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Byron shifted, becoming mist as the bear sank its teeth into his shoulder. He felt a hiss of pain, and the jaws snapped together on nothing.
In the air, the Carpathians dissolved, turning to mist, allowing the vampire bats to fall away from them. Tiny droplets of blood rained to earth as the Carpathians pulled away from the bats. Dragons took shape, belching fire, scorching the sky and earth, destroying the bats and driving the bear back. It roared with rage, standing on its hind legs, large claws batting the air, ready to fight the flames and dragons.
He seeks to delay any who might follow. They nip at our heels like a pack of wolves, but do not really attack, Mikhail hissed.
It drains his strength. His servants do not want to fight any of us themselves. They know we are experienced hunters, Gregori pointed out. They hide and use what they can to delay us. He has to be forcing his will on them, and that takes energy he can ill afford. We moved faster than he expected.
Let us be done with this, Mikhail decreed. Find them and end this. He could hear voices, whispers, the lesser vampires commanding their minions to do the work they were afraid to do.
As Mikhail touched very delicately to earth, careful of the shifting ground, roots shot from the nearby trees, growing like long, twisting snakes to curl around his ankles and wind up his body. Aidan was closest, rushing to the aid of his prince as Mikhail’s body shimmered into translucency.
Mikhail turned toward movement and saw an enormous bear, ruby red eyes mad with rage, white foam staining the dark muzzle as the creature charged him. As he shifted to gain his release from the climbing roots, he sped toward the bear rather than away from it, intending to slam his fist through the chest wall to extract the heart. Vampires often infected their puppets with their rotting flesh and acidic blood. If the bear was actually infected, they had to destroy it. The creature would continue killing, the need for blood always driving it to slay anything living in its path.
As he neared the bear, the creature suddenly jerked to one side with astonishing speed, and for a moment, instead of the massive animal, Mikhail caught a glimpse of a man with flowing golden hair and blazing golden eyes. Inhaling sharply, Mikhail pulled back, realizing the bear was an illusion.
Behind you! Aidan’s cry was sharp in his mind.
Mikhail whirled to face the real animal charging him, nearly on top of him. He waited calmly, bracing himself, already gathering strength to slam his fist through the heavy protective wall of muscle and bone. Even as he felt the bear’s hot breath, Gregori materialized in front of him, ducking his head as he took the brunt of the charge, his fist buried deep in the maddened creature’s chest.
Do not risk yourself, Gregori reprimanded.
Mikhail grunted his annoyance. I am capable of protecting myself.
So you say, Gregori retorted.
Mikhail began to chant softly again, commanding the vampires out into the open. He was the prince, and at one time these men had been sworn to his allegiance. The hypnotic tone together with commanding sarna—chant—forced the vampires out of their hiding places.
A blackened tree trunk, gnarled and twisted, oozed sap that ran like blood down to the ground as it split open and spat out the vampire. He stumbled into the open, hissing, deadly, an evil creature with skin stretched tight over his skull and pointed teeth stained black from the blood of his victims. He had not yet gained the power to maintain the illusion of a handsome human male. The vampire whirled around, snarling, his red eyes searching for a way out through the circle of Carpathian hunters.
Mikhail continued to chant, his voice hypnotic and mesmerizing, so commanding it was impossible for anyone to ignore. The ground erupted like a geyser just a few feet from the other vampire, and insects boiled out of the hole. A grotesque head appeared, part animal and part man, as if the vampire couldn’t make up his mind which form he wished to take. Two claws dragged the body up through the hole, and he crawled, a dark evil shadow along the ground, slobbering and hissing toward the prince.
Gregori once again inserted his body between harm and his prince. The other males closed their ring tighter. Lightning zigzagged across the sky in long dazzling whips. It was Byron and Aidan who took the blackened, wizened hearts and threw the deadly organs a distance from the screaming vampires. Gregori directed the lightning to incinerate the foul hearts to ensure the vampires could not rise again, before incinerating the writhing remains of the long-dead creatures.
