Dragomir fed well, knowing he was heading for a fight. The lair that had been found was a good distance from the compound, in the Cuyamaca Rancho State Park. There were more than one hundred miles of hiking trails. Camping sites and picnic areas made it a smorgasbord for vampires. Up in the highest peak, a crack appeared in a large jutting boulder. It was barely a half of an inch wide, but ran about five feet long in a jagged pattern almost to the very foot of the boulder.
He stood facing it, the other ancients spreading out, feeling the air, the ground, listening and scanning. There was a compulsion embedded in the rock face that warned people away from the area. Anyone feeling it would just turn and leave. That had alerted Andor to the fact that the lair had to be close.
Anywhere one went in a forested area, there was the continual drone of insects. Here, it was eerily silent. There was a feeling of impending violence, of an unseen watcher. The ground shifted subtly under his feet, a built-in snare just in case the compulsion to leave didn’t work. He crouched low to run his hand along the soil.
There is something here. A trap beneath our feet. It feels like the ones used a few centuries ago by the Astors. Fridrick and Georg. They had a few kin that ran with them as well. When the Malinovs turned, they also chose to give up their souls. Do any of you recall the others in this family and the traps they preferred to use?
The brotherhood had long ago formed their own telepathic paths. They didn’t need to use the more common Carpathian path – the one any vampire would hear. The sun hadn’t set, so any vampire inside the lair would be still bedding down and setting more safeguards.
They liked to use the local habitat so everything always looked natural, Afanasiv answered. There were at least three others. Cousins, I think. My memory is dim.
Karl, Leon and Raban. They all went from the Carpathian Mountains to Germany. They took German names to fit in, better to terrorize the people there, Ferro added to the bank of information.
Dragomir ran his hand, palm down, with exquisite gentleness along the top of the soil. There was no grass. He found a small, withered bush just to the right of the boulder. The plant had shrunken away from the foul, unnatural being that had trampled the dirt near it. He felt something, a small electric shock almost, leaping toward his palm. None of the other ancients had boots on the ground. Only Dragomir had allowed his feet to touch the soil.
They used insects. Swarms of them, stinging and biting. They enhanced the beetles or whatever it was they found in the earth, giving them poisonous venom and nasty stings, Nicu added. They have scorpions here. He could use them. Enhance them.
That would be like any of the Astors. They liked drama, Dragomir said. Be ready, let’s see what he has. He stood, walked first left and then right, paced back and forth, so that the vibrations would disturb the insects and trigger the trap.
Behind you. The warning came from Sandu.
Dragomir took to the air, turning to see the ground erupting with hundreds of scorpions. They rose to the surface, climbing on one another, covering the soil so it looked like a living, moving carpet. Tails raised high, stingers in position for a strike, they were agitated, looking for prey. None of the ancients moved. They knew that the trap had to have been triggered multiple times by wildlife in the area. The vampire would expect his allies to feed. He wouldn’t be suspicious because something had disturbed his first line of defense. Still, one might expect him to check since the sun hadn’t yet risen.
Dragomir and the other ancients shimmered into transparency and then disappeared, becoming nothing but molecules in the night air. They waited, aware of the minutes ticking away. Dragomir was certain there would be no going back to the compound before the sun rose. That meant he had to rely on Tariq to keep Emeline safe from Amelia. While he waited, he replayed everything the Carpathian had said to him. Tariq might love Amelia, but he wasn’t blinded. The sliver of evil Vadim planted in her would take her over. It wouldn’t be Amelia trying to harm the others, it would be Vadim. Tariq wouldn’t give in to sentiment, not even for his lifemate.
A steady stream of yellow vapor slipped out of the crack in the boulder, just as a small mule deer stepped close to the swarm of scorpions. They rushed at it. The deer shrieked as one stabbed it with its stinger. Others tried to run up its legs. The deer whirled around and ran a few feet only to drop. At once the other scorpions were all over it. The yellow vapor retreated into the crack, clearly satisfied.
Dragomir moved back into position at the boulder, while the others spread out, all in the air, keeping their boots from touching the surface and adding to the frenzy taking place just a few feet away.
Anyone remember the safeguards the Astors relied on? Even if they’ve changed them, they will use the base form. They were always on the lazy side, Dragomir said.
You remember, Sandu said. You’re testing us, like you always do, being an ass.
