Both hunters focused on the corner, up by the ceiling where the drips had originated.
Don’t reveal yourself to him, even if it looks as if I’ve staked him. He won’t know you’re close by and we’ll get that second chance at him, Fen instructed. Tatijana, if he slips through, conceal yourself, don’t try to take him on alone.
I would never consider taking him on alone.
She had that little snippy voice that told him she might be up to something, but he had to trust her word and know she would put her safety first.
The ice at the corner of the wall began to ripple as if it was coming alive. More water dripped and then ran down the side of the wall in a little stream. Bardolf didn’t bother to keep his body temperature the same as the chamber. He preferred his comfort, and ice caves weren’t for wolves.
Fen had never tried to kill a Sange rau without its body. He didn’t even know if it could be done. At best, he might be able to force Bardolf into another form, giving Dimitri the chance to kill him. Nevertheless, he planned to try. He began drifting up toward the corner of the ceiling, keeping his movements slow, so there was no chance of his disturbing the air.
Bardolf was pleased with himself. He continued to chuckle out loud as he slowly removed his shelter. He had surrounded himself with a thick sheet of ice, blending it seamlessly into the wall, so it was impossible to detect. He just hadn’t been able to force himself to be as cold as he needed to keep the ice from melting.
Fen remembered when he’d first come upon Bardolf’s pack so long ago, when the Lycan had been the alpha. Even then he liked his comforts. His mate served him first and would massage his feet and back for him no matter how tired she was or what she’d done that day. He liked a hot fire waiting in his house and if it wasn’t lit, there was hell to pay.
The ice in the corner shimmered. Slowly, Bardolf emerged. He had chosen to stream through the ice cave in the form of vapor as well, but because he needed warmth, steam rose around him, giving Fen a target to lock onto. As Bardolf moved forward, Fen attacked, shifting at the last possible second, a silver stake in his fist. He plunged it into the center of the mist, hoping to hit the heart, but knowing it would be nearly impossible. As he pushed the silver stake into the vapor, he melted all but the point so that the silver spread fast, coating every molecule.
Bardolf screamed in agony as the silver invaded his body, working its way through him. He shifted immediately, hands grabbing at the melting stake, trying to pull it from his body, even as he directed the icicles above their heads to fly at Fen.
Icicles rained down, sharp missiles seeking targets, hundreds of them, so that the chamber was filled with the sounds of cracking ice as they broke away from the ceiling to hurtle toward Fen. He threw up a shield around his body, but that split second it took to do so allowed Bardolf to shoot away from him, across the room, racing toward the arched doorway he had come through earlier.
Dimitri waited in absolute stillness, positioning himself directly in front of that door, Bardolf’s only way to escape. The Sange rau ran straight into a silver stake, impaling himself on it. Bardolf had been moving fast and with Dimitri’s enormous strength, the stake went deep, piercing the heart, but not going through.
Bardolf wrenched himself away at the last moment, just enough to keep the stake from penetrating through his heart. Cursing, blood pouring from his wound to drip on the floor of ice, he used both hands to pull the stake from his body and slam it hard into Dimitri’s shoulder, to drive him back.
Fen streaked across the room while the hail of icicles followed him, heat-seeking drones locked on to him specifically. Bardolf was already on the run, racing through the door to the next chamber. He uttered a cry of alarm, but then slammed a block of ice into the entrance, trapping Fen and Dimitri on the other side.
Tatijana, get out of there. Don’t reveal yourself to him.
Tatijana watched Bardolf burst through the door. She was not alone. Branislava had felt her rising distress upon entering the ice caves and she had come, as she always had.
Spiders, spiders of firespun ice, hear my call, spin and splice. Create a web of finest thread to protect your sisters from harm or dread.
Thousands of tiny spiders raced down the wall, slipping out of cracks and crevices, coming up from the floor and down from the ceiling, weaving and spinning fine webs of silken orange-red flames. There were so many of them, coming from every direction that the density and sheer size of the web was astounding.