Mikhail met the eyes of his guardian. Without another word, they took to the air in search of Raven.
Into the night there came a cry of pure terror, evil laughter, a gloating triumph. Every Carpathian, so tuned to the land, felt the vibration of violence, the disturbance of power, the cycle of life and death.
Andre had orchestrated his delaying tactics, using his lesser vampires, sacrificing them to the Carpathian males racing to take Raven from him. He needed replenishing blood, lots of it, and knowing he would lose much this night, he would make his victims suffer.
Raven, as psychically sensitive as she was, instantly found her mind drawn to the scene of violence as if she were there physically instead of sharing Andre’s sick, twisted mind.
Break off, Raven. Mikhail commanded it.
Raven pressed her hands to her temples, unable to get away from Andre’s madness, unable to make the break from their blood connection. Andre was laughing, flinging himself from the branch of a tree onto a woman attempting to crawl away from him. A smaller body lay crumpled at the foot of the tree, pale and lifeless, where he had dropped it. The woman moaned, pleaded for her life. She crawled toward the vampire, fumbling at his trousers. The vampire laughed horribly again and then kicked her away from him, only to force her to crawl back to him, begging to serve him.
“Andre! No, you cannot!” Raven yelled it aloud, dragging herself up to stumble to the door. She ran into the night, spun in a circle to catch the direction. She managed only three steps before her body halted abruptly and she fell, floating to earth, lying helpless and immobile in the grass, unable to command her own body.
Monique followed her, dropping to her knees beside her. “What is it? I know you are not what my husband thinks. I know you are trying to save us.”
Tears were running down Raven’s face. “Andre killed a child, and he is taunting the mother. He will kill her also. I can’t save her.” Raven took what comfort she could as the woman cradled Raven’s head in her lap.
I told you to break away from him, Raven. You leave me no choice but to force your compliance if you do not.
Mikhail in a cold fury was something she had never seen. She realized it was he holding her body helpless.
I must find a way to save her. She was pleading for a miracle, one she knew he couldn’t give her—but she couldn’t give up, couldn’t just let the woman die.
Do as I say, Raven, or I will do it for you.
We cannot let her die like that.
His tone gentled, and she felt his own sorrow. I cannot save her, my love, and I cannot allow you to see what he does to this woman. He is the embodiment of evil, and the things evil can conceive are not for your eyes.
Raven complied reluctantly, feeling as if she had abandoned the woman in her darkest hour.
Monique held her hand. “How is it possible?” she whispered. “Andre took us from our beds while we were making love. He was so cruel, forcing me to do things in front of my husband and then forcing my husband to . . .” She bowed her head. “Unspeakable things. He laughed, but his eyes, they were so cold. He raped and killed our neighbors, drinking their blood in front of us so that we would know what he had in store for us. I know he felt no real pleasure in the act, just in our pain.”
“He is evil, beyond all help,” Raven said sadly.
Monique touched the dark bruises at Raven’s throat. “I am sorry for what Alexander did to you. He is mad with anger and fear for us.”
“Did Andre take your blood? Did he take Alexander’s?”
“Not mine. H
e said I was for you, that you would take my life and he would take Alexander’s. That we would die together. You took a terrible risk. That monster might have killed you.”
Raven closed her eyes tiredly. “He still might. We can’t get away from him, Monique.”
“What are we going to do?” Monique asked in despair.
The night around them carried disturbing vibrations. Somewhere deep inside the forest, an animal missed its prey and screamed its rage. An owl hissed. A wolf snarled. Panic rose.
Mikhail, I have to get into the house.
Raven clutched Monique’s hand, was relieved when she could move her legs. “Come on. We have to get inside. Stay quiet and out of sight if you can. Earlier, I angered him, and he murdered a priest. He is capable of anything, and when he returns, he will be high as a kite, and unpredictable.”
Monique helped Raven to her feet, slipping her arm around the smaller woman’s waist. “What did you do to Alexander when he hurt you?”
