Dark Song

by Christine Feehan

  Is it possible that Josef is a distraction? That Cornel knows about your connection with Sergey and has prepared for it?

  As always Elisabeta took her time deliberating before answering him. Any other time he wouldn’t mind, but right at that moment, when the redheaded Linda was clearly using her every move to seduce Josef, squirming on his lap, kissing him passionately, running her hands through his hair, down his back, and all over his body, his alarms were screaming at him.

  Barack, Syndil, can you stop by Josef and Linda’s table with a drink for them and interrupt? Or at least see what she’s up to? I do not have a good angle from here. The waiter closest to that table is one of those working for Sergey. He is watching the couple very closely. In fact, he’s paying more attention to them than he is to his customers.

  We can deal with him, Dayan offered.

  Corrine suddenly appeared directly in the waiter’s path while his head was turned toward Josef and Linda’s table. The waiter ran right into her, the collision much harder than expected, throwing her to the floor and sending him sailing over the top of her. He somersaulted, smashing both legs into the edge of the wall. He screamed, as did Corrine. Heads turned toward them. Josef stood, nearly dumping Linda off his lap, hurrying across the short distance to crouch down beside Corrine and run his hands lightly over her legs and arms looking for injuries. Linda tapped her foot, one hand on her hip, looking annoyed. The waiter continued to scream, writhing in pain.

  Both legs broken. They’ll have to delay whatever plan they have for a few minutes while he’s taken out of here, Dayan said, satisfaction in his voice. That should give our teams in the city time to do some thorough hunting.

  Linda is very frustrated. She wants to go home. Her head is hurting but she cannot leave without accomplishing her task. She does not even remember why it is so important, only that she must get Josef to be so enamored with her that she can inject him with a syringe filled with a chemical the vampire gave her. The vampire was an Astor, not Addler but a different Astor, so it has to be the cousin that came and went upon occasion. He was younger. He did not like to be around the Malinov brothers and refused to give them the kind of allegiance they desired.

  I need his name, Elisabeta. He tried not to push her, but Carpathians such as Tariq, Gary and the triplets, the ones who spent time in the Carpathian Mountains or around humans, might recall the names better than any of the ancients who had been locked away in the monastery.

  Again, there was that slight retreat.

  Minan piŋe sarnanak, I thank you for the information and the infinite patience you have with all the demands we keep putting on you. I know you must be tired.

  She was aiding the four teams in the city, helping them hunt, showing them where the enemy was as best she could, giving them locations on a grid while they were moving.

  Cornel cannot know what I can or cannot do, Ferro. He is not aware of me even when I touch on him. I can always tell when someone is becoming aware of my presence. There is a slight change in their energy. It is much like an automatic reflex. We can control our heartbeats, our breathing, but even with all those things, those gifts, there is always that one moment when a change takes place in the body. When we become aware.

  Ferro could tell she was choosing her words carefully.

  I am not talking about the outside tells that I read, although they give people away easily as well, but these are very subtle in the mind. You are extremely good at reading them, you just do not always recognize that you are reading something you do not like. When you called to me with your song that first rising, drawing me from the earth, you already knew something was wrong. You already felt it and you were wary. You are tied to Gary and you read his unease over me. Instinctively, you moved to protect me without fully knowing what caused you to begin to separate yourself from those who lived here in the compound.

  How could he know that you can do the things that you do when you were not fully aware of your gifts?

  I knew I could read others, Ferro, I just never shared those things. Gary is an ancient from a powerful bloodline. His ancestors poured themselves into him, all of them. They reside in him, both a blessing and a curse. By tying his soul to yours, when you recognized me as your lifemate, little by little he began to recognize traits in me.

  Before you even came to the surface as my lifemate.

  Ferro didn’t know why, but it bothered him that Gary would recognize her brilliance and perhaps want to crush it before she could even find her power. Or before Ferro had the chance to recognize she was truly in danger from someone he considered a friend and ally. Did that make him the worst lifemate ever born?

