Dark Prince (38 page)

Mikhail waved a tired hand to open the earth above his brother. "You are our greatest healer, the greatest asset to our people."

"That is why they whisper my name in fear and dread."

Beneath their feet the ground suddenly shook, heaved and bucked, rolled perilously. The center of the earthquake was obviously a great distance away, but there was no mistaking the howl of rage produced by a powerful vampire at the destruction of his lair.

The undead had entered his lair confidently, until he found the body of the first wolf. Each turn or passage entrance was marked with one of his minions, until his entire pack lay dead at his feet. Fear had turned to terror. Not Mikhail, whose sense of justice and fair play would be his downfall, but the dark one.
Gregori.

It had not occurred to the vampire that the dark one might take a hand in this game. Andre hurtled himself from the safety of his favorite lair just as the mountain heaved and the chamber walls collapsed. Cracks widened in the narrow passageway and the rock faces inched closer and closer together. The clap of granite grinding against granite nearly burst his eardrums. A true vampire making numerous kills was far more susceptible to the sun, and to the terrible lethargy that claimed Carpathian bodies in the day. Andre had little time to find a safe hole. As he burst from the collapsing mountain, the sun hit his body so that he screamed with the agony of it. Dust and rock spewed from his home, and the echo of Gregori's taunting laughter drifted down with the debris from the earthquake.

"No, Gregori." There was amusement in Mikhail's soft voice. He floated into the soothing arms of the earth. "That is a good example of why they whisper your name in fear and dread. No one understands your dark humor the way I do."

"Mikhail?"

Mikhail stayed the hand closing the blanket of soil over him.

"I would not endanger you or Jacques with my challenge. The vampire cannot get by my safeguards."

"I have never feared Andre. And I know your spells are strong. I think our friend has his own problems finding somewhere to rest out of the sun. He will not be disturbing us this day."

Chapter Fourteen

Father Hummer walked the circuit of the rock walls surrounding them. There were no windows, and their prison seemed heavily constructed, the walls so thick, he was certain they were soundproof. No light penetrated the walls, and the complete darkness was oppressive. The priest had piled every blanket available over Raven's ice-cold body, but he was certain she had died from loss of blood. He could not detect a pulse or breath since they had been shoved into the room. After first baptizing Raven and administering the last rites to her, Father Hummer had begun to carefully feel his way around the room in hopes of finding a way to escape.

The vampire, Andre, was using Raven to draw Mikhail to this place. Edgar, knowing Mikhail as well as he did, knew the plan could not fail. Mikhail would come, and God have mercy on Slovensky's soul.

A small sound, a shuddering wheeze of lungs laboring, drew his attention. Father Hummer felt his way back to Raven. Her body was shivering uncontrollably beneath the pile of blankets. She was as cold as ever. The priest put his arms around her, seeking comfort for both of them. "What can I do to help you?"

Raven opened her eyes. She could see clearly in the darkness, examining the tightly constructed cell and then Father Hummer's worried face. "I need blood."

"I'll be happy to donate, my child," he responded instantly.

She sensed his weakness. In any case, Raven could never take blood in the Carpathian manner. Her mind reached for Mikhail's, an automatic reaction. Pain exploded in her head. She moaned softly, clutching her temples.

Do not try, little one.
Mikhail sounded strong, reassuring.
Conserve your strength. I will be there soon.

Is Jacques alive
? Sending the message put shards of glass in her skull.

Thanks to you. Rest
. It was an order—a clear, imperious demand.

A smile tugged at the corner of Raven's soft mouth. "Talk to me, Father; distract me." She was very weak but did not want to draw the priest's attention to it.

"I'll keep my voice low just to be safe," Edgar said, close to her ear. "Mikhail will come, you know. He would never leave us here." He rubbed his hands up and down her arms to try to bring heat to her laboring body.

Raven nodded her head, a difficult task when it felt like lead. "I know what he is like. He would give up his life for us in a heartbeat."

"You are his lifemate. Without you, he would become the vampire of legends, a monster without equal in the human race."

Raven fought for each separate breath. "Don't believe that, Father. We have our own evil monsters. I have seen them, followed them. They are every bit as bad." She clutched the blanket closer to her. "Have you ever met Mikhail's friend, Gregori?"

"He's the one they call the dark one. I've seen him, of course, but only once. Mikhail has voiced his fears for him often."

Raven's breath wheezed in and out, a harsh sound in the quiet of the cell. "He's a great healer, Father." She took another shuddering breath. "And he is loyal to Mikhail. Do you believe there is hope for their race?"

The priest made the sign of the cross on her forehead, on the insides of each of her wrists. "You are their hope, Raven. Don't you know that?"

Mikhail touched her mind with his. He was closer, the bond between them powerful. He flooded her with love, enfolded her in strong, protective arms.
Hold on, my love.
His voice was a black-velvet seduction of tenderness in her mind.

Do not come to this evil place, Mikhail. Wait for Gregori
, she pleaded.

I cannot, little one.