Neither Tatijana nor Branislava moved, remaining directly behind the fiery protection, facing the wounded Sange rau without flinching.
Blood poured from his chest, and he roared with fury, the sound reverberating through the ice chamber. Great cracks appeared in the walls, crackling and groaning. Bardolf shifted, his muzzle elongating, making room for his teeth. His eyes went red and fur sprang around his upper body and arms. Huge sharp claws burst from his hands. He stood tall on two legs staring at the two women with hatred and malevolence.
“Take it down and I will spare your lives,” he bargained, his voice mostly growls. Saliva dripped from his muzzle in long strings.
Tatijana smiled serenely. “We are Dragonseeker, and we have faced a monster far worse than you. You will not pass.”
Both women lifted their hands and began to weave a pattern in the air.
Air, Earth, Fire and Water, hear my call. See your daughters . . .
The force of the elements coming together, spinning into a tight woven power, sent energy crackling through the room. The air itself grew heavy with the intensity of the combination.
Air unseen, seek that which is closed. Earth that does hold open, unfold. Fire that burns, eat that which would harm, water that flows, break open this door.
Air whistled as it gusted around the block of ice preventing Fen and Dimitri from following Bardolf into the chamber. The mountain rumbled, shaking the block, loosening the edges as the wind continually battered the seal. Spiders raced to spin their fiery strands around the entire block of ice so that water ran in streams to unseal the door.
Bardolf raged at them. His blood, tainted with the vampire’s acid blood, dropped in great globs on the floor, causing the two women to look uneasily at one another. The cave was Xavier’s domain and blood would call evil to it.
Bardolf clapped his great claws together and chunks of ice fell on the thick fiery web. Instead of destroying the fire spider’s web, the chunks melted as they dropped through, the silken strands glowing and leaping with fiery flames.
Behind him, Bardolf could see the door melting away. He chose the fire rather than facing the two hunters. Using his speed, he rushed into the web, expecting to break through. The webbing wrapped him up, trapping him while thousands of fire spiders leapt on his body, biting and feasting on his flesh. Flames raced through his fur, engulfing him as he fought to break out of the dense web.
Behind him, the door fell from a combination of the elements and the two men working on it from the other side. Fen and Dimitri rushed into the room so fast they nearly ran into the fire web themselves. Both stopped abruptly, shocked at the sight of the two women standing together, side by side, while the Sange rau struggled in the fiery webbing. It wouldn’t kill him, but it certainly would slow him down.
The floor rippled, the ice pushing upward in places as if the cave had become unstable.
“Hurry, Fen,” Tatijana said. “We can’t stay here. There’s evil coming for us.”
She lifted her hands into the air, stepping closer to the web. Spiders, spiders, friends of ours, ensure your flames do my lifemate and kin no harm.
“Fen, now.” Desperation edged her voice.
Muffled sounds came from beneath them, a booming, like a heartbeat, striking dread in all of them.
Seeing Bardolf covered in thousands of spiders, being eaten alive and burned at the same time, gave him pause, but he
trusted Tatijana and he forced himself to step forward into that fiery web. He caught hold of Bardolf, trapped in the fire, expecting the flames to burn him, but when he touched the web, he felt only sticky silk against his skin.
Spinning Bardolf to face him, he slammed the silver stake in his fist straight through the heart. Lifting his hand, he caught the sword Dimitri threw to him and in one motion, sliced through the neck, so that the Sange rau’s head rolled onto the shifting floor.
At once the fire spiders leapt on that as well, covering the head until there was only a sea of moving spiders and fiery flames and Bardolf was swallowed beneath them.
“We have to go fast,” Tatijana said.
She stuck her arm into the web and Branislava did so as well. A narrow opening appeared. Both men shifted and streamed through. The women shifted as well and all four moved through the chambers as fast as possible until they came to the lava tube, their only exit.
Whatever evil had been awakened below them had roused the creatures inside the tube. They could hear the bats squeaking in alarm.