  Hän sívamak. She whispered “beloved” in his mind, surrounding him with her loving serenity that only Elisabeta could provide. His woman. She made him feel as if he was her only focus when she was providing information through Lorraine and Julija to Tariq so his teams could wipe out the servants of the master vampires.

  Ferro, his name is Robi Astor. He is a second- or third-generation cousin. There was triumph in her mind in the remembering. Excitement and confidence. I did not see him often. He did not like being around any of the Malinovs. He did consult with Cornel because Addler would report to Sergey or Cornel would. He was intelligent, and much less flamboyant than the other Astors. I thought he was very smart to keep his distance from the Malinovs. They would have considered him a rival. Anyone with a true brain was considered an opponent and either had to be shown to be less than them in a very decisive way or killed.

  Ferro was so proud of her sharing her thoughts with him. She pulled up memories from so long ago, analyzed them and gave him the results. She’d come such a long way in only a few risings, already believing in herself. It was there all along, she just needed an environment to thrive. He was going to ensure that was never taken from her. Never.

  Too many of the servants are beginning to disappear, Ferro, and the master vampires are noticing. Cornel is becoming concerned. They are discussing launching their attack on the nightclub right now. Elisabeta went from triumph to fear in moments.

  20

  Now tell me this and tell me true;

  Say you’ll choose me, as I chose you.

  Ferro wasn’t about to wait for Cornel to decide to launch an all-out war on Tariq’s popular nightclub. The paramedics had already taken the waiter from the underground bar, and the music was once again pounding a bruising heartbeat through the club, signaling to everyone to start up the fun. Josef slung his arm around Linda’s neck and started to walk her toward the dance floor.

  She halted and stamped her foot, the syringe hidden in her clenched fist at her hip as she posed, pouting. “I just want to be alone with you. Is that too much to ask?”

  Josef leaned into her, one hand wrapped around her wrist, controlling the fist clutching the syringe. He put his lips next to her ear. “Yeah, babe, especially when you plan to drug me and let your friends cart me off in their waiting chariot.”

  Linda’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to scream. Josef smiled, holding one finger up, shaking his head and drawing the finger across her lips. Abruptly all sound was cut off. She looked panic-stricken as she attempted over and over to cry out. Nothing emerged from her throat, not even a simple croaking noise. Josef grinned at her and escorted her to the table, sitting down and pulling her onto his lap.

  What is the signal that Linda has Josef ready for transport? Ferro asked Elisabeta.

  She is to open the exit door herself.

  Ferro had been certain she would be taken or killed right there. There would be no advantage to the vampires in sparing her. She was a pawn, nothing more, a pretty girl they had picked up and programmed, thinking she was Josef’s preference when it came to women.

  Josef’s amusement moved through his mind. I will switch places with Linda. She will sit here docilely like the good Carpathian boy under the influenc
e of the drug that shouldn’t work. I really want to see what they put in that drug. It should be interesting. I can open the door. When they come at me, I hope all those moves you’ve been teaching me work. In the meantime, you can maneuver around and get the master vampire.

  Ferro didn’t think Edward Varga was much of a master vampire. He was planning on leaving the pathetic monster to Josef’s guardians. Somewhere, hidden out of sight just on the other side of the exit, were Traian and Joie. Traian wasn’t in the least bit happy that vampires had tried to kidnap his charge right out from under his nose.

  Dayan and Barack will aid Traian, destroying Varga and his servants when Varga attacks you, Josef. You let them handle the master vampire. You can hone your skills on a lesser servant or perhaps a newly made vampire at a later time when I am with you, but not a master vampire. There is no need to prove anything to anyone, least of all to yourself. You are too valuable to our people to lose in a battle where we have many warriors available. Do you give me your word of honor that you will do as I have said?

