Dark Slayer 20

by Christine Feehan

  He had never admired someone so much in his life. She did what had to be done with no thought for her own safety. She was matter-of-fact about emerging into another storm of flesh-eating bats after her body had been torn up by the creatures. He couldn't feel the least reluctance in her, and something inside him opened and embraced his true destiny. He was meant for this woman. He was a match for her-her other half. He was born Dragonseeker, a warrior, not the evil monster Xavier had tried to shape.

  Elation burst through him as he tore through the blackened ring of dirt, emerging into the midst of snapping teeth and fire raining from the sky. He had never felt so alive or free. He caught a bat in each hand and knocked their heads together, flinging them aside, and he was attacked from all sides, the sheer weight of bodies trying to knock him over as they did their best to eat him alive.

  «Cover Gary. Cocoon yourselves in an airtight, heat-resistant bubble,» Ivory said, then flipped a grenade to Razvan.

  There was something very satisfying in being her partner. She hadn't included the other hunters or the prince in her fight. He was her lifemate, her partner, and although he didn't have their experience, she trusted him far more than she did the others, and it was the first time since he had been apart from his sister that anyone had ever given him trust.

  «Warn any coming to your aid to stay away. This is the only way I know to kill a colony.» She knew they had seen the plume of fire bursting from the ground and probably even felt the heat. «This will be like nothing ever felt.» Her gaze leapt to Gary in the midst of the melee. Gary was valiantly fighting. It was obvious he had been around the Carpathians, and even the wicked creatures did little to shake his faith in his friends.

  «She is getting torn apart,» Razvan snapped. «Do as she says now.»

  The sight of her with the bats slicing through her arms and legs was more painful than he expected. He fought his way to her side and faced her. «Pull the pin and count.»

  «Cover them, Gregori,» Ivory reiterated. «No one breathe. You will have to do that for Gary. If you can, get any wildlife away from here.»

  «Do it,» Mikhail commanded.

  They pulled the pins and the gas hissed into the air. Razvan didn't look at the others, only at Ivory with her brave, calm face and the wolves fighting from her back. He didn't even feel the teeth slicing deep or see the bloody carnage the bats were leaving on the snow, he only saw and felt her. She gave him a half-smile, her eyes soft as they counted and lobbed the grenades into the center of the writhing mass and both dissolved.

  He knew what to expect, but still, the explosion seemed worse now that it wasn't contained in a hole in the ground. A mushroom cloud of orange rocketed into the sky. The blast rocked both of them, the force blowing them back and away. The pressure raced through their bodies, feeling like great stones weighing on their chests.

  There was a feel of power to shifting, an enormous rush to battle when one was in control of one's own body. Nothing dimmed that elation, not even the exploding trees or the masses of incinerated bats raining from the sky or the stench of foul flesh burning. For the first time in his life, he really felt as if he had done something that made a difference. Because of her-Ivory. He waited while the heat streamed around them, cooking everything in its path, his mind occupied with the woman who knew so much about Xavier.

  Was it possible that she might be the key to ridding the world of such a monster? Was there actually a chance? The world around him was on fire, and yet for the first time in centuries, he felt hope. The roar of the flames and the snapping and crackling of the inferno mingled with the last gasping shrieks of the hideous creatures, and he could only hear her soft whisper in his head.

  Life can have unexpected high moments.

  A sharing. He recognized her willingness to share a small piece of who she was with him. Her love of battle. She loved the fight, the careful study of the enemy, the planning and preparation, the rush of adrenaline when her well-trained body and brain responded like a ballet dancer performing precise, complicated steps and emerging victorious. The feelings flowed from her into him, filling him with her, with her sense of purpose, with the realization that no other knew this complicated, talented woman the way she was letting him.

  That realization humbled him, yet bolstered him at the same time. He had never felt as if he could measure up. He hadn't been strong enough to defeat Xavier, or even to get away or to save his child or his aunts. This woman, his lifemate, strong and enduring, offered him, at the very least, friendship.

  You are right about those unexpected moments. It was definitely an unexpected high moment. While wind generated from the blaze roared around him, while heat blasted through his body and the world went up in flames, purging the last of the mutated bats, he felt at peace. He felt whole. And he was happy.

  He felt her small, shared smile and held it to him, secreting it away in his heart-the heart she had given back to him.

  When you go back to your natural form, I will be singing the revealing spell. The four splinters that were removed from you will need a host, and the bats are dead. He will have fled their bodies, Ivory cautioned. He will be looking for another host. Warn Gregori to watch the rest of them.

  Of course. Vigilance was everything now. This was a chance to destroy a small part of Xavier. Even if it took one piece at a time to rid the world of him, it would be well worth it.

  Razvan took his natural form and signaled to the others to do the same. «She is using the revealing spell. Watch for Xavier's dark spirit,» he warned them.