Someone has to keep you sharp.
I believe I kept you sharp in the training area.
Sandu was correct, he had taught all of them many lessons with various weapons, over and over. He was incredibly fast. Not as fast as Nicu, who moved like lightning in a fight. It was almost impossible to see him because he moved so fast he was a blur, but Sandu could anticipate almost every move an opponent would make.
Dragomir was grateful he had the ability to find humor in everything again. He’d forgotten humor and how much it could change one’s mood. Sandu was telling them all the strict truth. A fact. But the play on words made it humorous without the ancient meaning it that way.
I sent for the others. Benedik, Petru and Isia, Sandu added. I had forgotten what it was to chase the vampire, and a war is shaping up here.
I did as well, Andor admitted.
The others nodded and Dragomir had to smile. He had also sent for the others in the brotherhood. It scares me that we all think alike.
We’ve been together too long, Ferro pointed out with a small shrug.
Dragomir got back to the task at hand. They always used the first safeguard, Alycrome taught us. Alycrome had been the high mage for many years before Xavier, his son, had taken over. Alycrome had insisted they follow their instincts and develop safeguards of their own, but many had problems completing that task. Weaving strands was easy enough; making them complicated, so difficult that others couldn’t unravel them, was something else again.
Dragomir and the other ancients lifted their hands into the air and began a reverse of the oldest safeguard known to their people. It had been a simple one, not at all complex like the ones used in the centuries following. Sure enough, as their hands and fingers played out the symbols, the air around them once more shimmered and the barrier was revealed. It lay heavy around the boulder, a wide net blanketing the rock, preventing anyone from entering.
The next layer looks simple enough, Ferro said. That’s just a retaliation spell. It’s barely finished.
Dragomir looked at the weave moving in and out of the first strand, the foundation of the spell. It was sloppy work. Someone had thrown it up hastily. These vampires hadn’t been chased by hunters in a long while and they were feeling safe. Secure. Vadim had given them that false sense of security.
Classic seven weave, Ferro volunteered. Not well done and nothing original.
Ferro was right. It was ridiculous that the vampire had even bothered to safeguard the area. Dragomir took the next two strands down. The ancients surrounding him scanned the air continually, looking for hidden traps. That was always the worry. The vampire had made it easy to draw a hunter in.
He glanced uneasily at Sandu, who shook his head. I think he’s really that careless. I don’t feel or see anything out of place.
Dragomir took the next two strands down. One remained. It floated in the air, looking like a string of knots.
Rosary, the ancients identified simultaneously. The weave had been taken from the prayer beads in the thirteenth century. Now it was called a rosary weave by those practicing to remove the safeguard.
Dragomir began to undo each knot slowly. Waiting. Watching. He just couldn’t believe that the safeguards set were so careless. When we go in, fan out. He could be anywhere. He was uneasy, but he figured it probably had to do with the way his skin prickled in alarm, telling him the sun was close to rising.
Do you get a sense of who constructed the safeguard? Andor asked. You ran across them from time to time before they turned, Dragomir.
Dragomir hadn’t liked them. But then, he’d lost emotion earlier than some of the others and by the time the Astors and Malinovs arrived, he was already an experienced hunter.
I think Leon. It feels like his signature.
Yellow vapor suits him, Sandu said. Whiny little brat. Always causing trouble and running from the consequences. When I heard he and his brothers turned, I wasn’t surprised. I never ran across them after that. Figured they avoided me.
Everyone avoids you, Dragomir pointed out. They avoid all of us.
With reason, Afanasiv said.
No one spoke again as Dragomir took out the rest of the knots. Once the safeguards were down, he wasted no time in streaming through the crack. The others followed him. The crack opened into a narrow corridor. The sides of the small cavern were lined with cracks running up from floor to ceiling. The ceiling wasn’t high. Had he been in his normal form, he wouldn’t have been able to stand up straight.
The corridor narrowed again until a slight man or woman could have moved sideways through it. Three times there were narrow alcoves, just rounded spaces carved out of the rock by water that had long ago disappeared. Dirt had fallen from the sloping walls to the floor.
Sandu materialized in the small space, bent over, crouching low to examine the floor and run his hand up the side of the wall. Go. I’ll make certain this one is clear.
Ferro took the second space, which was much smaller than the first one. His wide shoulders scraped on either side of the walls, but, like Sandu, he took his time exploring.
