“Why do you say that, healer?” Sandu asked.
“She has had no one but Sergey Malinov in her life for hundreds of years. He has been her everything. She is submissive to him and only responds to orders. Didn’t you see her? Observe her as she was put into the ground? She is lost without him. She cannot make decisions for herself, and once she is aboveground she will be lost. She has never made a single decision for herself. She depended on him for sustenance, for company, for every single thing.”
“Why would he do that?” Lorraine asked, sitting up slowly and looking at Gary.
“Vampires want to feel,” Gary explained. “They were once Carpathians and they wanted to feel so much that they willingly traded their souls in order to feel a rush when they fed while killing their victims. You can imagine what a treasure Elisabeta would be to him. She is of the light and that light would shine into his rotted soul. He would feel the things she does through her mind. He kept her as pure as possible in order to never lose that. No one, not even his brothers, knew he had her.”
Gary moved to Andor’s other side. “Stay still. Your arms were supposed to be under the blanket of soil.”
The healer glanced at Ferro, looking him over in a single perusal to ensure the ancient could heal his wounds or one of the others was capable of doing it. Without another word, he shed his body, and Andor could feel that white-hot light moving through him.
“We cannot have a traitor in our midst,” Sandu said.
Ferro turned his head sharply. “Elisabeta is no traitor.”
“She was taken as a very young woman and has had no contact with anyone other than Sergey Malinov,” Dragomir said. “Some thought Emeline was a traitor because Vadim Malinov had taken her blood and forced her to become pregnant, but she fought valiantly against him. Who knows how many centuries went by before Sergey gained complete control over Elisabeta.”
“When she was taken from the cage, there were signs of punishments, and we were told he had hurt her and threatened to harm any who sought to aid her,” Isai added.
“I misspoke,” Sandu corrected immediately. “It is true that she is not a traitor. What happened to her is unfortunate. Perhaps she should be escorted back to the Carpathian Mountains.”
Unfortunate? Lorraine was horrified by their choice of words.
“He would only follow,” Isai said. “I have been watching for signs of him. He has spies surrounding the compound. Sergey will know the moment she has risen. He will fight to get her back. I think he will send an army after her.”
Andor had the feeling he knew why Sergey was so interested in his own woman. “Lorraine is very vulnerable. He thinks she is Carpathian. She fought off his pawn. She has now stopped a master vampire from ensnaring her. If he wants Elisabeta so badly, he will continue to go after her. Having had complete rule of her for hundreds of years, he is just as much bound to her as she thinks she is to him, but he will try for another woman. Lorraine is out here in the middle of nowhere and several ancients have come to protect her. He would never conceive that she is still human.”
Lorraine gasped and tried to pull her hand loose. Andor tightened his hold on her. “Csecsemõ, he will not be able to get near you. Look at my brothers. Look around you. They are here to help keep you safe.”
Andor’s chest was on fire, and he had to work hard to keep that from his lifemate. The healer was extremely powerful. Over many centuries, Andor had been wounded, at times suffering a mortal wound, which meant others had had to aid in healing or he would have succumbed, but nothing had ever felt like it did with Gary working on him from the inside out. It felt like a blowtorch was being applied.
“I don’t understand how he had this woman and no one was able to get her back.” There was a small note of anger threading through Lorraine’s voice.
“In those days, when she was taken,” Andor said, “there were human wars being fought. Our people were scattering, some sent out by Vlad to other places. Many people, both human and Carpathian, disappeared and there was little to be done about it.”
“Elisabeta has a brother, Traian,” Dragomir added. “Tariq told me Traian searched for his sister, or any word of what happened to her. She disappeared without a trace. No one suspected the Malinovs. It was speculated, much later, when it was discovered that Xavier, the high mage, was working against our people, that he had taken and killed her as he did Rhiannon.”
“What will Tariq do once Elisabeta rises?” Lorraine asked. “Would he send her away? If he does, Andor, we have to help her. It sounds as if she’s been conditioned to do whatever this Sergey has told her. She needs someone to talk to, to help her get over that.”
