Dark Demon

Vikirnoff stiffened. «You would use this book?» His gut churned with protest and his lungs began to burn for air.

Her eyes took on a faint amber glow. Bands of light streaked across her face and hair as she shifted closer to the candlelight, reaching for the long sword in its scabbard against the wall of the cavern. At once she was far more difficult to see, blending into the shadows.

«If I chose to use the book it would be my business, Vikirnoff. You cannot dictate to me that I must retrieve this book and then turn it over to someone I don't know, I don't trust and I don't respect.»

Vikirnoff remained silent, forcing back his first response. She knew very little about his people and it was true, he had arbitrarily decided for her what she should do with the book once she had recovered it. And he was pushing her to recover it. Natalya was not a woman to be forced into anything. Right now she felt cornered and she was fighting back. «Have I earned your respect?»

Her amber eyes glittered, taking on the eerie glow of the night creature. «Yes, of course. One has nothing to do with the other. You aren't Mikhail Dubrinsky. You aren't asking me to give you the book for safeguarding, you're telling me to give it to him.»

«Would you give me the book?»

«Yes.» She didn't hesitate. «But not to give away. Only to safeguard.»

Vikirnoff let his breath out. She disarmed him so easily. The tension began to ease from his body. «Do you want to keep this thing? I think of it as evil. Am I wrong to feel that way about it?»

«The blood of my grandmother and two others sealed this book. Of course I think of it as evil and more than ever, that means it can't fall into the wrong hands. I don't know your prince and I don't find memories of him in you. How do you know his heart or his soul, Vikirnoff? You want to hand him a weapon that could be the ruin of us all and yet you do so on blind faith.» She shook her head. «I can't do it.»

«Are you concerned that Mikhail will be in more danger?»

«Partly.»

«No one has to know he has the book. He will not try to wield the power, only to study Xavier's plan to rid the earth of our species. Xavier must have spent centuries developing a spell to use against my people.»

«I'm certain he did. The point is this. You asked me to locate the book and I did. Now you want me to recover the book and hand it over to someone I don't know. Does that make sense to you?»

«If you trust me, then there is no problem. We do not want to keep this thing.»

«Isn't it better to leave it where it is for the time being and if it becomes apparent Xavier is getting close to discovering its whereabouts, then retrieve it?» Natalya stepped out of the shadows. «Don't ask me to do this, Vikirnoff. I can't go against what I feel is right, not even for you.»

«You believe it is better to leave the book there? Why do you think vampires are looking for psychic women who have the ability to touch objects and read the past? Why do you think so many have gathered here? A war between vampires and Carpathians? I believe they are searching for the book. Xavier knows your father was found near the peat bogs. He has to be searching there.»

«The safeguards will hold.»

«Will they? Who taught your father the safeguards? Who taught you? Even Razvan knows the safeguards you use. They will not hold and I think you know that.»

«Then I'll guard the book. I'll hide it somewhere else, halfway around the world, somewhere he'll never think to look.»

«Natalya.»

She threw her head back, exposing her throat, but her fists were knotted at her sides. Her name. Just that, nothing else, a wealth of expression in his voice. «I'll find the damn book, Vik, but I'm not handing it over to the prince until I'm certain it will be safe.»

«That is good enough for me, ainaak enyem, I cannot ask for more.» He held out his hand. «Let us go find it.»

Chapter 17

The peat bogs were unexpectedly as beautiful as they were eerie. Natalya paced carefully around the nearest edges just along the pine forest, where the water drained from above and seeped up from below to form the enormous marsh. Sphagnum moss grew in abundance, the feathery stems and leaves stretched out invitingly over the surface beckoning her to come closer. Orchids and a dozen other plants flowered in or around the dark water. The ground, even close to the edges was spongy and each step she took shook the nearby trees. «Some of these plants are huge.»

«They are carnivorous. They eat insects,» Vikirnoff said.

«Still…» Natalya glanced up at the mountain rising sharply above them. Parts of it were totally obscured by the thick mist. Pine trees grew in abundance and some low branches partially dipped into the wide bog, so that needles floated on the surface along with the thick vegetation. She pressed her palm over the birthmark that warned her when vampires were near. «I don't think we're being watched. Do you feel any danger?»

«Not from vampires, but lately I haven't been able to feel them close by. I think it has something to do with the parasites in their blood. I have no idea how they mask their presence, but it seems to be effective.» He was still uneasy. The forest pressed too close and the smell of the peat bog was overwhelming. «Can you unravel the safeguards from here, Natalya?» There was more fighting room. He preferred the solid ground to the spongy, waterlogged terrain.

«No. I'll have to be in the exact spot my father was. He'll have set it up that way as part of the protection. If they come, you'll have to keep them off of me while I retrieve the book. Once they know we're looking here, they'll drain the bog before giving up.» The marsh was huge with sinkholes everywhere. In the moonlight, the stagnant water appeared deep and treacherous, despite the many plants blooming on the surface.

«You be very careful, Natalya.» It was an unnecessary thing to say, but her hesitation, coupled with the heavy oppressive weight settling between his shoulder blades, increased his feelings of unease.

Natalya tossed him a quick, saucy grin. «Careful is my middle name.»

Vikirnoff scowled at her. «This is a serious situation, Natalya.»

Her eyebrow shot up. «Really? I would never have guessed. I thought maybe it would be cool, campy fun like in The Creature from the Black Lagoon. It didn't actually occur to me that it could be serious.»

«There is such a thing as overconfidence.» There was a small pause. «What is The Creature from the Black Lagoon?»

Natalya shook her head in disgust. «Just what have you been doing all these years? Don't you ever watch television? The Creature front the Black Lagoon is a classic. A must-see movie right up there with King Kong and Godzilla. You had to have watched them.» When he looked blank, she sighed. «A scientist becomes this mutant creature and lives in the lagoon…» She trailed off. «Never mind, but we have to work on educating you about movies. You're missing some great stuff. It's education. How do you think I learned about vampires?»

Vikirnoff shook his head. «I do not even want to know.»

«Movies, of course. I've decided I'm going into the film business. I can make great vampire films.» She took her first step onto the thin layer of earth that stretched over the waters of the bog. «These mountains make a perfect setting, with the way the wind can't reach certain areas and blasts others, and how the fog lies in so thick, not to mention all the bogs and ice caves.»

«I think it's been done,» he answered. His voice was husky and she glanced at him sharply.

Vikirnoff's heart beat in his throat as he watched her following in her father's precise footsteps, a pattern they had both memorized. It didn't matter that she was so careful and light on her feet, almost gliding as she placed her feet on the tufts of grass, he was afraid for her. Fear took on an entirely new meaning when it was for a loved one.

Love. He tasted the word-tried it out tentatively. How did one equate the terrible, overwhelming emotion that had somehow crept up on him with that small word? Did he feel this way because she was his lifemate? Or because of who she was? What she was? He couldn't image wanting a woman without her penchant for late night movies. And as exasperating as it could be, when she didn't have a sassy, smart comment to make, it worried him. Was it love to wake up thinking of her before anything else? For centuries hunger had been his every waking thought and yet now, even that had taken a back seat.

Natalya paused staring down at the two small blocks of grass, side by side, both looking as if they were solid. «Look at this, Vik, does this look the same? I don't remember two patches so close to one another.»

He swore under his breath as he took to the air and hovered just above her. There had not been two patches so close together. Over time, the bog had changed, plants growing, multiplying, and dying off naturally. Natalya was risking stepping into a sinkhole by following the pattern her father had provided. «We could try finding the last step and I could carry you to that spot.»

Natalya shook her head, glancing at him sharply. «The pattern is part of the safeguard.»

Vikirnoff was ashamed of himself. He had known the steps were important, just as she did, but as she got deeper into the bog, his uneasiness grew stronger. He was well aware of the weather patterns in the Carpathian Mountains, of the places where there was a lack of wind and the fog hung for weeks on end. He knew there was fire and ice beneath the mountains and that many oddities were really natural and not made by either Carpathian or vampire, yet the stillness in the valley was oppressive to him and the stagnant water, so naturally the color of old blood had become sinister.

«I do not feel easy about this, Natalya.»

Her eyebrow shot up. «You aren't helping. I'm trying to remember if he stepped forward with his left foot or with his right.»

«His left.» The answer came out of his memory, minute details recorded automatically without thought. «He switched leads.»

She flashed a grin at him as she wiped beads of sweat from her face. «You might be useful after all.» She pointed toward the edge of the bog. «Wait over there. I don't want you hovering over me, making me nervous.» She waited until he complied before leading with her left foot.

Vikirnoff folded his arms across his chest, assuming his expressionless mask. «It is good to know you are finally coming to the conclusion that I am useful.» His fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white and his muscles began to ache from the terrible tension that continued to rise in his gut.

In the forest behind them the trees started to sway gently, almost imperceptible at first, but Vikirnoff's acute hearing picked up the rustle of the pine needles and he swung around alertly. There was a little moonlight shining through the woods and the branches were illuminated in a ghostly silver. The needles appeared more like skinny fingers with sharp nails reaching out toward the bog. The ripple of unease grew stronger. Vikirnoff turned so he could watch both the forest and Natalya as she proceeded through the swamp.

She stepped forward a second time with her left foot, swayed precariously so that his heart jumped into his throat. Natalya regained her balance and took several more steps, each with more confidence, so he was surprised when she halted again abruptly.

«What is it?»

«I don't know.» Her hand slid to her sword, touching the sheath for the comfort of knowing it was close. «Did you hear something?»

«The wind?» But it wasn't the wind. There was barely a wind. Voices sounded in the distance, wailing and crying, the rise and fall faint, but discernable.

«You wish it was the wind. It's going to be something nasty,» Natalya predicted. «The sound has increased with every step I've taken. And look at the surface of the water.»

Vikirnoff stepped closer to the edge of the bog. The ground shook and several plants vibrated with the motion. He halted instantly, his gaze riveted to the surface rather than the plants. The water was stagnant and should have been still, but it moved in peculiar patterns, not fast or abruptly, but rather so slowly that it was almost imperceptible, yet when he peered closer, faces seemed to stare back at him.

«Are there bodies in the bog?»

«Ugg!» Natalya drew back, staring down at the surface, her fingers grasping her sword hilt. «That's gross. I didn't even think of that. I don't think there are bodies in the swamp, but now I'm worried something dead is going to reach up and grab my ankle and yank me in.» The moment she uttered the words there was a small silence. She reached down to rub at the finger marks on her ankle. «Do you think he's here?»

Vikirnoff knew she meant Razvan. «Let's get out of here, Natalya. You do not have to do this.» He took another step toward her and sank to his ankles.

«Don't!» she said it sharply, shaking her head adamantly. «I have to do this. We both agreed. If I don't now, I'll never come back. I need you to give me confidence.»

He swore under his breath, resisting the urge to take to the air and snatch her back from the center of the bog. «You do not ask very much of me, do you?»

«You know, when you started in about the entire lifemate thing, I didn't protest too much, because you were kind of cute.» Natalya pulled her gaze away from a shimmering face with its mouth open in a scream. She took several more careful steps, sure of the pattern, and stopped only feet away from where her father had hidden the book. «At the time, I didn't realize how incredibly bossy you are or how grumpy you can be.»

«Kind of cute? You didn't protest too much?» Vikirnoff echoed. «In all your late night movies did you ever come across a character named Pinocchio?»

Natalya burst out laughing. «Of all the movies, you had to have seen that one. That's so you.»

He grinned at her. «Actually, I did not see it. I read the book, but I knew it was made into a movie and the character was someone you could relate to.»

«It's a good thing you're over there and I'm over here. I'd push you into one of the sinkholes and just leave you to contemplate your sins.» Natalya gave a little sniff. «I may have stretched the truth slightly, at least the kind of cute part, but I didn't lie.»

She took the last few steps through the bog, until she was standing in the exact spot her father had stood in years earlier. «This is it. I feel my father here. Now it gets complicated.»

All around the small island of grass where she stood, the faces forming in the surface of the water gathered, mouths gaping open, sightless eyes wide. Some of the faces were larger than others, rising up like small waves and trembling as if made of gelatin. «See, this is the kind of thing to put in movies,» Natalya said. «Only no one would believe it. It's plain freaky.»

«What do they want?»

«They are the guardians of the book. I imagine, if I make a wrong move, they're going to let me know very fast.» She took a breath and let it out, slowing her pounding heart and stilling the strange roaring in her ears. «If they grab me, I have high expectations that you'll dive into the water and do something to get me back.»

He shrugged, feigning nonchalance. «It has taken me a while to train you in the ways of submissive lifemates. I would not want that time to be wasted.»

She flicked a quick glance at him. Just his presence, calm and confident, his wide shoulders and strong, beloved masculine face calmed her churning stomach. «So let's get it done and when it's over, you are going to strike the word 'submissive' from your vocabulary right along with your 'little slip of a girl.'»

«At this rate I will not be allowed to speak.»

«And your point would be?»

«I am not making any promises.»

She smiled. It was barely there, a brief curve of her mouth and then gone again, but his heart contracted. «Somehow I knew you'd say that.» The warmth faded from her eyes to be replaced by fear. «Seriously, Vikirnoff, if anything happens to me, remember that whatever is in this book, is worth dying for. Xavier killed to seal the book and he's killed again and again to get it back. You have to find a way to destroy it. Don't let anyone try to use it.»

«I will be damned angry if anything happens to you and you have never seen me truly angry before. Get it done and let us leave this place.»

She rolled her eyes. «I love it when you get all bossy on me. It's silly and never works, but it's kind of cute.»

Natalya turned away from him, grateful she'd had the last word. She was already feeling

the pull of the book. It called to her, a treasure lost, a book filled with centuries of work, recipes for good, for healing, for working miracles. Xavier, a brilliant man lost to the corruption of power and greed, had distorted the work of so many. When had Xavier been derailed? Had it been a gradual decline? It must have been. The Carpathians had once been friends with him, trusted him. Rhiannon had studied under him. Had that been the start of the tragedy? Had he craved her immortality? Her beauty? Had he grown old while she stayed young?

Natalya shook her head to rid herself of all thoughts. She needed to concentrate, to think only of the complicated pattern her father had woven into the air when he set the safeguards. She had to reverse his spell, using his words, but backwards, paying particular attention to every syllable he had enunciated. She felt Vikirnoff with her, merging firmly, his mind and memory open to her and that added to her confidence. She was a natural talent and she had worked hard to hone her skills. Although she feared Xavier, she was very aware that she had outmaneuvered him several times and that her talent as a mage was nearly on par with his in spite of her comparative youth.

Do not think you can go up against him. Vikirnoff snapped the order, uncaring that she might get angry. If I thought for one moment that you would do something so stupid, I would not only forbid such a thing, but I would prevent you from such a folly. Rhiannon believed she could match him with her talent and you know what happened to her.

I am not nearly as egotistical as you seem to think I am. I'm busy here, Vik, don't be bothering me. It occurred to her even as she turned away from him that Vikirnoff was as reluctant for her to put her hands on the book as she was to touch it. She brushed his mind with warmth, with reassurance.

Vikirnoff held his breath as she began to weave a graceful pattern in the air. She turned slightly to mimic the exact angle her father had taken. Her voice, soft and melodious, but commanding, called on the elements to aid her. The air around the bog grew heavy, pressing on them, nearly suffocating them, as she murmured the reverse of the safeguards, choosing each word carefully and using her father's peculiar rhythm.

The moaning of the wind increased. The branches in the pine forest clacked together and needles flew like sharpened darts through the air. Vikirnoff shifted slightly as the water began to rise and seep around his feet. Tuffs of grass disappeared. Anxiously, he looked at the spot where Natalya stood. Water lapped at the toes of her boots. The faces on the surface surrounded her tiny square of grass, empty eye sockets watching her every move. Waiting for one mistake. One misstep.

Admiration grew for Natalya as he watched the way her hands swayed in the air, never faltering, never trembling. Merged as deeply as he was with her, he knew her fears, yet she stood in the center of the bog encircled by danger without flinching, looking magnificent. He was the one with the beads of sweat trickling down his body. He was the one with his heart in his throat. He was on the balls of his feet, ready for action, ready to take to the air and reach her should something go wrong. All the while he watched her, his heart swelled

with pride. It was nearly impossible to believe she was really his lifemate. She seemed an extraordinary miracle of which he would never be worthy.

The air shimmered as her hands dropped to her sides. The faces in the water moaned softly, emitting cries of protest as the book ascended from the murky depths. Red water poured off the oilskins, looking like trails of blood as the thick tome emerged. Small waves crested around the small square of grass, covering Natalya's feet.

Vikirnoff leapt into the air and was on her in seconds, grasping her around the waist and jerking her out of the bog as the book floated into her outstretched hands. A loud hum was his only warning and he wrapped his arms around her firmly, protecting her with his body as he threw shields up around them. Insects crashed into the barrier, the sound breaking the stillness of the night.

Natalya hooked one arm around his neck and wedged the book between them. «It's heavy.»

It also smelled foul and dripped water down the front of them. Vikirnoff immediately cleaned and dried the package even as he streaked away from the bog back toward the mountains and the caverns he loved.

You were incredible.

I know. Shocking talent, aren't I? Natalya did her best to see in every direction as they streaked across the sky. I'm getting used to traveling this way. I kind of like it.

It is very convenient.

