Spirit Bound - Christine Feehan [124]
Mostly, Stefan knew, the outside world pictured young children being prepared as sleeper cells to be sent to the United States, the United Kingdom and a few other countries. Those few people, living in the open, marrying, having children, would probably never be called into play and how much real damage could they actually do? It was the others, trained to live in the shadows, assassins and seducers, men and women who could kill in seconds and vanish as if they’d never been, that the countries needed to fear. And those were the ones Sorbacov feared would come into the light.
Sorbacov’s methods had been brutal and only the toughest children with the strongest wills had managed to survive. If his torture of children came to light, if the true deadly nature of his small army of agents was to reach the light of day, the man and his political ambitions would be destroyed and he knew it. He couldn’t afford to allow the information to be made public.
Judith poured two cups of tea and turned to face him, the cups in her hands. “We need milk. In the fridge over there.” She nodded toward her refrigerator.
His heart skipped a beat. Getting the milk for the tea was such a domestic thing to do. He forced himself to walk slow, determined to tell her as much of the truth as he could. “If you choose me, Judith, the way won’t be smooth. Your sisters are going to try to pull you away from me,” he said. “I can’t blame them, they’ll be doing it out of love for you, afraid you’re doing something crazy, tying yourself to me. It will be difficult not to listen to them, Judith, because the things they say will most likely be truth. I’m not a good man and they’ll point that out. I’ve killed people and they’ll know. I’m capable of hiding my true aura and they’ll know that at some point as well. They’ll be afraid for you.”
He poured the milk himself into both cups, noting Judith wanted more than he did. She took a sip, regarding him over the rim of her teacup.
“Make a kaleidoscope with me.”
He frowned at her. “Judith, I need to know if you’re with me or not.”
“I don’t know yet. Make a kaleidoscope with me. That’s what I need. Right now. Tonight. Come to my studio and make the scope.”
“Is this some kind of test?”
She nodded slowly. “I can’t trust my instincts with you. I can’t listen to my sisters. I can’t even trust my ability to read auras. I’m left with my own truth. Will you do it? Make the scope? Be certain, Thomas, because you won’t be able to hide from me,” she warned.
He had never opened up to anyone, but if he made the kaleidoscope himself, she would see inside of him—just as he’d seen inside of her when he’d looked into her dark scope. She was giving him this one chance. For her, he knew he would close his eyes and step off the cliff. He held out his hand to her and nodded.
15
“YOU can sit right there in my work chair and I’ll lay out bins with beads, charms, wire, glass and crystals for you to choose from. You’ll have to start with a mirror system,” Judith explained. “This one is five-point and is a standard star pattern. This is one I like to use and it’s a six-point. This one here, is a seven-point system. A seven-point system creates a more complex mandala. A mandala is the image created when looking through the mirror system at the cell.”
Her studio was soothing to her, a familiar place where she spent hours of happiness, designing scopes and knowing people in other countries, people she didn’t know, would look into the world she created and get comfort or joy through her work.
Judith kept an eye on Stefan as she pulled out bins of charms and glass, spreading them out in a haphazard manner, adding the colorful crystals and wires for him to choose from. Stefan carefully examined each mirror system, looking from every angle, studying them as if committing each to memory—and maybe he was.
Stefan was a very intelligent man, there was no doubt in her mind about that, and he’d spent a lifetime reading people and giving