Joie shivered. Fear was a living, breathing entity nearly choking her. At times, through the rising mist coming off the stone floor, she could make out a suit of armor on the warrior; at other times it was as insubstantial as the clouds.
Traian pulled Joie into his arms, drawing her tightly against his chest. His movements were deliberately slow, careful, wary of drawing the warrior’s attention to them.
We are going to float upward, Joie, just drift toward the ceiling above us. Keep looking at me.
She was afraid. Battling human adversaries was one thing; facing down vampires and warriors made up of smoke and shadow was something altogether different. She slid her palm up Traian’s chest, the solid wall of flesh and blood reassuring her. Her arm curved around his neck. She locked her fingers there, fitting her body tightly against his. His much more masculine frame was hard like an oak tree. There was little give to the defined muscles beneath his skin. She felt her feet leave the ground and she closed her eyes, sending up a quick prayer.
Traian watched the warrior. Colored lights pulsed through the cavern, lit the mist so that wraith-like creatures appeared to be moving within it—ghosts of the mages, lost so long ago. He tightened his arms around Joie. She fit perfectly to him, her mind comfortable in his, drawing knowledge and studying tactics. He could feel her there inside him, sharing his memories and gathering information on his battles with vampires, fully prepared to join him should there be need.
More than anything else, he wanted her to know him as a man. He wanted time with her. He wanted to hear her laugh, to see warmth and acceptance in her eyes the way he had imagined during their long-distance chats. And he wanted her out of danger. Things could go wrong in an instant and he focused on one thing—getting Joie to safety.
They drifted higher in the cavern, and Traian clouded their image with more mist, more smoke, so that they seemed part of the haze. He took care that their movements were slow and lazy and as natural as possible, so that nothing would trigger the instincts of the warrior.
The shadow creature was motionless, even while the smoke that made up its body whirled and spun in dark threads. The fierce eyes remained fixed on the vampire crawling toward the temptation of the pulsing crystal orb. Shafe drew closer, closer, reaching out to the visions and promises of wealth and power swirling inside the globe.
Triumphantly the vampire placed his palms around the beckoning crystal. The moment he touched the globe, the shadow warrior threw back its head and roared. For a brief moment the smoke around it cleared. The guardian stood tall and straight, dressed in glittering, multihued scaled armor. And then it was smoke again, rushing across the wide expanse of floor, not quite touching the ground.
Valenteen, the older vampire, oozed from the black pool, shifting into the form of a snake-like creature with a head like a drill. It slithered to the nearest wall and began to burrow through the ice wall. Joie strained to see below her, to see the shadow warrior as he reached the undead cupping the crystal ball.
Your light. Turn it off.
Her heart jumped.
We need the light.
I see fine in the dark. We want to escape this chamber. I can take us through the air shaft and do not want to chance drawing the warrior’s attention.
As she doused the light, Shafe screamed hideously. Colors glowed in the rising mist. A dark blood-red stain slowly began to invade the smoky fog. It spread like a virus. A violent clash of light and sound burst through the chamber as the vampire’s voice shrieked and wailed until Joie buried her face in Traian’s neck, her body trembling.
His gut knotted.
We are almost out. Do not look. This cave is a trap and we will seal it up so no others can find it.
You’re thinking you’ll come back tomorrow night and find out what the vampires were searching for,
she guessed.
I have to find out. I have been in these caves several weeks, fighting the vampires on and off. I destroyed more than one, yet they remained. That is highly unusual and it worries me. Worse still is the fact that Valenteen was not the only master. There was another in the group, Gallent. I was able, after several battles, to destroy him, but he was clearly with this group. And I think there is still one more. . . . so much more powerful . . .
Joie sighed and hugged him tighter.
This is not happy news. Sounds like our gang problems. We’d better start looking on the internet for a site called vampires of the world, unite.
Above her head, he smiled
. It had not occurred to me to check there, but if we find such a thing, are you volunteering for undercover work?
She made a small growling noise of dissent and bit his shoulder hard.