“How does one get over hundreds of years of training?” Isai asked. “It is impossible. She has been shaped by these endless years with a sadistic vampire.”
“Her lifemate will know what to do, what she needs,” Dragomir assured Lorraine. “And Tariq would never turn her away, any more than he would have turned Emeline out of the safety of the compound. He just knows he has to be more watchful.”
“If her lifemate held out,” Sandu said. “It is entirely possible he has turned or is long gone. In any case, if Sergey cannot get to her physically, he has a blood-bond with her.”
Dragomir looked at his brethren for a long time. “Emeline had a blood-bond with Vadim. He attacked her nightly, but she held out against him and she was human. I know you believe Elisabeta will give up vital information on the compound and our defenses to Sergey, but she will not want to return to him. She may feel she has no choice because she knows no other way, but she will not betray us.”
“You are so certain of this you are willing to risk Emeline and your child?” Sandu demanded.
Lorraine’s fingers threaded through Andor’s. He looked up at her face. She was definitely upset over the unfortunate Elisabeta. Sívamet, no one will turn away from this woman. She is one of ours and will be cherished as the treasure she is. If her lifemate were to find her, he would know how best to help her.
How? How can he know?
His heart lurched unexpectedly. There was no trace of tears on her face or in her eyes, but it was there in her mind. She really hated what had been done to the absent woman. She didn’t know her, had never met her, yet she was very upset on Elisabeta’s behalf. He fell a little more in love with her. He knew the intimacy of their mind-to-mind contact allowed him to see into who she was and what she stood for. They were surrounded by so many of his kind, yet it was just the two of them right then.
A lifemate takes a vow to cherish his woman. To see to her happiness. Just as we can see into each other’s minds, he will be able to do the same for Elisabeta. Her happiness will be placed above his for all time. She will feel the same about him. She will want to make him happy in all things. It is the way of our people. Elisabeta may be even more determined to see to her lifemate’s happiness, but even if that is so, he will balance those needs for her.
Andor wanted to be healed. To be alone with her. To be able to take Lorraine into his arms and hold her close. She needed comfort.
“Do you think he’s out there right now watching us?”
Ferro’s head came up sharply. “Sisarke, he is not close, but his spies surround us. We will be in top fighting form when we leave this place. Andor will be ready soon. We needed fresh blood supplies. Have no worries. We will get you safely to the compound.”
Sandu nodded. “All this talk of Sergey has made you uneasy. That was not our intention. Elisabeta is one of our women. Even if Malinov managed to brainwash her to the point that she would think to betray us, we would never abandon her. We would have to think of ways to counter the harm he has done to her. I know I sounded harsh to you. I felt your disapproval when I misspoke and called her a traitor, but you have been inside my mind enough to know I would not abandon one of our women.”
Lorraine tightened her grip on Andor’s hand, and he closed his fingers around hers so she would know he was right there with her. She wasn
’t alone in the midst of all the others. He would always champion her. “I know, Sandu, it’s just that I’m human. I’m very modern. You’re talking about a woman who never had a chance and all of you are so very removed and distant, as if you’re talking in the abstract. That hideous monster took her at a young age and forced her to live a certain way with him.”
“He tortured her into submission,” Isai said helpfully.
Andor wanted to throw something at the man. “Truly? You could not have tried to put a little sympathy in your voice when you imparted that information to her?” He glared at his fellow monk.
“What? I was telling your woman that none of us believe Elisabeta is to blame for whatever she has become. Was that not being sympathetic?” He looked to Lorraine. “Was that not sympathetic?”
Dragomir gave a little sniff of disdain. “And you say great songs have been written about you.”
“They are of a great warrior,” Isai reminded.
“Clearly not a compassionate warrior,” Dragomir insisted.
“Compassionate and warrior are mutually exclusive, and you failing to understand the two do not belong together explains why you have no song,” Isai said.
“What are they talking about? Songs?” Lorraine asked.
