It was still a good couple of hours before any of the adult Carpathians would be rising, and he was a little uneasy as well. He had no idea why. He was eleven, closer to twelve and already he had taken on the ways of his Carpathian adopted father, Falcon. He walked like him and wore his hair long like him. “Do you feel uneasy?”
Paul walked up the steps to the small house. There were only two other adults with them to protect the children and he felt the responsibility heavily. He had fought vampires and Lycans, but this felt different. He wasn’t certain if it was his imagination or not until he glimpsed Travis’s eyes. The boy was psychic and very sensitive.
“I have no idea if we’re both a little tense and our imaginations are getting away from us because of all that’s happened,” Paul admitted, “but it’s better to be safe. Let’s get the children in the sealed room Mikhail and Gregori provided. We can come back up here and scout around a little. I’ll call in Jubal.”
“It’s weird not to have Gary with us anymore,” Travis admitted. “During the day, he always stayed close to protect us and I felt as if he could stop anything.”
“It’s probably nothing at all,” Paul said again, although his gut was beginning to churn and he was certain there was cause for alarm. He just didn’t want the kid to panic. “Let’s get the others down below.”
“Falcon’s trained me to fight. Peter and Lucas are way better than anyone gives them credit for,” Travis told him. “They like to pull pranks, but they’ll fight if they need to.”
“Let them know we’re counting on them to stand in front of the others,” Paul said. “Make certain they take you seriously.”
Travis nodded. He went into the first playroom. Marie was there with the baby and his two younger sisters, Chrissy and Blythe. Chrissy was eight and Blythe six months younger. Chrissy was reading aloud. She stopped when he entered and immediately her face fell. She went to Blythe and put her arm around her.
“Paul thinks it’s a good idea to move everyone down below, to the safe room,” Travis said, trying to use his most matter-of-fact voice. “Just as a precaution. It’s probably nothing, but just in case.”
Marie came to her feet immediately. “Chrissy, we’ll need those two bags right there. Hurry and do as your brother says.”
Travis waited until Chrissy and Blythe had the bags Marie had indicated before turning to leave the room.
“Trav, wait,” Blythe said. Her voice shook. “Are you coming, too?”
“In a few minutes. I need to get the boys. Peter and Lucas will be with you until I get there. Jubal is coming. Paul and I are just going to look around outside.” Travis tried to reassure her, but her eyes had grown big and she looked about to cry.
He walked back into the room and gave her a clumsy hug, not looking at Marie. He was always a little embarrassed showing his affection, but he loved his brothers and sisters, and Falcon had told him repeatedly that men showed those they loved their feelings and it wasn’t at all girlie. Blythe clung to him and then Chrissy joined in the hug.
After a moment, Chrissy took Blythe by the hand. “Help me carry the bags for Marie. We don’t want the baby to wake up.”
Travis left them to it and went to find his brothers. Peter and Lucas had tied Jase, their six-year-old brother, to a chair and were running around him yelling like banshees. It took a few minutes to get their attention. The only way he managed it was to stand in their path and let them run into him.
“We’ve got real trouble,” he announced soberly.
Peter immediately loosened the bonds so Jase could get up. Lucas put his arm around Jase, pulling him close.
“What do you want us to do?” Peter asked.
“I’ll be bringing Anya, Anastasia, Stefan and Alexandru down soon. Jennifer is with them and so is Angelina and Ginny. They’ll know something is wrong, but you still have to act like everything is going to be all right. Whatever Marie and Angelina say to do, just do it, keep the peace, no matter how long this takes. If something happens, Peter, you and Lucas have to stand between whatever the danger is and the younger ones.”
Peter nodded. Travis gripped his brothers’ forearms in the traditional warrior’s greeting, making the ritual solemn, so they understood the danger coming. When he was certain they would get Jase to safety and take their mission seriously, he went to the last room to tell Angelina.
Angelina, Ginny and Jennifer were playing games with the younger children. Laughter ceased the moment he entered. Stefan stood up, placing his body in front of Alexandru. The twins, Anya and Anastasia, moved up on either side of the prince’s son. They all faced Travis with somber faces.