Angelina nodded her head. “I can do it.”
Jubal glanced over his shoulder at the girl’s silent father. “Mirko, are you all right?”
“I am very angry.”
“I’m angry, too,” Jubal agreed.
“I’m sorry about Gabrielle. I hope they can save her life.”
“I’m sorry about what they did to Angelina,” Jubal replied. “I hate that we all have to worry every minute of every day that some psycho is going to try to kill us because Mikhail and Raven are our friends and Joie and Traian are family.”
“We accepted the risk when Mikhail gave us a choice to know him for what he is,” Mirko said. “I still cannot believe they threatened my daughter.” His fingers curled tightly into fists. “They threatened my family.”
“Well, they’re dead now,” Natalya said cheerfully. She gestured toward the few people wandering through the downstairs room and lowered her voice, keeping a smile firmly in place. “Slavica, thanks for the warning earlier. If you hadn’t mentioned nightly chocolate, I might have opened the door without being prepared.”
“I was about to take the hairspray to your room and just as I opened the door to go into the hall, they shoved me back inside. Fortunately they didn’t realize the package was for you and I could tell them I was about to go to the kitchen for your chocolate.”
“You got my hairspray for me? Thank you! I hope you got as many cans as you could find.”
“I bought out the store, just as you instructed.”
“You can’t wait to play with that stuff, can you?” Jubal laughed.
She grinned at him. “Well, okay, maybe that’s true. I want to see if it really works. It isn’t like I’m going to go looking for trouble.”
“That’s exactly what you’re going to do,” Jubal objected.
“What are you planning to use the hairspray for, Natalya?” Mirko asked.
“She’s developing flamethrowers to use on vampires,” Jubal said. “Can you believe that?”
Natalya abruptly moved passed Slavica and Angelina to touch Jubal’s arm, the smile fading from her face. “I need to make certain there aren’t any nasty surprises waiting for us. Why don’t you take them to the kitchen and let Slavica tend to Mirko’s face?”
“I don’t want you to go into their quarters alone. Vikirnoff will kill me. Literally.”
She snorted. “He won’t do any such thing, Jubal. Take them to the kitchen now.”
Jubal’s brows rose in sudden comprehension. “Because you think someone’s in there.”
“Slavica, take Angelina to the kitchen,” Mirko ordered, his voice hard. “We are going with Natalya.”
Natalya snapped her teeth together, irritated at the men’s manly egos. She couldn’t very well tell them they were going to be in the way. She preferred to fight by herself. Besides, something was in that residence, not some- one. The birthmark of the dragon burned hot on her body and she knew nosferatu waited inside.
“Please explain to me what you think is in my home,” Mirko said.
Natalya exchanged a glance with Jubal and shrugged. “I believe the undead, the vampire is waiting inside for you and your family to return.”
He stared at her face for a long moment. “And you were planning to go in alone, unaided to fight this thing?”
“I’ve fought them before.” She patted her weapons and the single can of hairspray she had left in her bag. “I’m prepared.”
“And this is what you use the flamethrower for? To kill the vampire?”
Jubal groaned and shook his head. “Do you have any idea how crazy this sounds? Have you seen a vampire? You’re not going to kill one with a can of hairspray.”
“I plan on bringing them down and then incinerating their hearts with the can of hairspray,” she explained.
Jubal shook his head. “No vampire would dare come to the inn with so many hunters here. That’s crazy.”
Natalya shrugged. She was not about to argue when she was totally sure of herself. Something was in that residence. And she was beginning to think vampire weren’t only in the Ostojic home, but perhaps in other parts of the inn as well.
She touched Vikirnoff’s mind. The battle for Gabrielle’s life raged on, but it wasn’t going well. Vikirnoff was literally forcing her heart to beat while Mikhail breathed for her. She could hear the ancient healing chant, the voices swelling as Carpathians joined from a distance. She could hear a woman, most likely Joie, Gabrielle’s sister, weeping as she tried to join the others in the chant.
