“Much better,” Sandu agreed, “but she was so young, so little. If the demons truly wanted Carpathian blood, it would be better for them if they took a man or grown woman prisoner and used their blood. A child would never be able to give them any kind of volume.”
Dax nodded, frowning now. “That is true. But if they wanted a sacrifice, a child would be what they looked for, not an adult. They are evil. You know. You were in the shadow realm, and you experienced this for yourself. We were there with you and saw what they would do.”
Sandu tightened his fingers around Adalasia. They might have witnessed part of what the demons did, but they had no idea what a toll they had taken on him. Perhaps Luiz knew, but none of the others.
He nodded his head slowly. “I considered that she might be a sacrifice for them, but I dismissed it. There were other children closer, ones they could have acquired easier without making a bargain with Xavier. He lived far away from them, and he wanted something in return, something precious to them. Demons don’t share easily. So I kept coming back to the conclusion that this child had to have something they wanted. That to them, she was special. The more I tried to push the thought of her away, the more she stuck in my head.”
Adalasia nodded. “Like a compulsion. I thought of her as well. At first, it seemed often, but now, it’s all the time. She is part of our journey. At the time she was taken, she was a little girl with curls all over her head.”
“That is very unusual for a Carpathian. Most have very straight hair,” Dax said.
“And she had very light hair, not at all black like the majority of Carpathians I’ve seen,” Adalasia continued. “By ‘light,’ I mean icy blond, almost platinum. That would set her apart.”
Danutdaxton’s dark eyebrows rose. The lines in his face deepened. “There are only a couple of lineages with hair that color. The Selvaggio and Bercovitz are the two that come to mind. You said she was able to speak to animals at a very young age. The Bercovitz line definitely has that gift. The Bercovitzes lost a little girl, so I would conclude the child taken was that one. Do you believe the demons took this child in order to control animals?”
Sandu nodded slowly. “That is exactly what I have come to believe. This child had a very specific talent and had already proven so at an extremely young age. She’d saved a human from a pack of wolves, was able to keep the wolves from killing the farmer when he was wounded and bleeding, already helpless. She was only eight at the time.”
Adalasia arched an eyebrow at him. I was unaware you even knew what a child was.
He hadn’t realized how tense he was. How guilty he felt. He was a Carpathian male. An ancient, sworn to protect their females.
“Sandu,” she said gently aloud, “we came to ask Danutdaxton and Riley for advice.”
He was well aware of that. Too aware. Once Sandu spoke of what he believed aloud, he could never take it back, whether it was real or not.
No one hurried him. The breeze moved over him, relieving the humidity there beneath the canopy. He noticed the lack of insects or small reptiles. Even birds were no longer flitting in the branches. There were no owls close. The safeguards woven had been strong. Adalasia had added her own powerful strands to keep Nera’s spies away.
“The Bercovitz child would be centuries old if she were alive,” Sandu said. “If she still lives, she would be an adult Carpathian woman.”
“Raised how?” Riley asked. “Who would have raised her? These demons? What would she have turned out like? How could she possibly know right from wrong? She would be so confused.”
Sandu kept his gaze on Adalasia. She stayed very quiet, her eyes on his. She knew he felt guilty; she just didn’t understand why. She waited in that way of hers, reserving judgment, letting him figure out how best to tell them what he thought.
He could feel Dax’s eyes on him. The man said nothing, either. Even the Old One was waiting, as if he, too, knew Sandu had information important to them.
“She might be confused at first, Riley,” Sandu answered. “Carpathian female children have excellent memories. She also holds the light in her, as well as guarding the soul of a male Carpathian. Growing up in whatever environment she was forced into would have been difficult for her, but she would have adapted in order to survive. I believe she survived.”
He hesitated again, and when no one spoke, he made the decision to confess. “When the hellhound dragged me through the portal during the battle and Adalasia was pulling at me to bring me back, I could feel the demons trying to surround me, to keep me there. There was unbearable heat and pain. I knew the poison was spreading through my body at a rapid rate. I could hear Adalasia and knew if I could get back, she would seal the portal. Another woman’s voice suddenly called out to me in the ancient language. I heard her very distinctly. She said, Muonìak te kada ?ama? ma?emet it.”