Dark Curse 19

by Christine Feehan

The Carpathians whirled and ran again, using their blurring speed. Lara had a difficult time keeping up, although Nicolas was pulling her along and her feet didn't really touch the ground. She kept forgetting to regulate her body temperature and it was so cold, she ached and shivered continually. Her legs and arms felt stiff and her chest hurt from the cold. As they continued up the narrow corridor, the air changed, warming a bit, which gave her some relief, but she worried with the temperature a few degrees warmer, the ice might melt.

  Lara glanced over her shoulder and saw that the warriors had finally come to a halt. Perhaps the holding spell Natalya had cast had finally taken, or they were guardians of a specific area and could not go any

  farther.

  «They aren't following us,» she announced.

  The others stopped to look back. The warriors had halted at the entrance to the tube and stood, smoke whirling around them, swords raised.

  «Keep moving,» Nicolas said, his hand on the small of Lara's back. «Who is to say they will not attack again? Let's keep going, but look for a corridor leading to our left and we can take that and get back on track to find your aunts.»

  Lara checked the ice surrounding them. Even a few degrees difference in temperature could trigger large chunks of ice to come flying out of or off of the wall. This tube was narrower than most and lined heavily with rows of dagger-sharp icicles. On either side of them, above and below, were two solid rows of icy stilettos in strange colors of faded brown, very unusual for an ice cave. The floor was covered in round ice pods, also very unusual. The slightly raised bumps were everywhere, as if some strange form of bacteria grew along the floor of the tunnel.

  As they continued, it grew darker and she realized the ice spiders were not emerging from the walls to light the way with their luminescent silk. The floor curved upward and with each step there were more of the pods and the temperature increased.

  «Stop.» Lara took a careful look around.

  She had good night vision, but the Carpathians could see in the dark without any light and it looked as if a few more steps would take them over the slight rise and into pitch blackness. Before she went blind and had to rely on the others, she wanted to check out the stability of the ice. She noted two particularly sharpened, curved icicles-one on either side of them near the opening-were dripping. Each drop was yellowish in color and formed a small pool before running along the base of the icicles on the floor. The liquid fed the small ice pods, slowly staining them a pale amber. As the pods went amber, she detected movement, tiny microbes wriggling inside the pods.

  She swore under her breath. «This isn't good.»

  Nicolas had continued forward a few steps in order to put the light far enough behind him for his night vision to kick in. At the top of the slope he peered down into the darkened tunnel.

  «The sounds are different,» Natalya said. «I don't like this.»

  Vikirnoff moved up beside Nicolas, surveying the only way open to them. «What do you think?» Both scanned all around them continuously.

  «Something is down there waiting for us,» Nicolas said. «It is unfamiliar to me, but I feel movement. I think the shadow warriors herded us into this tube for a reason and the reason is crouched in the dark, ready to attack.»

  Vikirnoff glanced over his shoulder. The shadow warriors had not melted away. They were holding their position and waiting for something.

  Lara crouched down beside the pods, studying them carefully and then, careful not to step on them, examined the double rows of brownish icicles. She passed her palm over the formations without touching

  them. «These icicles are swarming with bacteria, but that's not why they're such an odd color.» She leaned closer and sniffed delicately. «This is diluted blood. At least I think it is.»

  «Whatever is moving down there is coming this way,» Nicolas warned.

  For the first time since entering the cave, he felt truly trapped. Whatever was creeping toward them out of the dark, sounded, to his ears, as if it was not alone. His vision cleared as the thing got closer and at first he thought it was several large snakes, thick like anacondas. The heads were large and each opened its mouth wide, forked tongue testing the air, sniffing for prey. The snake heads looked suspiciously like the ones taken from Terry's leg.

  «How many?» Vikirnoff asked. «I'm counting six visually, but hearing more behind them.»

  «It's only one,» Nicolas corrected. «One with tentacles. I think it's planning on dragging us into its mouth.»

  «We are already in its mouth,» Lara said.

  There was a small silence while they all looked around the tube. The double rows of bloodstained icicles were teeth. The two curved teeth held venom. The mouth was a breeding ground for bacteria, all kinds of strains, many fatal. The bumps along the tongue were the nesting pods. And the tentacles reaching for them would pull them back where they could be digested.

  «Vikirnoff and I will hold the tentacles back, but we have to get out of here. Find a way through the shadow warriors, Lara. You're mage.»

  She rolled her eyes. «Whatever happened to your women-not-fighting campaign?»

  «No, we just have to fight a legion of shadow warriors,» Natalya said sarcastically. «No biggie.»

  «You've done it before,» Vikirnoff pointed out. «I think you can handle it.»

  «Are you certain you don't want to impregnate me and send me home while you play Superman? Because I'm all for it,» Natalya said.

  «The snake heads have stopped sniffing and they're coming for us,» Nicolas said. «You might want to get on those shadow warriors right now.»

  «As my absolute hero inThe Abyss would say, 'Keep your pantyhose on.' « Natalya sniffed indignantly. «Come on, Lara, let's show them how to fight a shadow warrior.»

