Christine Feehan 5 CARPATHIAN NOVELS

by Christine Feehan

  “He is long gone,” Nicolas said. “He will not fight all of us.” His hands were gentle as he reached for Rafael.

  Paul ran up to them, swinging a tree branch toward Rafael’s head.

  “Don Nicolas!” Julio Chevez called out in warning.

  Nicolas caught the club and twisted it easily from the boy’s hands, sending him sprawling to the ground.

  “The boy is tainted, Rafael. He reeks of the vampire. He is no more than a human puppet. I will dispatch him quickly and convert the woman for you. You will go to ground and heal properly.” There was absolute resolve in Nicolas.

  Colby could see he had already dismissed Paul and would kill him without a single thought of remorse. She flung herself in front of Paul. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you come near him.” Paul was taller than she was, but she spread out her arms and called up every ounce of power she had in her. She didn’t want to protect Paul, she wanted to go to Rafael, to save him, do anything it took. She hated standing there, shielding her brother, when Rafael was so broken. She felt her heart was shattering into a million pieces as she looked at his ravaged face.

  Meu amor, I would not allow Paul to be harmed by my kin. You should know better. The stirring in her mind was weak, as if Rafael was fading, leaving her.

  She was frightened, not knowing who to run to, who to protect. “Rafael’s dying, Nicolas,” she said. “Is that what you want, to have him try to fight you with his last dying breath? What kind of a person are you?”

  Rafael’s tall, muscular frame crumpled. He went to the ground on his knees, held there swaying a moment, his eyes glazing before falling forward facedown.

  Colby had no memory of leaping to catch him, but she was under him, cushioning his fall, his large frame taking her down with him. Surprisingly, she didn’t slam into the dirt as she expected. Nicolas floated Rafael gently to the ground, turning him just before his body hit hers, his head pillowed in her lap. She couldn’t prevent the shudder of fear when Nicolas loomed over her.

  Juan and Julio stepped up on either side of Paul. “Don Nicolas, please do not force us to make such a choice. This boy is família. He is under Don Rafael’s protection, as is Colby. This protection should be yours as well.”

  There was a small silence. Even the night seemed to hold its breath. Insects ceased their wild calls and the cattle stopped their restless motion.

  “The poison can perhaps be driven from his system, but I will have to take his blood.” Nicolas made it a threat, staring straight at Colby.

  She didn’t trust him and wished Rafael was fully awake to tell her what to do. “Rafael says he can’t lie to me—can you?”

  “Say yes or no,” Nicolas replied harshly. “He will suffer with the acid of the vampire’s blood and he will crave the taste of human flesh. He will rot from the inside out and the vampire will be able to use him to defeat us all.”

  Paul burst into tears, his hands pressed to his stomach. “I do burn inside, Colby. And there’s a buzzing in my head that makes me feel crazy. Is he saying I’m going to be a cannibal?”

  “Then do whatever you have to do, but don’t you harm him or I’ll hunt you down and drive a stake right through your ice-cold heart,” Colby warned.

  Nicolas ignored her threat and knelt beside Rafael. She watched in disbelief as he tore open his own wrist with his teeth and shoved the wound against Rafael’s mouth. He looked at her with empty black eyes as he forced his brother to swallow the ancient blood. “He should have taken you immediately instead of catering to you the way he did.” His voice was a harsh whip, lashing her when she was holding Rafael’s head in her lap, her fingers tangled in the long silk of his hair and his blood soaking into her jeans.

  “I don’t like you very much either,” she snapped. “How are you different from that monster? My brother is innocent. He didn’t ask to have that horrible creature kidnap him and infect him with poison. I didn’t ask to be your brother’s lifemate. I have my own life here, my own responsibilities. Why should your rights be more important than mine?”

  Nicolas leaned close to her, his eyes flat and diamond hard. “Because if you don’t find your lifemate, you will not turn into a monster that will be absolutely evil and live for the death and pain of others. I will. I am not human. Rafael is not human. We have fought centuries against the darkness. You could relieve his pain so easily. You could ensure that he would never face that moment in time when he might succumb to darkness, yet you are too stubborn, too selfish to give him what he needs. And because of that, you foolishly risk the lives of your brother and sister and your neighbors and others you don’t even know. Worse, you risk my brother’s very soul and the souls of my família and myself. In the end, he will have you, so taking this risk is senseless. I would take you, if you were mine, and get it done.” There was a distinct snap to his teeth as if he might lean over and bite her neck right there.