  Ivory shimmered into her physical form, watchful, already singing the revealing chant, sending the notes scattering across the charred field and into the sky. It was still raining debris. Smoke and ash swirled together and drifted on the slight breeze. Snow drifted from the heavy clouds, mixing with the falling remains, nature already attempting to cover the signs of battle.

  I call to me all that is good to aid me in my desperate plight.

  I plead for the song that I may sing to reveal evil stalking the night.

  Light of sky, burning bright, find that which is dark and bathe it in light.

  Evil one, I call forth the blight you left behind.

  Light spilled across the remnants of the battlefield, illuminating four dark shadows sliding among the dead toward the small group of Carpathians shielding Gary. Gregori threw out his hand, fingers spread wide, and lightning jumped, sizzling and cracking, toward the four fragments. Three burrowed into the ground, but the tip of the whip slashed into the fourth, incinerating it.

  The ground rolled and pitched. A shriek rose. Black blood bubbled up from the ground and a noxious smell burst from the center of the ooze. The shriek rocked the trees, sent leaves trembling. Gary put his hand over his ears to muffle the hideous sound.

  Gregori tried following the remaining shards with the lightning tip, sinking strike after strike into the ground, but with no results. There was no following them into the ground itself. Three small slivers would be impossible to track, and all of them knew they would eventually find their way back to Xavier.

  Ivory swayed with weariness. «The dawn will break soon, Razvan. I need to rest. Do you come back with me or stay?»

  It was almost a challenge, he decided, studying her face. She didn't know if she wanted him to remain with her or join the others. He touched her mind and realized she had not been in company for so long that she found the contact with him-and so many others-overwhelming.

  «We would be happy to provide you with shelter,» Mikhail offered. «We have several safe resting chambers.»

  Razvan felt Ivory instantly recoil from the idea. She trusted no one that much. She would never rest where others knew of her sleeping chamber. Razvan was her lifemate. She recognized him and yet was wary still.

  «I think it best that we return to our own resting place,» he said.

  Ivory sent him a small grateful smile and nodded her head. «Xavier will not stop his hunt for Razvan. It is evident he has pup
pets in the area. I would make certain my children were protected both during the day and at night.»

  Sara slipped her hand into Falcon's. «We will double their protection.»

  Falcon clapped Gary on the back. «You look a little worse for wear. Thank you for going after Travis for us.»

  Ivory ducked her head, the color sweeping up her pale skin. «I did not mean to imply your friend was not valiant. I am certain he takes excellent care of your children during the daylight hours, but Xavier is desperate to find Razvan and get him back. He will need Carpathian blood. I doubt he can go long without a blood supply. No one is safe, least of all the most vulnerable.»

  Mikhail's piercing eyes moved over both Ivory and Razvan. «Perhaps our healer should take a look at your wounds before you leave us.»

  Razvan took a good look at his lifemate. There were scratches and bite marks up and down her arms; a few on her face and her legs had blood running down them. He was certain he didn't look much better. He didn't want to stay any longer. He feared his sister or daughter might come to the aid of their prince, and he had been through enough without facing them. He didn't know how he would feel or what he could possibly say to either of them, but when he looked at Ivory's weary face, he refused to be selfish. She needed care, and her needs came first.

  Ivory stepped back several paces. «These are mere scratches. My lifemate can attend to them. An inconvenience only.» She inclined her head, a regal gesture, toward Mikhail. «I am certain we will cross paths again.»

  «Please do come and meet Raven, my lifemate,» Mikhail invited. «She cannot travel at the moment and will be sorry she was not here. You are truly an inspiration to our women.»

  Gregori cast him a smoldering look before turning to Ivory. His strange silver eyes gleamed at her as she slid back into the shadows, and she knew he recognized the sudden dangerous stillness of a warrior in her. «If you have need, lady, call and I will come. I do not give my word lightly.»

  I guess you might want to rethink your position on women in battle, Mikhail sent telepathically.

  The women are with this one for five minutes, old friend, and it will be anarchy.

  Mikhail sobered. What of Razvan?

  The boy has more honor than good sense.

  That boy is older than you are, Mikhail was compelled to point out.

  He has suffered greatly and he is no traitor. Less so than I am. There was a small silence and Gregori lifted his silver eyes to his prince and oldest friend. When the woman, Lara, was so terrified of my eyes, I knew she had seen Xavier. We share the one lasting testimony, branded always for meddling with things best left alone.

  It was an apology and they both knew it.

  Mikhail clapped Gregori on the shoulder, affection in his gesture. It was long ago, as many things were, and in the end it came to good.

  That is what Razvan said.

  Gregori stepped close to Ivory. She didn't back away, but her eyes went as watchful and as still as her body, as if she half suspected he might attack her. He clasped her arms in the greeting of highest respect, one warrior to another. «Kulkesz arwaval-jo?esz arwa arvoval-go with glory-return with honor.»

