Chapter Twenty-Three: The Falconer's Threat

 Katherine ate breakfast and lunch alone in her suite. She only saw Collette, who brought in her food tray and returned to take it away. She was working with her orb when finally, there was a knock on her door! Wonderful! She put her orb in its box and felt the tension in her head ease. She went to answer the door. She opened it just wide enough to see that it was Vincent standing on the other side. He smiled down at her, "This is familiar." 

 She laughed and pulled the door open wider. "I don't have any pepper spray, Mr. Thys."

 He held out a garment box with an envelope tucked under the elastic band that bound the box. "The Dominus had to leave, but he wanted to return this to you."

 "Will he be gone very long?" Katherine asked taking the box.

 Vincent shrugged his shoulders lightly, "He didn't say, but no longer than necessary."

 She nodded. "We still in lockdown?" she asked.

 Vincent grinned boyishly at her. "No, the security system is finally back up, and extra guards are posted everywhere. You won't be going outside until the Dominus returns, but everything else will be near normal."

 "Then I'll see you and Pierre at dinner?" 

 "Yes, but we'll be in Sauvageon's suite tonight," Vincent said.

 "Is he all right?" Katherine asked guiltily she had only been concerned about Vanderau. 

 "Not to worry," Vincent replied. "The 'Beast of Germany' is fine, just fatigued from his workout with the Dominus."

 "Then I'll see you both a six," Katherine replied, and Vincent gave her salute and strolled down the hall. She closed the door and took the garment box to the bed. She pulled the envelope from the box and opened it. It was a notecard with the Vanderau seal embossed in gold. She opened the card and smiled at the handwriting, it was in Vanderau's hand, but not as formal as the summons Vincent had brought to her at the library in Atlanta. 

  "Mon coeur duties take me away from you but I will return as soon as possible. Since I have an item of yours that I have taken and have no plans to return -- I have reciprocated. Yours always, Nicklaus."

 She opened the box and nestled in the thin tissue was a dark blue velvet robe! She pulled it from the box and buried her face in the folds. It was his! She giggled in delight, draped the full sleeves over her shoulders, and twirled around in a circle. Her phone buzzed and she gasped in surprise! She thumbed the phone and opened the text app. 

Fair trade, mon coeur?

Yes! At least until you are home safe and sound.

 There was a very long pause and Katherine cringed with embarrassment. She sat on the edge of the bed with his robe clutched against her heart. Then a text popped up.

In the elevator with the Chamberlain! Katherine, I will hurry home to you as soon as I can!

 Two days passed. Katherine did not see anyone but Collette, Vincent, and Sauvageon. The schedule did change. No French tutor came – so Vincent and Sauvageon took turns. It was immersion and by the time they had finished their lessons each day, she would have a raging headache! Katherine learned several choice phrases from Sauvageon which scandalized Vincent and he forbade Katherine from using such language. She had giggled and sent a sly look over at the old gladio who grinned indulgently. Both Vincent and Sauvageon fussed continually about how best to instruct Katherine. It always ended with Katherine letting fly some colorful expletives that had them all roaring with laughter.

 On the third day, Phillipe Montagne returned for more intensive musical theory. After lunch, he had come with a metronome and had several pieces of music that gave her hands and fingers a physical workout. Finally, he relented and joined Vincent and Sauvageon in the sitting area and let her play whatever she wanted. She decided to play, Unforgettable. As she allowed herself to revel in the sounds she could coax from the grand piano, she experimented with several key changes and progressions that deepened the emotion of the words and music. 

 Montagne sat with his eyes closed, listening to the music float and spin around the conservatory and fill his mind with exquisite images. Montagne's driver arrived at the conservatory door and Vincent leaned forward to touch Montagne's forearm. He opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder, spotting his driver. He rose and silently slipped out, patting Sauvageon's shoulder as he left. Vincent watched as the music master paused at the door and smiled happily at his pupil as she continued to play. 

 Katherine knew that Sauvageon liked contemporary blues and decided to go right into a piece that would show off her ability to improvise. Georgia On My Mind slid out over the keys and without her noticing, several people came to listen. Being lost in the music was what she enjoyed best about playing, but the deeper she went, the less she was able to keep from humming or singing. "Other arms reach out to me, other eyes smile tenderly, still in peaceful dreams I see, the road leads back to you…"

 Sauvageon smiled. She had a pure alto that was clear and did not waver or quiver with artifice. It was sweet and mellow and conveyed that she meant each word she sang. As he listened and watched the men and women who had drifted in to listen, he saw that this was part of her innate abilities. Like a siren, she could draw people to her. He wondered idly if that same ability could be used differently. 

 He and the Chamberlain had had many late-night conversations since he had arrived at the Sun Maiden to train Katherine. Both men were convinced of several things about this new potential one was that she was incredibly powerful the other was she was an elemental! Some signs had been foretold in all the chronicles of the Sept of a Potential and Dominus pairing that would rival the first pairing more than a thousand years ago! And this gladio would be an elemental! 

 The Chamberlain was already working on tracing Katherine's lineage to see if it could be traced back to Alister of Madron. If she was an elemental, then she could descend from Alister of Branda'Noch in Madron and Raine his gladio, and no one ever knew where she had come from. He had told Vanderau the day he had tested Katherine that he suspected she was an elemental. He had gone to the archives and the Chamberlain had given him the documents to support their claims. Would Vanderau now come forward and claim descendant rights? 

 No, he dismissed the thought as he spotted Vanderau standing in the doorway. He could see clearly that he would fight and claim her in the Oculus. Sauvageon could see the conflict in the young man struggling against his role as Dominus and his desire for the young woman who was lost in her music. He could feel the yearning in a way that probably no other could understand. 