Raven walked reluctantly back to the stone house. “I did nothing to him.” She touched the bruises on her throat. Alexander had complicated things. Andre could not fail to notice the marks on her.
“You feel things we know nothing of,” Monique guessed uneasily.
“It is not a comfortable gift. He killed tonight. A woman, a child. I sent him out and traded our lives for theirs.”
“No!” Monique denied that. “You have nothing to do with what he chooses to do, any more than my husband is responsible for what that monster did to me. Alexander believes he should have found a way to protect me. He will not forgive himself. Don’t be like him, Raven.”
Raven stood on the stone steps and faced the moon-bathed land. The wind stirred, and the glowing silver light darkened ominously. Monique gasped, clutched at Raven, and tried to draw her into the comparative safety of the house. A red stain grew, spread, and then completely consumed the moon. A low moan rode on the wind, growing louder until it became a howl. A wolf lifted its muzzle to the bloodstained moon and howled in warning. A second joined in. The entire mountain rumbled ominously.
Monique whirled around and ran to her husband. “Pray with me, pray with me. We are going to die this night, Alexander.”
Raven shut the door and leaned against it. “Don’t panic on me, Monique. We have a chance if we can stall him.”
Alexander glared at her, his arm protectively around his wife, his hand already swollen and sore looking. “Don’t listen to her, Monique. She almost strangled me and threw me against the wall with unbelievable strength. She is unclean.”
Raven rolled her eyes in exasperation. “I’m beginning to wish I did have all that power you think I have. I’d find a way to keep you from talking.”
“He is afraid for us.” Monique spoke in a conciliatory tone. “Can’t we take off his chains?”
“He would try to attack Andre the moment he returned.” Raven made a face at Alexander, completely exasperated with him. “That would get him killed fast.”
Do not release the human.
Like I had planned to run right in and do a very stupid thing, she sent back as sarcastically as she was able. She had enough problems without Mikhail treating her as if she didn’t have a brain. Don’t worry, I’m considering gagging him, and you too, if you keep it up.
The wind outside howled, an eerie, lonely sound that faded away, leaving in its wake an unnatural silence. Raven heard her own heartbeat in the void.
She shivered, turning stricken eyes on Monique. “He comes. Stay very quiet, no matter what happens. Don’t draw attention to yourself.”
Raven stepped backward just as the door splintered and cracked. The candle flames leapt, threw shadows on the wall, a grotesque macabre, then the lights were snuffed out.
Monique clutched her husband and managed to stifle a scream by jamming a fist in her mouth.
“Come, Raven. We must leave now.” Andre snapped his fingers, holding out his hand. The vampire’s face was flushed with fresh blood. The glow of evil was in his eyes; his mouth twisted with cruelty.
You cannot allow him to touch you.
Mikhail’s dictating was grating on already raw nerves. I am not stupid.
Raven regarded Andre with large, accusing eyes. “Why do you come to me like this? Tell me what is going on.”
Andre’s face twisted into a mask of rage. “Do not question me. Obey me at once.”
Raven shook her head, trying to think how she could ignore his summons and keep up the charade that she believed she was his partner. “I will not be ordered around as if you own me, Andre. I do have a mind of my own.”
Andre moved with blurring speed, and at the last moment, Raven remembered that she, too, was capable of such feats. She felt his hot, foul breath, smelled death on him. His razor-sharp nails raked her arm as she ducked away. She pressed her small body into the corner. “Don’t try to force my compliance when a simple explanation will do.”
“You will regret this defiance,” he snarled, and hurled the church bench out of his path so hard that it crashed and splintered against the wall only inches from the shivering human couple.
A small moan of terror escaped Monique, and instantly the vampire whirled around, his eyes red and glazed with power. “You will crawl to me, woman, on your hands and knees like the dog you are.” His voice was low, hypnotic, his eyes mesmerizing. “You want me. You will do anything to please me, anything I ask of you.”