  Colby’s heart pounded harder in her chest, but she faced him squarely, trying to be honest with him. Struggling to understand. She wanted to understand when she saw him giving his own blood to his fallen brother. More, the thought of Rafael turning into such a hideous monster as the creature who had attacked them was inconceivable. “I can see from your point of view. Can you see from mine? I’m not Carpathian. I didn’t even know you existed until a short time ago. I don’t know Rafael. I don’t know much at all about him other than he’s different, with tremendous powers, and that he can control me in ways that scare me to death. I have a brother and a sister I love and a ranch that I swore to my father on his deathbed I would keep for them. I didn’t have any concept of the consequences you’re describing. I haven’t lived centuries and I haven’t known of vampires other than in movies.”

  “Now you have seen one. Now you know the consequences to Rafael and you know the things I say are true. What are you going to do about it?”

  “I don’t even know what you want me to do, Nicolas,” she answered honestly. “How do I protect Rafael? He talked of bringing me wholly into his world. What does that mean?”

  “Could you not tell the evil one was striking at you? If he succeeds in killing you, he has destroyed Rafael. He used the boy to try to kill you,” Nicolas pointed out.

  “I didn’t try to kill her,” Paul denied, his face very pale.

  “Yes, you did,” Nicolas said calmly. “And if the poison is not removed from your system, you will try again and again until you succeed. Colby, as long as you are human, the vampire knows you are vulnerable and he has a chance to kill Rafael through you.”

  “How would my death be killing Rafael?” She asked it, but she already knew the answer through her own fears and grief. She struggled to contain it, but she couldn’t entertain the idea of losing Rafael. Her mind refused the possibility because her heart knew she wouldn’t survive.

  “You know,” Nicolas said softly.

  “Don’t even think about it, Colby,” Paul snapped. He doubled over in pain, holding his stomach. “Don’t let them do anything to you. Can’t you see what they are?”

  Julio slipped his arm around the boy’s shoulders. “They are great men and have protected us from the vampire, Paul. Nicolas is the only one who can save you from the acid inside of you. No doctor could cure the effects.”

  Nicolas stopped Rafael from feeding, closing the wound in his wrist with a swipe of his tongue. Colby couldn’t help the shudder that ran through her body at the matter-of-fact gesture.

  “I must take Rafael to a place where he will be safe and I can heal him,” Nicolas said. “He has bound you to him and you will suffer greatly for the separation. I can stop that by converting you, but then you would have to rest in the earth with him. Choose now. He needs care immediately.”

  “If I have to make an immediate choice then I have to stay with my brother and sister and see to their safety,” Colby said. There was challenge in her voice.

  “You will grieve for him. You will believe he is dead and you will feel a strong call to join him. You can
not harm yourself, no matter how desperate you feel. Reach for me and I will aid you should it become necessary.” Nicolas reached down and easily gathered his brother into his arms.

  “Wait!” Colby said frantically. “What about Paul?” Her brother could no longer stand, but had to be supported between his two uncles. Doubled over, he sagged helplessly, groaning in pain.

  “I will return to take the poison from him. Know this, sister kin: in doing so, he will be tied to me for all time.”

  It sounded like a warning to Colby, maybe even a threat. Her hand went to her throat in self-defense. “Should I wait for Rafael?” She kept her gaze fixed on his, refusing to be intimidated, wanting the truth.

  “That is up to you.” He cradled Rafael in his arms, almost as if his brother were a small child instead of a very large and dangerous man.

  Colby reached out to touch Rafael’s face. He felt cold. Lifeless. A scream welled up in her mind, but she forced it back down. “He’s alive?”

  “I will not allow him to die. Do I return this night?”

  Colby looked at her brother’s face, saw the twisted hatred in his eyes, and shuddered. “Please,” she whispered, looking away from Paul. “Hurry.”

