Fen felt the energy concealed inside the bank of fog itself. No wind ever disturbed it or blew it away. The swirling veil acted like a force field of sorts that made anyone approaching the peaks uneasy. Things moved subtly in the dense fog. Shapes. Nothing substantial, but Fen could make out various threats. Voices echoed those threats, warning any and all to stay away.
Fen had seen such things many times in his travels. Xavier had been the father of all safeguards and this one was classic. It was meant for any species exploring the mountain. The first layer would simply make anyone coming close uneasy. Most turned back right there. If that didn’t succeed and an explorer kept coming, actually walking around the entrances to the maze of caves, voices would begin to be heard, warnings, and if that failed, traps would be sprung.
“Anything?” he asked Dimitri.
Neither set foot on the mountain, but rather floated along its side to study the ground for tracks, for anything at all that might tell them Bardolf had come this way.
“Maybe. It’s small, but he was Lycan. He has skills. Take a look over here.” Dimitri indicated a rock that was smashed with others piled high around it. “This entrance was closed by our people a short while back, but in closing this, the area next to it was pushed up. See right there where those small flowers are growing.”
Dimitri moved closer, almost crouching as he peered down. Fen moved up beside him to see the struggling flowers growing in the cracks of the rocks scattered all over the ground. He spotted the small telltale sign Dimitri had. One tiny flower and a leaf had been crushed by something heavy as it passed.
“Pretty slim,” Fen said.
“Very,” Dimitri agreed.
They both looked at the pushed-up rocks, which could have been used to form a cave.
“He’s in there,” Fen said.
“I’m certain of it,” Dimitri agreed. “Let’s go get him.”
Tatijana, we think he’s made himself a cave up here, off to the side of the entrance to Xavier’s cave. We’re going to check it out.
I’ll join you.
She didn’t hesitate. Clearly she’d made up her mind that she could face her prison.
“She’s a strong woman,” Dimitri said.
“She’s Dragonseeker. I expect nothing less of her,” Fen admitted.
He took the lead, keeping his feet from touching the mountain, careful not to brush up against a boulder. When they got to the newly formed cave’s entrance, he shifted to mist. In that form he could move through the air without fear of triggering any trap.
The entrance had been artificially widened, but not by much. Bardolf could shift just as any Carpathian could, but clearly he preferred his wolf or human form. He found a lair and he’d covered the entrance just enough that if anyone got through the veil of mist, they might not notice his cave. The rocks scattered around on the ground helped to camouflage the cave.
Fen slipped into the cave itself. It was dark and much colder than any wolf would like. He knew the moment he entered that Bardolf had been there. His scent was everywhere. The small space reeked of him.
Fen went all the way to the back of the cave—and it was small. It seemed to dead-end. That didn’t feel right to Fen. No self-respecting Lycan would ever get caught with no way out.
He’s here somewhere. I know he is. Fen felt him. As if they were connected. Maybe by the blood, or the battles, but he felt him—and Bardolf was close by.
He has to have an escape route, Dimitri said. We’ll find it.
The three of them inspected every inch of the cave walls and ceiling. It was Fen who found that incongruous little crack that ran from the floor midway through the cave up about knee-high. He came back to it twice, drawn not by the crack itself, but the feel of it.
It’s here. But this wall is the outside wall to Xavier’s cave, he cautioned.
If he found Xavier’s caves, Dimitri said, he won’t be able to resist exploring. He’s a wolf, and if he sees any weapons, he’ll definitely try to figure out how to use them.
He’ll trigger traps in there if he hasn’t already, Tatijana said.
Fen had no choice but to shift enough to allow his hand to run over the crack. His acute senses told him there was a way to trigger the opening, but how? He moved his palm slowly up and down. It would have to be fast, no safeguard to keep anyone out on this side. Bardolf would want to come and go without trouble.