Nicu waved the others on and stayed behind to scrutinize the walls and floor of the third alcove. It looked as if someone had tried to form a grotto in the boulder. This was deeper and smoother, but there was also suspect dirt lying in crumbles all over the ground. It was easy to see where it had rolled off the sides as if something had disturbed it recently.
Dragomir kept going through that narrow corridor. Behind him, Afanasiv and Andor followed. Afanasiv stopped abruptly and materialized, his large frame taking up a good portion of the hallway. He was forced to bend over, and his shoulders didn’t fit, so he also had to turn sideways as he crouched down to examine the floor. There was a large fracture zigzagging down the center of the passageway. All around it was dirt and debris. A few rocks. Nothing lay in the crack itself. No dirt at all. Dirt should have been caught in the fissure, but there was none. Afanasiv ran his finger down the fracture until he got to a tiny piece of rock that looked as if it had fallen in the crack, but the crack had formed around it.
I’ve got something, he said.
Dragomir stopped moving forward. He materialized beside him. The two barely fit in the narrow space.
Andor streamed past them. I’ll check out the rest of this passageway and come back.
Dragomir concentrated on the fissure in the floor. It had been there for centuries. No vampire had constructed it, but they could easily have taken advantage of it. Even though they were in darkness, with a mountain on top of them, a barrier between him and the sun, he still felt the burn as the sun began its first journey.
Let’s get this done. You ready?
In answer, Afanasiv waved his hand to open the crack. It widened a mere half inch. As it did, the entire boulder above and around them creaked and groaned. Dirt ran down the sides of the cavern to land on the floor. Dragomir was already streaming through the crack, Afanasiv behind him. They were used to traveling in complete darkness. They were used to tons of earth overhead. More, hunting vampires was what they were most comfortable doing.
Below them was space, lots of space. The boulder hid a cave beneath with no outside entrance. The cool air hit their bodies, feeling good after the heat of the narrow corridor. Dragomir knew instantly they weren’t alone. Vampires had a stench to them. They were undead, their bodies often decomposing before they could figure out how – or bother – to overcome that little stumbling block.
The stench indicated the lair was used often – or by multiple vampires. The latter would be highly unusual, but then, he didn’t discount the idea simply because in the past it hadn’t been done. Vampires were vain and selfish. They wanted glory. They didn’t want to share their victims. On the other hand, their biggest drive was to stay alive. Vadim had somehow connected with that drive and he’d built himself an unusual army. These vampires used modern technology, and they worked together. They had an acknowledged leader.
We’re not alone, he warned. One, possibly more.
The attack came out of the darkness, a fireball that lit the world around him, exposing the cave to his vision. He instantly mapped it, committing every curve, every rock, the ceiling, floor and surrounding walls to memory even while he dodged the fireball and dropped straight down toward the vampire rising out of the ground.
It was Leon, and he wasn’t alone in the chamber. Leon called out, and three spouts of fresh dirt rose into the air like giant plumes. In the dwindling light of the fireball, Dragomir recognized two of the three. One called himself Ravenous. He must have turned quite recently because he was disheveled and shaky as he came out of the ground. The second one he recognized was named Eugen, and he also must have turned recently. Both had been a few centuries younger, but they’d been impressive hunters.
Leon must be the master vampire, or at least moving in that direction. He gave the information to Afanasiv even as he drove straight at Leon. Leon squawked and hurtled a spinning spear of fire at him, dodging to the left and disappearing behind a large rock.
He wishes he was a master vampire, Afanasiv said. Collecting pawns doesn’t make you good in battle. Leon and his brothers perfected the art of running away.
Dragomir had to agree with the ancient. Truthfully, though, he’d been out of the game for a while. His recent battles were the only experience he’d had since he’d entered the monastery. Yes, they’d kept up their practices, and they’d shared battle strategy and what they knew of various Carpathians and vampires, but he hadn’t had actual practice in a while.
He pursued Leon, expecting an attack, but Leon circled around toward Ravenous and Eugen. Do you know the third one? He had some information on the other two and he imparted it immediately to Afanasiv. He shared the lesser vampires’ weak sides, which weapons they favored, which battles they’d fought in, everything he could remember. Dragomir couldn’t remember his past, growing up as a child, but he remembered battles. Wars. Weapons. He pushed what he had into the ancient’s mind. It took no more than a couple of seconds to arm Afanasiv with everything he knew about the vampires.
