Chapter 17

She was barely able to hear the door open and close.  Whoever entered did so with the utmost care to go unnoticed.  Tatyana braced herself as she listened to the newcomer’s footsteps scuff lightly across the thick, ruby colored Persian carpet.  The average human would probably not have been able to hear her visitor’s approach at all. Her naturally acute hearing was fine honed over her years of captivity.  She was certain that hearing the approach of the enemy so that she could have time to hide was often all that saved her from the fate of so many others.

Standing as immobile as possible, Tatyana closed her eyes to put her third sight to work.  The hazy image of a tall, slender man waved before her.  He looked young, perhaps in his early thirties. It was difficult to tell if he was a vampire or human.  His image kept flickering.  This was something that rarely happened when she used her visionary abilities.  That fact,