For a moment Natalya was there with Vikirnoff, seeing the overwhelming task, the terrible damage done to Gabrielle, her body torn and drained of blood. Vikirnoff never faltered, never gave up. She could feel his determination, the endless strength and power he poured into Gabrielle’s failing body.
Vikirnoff was a man of steel and compassion. There was something in him that drew her in spite of her every determination to hold him at bay, to be angry with him for binding them together, for making her so aware of him as a man and herself as a woman.
The task she’d asked of him was enormous and required every ounce of his will to keep Gabrielle alive, but he was doing it for her. And she was going into that room filled with vampires for him. She didn’t exactly believe in putting herself in danger unless it was for a great cause. Keeping vampires off of Vikirnoff was an excellent cause. She blew a kiss toward the stairs.
“Natalya!” Jubal demanded. “Let’s get this over with. I’m getting nervous thinking about going in there. Let’s just do it.”
“That’s a vampire in there, Jubal,” Natalya said. “You’d better be very sure you want to do this.”
“I said I was going in.”
“I just said, be sure.” She didn’t wait for his comment, but pushed open the door with caution. The lights were out. A lamp was overturned and lay on the floor, the bulb broken. Cans of hairspray were strewn across the floor and over by the window, a vase with wildflowers lay on its side, water forming a small puddle. Natalya drew her sword and stepped into the room, gliding in silence, her senses flaring out to “feel” the room. She signaled the two humans to stay back as she went farther into the residence.
She knew something was there. She couldn’t find the telltale “blank” spots that might indicate the presence of the vampire, but she knew it was there.
Vikirnoff. It was a terrible thing to disturb him when he was working so hard to save a life, but she was beginning to feel a trap had been sprung. Real fear was intruding. Why had Brent Barstow attacked Gabrielle? It made no sense. Not even a fanatic would think she was in any way a threat to him. There was only one reason. Barstow had to be under compulsion. There are vampires here and they must be after the prince.
She felt the jolt of awareness that sent him back into his own body. Natalya, get out of there. He didn’t question her judgment, although he scanned the building and surrounding areas and found nothing to indicate the presence of the undead. They could be after you.
It is the prince. They drew him to the inn and with all of the hunters are wounded, I’m betting they think this is the perfect time to strike. Get the prince out of there.
He will not go.
Natalya kept to the edges of the room, moving in a circle, calling the tigress to the surface enough to use its superior senses of sight and smell. The room appeared to be empty, but the tigress went on alert, stilling inside of Natalya. Her muscles locked into freeze-frame stalk. They are here, Vikirnoff.
I am coming to you.
No! You would never forgive yourself or me if something happened to Mikhail and you have not prevented Gabrielle’s death. I can do this. Trust me as I’ll be trusting you to keep everyone there alive.
Vikirnoff swore in three languages. She could feel his frantic need to get to her, to see to her protection. In truth, she was frightened. The adrenaline was already pumping through her body with her heightened alertness, but she could deal with fear.
Vikirnoff, I know what I
am asking of you.
Do you? He bit the words out. If anything should happen to you. . . . One scratch, Natalya, I will be most angry with you. You do not want to see me angry.
She snorted for his benefit, but somewhere deep inside, someplace she kept secret, she was pleased. He made her feel like she counted. His concern was for her, not the prince and not Gabrielle, yet he trusted her enough to stay and do what needed to be done. And that respect and trust meant everything to her.
I will be with you at all times.
She recognized he didn’t want her thinking he wasn’t safeguarding her. I know. You like to make things difficult. Do your thing, Vik, and I’ll do mine.
Teasing him helped ease the fear. She stilled near a long, low-slung couch, listening. Waiting for information she knew was there. And then she heard it. Air moving in and out of lungs. Not one set, but several. She looked around her and saw multiple pairs of eyes staring back. They had ringed her as best they could with her staying against the wall. The eyes glowed red in the dark. It took a moment to make them out, the long, muscular bodies and powerful jaws of the wolves. This time the vampires were using the animal form rather than using the animals. She faced a pack of the undead.
13
“We are in trouble. Natalya is certain vampires are inside the building. She believes they are coming to kill the prince and she does not make mistakes.” Vikirnoff didn’t look at Mikhail, but at Falcon. It was their duty to see to Mikhail’s protection and whether he wanted protection or not, the prince was going to get it.