The third one is called Kaiser. He was a hanger-on with the Astors. I’m surprised you don’t remember him. He’s a tricky devil. Well versed in warfare. My guess, he’s been with the Astors, running interference for them for centuries. Watch him. He’s probably the most experienced and the deadliest.
The spear had been thrown with such force it embedded into the wall of rock, throwing light through the chamber. Kaiser’s lips were drawn back in a savage grimace as he saw who he faced. If he chose to stay and fight, he would be fighting two ancients with fierce reputations, with little help. If he ran, he would be chancing burning alive as the sun rose. He didn’t have any good options.
Kaiser raised his hand and waved it toward the spear. It dropped to the ground and as it did so, the flame was extinguished, plunging the cavern into darkness again. Dragomir had no trouble seeing in the dark as a rule, but there seemed to be a thick veil covering the space, one difficult to penetrate without light. He waved his hand and light burst throughout the cave. Kaiser was nowhere in sight.
Leon flattened himself against the ceiling near the opening. When he realized Dragomir could see him, he screamed to his three pawns to attack while he crawled along the ceiling to the crack. Dragomir smacked his hands together loudly and the fissure closed with a clap of thunder, sealing itself, preventing Leon’s escape.
Afanasiv dropped down fast, driving his fist into Ravenous’s chest, fingers reaching through bone and sinew, talons scraping away flesh to get at the heart. He tore it from the vampire’s chest and flung it to the floor of the chamber. Ravenous abandoned tearing and biting at the ancient to dive after the falling heart. Afanasiv waited until the vampire’s outstretched fingers nearly connected before sending the fiery spear rolling right through the withered, blackened organ. The flames were white-hot, bright orange red, spilling glaring light across Ravenous’s face. His lips were pulled back in a soundless grimace of sheer strain as he desperately tried to force his long, bony fingers into that fire to retrieve his heart.
Leon crab-walked down the side of the cavern, his features, too, illuminated by the fiery spear incinerating the lesser vampire’s heart. He didn’t appear as fearful as he should have. The cave filled with the sound of a drumbeat, a call, Leon sending for reinforcements. That told Dragomir that there were other pawns in the web of underground caves. That didn’t matter since the other ancients, he was certain, were already dispensing justice to those vampires.
He followed Leon’s every move, matching the steps like a dance partner, he on the ground, Leon coming down the side of the cave. Leon’s eyes flared, went bright with excitement and adrenaline, a red flame flickering in their depths. Dragomir took that as his warning, spinning to meet the attack of Kaiser. The vampire came at him with dozens of replications of himself surrounding Dragomir. The ancient ducked low and went under the wall of Kaisers, somersaulted and came up behind the one he was certain was the real flesh-and-blood vampire. He’d chosen that one simply because, just once, the eyes shifted toward Afanasiv. It was a small thing, but it was telling.
He caught the head between his hands before the vampire could spin around, wrenched with his enormous strength, snapping the neck bones and tossing the body to one side. Leon waved his hand at the replicas, giving them a kind of life. Each of the bodies, and there were a dozen, turned to face Dragomir.
Afanasiv darted toward Leon as soon as Ravenous’s heart was fully incinerated. It took much longer than the mere second with a lightning whip, but the way the cavern was formed, they had little chance of bringing the lightning down to them. He improvised, heating the fiery spear as close to the temperature as possible.
Leon, as if directing a symphony, had both arms in the air and tossed his make-believe army in front of the Carpathian hunter. They rushed him, wicked talons reaching for his chest and face, trying to gouge out his eyes and get to his heart.
Dragomir kept to his task. If he could incinerate the heart, all the replicas would drop. Kaiser’s head flopped to his right and then fell back, a grotesque parody of what once had been a Carpathian male. Kaiser didn’t seem to need his head to maneuver. He reached up to right it, smiling insanely at the ancient as he did so. The moment he straightened his head, he launched himself into the air, flying at Dragomir’s face, scoring with his talons across his eyes to try to blind him.
Dragomir was stoic, accepting the pain and the injury as he slammed his fist into the vampire’s chest, using Kaiser’s own momentum to penetrate the armor of the bones and muscle. Blood running into his eyes, he stared straight into the vampire’s as his fingers closed around the heart and he began to extract it.