  Lara reluctantly followed her aunt back toward the double rows of teeth. «Be careful, don't step on the pods. I think this is parasite breeding ground, not the microbes. I'm fairly certain that laboratory was for the extremophiles. He collects them from the ice and tests them in the first few pools, mutates them and sends them into the blood and amniotic fluids so they learn to survive in those conditions. And then he lets the glacier take them down to the soil where the Carpathians rest. This thing, whatever it is, breeds his parasites. Look at them wiggling inside the pods.» She was very suspicious that the yellow-colored venom feeding the pods was the same liquid injected into Razvan.

  «Oh dear,» Natalya quipped. «I do believe we re inside mommy dearest.»

  The tiny maggots became excited, even agitated when they stepped close to the pods.

  Behind them, the first attack came. Nicolas and Vikirnoff fashioned swords of ice, spreading out to give themselves room to maneuver, hovering inches from the floor in order to keep from stepping on the pods littered all over what had to be the creatures tongue. The huge heads bobbed and ducked, slashing from side to side. The attack was well-coordinated, the heads moving in a mesmerizing pattern, like a cobra hypnotizing its prey.

  Both women steadied themselves and picked their way through the maze of bumps to stand just in back of the bacteria-encrusted teeth. There were flashes of light, swearing, a spatter of blood along the walls that sent the parasitic worms into a frenzy. The floor swayed and bucked beneath their feet. More venom dripped from the fangs and ran down along the floor.

  «Remind me to call down the lightning to make certain we're clean before we go back to the village,» Natalya said.

  Lara was grateful Natalya thought they'd actually get out of the ice cave alive.

  «Look out, Vikirnoff,» Nicolas shouted. He'd severed a head and blood filled with parasites spewed across the walls and floors. «Do not let them touch you. Lara, Natalya, keep out of their way.»

  Lara sent a scowl over her shoulder. «Were concentrating here. Do you think this is easy?»

  «We can't kill them, they're already dead,» Natalya said, thinking aloud. «We can't freeze them, they came out of the ice.»

  «We should be able to get the
ir attention and wrestle the command away from Xavier. His way is always simplicity. He rips their soul from them and takes command, much like he did to my father,» Lara mused. «So there's no loyalty there. They're enslaved against their will.»

  «Lara!» Nicolas called. «It's grown another head. What are you doing up there?»

  «Playing dolls,» Lara called back, a bite of irritation in her voice. «This isn't easy, Nicolas. I need to concentrate.»

  «You can do it,» Natalya encouraged. «You have a feel for him and I've noticed the ice responds to you.»

  Lara hadn't considered that. She was at home in ice caves. They felt natural to her and the mage spells flooded her mind, faster and faster the more she used them. The aunts had prepared her for any trouble, it seemed, and more than ever she was determined to bring their bodies home. In life, maybe they'd been prisoners, but not in death.

  «Keep the venom and parasites off of me, Natalya,» she said.

  «You got it.»

  Lara took a breath and let it out, lifting her hands and weaving a pattern in the air directed at the shadow warriors.

  Ancient warriors of the past, who stood with honor and favored tasks. Now controlled by the dark and unseen, I call to you-listen to me. Bound by darkness that has no honor, I call to your spirit-fight once again as warriors. I send to you strands of strength, allowing you the ability to

  think. I ask a boon and release your souls, stand as one that has been froze.

  The shadow warriors froze, dropping their swords, points toward the icy floor. Through the swirling smoke, Lara caught glimpses of the red pits for eyes set into black masks where their faces should have been. Facing the mirror of ice, the warriors remained frozen, staring sightlessly into that which reflected their empty souls. It saddened her that these men, who had lived their entire lives with honor, could be commanded by one so evil as Xavier.

  Lara lifted her hands once more and began to weave a pattern, this one even more intricate and detailed than the one before. This time when she chanted, her voice rang with respect.

  Those who have suffered evil wrongs, who have fought in battles standing strong, look into the ice and see, that which may be reclaimed by thee.

  Holding her breath, she waited as each warrior began to move, awakening as if from a long sleep. They stretched their arms toward the mirror of ice.

  Lara continued to chant softly.Warriors of strength, time and valor, take back that which is yours and ascend with honor .

  The ice began to form and give birth to floating lights, each a different color and shape. As the lights descended, the warriors stepped into them, glowing for a moment. Then each, bowing low toward Lara, simply vanished.

  The moment the last of the shadow warriors disappeared, Lara called to Nicolas. «The way is clear. We have to get out of here. Don't step on the pods.»

  Vikirnoff and Nicolas joined their lifemates, hurdling over the snapping teeth to get out of the mother parasite.

  «That was well done, Lara,» Nicolas said, sending a small salute after the warriors. «You honored them and rightly so.»

  «What are we going to do with that?» Vikirnoff asked, as the hideous creature snapped her jaws at them. She couldn't move, frozen as she was, her body part of the ice cave.