Natalya felt him nuzzle her hair. Unexpected desire shot through her. It was such a casual gesture, but at the same time, it felt intimate. My birthmark is beginning to burn just a bit. A vampire is coming close to us.

I do not want to take any chances as long as we have the book. We should go back to the caverns and decide what to do from there. Do you think Xavier is tied to the book in some way? Will he know it is out of the hiding place?

Natalya shook her head. I doubt it. If he could have traced the book, he would have known it was in the bog and he would have sent someone to search the place until they found it. He wouldn't have dared to go himself. The bog is located too deep in Carpathian territory, and he feared Carpathians more than anything else. It was strange to remember small details denied to her for so long. Vikirnoff's safeguards obviously prevented Razvan from being able to suppress her memories. The longer her brother was out of her mind, the stronger her memories became.

I doubt he would have trusted anyone else.

Razvan. He would have sent my brother. Razvan has little natural skill as a mage. He

wouldn't have noticed the safeguards for what they were. He would have done a cursory inspection of the area and gone back to Xavier and told him the book wasn't there.

Vikirnoff took them through the small opening in the chimney and dropped through the mountain until it widened out into the larger chamber. He waved his hand and flames leapt to life on the candles as he placed her feet carefully on the floor.

«Where are we going to put the book?»

Vikirnoff took it from her and slipped it into her backpack. He didn't even glance at the book for which they'd risked so much. «This will do for now. We'll discuss a safer place to hide it later.»

«Sounds good to me.»

«I realized, there in that foul smelling bog, that revelations occur in the most unlikely places.»

Natalya's eyebrow shot up. «Really? What world-shattering revelation was imparted to you there in that foul-smelling bog?»

«Just that I never wanted Donna Reed or June Cleaver. It has always been Xena, warrior woman who had my heart.» His tone was casual, matter-of-fact, not at all as if he were handing over his heart to her.

«The revelation just came to you right there in the middle of the bog, did it?» Natalya slipped out of her double harness and removed several clips. «Somewhere between the water making nasty faces at me and the rather pathetic audio effects?»

He nodded. «Yes. It became very clear to me.»

«You're just a tiny bit slow on the uptake, there, Gomer.» She set her sword up against the cavern wall and laid several knives in a semicircle around it. «You should have figured it out in the forest when I saved your butt the first time we met.»

«Gomer?»

«Pyle. I'll explain later. Right now, I want to hear more about your revelation.» She placed her backpack in the center of the semicircle directly in front of the sword.

«The last time I tried to bring up Xena, you terminated the discussion,» he pointed out, folding his arms across his chest.

«Well, now you've had a revelation, haven't you? That changes things.»

«Would you like me to set the safeguards for that?» He indicated the backpack with his chin.

«You may as well. If I do it, my brother will be able to track us immediately.» She tilted her head, studying him as he glided over to the cavern wall. She loved watching him move. «You could take your shirt off while you're working. I wouldn't want you to get hot or anything.»

His eyes went dark with heat as he shrugged out of the shirt and tossed it aside. She watched the play of muscles across his back as he raised his arms to weave the safeguards.

«You're breathtaking, you know that? I guess I can forgive you for being an absolute dope sometimes.»

Vikirnoff laughed, the sound startling both of them. He rarely laughed and when he did it warmed his eyes and took the hard-edged expression from his face. Natalya found an answering grin on her own face.

«Your adoring compliments take my breath away.»

«Well, don't let them go to your head. I'm only feeling this way temporarily. You said something nice for a change.» Natalya held her breath as he sauntered toward her. He could look so powerful just walking. Just breathing. The effect he had on her was absolutely idiotic.

«I am reading your thoughts.»

«Really? Are you getting the part about what an incredible lover you are and how I might be able to put up with your bossy nonsense if you keep me happy in other ways?» She shrugged. «Just asking, in case, you know, you wanted to start keeping me happy.»

Vikirnoff was suddenly crowding her so that she took several steps backward. «Where do you think you are going?» His hand snaked out to wrap around the nape of her neck, abruptly stopping her.

«Nowhere. You just move so fast sometimes.»

«Are you saying I intimidate you?» There was a wealth of amusement in his voice.

«As if.» She moved into the shelter of his body, loving the way his skin heated her as if he absorbed her, or she just melted into him. «I am not easily intimidated.» She ran her fingertips over his chest, trying to press closer, inhaling him to take him into her lungs. Vikirnoff was like a rock, solid and steady. «Especially by you.»

«That is a good thing.» He bent his head to hers.

Natalya loved how slowly his mouth descended to capture hers. His breath was warm. His eyes changed right before his lips claimed hers, going dark with desire. There was the feel of his hand tightening on her neck, the pad of his thumb sliding over her skin. So many sensations, all before his mouth took possession of hers. He created intimacy between them

with so many small details, each one making her feel like she belonged to him. Like he belonged to her.

She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the wonder of his mouth. She allowed the heat to claim her, to sweep through her body so that she caught fire from him. She wanted to kiss him forever, to drown in the taste and scent of him. His arms closed around her, strong, reassuring, possessive even, dragging her closer, setting off a multitude of butterflies winging their way around her stomach.

Vikirnoff wanted to kiss her forever. He called her ainaak enyem, forever mine, and he had all along. His mind had known and his body had known, even his soul had known, but it had taken spending time with her before his heart had caught up. She was so much more than ainaak enyem, she was ainaak sivamet jutta, his 'forever to my heart connected', and she would be for all time. The crazy thing was, he didn't even know how it happened.

«I love what you're thinking.» Natalya framed his face with both hands. «I really do.» She punctuated it with small kisses and teasing nibbles on his lips. «But I want all of your attention on making love to me. The actual making love to me, not thinking about how much you love me.» She gave him a small sexy smile. «You can do the thinking about loving me so much afterward.»

Amusement crept into his eyes, stealing her breath. «You want the actual thing?»

She nodded.

«My entire attention?»

«Absolutely.»

«You are a demanding little thing.»

«High-maintenance. I told you.» She went up on her toes to kiss him. She loved kissing him, loved the silken heat of his mouth. She could stay there for eternity.

Vikirnoff drifted on a rising tide of lust and love. He let the feel of her skin, the brush of her hair and the fire of her mouth take him over. Electricity arced from Natalya to him. Flames raced over his body and poured like molten lava into his veins. His every nerve ending leapt to life, craving her. His fingers tangled in her hair, his mouth devouring hers, wanting more. Needing more.

«Vikirnoff.» She murmured his name, breathed it into the heat of his mouth. Her voice was soft and sensual, her lips swollen with his kisses and her vivid eyes dark with desire.

His body was as hard as a rock, painfully full. She could do that to him so easily. All of his centuries-old control seemed to vaporize when his mouth was on hers. He dispensed with her clothing in caveman style, jerking the material off her in strips, exposing the rise and fall of her breasts, the tight beckoning nipples, the globes of her buttocks and the

invitation glistening at the junction of her legs.

He blazed a path from her lips to her breast, his mouth clamping greedily, teeth scraping and teasing while his tongue laved and soothed. She cried out, stunned pleasure on her face. His hand caressed her belly, touched her small golden hoop, and moved lower. The moment his fingers brushed her wet mound, her entire body shuddered, a low moan escaping.

«You are so hot, Natalya.» His fingers plunged deep, felt the contraction of her tight muscles, hot and moist and so velvet soft. His erection, heavy and thick, pulsed with the need to be buried deep inside her, surrounded by her feminine sheath.

She bucked against him, a helpless thrusting of her hips, riding his hand with a small sob of pleasure. Vikirnoff couldn't stand it anymore and lowered her to the floor, hanging onto enough of his intellect to remember at the last moment to cushion her with something soft between her body and the cave floor. His mouth found hers again, feeding on her taste, the sweetness he could never quite get enough of.

She groaned into his mouth, and fire raced over him, hot and pure, his body hardening past the point of pain. He kissed her throat, her breasts, spent time on her small golden ring, teeth tugging and teasing and returning to her hard nipples. She gasped when his hands parted her thighs, his fingers stroking so close to her heated center that her body shuddered and her muscles clenched with a need so agonizing tears shimmered in her eyes.

«Please, Vikirnoff. I need this. I need you.»

That soft little plea was more than he could stand. He bent his head and lapped at the welcoming liquid. Her body jerked beneath his hands and his tongue speared deep. She screamed, her hips bucking but he pinned her with hard fingers, holding her to him to drive his tongue hard and deep.

Stars seemed to explode around her, lights dazzled her. Natalya couldn't catch her breath, couldn't think. Her body fragmented, shattered her so that she thought she might die from sheer pleasure. He didn't stop, teasing her with lightning-quick flicks of his tongue, stroking the hot knots of nerve endings into another hard release that left her lungs burning and her head spinning.

He heard her cries, felt her fists tugging at his hair, her body thrashed beneath him but he couldn't stop, craving the honey from her body, her screams of pleasure that only fed the building inferno in his body. He suckled her, tongue thrusting and probing, forcing her body into another tier of sensation where she could only mindlessly plead with him and her body was slick and hot with the shocks of multiple orgasms.

Vikirnoff rose over her, his eyes black with hunger, a snarl of possession on his lips. His hands kept her thighs apart as he pressed against her pulsing entrance. Natalya could feel the thick head entering her with excruciating slowness. He seemed far too big for her, even as slick as she was and with her nerve endings so sensitized she could only wail at the

intensity of the pleasure engulfing her.

«Hurry. Please. Hurry, hurry.» It was a mindless chant, her head thrashing back and forth, her body in a frenzied grip of need. The loss of control was so shocking, frightening even. She could only hang onto him for an anchor in reality as he took her over the edge of reason.

He gave one powerful thrust, surging forward, burying himself deep, stretching her tight muscles impossibly, driving into her hot core. She screamed again, her body convulsing instantly around his, inner muscles squeezing so powerfully, he nearly lost control. Her nails bit deep into his shoulders and her hips jerked beneath him.

Vikirnoff clamped his fingers around her wrists and slammed them to the cavern floor, holding her helpless beneath his assault, his body relentless, using a hard, merciless tempo, pounding into her over and over.

His face was edged with lust, his eyes dark with hunger and need as his mouth found her throat. Natalya couldn't think past the pleasure/pain of his body taking hers with such wild abandon. She felt the sharp sting of his teeth at her throat and it only increased her pleasure until she thought she might die with it. His teeth scraped back and forth at the swell of her breast, just above her heart, and then sank deep.

Her body imploded, splintered and shook with the force of her orgasm. His fingers tightened in hers, holding her beneath him, his body building and building with the force of his need. She felt him in her mind, sharing the taste of her, the pleasure rocking him, and then his tongue swept across her breast.

«Taste me, Natalya.» His voice was harsh, sexy with his lust. «Come to me now. Come into my world.» It wasn't a plea, it was a command. His hands tightened around her wrists. He didn't help her, his chest above her mouth, his body so tight it stretched hers to the limit. «Damn it, woman. Do it now.»

She was desperate for relief. If he kept pounding into her she wasn't going to live through the night. Could a woman die of pleasure? In any case, her incisors had already lengthened and her body gushed with anticipation, making her sheath so hot and slick it only allowed him deeper until she thought he would climb into her womb. She licked across the heavy muscles of his chest and sank her teeth deep. At once his ancient blood poured into her like flowing nectar. His body thickened, hardened, pistoned into hers without mercy. His erotic images and his overwhelming pleasure burst through her mind even as her own muscles tightened around him, gripping him desperately.

She drank, choked, swept her tongue across him to close the pinpricks. Nothing could stop the forceful driving of his body into hers. Her orgasm ripped through her, somewhere between pain and pleasure, rocking her body, the shudders refusing to stop, gripping her with the same intensity as her muscles milked him. She felt him exploding, jetting into her with his seed, hot spasms that had a guttural sound tearing from his throat.

Vikirnoff buried his face in Natalya's throat, desperately trying to regain a steady heartbeat, to pull air into his lungs. She had been so tight and hot, her vaginal grip on his sensitive erection torturing him with pleasure as she clasped him to her, draining him completely. She was going to kill him if their lovemaking got any better, but it was a great way to go. He lifted his head enough to nuzzle her breast. Her nipples were tight hard beads, tempting him. His tongue flicked and teased.

Her body jerked around his, tightened on his flesh so that he groaned as fire raced through him, spreading through every nerve ending. «I love you, Natalya.»

«I don't think I can ever do that again. It scared the hell out of me. Worse than any vampire.» Her fingers tangled in his hair. «I couldn't stop. It just went on and on and I didn't have any control at all.»

He smiled against her breast. «It will only get better.»

«We're both going to die, you know that don't you?»

«It occurred to me,» he admitted. He kissed her again, gently this time. «You know you will be going through the conversion soon. I have heard it can be painful.» He lifted his head to look into her eyes. «I will do my best to spare you and the moment it is safe, I will put us both in ground.»

Fear etched tiny white lines around her mouth. Her eyes were enormous but she nodded at him. «Don't forget the book and the safeguards.»

He rolled off of her and drew her into his arms, holding her close. «I will not forget anything. Thank you for giving yourself to me.»

Natalya laughed. «Is that what I did? I thought you took me for yourself and there was no going back.»

«There is no going back now.» He murmured as the first ripple of pain took her, driving the air from her lungs.

Chapter 18

«Hold on to me, ainaak'sivamet jutta, I fear this will hurt like hell.» Vikirnoff's eyes held panic, something Natalya had never seen in him, just as she'd never heard that particular tone in his voice.

She reached for his hand, tangled her fingers with his. «I'm not the first woman to do this, you know. We'll get through it.» As the pain radiated through her with all the intensity of a

blowtorch, she wasn't altogether certain she was telling the truth. It took her breath, leaving her gasping.

Vikirnoff turned pale. «Damn it, I should never have let this happen.»

He startled her with his swearing. He often said things in his ancient tongue, but rarely did he curse. His blatant lack of control shocked her into focusing on him rather than the pain tearing through her body. Vikirnoff was already sweating, his eyes alive with fear for her.

When the first wave eased enough to allow her to breathe again she pushed her hand through his hair, her touch tender. «You're such a baby. It never occurred to me you'd be a baby.»

A baby? He wanted to kill someone with his bare hands. He didn't feel like a baby. He felt like a berserker, a wild, out-of-control demon, ready to rend and tear anything in his path. He couldn't believe the conversion would be like this, the pain ripping through her body with the force of a tidal wave. Against such agony, his tremendous power was utterly useless. «This is…» He spat out a series of words in his ancient language, his voice low and mean.

«I so don't want to know what any of that means,» Natalya said, trying to smile. The smile died swiftly as the pain began swelling again, gripping her so hard her body convulsed. Fire, hot and ferocious, tore through her body. She bit back a scream, desperate to hide the extent of the pain from him.

Small beads of blood formed on Natalya's brow. Vikirnoff swept back the tangled mess of her damp, tawny hair. Small stripes banded over her body, shades of orange, white and black, faint streaks tinged with blood. Raw fury burned through him and he cursed who and what he was. The way she tried to be so damned protective of him shredded his heart. He came up on his knees, soaked his shirt in the coolest pool in the cavern and wiped the sweat from her face as gently as he could.

Natalya suddenly pushed at him, tried to pull out of his mind, turning her face away from him, but he stayed firmly merged, his blood pounding through his veins. This was emotion at its worst. He rode the wave out with her, striving to find a way to help her, searching for calm. For centuries, his world had been unemotional, and now, when he needed it most, he couldn't find the balance that was so necessary to aid her.

She went white, so pale her skin was nearly gray. The bluish tinge to her lips had his heart pounding in alarm, but his hands were gentle as he wiped her face and throat.

She caught his arm. «Stay with me.»

«I am not going anywhere.»

«You can't possibly become vampire, can you, Vikirnoff?»

He knew her fears were because of her twin brother. She had lost him. The last person in her life to really love her. Now, she feared losing Vikirnoff. He brought her hand to his mouth, kissed her knuckles, opened her clenched fist and pressed a second kiss to the center of her palm. «Thanks to you, no. Not ever.»

She attempted a smile, trying to tease him, wanting to reassure him. «Then you owe me big time. Big time. And I intend to collect.» It was starting again, the torch in her stomach, burning through her lungs and heart and every organ. She tried to breathe through the pain, was desperate for air, for a way to stop the agony just for a moment so she could regroup. Tears burned in her eyes and streaks of blood ran down her face. «I'm sorry,» she whispered, her fingers tightening around his. «I'm going to be sick.»

«That is good.» He swallowed the bile in his own throat, feeling desperate. He wanted to wrap his body around hers, find a way to protect her, to take away every second of the pain. «That is a good thing. It will help you rid your body of toxins.»

She tried to crawl away, wanting to get into the shadows, but she was too sick, her body shuddering with pain, collapsing before she could reach the darker edges of the cavern. Vikirnoff tried to touch her, to help her, but she shook her head, pushing his hands away, unable to bear being touched with her skin so sensitive. He waved his hands at the candles flickering closest to her and the lights went out, leaving her with a semblance of privacy as she was sick over and over.

«This sucks,» she announced, rolling over to lie still, conserving her strength for the next round. «I know you can make that go away»-she pointed to the mess she'd made-«and I really detest throwing up, so remove it please.» She took the water bottle he handed her and rinsed her mouth, grateful he was thoughtful.