Without waiting for a reply, Vikirnoff bent his head to Gabrielle’s throat. “I am sorry, sister kin, but I do not have the luxury of waiting to see if we can accomplish this task without conversion.” He murmured the apology and sank his teeth into her throat, taking only enough blood for an exchange. She needed volumes and his ancient blood would speed the healing process.
They had only minutes before they would have to move both Mikhail and Gabrielle to a safer place. She would not survive without his blood. He was uncertain whether she could possibly survive the trip even with the infusion of ancient blood. They dared not stay and jeopardize the lives of the humans staying at the inn and that was the one powerful argument they could use if Mikhail insisted on fighting the undead.
Vikirnoff exchanged a long, knowing look with Falcon as he forced Gabrielle to consume his blood.
I do not detect the vampire near us.
Vikirnoff could see Falcon was worried, his gaze moving restlessly to the balcony and the hall. They are here.
Mikhail took a cautious look around. “That is enough blood for a first exchange. We must do this slowly. If you are certain there are vampires here, we have no choice but to move her. We can’t risk the innocent people here at the inn.” A flicker of a smile appeared briefly at the looks on their faces. “I am the prince, not a child. I do not put others in danger in order to feed my ego. We must transport Gabrielle now. We can take her to my home where we can better protect her.”
“She isn’t strong enough,” Raven objected. “We can’t keep her alive. All of you are already overseeing the functions of her body. How can you possibly do that while we transport her and fend off vampires at the same time?” She stroked back Gabrielle’s hair, tears in her eyes. “This will kill Gary. And Jubal and Joie.”
My love. Mikhail reached out to his lifemate to comfort her.
“Sara, I need you to take over Gabrielle’s heart. Natalya is downstairs alone and I feel the danger to her. I must go to her at once.” Vikirnoff indicated his spot. “If we can give the vampires the illusion that Mikhail is downstairs, we can buy more time for all of you to make an escape. I will take Mikhail’s form and he can take mine.”
Mikhail looked up sharply. “I do not allow others to place themselves in danger for me. I know what you think to do and I say no.”
“You do not have the luxury of saying no to me,” Vikirnoff replied. “Our people cannot afford to lose you. I cannot provide proper protection. Vampires surround us. We are trying to save this woman’s life and keep the humans in this inn safe. It makes sense to exchange forms and you know it. There is nothing more to discuss.”
Mikhail’s eyes flashed with anger, but Raven put a restraining hand on his arm. “He is right, my love. We have no time to argue. Go Vikirnoff. Sara and I will keep Gabrielle alive while you hunt.”
“You will need blood,” Falcon said, tearing at his wrist with his teeth. “Take mine, I offer freely.”
Vikirnoff took the rich ancient blood without protest, his gaze meeting that of the hunter. Falcon knew what he planned, because the hunter would have done the same thing. He closed the wound respectfully and stood up, shifting shape as he did so, assuming the form of their prince. He strode out into the hall, rather than shifting to vapor, wanting all eyes to see him as Mikhail. I am coming to you, Natalya. I will look like the prince, so do not stick a sword through my heart.
Why does everyone think I’m going to kill them? Sheesh!
Vikirnoff could hear the determined lightness masking her growing concern and fear. Pride swept over him. Respect. She had such an indomitable spirit and he couldn’t help but admire her. Perhaps because you take after Xena, warrior woman.
Don’t bring that up. And stay there. I’ve got this under control. Natalya fought down the sudden surge of fear. If the vampires thought Mikhail was in their grasp, they would go into a fighting frenzy, doing anything and everything they could to kill him. Vikirnoff never seemed to think of himself in battle. She touched his mind and found concern uppermost for her. For the prince. For Gabrielle. Raven and Sara. The humans and finally the other hunters, but most of all for her. She could not find concern for his own well-being. She had no intentions of sacrificing him, even if he did. Someone had to watch out for him.