“The Carpathian people tend to have songs sung about great warriors,” Andor explained. “Dragomir is upset because he has no song.”
“If he was not so compassionate,” Sandu said, “he might have gotten one.”
Lorraine glared at Sandu. “Compassion is what makes a great warrior. You have to temper your murderous skills with kindness, or you might find yourself looking like a terrible bully and brute.”
Andor kept every vestige of humor from his face, but it was impossible to keep it out of his mind. Lorraine turned her glare on him, and he hastily tried to change the subject. Before he could speak, Gary was suddenly back in his body, swaying with weariness, looking extremely pale, as if he had spent far too much time separated from spirit and body. The moment Gary appeared, Dragomir was there, offering blood.
While he did so, Isai shed his body and entered Andor. Lorraine observed the smooth transfer. “I find it amazing how much all of you are so unselfish. You offer one another blood and you heal one another, in spite of the dangers surrounding us.”
Andor smiled at her. “We hunt alone as a rule, and often hunters do not like to share or exchange blood because should we turn, the other can always track us. Speaking of which, has anyone heard how Aidan Savage is faring?”
“Who is Aidan Savage?” Lorraine asked.
“He is Carpathian, lifemate to Alexandria. She has a younger brother, Joshua, who is getting up there in age, I think,” Dragomir said. “I have had to catch up quickly with all those Tariq has to call on. Aidan resides in San Francisco and has his hands full with a very large territory. It was Tariq’s bad luck that the Malinovs targeted Southern California for their stronghold. Aidan is alone unless the Dark Troubadours are performing and then he has help if he has to hunt the vampire.”
“What is happening for him to have need of help? Aidan Savage is renowned for his abilities. Even I have heard of him,” Sandu said.
“There were two master vampires wreaking havoc in San Francisco. They were aware of his presence, and they trapped him. He fought them both, and I believe it was Alexandria who came to his aid. She fought with him when he was mortally wounded. I have no idea how they were able to drive the two off when Aidan was hurt, but they did, and Alexandria was able, with the help of young Joshua and a human male who works for them, to get Aidan back to their home and into the ground.”
“I would have thought the prince would choose him as his representative here in the United States,” Andor said.
Gary politely closed the slash in Dragomir’s wrist and sank back onto his heels. “He is moving to the East Coast as soon as he is well enough to travel. He is used to living in cities now and so establishing residency in several larger cities in the East will be easy enough for him. Others will be joining him. It was Tariq’s bad luck to have established his businesses here, and he has always been a part of human society. He understands them. Aidan has learned to do that as well. Like the De La Cruz brothers in South America, he has always had a human family looking out for him during the day. That same family looks after Joshua while Aidan and Alexandria sleep.”
“Are you all right?” Lorraine asked him, anxiety betraying the fact that she was tied to Gary and could feel his fatigue.
Gary nodded. “I just need a little time to recover. All of us will take turns working on the worst of Andor’s wounds. We hope to have him ready to travel by the next rising.”
Andor shook his head. “That gives her another day to get through without a guard. If Sergey is looking to acquire her, he will eventually strike during the time we are underground.”
“For all intents and purposes, Andor,” Gary said with a sigh, “you were dead. You have three mortal wounds. Three. Not one. Three. Each of those wounds would have killed you. They have to be dealt with before you can travel. If you tried to shift, everything we’ve done would be undone. We will be flying you home on the back of a dragon.”
Lorraine burst out laughing. “Oh my God. Now you’re adding dragons to the mix.”
“We can shift into any shape,” Andor told her.
When she looked around at them all, the brethren nodded. “It’s true,” Sandu assured. “From a dragon to a moth. You will be able to do so as well after Andor converts you.”
Andor’s gaze was fixed on his woman and he saw her discomfort immediately. Her small white teeth bit down on her lower lip and she gave a slight shake of her head. He wasn’t the only one who noticed. Gary’s head went up alertly as did Sandu’s. Ferro turned to look at her. Lorraine’s color deepened.