Vikirnoff complied, making certain all evidence that she had been ill was removed. «I want to try to do this together, Natalya. Do not hold yourself away from me or try to protect me. You are my life and I need to do whatever I can to help you through this. Let my heartbeat lead yours. Let my breath be yours.» He couldn't be a bystander while she suffered so much. He had to find a way to help her.

Natalya reached out her hand for his. It was almost comical to see him so shaken. Her big bad Carpathian. He was actually trembling. Worse, he looked ready to kill something, or someone. Who knew he would react like that? «What are you going to do if I ever have a baby?»

His face paled visibly and his eyes darkened even more. «I cannot think about it now. Not for a long time. Centuries maybe. Perhaps never, if it is anything like this.»

The next wave began building and she shifted her gaze to his face, her expression desperate. He brushed back her hair, noting the stripes once again stood out against her skin and hair in bands of orange and black and white. She alternated between the stripes and her pale, almost gray complexion. «Hang on, love, breathe with me. A long slow breath and

ride above the pain.»

Her gaze clung to his, her grip on him so tight he thought she might crush his bones, but she followed his breathing, long slow breaths, moving air in and out of their lungs, staying above the worst of the pain. Her body shook and the pinpoints of blood seeping through pores alarmed them both, but she was able to get through the wave without convulsing.

«I don't want to lose my tigress.» She lifted her head when he put his arm around her neck to hold her up so she could rinse her mouth again. «It wants my tigress and she is fighting it, I don't want to give her up. She's a part of me, just like breathing.» There was anxiety in her voice, a plea in her eyes.

«The conversion is reshaping organs and tissues; essentially you are reborn as a Carpathian. I can still see the stripes. It is your nature to be a tigress, not part of your species. I do not believe you will lose who you are.» He brushed the damp strands of tawny hair from her face. «You will always be Natalya and the tigress is part of your soul. I feel her locked with me. You will not lose her.» He repeated the reassurance a second time as the next pain welled up sharp and fast, lifting her from the cavern floor and slamming her back down so hard her bones seemed in danger of breaking.

Natalya kept her gaze fixed on Vikirnoff. He was her lifeline. As long as she looked at him, saw desperate love and worry etched into his face, in the black eyes, she knew she could be strong. She'd never had a man look at her like that, as if his world was shattering because she was suffering. She could feel him trying to take the pain from her and it only made her love him more. He was such a powerful, steadfast man, yet all his personal stoicism dissolved in the face of her suffering.

She stroked his face, her fingertips smoothing the deep lines as the pain subsided. «I'm not afraid of this, Vikirnoff. I'm really not.»

He swore again. She hadn't heard him say so many swear words in all the time they'd been together. «I am. I knew it was bad, but not like this.» He pressed his forehead against hers, smearing blood across both of their brows. «It has to be over soon.»

«It will be.» She was calm now, resigned to the waves of pain, able to hang on because she could get through anything for a short period of time and he was there with her, looking ravaged and drained, so distraught she wanted to soothe him.

Vikirnoff thought he might lose his mind. Time dragged, each second agonizingly slow, an excruciating endless anguish that had him praying when he hadn't prayed in centuries. He had never felt so helpless-or useless in his life. His Natalya, so courageous, undergoing such torment for him. For his way of life. When finally he thought it would be safe to send to her sleep, she smiled at him. Smiled.

Vikirnoff wanted to weep. The way she looked at him, with such love in her eyes, humbled him. He couldn't believe she could see him that way, not after such an ordeal.

There was love in her eyes, a warmth that seeped into the coldness of his bones and brought him back to life.

You really are a baby, you know. There was utter weariness in her voice. She was so tired, yet she couldn't help wiping at the blood-red tears streaking his face.

Only where you are concerned. I am going to lock you in a tower and keep you safe for well over a hundred years. It will take at least that long to get over this night.

I really hate to have to admit this because I've almost worked out the counter spell to undo the binding ritual, but I have fallen madly in love with you. There was a small deliberate sigh in her voice, as if she were annoyed that she could possibly have fallen in love with him.

His burning lungs found air. That small sigh was enough to tell him she was still Natalya, his warrior woman and she wasn't going to cave in because she was flat on her back. I hate to disagree with you when you are obviously unable to defend your position, but the ritual binding words are not a spell. You cannot undo our marriage.

She closed her eyes but a faint smile curved her lips. Then I shall endure.

He burst out laughing, a mixture of relief and amusement, tears still leaking from his eyes, gathering her up in his arms as he opened the ground, exposing the rejuvenating soil rich in minerals. «I am putting you to bed where you will not be able to torment me. I need recovery time from this ordeal.»

Her eyebrow shot up. You need the recovery time?

I nearly had a heart attack.

The pain was welling up again, seizing her organs, squeezing like a vice so it felt as if she might really be having a heart attack. Stop talking and more action.

Vikirnoff sent her to sleep instantly, a strong command that was probably unnecessary, but he wasn't taking any chances. He sat for a long time cradling her in his lap, rocking gently back and forth, more to soothe himself than her. He stared down into her beautiful face. When had he become so consumed by her? He couldn't imagine his life without Natalya. Her lashes were thick and black, feathery crescents under her eyes. He noted the dark circles that hadn't been there before.

He had never considered himself a man of violence. He lived in a world of violence and did what he had to do. Hunting was a way of life. Battles and wounds and destroying evil were simply how he lived. It was never personal, never emotional. Yet now, with Natalya, all that had changed. He couldn't bear her to be in pain. Not physically and certainly not emotionally.

He buried his face against her throat. He had a demon in him and it wasn't the monster

who had lived and roared for blood. This unexpected demon had risen up, demanding retribution, wanting to smash and destroy simply because Natalya was in pain. He couldn't stand to see her that way, so pale, in agony, trying valiantly to protect him. Vikirnoff didn't like discovering he was a violent man, but it was there, deep inside and he wouldn't hide from it. Natalya had seen him, demons and all, and she hadn't turned away from him. For that alone, he loved her.

He carefully unraveled the safeguards surrounding Natalya's weapons and her backpack. The book would have to be with them at all times until he could convince Natalya to turn it over to the prince. He could understand why she wanted to safeguard the tome herself. She knew next to nothing about the Carpathians, a dying species, with too few women and even fewer children. And that meant she didn't know the prince or his capabilities. Mikhail was one of the most powerful Carpathians alive and if anyone could keep the book safe-or find a way to destroy it, it would be Mikhail.

The backpack floated into his hand and he settled down into the rich soil. He would need to rise first and feed enough for both of them before taking her to the great healing caverns where Mikhail and Falcon would give Gabrielle the third blood exchange to convert her. In spite of the tremendous odds against it, Gabrielle was still alive, and Vikirnoff was still guarding her spirit. He needed to be there when she underwent the conversion. The idea was unsettling, especially after he had just gone through it with Natalya.

Vikirnoff stretched out in the welcoming soil, feeling it cushion and embrace him. He settled Natalya's limp body beside him, while he curled up around her, the backpack under both of their palms where it would be safe and she would see upon awakening that he had kept his word. The safeguards were some of the strongest he'd ever woven, wanting to ensure Natalya's safety. He swept his hand across her bare skin. «Sleep well, sleep deep.» He brushed a kiss over her lips and lay still beside her, calling to the soil to cover them.

Vikirnoff woke hours later at the precise moment the sun set. All Carpathians were aware of the rising and setting of the sun, yet it was so ingrained in them they gave it very little thought. He scanned the caverns above and below them and then finally the open areas surrounding the caves before opening the earth. As he gathered Natalya in his arms, he thought for the first time in centuries about the sun and how important a part it had played in the life of his lifemate.

He carried her body to the pool where he could wash all evidence of the conversion from her body along with remnants of the rich soil. He didn't want her to wake afraid-or worse, sorry that she had chosen the Carpathian way of life. He loved the night, embraced it as his world, but someone who had walked in the sun might have trouble adjusting.

He nuzzled Natalya's throat, whispering to her to awaken. He caught her first breath in his mouth, took it into his lungs and held it there, feeling her heart flutter against his hand. She sighed, a soft sound of love that made his heart leap. The pads of her fingers trailed

over his chest, a wisp of movement so light it felt like the flutter of wings, yet it seemed she burned her brand forever into his skin. Her fresh scent rose up to torment him, to tease his senses and harden his body.

Natalya's long lashes lifted and her brilliant green gaze stared into his, darkening with hunger, with desire. «Hello.» Her voice was soft, incredibly sexy and every muscle in his body tightened and hardened.

«Hello.» She couldn't fail to notice the evidence of his desire, thick and pulsing with energy and heat.

«I'm alive.» Her fingertips smoothed over his face. A slow smile curved her mouth. «Hang on one minute and let me make certain everything is working properly.»

Vikirnoff frowned as she rolled over and jumped to her feet, stretching lazily. He propped himself up on one elbow, a faint smile on his face as she shifted shape. The tigress bounded around the cavern, joy in the playful leaps, before she rubbed her fur along his body. He sank his fingers into the thick pelt and caressed her face as she lay beside him.

Natalya shifted back again, laughing up at him. «She's still there.»

«I knew she would be.»

Natalya sat up, a fluid movement of grace and elegance, shifting to straddle his lap. Her body was already hot. He could feel her wet and slick pressed into his thigh. His hands caught her hips, trying to position her where he could join them, but she resisted, shaking her head. «I want luxury this evening. I think I deserve it.»

He swallowed hard. Luxury might be the death of him. «You deserve anything you want.»

«I want to touch you.» She lowered her head so her lips could skim his chest, featherlight, just enough to drive him mad. «Like this. I love touching you.» She wanted to make love to him. A long slow passionate time where every touch showed him her love. Where her new senses could heighten what she already felt when he touched her. She needed this time with him to feel loved in every way.

His hands cupped her buttocks, lifted, massaged and rubbed, pressing her closer to him, his body so eager for hers his heart was nearly exploding out of his chest. She lifted her head, her gaze slumberous and sensual, her mouth finding his, teeth tugging gently at his lower lip, her tongue teasing his with tiny stroking caresses. He felt each one vibrate through his body, coming together in his groin. The ache grew into a distinct pain, his erection heavy and stiff and throbbing for relief.

Her mouth left his and she alternated tiny kisses and bites across his throat and down his chest. Her hands pushed at the wall of his chest until he leaned back, resting against the side of the pool. Water lapped at his thighs and legs, splashed droplets over him. Natalya didn't

seem to notice, intent on tracing every muscle with her tongue and teeth. She was tortuously slow as she moved down his chest to his belly with slow licks and tiny kisses. The fire racing through his veins found its way to the building volcano in his groin. «I am not going to live through this.»

«Well, you'll just have to, because I want to feel the way I love you and the way you love me back.»

She moved her hips, sliding the moist heat of her mound back and forth over him until he groaned, his fingers digging into her hips to set her on him. Smiling, she slid lower, pressing kisses against his flat belly, her legs sliding into the water, giving him a delicious view of her curved bottom. He couldn't stop his hands from massaging her, fingers dipping low to invade her body. His breath was coming in ragged gasps.

Her breath moved over the head of his erection, warming the glistening drops there, and stilling his heart. «This is what you did to me. I couldn't think or breathe. I could only feel, Vikirnoff. I want you to feel how much I love you.»

Before he could answer, her mouth closed around him, tight and hot, her tongue doing some incredible dance while her fist grasped him with sure fingers. Lightning raced up his body, sizzled in his veins. The sound of his breathing was harsh, even to his own ears. He watched her through half-closed eyes, his body going up in flames. When he thought he would die, when he couldn't feel anymore without exploding into a million fragments, she took him deeper so that his hips thrust helplessly. The small suckling noises coupled with her tight mouth and licking tongue nearly drove him out of his mind.

Her fingernails raked his scrotum, her fingers tightening and squeezing gently, her mouth so hot it was a cauldron of fire wrapped around him. His fists bunched in her hair and he thrust deeper. Her breasts moved against his thighs, her nipples hard pinpoints of heat. He couldn't resist the invitation of her curved bottom, thrust upward in the air as she suckled. His hand came down open-palmed, stroked and caressed, massaging, his blood pumping so hard through his veins he was afraid he might spontaneously combust.

Vikirnoff groaned her name, dragged her head back, needing her body, needing the feel of her wrapped tightly around him, gripping with such force he knew she needed him every bit as much. He could devour her later, her sweetness pouring into him, her cries bringing him intense pleasure, but not now. Now he was too frenzied with lust, too high on love. The two emotions were so mixed together he couldn't separate them.

He rolled her over, coming up on top of her. Her breasts were beautiful, the full mounds tipped with darker pink nipples, rising and falling with each breath she dragged into her lungs. Water splashed around them, her hair floating in strands on the surface. The ledge held her in position, her bottom firmly lodged in the cradle of rock. He stroked her soft skin from her neck to her hip, stretching her beneath him like a sacrifice. «I love the feel of you. Do you have any idea what it is like for me to touch you like this?» He stroked her again, this time his palm taking a path over the swell of her breast to the V at the junction of her

legs. Deliberately he merged his mind with hers so she could feel the fiery sensations in his own body, the driving need of the male of his species to dominate and control.

Her eyes darkened with hunger, with excitement. The tigress in her would never accept a mate less than Vikirnoff. His touch on her breast roughened as he rolled her nipple between his thumb and finger, but he leaned forward and brushed a gentle kiss across her lips, his tongue sweeping into her mouth with stroking caresses.

The contrast between the tenderness of his mouth and the roughness of his hands sent heat sweeping through her body and left her womb clenching in desperation.

His teeth nibbled on her chin, his hair sliding like silk over her so that every nerve ending jumped to life. He licked her nipple. Paused. Lowered his head to taste again. His tongue flicked her several times making her so aware of the sensual erotic spot. Teeth scraped, lips kissed. Her head thrashed back and forth and when his mouth closed, hot and tight over her breast, suckling strongly, she cried out his name, fingers tugging at his hair, nails digging into his back.

«Hurry up.» She panted the command.

He lifted his head, his smile wicked. «You wanted slow and lazy. I am giving you what you wanted.» Deliberately he kissed his way across her belly, tonguing the ring, teeth tugging at it, before clipping lower.

«No. I need you in me. Right. Now.» She could barely get the words out.

«One taste.» He sank his finger into her, watching the shattering pleasure on her face. «That is what I need. To see you like that, Natalya, to see you come apart for me.» He pushed a second finger in, deeper this time, finding her most sensitive spot and rubbing with hard, strong strokes. «The tigress is close when you make love. Do you realize that? Your eyes go midnight blue and then opaque when you are very aroused.» It was the biggest turn-on, watching her eyes change color, watching her face and body flush for him, her nipples taut and elongated, her breath coming in ragged, harsh gasps.

His eyes, dark with sensuality held her gaze captive as he began a slow assault of her body. His tongue and fingers stroked and thrust into her; his licks and the tiny bites of his teeth drove her to the very edge of sanity. She couldn't think straight, couldn't find the breath to gasp out a protest as he took over her body, playing it like a finely tuned instrument. He was everywhere, claiming every inch of her as his own, building her need and hunger into a frenzied lust. She screamed through two orgasms, her body inflamed, burning out of control.

He rose above her, gripping her thighs, desperate hunger running through his body. Every muscle was strung so tight he felt coiled and ready, an explosion waiting to happen. Looking at her face, so beautiful, so filled with hunger and need for him-for him. There it was, the miracle he had been gifted with. She had been made for him. Her body, this body,

fit so perfectly with his; it was designed for pleasure, and he meant to take every drop and give her back tenfold.

He sank his shaft deep, a hard, driving stroke to take him as far into the hot inferno of her channel as he could get. She was so tight and wet, gripping him with her inner muscles, that he let loose a guttural growl of sheer bliss. Catching her legs, he wrapped them tightly around his waist, forcing her closer to him, so that he could pound deeper and harder with long, sure strokes. He felt her body tighten and shudder around him, but he kept thrusting, in and out, over and over, never wanting it to end. Her second climax began before the first had faded away, throwing her into another much more violent one.

Her hands clamped onto his shoulders, an anchor for her when he kept going, taking her even higher, forcing her into an explosive third orgasm. It shuddered through her body with the force of a freight train, rocking her, setting off the same explosion in him. He felt the drawing, the tightening until his very bones ached with the contraction. Her sheath, so hot and tight, gripped him, squeezing him to the point of pain, convulsing around him, a fist of hot velvet, until he was helpless to stop the volcanic eruption, spurting into her over and over.

Natalya stared up at him, dazed and slightly shocked. Her body refused to relax, refused to release him, every aftershock sending shudders of pleasure through her. She couldn't talk, couldn't find a way to drag air into her lungs. She could only lie there with the water lapping at her body, staring into his face.

«You are more beautiful than any woman I have ever seen.» And more sensual. She looked a siren there, spread out before him like a feast. «Again, Natalya. I want you again. And I want your blood and I want to give you mine. I want everything this time.»

She shook her head, a faint smile curving her mouth. «You already took everything. I can't move.»

«I do not want you to move. I want you to feel.»

Natalya couldn't move. Exhausted, her body still crying for more, she looked into his eyes, so dark, so intense with desire. His hands were everywhere, his teeth and mouth and his tongue. She pressed her mouth to his chest, drinking when he demanded, fire pulsing through her, multiple orgasms rocking her when his teeth pierced deep and his body thrust again and again into hers. She couldn't believe she could want more, but desire consumed her, Vikirnoff's needs feeding her own. She couldn't seem to get enough of his body and there didn't seem to be enough ways for him to sate himself with hers. «We're going to die if we keep this up,» she warned, when she could talk again.

