Epilogue

Sanders opened his eyes, feeling the shudders rippling through his body. Once again one of the female healers was at his bedside. “Will I live?” he asked, a note of humor in his tone.

“You’ll definitely live,” she declared, “but I’m hearing rumors that some people may not be very happy that you escaped their custody.”

He winced at that. “Will that cause you guys trouble?”

“That’s not your problem,” she stated firmly. “Your problem is making sure you’re healthy.”

“I’m doing much better,” he noted. “I was thinking I could get up and come down for a meal.”

“If you feel you’re up to it, then do so.” She eyed him carefully. “However, just a few minutes ago, you didn’t seem to be up for it.”

“I’m feeling much better now,” he said.

She nodded. “I’ll give you ten minutes to get dressed, and then I’ll walk you down to ensure you’re okay and can find your way.”

“Is it that bad?”

“It’s that bad,” she confirmed, with a laugh to lighten the truth.

She closed the door behind her, and he quickly dressed in the clothing the women had provided for him. He had no idea where he was or when he got here. He knew this place was huge, and lots of people were here. They’d been looking after him since his rescue, but he didn’t even know who all these people were. When he opened the door, she studied him carefully and nodded.

“You look like you’re holding for the moment.”

“Thanks,” he said. “I was trying not to burn through too much energy.”

“No, never a good idea,” she agreed comfortably, as she walked downstairs at his side. When they entered this massive room with the largest table he’d ever seen in his life, all the conversations stopped. Veni raced to his side. Grateful, he enclosed her in a warm hug.

Terk stood and walked over to him. “Sanders, how’re you doing?”

“Considering what I’ve been through, I think I’m doing just fine.” He reached out a hand, and shook Terk’s. “I didn’t get a chance to say it before, but thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Riff is the one who rescued you.”

Sanders nodded at Riff, seated at the table. Then Sanders turned back to Terk. “Now, if only there was a way to go back and rescue somebody else.”

At that, Terk frowned. “What do you mean, somebody else?”

“One of my jailers, his daughter has abilities, like us. She doesn’t dare tell anybody, of course,” he shared. “When she realized what I could do, we stayed in contact the whole time, without telling anybody, just to keep her safe, but she’s desperate to get out of there.”

“Where you were being held? Up north?”

“Yes, but her father moved her to the Baltic Sea area.”

He nodded. “Do you think that you’ll go back and get her?” Terk asked.

Sanders winced. “If I can have another couple days to get my strength up, that would be ideal. I can’t leave her behind, and I feel that I don’t have much time to do that.”

“How old is this daughter?” Clary asked.

He looked over at her. “Twenty-seven.”

“So, she’s not a child anymore.”

“No, and she’s lived in fear all her life. Her abilities are pretty strong. Apparently her mother did her best to keep them hidden, but her mother was killed a few months back, and her father’s gotten more and more suspicious.”

“Of course. Any strong gift like that will be revealed, and, although she’s probably been good at keeping it contained, she’s obviously slipped a time or two.”

“Exactly, and I know her father. I also know that everybody there was looking for more psychics, and, if her father thought that he could curry favor by providing a bona fide one, his position in the guard would be gold.”

“What about his daughter? Does she want to leave her father?” Clary asked.

“Her father’s the problem. Her mother is now gone, and, although he’s been a good father, I think she’s afraid he would give her up in a heartbeat to elevate his own position. Don’t forget that, for these Russians, it’s a point of honor. It’s not a case of thinking that she would be hurt because, from his point of view, she would be in an exalted position as being special. She would be a special prisoner,” he explained. “In her father’s mind, as a female, she would always be somebody’s prisoner, but he wouldn’t call it prisoner. He would call it their wife.”

“Ah, right.” Clary winced. “God, I hate that mind-set.”

“You might hate it, but it’s prevalent in those patriarchal societies,” Sanders said. “So I would very much appreciate a chance to build up my strength a bit and then get her out of there.”

“Do you think you’ll be up against much opposition?” Terk asked.

“It depends on whether her father has found out what she can do or not,” Sanders replied, “but, in my heart, I would say, absolutely.”

“Why is that?” Terk asked. “Have you had any contact with her?”

He hesitated and then shook his head. “No, not since I was rescued. She cried out for me to run and to ensure that I got free and clear. When I asked her to come with me, she said that she was hurt, and she couldn’t right then. No way she could get out at the time.”

“So, presumably she is still there then.”

“I told her that I would come back for her,” Sanders shared. “No way I can just leave her.”

“I get that,” Clary replied, as she looked over at Riff. “You up for heading back to that lovely region?”

“It’s Estonia, so it’s beautiful, cold in the winter, but it’s a gorgeous part of the world. If she’s there, we would have a much easier time getting her out because we would have the sea available.” He looked over at Terk and shrugged. “I’m game.”

“In that case, Sanders, get your strength back up, ensure you’re grounded with somebody here, and we’ll set up a plan to rescue her. And if she has abilities…”

“She does, very strong abilities,” Sanders confirmed. “I’m just not sure they are things you can use.”

“What do you mean?”

“She’s a mind reader. She can look at you and repeat what you’re thinking. But it’s more than that. It’s almost as if she can see different layers of you.”

Terk stared at him, his head tilted to the side. “We certainly have various abilities here,” he began, “but we’ve never seen that before. Still, it doesn’t mean that’s how it would stay either. The longer we all cohabitate in one place, the more we’re becoming adept at hiding our personal feelings from the others, working through multiple conversations in our head at once, learning what privacy means among psychics, while gaining more gifts,” he shared. “So, if she’s got another ability for us to adapt to, I say bring it on.” He looked around at the others.

“If she’s in trouble, and she needs help,” Clary stated, “I say, go get her.”

“Exactly,” her sister, Cara, agreed. “We came here because we were looking for a safe place to be us. So anybody else who needs a safe place to be themselves should be welcome too.”

And, with that, everybody agreed.

Terk looked over at Sanders. “Looks like you’re it. Give yourself three or four days, and you should be ready to go.”

“With a little bit of help from the ladies here,” he replied, “I would like to be ready to go in two.” He looked at Cara and Clary.

They both nodded. “If she’s in trouble, absolutely,” they said in unison. “Plan to be out of here by then.” They turned and looked at Riff. “Are you good with that?”

“Absolutely. Those bellies of yours are getting bigger, and I know Angela’s on her way to deal with you and the other pregnant ladies. I sure don’t want to be around when Angela shows up.”

“We haven’t forgotten our promise to you either,” Terk pointed out. “We will find out who murdered your fiancée.”

He stiffened at that. “I knew you hadn’t forgotten. I just figured that we still don’t have anything to go on.”

“No, not yet,” Terk agreed, “but not for lack of trying.”

“I know. If it were that easy, I would have solved it already,” he murmured, looking around at the people at the table. “I appreciate that you’re all still trying.”

With that said, Riff got up and walked out the door.