  “Traitor! Whore!” Paul threw himself at her, his fist raised, his expression demonic.

  Julio caught him and dragged him away from her. “Shall we take him to the house, senhorita?”

  Paul fought his uncles, growling and snapping his teeth at them. Then he suddenly subsided, looking around him, blinking his eyes to clear his vision. “Colby?” He sounded young and confused. “What’s happening to me?”

  “You’re ill, honey.” She tried to comfort him, but tears were clogging her throat and burning behind her eyes. She could no longer touch Rafael’s mind. She felt the loss deeply, as if someone had ripped out her heart. She could barely breathe, let alone think. She wanted to scream and claw at the earth, dig her way down to where his body would rest. Instead, she lifted her head to find the Chevez brothers watching her with compassion. “Let’s get him home,” she said wearily.

  “Juan will see to the cattle,” Julio said. “I’ll watch over you and Paul and Ginny.”

  Colby stumbled after him. She could see better in the darkness than she’d ever been able to see, yet she was off center, feeling blind and deaf. “Does this kind of thing happen often?” What were those terrible creatures and how badly was he hurt, Nicolas? He was so torn up, lost so much blood. She hadn’t kissed him. Hadn’t tried to hold him to her. What if Nicolas was more monster than man?

  I am more monster than man, Nicolas confirmed. His voice was soft in her mind, distracted. She could hear a chant repeated, old ancient words with a soothing rhythm of power. I am healing him, giving him more blood, and then I will put him in the arms of the earth to heal.

  Julio glanced back at her as he propelled Paul forward. “Do you need my help, Colby?” When she shook her head, he continued, “Yes, I’ve witnessed many battles between the vampire and the hunters. This vampire is not like the others. He is much more powerful and cunning.”

  Colby wrapped her arms around her waist as she walked along the trail back toward the ranch house. Rafael had walked this path with her, holding her hand, making her feel the most beautiful and desired woman in the world. When he focused on her, nothing else seemed to matter. She tried to replay what Nicolas had said about conversion, but her mind was too scattered.

  “Do they often get hurt?” Colby asked.

  Julio shook his head. “Vampires are all different. The hunters are very powerful, very experienced. Rafael is a great fighter—together with Nicolas, or any of his brothers, they rarely sustain injuries. This one”—he shook his head—“this is one they call a master vampire, an ancient who has escaped justice many years. Zacarias, the eldest of the De La Cruz brothers, thinks a master vampire is an ancient of their kind. One long in the world and experienced in battle who finally succumbs to the dark call. The master will not stand and battle, but he’ll use human puppets to do his bidding. He’ll call lesser vampires to him and use them as pawns. And he mutates other species into evil incarnate. You saw a sample of his work.”

  “You’re very nervous. What aren’t you telling me?”

  Julio looked at her with dark, worried eyes. “Nicolas can take the blood and help with the pain, but until the vampire is dead, Paul will be connected to him. He can still try to use Paul. Nicolas will be the only one standing between Paul and what the vampire wants from him. Nicolas is powerful and ancient, but he is very close to the end of his time. He also must rest during the daylight hours. It is dangerous for him to do this thing you ask. If he does not, Paul will eventually die and you will be thankful.”

  Colby pressed her fingers to her pounding head. She needed Rafael’s reassuring touch. He is safe beneath the soil. I have fed and will meet you in the barn. I do not want the child to see what we must do to aid her brother. You must be certain. He can and will harm you if the vampire reaches him and programs him. I can run interference, and I can remove the pain, but I cannot break the tie between them.

  He was offering to kill her brother. It was his voice, so flat and empty, that made her ill. Made her feel Rafael’s barren existence starkly. She could almost see the darkness creeping inside of him, staining his soul, taking him over. She closed her eyes but she couldn’t block out what was in her mind.

  I will watch him until you have a chance to kill the vampire. She made her decision.

  Rafael has much to answer for. There was a bite to Nicolas’s voice.

  Rafael has tried to give me time. Is that truly such a terrible thing? Tears burned in her heart. Had she caused all of this? Was it her fault Rafael lay as the dead beneath the earth?