  Without waiting for her hesitant reply, he gripped Razvan's forearms in the same respectful clasp. «Kulkesz arwa-arvoval, ekam-walk with honor, my brother. We have only recently learned of Xavier's existence, and probably know far less about his ways than either of you, but if you wish to pool our information, we would be grateful.»

  Ivory's uneasiness was more apparent to Razvan than ever. She edged away from Gregori and looked to the sky several times. Razvan took her hand and began moving a distance from the others with her.

  «We will meet again,» he said, knowing it was true. Right now, Ivory didn't want to face the fact that they had inadvertently become part of the Carpathian world when she had saved the child. Gregori and the others would look toward her, a warrior of their own, as an immense and invaluable vault of knowledge on their greatest enemy.

  He could feel her withdrawing into herself. Her expression didn't change, but remained serene and distantly friendly. Inside she was quaking. He kept moving across the snow, leading her away from the others, making the responsibility for choosing to leave his alone. He cared nothing for what others thought. Long ago he'd learned to accept condemnation from everyone. He was the most despised Carpathian alive, worse than the vampires, and although Mikhail and Gregori chose to welcome him, he saw distrust in the eyes of the others. He didn't want nor need acceptance from them-only from Ivory.

  Keep walking away from the direction of our home. The snow will cover our tracks, but anyone will be able to track the blood scent. Just up ahead, we will have to close all wounds.

  Razvan almost couldn't hear past our home. His stomach tightened. Home. Our home. The idea of it was comforting and frightening at the same time. He glanced at her through the thickening snow. Her face was turned away from his. She looked ethereal striding through the snow, like an ice princess, not the warrior he knew her to be.

  They stopped beneath the shelter of several large trees. The high canopy kept the snow from falling on them while they examined themselves for poisonous parasites and took a few minutes to close every wound and scratch. The ones on their legs were the worst.

  «The bats are more effective attacking from the ground,» Ivory explained.

  Razvan glanced at her. She studiously avoided his gaze. His heart gave a funny little wrench. She was nervous. The slayer, a warrior beyond measure, was nervous being alone with him. He hadn't considered that she might be more nervous than he was.

  «Xavier wanted them to bring back blood,» Razvan explained. «That was his original purpose, but they were so vicious he began to expand his ideas.»

  When they were both finished, Ivory insisted they look one another over a second time.

  «You are very thorough,» he commented.

  «It is how I stay alive. How we will stay alive. You have to learn if you are going to stay with me. And you are free to go, if you wish.»

  Her lashes lifted and she flicked him a quick gaze. He couldn't tell from her expression whether she hoped he'd choose to go. He shook his head. «I will stay, and Ivory, have no fear, I am a quick learner. I can play dumb if need be, but I am not.»

  «I have kept my lair safe for hundreds of years, even when I was slowly carving out the passageways. There are no traces of anyone around or near my resting place. I do not hunt close by. I never leave tracks. I am careful there is no scent. I do not go out every night. I live quietly and avoid people as much as possible.» She looked at him, for the first time meeting his eyes. «When I do go out it is for one purpose only: to gather information on Xavier. If it takes a hundred lifetimes, I will find a way to destroy him.»

  He nodded his head. «I understand.»

  «I am not certain you do. It is my sole purpose for existing. I care nothing for society. I do not want friends. I do not know how to be civil other than for the purpose of obtaining information. Are you prepared for that?»

  A slow smile welled up from the pit of his stomach and settled on his mouth. He saw her catch her breath, and then she looked away from him.

  «I do not have friends, nor will society welcome me. I have more reason than any other to want to destroy Xavier.»

  «If you truly want to learn from me, then heed this. You cannot let this become personal. It is a duty, a sacred duty. You must pray and meditate until you are absolutely certain that you are on the right path. Will you give me your word of honor that you will do that?»

  Razvan waited until she looked at him. «You have my word. Let us go home.» He dissolved before she could find another reason to protest.

  She led the way, choosing a route high enough that they were a part of the dark clouds moving in silence across the sky.

  Razvan took note of the landmarks, the rising mountains, the lakes and streams and surrounding countryside. The snow was dazzling white, the air crisp and clean, refreshing after
so many centuries of smelling blood and death, yet the wide-open spaces were disorienting. His life had been underground, confined to a small prison room unless Xavier was using his body.

  Ivory's voice interrupted his thoughts. We are coming up on the lair. Always approach it from a variety of directions, never the same one. Scan carefully. Better to sleep elsewhere for one night than lose our fortress to the enemy. There is a warning system in place. I have to reprogram it to allow you entrance. This system is made of gems, Ivory explained. I called the gems and asked for aid. Once I embedded them in rock, each about three feet apart, zigzagging down the crack, from one side to the other, the gems not only bring light to the lair, but they act as a warning system for me. She hesitated and then corrected herself. For us.

  He felt the rightness of her words, joining them together, but also the reluctance, as if she couldn't quite get around the fact that they were meant to be lifemates.