«I have centuries to make up for.» His hands stroked her breasts. «I will never get enough of touching you like this.»

Natalya rolled over into the heat of the pool. «I'm going to be so sore I won't be able to

walk. You look pale. I think you need to feed.» Even as she said it, a flare of jealousy spurted through her. What if he bent his head toward another woman, knuckles brushing her breast? What if the woman looked at him with desire, her body growing wet and hot as he approached her? A low snarl escaped and Natalya swam toward the center of the pool. If she ever smelled another woman's scent on him, he would find out what it was like to rouse the tigress.

Something was wrong, but Natalya couldn't figure out what it was. They'd made love, she had been so happy, but with her mixture of heightened tigress and Carpathian senses, she suddenly felt the presence of another woman. She did. He might deny it all he wanted, but there was another woman in his life.

Vikirnoff watched her with speculative eyes. Very soft stripes banded her hair and flesh as she moved through the water. He touched her thoughts and smiled. How she could think he might want another woman was a puzzle to him. He followed her, pacing right beside her.

Natalya flashed him an irritated glance. «I need space.» She sent up a column of water with a single bat of her hand. Or paw. In the flickering candlelight, even with his amazing night vision, he couldn't tell whether she had partially shifted. Her blue cat's eyes had gone stormy, opaque, shimmering with translucent colors and a warning.

His body tightened all over again. Natalya's warrior woman brought out the dominating male in him. He couldn't help it or the intense desire sweeping through him. «You need me.»

Her eyes glowed with heat. «Back off, Vik, before you get into trouble. I feel her so close to you.»

He reached out and caught her to him, standing up so the water pooled around his hips. «There is no other woman and there will never be another woman.» The words hissed between clenched teeth.

«I feel her.» Tears shimmered in her eyes and she tried to push him away with the flat of her hands.

He caught her wrists, seeing her very real distress.

«This makes no sense…» His voice trailed off. «Gabrielle.» He whispered the name. «You feel Gabrielle, ainaak sivamet jutta. You feel Gabrielle calling to me.» His thumb slid over her bare arm in a caress. «You cannot hold Gabrielle against me when you asked me to save her. You knew what it entailed.»

She shook her head. «I didn't. I asked before I thought. I didn't know how it would make me feel to know she is there with you.»

«Her spirit is light. She is uncertain whether she wishes to remain when her life will be

changed for all time. I am the holder of her spirit and I can give her freedom. Release her into the other realm. Is that what you wish?»

The tigress fought for supremacy, struggled to rule when jealousy ate at her.

«You are my heart and my soul. You are my woman. It is your body I wish to possess. Your body I fantasize about and your blood I wish to taste. I do not want you to feel afraid that I will betray you, especially after all you have given for me.»

Natalya covered her face with her hands. «Stop! Don't tempt me. What a horrible person I am to even consider such a thing. Don't you dare allow her to slip away. I have every confidence in myself as a woman.» That might be more bravado than she wanted to admit. Vikirnoff's appetites had not only surprised, but slightly shocked her. He had a way of making her so out of control, so filled with desire she would do anything for him and that not only was terrifying, but fascinating to her. «If you did betray me with another woman, I doubt I could hold the tigress in check.»

«Lifemates cannot lie to one another. We are too often in each other's mind for a deception to be effective. I neither want nor need another woman.» He drew her closer, pressing his body against hers. «They call us to the healing cave. Mikhail will convert Gabrielle and bring her into our world. Once it is safe, she will be put into the ground for several days to give the soil a chance to heal her. Joie and Traian, Gabrielle's kin, will have a chance to complete their journey to be here when she rises. I will no longer be needed.» His arms went around her and he rested his cheek on the top of her head.

«I'll need you.» She rubbed her hands down his back. «I'm sorry I'm not those perfect women.»

«Perfect women?» He lifted his head to look down at her, confused as usual. He could never follow her train of thought and he even had the advantage of getting into her head. «I have no idea who you are talking about.»

«June Cleaver and Donna Reed. Your pinup fantasy women.» There was a bite in her voice, even when she tried to tease.

He groaned. «Are you ever going to let me off the hook? I do not want those women. Or any woman like them. I want you.» His teeth bit into her shoulder in a small reprimand. «'Only you.»

«I can hear the Carpathians calling us now. How many of them will be there?»

Vikirnoff heard the apprehension in her voice. Fighting vampires, coming into his world, being his woman, even making love to him for hours on end was undaunting to her, but meeting other Carpathians was frightening. She tried to hide it, but her body was pressed tightly against his and he could feel her trembling.

He carried her out of the water. They dried their bodies and dressed in the clothes

Vikirnoff wove for them. He provided her with her battle outfit, the one she was most comfortable wearing. She loaded up with weapons in silence and accepted the backpack from him, slipping it onto her shoulders before sliding her Amis sticks into the loops of the pack.

«Mikhail and his lifemate, Raven, will need to be present. I am certain Falcon and Sara will be there as well.» He sent a question winging to the prince, waited for the answer and relayed it. «Mikhail said that Jubal is with Slavica watching over the seven children Falcon and Sara care for.»

Natalya slipped her arm around his neck, as he shifted shape. «Not too many people. I can handle it.» As they took to the night sky, with her clinging to his giant bird back, she hoped it was true. Colors dazzled her eyes. Everything, including her emotions seemed so much more acute. She was far more aware than she'd ever been, to the point where she actually had to experiment with turning down the volume in her ears to avoid hearing snippets of conversations as they flew over the village.

The healing cave was beautiful, made of crystals and flowing water. Heat and humidity blended together so at first Natalya found it heard to breathe. Ice-cold water flowed from one wall, dropping several feet into a hot mineral spring so that the steam was thick and white, floating above the shimmering water like clouds.

Gabrielle lay in the center, the earth already open to welcome her, the soil nearly black with richness. She looked pale, so still and white, Natalya's heart went out to her and she was ashamed of her earlier jealousy. She touched the other woman gently, determined to help Vikirnoff do whatever it took to save her.

Sara and Raven greeted Natalya with a hug and very welcoming smiles. The men greeted Vikirnoff by gripping his forearms in the way of the ancient warriors. Both Mikhail and Falcon bowed from the waist at Natalya with old-world courtesy. A third man stepped from the shadows, startling her so that she drew her sword before she realized he, too, was Carpathian.

«I did not mean to frighten you.» If there was amusement on his face, it didn't show. The centuries spent in Brazil had given him a slightly different look. Aloof, aristocratic. Very handsome like his kin, but dressed in a completely different style, looking more like a wealthy rancher. «I am Manolito De La Cruz, at your service.»

Natalya lifted her chin. «You didn't frighten me.» She met the black eyes without flinching.

Mikhail turned away with a faint smile. «Manolito brought us news of a small group of Jaguar men committing atrocities against their women. His family believes they may be in league with the vampires. He also carried back the news of another Morrison laboratory and a very lethal poison they've developed to use against us.»

Natalya turned to Vikirnoff, her eyes wide with apprehension. He moved closer to her, but didn't touch her, recognizing her need to feel strong. «Did you bring back a sample of the poison?»

Manolito shook his head. «I have the images sent from my brother. I have given them to the prince. Riordan broke down the compound and sent it to me to deliver to the Mikhail.»

Mikhail knelt beside Gabrielle's still body and gestured for everyone else to take their places in a loose circle. «We must complete this before we lose her. Vikirnoff has guarded her spirit carefully for days, but he tells me she fades more with each rising.»

Vikirnoff positioned himself at Gabrielle's head, his hands resting on either side of her. Natalya knelt beside him and merged her mind firmly with his. At once she touched Gabrielle's spirit. It was light and fragile, staying only because Vikirnoff kept her with them, refusing to allow her passing. He murmured to her softly, encouraging her as the others began the ancient healing chant and Mikhail bent to take her blood for the third exchange.

Merged so deep, Natalya felt Gabrielle wincing away, trying to be brave, but doubts and fears rose up in spite of Vikirnoff's comforting voice. Tears welled up in Natalya's eyes as she realized Vikirnoff had been soothing and comforting Gabrielle each time she was awake. I should have been helping you. I should have been there for you.

She was his partner and this keeping of Gabrielle's spirit hadn't been easy for him. He didn't have the connection to Gabrielle the others had, yet he had guarded her soul and refused to let her die. Natalya was determined to rectify her mistakes. She bent close to Gabrielle, brushing her own spirit against the other woman's.

You must cling to life. Natalya told Gabrielle. There are so many who fight for you. So many who love you. Do you have any idea how very precious that is? These people give of themselves freely to you. They offer life with them. Do you want to leave only out of fear? Fear can be overcome.

The answer was a small fluttering in Natalya's mind. In her heart and soul. Gary. A single name. A single cry of anguish.

He would want you to choose life. With life there is always a way. Take my hand. Take the blood your prince offers you and choose life.

I have heard the conversion is painful and I cannot bear more pain. It seems to have become my life. I don't have Gary or my sister here with me. I'm so afraid.

I will be with you. Vikirnoff will be with you, Natalya said.

As will I, Raven murmured it softly, connecting through the prince.

I am here, Sara added, connecting through Falcon.

We have all suffered the conversion and come through to the other side. We will be with you every moment.

Gabrielle opened her mouth and accepted the life-giving offering of the prince.

Chapter 19

The Dubrinsky home was beautiful, with high ceilings, a stone fireplace and wood floors. Most of the rooms had floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. Natalya was surprised the house had a huge, well-stocked kitchen.

Raven grinned at her. «We always maintain the illusion of being human.»

Vikirnoff was close, so close Natalya could feel his breath on the nape of her neck. They had fed together, finding a farmer and his grown son before joining the others at the Dubrinsky home. Vikirnoff had snarled over her luring the son to her and ever since he'd been hovering. Natalya threw a quick, repressing glance over her shoulder at him, but he didn't seem to notice the hint.

Raven laughed. «They're all like that. I think it comes of being ancient. They were born so long ago they can't quite make it out of the caves.»

«What do you know of this poison Manolito has told us about,» Mikhail asked Natalya. «Have you seen it before?»

There was instant silence. The men had been talking together in the corner, but suddenly they were all focused on her. She stood her ground, her fingers running back and forth over the hilt of her knife.

Mikhail wrapped his arm around Raven and pulled her back into the shelter of his body, nuzzling her hair as he did so. It was a brief, affectionate gesture, one Natalya found somewhat endearing. A man couldn't be all bad if he loved his lifemate. She glanced at Vikirnoff. He trusted the prince far more than she did. «I would need to see the compound.»

Mikhail easily put the images and information into Natalya's mind. He did it fast, with no preliminaries, no gentle asking. He obviously had a path to her mind despite the barriers and that made her feel very vulnerable and extremely uneasy.

He is able to do so through me. Vikirnoff reassured her.

Natalya took her time examining the structure of the poison, ignoring the conversations flowing around her.

Ordinarily, Natalya wasn't nervous in social situations. She never had anything to lose, but she knew how tied to these people Vikirnoff really was. He hadn't spent time with them in centuries, but he thought of them, fought for them, identified with them whether he realized it or not. She didn't want to embarrass him by saying or doing the wrong thing. She knew she had a smart mouth and curbing it in the face of so much testosterone was going to be difficult.

At once Vikirnoff flooded her mind with warmth and silent laughter. I will enjoy watching the share.

Ha. Ha. Ha. I'm so glad you like fireworks. She flashed a small grin at him.

I'm extremely fond of fireworks.

«I recognize parts of this poison, but it isn't all mine. They've mixed some of my earlier experiments.»

Mikhail nodded. «Gary Jansen developed a poison against us some time ago and parts of his poison are mixed with the newer chemicals.»

«The vampires are definitely in league against us,» Falcon said. «They have been planning for some time.»

«Xavier is involved,» Vikirnoff announced, reaching for Natalya's hand. «He is alive and conspiring with the Malinov brothers.»

As Vikirnoff was speaking, another man entered the house. He was tall with broad shoulders, thick black hair and startling green eyes. «That Xavier lives, does not surprise me in the least.» His gaze swept past Vikirnoff and found Natalya. He went utterly still. For a moment it seemed as if he had ceased to breathe. «You are the exact image of Rhiannon.»

His penetrating gaze seemed to see straight through her to every dark deed she'd ever committed. «Rhiannon was my grandmother,» Natalya said.

«Was?»

Ordinarily the demand in his voice would have irritated her, and Vikirnoff was already moving to put himself between her and the stranger, though for her protection or the stranger's she wasn't certain. Something in the man's face saddened her. The man, whoever he was, bore an uncanny resemblance to her father. «Xavier killed Rhiannon long ago,» she explained.

«She is dead?» Though no expression crossed the man's face, she was certain the news struck him hard. «You are certain?»

«I'm capable of accessing the memories in objects, particularly if violence is associated with the object. Xavier used his favorite ceremonial knife to kill her. I saw it happen

through the knife and Vikirnoff witnessed it as well.» The man closed his eyes as if in pain. «I'm sorry,» she added. «Did you know her?»

«Forgive me, little sister. I should have introduced myself. I am Rhiannon's brother, Dominic. I have long sought my beloved sister in the hopes of finding her alive. It is good she lives through you.» Dominic clasped Vikirnoff's arms. «Eka, kont. I had hoped one day to see you again.»

«You are wounded.»

Dominic shrugged. «I had a run-in with Maxim Malinov and we had ourselves quite a little battle.»

He was the dragon in the sky the other day, wasn't he? Natalya asked Vikirnoff, excited. What did he call you?

Yes. He has always been a superb warrior. He called me brother and warrior. Coming from Dominic, it is a great honor.

«It is why I was late this rising. I meant to attend the healing, but fear my wounds needed a few extra hours in the soil to ensure I was fit to aid our people should the need arise.» All the while he spoke, his gaze continued to flicker over Natalya. «I would see the memories of the murder of my sister with my own eyes, Vikirnoff.»

Vikirnoff readily complied and Natalya looked away, out the window, refusing to brush their minds while they exchanged information. She could not bear to relive the past again.

«I have long used the disappearance of my sister as my reason for remaining on this earth. I thought once I knew what happened to her I would seek the dawn, but I must know about her children.»

«My father is dead,» Natalya spoke up. «Xavier murdered him. I don't know what happened to my aunts. They were triplets, two girls and a boy. My father thought his sisters had to be dead. He rarely spoke of them.» Natalya pressed a hand over the suddenly burning birthmark and looked anxiously at her lifemate. «Vikirnoff? They are coming.»

«Who is coming?» Falcon asked, rising from where he'd been sitting with Sara.

«Vampires,» Dominic answered, his palm covering his side over the same birthmark. «The dragon is burning. They are already here.»

Mikhail thrust Raven behind him, looking out his window. «I do not feel their presence.»

«Nor do I,» Falcon agreed. He was at the opposite window.

«I feel them only through Natalya,» Vikirnoff said. «This is what has been happening everywhere and must have something to do with whatever they are putting in their blood.»

The first explosion rocked the house, sending a shower of wood and debris down on them. An orange-red ball drove through the roof, the top story, past them and down to the basement below, spreading flames everywhere it touched. Instantly several more fireballs hit the house from every direction. Explosion after explosion shook not only the house, but the ground. Flames shot up the walls and danced across the ceiling. Faces appeared in the rolling waves of fire, laughing and taunting. The ceiling collapsed in large, burning chunks.

Vikirnoff drove Natalya to the floor, covering her body with his own as he threw up a hasty shield, trapping oxygen inside. Mikhail and Raven and Falcon and Sara huddled together, while Manolito and Dominic raised similar barriers. The breath slammed out of Natalya's lungs, leaving her gasping and fighting the weight of Vikirnoff's larger frame. She pushed at him, trying desperately to get at her weapons.

«Mikhail is creating a vacuum, sucking all the air from around us to put out the fire. Be still.» Vikirnoff gripped her shoulders, holding her down with the casual strength of his species.

«Freakin' idiot, next time warn me. I might have slit your throat thinking you were the enemy,» Natalya snapped. Her heart was pounding. The world was in flames around her. The fire roared so loud it hurt her ears and the faces writhing in the conflagration stretched their lips wide with wild shrieks of laughter. The tigress didn't want to be held down. Every survival instinct was roused, desperate to fight for freedom; Natalya focused on lying still beneath Vikirnoff to keep from running.

There was a whooshing sound that rocked the house as Mikhail removed the oxygen and immediately the flames vanished, leaving a blackened shell with most of the roof gone. The eerie silence clawed at Natalya's nerves. Before they could move, the orange-red fireballs began pounding what was left of the structure again and the flames leapt to life. Several bombs rained down on them from directly overhead, tearing gaps in the floor, exposing the chambers beneath in the basement.

We have to get out of the house. Get to the underground chamber and go through the ground to safety.

Natalya recognized Mikhail's voice. He was calm, but there was an underlying urgency. At once their shelter disappeared and Vikirnoff's weight lifted from her body. She sprang to her feet and raced toward the nearest hole in the floor. Walls of flames raged around them, the heat so intense she could barely breathe.

No! We cannot go that way. Vikirnoff gripped Natalya's arm before she could jump, dragging her back against him, pressing her face into his chest to help alleviate her burning lungs. That way is closed to us, Mikhail. They await us with traps in the ground.

You are certain? Mikhail asked.