The air shaft was narrow, but he angled their bodies until they slipped through, taking them to the upper levels. As soon as she felt the ground beneath her feet, she turned on her light, caught his hand, and sprinted through the tunnel toward the entrance.
“Valenteen is not following us. Although he is a master vampire, he will not attempt to fight me alone.”
His words stopped her. The idea that a creature as hideous and lethal as a vampire wouldn’t fight Traian alone was frightening. What did she know of him, after all? He was a voice speaking to her in the night. A man who drank blood and shifted shapes.
“I am a man of honor. A man who has found the one woman. The only woman.” He put a gentle hand on her shoulder. “I know this happened too fast and you do not altogether trust it.”
“If I don’t think about it, I trust it, and that scares me, Traian. I’m not particularly a trusting person. All this time I thought I was still in control, after all, I did rescue you. But now you’re saying those creatures won’t attack you while they’re alone and that tells me that they’re very afraid of you.”
“I am an ancient hunter. I have been tried in battle for more years than I care to remember. I know the ways of the vampire and I am much skilled in what I do.” There was no arrogance or bravado in his voice, only acceptance and truth.
“And these vampires?”
“Should not have been together. They should not be here, in the Carpathian Mountains, so close to our prince and many of our males. I was returning to my homeland when I first came across them. I knew they were desperate to find something in that cave. Although it was risky to pit myself against so many, it was my duty to my people to stay and discover what they were looking for. Even after you found me and I recognized who you were, I stayed because the vampires were so frantic to find something. I had no idea this was a cave of mages. And it looks recently occupied.”
“And what is the significance of mages to a vampire? I know what it would be to humans. Most of us don’t actually believe the fairy tales about wizards and crystal balls—and dragons. That was very cool, by the way.”
“You saw the spheres in that room. Ancient spells and power remain in them. We don’t want vampires, or anyone, for that matter, to get their hands on things best left alone. Carpathians are of the earth. We have gifts, but we do not wield power in the same way as the mages do.”
“You believe that some still live?”
“I would think it likely. At least I would think some of their descendants remain and have retained their knowledge, or at least a portion of it.”
Joie sighed. “Lovely thought. Anyone who created that shadow warrior is not going to be counted among my best friends.”
“Nor mine.” There was an ominous warning to his voice.
She looked up quickly. “I know what you’re thinking. You just remembered, if my brother is a mage, than so am I. We are from the same parents and that’s an indisputable fact. I can’t reach either Gabrielle or Jubal. They’re too far away.” There was worry in her voice.
Traian took a breath and stopped, seeking his blood bond with Jubal. “They are out of the caves and heading for the inn. They thought to get a rescue team together. I have informed him there is no need, we will join them shortly.”
Joie nearly sagged with relief. “You’re certain?”
“Absolutely.”
Joie followed him through the long hall, already feeling the open air on her body, not looking at the beauty and magnificence of her surroundings as she normally would. She was so relieved that her brother and sister had made it out that she wanted to weep. She searched for a topic to keep from giving in to the intensity of her emotions. “You grew up a long time ago.”
He grinned at her, his teeth flashing in the light of her lantern. “Well, yes. I have lived for centuries. I barely remember my parents anymore.” His smile slipped away. “The memory of my childhood days has faded. I catch glimpses at times. I do recall the years just before leaving my homeland. The way the prince looked at us all. I saw it in his eyes. His own death, the decline of our people, his dread for all of the warriors he was sending away from home. Our women were so few, even then the numbers were declining. Back then we had alliances with humans. Now we keep to ourselves and just do our best to blend in.”
She listened to the sound of his voice and heard the sorrow that ran deep. In his mind she saw the battles, sometimes with childhood friends. She saw his inner demons, the insidious whispers of power, the dark stain that slowly spread over him, calling to him. And he was always alone. In every memory, he was always alone. Joie wanted to comfort him. She caught his hand, tangled her fingers with his. She meant it to be a brief gesture, but he tightened his grip.
