrived to secure the area.
"Jesus Christ!" Vincent declared as he looked at the flattened bullet still hanging in mid-air.
Vanderau was on his feet speaking to his security captain. The detail moved out and Vanderau turned to face his dinner guests. Then he saw what had shocked Vincent. He too uttered something under his breath.
Katherine sat down heavily in her chair, her eyes still riveted to the disc. Vanderau helped Sauvageon up and the old gladio reached out and took hold of her hand, "Katherine, you can let it go now."
She blinked once and looked at the old gladio and the small disc dropped to the tablecloth with a 'plink'. She met Vanderau's gaze and smiled. The dark swirled up over her and she fainted.
When she woke, she sat up in bed. Katherine looked around, she was not in her bed, but back in Vanderau's bedroom. She felt lightheaded and sick, she leaped out of bed and ran to the bathroom where she threw up. It was not Collette who attended her, but Vanderau. He held her as she began to retch. He grabbed a washcloth and ran cold water over it. He wrung it out with one hand while he supported Katherine against his body with the other arm. He gently wiped her face and pushed her hair from her clammy face. "Breathe, mon coeur. Breathe. Everything is all right now."
She felt so weak she could hardly stand, and she could not think of how to get back to bed. He lifted her into his arms, carried her back to bed, and drew the covers over her. "They tried to kill you, Nicklaus!" she whispered hoarsely.
"Only a few more days, mon coeur, and we'll be in the Oculus." He said softly.
"Will they ever stop? Will they try to kill us even in the Oculus?" Katherine tried to sit up, but he took hold of her shoulders and stilled her.
"The security detail shot the assailant, and he got away, but he is carrying several bullets in his body," he told her, "Judging by the trail of blood."
"How could they get in, Nicklaus?" she asked then she realized what had happened. The lights in the dining room had been brighter and the drapes were not drawn like they should have been. "You let them come in! You deliberately let them get in!"
"Katherine, please understand I had to draw him out," Nicklaus told her.
"Who? Rares?" she said then she shook her head. She knew! She was furious! "It's the Cossack, isn't it?"
"The Cossack?" Nicklaus said studying her with a spike of fear running through his blood. How could she know him? "Makarov," Nicklaus said. "Gallego Makarov."
So, three possibly more are out to get you," Katherine realized that he was not keeping his distance anymore. No one seemed concerned that he was with her. "What's happened? Something has changed, hasn't it?"
"You should try to rest," Nicklaus whispered, "I will be right here."
"Where is Vincent?" Katherine wanted to know, "Shouldn't I be in my room?"
"No," Vanderau said. The edge was back in his voice. "From now until the testing, I will be at your side. I have the support from the other four families, and I make the majority – this testing will probably not include Rares or Makarov."
"And Vincent?" She asked again.
"Vincent and his Indago brethren have been called home. Martine Thys has called them home to be armed and given instructions on their new duties. When he comes back, he will be in his capacity as Indago not special consul to you or me."
"Why are they doing this?" Katherine wanted to know.
"You are not going to sleep are you?" Nicklaus asked her. He sat back against the heavy column of the four-poster bed. "Very well then I will tell you, and then maybe you will sleep?"
"I'll try." She said.
"You knew I was the youngest of the seven families, I also hold another distinction I am also the most powerful of the seven. I began to show my abilities at an early age, maybe fifteen or sixteen. They were erratic and raw – even though I trained. Pierre even took the rough edges off me. But it was the severe training of Makarov that helped me the most. He saw my potential and had I not been of a Sept family, I might have been his blade. I had the qualities of a gladio but when my father passed away, I stepped into the role as a member of the Sept. I could see the path clearly that Rares was taking, and I knew it to be dangerous. Makarov wanted the role of Dominus, and I was ambitious and had enough conceit in me that I let him think I would support him. When the seven years of Rares were up, I challenged him, and I won the position. I don't think Makarov ever forgot that I lied to him. He'll never forget that."
"He was angry enough to try to kill you?" She asked.
"Oh, yes. Now nearly three years under me as Dominus and four to go – a gladio that exhibits potential that hasn't been seen in centuries – he has plenty of drive to get me out of the way and claim you." Vanderau replied.
"But I won't be claimed by anyone but you." She told him.
"And you cannot make that claim," Vanderau said, "You have no idea what you will encounter during the testing. Don't make a commitment you should not keep. You may be limiting yourself."
"I don't think so," Katherine said. "Sauvageon doesn't think so either."
"He is an old man, Katherine," Vanderau said gently. "He remembers when my grandfather and he were together, and they were an invincible force! Later when he served for a time with my father, he was stifled by my father, who was never able to become Dominus in the time he served because of his illness, and I was the only son in the family. I began to sit during meetings and when he passed away, I took the oath and served for nearly ten years before I challenged Rares and won."
"Makarov must see that you are qualified or else you would not have taken the role of Dominus," Katherine replied, her eyes drooping.
"Some men are never the same after being beaten in combat. We tolerate one another, but now that he has openly gone against me as Dominus – I will probably have to do battle again. It may not come to that if you indeed become my blade."
"I will be," Katherine murmured as she drifted off to sleep. "You'll see."
When she was sleeping soundly he went in to take a shower. When he had finished and came out with pajamas on, and a towel wrapped around his neck he found a long-sleeved night shirt and stretched out on the other side of the king-sized bed. He pulled an extra blanket over himself and fell asleep.
Sometime between the time he had fallen asleep, and the flush of pre-dawn woke him, he found Katherine curled up against him with her head resting on his shoulder. He eased closer and she sighed in almost relief and drifted into a deeper sleep. He smiled and closed his eyes and fell back into a dreamless sleep.
When he woke again, Katherine was still in his arms. He tightened his arms around her to press her closer as she stirred. "Not so fast," he whispered against her forehead. She relaxed against him, and he pressed his lips to her temple. "Good morning, mon coeur."
With her so close to him when he looked down into her eyes, he felt pulled into the cool blue depths. Then he looked at her face. There were tinges of bruising around her eyes. Then he remembered how she had exerted the force field around him that stopped a high-powered bullet meant for his skull. He cupped her face and pulled her close in a fierce embrace.
"You saved my life, Katherine!"
"All in a day's work!" she quipped. Her voice was muffled against his chest. But she could hear his heart pounding in her ear. Being this close to him was unlike anything she had ever felt! What was it?
He eased his hold on her and she edged back so she could sit up and look at him. Her hair was messy and reminded him of a wild horse. She studied him and he lay there quietly, letting her analyze what was happening between them. He smiled because as close as they were, he could very clearly hear her thoughts. Sauvageon needed to work on that! It was intriguing to hear exactly what she was thinking. Some of it was flattering, other thoughts were oddly shadowed from him. He was tempted, sorely tempted to see how she would respond to his lovemaking, but just because both were receptive, did not mean he should abuse the situation and the trust of the Sept to keep her safe and unmolested by even himself and anyone else with designs on her!
Katherine's thoughts seemed to follow his and she eased further away from him. "I think I should go find Collette,"
He sighed explosively and she laughed. "Yup! Find Collette!"
He chuckled and sat up. He would have gotten up, but he was still experiencing the pleasurable pain of arousal! He watched her as she grabbed her robe and slipped it on. She found her slippers and shoved her feet into them. She glanced over at him before she left the room. "See you in a bit."