Vikirnoff nodded. Trust me.

Natalya touched Vikirnoff's mind and realized he was using her connection to Razvan. He had turned the tables on her brother, reaching out on her telepathic path to her twin, unraveling the familiar safeguards and searching his mind for information.

I should have thought of that. And maybe she had. Maybe she just couldn't accept what Razvan had become. I'm sorry.

Vikirnoff hissed something at her between clenched teeth, the images he was receiving from Razvan evidently infuriating him. We'll have to shift. I will hold the image of mist uppermost in your mind and we will shift together as soon as it is safe to move.

Natalya nodded. She was furious at being trapped like a rat in a cage. It took two heartbeats to realize it was Vikirnoff's fury she was feeling more than her own.

Get down. When I extinguish the flames after all of you escape quickly, and remember, they will know we are coming. Mikhail accepted that they had no choice but to use the common path of communication in the midst of the roaring flames and black smoke.

Natalya went to the floor, not waiting for Vikirnoff to drag her down. This time smoke mixed with oxygen within the hastily erected shield, but the air was still breathable. Vikirnoff settled on top of her and the tigress growled in protest, but remained still.

She was more prepared this time for the ground trembling and the force of the air being removed from the building. Again there was the same eerie silence. The Carpathians threw off the shields and began to shimmer into mist. Vikirnoff's fingers curled tightly around hers as he pushed the image of vapor into her mind.

Stop! The order came from Vikirnoff again as he delved even deeper into Razvan's brain, reading the battle plan. They have devised a method to keep us from restructuring. Xavier and Razvan have constructed a net to entrap us. If we shift, we will be caught in that form, unable to change. It is what they expect of us.

Are there any flaws in it? Mikhail didn't waste time with argument or bother to hide the conversations from the vampires. They wouldn't know yet where the Carpathians were getting their information. Let us all see what they have done.

It is much more than that, Natalya confirmed. If we try to use much of our magick it will backfire on us. I think we have only the weather left to us. He could not prevent that.

Dominic backed her up. She is right. Do not try to shift or use magick of any kind other than the lightning or the wind and rain. They think to force us to use the old ways to fight. And they hear us. Feel their triumph?

Natalya reached for Vikirnoff on their private telepathic path. Razvan and Xavier cannot spread the shield too thin. If we get to the forest we will be able to shift. Find a way to get that message to them all.

Will do.

Natalya's heart nearly exploded in her chest it was pounding so hard. The urge to run was nearly overwhelming. She glanced at the other two women and saw the same desperation on their faces. Sara's hands covered her stomach protectively and Natalya's heart lurched. She met the other woman's gaze and Sara nodded slightly at the question in Natalya's eyes. Vikirnoff! We have to get out of here right now.

Already the fireballs were slamming into the house, this time coming through the sides of the structure. We have to fight our way out. Mikhail sounded calm. Keep the women in the center.

Natalya drew her guns. Not this woman.

Vikirnoff bent low, his fingers biting deep into Natalya's wrist as the smoke swirled heavy around them. Stay close to me. Right beside me.

Sara is expecting a baby. Keep an eye on her. Natalya refused to allow him to treat her as less than the warrior she was. If he couldn't handle who she was, he needed to know it now –and so did she.

We need to get out now. The entire house creaked and strained as it crumbled. The men burst through the doors and windows in a synchronized escape, the women right behind them. Natalya fell back to cover Sara as the vampires leapt on the hunters, ripping and shredding, masked with animal forms and teeth and claws.

They were everywhere. So many of them Natalya's heart froze at the sight, an army of what had to be clones, tearing at the hunters aggressively. She saw Falcon shove Sara back as a huge monster of a bear dropped from the branches of a tree directly onto his shoulders. Sara rushed the creature, intending to use her bare hands if necessary. Natalya shot the thing, emptied a full clip into the throat and heart as she ran toward it, pushing past Sara to protect her. She kept running, snapping a fresh clip into her gun and firing again almost at point-blank range. The bear fell back under the assault, shifting to its natural vampire form.

Falcon punched his fist through the chest cavity and tore out the heart. Lightning streaked from the sky to destroy the heart and incinerate the body.

Natalya caught sight of Vikirnoff, battling three of the creatures. Already his clothes hung in strips and blood gleamed on his back from several blows the vampires had landed. One already lay on the ground and she could see a fifth one creeping up behind him. Her heart in her throat, she leapt between the vampire and Vikirnoff.

She shot the huge creature again and again but it kept advancing until it was on top of her. She felt hot, foul breath on her face, saw the hatred in the red-rimmed eyes. Shoving the gun against the chest she fired in rapid succession straight into the heart. The vampire jerked with each explosion, but the claws only dug into her arms deeper. Natalya dropped

the gun and palmed a knife, slamming it with all of her force into the monster's throat. «Get off of me!» She pushed him away from her, kicking out with repugnance, scoring a hit to the chest, knocking it farther back.

Vikirnoff thrust Natalya out of his way, his eyes wild with fury. Lightning arced in the sky, zigzagged overhead and punched into the earth, sizzling through the vampire's body, taking the heart as it did so. «Do not dare put yourself in danger like that again for me.» He was shaking with rage and his fury spilled over into his voice. He would not lose her, not like this. The other women were accepting the meager protection of their lifemates, but not his Natalya. She had to be front and center in the battle.

Protect Sara if you must, but do not try to protect me. Damn you, Natalya. You cannot ask me to allow you to put your life in danger to save mine. I will not have it.

Damn you right back. I'm not going to let some wannabe badass kill you because your ego is too big for words. I won't have that.

Vikirnoff snarled, baring white teeth at her, but he had no chance to say anything else, meeting the rush of another small army of vampires.

Natalya glanced to her right and noted Dominic and Manolito were fighting with lightning swords, long flashing lights that sizzled with heat as they sliced through several clones. She drew her sword and grinned at Sara. «I want one of those.» She indicated the light sabers with her own sword.

«You said we could use weather?» Sara asked.

Natalya nodded. «They couldn't prevent that. Razvan and Xavier were upset about it because they wanted to prevent the Carpathians from calling down lightning.»

«I'll just bet they did.» To Natalya's astonishment Sara jerked a knife from Natalya's belt and held her hand to the sky. What appeared to be lightning leapt from the sky and melted onto the shaft. She held it out to Natalya.

Natalya took two experimental cuts with the sword, feeling the balance, hoping she could control the dazzling light. It felt alive, a source of power, but when she gave two practice cuts it handled like a dream. She felt something behind her, and spun around, slicing with the lightning sword as she did so. A furry arm ending in long claws dropped to the ground and the creature howled in pain.

«Whoops. Sorry. Back off furball or I'm going for something much more precious to you.» She held the sword at the ready, coming up on the balls of her feet and without another word, thrust straight into the furry chest. The heart incinerated immediately and Natalya grinned. «This is way cool. Much better than hairspray.»

There are too many of them. We have to break through their line.

That was Dominic. Natalya could see him battling several vampires, back to back with Manolito, trying to keep them from the prince. The vampires concentrated most of their clones on the hunters, but there was no doubt they were after Mikhail and his lifemate, Raven. While the clones occupied the hunters, the more skilled of the undead attacked the prince. Raven had a sword and fought beside her lifemate, but there were just too many.

«Look to the north, toward the forest. There is an opening.» Falcon caught Sara's arm and thrust her toward that direction. «Fight toward the north and perhaps we can break free.»

Blood smeared all of the hunters, deep wounds they didn't have time to heal. Natalya couldn't look at Vikirnoff. He stayed close to her, battling too many opponents to handle and the slices covering his body had to be weakening him. She knew they were running out of time. She had killed several clones, but they kept coming, more and more until it seemed impossible to defeat them.

«Maxim is here and is subtly influencing us to believe we will be overwhelmed.» Vikirnoff kept striding forward, slicing through the clones and burning as many as he could. It seemed an impossible task. «The forest, Natalya. Keep moving that way.»

«I'm trying.» The one facing her was in human form and he was no clone. He answered her lightning sword with one of his own and he looked both proficient and confidant. When his sword met hers, the shock waves went right up her arm. She staggered under the blow and just managed to party his second blow, which came straight at her heart. She glided to one side, deflecting a third blow, allowing the force of the contact to take her sword in a small circle and right back into her opponent.

He screamed with rage, driving at her hard, forcing her to retreat away from the north and safety. Natalya parried blow after blow, all the while trying to move away from the direction he was taking her. There was something in his eyes, a glow of triumph that frightened her. Determined to stop backpedaling, one of the worst mistakes any fighter could make, she stepped to the left. Roots erupted around her foot, circling her ankle and holding her captive. Natalya swung her sword at the vampire and let the blade continue on its natural path, slicing through the vines. Blood erupted and the plants withered and fell lifeless to the ground.

Vikirnoff rose up behind the vampire, swinging his own lightning sword. The head went flying and Natalya thrust through the heart. They turned together to fight off the small trio of clones coming at them.

The noise around them seemed deafening. Vikirnoff dropped back in an attempt to get Natalya out in front of him where he could better defend her. All the while his sword was thrusting and parrying, a part of him watched her. It occurred to him they would probably die here. The rage in him calmed. She was fighting beside him. His warrior woman, his miracle, the ultimate lifemate created to be his match in every way.

If they had to go down, they would go together-as they were meant. Tears stung his

eyes at the realization of what she was, the skills she possessed and the way she loved him. Enough to place her body between his and death. I love you. He had to tell her. Had to let her know he understood what he had in her, even there in the midst of the battle-especially there.

She sent him a small smile as she thrust her lightning sword straight through a clone's heart. Of course you do. How could you not?

Go! Vikirnoff's voice was urgent.

Natalya turned and ran, trying to make for the forest and the tight knot of Carpathians fighting their way towards the one small hole in the enemy lines. Sudden awareness wrenched at her mind and pulled her back around. She was yards from Vikirnoff, but she could see him clearly and he was surrounded. Worse, far worse, the ground around him had erupted into several heaps much like termite mounds. Insects boiled out of the mounds, and right behind them, Razvan stepped into the open.

Everything in her stilled. The battle seemed far away. There was her brother. Her twin. She hadn't seen him in a century, but the moment she laid eyes on him, the years dropped away to leave her that young child again. He turned, green eyes glittering, going midnight blue, and met her gaze over the heads of two vampires. Tears filled her eyes. She didn't know if she was weeping in sorrow or happiness.

Vikirnoff's blade sank into one of the undead, but another directly behind him struck hard, driving him to his knees. The sight of him on the ground galvanized Natalya into action. She raced forward and sprang into the air, kicking at the head of the nearest clone as she went over him and swinging her sword at another, cutting him nearly in two. She landed on the run, still a great distance from her goal.

Vikirnoff somersaulted, coming up to his feet, his sword flashing as he parried several attacks, scored a direct hit on a heart, incinerating it and slicing the last vampire across the throat. He stood facing Razvan. His lungs burned for air. He became aware of every wound, every cut, the precious blood seeping from his body. He had no idea how many clones he had destroyed, but as fast as they went through them, Maxim created others to take their places. These were all pawns to be sacrificed while Maxim remained safe, waiting for the hunter's strength to be worn down. Natalya's brother waited, too.

Vikirnoff knew who he was immediately. Razvan was not Natalya's identical twin, but the eyes were the same and looking into those dark, midnight-blue eyes, sorrow welled up in Vikirnoff. He had no choice but to take this man's life and the deed would haunt him for all time.

«So you are the man who captured the heart of my sister.» Razvan sighed softly. «I had hoped I could keep her from your kind. I kept her from Xavier and yet I could not prevent you from finding her.»

Vikirnoff remained silent. Razvan's voice was a soft beguilement. It was unlike that of the vampire, which was a mere illusion. Razvan's voice was real, filled with purity and truth. How could that be if he had turned vampire? Why wasn't he attacking?

«I cannot allow anyone to harm her. What trick you have used to make her believe you love her, I do not know, but I will find a way to clear her mind.»

Vikirnoff frowned. Had Razvan actually committed the hideous crimes he was accused of? Had Xavier managed to corrupt the scenes of the past? He shook his head, trying to think clearly. The things Razvan said made no sense.

Natalya knew she would never get there in time. She could see Razvan inching closer to Vikirnoff. His movements were so slow he didn't appear to move, but he was. She touched Vikirnoff's mind and read his confusion. Razvan was a master of using his voice. She had forgotten that, forgotten to warn Vikirnoff. Worst of all, she had put the reason for hesitation in Vikirnoff's mind and Razvan was capitalizing on it.

Razvan inched closer to Vikirnoff, drawing a curved dagger from his sheath and palming it, the blade against his wrist where Vikirnoff couldn't see it-but she could. Despair overtook her. Terror for Vikirnoff choked her. Kill him Vikirnoff! She issued the order even as she threw her sword. Natalya knew she was too far away, but she had to try. She used every bit of strength she had, forgetting she was now completely Carpathian. The sword whistled through the night, the light spinning, a dazzling display that hurt her eyes. Razvan lunged at Vikirnoff just as the sword penetrated his back and slammed through his body to the hilt.

There was no sound. No scream. Razvan turned his head to look at her as he went down on his knees, both hands coming up toward the sword. The ground around him caved inward and he disappeared. His blue gaze went green and locked with hers as he slipped beneath the soil. The last thing she saw was the shock and horror in his expression.

Natalya screamed as she covered the distance to her brother, reaching toward him. She hadn't had time to think. She could only choose, not weigh whether or not Razvan could be saved and now it was too late. What had she done? Why had she been so accurate when she'd thrown the sword? The earth was already filling in over him. She dropped to her knees and began to dig with her bare hands, great sobs choking her. «What have I done? What have I done?»

Natalya's shattered cry nearly tore Vikirnoff apart. He ran toward her, catching her up, his arm a band around her waist, jerking her off the ground. «Natalya, stop it! Leave him! We have to go! Do you hear me? We have to go now!»

The clones surged toward them and Vikirnoff shook her. His gut twisted with pain. «Natalya!» He refused to let her go, even when she looked at him without recognition, when she looked so bruised and tormented and fought him like a madwoman. «Look at me, damn it.» He shook her again. «Look at me.»

She swallowed hard, her gaze focusing on him. Quickly she looked over to the clones converging on them. «I'm all right now. Really.» She swiped at her eyes and drew her other gun, firing several rounds into the clones, temporarily driving them back.

Vikirnoff shoved her in front of him, pushing her toward the Carpathians fighting their way to punch through enemy lines. Manolito had turned back to aid them, running in front of Natalya and for once she didn't object to the protection.

Vikirnoff knew they were in trouble. They had to get out of the trap Maxim had set for them or they would all die here. There were far too many clones and all of the hunters had suffered injuries. Worse, Maxim hadn't even shown himself.

«Mikhail says help is coming,» Manolito reported. «We have to make it to the forest and hold out a few more minutes. Gregori and Jacques have returned and are coming as quickly as possible.»

Vikirnoff glanced toward the prince fighting his way toward the other Carpathians. He was still a distance away to their left and in spite of the desperate situation, looked calm. Mikhail fought back two of the lesser vampires to give Raven time to follow Dominic through the narrow gap in the enemy line. At once the prince found himself surrounded and cut off from the other hunters. The vampires and their clones began to converge upon him like a wild pack of frenzied wolves. The others were too far away to help. Vikirnoff shifted directions and went to aid Mikhail.

Natalya ran in a fog of misery, feeling crushed under the weight of losing her brother all over again. She knew she had no choice, but she wished she'd had more time. She glanced over her shoulder to assure herself that Vikirnoff was alive and well. She couldn't bear to lose him, too. Skidding to a halt, she spun around. He was off to her left already battling his way toward the prince.

What are you doing? Go with the others! Vikirnoff joined the battle, whirling like a mad demon, his sword slicing bodies and driving through the clones to get to the vampires pressing Mikhail. He cut a wide swath, shouting for the prince to work back toward him.

Natalya snarled, the stripes in her hair and on her skin more pronounced than ever as the tigress rose close to the surface. She shot at the vampire nearest Mikhail, targeting first his heart, then his throat. If she could get him down, even for a few minutes, with Vikirnoff taking out the others, Mikhail could fight his way free to join the other Carpathians. Once out into the forest, they could shift and use other skills. Then the tide just might turn in their favor.

The vampire shuddered and turned toward her, his mouth gaping wide with curses, his teeth bloody and jagged. The glowing eyes settled on her with hatred and fury and he took to the air, flying straight at her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Mikhail cut down the other vampire, ripping the heart from the chest. Lightning arced and to her astonishment, it struck the vampire flying at her, knocking him right out of the sky. Vikirnoff glared at her

and she knew he had been the one to aid her.

Show-off. She fell in beside him as he flanked the prince, sprinting toward the north and safety.

Dominic raced ahead of all of them, leading the way toward the forest, cutting through the few enemies in their path. Sara and Raven ran directly behind him and Falcon and Manolito brought up the rear. They were close to the timberline and Natalya felt a sense of relief sweeping through her even though the clones were rushing to fill the break in the line.

To her horror, Dominic hit something invisible. Sparks flew, rained from the sky and electricity sizzled and arced, a hot orange-red streak, burning down the left side of the Dragonseeker and welding him to the hidden barrier. He was held there, his arm burning, unable to get free.

Pain radiated over his face, but he remained steadfast, turning as far as he could, transferring the lightning sword to his one good arm. The Carpathians came to an abrupt halt, formed a loose semicircle facing outward and waited for the master vampire to appear.