“I grew up very differently,” she said, ducking her head to avoid a large crystal formation. “My family is very close and very loving. We all talk at the same time and give each other all sorts of unwanted advice. My dad tells outrageous stories. He used to sneak into our bedroom at night with a flashlight shining on his face and tell scary stories until we screamed and laughed and Mom came running in to chastise him. Once, after he read us Stephen King’s
Cujo
, he put whipped cream on the muzzle of our huge mutt and shoved him into the bedroom. It’s a wonder we all survived his sense of humor.”
She laughed at the memory, deliberately sharing with Traian the warmth of her childhood, the love in her family. “We’re all a little bit crazy, but it’s okay with us.”
“Do you think I will fit in?” He brought her hand to his chest and held it against his heart. “I would not mind having a family after all this time.”
He was a tall man with wide shoulders and eyes that had seen far too much, yet the lost note in his voice turned her heart over. Joie smiled at him. “I can’t wait for you to meet my mother. She does not like men, other than my father, and she can be very intimidating. You’re an alpha male and she will definitely have an opinion. We’ll see how well you can stand up to her. She ran off every boy who wanted to date my sister or me.”
He smiled at her, rather like a wolf smiling at a lamb. “I will have to thank her.”
T
he night air was crisp and clean and so fresh, Joie gratefully dragged it deep into her lungs. Fear was dissipating now that she was out in the open and she knew her siblings were safe. She pulled her helmet from her head to allow the wind to comb through her hair. Stretching her arms toward the moon, she laughed softly. “I love the night. I love everything about it. It doesn’t matter if it’s stormy or not.”
She turned her head to look at Traian. His face was beautiful in the moonlight. “Worthy of a Greek god,” she murmured, astonished that she
felt
so much for him, that her emotions were so strong and connected with his. His hair fell like black silk around his face to his shoulders. There wasn’t so much as a smear of mud on his face. All traces of blood were gone from his chest, leaving only the raw gashes on his flesh.
Joie shook her head, stepping away from him, putting distance between them. She needed space, needed to find balance. “Thanks a lot for leaving me standing filthy and wet all by myself while you’re all shined up and looking good. I’m not even going to ask how you did that.”
His teeth gleamed at her, more the smile of a wolf than a man. “I have my little secrets. You are shivering. Hand me your harness and pack and take this jacket.” He enfolded her in the warmth of a suit jacket.
Joie decided not to ask him where he found the jacket either, or how he got clean. “How did you find the way out? I couldn’t see a thing.” She sank down because all at once she was tired and she wanted to feel the ground under her. Traian had changed her entire life in the blink of an eye, and she didn’t want to think too much about the bizarre world he lived in.
“There were signs if you knew what to look for. In the old times, Carpathians and mages were not enemies. We lived side by side and enjoyed the benefits of both races. We often used the same glyphs. I saw them as we moved through the halls. Mages and Carpathians actually worked and studied together, were friends and allies. We shared knowledge with one another.”
“What happened to change everything?”
Traian sighed. “Mages have great longevity, but they are not immortal. We can be killed, but it is not easy to do. The great mage, Xavier, we all trusted and believed in—he often taught our more gifted children in the arts . . .”
“More gifted than you are?” Joie raised an eyebrow. “You can do just about anything. How much more gifted are your children?”
Instead of smiling he looked sad. “We do not have children any longer. Ours is a dying species. Few women are born, and our children are not surviving. Such treasures are lost to us.” He shook his head. “This network of caves could very well have belonged to Xavier at one time and it is possible one of his descendents is using it now—unless he still lives.”
“I can hear the distaste and contempt in your voice.”
“He betrayed the friendship of our people and began a war that has been waged for centuries, devastating both of our peoples.”
Joie looked up at his face. There was no hatred, only a sorrow that filled him with sadness. To her, Traian was a handsome man, timeless and even elegant in an honorable warrior sort of way. The lines in his face only served to make him more attractive to her. “I’m so sorry, Traian.” She couldn’t imagine what his life had been like.