It appeared they sensed her as easily as she did them.
She breathed deeply, closed her eyes, and focused on connecting with the animals and their energy signatures. Tatiana could read emotions of animals big or small, and she preferred it to reading humans. The air around her hummed, and her body tensed as she solidified the connections. Tentacles of energy touched hers like invisible tethers, linking them together.
“There are ten left,” Layla said quietly as she stood to the side and let Tatiana work. “Eight mares and two stallions.”
“Several of them are sick,” Tatiana whispered. “But there’s more to it than that. They’re scared.”
Eyes closed, she held her arms out wide, allowing the buzzing flickers of power to wash over her, flashing around her bare arms and rippling up her back swiftly and silently. She turned her palms toward the animals and sent them calming energy in return, hoping to put them at ease and reassure them that she meant no harm. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she concentrated and absorbed their energy, allowing it to mingle with her own.
“They’re definitely frightened,” she whispered. “But not by me or you.”
“I’ve got the bag, Tatiana.” Matt’s eager voice cut through the room, bringing a sudden end to her focused connection.
Tatiana dropped her hands abruptly and forced a smile as she took the bag from Matt, who gave her a quizzical look. The leather handles, cool and smooth in her hands, rooted her to reality and helped pull her back from the foggy place of reading the horses, but nothing, it seemed, could get Dominic out of her head. The image of his fierce gaze fluttered around her mind like a buzzing fly.
Placing the bag on a weathered wooden table by the doors of the stable, she made quick work of getting the items they needed. Over the next hour or so, they took basic bio readings on all ten horses with Matt recording the information on her tablet. Layla watched quietly as they tended to each of the massive creatures.
Even Cass got in on the action. When Layla put him down, Tatiana thought he would shy away from the much larger animals, but he did the opposite. In fact, after investigating the length of the stable, he parked himself outside the stall of the sickest of the horses—a beautiful white mare.
“Three of them have slightly elevated temperatures of one hundred and two.” Tatiana removed the latex gloves and nodded toward the first stall. “This white mare is in the worst shape.” She smiled down at Cass. “But you knew that already, didn’t you?”
“Oh man,” Layla said, approaching the mare’s stall. “That’s Salinda’s horse. Her name is Spirit.”
“Well, in addition to the fever, she’s got diarrhea. The other two are only exhibiting fevers at the moment, but I imagine it’s only a matter of time before they show other symptoms.”
“What do you think it is?” Layla picked Cass up, and the puppy instantly began to chew on her long, curly hair. “Is it poisoning, like Steven suspected?”
“Who’s Steven?” Matt asked as he packed the bag and cleaned up the medical waste. “Your usual vet?”
“Um, no.” Layla flicked her gaze to Tatiana. “He’s a people doctor and the Muldavi’s personal physician. He and his wife, Courtney, live here on the ranch. He had a look at the horses because our local vet is… out of town.”
Yeah, right. Tatiana thought. Not exactly a people doctor, more like a shapeshifting Amoveo healer. Tatiana squashed her gut instinct to scoff aloud and continued.
“Based on the symptoms of these three and what you told me about the one that died, I have a feeling it’s poisoning. Selenium maybe. I doubt it’s viral, since they aren’t exposed to other horses.” Tatiana pushed sweaty strands of hair off her forehead. “I’m going to run a couple of tests to be certain, and I’ll need to check the feed as well.”
Without even having to ask, Matt handed her a specimen cup.
“Matt, would you get a sample from each of the feed containers and water buckets and mark them accordingly. If it is poisoning, then food or water is likely contaminated. I’ll look around the areas they graze and see if there are any plants that could’ve contributed to the problem. Selenium is an important part of their diet, but too much or too little causes problems. If someone wanted to make the poisoning look like an accident, using too much selenium would be a good way to do it.”
“Sure,” Layla said as she placed Cass on the ground. He immediately sat in front of Spirit’s stall again. “Steven has a pretty extensive lab, and it’s at your disposal while you’re here. I’ll take you there after we’re done here.”
“Right.” She nodded and gave Layla a tight smile.
Tatiana fought the growing feeling of claustrophobia, the sense of being surrounded with no way out. Hunted. As soon as she’d arrived on the ranch, the overwhelming sensation of being stalked swamped her. At first she thought it was coming from Dominic. After all, he did tackle her to the floor, but after connecting with the horses, she suspected it had more to do with them.
Tatiana gently lifted the latch on Spirit’s stall door and cautiously stepped inside. Cass tried to follow, but stopped when Tatiana sent him a gentle push of energy. Her heart went out to the elegant mare, who stood watching her through large dark eyes. Although she sensed apprehension, the big horse didn’t move or attempt to avoid her.
“Hey, girl,” she said in hushed tones. “It’s okay, and I promise I won’t hurt you.”
Tatiana closed her eyes and stroked the slight bulge on Spirit’s forehead that was specific to the Arabian breed—a jibbah. Spirit’s energy waves hummed as Tatiana created a psychic connection, and the horse’s energy fluttered over her like butterfly wings.
In seconds, it went from cool and nervous to warm and content as the horse relaxed, growing accustomed to the link. The animal let out a huffing breath and rested her head in Tatiana’s hand.
Tatiana smiled and gently touched the horse’s mind with hers, expecting the usual wave of nausea as the link was made, but none came. They joined smoothly and easily, and while she recognized the pain Spirit suffered, something different happened.
For the first time, Tatiana heard the whisper of an animal’s inner voice with a single word.
Hunter.
Tatiana’s body jolted and buzzed with newfound energy. The specimen cup fell from her fingers, bouncing noiselessly on the carpet of hay and dirt as she struggled to get her bearings amid the unfamiliar sensation. Somewhere through the fog of the connection, she heard Matt and Layla calling her, but it was no use. She was consumed by the driving need to hear that voice again.
Eyes shut she tilted her body and moved in close, pressing her cheek against the elegant arch of Spirit’s neck as she ran her other hand along the coarse hair of her mane. Tatiana’s body shook with concentration, and her breathing quickened as she focused and stretched her mind further than ever before.
Then through the warm blanket of silence and a haze of red and orange, she heard it again, a whisper along the edges of her mind that rattled with the unmistakable waver of fear. Hunter killer.
Tatiana’s heart thundered in her chest as Spirit’s energy waves undulated violently in the air and tore through her body in teeth-chattering waves. One last word rasped through her mind… Traitor.
A lightning bolt of power passed through her as Spirit reared back and sent Tatiana flying into the door of the stall. Her back hit the wooden planks, knocking all the wind out of her, and as the world around her went dark, the growl of a big cat filled her mind.