Behind him, Leon divided his army, sending several after Dragomir. They crept up behind him as he began to withdraw the heart. Kaiser fought hard, raking Dragomir’s chest and leaning forward to bite chunks from his shoulder, trying to reach his neck and the pounding pulse calling to him.
Dragomir suddenly spun, forcing Kaiser around as well, the heart in the ancient’s fist, using his chest as a pivot to bring them both around. The attacking replicas raked talons down Kaiser’s back, tearing through his flesh to bone. The vampire screamed in agony as he was struck from behind, and Dragomir ripped his heart from his body. He tossed the heart into the air and followed it with a spinning, fiery spear.
All replicas and Kaiser leapt into the air to try to get to the heart. Leon waved his hand to send the spear off course, but Afanasiv launched another right behind the first one. Dragomir followed with several more. Some pierced the bodies flying toward the now-dropping heart. One went straight through Kaiser. He was closest to the withered organ, stretching to reach it. The spear penetrated his back, right at his spine, and came out his abdomen, flames engulfing him.
The spear flying behind the first hit the heart dead center. By the time the spear hit the ground, ashes were already falling to the earth. The replicas faded from sight as Kaiser’s body, in flames, dropped to the floor of the cavern.
There was a moment of silence. Leon stepped out from behind the rock where he’d taken refuge again. He smiled at them. “It has been a long time since I saw either of you.”
“If you’re stalling for time, Leon, you can forget it. I brought others with me. They are hunting your pawns right now.” Dragomir was very aware Leon probably already knew that when they hadn’t come to his aid. The master vampire was stalling, but his hope was that dawn would break and leave the ancients helpless. They were old and had too many kills to be able to sustain being out during even early morning hours, at least not without severe repercussions.
Leon shrugged and casually touched the rock. One finger. Two. He tapped as if nervous, but Dragomir wasn’t fooled. He didn’t wait to see what Leon was going to do; he started forward. The cavern trembled. The floor buckled. Dirt ran down the walls, first trickling and then in a steady stream. Overhead, the ceiling creaked and groaned. Dragomir continued his forward momentum as giant fissures appeared in the ceiling.
Scorpions poured out of the rock and swarmed up his legs, viciously stinging with poisonous tails, the strikes penetrating his calves and thighs to inject their venom. Undeterred, he slammed into Leon, his fist hitting the solid wall of the master vampire’s chest. Great chunks of rock rained down on their heads. Around them the mountain shuddered and shook as if a great seismic event was occurring.
Afanasiv groaned under the weight of the ceiling as it fell. He stood in the center of the cave, legs wide apart, knees slightly bent, both arms raised, hands palms up to keep the tons of rock from coming down on top of Dragomir as he fought to extract the heart from the master vampire.
Leon calmly raised both hands, his nails lengthening into sharp daggers. He slammed them into either side of Dragomir’s neck, burying the nails deep, piercing the artery on both sides. Dragomir didn’t waver, not even when Leon slowly pulled the nails loose so the ancient’s blood spurted out. Leon opened his mouth to catch the treasured blood. He gulped as his army of scorpions swarmed up Dragomir’s thighs.
Get it done, Afanasiv snapped.
It wasn’t easy extracting the vampire’s heart. His blood was acid, burning through skin to penetrate bone. It felt as if each individual finger was burned off. Dragomir couldn’t feel the heart, only excruciating pain as he closed his fist around what he perceived to be the organ. He cut off all ability to feel and kept pulling.
Leon was bathing in blood, rubbing his face in Dragomir’s shoulder like a cat might, lapping at the blood as it ran down the neck and shoulder to the chest. He smeared it on his hands and licked his fingers. He didn’t appear to notice that Dragomir’s fist had retracted from his chest. When several scorpions made their way up to Dragomir’s chest and the blood there, Leon waved them away, so they fell off the ancient’s body and retreated back to the base of the rock where they’d crawled from.
Dragomir staggered and went to his knees, the venom and loss of blood taking its toll. Leon caught him and eased him to the ground, almost embracing him, holding him close as he licked and sucked at the blood, a frenzy of need, a euphoric high. Dragomir opened his fist and looked down. The heart pulsed there, black and withered, but alive. It jerked in his palm, ready to spring back to its master. Leon was close, but Dragomir shifted slightly, as if offering his neck and the hideous wound there.