Tatijana leaned over him and studied the entrance. This opens to the tone of his voice. Can you re-create the sound? You’ve both heard him. Just say “open,” but only if you can get his exact pitch.
You’re good at pitch, Fen, Dimitri encouraged. And you knew him before he turned wolf/vampire.
Fen pulled up the memory of Bardolf’s voice, listened intently and then tried. “Open.”
The crack obeyed, separating without a sound. Of course Bardolf would need his escape hatch to be completely silent. Icy cold air blew into the cave, swamping them with a bitter chill. Fen went through first. They didn’t need the light as all of them were able to see in dark, but Bardolf had used torches to light the way.
They were in a passageway rather than an actual chamber. It was narrow and curved, and led only one direction as the entrance had been closed. Fen moved downward quickly, flowing as a stream of vapor. Bardolf had begun his exploration of Xavier’s cave. Whatever traps lay in wait that he might trigger might catch the hunters as well.
The actual floor had broken away in several places, making it impossible for anyone who couldn’t travel as they were to proceed. The narrow tunnel gave way to a chamber where originally there had been a large hole where one could descend to the ice city below. The chambers and caves sprawled for miles, and Xavier held rule over the entire underground lair. A great chunk of ice had pushed through that hole, making descent impossible.
Bardolf went this way, Fen said following the scent of the wolf.
There were no real tracks; Bardolf was, like them, streaming through as vapor, but he couldn’t hide his stench after so many clashes between them. Fen led the others to a far wall where a large lava tube rose up from below.
He went down there.
There are guardians. Hideous creatures, Tatijana warned. He mutated vampire bats. They’re larger and prey on deer and other victims. He fed them humans and even mages who had displeased him. They live in the walls of the lava tubes and anything disturbing them will be attacked immediately. As you descend they’ll drop on top of you and begin eating you alive.
Great. Fen looked down the tube. It was pitch-black and he couldn’t see a thing, nor did he really want to. How did Bardolf go down unscathed?
Maybe they’re all dead, Dimitri suggested. I heard when they left these caves they tried to burn them out, isn’t that right, Tatijana?
There is no way a single pair didn’t make it through that holocaust. They’ve been breeding again. I feel them. When you live so close to that kind of danger, you know the feel of it and your body reacts. Mine, right now, is shuddering with fear.
Fen immediately poured warmth and strength into her mind. He didn’t dare assume his body to hold her, but he wrapped his arms around her telepathically and let her lean on him for a moment of support. When he could feel she had steadied herself, he turned to the lava tube.
Lighting the tube to see what we’re facing might awaken the creatures, he decided. I think Bardolf just flowed down without knowing they were there. He didn’t trigger their feeding frenzy or we’d smell blood.
He took another cautious sniff, just to be safe. Tatijana was right. He smelled the odor of rotting meat. Something had been torn apart and feasted on down in that hole. Still, Bardolf had gone that way.
I’ll lead. If I go down safe, Tatijana, you follow next. I can protect from below and Dimitri can protect you from above. Don’t touch the walls, even with a single molecule. We don’t know eno
ugh about these creatures and the danger they represent to us.
He sent another wave of reassurance to Tatijana. Going deeper into this maze of ice caves had to be her worst nightmare. Merged as he was with her, he felt the absolute determination that overrode the fear bordering on terror.
If it’s possible to fall in love with you more, my lady, I am.
He didn’t wait for a reply but turned and streamed into the lava tube, dropping straight down, moving slow enough that he wouldn’t disturb the air. It was wretched inside the tube. He used the vision of his mixed blood to try to see what was inside. There were honeycombs in the walls, round holes that were stained with blood, fur and a few feathers. He was certain the mutated bat creatures lived in those holes.
I think I’m just past the halfway point. Tatijana, start down, but don’t make the mistake of going fast. You want to keep from disturbing the air so anything living in these walls just stays there. Dimitri will be right behind you.