 During the height of the psychic attack, he had gone up against several powerful assailants who were trying their best to remove him so he would be unable to be present at the testing. The maneuver was to get him out of the way so they could take Katherine. The others in the Sept knew just how powerful a blade Katherine was – or they had a good idea! 

 When she finished, the applause startled her and she smiled gratefully, standing up to take a small bow. When she looked up she saw Vanderau walking toward her. He stopped at the end of the piano. "Beautiful as always, Katherine."

 "I'm glad you're home." She said for his ears only. 

 "So am I," he whispered back. He looked around, "I see you've captured more admirers in my absence."

 "They're just giving me a break," she murmured, then cleared her throat lightly, "I had another French lesson today with Vincent and Sauvageon. J'espère que tu te sens mieux."

 "Oui je me sens bien merci, mon coeur." He responded. "Apparently you will not have need of a formal French tutor."

 She chuckled. "They're trying to be very patient, but it's been years since I took French."

 "But that is what is so wonderful about the mind," Vanderau told her. "Nothing is ever forgotten, only the pathway back to it is like an overgrown trail. You have to blaze a new trail to the stored knowledge."

 "I'm trailblazing all right!" she declared, then laughed lightly, "There's just so much to learn, and everything I learn, everything I see, comes together in ways that enhance everything I can do! It's wonderful and terrifying at the same time!"

 "It can be overwhelming," he said grinning at her enthusiasm, "just remember to breathe!"

 "I will remember." She said. She turned to look over at Vincent and Sauvageon. "I'm still feeling a little rattled after my encounter with the Drake. It was like nothing I've ever seen or felt."

 "Katherine, learn all that you can and never forget that when the testing begins, I will be there. I promise you, I will be there." 

 She turned back to look at him and he was standing closer but still at arm's length. "And that gives me the will to continue."

 He nodded. "I must go speak to Vincent," he told her. "I think I know who was at the heart of the attack."

 "You know who it was?" Katherine asked, her face growing still. "It was the falconer wasn't it?"

 He stopped in his tracks and turned to study her face. "The falconer?"

 "Rares," Katherine responded. "He was so animated about it. How you had to carefully pick the right bird for the right prey!"

 Sauvageon looked over at Katherine as her voice carried to him. "Katherine, you have sensed something?"

 Vanderau indicated she should proceed ahead of him. They walked to the sitting area where Vincent and Sauvageon were sitting. She sat down on the ottoman that was next to Sauvageon. Vanderau eased into the chair across from them and Vincent drew up another footstool and sat. "At the luncheon," Katherine said. She glanced at Sauvageon, "You remember what Rares was talking about – his interest in falconry. He talked at length about how a falcon is slow and deliberate, calculating even when he is high in the air, hovering over his target. The prey doesn't even realize until -- it is too late."

 Sauvageon nodded. "Is she correct, Nicklaus?"

 Vanderau was still studying Katherine as if he were seeing her for the very first time. Something had changed, it was subtle but just below the surface. "Katherine may be correct."

 Vincent scowled at the sudden thought. "He wants control of the Sept again."

 "The other potentials, what families are they aligned with?" Katherine asked.

 "Frederic Gaillez and Jonathan Hennigan-Orden," Vincent responded. 

 "Gaillez was here," Katherine said, "And these two families are not allies, but adversaries. They will want their Potentials to be the new gladio."

 "They are all adversaries. As for the allies, they cannot be relied upon to keep their word, not after seeing Katherine." Sauvageon said.

 Vanderau scoffed lightly. "Everyone in the Sept knows, they can feel it." He said, "We can assume that there are no alliances now that Katherine has been identified."

 Vincent frowned in thought. He twisted the signet ring on his right-hand little finger, "My brother Lucas is Indago for Gaillez. I will pay a visit to Lucas --,"

 "No, Vincent," Vanderau told him, reaching out to lay a hand on Vincent's shoulder. "I do not want you to leave Katherine for any reason!"

 "But who will watch out for you?" Katherine asked, her blue eyes dark with worry. Vanderau smiled fondly at her. She expelled a great sigh. "Right," she lowered her voice to a deep growl, "I can take care of myself, Katherine!"

 Vanderau leaned back in the chair and laughed his arm cradling his still-tender ribcage. "Do I sound like that?" he asked her.

 Katherine and Vincent looked between themselves and started to laugh. Vincent nodded, "Sometimes you do sound like that."

 Vanderau glared at Vincent but could not keep the façade of sternness on his face for long, he started laughing again, "You should see your face, Vincent!"

 "You look like you've tangled with the Drake!" Katherine teased Vincent and for a moment even Vanderau looked surprised at the indulgent smile on the old Gladio's face. There was a definite change in the "Beast of Germany" when it came to Katherine. 

 Sauvageon reached out and patted Katherine's forearm where it rested on the arm of his wingback chair. "I think you should be at practice with your orb, I expect to be astonished when we start training in the morning."

 She smiled over at the gladio, "My cue!" she declared. She got to her feet and Vincent and Vanderau both rose. She waved them to sit. She drew herself up and composed herself, "Messieurs, je vous verrai au diner."

 "Perfect!" Vincent cheered. 

 Vanderau watched her leave. He felt suddenly empty and alone. It was no wonder Rares wanted control of such a pure spirit. He wanted it so much that it made him ache with longing. Just to be in the same room with her was agony, but it was beautiful agony! He sighed and turned back to Thys and Sauvageon.