Natalya stepped up close to Dominic where his arm continued to burn, caught in the hidden shield. The edges of the weave were more evident close to his arm. She studied it carefully, the various strands broken from catching the Dragonseeker in its mesh. «I think I can bring this down.» Natalya made the announcement in a low voice. «If you buy me some time, I can bring it down.»

Mikhail glanced sharply at Vikirnoff, who nodded at the unspoken question. «She's good. Better, maybe, even than Rhiannon.»

«Take it down then,» Mikhail said.

She shoved a full clip into her gun and handed it to Sara with extra ammunition. «If you and Raven help me, we can get this done fast.»

Sara nodded. «I'm with you. Tell me what to do.»

Raven stepped up beside them and the three women moved close to the barrier, inside the loose circle the men had made.

Natalya blocked out the rising fear and the sound of battle to concentrate on the feel of the shield. It was little different than a safeguard, the spell had been twisted for evil purposes, but it was still just magick. And she knew magick.

She held her palms up to feel the strength of the weave. Maxim. She had felt him in her mind and knew his touch. This was his work. It had been a terrifying experience to be touched by evil, but she had also been in his mind. She knew how he worked-and Razvan had aided him in weaving such strong magick. Razvan had used her safeguards and spells. It was only a matter of time before she could figure it out. «Oh, yeah,» she said softly, «I can

bring this baby down.»

Vikirnoff kept his eye on Natalya as he fought off the next wave of clones. He knew the other hunters were growing tired. All of them had been relatively lucky. They all had sustained grave injuries, mostly deep cuts, but no one was out of the battle other than perhaps Dominic. The Dragonseeker still fought valiantly, pinned to the barrier as he was, but in the end, if Natalya didn't bring it down, they were all going to die.

There was a sudden silence. The air stilled and the clones backed away from the loose knot of Carpathians. Maxim had arrived. The vampires parted and he stood there. Powerful. Ancient. His sneering face revealing his depravity and his contempt of them. His gaze fell on Dominic. «We meet again. You do not look well, my old friend.»

«I was never your friend, traitor,» Dominic answered. He made no move to try to free his arm from the barrier, even as blisters continued to rise and the smell of burnt flesh drifted on the breeze.

Vikirnoff glanced again at Natalya. Raven and Sara stood side by side in front of her, shielding her from the vampire in an effort to keep him from seeing what she did. Occasionally a graceful hand moved from behind the two women as Natalya sketched patterns in the air. Before Maxim had a chance to notice, Mikhail stepped forward to face him.

The movement of the prince triggered a restless murmuring of the clones and they pressed forward until Maxim held up his hand. «They are eager to kill you, Dubrinsky. I wonder why so many despise your very existence.»

«You will not win.» Mikhail's voice was low but carried power and authority.

Maxim smiled. «Oh, but you are wrong. We have already won. You think that your second-in-command comes rushing to your aid, but he cannot help you. He will die just as your brother and your daughter and every member of your family will die. There will be no Dubrinsky left on this earth and we will have stamped out the hunters for all time.»

How close are you, ainaak enyem?

Natalya's derisive snort was loud in his mind. So now I'm conveniently forever yours again, now that you need my skills. Wasn't if five minutes ago you were telling me to get the hell away from you ?

Vikirnoff sighed. I never said that.

Not only did you say it, Lone Ranger, but you thought it. And punishment? If I didn't obey you were going to punish me? I saw that, too, by the way, floating around in your silly brain. I do not obey anyone.

How well I know that. How much longer?

If you'd leave me alone, I might get it done. He's used a very complicated spell. Dominic is aiding me. Attached as he is to the barrier, he can feel some of the strands that I cannot. Between us, we are unraveling it. A few more minutes. Gregori is close; has he been warned not to approach the barrier?

Mikhail has kept him informed.

Vikirnoff inched forward, keeping the movements imperceptible, not wanting to draw attention to himself. The hatred Maxim felt for the prince was so strong it was almost alive. The vampire was on the edge of violence, a driving need to kill overriding his need to gloat. Every bit of emotion he had managed to find as a vampire, in his highest moments when he killed his victims and feasted on the adrenaline-rich blood, he had dreamt of this moment, when he could take his revenge on the Carpathian hunters by killing their prince.

The air grew still. No one moved. There was no shuffling of feet or rattle of weapons. Vikirnoff gripped the hilt of his sword, silently swearing. The Carpathians were severely handicapped without the use of their magick. Maxim had the full use of his powers and an army he could replenish at will.

The sky erupted right in front of them with an army of vampires and clones, so many they hindered one another as they flew at the small band of hunters. Mikhail stepped forward to meet the attack, but Vikirnoff, Falcon and Manolito stepped in front of him. Lightning swords streaked through the air, cutting everything in the path. As fast as body pans fell to the ground, animals sprang up, rats with sharp teeth rushing at their legs to cut them down.

Sara stepped forward and began to fire steadily, one bullet at a time, a calm display of marksmanship in the midst of the chaos. Raven caught up the sword Dominic threw to her while he forged a new one. She went back to back with her lifemate, fighting off the airborne attacks.

Suddenly Maxim appeared behind Manolito, ripping the sword from his hand and slicing a razor-sharp talon across his throat. He moved with such speed he was a blur. Vikirnoff whirled around, slicing through the vampire's leg with his sword, but Maxim was only a shadow, insubstantial, already gone, melting away behind his frenzied army. Manolito went down and several rats rushed him. Vikirnoff kicked two of them away and was forced to fight off several clones flying straight at him.

Natalya! Get the damned thing open, they are ail over us.

I've got a, small opening. Dominic is covering it. Can you get the information to Gregori? I'll keep working to bring it down. It is very complicated

Hurry, Natalya. We cannot hold them off much longer.

Keep your panty hose on.

Vikirnoff wasn't about to ask what that meant or where she got the phrase. Most likely a movie. He had tried to convey the urgency of the moment, but he knew unraveling a spell of such magnitude wasn't easy and in some cases, impossible.

His sword cut through two others. Sara and Raven rushed to his side and dragged Manolito back behind the fighting hunters to Dominic. Raven knelt beside him, her hands pressed to his throat, the healing chant filling their minds as they fought. Mikhail took Manolito's place, and the sight of him whipped the vampires into a killing frenzy.

Falcon staggered back, several deep cuts on his chest and face. Vikirnoff leapt the distance between them to cover him, taking great sweeping cuts with his sword. When he glanced back at Mikhail, he couldn't even see the prince with the army swarming around him. Darker shadows swept across the knot of fighters and Vikirnoff's heart sank as Maxim appeared. He had no choice but to abandon Falcon to aid the prince. Should they lose Falcon, they would lose Sara and her unborn child.

Vikirnoff took two steps toward the prince and was driven back by several clones. He heard a groan and turned his head just in time to see Gregori burst out from behind Dominic who was shuddering with pain. Small dots of blood beaded the Dragonseekers brow. The burns had spread across his shoulder, down his arm, up his neck to his face. He clenched his teeth together as Jacques pushed past him, rushing to join the battle. Only then did Dominic free himself from the barrier and slump to the ground.

Gregori went straight for the knot of vampires, wading through them with his incredible strength, his silver eyes blazing. Jacques dragged Falcon back and together with Vikirnoff tried to hold back the growing army. It didn't matter how many they cut down, Maxim simply replaced them, replicating them at an astonishing speed. The barrier had to come down soon or they would all die.

Gregori kicked aside a rat, tossed a clone into the barrier where it sizzled and howled, and snapped a second clone's neck to make his way to the prince's side. As Maxim reached for Mikhail, Gregori slammed his weight into him. He went through the vampire, staggered and caught himself, whirling around to find the master vampire close, a small, smug smile very much in evidence.

«I had hoped you would join us.» Maxim greeted him.

«I always oblige.» Gregori circled to the right.

Everything is connected! Natalya's voice was filled with excitement. Tell the prince. It is all connected. When the barrier falls, so will all of his other shields. All of you will be able to shift and use whatever works to win this battle.

Bring it down now, ainaak enyem, or none of us will survive the next ten minutes.

Maxim stepped even closer, matching Gregori's steps as if dancing with him. All the

while that small ugly smile of contempt played over his thin lips. As Gregori slammed his fist deep, Maxim twisted slightly, taking the punch, trapping the hunter's hand in his body, his ribs squeezing sharply, acting like a guillotine. Gregori's face blanched and he dragged his arm back without his hand. A fountain of blood poured out. All of the Carpathians could hear Gregori's lifemate's scream of agony reverberating through their minds.

Maxim plunged his own fist into the hunter's chest cavity, driving through bone and muscle to reach the beating heart of the prince's second-in-command.

«It's down! It's down!» Natalya cried and whirled to join the battle.

«Stop.» The single word was issued with such authority and power everyone stilled. Mikhail stepped close to Gregori. «Release him, Maxim.»

«I am going to tear out his heart.» The fingers dug deeper, ripping at arteries. «You have far too high an opinion of the Daratrazanoff family as your second-in-command, Mikhail. You would have been better to look to the Malinov family.»

Gregori, instead of making a second attempt to get at the master vampire's heart, reached back toward Mikhail. His torn body shuddered. The only thing keeping him standing was the fist burrowing around his heart. He made no sound, but he reached for his prince with his bloody stump of an arm.

Mikhail stepped forward and gripped Gregori's wrist, cauterizing the wound as he leaned close and sank his teeth deep into his jugular.

There was a stunned silence, broken only by Maxim's scream of rage as he dug frantically, trying to remove the hunter's heart. Mikhail's other hand caught Maxim's forearm and pulled as he swept his tongue across Gregori's neck to close the pinpricks. When Mikhail lifted his head, he looked different. His skin glowed a warm golden color. He forced Maxim's arm out of Gregori's chest and the hunter fell to the ground, clutching his mangled body.

Mikhail stepped away from the other Carpathians, his arms outstretched, his eyes closed, his mind reaching, drawing, expanding. Streaks of light flashed from Mikhail to Gregori, to Falcon, Dominic and Jacques. The bands of light connected Raven, Sara and Natalya, leapt to Vikirnoff and Manolito. The power swelled until the earth vibrated with it.

Natalya felt the connection of all Carpathians, near and far, ancient and new, vampire or hunter. Every skill, every talent, every bit of knowledge poured from their minds into a single person. She blinked rapidly in astonishment as Mikhail's feet left the ground. Blinding light shot from his fingertips, from his mouth and eyes, streaking across the army of clones, shattering them, so that they fell empty and lifeless all around the master vampire.

The lesser vampires began to burn, skin smoking and melting, faces distorting. They ran

in circles howling in fear.

Maxim tried to shift, sliding back to his shadow spirit, a form he often used to move quickly and without being seen, but Mikhail's light was too strong. There in the dark of night, there were no longer any shadows to slip into. The light struck his face, his skin and small holes began to form, little pinholes enlarging slowly all over his body. He roared his hatred. He thrashed, spewing insects and acid, fighting to get away from the light.

Mikhail only rose higher, shedding more light, until even the eyes of the hunters burned and they had to shield their eyes. Maxim's skin began to split and peel. Long strips fell to the ground and sizzled under the heat of the unbearable light. His long pointed nails curled and turned black. Noxious smoke poured from his body and rose upward, absorbed by the light and Maxim shrieked louder, raising his arms in an effort to take back his fading spirit.

The vampire's chest split apart and worms poured out of his body, the blackened, wizened heart spilling into the radiant light. Maxim stretched his arm toward the organ. The heart tumbled back toward the vampire, but it was already beginning to smolder. The organ burst into flame and the vampire could only watch in horror. His hair, skin, even his teeth began to smoke.

Gregori stirred and with an effort, dragged himself over to Mikhail. The hunter staggered to his feet and reached his one good hand toward his prince. Mikhail caught it. The light arced between, surrounded them and for one long moment shone through them. When Gregori pulled Mikhail back to the ground, Gregori's hand had already regenerated.

Mikhail walked over to Maxim and stared into the red eyes. «My opinion of the Daratrazanoff family will always remain the same.»

Maxim slid to the ground in a puddle of melted flesh, the eyes staring up at Mikhail and Gregori. Black smoke drifted up from the pupils. Tiny flames burst through the smoke to incinerate the last of the vampire. There was a long silence. A wind rose and cleared away the stench of blood and battle.

Natalya let out her breath slowly and reached for Vikirnoff's hand. «Okay,» she said. «He can have the book.»

Chapter 20

Vikirnoff stood shaking his head, his narrowed gaze on Natalya as she leapt over a boulder, danced through a small creek, all the while wielding her lightning sword in and out of the trees fighting imaginary opponents. «Nothing is safe anymore. You have lost your mind.»

Her laughter floated back to him, touching him, warming him. «I'm practicing to be one of the three Musketeers. Or better yet, Luke Skywalker. I could see myself being Luke Skywalker. Totally.»

«Why not Princess Leia?»

Natalya stopped and spun around, mouth open in astonishment, her sword pulsing with light. «You've seen Star Wars?»

He folded his arms across his chest and grinned at her. «I believe everyone has seen Star Wars.»

Natalya held the lightning sword in the air and grinned. «No wonder you all thought of making these swords. They negate the need for hairspray and flamethrowers.»

«I have never needed either.» He indicated the pulsing blade of the sword with his chin. «We use lightning. It is much more lethal to reshape it.»

«I didn't have that advantage.» She stared hard at the sword and it wavered, but didn't disappear. «Bloody thing annoys me when it doesn't mind.»

He shook his head, laughter warming his eyes. «You are trying too hard. Picture it gone. It is not quite the same thing as using a spell. You always think first of spells.»

It was true, Natalya knew, but it was still aggravating. Vikirnoff had awakened her with kisses, made love to her several times and even provided blood for her. She found it amusing that he had gone hunting without her, not wanting her to feed from another man. Perhaps she felt the same way about his taking blood from a woman, but she wasn't going to admit that to herself-or him.

She concentrated on the sword and thankfully it disappeared. She had a tendency to get violent with weapons if she happened to have a bad practice session. «You know, Mr. Smug, it might be good for you to practice a bit every now and then. I thought your skills with a sword were a little rusty. You rely too much on other things and when the melting vamp, which was disgusting by the way, took your toys away, all of you bad boys had a bit of difficult time. It was a good thing I was there to save you.»

«Yes, it was.»

Vikirnoff was standing just below the fallen tree trunk she was balancing on. Natalya leapt off and he caught her, just as she'd known he would. Happiness burst through her. Of course he would catch her, he was always there in her mind, loving her, wanting her, feeling it was such a miracle to have her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. «Yes, it was. and you remember that next time you get all He-Man on me.»

Natalya bent her head to his, her hair falling like silky rain on his skin. It was the most

sensual thing in the world and she'd barely touched him. He felt a series of small butterfly licks over his pulse and immediately his blood began to pound in response.

«You always smell so good. Even in the heat of battle, you smell good,» she murmured, her body rubbing much like a cat's along his. Her tongue did another flickering dance over his pulse and down his throat. Once her teeth scraped, featherlight, but her touch seemed to burn right through his shirt to brand his skin.

«Sometimes, Natalya, I do not think I can survive without touching you.» His hands cupped her rounded bottom, giving her support. At the same time he applied enough pressure to press the heat of her core tightly against his suddenly hard erection.

«I never imagined being this happy,» she confided, resting her head on his shoulder, her teeth tugging at his ear. «Even when I thought we might not make it through that battle, I looked at you fighting and you were breathtaking. I was proud that you were mine.»

Her tongue did a little foray over his pulse again and his erection thickened, jumped in response, his blood catching fire. «I do love you for yourself, Natalya, never doubt that. I may have a difficult time accepting you in a dangerous situation, but who you are is exactly what I want.»

Her soft laughter teased his senses, gave him another heady rush. A strange roaring started in his ears. Vikirnoff sank down onto the fallen log urging her to straddle him. She cuddled close, fitting snugly in his lap, just the way he loved. «I'm what you need. If it wasn't for me, Vik, you'd be a bossy, snarling grump.» Her teeth tugged at his bottom lip. «Don't get me wrong, it's a little thrilling to have you get all masterful and try to be the dictator.» Her tongue fluttered along the seam of his lips, sent a flame burning through his body.

Her touch was so light, barely felt, yet it shook him, tightening every muscle until the blood rushed to his groin to center there, but more than that, he felt the shift in his heart that left his eyes burning with unshed tears. She tasted his skin, her tongue a delicate velvet rasp traversing along his collarbone. He had never thought that might be an erotic spot, but his entire body was strung as tight as bow.

«You have too many clothes on, Natalya.» His husky declaration was somewhere between a plea and a command. He discarded his own clothes when the material of his trousers became too painful to bear over his bulging erection. If he got any larger he was afraid he might split his skin open.

«Do I?» She nibbled her way down his chest, sounding slightly distracted. «If I take off my clothes, I won't get to play anymore. You'll get all serious on me.»

His fingers bit into her waist. «I am getting very serious here. Feel how serious I am.» He grounded his body against hers, feeling the answering heat of her right through her clothes. The friction made him groan with need.

«I love it when you're wild and crazy and can't take me fast enough,» Natalya admitted, her fingernails scraping along his chest with a small bite. «But this is so perfect. Lazy and slow. Eating you up. I love this muscle right here.» Her tongue teased and flicked as she kissed her way over his chest.