  I have no intentions of losing my life to a vampire, Josef said immediately, shedding his appearance even as Linda became Josef sitting at the table, slightly slumped in his chair, looking a bit drunk. Josef, now looking the part of a redheaded woman, stood, leaned down and brushed a kiss on the forehead of the man, glanced toward the wall and gave Ferro a cocky wink.

  He is very clever, Elisabeta observed.

  Ferro sighed. I am centuries old, Josef, not born yesterday. You take one more step toward the door without giving me your word and you will not take another.

  Josef halted abruptly. I’m not stupid, Ferro. I have no intention of fighting anything. I’ll open the door and let Dayan, Barack and Traian do all the work.

  Ferro caught the faint trail of shame in the boy’s mind. You are not being relegated back to being a child. I do not think of you that way. There are women in that club. Our women. Human women. O jelä peje terád, Josef. He swore in his native language. You are a valuable asset Cornel has already devised a plan to kidnap. Why am I even bothering to explain this to you?

  He caught a glimpse of a smile in his lifemate’s mind, and at once all annoyance was gone. He understood now why Josef’s reputation had preceded him, although he didn’t think it was truly deserved. The boy was a good kid; he just needed a little guidance. And a firm hand. A much firmer hand than anyone had ever given him, probably because he managed to squirm out from under it too fast.

  Josef sauntered over to the door, took a firm grip on the bar and shoved down to open it. The door was heavy and he had to step outside. The moment he did, a man with stained teeth exposed through loose, salivating lips caught at his long red hair and dragged Josef to him, spinning him as he did so, exposing his neck. Ferro recognized Varga trying to feed off the woman he thought he controlled. Two others came close but the master vampire paused long enough to kick at them and indicate for them to get inside and collect their intended victim.

  Before Varga could sink his teeth into Josef’s neck, Josef shocked Ferro by slamming his fist deep into Edward Varga’s chest and wrenching his head to one side, avoiding the long teeth seeking his blood. That small split second allowed Traian to come in behind the vampire so that when Josef drove his fist into the front of the chest wall, the force of the blow helped send the vampire straight back into Traian’s fist.

  They know. They are here, Elisabeta warned.

  Ferro didn’t wait to see the outcome of the battle between Varga and Traian. He had to believe that the Carpathians stationed in the underground caverns could protect those there. He had to find the master vampires and destroy them. Once they were gone, any lesser vampire breaking through into the nightclub would no longer have direction and would be easier to kill.

  We need the location of the master vampires, Elisabeta. Let the hunters do their jobs now. Drop everything else. You cannot be distracted. He wished he was with her to shield her from what they all knew they couldn’t completely prevent.

  On the private path between brethren, he reached for Isai. Let Julija know she will have to do her best to keep Elisabeta from feeling the full effects of the vampires tearing into the humans. Once Cornel or any of them are aware she is aiding us, they will know she is too sensitive and they will order their servants to be as cruel and as messy as possible.

  Ferro was grateful to be out of the underground and into the night. He could smell the ominous threat in the air. Overhead, the clouds churned a dark twisting mass of gray and black threads, blotting out the moon and stars as if they’d never been. When he inhaled, he smelled rotting flesh. Grating noises hurt his ears. Shrieks and talons scraping at windows told him vampires were trying to get into the nightclub.

  The waiters in service to the Malinovs had been contained by the Carpathians the moment the notice was given. They couldn’t open doors or invite the vampires in. That didn’t mean any number of the guests inside couldn’t do it. Sooner or later, someone would. The moment that happened, the vampires would begin to feast. After the first blood spilled, it would turn into a frenzy for the servants of the master vampires they’d deliberately kept so hungry.

  Elisabeta? We need direction, he prompted.

  She hissed at him—actually hissed at him. His beloved, sweet, docile Elisabeta was definitely coming into her own. He would have smiled but she would have known.

  This is not easy. They have to move in their minds. They are hidden, buried deep in their disguises. I have to discover them, see them through those disguises. It takes patience and attention to detail.