They didn’t have bodies for the creatures to leap upon, but he wasn’t taking chances, not with his lifemate or his brother. He continued to drop, fighting off the need for speed. It was necessary to keep his sense of smell from being so acute. The farther down he got, the worse the stench was. He wasn’t particularly happy about that aspect as so far, he hadn’t spied an opening from the tube to the cavern floor. If the bottom was closed off and the creatures ate their prey inside the tube, where did that leave them? He should have gone all the way down before calling to the others.
His superior vision was what saved them. The hole in the side where the tube had crumbled away had to be the entrance to the chamber. He drifted through and immediately the sounds of ice creaking could be heard. Now and then there was a tremendous roar as a great chunk shot out, driven from the ice wall from the tremendous pressure. The chunk hit the opposite wall and dropped to the floor below.
In the distance, from the opposite side of the chamber, near a door, a torch had been lit and soft light spilled into the cavernous room, turning the ice a deep blue. It was beautiful. He had forgotten that Xavier’s school had also been a place of beauty with ice sculptures, fountains and intriguing formations.
You’re coming up on the entrance now, Tatijana, he said, guiding her through.
He waited until his brother followed and then he set out after Bardolf. He moved much more quickly now that they had actual chambers large enough that they didn’t have to worry about touching the walls or floors. He followed the trail of torches Bardolf had so conveniently lit . . .
Conveniently lit, Fen repeated for the others. He knows we’re following him.
How? Tatijana asked. We haven’t made any mistakes.
No, that was true, but they were dealing with a Sange rau. Bardolf couldn’t feel energy from Dimitri or Fen, but he could from a Carpathian. As sensitive as a mixed blood was, Bardolf had felt Tatijana’s energy, perhaps even when they had returned and she was in dragon form.
Me. I’ve endangered you.
That’s what he thinks, Fen agreed, but you’re our ace in the hole. You might despise the fact that you were here for centuries, but that’s what’s going to save us all, Tatijana. He doesn’t know mage spells or any of the dangers here like you do. We don’t know them either. He’ll come at us, but it’s you that’s going to bring him down.
Fen could feel her turning what he’d said over and over in her mind. If she wanted to go back, he would have Dimitri . . .
No. No way am I deserting you. Her voice turned strong. You’re right. I do know these caves. I do know spells. Bardolf was Lycan and he never studied at Xavier’s school. I can trap him even if he doesn’t trigger one of the older snares left behind by Xavier.
Let’s do this then, Dimitri said into their minds.
It was Dimitri’s mantra—get it done no matter how repulsive the task. Fen proceeded, allowing his senses to flare out to explore every aspect of the chamber as they moved through it toward the torch. Dimitri, he knew, was doing the same. Tatijana looked for any hidden tricks the high mage may have left behind.
They got through the chamber to the entrance itself. Fen studied that carefully before he streamed through. He nearly ran straight into webs of fire spiders. The thin threads glowed with flames. They were woven tight, layer upon layer, so had he even in his present form touched a strand, he wouldn’t be able to get loose.
He’s using fire spiders.
Fen felt Tatijana’s instant rejection of his assessment. Fire spiders would never allow themselves to be used by Bardolf against a Dragonseeker.
How would they know who follows him? Dimitri asked with a little smirk in his voice.
The insects in this cave know everything. They aren’t mere insects. Each species was mutated to some degree. The fire spiders, in fact most species of spiders, were our allies.
Fen had to believe her. How did Bardolf get through? He studied the glowing web. Bardolf had led them to the fire spiders in the hope that they would be trapped.
He couldn’t have, Tatijana answered. He couldn’t have gotten past that web. It’s too big and thick. The spiders have been here for years, spinning that web. There are no tears in it and they couldn’t have repaired a tear this fast. He didn’t go through this entrance.
I smell him.
Then he went through it, stopped and came back. He had some time to explore this cave. This can’t be the first time he’s been in it. He probably found his lair the first night he was here, she insisted. I’m right about this, Fen. I am. If there’s one thing I do know, it’s fire spiders.