Alexander lunged to the end of his chains, trying to stop Monique, who went to the floor in obedience, her manner sensual and fawning. Raven walked calmly across the room to kneel down in Monique’s path. “Hear me, Monique. Don’t do this thing.”
Her blue-violet eyes stared directly into the older woman’s. Raven’s voice was beautiful, purity itself, low and entrancing. It made the vampire’s voice appear foul and disgusting. A look of confusion, bewilderment, and shame crossed Monique’s blank face.
The vampire exploded into action, leaping the distance to Raven’s side, seizing her by the hair, yanking her backward, nearly off her feet.
The world erupted around them. The night itself seemed to rage, the wind screaming and howling, gusting across the wide open space to beat at the windows. A dark funnel cloud boiled down from the seething sky and tore the roof from the structure. The whirling mass lifted furniture and scattered treasures collected over the years.
Monique wailed loudly and dragged herself to Alexander, where they clung together. Voices hissed and whispered, low murmurs of fury, of accusation, of condemnation. The mountains rumbled ominously, and the farthermost wall burst outward, spewing rocks and mortar as if dynamited.
Mikhail stood in the center of the ferocious storm, his black eyes as cold as death. He stood tall and elegant despite the scarlet stain spreading across his silk shirt. His body was relaxed, unmoving in the midst of chaos. He lifted a hand, and the roaring of the wind died down. Mikhail regarded Andre for a long moment.
“Release her.” His voice was very soft, but it struck utter terror in the hearts of all who heard him.
Andre’s fingers tightened convulsively in Raven’s silky hair.
Mikhail’s answering smile was cruel. “Do you wish me to force your compliance, so you come crawling to your death as you forced your victims?”
Andre’s fingers spasmed, and his arm jerked like a puppet’s. He stared in horror at Mikhail, never conceiving of such power. Such mind control did not work easily on Carpathians.
Come to me, Raven. Mikhail’s voice resonated with power, yet for her there was a soothing gentleness.
Mikhail did not take his eyes from the vampire, holding him helpless with his mind alone. So great was his fury, he hardly required Gregori’s mind merge to assist him.
One by one the Carpathian males materialized, their faces masks of condemnation. Raven could feel the human couple’s terror rising, approaching near madness. She staggered to them, wrapping her arms protectively around Monique. “He will save us,” she whispered to
them.
“He is like the other,” Alexander rasped hoarsely.
“No, he is good. He will save us.” Raven stated the truth simply, with great conviction.
It is good to see the way your woman rushes to obey you, Gregori said for Mikhail’s ears alone, earning him a quick, dark glare.
Saving his retort for later, Mikhail released the vampire.
Andre looked around him, his mouth twisted sardonically. “Does it take an army for you to go on the hunt?”
“You have been sentenced for your crimes, Andre. Should I fail, the sentence will be carried out by another.”
Mikhail indicated two Carpathians with his finger and nodded toward Raven, clearly ordering them to guard her. His tall form emanated power and confidence.
“You are but a child, Andre.” His voice was a pure tone, pitched low and velvet soft. “You cannot hope to match one who has battled so many times, but I offer you the chance you have worked so hard to attain.” The black eyes glittered with icy fury. “Do not think that I will be swift and merciful, when you have betrayed your people to vampire hunters and caused me and mine so much grief.”
“Vengeance, Mikhail?” Andre asked sarcastically. “How very common of you.” He launched himself, razor-sharp claws extended, fangs dripping saliva.
Mikhail simply disappeared, and the vampire found himself tumbling out of the house onto the ground, the savage night closing in on him, the Carpathian males in a huge, loose circle corralling him in.
As a rule, hunters were solitary, but this time a vampire had threatened the leader of the Carpathian people and the woman they believed was their only real hope for a future. It was Mikhail’s right to destroy the traitor, but the others would ensure that the job was done.
Andre turned in the direction in which the others were looking. Mikhail stood a few feet from him, black fury burning in his unblinking gaze.