  He did smile. He had used words very similar when he was giving her lessons in shifting or flying. He’d made her practice hundreds of times. She was taking not just him but many centuries-old ancients to school. She might pretend she thought it was just her lifemate she was talking to, but she knew those he was connected to were listening and he was sharing with others.

  Forgive my impatience, piŋe sarnanak.

  At once he felt her instant horror that she had come close to rebuking him. She hadn’t considered that any others might hear them. No, Ferro, please forgive me. I feel stretched in so many directions, trying to reach out to find them, and I was not thinking.

  He gentled his voice, cursing the entire situation, wishing he was a gentler man. You are doing fine, sívamet.

  He was moving with the wind, letting his body drift toward the heaviest cover. There was a massive parking garage. There would be plenty of victims for the vampires to prey on there, but he doubted if any of the master vampires would want to be caught with concrete and stone hanging over their heads. They would want to be very close to the nightclub itself. Cornel in particular was certain the piece that he thought would aid him to rule the Carpathian people, or destroy them, was hidden somewhere in the building. Where? Where would he think Tariq would keep such a valuable item? His office? That just seemed too easy.

  In the landscaping at the back entrance where the patios are on the ground level. There are heavy bushes there. Elisabeta seemed tentative, as if she’d lost her confidence.

  Ferro couldn’t pour himself more fully into her mind without risking giving her away to Sergey or one of the others. He detested using her. The ancients were used to hunting their way. They shouldn’t need his woman to spotlight their quarry for them.

  Sandu, Benedek and Isai had spread out, drifting like Ferro with the wind, looking to spot a single sign of the master vampires hidden in the city structures, the cars and parking garages, rather than the forests and mountains that were their normal hunting grounds.

  Sedrick is in the patio itself. He has made himself part of the roof. Ivy grows along the overhang and hangs down the supports. Are any of you close enough to see if the leaves have withered? Elisabeta sought confirmation that she was correct.

  Benedek answered immediately. I will work my way around to the patio, little sisar.


  Ambrus has concealed himself just to the left of the underground club exit door, closest to the trees. He is working to bring down the safeguards over the door of the nightclub, not the underground club. While he works, he is in communication with someone inside. She was silent for a moment.

  Ferro, as did all the others, felt the brush of pain, as if an electrical charge passed through their minds. He went very still. Elisabeta? Is Ambrus aware of you? Does he know that you are tracking him?

  He is very powerful, and each time I touch his mind, he is wary. I told you, his instincts are more animal than human. He senses a presence, but has no idea who or what that presence is. He sent out a probe. I was slow in shielding all of you from his investigation. It can sometimes be painful. I am used to it and forgot you would not be. I apologize.

  Elisabeta’s admission set Ferro’s teeth on edge. That sweet, gentle voice admitting that she knew Ambrus’s probe would be painful meant she had often reached for his mind and felt him trying to find if an enemy really might be close. Could he trust his senses? She didn’t flinch from the pain because that would give her away. Sun scorch the woman, she was going to be the death of him, not some master vampire. She was going to tear out his heart.

  Ambrus, yes, Elisabeta, I see him now. He is very busy, Sandu said. He has two servants with him, guarding his back.

  His servants are like him. Elisabeta was quick to give out the information. Instinctive, like animals. Fierce in battle. They always go for the belly and genitals. If you have spotted two, there will be three others concealed nearby. Ambrus hunts with a pack. He is the one I would consider the most dangerous in battle. Cornel is the strategist. He can plan a war, but Ambrus is the fighter. His servants are close to having the skills of a master vampire without being one.

  Ferro didn’t like the sound of that. Sandu wouldn’t hesitate to take on Ambrus and his pack of servants. He was an ancient and they did one thing—they destroyed vampires. He had no lifemate and no reason to continue his existence. Ferro chose to make his stand with Sandu. Sergey was not going to escape him again, not unless he was dying or dead, but he had to make certain Sandu had a fighting chance to survive.