Natalya was certain only one or two of the vampires masquerading as wolves were real, the others had to be clones. She couldn’t tell the difference, but the tigress could. She leapt into their midst, shifting as she did so, the predatory cat instinctively going for the nearest vampire hiding deep in the wolf’s body. The flexible, much heavier muscles of the cat allowed her to use her weight to knock the wolf off its feet and the tigress went for the exposed throat. She sank her teeth deep, clamped down and held on, shaking with tremendous force, claws ripping at the other wolves as they leapt on her.
The tigress refused to let go, would not be dragged down. Natalya was determined that at least this one vampire would not rise to fight Vikirnoff if she could help it. She ignored the wolves tearing at her and went for the chest, exposing the heart.
“Step back, Natalya,” Mirko’s voice came out of nowhere. “I’ve got that one now.”
She turned her head and saw the innkeeper had crept up behind the wolves and held a can of hairspray and a lighter in his hand. Jubal was shoulder to shoulder with him. She instantly scented a second vampire and, shaking off the wolves, leapt at the undead, slamming the tigress’s shoulder hard into the wolf’s body to drive it to the floor. At once she went for the kill, teeth clamping onto the throat.
Twin columns of fire sent the wolves scattering in all directions, fur smoldering and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air. As the tigress clamped down hard on the vampire’s throat, Natalya spotted a third vampire shifting, leaving the wolf’s body to leap at the humans. Horrified, she roared a warning, praying she was understood.
“Catch, bat breath!” Jubal calmly tossed a can of hairspray at him so that the undead automatically caught it. Mirko sent a column of concentrated flames straight at the can and Jubal added a second intense streak as well. As the vampire rushed them, the can exploded like a small bomb.
A wolf leapt on Natalya’s back, powerful jaws clamping on the nape of the tigress’s neck and ripping. The tigress whirled around, the flexible muscles and spine allowing her to reach back and rip at the attacker.
“The heart, Mirko!” Jubal shouted, pointed to the exposed heart of the vampire as it
tried to burrow deeper into the safety of the burned chest. “We didn’t destroy the heart.”
Mirko caught up another can of hairspray and directed the flames at the heart. Immediately several of the wolves rushed him. He stood his ground holding the incinerating flame steady until the heart turned to ashes. One wolf drove into his chest, back feet tearing at his skin, jaws open and teeth boring straight for his throat just as the can of hairspray ran out. Mirko dropped the useless can and caught the wolf with his two hands, holding him off as they toppled to the floor.
Jubal threw his empty can and lunged for another one, kicking one of the wolves as he did so. “Natalya!”
She rose up with three wolves biting at her sides and back. She shook them off and rushed the wolf attacking Mirko. It was far worse than she’d first thought. She had been unable to detect all of the hiding vampires even through the tigress. They had come in full force, determined to kill the prince.
The door to the residence slammed open and a tall, wide-shouldered man filled the doorway. Everyone froze. Natalya could hear the pounding hearts, the rushing of blood through veins. She growled in annoyance as two more vampires shifted into their natural forms. The remaining wolves lifted their heads and howled, breaking the sudden silence.
“Mikhail Dubrinsky. Welcome.” One of the vampires inclined his head. “Maxim will be so pleased that we have accomplished our task.”
Natalya, bleeding from half a dozen wounds, turned her head, her opaque eyes glittering as she met Mikhail’s gaze.
“Behind you!” Jubal warned.
The beat of wings, the thunder of feet, the brush of paws sounded overly loud on the wooden floor as the vampires and their clones attacked. Mikhail dissolved into vapor and streamed over the heads of the creatures. He slipped through the main entryway door, beneath the crack and streamed out into the night toward the forest with bats, birds and wolves rushing after him.
Natalya turned on the nearest wolf, her mind racing. She would have recognized Vikirnoff in any form. The clone wolves still remained behind and she “felt” the presence of evil in the inn, probably stalking those upstairs, but the vampires had charged after Vikirnoff and she was certain there would be more of them. Snarling, she whirled to face the wolves, wanting to dispose of them quickly so she could follow Vikirnoff.
Christine Feehan 5 CARPATHIAN NOVELS Page 101