We have no choice, Fen said.
Tatijana and Branislava looked at one another. Their hands went up simultaneously. Spiders, spiders of crystal ice, spin your web of strongest light. Spin and dance, surround and form, prevent these creatures from doing us harm.
Tiny white spiders swarmed up the tube, spinning crystalline silk, all the way up the cylinder in one continuous web of light. The inside of the tube began to glow as the spiders spun and danced, more and more slipping out of cracks to join in a glorious display of shocking light. The creatures couldn’t stand the light and wailed, moving back hastily into their dens.
Quick, the effects won’t last long, but Bronnie says they can’t see when the light is so bright. We have to hurry, Tatijana advised.
Fen went first. As he rose, he could see into the darker holes where the creatures resided. Bits of bone and fur and dark blood stained the entryways and walls inside the honeycombed dwellings. He streamed past, knowing speed mattered this time, not finesse.
Tatijana followed close behind him and Branislava was on her heels. Dimitri brought up the rear. The moment they were all out, Fen and his brother both turned back to lean over the tube. Already the light was fading and the bats began to swarm up the tube after their prey.
Fen and Dimitri together waved their hands and murmured a firm command.
“Go, run. The moment you’re out, get in the air fast and away from here,” Fen snapped.
The women didn’t argue; both streaked through the narrow tunnel back to Bardolf’s cave and then out into the open air. They leapt straight up, shifting as they did, the two dragons banking and then, wings flapping hard, shooting out of the mist.
Fen and Dimitri followed them, practically on their heels. Behind them, the world blew apart. The lava tube detonated, a fiery blast that shook the entire mountain. The shock waves from the explosion followed them through the caves, blowing a hole just to the side of Bardolf’s chosen lair.
Fen and Dimitri flung themselves skyward, shifting as they did. The concussion sent both of them reeling through the air and out of the mist as if the mountain threw them away. Tatijana raced back, her dragon diving beneath Fen, while Branislava managed to seat Dimitri on her fire dragon.
I’m ready for a long sleep in the ground again, Branislava said. Your adventures are very exciting, but too much of a good thing is exhausting.
Fen had to agree with her.
18
Fen wrapped his arm around Tatijana. Branislava was safely beneath the earth, well fed and ready for sleep. Dimitri’s wound had been attended to. He’d been given blood and he, too, was in the ground rejuvenating. Tatijana and Fen walked through the forest—their favorite place—and just breathed in the crisp air. He knew she’d been traumatized all over again entering the ice caves and he didn’t want her to go to ground until they had talked it out.
He stirred her toward a spot where a series of natural pools had developed. The sound of water was calming and he knew the night sky would help to make her feel less claustrophobic. Going to a place of such natural beauty with waterfalls and pools, so entirely different than her prison had been, he hoped would ease the tension from her. He knew she was drawn by the sound and feel of water. He wanted to turn the rest of the night into something beautiful to erase what had come before.
“You were amazing,” he said, meaning it. “I know you were frightened.”
“Anyone would be afraid, knowing the traps and the hideous creatures locked away in that mountain,” Tatijana said, “but more, I was sickened. I couldn’t believe how nauseated I was. My stomach was in knots and a couple of times the smell actually made me gag. I locked away most of those memories so I could survive.”
“I’m sorry our fight with Bardolf led us to the ice caves,” he said as gently as he could. He tightened his arm around her shoulders. “I know I’ve got a lot of rough edges, Tatijana. You deserve a man who is gentle and always considerate, but know that I love you above all else and I will do anything to make you happy.” He regretted that he hadn’t figured out a way to keep her out of Xavier’s labyrinth of evil. He’d brought all those terrible memories crashing down on her. Where Branislava took to the ground, allowing the healing soil to keep the trauma at bay, Tatijana embraced the night, needing the freedom of the open air.