Leon made a sound, a kind of greedy triumph. Dragomir tilted his hand and allowed the heart to drop to the ground and roll a few feet from them. His sight blurred. In the midst of the pain, he was all too aware of the sun climbing into the sky. His skin hurt, began to smoke and then blister. Leon didn’t even notice his own skin was smoking and blisters were forming just from the presence of the sun. It mattered little that they were underground, the presence of the sun still was felt. Soon the paralysis of their kind would strike all of them.
Dragomir sent a spear from above, spinning straight down so that the point penetrated the center of the heart and flames engulfed the organ. Leon lifted his head, clearly shocked. He smiled and petted Dragomir’s head. “You’re dead, too. You know that, don’t you? I’ve killed you.” He was still smiling as the second spear hit him.
Dragomir crawled away from the deadly flames, but he didn’t get far. Weakness hit. His legs felt useless. He rolled over and stared up at the chunks missing from the ceiling. Afanasiv cautiously allowed one hand to drop so he could begin to weave a holding spell.
Above their heads, the rocks began to reconstruct the interior ceiling. Immediately Sandu and Andor floated down into the cavern.
Sandu crouched beside Dragomir, whistling softly. “You’re a mess,” he greeted.
“I know.” There wasn’t much more to say.
Ferro joined them, and it took all of them healing and giving blood, pushing out venom to try to keep Dragomir from succumbing to the vicious wounds. All of them had blisters rising on their skin when they finally gave up working and went to ground for the rest of the day.
Dragomir woke just before sunset. For the first time in his life that he could remember, everything hurt. His body protested the slightest movement. He lay still, absorbing the feel of the soil cocooning him like a warm blanket. He knew he needed the healer. His wounds had been mortal, but he counted himself lucky. Leon, for all his idiocy, was a master vampire and he had endless skills. He hadn’t had a taste of ancient blood in centuries – clearly Vadim hadn’t shared Val’s blood with his lesser underlings. The moment he gulped that first mouthful of ancient blood, his greed overtook all else.
Dragomir knew that was one of the biggest downfalls for master vampires. It wouldn’t work on Vadim because he’d used Valentin for years, caging and feeding off him. That blood had been ancient and Vadim wouldn’t succumb to the high it would cause in others. Still, it was a difficult way to defeat a vampire, allowing them to inflict mortal wounds and try to drain their opponent dry. He used his mind to move the earth above him. At once he felt the coolness of the night air. Sandu, Andor and Ferro had worked hard on Afanasiv and Dragomir while Nicu cleared the cavern and marked out all the best places one could find healing soil. Dragomir was alone in the chamber where Leon had taken refuge.
He moved slightly, his body stiff. His legs were on fire. His neck throbbed. His arm, right up to his bicep where he’d slammed his fist into Leon’s chest, was burned and painful. He was starving. Starving. At that moment, he was grateful he had found his lifemate. No human would have been safe for him to feed from in the state he was in had she not been anchoring him.
Dragomir? I am dreaming, and you are in need. I can’t find you and the healer won’t allow me to wake and go to you.
He stiffened. His heart nearly seized. Carpathians didn’t dream. Well, as a rule they didn’t. Throughout history, a few had reported having nightmares, but no one took the phenomenon seriously. Now, his woman, the one Vadim wanted for her visions, could continue to dream after she’d been converted. He didn’t know which was more extraordinary – that she could dream or that she could reach out to him in her sleep beneath the earth.
Are you dreaming that I am in need of you? I will always be in need of you, lifemate. You are most important to me.
There was a small silence. He pictured her little frown. He found himself smiling instead of checking his body for levels of pain.
That is a good play on words, but I know you’re injured and those injuries are severe. If you allow me to wake, I can send the healer to you.
The healer will soon be on his way to me. I am sending for him. He loved being in her mind. He loved the way she thought of him. Her worry for him. He wanted to be with her. No, he needed to be with her.
Why didn’t you send for him on waking?
We have set a trap and if I call to him on the common path, everyone will know I am injured. I am needed to fight, not be bait. I took the healer’s blood, but he didn’t take mine.
She was silent a moment. He was in her mind and could feel her trying to sort out what that meant.