  «Destroy it, Lara,» Nicolas said. «I cannot call down the lightning here, but you can destroy that breeding machine. It sits there waiting for victims to feed to its young. You command all the elements.»

  «So do you.» She tipped her head back and studied his face. He wanted this for her-to feel powerful and in control. He wanted her to know she could kill the monster that preyed on his people. She nodded. «I wish we'd had time to think of a way to destroy his laboratory.»

  Nicolas's smile held no humor, he simply bared his teeth in a wolfish way. «I'm giving it some thought. It is necessary to see where he is slipping the infected microbes into the soil.»

  «He has to be using the glacier to deliver them to either the soil or the water,» Lara said. «My guess would be the soil because the villagers don't seem to be infected.»

  «We will find it now that we know what we are looking for,» Nicolas said with confidence. «But in the meantime, destroy that creature.»

  Lara looked back at the ice monster with its bloodstained teeth and dripping venom. Xavier had created the perfect mother for his parasites.

  Lara needed fire, and air to feed the fire. She lifted her arms and faced the monster, while the others stood back, knowing Nicolas had given her a perfect opportunity to thwart Xavier. Destroying his parasite factory would set him back a great deal.

  «This is for Razvan and Gerald and Terry,» she whispered softly and held up her arms, hands sketching a pattern in the air.

  I call on the power of the west, air hears my call I draw on the power of the east, fire come to me.

  A rushing of wind could be heard as small, flickering particles began to gather, swirling round and round, creating a wind tunnel. The faster it turned, the higher the flames leaped, gathering more and more particles until it became one large tube of fire. Lara gave a flick of her hand and shot the fire funnel straight and hard at the monster breeding the horrific parasitic worms, enveloping it entirely.

  That which is mother and bound by deed, let fire consume the parasites that feed.

  The great jaws gaped open in a silent scream and the fire hissed and fought against the ice, blazing white-hot, incinerating and melting the creature fast.

  Nicolas blew Lara a kiss. «That ismy woman,» he said. «Let's get out of here.»

  They used their blurring speed to move through the passageways. Xavier's ice caves were well aware of their presence and were beginning to fight back in earnest. The sun would be rising soon and they had to leave. They needed to find the bodies of the aunts and get out before they were trapped by their own weaknesses.

  They used blurring speed, not touching the ground, moving fast through the twisting, sometimes very narrow tunnels, always going to the left and up.

  Lara's heart began to pound.This is it. This is the chamber where I last saw them and they helped me to escape .

  Immediately, Nicolas halted. Natalya and Vikirnoff stopped as well, looking around.

  Lara recognized the cathedral ceilings and the two rows of tall, intricate crystal-and-ice-carved pillars running the length of the room. Globes of various colors sat in niches built into the columns. Life-sized ice sculptures of various mythical creatures were scattered around the room, looking like fierce guards. The sculptures had frightened her as a child, especially when she'd seen them come alive at Xavier's whim and stalk her across the floor. Set inside chiseled archways were bloodred pyramids that gave off an unholy glow.

  «Don't look into the globes, especially the cloudy ones. They come alive and can trap you.» Lara reached for Nicolas's hand, needing the contact.

  «Natalya and I have been here before. I pushed the ice through the opening to close it in order to prevent the prince from coming down here to aid us,» Vikirnoff said. «Xavier had set a trap for Mikhail using vampires to help him. We were forced to close the opening to protect him, and Natalya and I

  barely made it out alive.»

  «We went through the floor,» Natalya said. «He has trapdoors built in to escape.»

  Beneath the ice floor was a starburst, squares and pyramid pattern that ran through the floor. In the center of each shape were hieroglyphics, each symbol carved deep into the various shapes.

  «And I saw the dragons encased in ice,» Natalya said. «The ice around them was several feet thick. They looked like water paintings. At first we didn't realize there were two of them.»

  Lara nodded to her right. «There's an alcove just through there.» Now she could barely breathe. Would the bodies still be there? And if so, where had the blood come from? They couldn't still be alive, could they?

  «Do you want me to look for you?» Nicolas asked.

  She shook her head. This was her quest-her promise. She would
do this herself. She squeezed his hand and let go, straightening her spine and forcing her body to put one foot in front of the other. Vikirnoff, Natalya and Nicolas fanned out to protect her, watching the room closely for an attack-certain one was imminent.

  Lara crossed over the ice squares, ignoring the horrific memories pouring into her mind. Deliberately she reached for the good-and there had been good-all because of two women. She'd never seen them in their human form, only the dragons, but their voices had kept her sane, made her feel loved, taught her everything she knew and then some. These women had been her only real family and she desperately wanted to bring them home. Xavier couldn't have them any longer.

  Please. Please. Her throat felt swollen. Her heart hammered loudly. Her chest was tight and her eyes burned.Please . It was a litany. She wasn't certain she could face not ever knowing. They had done so much for her, kept her sane, given her values, taught her right from wrong, given her a chance at life, sending her out into the world with as much knowledge as they could give her. They had loved her, and because of them, she knew what love was.