Tatijana frowned up at him. She lifted one hand to trace the lines in his face. “Why would you think I would want any other? Your words are sweet enough when I need to hear them. I feel surrounded by your love, enveloped in it and I need no one else. I chose to go back to that cave with you. It was my choice, and I appreciate that you understood it had to be my choice. More than anything, Fen, I fell in love with that trait in you. You let me be me.”
He took her deeper into the forest, listening for every sound. He wanted them safe and after the hunt for the werewolves, he was certain they would be. Branislava had found another unit of sixteen and Zev and the others had wiped them out. Abel was slowly losing his army. He would be much more wary of sacrificing his pawns until he had a concrete plan to carry out his mission.
More and more, Fen feared that Abel was working with someone else—someone far away. It would be rare for a master vampire to take orders from another, and in spite of being the Sange rau that Abel was.
“Where are we going?” Tatijana asked as he lifted her over a fallen tree trunk covered in moss. “I’ve never been out this way.”
“I’m glad. I wanted to surprise you.”
Already the sound of the falls was beginning to be heard. She turned her head toward it. “A waterfall? I had no idea.”
He felt the lightness in her heart lift away some of the shadows pressing down on her. “A series of waterfalls. They fall into natural pools. Two of the pools are fed from underground springs that are hot. The others are very cold.”
“Temperature matters little to a Carpathian,” she said.
He grinned at her. “Unless your lifemate can surprise you and toss you into a cold pool before you can regulate.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” she said, her emerald eyes beginning to sparkle.
“Probably not,” he soothed, “but you never know. I am a wolf man, after all, and they do like their pranks.”
The sound of the falls grew louder, water cascading down the mountainside and dropping several meters into the pools formed below by rock. Over time the pounding water had smoothed the boulders and bottom of the pools until they were polished and even.
“Strange that I didn’t notice that jokester trait in the Lycans,” Tatijana said. “They looked like a sober lot to me.” She sent him a warning from under her lashes, but her eyes couldn’t contain her amusement.
He pushed aside fronds from a fern as tall as he was so she could get her first look at the waterfall and pools. They were hidden from view by a grove of
old-growth trees whose trunks were as wide and thick as a small car. He watched her face as he held the lacy leaves back. Her entire face lit up. Her hair actually streaked with deeper shades of red. Her emerald eyes deepened in color until they were nearly the same as the deepest pool.
Tatijana gave a little gasp as she stepped forward. “It’s so beautiful, Fen. Truly beautiful. You couldn’t have found a place I would like more.”
She turned into his body, circling his neck with her slender arms and bringing his head down to hers, leaning into him until she was pressed tight. “I love you, Fenris Dalka. Everything about you, but especially that you always seem to know exactly what I need. This is perfect.”
Fen framed her face with his large hands. She looked up at him with her incredible, dazzling eyes and he let himself fall into the deep depths. He wanted to live there inside her, with her, be one with her.
Her fingers brushed his mouth, and then, featherlight, traced his lips. He felt the jolt of shock go through his body straight to his groin. As gentle as her fingers on his face were, the lightning bolt slamming through his body was exactly the opposite, a punch hard and mean.
The intensity of his love for her was terrifying. Wonderful. A miracle. He had never envisioned that emotions could run so deep. Love and lust were a potent combination, heightening every sense and inflaming every nerve ending.
He was aware of every breath she drew. The subtle rise and fall of her breasts beneath her clothing. He inhaled her fragrance, the wild of the forest and clean of the rain. His hand bunched in the thick silk of her hair.
Fen pressed his mouth close to her ear. “I don’t want a single stitch of clothing between your skin and mine.”
Her long lashes swept down, veiling her expression, but her lips curved and her clothes disappeared, leaving her standing in front of him completely naked. He took a breath. Her body was beautiful to him. The full curves, the tucked-in waist, her flaring hips and the small dragon low and to the left below her waist, just faintly visible. She had shapely legs and small, bare feet. Her hair, usually kept in a braid, tumbled passed her waist like a riot of fine silk.
Dark Lycan (Carpathian) Page 34