«I would not mind eating you up,» he said. The sight of her, eyes going dark with hunger, the sensual look on her face, the slow torture of her hands and mouth were all going to kill him. He'd just had her two hours earlier and yet he was burning from the inside out, so hot, he feared he might go up in flames. She was so soft, so delicate, yet steel ran through her and that excited him nearly as much as her wandering mouth.

«The idea has possibilities.» She sat up, deliberately moved her hips restlessly, her mound in direct contact with his groin. Her fingers slipped the first button free and his breath caught in his throat.

Her blouse gaped open slowly, the unwrapping of a present. He moistened his lips with his tongue. She was driving him out of his skull. His body was pulsing, throbbing, his heart pounding blood through his body, gathering every sensation into one point in his body.

The blouse fell away to reveal her breasts rising and falling with each breath she drew into her lungs. «I ache for you.» She tunneled her fingers through his hair and drew his head to her breast, arching back when he latched on with a growl of pleasure, suckling strongly, his tongue and teeth tormenting her.

He opened his eyes to look into hers. The dark hunger in his gaze robbed her of breath and spread heat through her body. «Get rid of the pants the Carpathian way,» he commanded.

There was such a husky need in his voice everything feminine rose up to respond. She closed her eyes and wished herself out of the confines of her jeans. She wanted nothing but bare skin between them. His mouth was so hot she thought she might not survive the pleasure. «I'm not very good at this,» she said with a sigh when nothing happened. «How long did it take the others to get this?»

«You are great at this. Perfect. I distracted you.» He sounded unreasonably pleased.

«That must be it. I'm usually a very fast learner.»

Vikirnoff threw his head back and laughed. She sounded so peeved right in the middle of their lovemaking that he couldn't help it. «You are so competitive.»

«I am not. I just ought to be able to do this, that's all.» Her eyes glittered green-blue, at him. «It can't be that hard. I picture it, right? That's all I need to do.»

«Visualizing is not the same as thinking it. If you are thinking, 'Make it go away' it will not happen. You have to visualize the pants gone.» He massaged her bottom. «I can remove them for you.»

Her gaze narrowed and temper flitted across her face. «Don't you dare. I'll do it. I just gained a little weight and the stupid things are extra tight.»

His eyebrow shot up. «That's the problem? Weight gain?» His hand shaped the soft curves. «Could be. Maybe a few pounds.»

She shoved at his chest. «You're really asking for trouble now.»

His palm slid around to her belly. «I love this little hoop, but when you have our child growing in you, and you really gain weight, are you going to leave this in for me to play with?»

Natalya sobered completely at the thought of children. She swallowed hard, her gaze suddenly avoiding his. «You know that Xavier is always going to be a shadow in our lives. As long as he is alive, he will always be a threat to us and to any children we have.»

«I have no doubt that is true.» His hand slid a caress through her hair, more comfort than sexual.

«You don't seem very disturbed by it.»

«Xavier is his own worst enemy. He has been trying to stamp out our species for centuries, yet he lives in isolation, in fear. I do not see the point of living such a life. We are free to live out lives the way we are intended. We have the ability to be happy and he does not. I do not fear Xavier. He fears us.»

Her teeth bit at her lower lip. Vikirnoff frowned. «What is it, ainaak sivamet jutta? Tell me. I will not take it from your mind if you do not wish to share it with me.»

The tenderness in his voice was nearly her undoing. She swallowed the lump threatening to choke her and rubbed at her burning eyes. «Razvan. Do you think he's really dead? I've always been so accurate, and I thought I'd killed him, but when I replay the battle over in my head, I'm not so certain. You saw Maxim, and even Gregori regenerated his hand, or Mikhail did it for him, but the point is, there were so many unbelievable things. What if I didn't kill Razvan? What if he's still alive? The threat to us would be so much more. He'll never forgive what I did.»

Vikirnoff drew her closer to him, stroking caresses down her hair, his heart beating in time with hers. «If Razvan is dead, Natalya, he will not only forgive you, but he will thank you. If he still lives, it is not really Razvan. His soul is long gone and only the shell of his body remains.»

«I've gone over it a million times in my mind.» Anxiety mixed with sorrow filled her eyes. «I swear my every intention was to kill him. I knew what he was doing the moment I looked at your face and I wasn't going to allow him to hurt you.»

«I am sorry you had to be the one.»

«No, it had to be me. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to take his life, I love him. I'll always love him and I'll mourn the brother I lost forever. It was my job. Had I been the one to turn on the people I love, to become that evil a creature, I would hope my brother would love me enough to destroy me.»

Vikirnoff framed her face between his hands and kissed her gently, tenderly. «That is the way a true Dragonseeker would think. Rhiannon would be so proud of you. I know Dominic must be.»

«Have you heard how Dominic and Manolito are?»

«Both are in the ground healing. It will take some time for Dominic. Manolito's wounds were very serious, but Dominic remained on the barrier burning while he aided you in unraveling the safeguards. The burns were very severe. Gregori feared there would be scars and Carpathians rarely scar.»

«How awful. I could feel his pain occasionally, but he shielded me for the most part. I couldn't help him at all, even though I knew he was suffering.»

«Carpathian males protect our women, Natalya. It is who we are.»

She rubbed his arm lightly, back and forth. «I know I'm difficult.»

«We will work out the kinks. All relationships have them.»

She pulled back enough to look into his eyes. «We won't be working anything out if you mean I'll be tucked away in a corner when trouble comes.»

«I can only wish.» He kissed her nose. «I was proud of you during Gabrielle's conversion. You really helped her get through it. Hopefully, when her sister arrives and she awakens, she will be happy.»

«I think she will. Her main concern seemed to be for Gary and what the Carpathian males will expect of her now. If she loves Gary, I can't imagine anyone objecting to her being with him.»

Vikirnoff remained silent, his hands sliding up and down her bare skin just to feel how soft she was.

Natalya shivered under his touch, leaning closer so that the tips of her breasts pushed against his chest. «I don't suppose your Mikhail can find a way to destroy the book?»

«Even if he cannot, it will be safe in his care. He has no wish to open it, let alone use it, so I believe, until he figures out a way to get rid of it, we will not have to worry.»

«I'm glad I don't have the responsibility of it. He was amazing. Have you ever seen that before?»

Vikirnoff shook his head. «There were rumors, legends of the Dubrinsky and Daratrazanoff alliance, that there was some weapon that could be unleashed, but I am uncertain just what happened. I am just grateful that it did happen.»

«Me, too. And did I say thank you for getting rid of that knife? I couldn't stand to know it was still in the world and might find its way back to Xavier.»

He caught her hips and lifted her off of him, setting her to one side. Natalya gave a small cry of joy. «Hey! I'm getting the jeans off.»

«Yes, you are.» He flicked his hand toward her and the offending material vanished. «We will practice removing your clothes hour after hour, but for now, I cannot wait any longer.» He moved up behind her, bending her forward, bracing her palms on the log. His hand slid between her legs, stroking and caressing, fingers dipping deep.

Her entire body shuddered and she pushed back against him. «So impatient,» she teased. «But then, so am I.»

He thrust into her, a long deep stroke, welding them together, hearing her soft cry of pleasure and feeling fire streak through his body. It would take several lifetimes to ever sate him. It would take even more before he could fully believe the miracle he had been given. «You are ainaak sivamet jutta. Forever to my heart connected.»

«As you are to mine.»

Appendix 1

Carpathian Healing Chants

To rightly understand Carpathian healing chants, background is required in several areas:

The Carpathian view on healing The «Lesser Healing Chant» of the Carpathians The «Great Healing Chant» of the Carpathians Carpathian chanting technique

1. The Carpathian view on healing

The Carpathians are a nomadic people whose geographical origins can be traced back to at least as far as the Southern Ural Mountains (near the steppes of modern day Kazakhstan), on the border between Europe and Asia. (For this reason, modern-day linguists call their language, «proto-Uralic,» without knowing that this is the language of the Carpathians.) Unlike most nomadic peoples, the wandering of the Carpathians was not due to the need to find new grazing lands as the seasons and climate shifted, or the search for better trade. Instead, the Carpathians' movements were driven by a great purpose: to find a land that would have the right earth, a soil with the kind of richness that would greatly enhance their rejuvenative powers.

Over the centuries, they migrated westward (some six thousand years ago), until they at last found their perfect homeland-their «susu»-in the Carpathian Mountains, whose long arc cradled the lush plains of the kingdom of Hungary. (The kingdom of Hungary flourished for over a millennium-making Hungarian the dominant language of the Carpathian Basin-until the kingdom's lands were split among several countries after World War I: Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Yugoslavia, Austria, and modern Hungary.)

Other peoples from the Southern Urals (who shared the Carpathian language, but were not Carpathians) migrated in different directions. Some ended up in Finland, which accounts for why the modern Hungarian and Finnish languages are among the contemporary descendents of the ancient Carpathian language. Even though they are tied forever to their chosen Carpathian homeland, the wandering of the Carpathians continues, as they search the world for the answers that will enable them to bear and raise their offspring without difficulty. M

Because of their geographical origins, the Carpathian views on healing share much with the larger Eurasian shamanistic tradition. Probably the closest modern representative of that tradition is based in Tuva (and is referred to as «Tuvinian Shamanism»)-see the map above.

The Eurasian shamanistic tradition-from the Carpathians to the Siberian shamans– held that illness originated in the human soul, and only later manifested as various physical conditions. Therefore, shamanistic healing, while not neglecting the body, focused on the soul and its healing. The most profound illnesses were understood to be caused by «soul departure.'» where all or some part of the sick person's soul has wandered away from the body (into the nether realms), or has been captured or possessed by an evil spirit, or both.

The Carpathians belong to this greater Eurasian shamanistic tradition and shared its viewpoints. While the Carpathians themselves did not succumb to illness, Carpathian healers understood that the most profound wounds were also accompanied by a similar «soul departure.»

Upon reaching the diagnosis of «soul departure,» the healer-shaman is then be required to make a spiritual journey into the nether worlds, to recover the soul. The shaman may have to overcome tremendous challenges along the way, particularly: fighting the demon or vampire who has possessed his friend's soul.

«Soul departure» doesn't require a person to be unconscious (although that certainly can be the case as well). It was understood that a person could still appear to be conscious, even talk and interact with others, and yet be missing a part of their soul. The experienced healer or shaman would instantly see the problem nonetheless, in subtle signs that others might miss: the person's attention wandering every now and then, a lessening in their enthusiasm about life, chronic depression, a diminishment in the brightness of their «aura,» and the like.

2. The Lesser Healing Chant of the Carpathians

Kepa Sarna Pus (The «Lesser Healing Chant») is used for wounds that are merely physical in nature. The Carpathian healer leaves his body and enters the wounded Carpathian's body to heal great mortal wounds from the inside out using pure energy. He proclaims, «I offer freely, my life for your life,» as he gives his blood to the injured Carpathian. Because the Carpathians are of the earth and bound to the soil, they are healed by the soil of their homeland. Their saliva is also often used for its rejuvenative powers.

It is also very common for the Carpathian chants (both the lesser and the great one) to be accompanied by the use of healing herbs, aromas from Carpathian candles, and crystals. The crystals (when combined with the Carpathians' empathic, psychic connection to the entire universe) are used to gather positive energy from their surroundings which then is used to accelerate the healing. Caves are sometimes used as the setting for the healing.

The lesser healing chant was used by Vikirnoff Von Shrieder and Colby Jansen to heal Rafael De La Cruz whose heart had been ripped out by a vampire in the book titled Dark Secret.

Kepa Sarna Pus (The Lesser Healing Chant)

The same chant is used for all physical wounds, «sivadaba» note 1 would be changed to refer to whatever part of the body is wounded.

Kunasz, nelkul sivdobbanas, nelkul fesztelen loyly.

You lie as if asleep, without beat of heart, without airy breath.

note 2

Ot elidamet andam szabadon elidadert. I offer freely my life for your life. note 3

O jela sielam jorem ot ainamet es so?e ot elidadet.

My spirit of light forgets my body and enters your body.

note 4

0 jela sielam pukta kinn minden szekmeket belso.

My spirit of light sends all the dark spirits within fleeing without.

note 5

Pajnak o susu hanyet es o nyelv nyalamet sivadaba.

1 press the earth of our homeland and the spit of my tongue into your heart.

note 6

Vii, o verim so?e o vend andam.

At last, I give you my blood for your blood.

note 7

To hear this chant, visit: http://www.christinefeehan.com/ members/.

3. The Great Healing Chant of the Carpathians

The most well-known-and most dramatic-of the Carpathian healing chants was En Sarna Pus («The Great Healing Chant»). This chant was reserved for recovering the wounded or unconscious Carpathian's soul.

Typically a group of men would form a circle around the sick Carpathian (to «encircle him with our care and compassion»), and begin the chant. The shaman or healer or leader is the prime actor in this healing ceremony. It is he who will actually make the spiritual journey into the nether world, aided by his clanspeople. Their purpose is to ecstatically dance, sing, drum, and chant, all the while visualizing (through the words of the chant) the journey itself-ever)' step of it, over and over again-to the point where the shaman, in trance, leaves his body, and makes that very journey. (Indeed, the word «ecstasy» is from the Latin ex statis, which literally means «out of the body.»)

One advantage that the Carpathian healer has over many other shamans, is his telepathic link to his lost brother. Most shamans must wander in the dark of the nether realms, in search of their lost brother. But the Carpathian healer directly «hears» in his mind the voice of his lost brother calling to him, and can thus «zero in» on his soul like a homing beacon. For this reason, Carpathian healing tends to have a higher success rate than most other traditions of this sort.

Something of the geography of the «other world» is useful for us to examine, in order to fully understand the words of the Great Carpathian Healing Chant. A reference is made to the «Great Tree» (in Carpathian: En Puwe). Many ancient traditions, including the Carpathian tradition, understood the worlds-the heaven worlds, our world, and the nether realms-to be «hung» upon a great pole, or axis, or tree. Here on earth, we are positioned halfway up this tree, on one of its branches. Hence many ancient texts often referred to the material world as «middle earth»: midway between heaven and hell. Climbing the tree would lead one to the heaven worlds. Descending the tree to its roots would lead to the nether realms. The shaman was necessarily a master of movement up and down the Great

Tree, sometimes moving unaided, and sometimes assisted by (or even mounted upon the back of) an animal spirit guide. In various traditions, this Great Tree was known variously as the axis mundi (the «axis of the worlds»), Ygddrasil (in Norse mythology), Mount Mem (the sacred world mountain of Tibetan tradition), etc. The Christian cosmos with its heaven, purgatory/earth, and hell, is also worth comparing. It is even given a similar topography in Dante's Divine Comedy: Dante is led on a journey first to hell, at the center of the earth; then upward to Mount Purgatory, which sits on the earth's surface directly opposite Jerusalem; then further upward first to Eden, the earthly paradise, at the summit of Mount Purgatory; and then upward at last to heaven.

In the shamanistic tradition, it was understood that the small always reflects the large; the personal always reflects the cosmic. A movement in the greater dimensions of the cosmos also coincides with an internal movement. For example, the axis mundi of the cosmos also corresponds to the spinal column of the individual. Journeys up and down the axis mundi often coincided with the movement of natural and spiritual energies (sometimes called kundalini or shakti) in the spinal column of the shaman or mystic.

En Sarna Pus (The Great Healing Chant)

In this chant, eka («brother») would be replaced by «sister,» «father,» «mother,» depending on the person to be healed.

Ot ekam ainajanak hany, jama.

My brother's body is a lump of earth, close to death.

note 8

Me, ot ekam kuntajanak, piradak ekam, gond es irgalom ture.

We, the clan of my brother, encircle him with our care and compassion.

note 9

Opus wakenkek, ot oma sarnank, es ot pus funk, alnak ekam ainajanak, pitanak ekam ainajanak elava.

Our healing energies, ancient words of magic, and healing herbs bless my brother's body, keep it alive.

note 10

Ot ekam sielanak pala. Ot omboce palaja juta alatt o juti, kinta, es szelemek lamtijaknak.

But my brother's soul is only half. His other half wanders in the nether world.

note 11

Ot en mekem ?ama?: kulkedak otti ot ekam omboce palajanak.

My great deed is this: I travel to find my brother's other half.

note 12

Rekature, saradak, tappadak, odam, ka?a o numa waram, es avaa owe o lewl mahoz.

We dance, we chant, we dream ecstatically, to call my spirit bird, and to open the door to the other world.

note 13

Ntak o numa waram, es muzdulak, jomadak.

I mount my spirit bird and we begin to move, we are under way.

note 14

Piwtadak ot En Puwe tyvinak, ecidak alatt o juti, kinta, es szelemek lamtijaknak.

Following the trunk of the Great Tree, we fall into the nether world.

[Follow-we the Great Tree trunk-of, fall-we through the night, mist, and ghosts lowland-

their-of.]

Fazak, fazak no o saro.

It is cold, very cold.

note 15

Juttadak ot ekam o akarataban, o'sivaban, es o sielaban.

My brother and I are linked in mind, heart, and soul.

note 16

Ot ekam sielanak ka?a engem.

My brother's soul calls to me.

note 17

Kuledak es piwtadak ot ekam.

I hear and follow his track.

note 18

Sayedak es tuledak ot ekam kulyanak.

