Vampire Instinct by Joey W. Hill Page B

do that lightly, Mal.”
    “I know. My lady.” He added the title, because it did touch him.
    She took another breath. “All right, then. What I’m hoping is you can determine if survival’s a possibility for these children. If it’s not, and she’s still on the island, she needs to understand that, too. Even if you put her on the plane before you finish your evaluation, you could still help her state of mind. Beneath that cranky exterior, you tap into the nature of other beings, four-legged or two-legged, better than anyone I know.”
    “Glad I have your trust on that, because I had to make a split-second decision. I second-marked her. I felt it was necessary, to stay in touch with her mind for what I’ll be doing. I hope that doesn’t offend you.”
    “You should have asked first, but you’re right. I trust your judgment. Don’t count on that too heavily. Wouldn’t want you getting cocky.”
    His lips curved. “I would never be so foolish.”
    He wasn’t surprised that it was Dev, a man close to the natural cycles and life of the bush, who’d realized Elisa needed objective eyes. Time and again, Mal had accepted cats that, because of past abuses, people had wanted to coddle and cocoon to excess. It turned the creature into a permanent victim. Through good intentions, the caretaker could trap the creature into that mind-set, such that they could never become like any other wild creature. A well-adjusted animal, even if it couldn’t be fully rehabilitated, viewed the world the way a wild animal was intended to view it.
    “So who am I supposed to really be helping here, Danny? Her or them?”
    “I hope both. But she may be the only one you can truly save.”

     
    He thought about it for a while after hanging up. As he sat back in his chair, boots propped on the desk edge so he could tip the chair back, knees bent, fingers laced behind his head, he reviewed everything he’d learned while getting the fledglings settled. The ferocity in Leonidas’s eyes was easy to interpret. He responded to intimidation, but he’d keep looking for any opportunity to strike. Mal had already told the hands no one was to come within ten feet of that cage without his presence, and he’d waited until every staff member acknowledged the order.
    Whatever had been done to Leonidas had pushed him right into psychopathy. The chances of reaching him, of ever getting him to a point where he could be trusted to follow a code of behavior, were probably lost. His days were numbered. However, the others weren’t as obvious a decision. Elisa thought he wasn’t listening or paying attention, but Mal paid attention to every detail. In the work he did, it was essential, because every nuance of a cat’s behavior told him something about the beast’s state of mind, what he or she needed, whether they were progressing in rehabilitation, or if they were trapped in a dependent state where the preserve had to be their forever home.
    His mind turned to the one she called Jeremiah. He considered the expressions he’d seen in the fledgling’s face, particularly as he looked toward Elisa for his cues. There’d been a hunger in his gaze, a yearning for so many things that had been denied him, that Malachi felt a momentary empathy. An entirely dangerous feeling, as Elisa’s current state showed.
    Pushing it away, he took his feet down and opened the thick file that Thomas had brought with him from Australia. It was filled with Danny and Dev’s meticulous notes. Because he’d second-marked all his staff so he could know their minds as well as communicate with them telepathically, it was second nature to toss out a request to Kohana. Instead of simply following it, however, Kohana appeared at his door a moment later. “You wanted the monk?”
    “You deaf as well as one-legged?”
    “Well, seeing as you spoke inside my head, being deaf would hardly keep me from hearing you. Else I would have faked that a long time ago.”
    Mal gave an absent