“You do know you must be converted,” Gary said, his tone very gentle.
Andor realized immediately that because Gary had been human, he had an advantage over the others. Shaking his head slightly to keep the brethren from speaking, Andor kept his gaze fixed on Gary. Having that bond between the three men, Lorraine and him had bothered him on some level. Now he realized it was a good thing.
“I don’t know that at all,” Lorraine denied.
There was no defiance in her voice, and that told Andor more than anything else that she really hadn’t made up her mind. Lorraine thought things through. No one was going to force her to do anything, not without a fight. He was patient as a rule, and that was a good trait to have when his lifemate needed to work things out for herself.
“Lorraine,” Gary said. “A male hunter is extremely dangerous, especially one as ancient as Andor. Those locked away in the monastery were there for a reason. Should any of them turn vampire, it would take several of our best hunters to track and attempt to destroy them, most likely at a great cost. Without you fully with him, he will always be vulnerable to turning, even more so than usual, because now he will feel unfamiliar emotions that will rule where his logical judgment once prevented him from making terrible mistakes.”
She frowned. “How is that part of the lifemate ritual? The vows? I listened to them very carefully, Gary, and he promises to put my happiness above his own. If I’m not happy being Carpathian and want to stay human, that makes no sense.”
“Carpathian males were imprinted with the ritual binding words in order to prevent them from turning vampire. They found their lifemate and recited the words, binding the two together. A woman was raised knowing, and excited about finding, her true lifemate. She had no problem being tied to the man who would spend an eternity devoted to her.”
“I’m not Carpathian, and I wasn’t raised in your world.”
“I wasn’t raised in the Carpathian world, either,” Gary said. “I was born human. I am no longer human, not a single part of me. Even my past is different, but I still understand what you fear. I had those same fears when Gregori told me he was going to convert me. I’d seen a conversion. It isn’t eas
y on the one undergoing it.”
“That is true,” Dragomir said, “but we also have found a way to make it easier. Tariq had to convert a child recently and to make it easier on her, the entire community helped and she barely felt the pain. We sent the news back to the prince.”
“Pain?” Lorraine echoed. “I really have to know every detail beforehand if I’m going to make an informed decision. I’m not just going to accept that I have to do what everyone expects. The binding ritual was intended for a Carpathian woman …”
Gary shook his head. “It was intended to bind a lifemate. Soul to soul. You hold the light to Andor’s darkness. You have already restored emotion and color to his world. There is no mistake. If there had been, Lorraine, we couldn’t have followed him into the shadow world. I am a modern man. I know he would have been considered in a coma and have slipped away with modern medicine. In the Carpathian world, a soul can still be retrieved. You know how far gone he was from us. I couldn’t track him on my own. Even with Ferro and Sandu, I couldn’t find him. It was your soul reaching to his that allowed us to find him. We just boosted your strength, allowing you to follow him further when it was needed. You know that. You were there.”
She conceded with a small nod and another, much harder bite of her teeth into her lower lip. “I don’t doubt the things you say are true. I’m not arguing that I’m Andor’s lifemate. I’m just not certain I’m ready to become fully Carpathian. I want to take my time and really look at it from all angles.”
Andor brought her hand to his mouth and brushed a kiss over her knuckles. “I want you to take your time, Lorraine. We are bound together, soul to soul, and as long as you realize we are lifemates, meant to be together, I want you to do whatever you need to in order to come into our world with your mind fully made up.”
“If you’re weighing the pros and cons,” Gary said, “consider the skills you will have. You will be faster and stronger. You will be able to shift and assume any form. You will be able to shed your body and become pure spirit in order to heal others when needed. You already have incredible skills. You will not only be an asset to your lifemate, but to all of us. All of the Carpathian people. We have women and children to protect. Tariq is very forward-thinking. I believe that our women should know how to protect themselves against any danger. You, along with some of the other women, are a perfect example.”
Dark Sentinel ('Dark' Carpathian Book 32) Page 13