  I feel his love for you. It has sustained me, yet it cannot soften me. He has given me hope by sharing his feelings for you. His emotions are intense and difficult to manage. He is uncomfortable with the presence of other males near you, myself included, yet he tries to ignore those dangerous emotions and allow you the space you need to come to him.

  Is it my fault? she persisted.

  Silence answered her question as she pulled open the door to the barn and faced Nicolas and his black, merciless gaze.

  12

  Paul sat silently in the corner, his uncle very close to him. Colby couldn’t help but note the protective posture. In that moment, Julio looked heartbreakingly like her stepfather. She glanced anxiously toward the house. “I want to check on Ginny.”

  “The girl is fine, sleeping peacefully,” Nicolas said. “If you want this done, we do it now.”

  She tried not to bristle at his abrasive attitude. “I wasn’t stalling. I happen to be genuinely worried. This hasn’t been the best night of my life so far. You might deal with vampires on an everyday basis, but their existence is news to us.” She sent a reassuring smile toward her brother.

  He tried a grin, looked down and caught sight of her peach-colored bra still wrapped around his arm. At once his expression changed, became dark and ugly. Paul unwound the lacy garment, holding it away from him with two fingers, up, so everyone could see. It made Colby acutely aware of the fact that she wore nothing at all beneath her thin shirt and that the buttons were missing. Even so, even in the midst of her utter humiliation, her mind tried to reach for Rafael. The moment she realized she couldn’t touch him, there was only emptiness and grief. Fear shook her heart.

  She followed the movement of her bra as Paul tossed it away from him as if it were something so disgusting he couldn’t stand to look at. He suddenly lurched away from Julio and caught up a pitchfork, lunging at Colby in one motion.

  Colby never saw Nicolas move, but he was there in front of her, taking the weapon from Paul and dragging him into his terrible embrace. The air rushed out of Colby’s lungs as she saw his fangs lengthen, and without preamble he sank the teeth into Paul’s neck, her brother going still, under the influence of his mind. She shuddered, feeling as if those sharp fangs were goin
g into her neck. At that moment she hated Nicolas. Hated herself. Hated Rafael. How could she just stand there while some creature she barely knew took her brother’s blood so coldly?

  What is he doing? Rafael was weak, too weak. She could feel the low pulse of his lifeblood as he stirred in her mind.

  His alarm wasn’t for Paul. It was for his own brother, for Nicolas. She felt it as if it were her own alarm. She felt the surge of love and warmth that spanned centuries. It flooded her body, took over her heart and soul so that she wanted to reach out to Nicolas, to stop him. What he was doing was dangerous to Nicolas, not to Paul. Nicolas was deliberately ingesting vampire blood when he fought every minute of every day against the beast that already stained his soul and fought for supremacy.

  “Wait!” Colby couldn’t choose between the two brothers. Her own, or Rafael’s. They were intertwined, both bound together now in her mind. Paul’s life versus Nicolas’s soul. It was a terrible choice.

  Do not waste your worry on me, either of you. Nicolas’s voice brushed at the walls of her mind. I will hold on and return to our brothers for your sake, Rafael. You share with me the emotions you feel for this woman and this boy. It is enough for me to continue until I reach our home. Go to sleep, Rafael, and allow the earth to heal you.

  She actually felt Nicolas’s love for his brother through her tie with Rafael. It was a strange shared path. For the first time she could see him as something other than the cold-hearted monster trying to rip her brother and sister from her arms. Nicolas was real to her. She could see him through the heart of Rafael. Memories of Nicolas welled up and she knew it was deliberate on Rafael’s part.

  How many times had he stepped between humans and death, at risk to his life and soul? How many times had he tried to protect Rafael and their younger brother from the terrible battles? He had been wounded countless times. He had killed countless times, each time tearing pieces from his soul.

  Colby closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see it, didn’t want to view him as anything other than the emotionless predator she’d first thought him. She was already confused enough. And there was Paul, standing in his embrace while Nicolas took more and more blood, until Paul’s face went pale and he sagged in the hunter’s arms, dizzy and weak, but still so unnaturally willing to do as Nicolas required him.