Encounter-I the demon who is devouring my brother's soul.

note 19

Nenam coro; o kuly torodak. In anger, I fight the demon.

note 20

0 kuly pel engem.

He is afraid of me.

note 21

Lejkkadak o ka?ka salamaval.

1 strike his throat with a lightning bolt.

note 22

Molodak ot ainaja, komakamal.

I break his body with my bare hands.

note 23

Toya es molana.

He is bent over, and falls apart.

note 24

Han ca?a. He runs away. note 25

Manedak ot ekam sielanak. I rescue my brother's soul.

note 26

Aladak ot ekam sielanak o komamban.

I lift my brother's soul in the hollow of my hand.

note 27

Al?dam ot ekam numa waramra.

I lift him onto my spirit bird.

note 28

Piwtadak ot En Puwe tyvijanak es sayedak jalleen ot elava ainak majaknak.

Following up the Great Tree, we return to the land of the living.

note 29

Ot ekam ela jalleen. My brother lives again. note 30

Ot ekam wenca jalleen.

He is complete again.

note 31

To hear this chant, visit: http://www.christinefeehan.com/ members/

4. Carpathian chanting technique

As with their healing techniques, the actual «chanting technique» of the Carpathians has much in common with the other shamanistic traditions of the Central Asian steppes. The primary mode of chanting was throat chanting using overtones. Modern examples of this manner of singing can still be found in the Mongolian, Tuvan, and Tibetan traditions. You can find an audio example of the Gyuto Tibetan Buddhist monks engaged in throat chanting at: http://www.christinefeehan.com/carpathianchanting/

As with Tuva, note on the map the geographical proximity of Tibet to Kazakhstan and the Southern Urals.

The beginning part of the Tibetan chant emphasizes synchronizing all the voices around a single tone, aimed at healing a particular «chakra» of the body. This is fairly typical of the Gyuto throat chanting tradition, but it is not a significant part of the Carpathian tradition. Nonetheless, it serves as an interesting contrast.

The part of the Gyuto chanting example that is most similar to the Carpathian style of chanting is the mid-section, where the men are chanting the words together with great force. The purpose here is not to generate a «healing tone» that will affect a particular «chakra,» but rather to generate as much power as possible for initiating the «out of body» travel, and for fighting the demonic forces that the healer/traveler must face and overcome.

Appendix 2

The Carpathian Language

Like all human languages, the language of the Carpathians contains the richness and nuance that can only come from a long history of use. At best we can only touch on some of the main features of the language in this brief appendix:

The history of the Carpathian language

Carpathian grammar and other characteristics of the language

Examples of the Carpathian language

A much abridged Carpathian dictionary

1. The history of the Carpathian language

The Carpathian language of today is essentially identical to the Carpathian language of thousands of years ago. A «dead» language like the Latin of two thousand years ago has evolved into a significantly different modern language (Italian) because of countless generations of speakers and great historical fluctuations. In contrast, many of the speakers of Carpathian from thousands of years ago are still alive. Their presence-coupled with the deliberate isolation of the Carpathians from the other major forces of change in the world– has acted (and continues to act) as a stabilizing force that has preserved the integrity of the language over the centuries. Carpathian culture has also acted as a stabilizing force. For instance, the Ritual Words, the various healing chants (see Appendix 1), and other cultural artifacts have been passed down the centuries with great fidelity.

One small exception should be noted: the splintering of the Carpathians into separate geographic regions has led to some minor dialectization. However the telepathic links among all Carpathians (as well as each Carpathian's regular return to his or her homeland) has ensured that the differences among dialects are relatively superficial (e.g., small numbers of new words, minor differences in pronunciation, etc.), since the deeper, internal language of mind-forms has remained the same because of continuous use across space and time.

The Carpathian language was (and still is) the proto-language for the Uralic (or Finno-Ugrian) family of languages. Today, the Uralic languages are spoken in northern, eastern and central Europe and in Siberia. More than twenty-three million people in the world speak languages that can trace their ancestry to Carpathian. Magyar or Hungarian (about fourteen million speakers), Finnish (about five million speakers), and Estonian (about one million speakers), arc the three major contemporary descendents of this proto-language. The only factor that unites the more than twenty languages in the Uralic family is that their ancestry can be traced back to a common proto-language-Carpathian-which split (starting some six thousand years ago) into the various languages in the Uralic family. In the same way, European languages such as English and French, belong to the better-known Indo-European family and also evolve from a common proto-language ancestor (a different one from Carpathian).

M

The following table provides a sense for some of the similarities in the language family.

Note: The Finnic/Carpathian «k» shows up often as Hungarian «h». Similarly, the Finnic/Carpathian «p» often corresponds to the Hungarian «f.» ^

M

2. Carpathian grammar and other characteristics of the language

Idioms. As both an ancient language, and a language of an earth people, Carpathian is more inclined toward use of idioms constructed from concrete, «earthy» terms, rather than abstractions. For instance, our modern abstraction, «to cherish,» is expressed more concretely in Carpathian as «to hold in one's heart»; the «nether world» is, in Carpathian, «the land of night, fog, and ghosts»; etc.

Word order. The order of words in a sentence is determined not by syntactic roles (like subject, verb, and object) but rather by pragmatic, discourse-driven factors. Examples: «Tied vagyok.» («Yours am I.»); «Sivamet andam.» («My heart I give you.»)

Agglutination. The Carpathian language is agglutinative; that is, longer words are constructed from smaller components. An agglutinating language uses suffixes or prefixes whose meaning is generally unique, and which are concatenated one after another without overlap. In Carpathian, words typically consist of a stem that is followed by one or more suffixes. For example, «sivambam» derives from the stem «siv» («heart») followed by «am» («my,» making it «my heart»), followed by «bam» («in,» making it «in my heart»). As you might imagine, agglutination in Carpathian can sometimes produce very long words, or words that are very difficult to pronounce. Vowels often get inserted between suffixes, to prevent too many consonants from appearing in a row (which can make the word unpronouncable).

Noun cases. Like all languages, Carpathian has many noun cases; the same noun will be «spelled» differently depending on its role in the sentence. Some of the noun cases include: nominative (when the noun is the subject of the sentence), accusative (when the noun is a direct object of the verb), dative (indirect object), genitive (or possessive), instrumental, final, supressive, inessive, elative, terminative, and delative.

We will use the possessive (or genitive) case as an example, to illustrate how all noun cases in Carpathian involve adding standard suffixes to the noun stems. Thus expressing possession in Carpathian-«my lifemate,» «your lifemate,» «his lifemate,» «her lifemate,» etc.-involves adding a particular suffix (such as «=am») to the noun stem («palafertiil»), to produce the possessive («palafertiilam»-«my lifemate»). Which suffix to use depends upon which person («my,» «your,» «his,» etc.) and whether the noun ends in a consonant or vowel. The following table shows the suffixes for singular nouns only (not plural), and also shows the similarity to the suffixes used in contemporary Hungarian. (Hungarian is actually a little more complex, in that it also requires «vowel rhyming»: which suffix to use also depends on the last vowel in the noun; hence the multiple choices in the cells below, where Carpathian only has a single choice.)

¦m

OiJ

Note: As mentioned earlier, vowels often get inserted between the word and its suffix so as to prevent too many consonants from appearing in a row (which would produce unpronouncable words). For example, in the table above, all nouns that end in a consonant are followed by suffixes beginning with «a.»

Verb conjugation. Like its modern descendents (such as Finnish and Hungarian), Carpathian has many verb tenses, far too many to describe here. We will just focus on the conjugation of the present tense. Again, we will place contemporary Hungarian side by side with the Carpathian, because of the marked similarity of the two. As with the possessive case for nouns, the conjugation of verbs is done by adding a suffix onto the verb stem:

saj

As with all languages, there are many «irregular verbs» in Carpathian that don't exactly fit this pattern. But the above table is still a useful guideline for most verbs.

3. Examples of the Carpathian language

Here are some brief examples of conversational Carpathian, used in the Dark books. We include the literal translation in square brackets. It is interestingly different from the most appropriate English translation.

Susu.

I am home.

note 32

Moert?

What for?

csitri

little one

note 33

ainaak enyem

forever mine

ainaak'sivamet jutta

forever mine (another form)

note 34

sivamet

my love

note 35

Sarna Rituaali (The Ritual Words) is a longer example, and an example of chanted rather than conversational Carpathian. Note the recurring use of «andam» («I give»), to give the chant musicality and force through repetition.

Sarna Rituaali (The Ritual Words)

Te avio palafertiilam.

You are my lifemate.

note 36

Entolam kuulua, avio palafertiilam.

I claim you as my lifemate.

note 37

Ted kuuluak, kacad, kojed.

I belong to you.

note 38

Elidamet andam.

I offer my life for you.

note 39

Pesamet andam.

I give you my protection.

note 40

Uskolfertiilamet andam. I give you my allegiance.

note 41

Sivamet andam.

I give you my heart.

note 42

Sielamet andam.

I give you my soul.

note 43

Ainamet andam.

I give you my body.

note 44

Sivamet kuuluak kaik etta a ted.

I take into my keeping the same that is yours.

note 45

Ainaak olenszal'sivambin.

Your life will be cherished by me for all my time.

note 46

Te elidet ainaak pide minan.

Your life will be placed above my own for all time.

note 47

Te avio palafertiilam.

You are my lifemate.

note 48

Ainaak'sivamet jutta oleny.

You are bound to me for all eternity.

note 49

Ainaak terad vigyazak.

You are always in my care.

note 50

See Appendix 1 for Carpathian healing chants, including both the Kepa Sarna Pus («The Lesser Healing Chant») and the En Sarna Pus («The Great Healing Chant»).

To hear these words pronounced (and for more about Carpathian pronunciation altogether), please visit: http://www.christinefeehan.com/members/

4. A much abridged Carpathian dictionary

This very much abridged Carpathian dictionary contains most of the Carpathian words used in these Dark books. Of course, a full Carpathian dictionary would be as large as the usual dictionary for an entire language.

Note: The Carpathian nouns and verbs below are word stems. They generally do not appear in their isolated, «stem» form, as below. Instead, they usually appear with suffixes (e.g., «andam»-«I give,» rather than just the root, «and»).

aina-body ainaak-forever akarat-mind; will al-bless, attach to alatt-through

ala-to lift; to raise

and-to give

avaa-to open

avio-wedded

avio palafertiil-lifemate

belso-within; inside

ca?a-to flee; to run; to escape

coro-to flow; to run like rain

csitri-little one (female)

eka-brother

ela-to live

elava-alive

elava ainak majaknak-land of the living

elid-life

en-I

en-great, many, big

En Puwe-The Great Tree. Related to the legends of Ygddrasil, the axis mundi, Mount Meru, heaven and hell, etc.

engem-me

eci-to fall

ek-suffix added after a noun ending in a consonant to make it plural

es-and

etta-that

faz-to feel cold or chilly

fertiil-fertile one

fesztelen-airy

fu-herbs; grass

gond-care; worry (noun)

han-he; she; it

hany-clod; lump of earth

irgalom-compassion; pity; mercy

jalleen-again.

jama-to be sick, wounded, or dying; to be near death (verb)

jela-sunlight; day, sun; light

joma-to be under way; to go

jorem-to forget; to lose one's way; to make a mistake

juta-to go; to wander

juti-night; evening

jutta-connected; fixed (adj.). to connect; to fix; to bind (verb)

k-suffix added after a noun ending in a vowel to make it plural

kaca-male lover

kaik-all (noun)

ka?a-to call; to invite; to request; to beg

ka?k-windpipe; Adam's apple; throat

Karpatii-Carpathian

kasi-hand

kepa-lesser, small, easy, few

kinn-out; outdoors; outside; without

kinta-fog, mist, smoke

koje-man; husband; drone

kola-to die

koma-empty hand; bare hand; palm of the hand; hollow of the hand.

kont-warrior

kule-hear kuly-intestinal worm; tapeworm; demon who possesses and devours souls

kulke-to go or to travel (on land or water)

kuna-to lie as if asleep; to close or cover the eyes in a game of hide-and-seek; to die

kunta-band, clan, tribe, family

kuulua-to belong; to hold

lamti-lowland; meadow

lamti bol juti, kinta, ja szelem-the nether world (literally: «the meadow of night, mists, and ghosts»)-crack, fissure, split (noun). To cut o hit; to strike forcefully (verb).

lewl-spirit

lewl ma-the other world (literally: «spirit land»). Lewl ma includes lamti bol juti, kinta, ja szelem: the nether world, but also includes the worlds higher up En Puwe, the Great Tree

loyly-breath; steam, (related to lewl: «spirit»)

ma-land; forest

mane-rescue; save

me-we

meke-deed; work (noun). To do; to make; to work (verb)

minan-mine

minden-every, all (adj.).

moert?-what for? (exclamation)

molo-to crush; to break into bits

molana-to crumble; to fall apart

mozdul-to begin to move, to enter into movement

na-for ?ama?-this; this one here

nelkul-without

nena-anger

no-like; in the same way as; as

numa-god; sky; top; upper part; highest (related to the English word: «numinous»)

nyelv-tongue

nyal-saliva; spit (noun), (related to nyelv: «tongue»)

odam-dream; sleep (verb)

oma-old; ancient

omboce-other; second (adj.)

o-the (used before a noun beginning with a consonant)

ot-the (used before a noun beginning with a vowel)

otti-to look; to sec; to find

owe-door

pajna-to press

pala-half; side palafertiil-mate or wife

pel-to be afraid; to be scared of

pesa-nest (literal); protection (figurative)

pide-above

pira-circle; ring (noun). To surround; to enclose (verb).

pita-keep, hold

piwta-to follow; to follow the track of game

pukta-to drive away; to persecute; to put to flight

pusm-to be restored to health

pus-healthy; healing

puwe-tree; wood

reka-ecstasy; trance

rituaali-ritual

saye-to arrive; to come; to reach

salama-lightning; lightning bolt

sarna-words; speech; magic incantation (noun). To chant; to sing; to celebrate (verb)

saro-frozen snow

siel-soul

sisar-sister

siv-heart

sivdobbanas-heartbeat

so?e-to enter; to penetrate; to compensate; to replace

susu-home; birthplace (noun), at home (adv.)

szabadon-freely

szelem-ghost

tappa-to dance; to stamp with the feet (verb)

te-you

ted-yours

toja-to bend; to bow; to break

toro-to fight; to quarrel

tule-to meet; to come

ture-full, satiated, accomplished

tyvi-stem; base; trunk

uskol-faithful

uskolfertiil-allegiance

veri-blood

vigyaz-to care for; to take care of

vii-last; at last; finally

wake-power

wara-bird; crow

wenca-complete; whole

wete-water

"into your heart"

Lie-as-if-asleep-you, without heart-beat, without airy breath.

Life-my give-I freely life-your-for.

The sunlight soul-my forgets the body-my and enters the body-your.

The sunlight-soul-my puts-to-flight outside all ghost-s inside.

Press-I the homeland earth and the tongue spit-my heart-your-into.

At-last, the blood-my to-replace the blood-your give-I.

The brother-my body-his-of lump-of-earth, is-near-death.

We, the brother-my clan-his-of, encircle brother-my, care and compassion full.

The healing power-our-s, the ancient words-of-magic-our, and the healing herbs-our, bless brother-my body-his-of, keep brother-my body-his-of alive.

The brother-my soul-his-of (is) half. The other half-his wanders through the night, mist, and ghosts lowland-their-of.

The great deed-my (is) this: travel-I to-find the brother-my other half-his-of.

Ecstasy-full, dance-we, dream-we, to call the god bird-my, and open the door spirit land-to.

Mount-I the god bird-my, and begin-to-move-we, are-on-our-way-we.

Feel-cold-I, feel-cold-I like the frozen snow.

Am-bound-to-I the brother-my the mind-in, the heart-in, and the soul-in.

The brother-my soul-his-of calls-to me.

Hear-I and follow-the-trail-of-I the brother-my.

Arrive-I and meet-I the brother-my demon-who-devours-soul-his-of.

Anger-my flows; the demon-who-devours-souls fight-I.

The demon-who-devours-souls (is) afraid-of me.

Strike-I the throat-his bolt-of-lightning-with.

Break-I the body-his empty-hand-s-my-with.

(He)bends and (he)crumbles.

He flees.

Rescue-I the brother-my soul-his-of.

Lift-I the brother-my soul-his-of the hollow-of-hand-my-in.

Lift-I the brother-my god bird-my-onto.

Follow-we the Great Tree trunk-its-of, and reach-we again the living bodie-s land-their-of.

The brother-my lives again.

The brother-my (is) complete again.

"home/birthplace.» «I am» is understood, as is often the case in Carpathian.

"little slip of a thing», «little slip of a girl"

"forever to-my-heart connected/fixed'"

"of-my-heart,» «to-my-heart"

You wedded wife-my. «Are» is understood, as is generally the case in Carpathian when one thing is equated with another: «You-my lifemate."

To-me belong-you, wedded wife-my.

To-you belong-I, lover-your, man/husband/drone-your.

Life-my give-I. «you» is understood.

Nest-my give-I

Fidelity-my give-I.

Heart-my give-I.

Soul-my give-I.

Body-my give-I.

To-my-heart hold-I all that-is yours.

Forever will-be-you in-my– heart.

Your life forever above mine.

You wedded wife-my.

Forever to-my-heart connected are-you.

Forever you I-take-care-of.