I believe you. We need to figure out where he went.
There were two other ways to leave the cave, each leading into another, larger cavern. One way dropped lower, leading to another level. The floor of the last entrance seemed even with the chamber they were in. Fen wasn’t especially keen on exploring the maze of caves beneath them. The lower they went, the more likely it was that they would run into Xavier’s safeguards.
The moment he neared the entrance to the next chamber, warnings rippled through him, yet he couldn’t see any obvious trap—it just felt wrong to him. He approached cautiously.
I’ve got multiple warning signals going off all over the place, Fen, Dimitri said.
Me, too, Tatijana added. Maybe we should try door number three instead.
Fen waited a moment, thinking it through. Bardolf didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for an attack. He had to have noticed Tatijana’s dragon and had exited his cave into the ice caves for safety. The other alternative would have given him even less time to prepare—if he felt her energy as she’d joined the two hunters at the entrance to his cave.
Wait a minute. He went this way. He’s trying to herd us that way. He didn’t have enough time to set up many traps. He’s using what he knows is already here.
Fen didn’t wait for the others to agree; he knew Bardolf was close. Misdirection was an easy escape if the Sange rau could make it happen. Bardolf didn’t want to fight them. He would if he was cornered, but if he could escape them, that would be his first choice. He was running.
He streamed through the arched opening into the next, cathedral-ceilinged chamber. The walls were covered in ice balls, great glops clinging to the sheets of ice, looking for all the world as if someone had thrown huge popcorn all over the walls to decorate them. Hanging from the ceiling were enormous icicles.
Good God, Fen, Dimitri hissed. This is a massacre waiting to happen.
Tatijana, don’t come through to this chamber yet, Fen cautioned. If he’s using your energy to track us, I don’t want him to know we chose this way. Let me see what I can find before you enter.
But, little sister-kin, Dimitri cautioned, don’t go exploring. Stay right by the entrance where we can see you.
Now I have two of you worried about me. I’m perfectly fine right here. I’m really not all that fragile
.
She felt fragile to Fen, but he wasn’t a stupid man and he didn’t say that to her. He wanted to take her out of there and just hold her tight, but there was no turning back. He kept close to the walls of the room, moving slowly to keep from disturbing the air. He matched the temperature of his molecules to the chamber’s so that even that couldn’t give him away.
He’s here, he cautioned Dimitri. In this room. Hiding. Tatijana, move back a little more from the entrance. If he felt you there, he would think you were retreating toward the other chamber.
He’s got a lot of weapons in here, Dimitri reminded, but so do we.
Tatijana moved away from the door and they lost sight of her. Both stilled, waiting. Patience was needed in the hunt. No one moved. Time passed. Water dripped and the continuous creaking of the ice became a strange music. More drops ran down the west-facing wall. Small. Like tiny beads of sweat. Hardly noticeable. Both hunters noticed.
The droplets rolled halfway down the sheet of ice before they froze there. Still, the hunters didn’t take the bait. They waited in absolute stillness. Again time passed. The creaking of the ice gave way to a thunderous roar from a chamber quite close as the pressure pushed a giant-sized chunk out of a wall and flung it hard into the room. The chunk crashed to the floor with a resounding boom, shaking several adjoining caves.
With the strength of the vibrations, a few of the round balls clinging to the walls close to Fen broke free and fell to the floor, crashing and splintering into fragments like glass. A soft chuckle added to the music of the ice.
He believes we fell for his ruse and went to the next chamber, Fen said. He’s going to be fast, Dimitri, he’s fighting for his life and a cornered wolf is a very dangerous one.
His brother knew as much about wolves as he did, but still, he worried. He wasn’t about to get Dimitri killed, and his younger brother always was patient about Fen giving him advice. He was quiet, often shaking his head, but he never seemed offended.
Dark Lycan (Carpathian) Page 33