Or at least it should have been easier.
As they neared the ramp that would lead to the streets of Chicago, Cezar found his thoughts ramming into a steel wall.
Someone was already in there. Someone who smelled of pomegranates and who was determined to keep him out.
A trickle of panic wormed through his heart. Already he could sense the heavy approach of dawn. If Anna made it to the streets he would be unable to follow her for long. Always presuming that Viper wasn’t already out there waiting with his guards.
He had to get into her mind. And he had to do it now.
Clenching his teeth, Cezar gathered his will. There was no way to do this subtly. He would have to crash through and simply pray that Anna wasn’t hurt.
Focusing once again, he sidestepped subtle and went straight for one swift, brutal thrust.
Pain shot through him as he crashed into the thick barrier, nearly going to his knees as he battled not to be thrust out. For a moment the intruder was laid bare to her senses, revealing her greed, her conceit, and her ugly lust for power. More importantly, she revealed her identity. Morgana le Fay. Then, Anna stumbled as well, falling to her knees and clutching her head in her hands.
Reaching her side, he stretched out his hand to touch her face. The intimate contact strengthened his powers, allowing him to at last breach the power that held her captive, shattering it with enough force to send him sprawling backward and to make Anna cry out in pain.
“Anna?” With a shake of his head to clear the lingering shards of agony, Cezar crawled forward, not trusting his legs to hold him as he gathered a trembling Anna into his arms.
Just for a moment she stiffened in fear, then her beautiful eyes cleared and she gasped in a deep breath of air.
“Cezar?”
“I’m here.” He gently pushed her hair from her face. Her hazel eyes painfully attempted to focus on his face. Then they widened in horror at the cuts that had yet to heal. “Oh God, Cezar.”
“Sssh.” He touched a finger to her lips. “It’s okay.”
“I hurt you.”
He savored the feel of her in his arms, his body trembling with relief. For a moment there he truly feared he might not be capable of breaking Morgana’s hold on this woman.
“Nothing that won’t heal.”
Her hand lifted in a weak motion so her fingers could touch the gash on his forehead.
“I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop it. It was like I was possessed or something. A part of me realized what was going on, but I couldn’t stop myself. I had to…” She broke off with a shake of her head.
“Had to what?” he prompted.
Her brow furrowed as she struggled to remember. “I had to get somewhere. This voice kept calling to me and I had to follow it.”
“Morgana,” he said bleakly.
“Are you certain?”
“I glimpsed into her mind while she held you captive.”
Her tiny body stiffened in his arms. “She possessed me?”
“In a way.”
The air around her began to heat. Whether out of anger or panic was hard to determine.
“Damn her.”
He brushed his lips over her curls. “You’re safe, Anna.”
“Yeah, but for how long?” she demanded, her voice unsteady. “If she can take control of my mind then there’s nothing to stop her from making me go to her whenever she wants.”
It was a thought that Cezar refused to contemplate. He had every intention of putting an end to Morgana before she could strike again.
“I’m here to stop her.”
Regret flared deep in her eyes. “At what price? I could have killed you.”
Cezar shrugged. It was true enough. The woman possessed enough power to destroy just about anything that stood in her path. The knowledge, however, didn’t frighten him.
In fact, it was a relief.
Whatever happened to him, Anna would soon be able to protect herself.
“I’m not so easily put in my grave, as many have learned to their regret,” he said with a wry smile. “Besides, you can learn to keep shields in place so she is incapable of intruding.”
She made a choked noise deep in her throat. “Can I learn to shield in the next five minutes?”
“There will be no attacks for awhile.”
“How can you be so certain?”
His finger absently traced the outline of her lips. “I’m not precisely certain, but I do know that when I broke through to your mind it shattered Morgana’s hold on you, and not in a pleasant way. I could hear her screams before the connection was severed.”
The hazel eyes darkened. “Good. I hope she has a freaking headache from hell.”
Cezar chuckled, his head abruptly lifting as he sensed the rapid approach of vampires.
“No, Viper, it’s over,” he growled, his arms tightening around Anna until she gave a squeak of protest.
Sliding from the shadows, Viper regarded them with open concern. “Is she harmed?”
Anna pushed herself to a sitting position, as if she disliked appearing vulnerable before his brothers.
“Apart from a raging headache and a weird taste of pomegranates in my mouth, I suppose I’m fine,” she said, not giving Cezar time to reply.
Viper’s lips twitched as he turned his dark gaze to Cezar. “And you?”
“I’m fine.”
Surging to his feet, Cezar helped Anna stand, keeping an arm around her waist as he sensed her give a sudden shudder.
“Holy crap,” she breathed, her gaze surveying the tumble of cars, more than one of them destroyed beyond repair. “Did I do that?”
“Si.”
Her already pale skin turned a sickly shade of ash. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Viper dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand, a hint of respect in his expression as he studied Anna’s delicate body. A vampire was always swift to appreciate power. And even more swift to consider the best means to use that power for their own benefit. “It doesn’t matter. The owners will be compensated. I will speak with them now.”
Viper disappeared as he wrapped himself in shadows, leaving Cezar alone with the trembling Anna.
Unlike the vampires, she didn’t seem to see the glorious wonder of her abilities. In fact, she seemed more terrified by what she had accomplished than she had by Morgana’s hold on her.
For long, silent minutes she simply studied the impressive destruction, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
“This is horrible,” she at last muttered. “I could have killed someone. I could have killed everyone.”