There must be an exchange to forge a unique telepathic link between two people. Her exhaustion beat at him. He didn’t want her to keep talking – or dreaming.
I can’t help my visions. This one was of you in a cave and you were being attacked by insects. Scorpions, I think.
He touched his legs, burning with a fire that shouldn’t have been there.
You lost a lot of blood.
The pads of his fingers found the puncture wounds in his neck. They felt raw. The rake marks down his back where talons had flayed his back open stung.
Your eyes.
His eyes hurt like hell. He touched the laceration that ran across his both eyes and his right temple.
You are not healing as you should. The earth and the ancients tried to heal you, but they cannot. I dreamt this, Dragomir. My visions are real. I know there is something that horrible vampire did to you, something you’re unaware of.
Dragomir took a deep breath and let it out. You’re dead, too. You know that, don’t you? I’ve killed you, Leon had told him. Stated it. Dragomir thought he meant no one could heal him or give him blood before the sun rose. Ancients could endure. They did endure. Even burning, the members of the brotherhood did what was necessary to save their own. Leon meant something else, something altogether different.
I need to know exactly where you are. I can reach Blaze and she can reach the healer. Tell me now, Dragomir.
They know. We set a trap. Tell him here. He sent her the coordinates. Maybe they were both wrong, but he didn’t think so. He’d never felt like this. He couldn’t move. He didn’t want to move. Lethargy had crept into his mind. His body felt like a furnace. He forced himself to lift his head enough to look down at his legs. They were swollen and blackened.
He is on his way. Her voice was soothing.
A cool breeze moved through the cavern and flowed over his face and body. How did you do that?
We are connected to each other through my vision. I can change things that have not already happened. I know where you are, I have the picture in my mind and I just added to it.
She made it sound so ordinary, as if anyone could do such a thing. His woman. Well worth the wait. Well worth all those centuries of nothing.
He knew the exact moment when the sun went down, giving the Carpathians back their world. Sandu, Andor and Ferro joined him immediately, shocked that he hadn’t risen when they had.
“Nicu and Afanasiv have gone out to hunt. When they return, we’ll go,” Andor said. “This doesn’t look good, Dragomir. I have not seen this before.”
“Leave it to Leon to actually find something no one else has done when he’s always been so lazy about everything else.” Dragomir attempted humor. “The healer is on his way. Be ready. Vadim will send others the moment they can rise. He will not want to lose Leon and his pawns.”
“Eugen escaped, Dragomir. He will go to Vadim and tell him we’re here,” Andor pointed out.
“Eventually. But he won’t want to admit he abandoned Leon. He will have found a resting place close. The dawn was breaking when he fled. There’s still a good chance Vadim will send a few others to aid Leon.” Dragomir closed his eyes, waiting. Feeling Emeline. She held the connection between them in her dream until Gary Daratrazanoff materialized beside him.
Be well, she murmured and faded from his mind.
At once he felt bereft, his mind seeking hers automatically. There was only a void where she had been. She was in the deep healing sleep of their kind – and she needed to be. He just wished he was right there beside her, his body curled around hers.
“Have you seen this before, Gary?” he asked.
The ancients retreated, all but Sandu. He waited in the shadows on the pretense of giving the healer blood should he need it. In truth, he needed to feed every bit as much as the others, but he stayed behind to protect Dragomir and the healer in case Vadim’s men got through.
“I know of it, yes.”
Which wasn’t the same thing. Along with battle experience and all the negatives Gary had endured from the ancients pouring into him, he had their healing experiences. He shed his body and entered Dragomir’s without hesitation or any thought of himself.
It took time. Time enough that outside, a battle had raged. Vadim had sent three more vampires to catch the Carpathians between Leon and his pawns and the ones Vadim ordered to fight. The ancients made quick work of them and brought blood back several times to feed Dragomir, but mostly to keep Gary from succumbing to exhaustion. He worked for hours until finally he deemed he had gotten rid of the poison that had found its way into the bones. The scorpions had stung over and over, puncturing the bone, making tiny holes. Those holes were deep and the venom went right in and spread.
It hadn’t been easy, but Gary had managed to turn the tide and rid Dragomir’s body of all venom. With ancients surrounding them, Dragomir and Gary returned to the compound, Dragomir to the healing grounds to finally lie beside Emeline. No one knew where Gary chose to sleep, and no one made the mistake of asking.