Lights flickered in the cell, on, off, back on again, as if a generator was being powered up. Raven's hand found Father Hummer's. "I tried to stop him, to warn him, but he will come."

"Of course he will." Edgar's eyes were blinking in the sudden light. Father Hummer was worried about Raven. Her breath sounded strangled, labored.

The heavy door clanged and creaked as it swung open. James Slovensky peered at them. His eyes fastened on Raven's face as if drawn irresistibly. Her blue eyes met his across the room. "What's wrong with you?" he demanded.

A faint, taunting smile curved her soft mouth. "I'm dying. I think that's plain enough even for you to see." Her voice was low, a mere thread of sound, but so musical that it was impossible not to be entranced by it.

Slovensky advanced farther into the room. Raven could feel Mikhail in her, building his strength, his power, crouching, waiting to strike. She also felt a sudden uneasiness.
Wait. The vampire comes.
She dragged a shuddering breath into her laboring lungs, the sound loud and distressed in the room.

Slovensky was shoved carelessly across the room with one powerful swat from Andre's hand. He stood framed in the doorway, flushed from a fresh kill. His eyes were flat and held a kind of contempt, a merciless promise of savagery. "Good morning, my dear. I am Andre, come to take you to your new home."

He glided across the room, clearly enjoying his power over them all. As he approached her, his eyes darkened with rage. "You were told to feed on the priest."

"You were told to go to hell." She said it in her soft, musical voice, deliberately baiting him.

"You will learn it is better to obey me," he snapped. Angry at her defiance, he caught the priest by the front of his shirt and hurled him against the stone wall. It was done coldly, callously, without thought of the consequences. "If you are not going to use him for food, we have no need of him, do we?" The vampire's smile was wholly evil.

Father Hummer's body had fallen to the floor heavily, his skull cracking audibly on impact. There was a gasping sound as his lungs fought for air, then a soft sigh as they gave up the fight.

Raven bit back a scream, struggled for air, her grief so overwhelming, that for a moment her mind couldn't function.
Mikhail, I'm sorry. I angered him. This is my fault.

She felt the warmth of his love surround her, the brush of his fingers so tender on her face.
Never that, my love.
She felt his sorrow mingle with hers. Raven lifted her blue-violet eyes to the face of the vampire. "Now, how do you expect to control me?"

The vampire bent down, his smile evil, his breath foul. "You will learn. Now you will feed." He snapped his fingers, and Slovensky nearly tripped over his own feet to run out of the cell and return with a glass of dark, murky liquid. His hand trembled as he passed it to the vampire, careful to avoid the razor-sharp long nails. "For you, my dear; breakfast." The vampire held the glass close enough for her to smell the contents. Fresh blood tainted with something else, some herb she didn't recognize.

"Drugs, Andre? Isn't that stooping a little low even for one such as you?" She had to fight every moment just to breathe, to keep from breaking down and sobbing out her grief for the priest. If only she hadn't angered the vampire.

Andre's face darkened when she uttered his name with such contempt, but he simply stared into her eyes, flooding her with compulsion, the need to obey him.

Loathing him as she did, fearful for Mikhail and grief-stricken over the priest and Jacques, Raven summoned every ounce of strength she possessed and fought a mental battle with him. Her head nearly exploded with pain and only when little beads of blood appeared on her forehead did he relent.

The vampire pushed down his fury at her rebellion. She was close to death and if she died all his scheming would be for nothing. "You will die if you do not feed. I know Mikhail knows this. Do you hear me, prince? She dies. Force her to accept what I offer."

You must do this, little one.
Mikhail's voice was gently coaxing.
You will be dead before I can reach you, and above all else, you must survive.

The blood is drugged.

Drugs do not effect Carpathians.

Raven sighed, looked once more at the vampire. "What else is in it?"

"Only herbs, my dear, herbs that will confuse you a bit, but will ensure that my friends have plenty of time to study Mikhail. They can keep him alive, a prisoner here. Is that not what you want? That he remain alive? The alternative is to kill him immediately." He pushed the glass at her.

Her stomach knotted in rebellion. It would just be so much easier to close her eyes and stop struggling for every breath. She could barely stand the pain in her head. She was responsible for Jacques's grave wound, for Father Hummer's death. Worst of all, her beloved Mikhail was racing straight into the arms of the enemy because of her. If she just stopped…

No
! Mikhail's voice was sharp and imperious.

Do not
! Gregori added his strength to Mikhail's protest.

The vampire wrapped his hand around her throat in his fury that she might choose death and defeat him. His touch made her skin crawl; her stomach roiled in protest. Suddenly the vampire screamed and leaped back away from her, his face contorted in fury and pain. Raven could see his charred and blackened palm, still smoking as he held it to his chest. Mikhail had sent his own warning and challenge.

"You think he will win," the vampire snarled at her, "but he will not. Now drink!" His hands closed around her wrist, steadying her hand.

Raven's mind splintered and screamed at the close proximity of such evil. The crumpled body of Edgar Hummer lay in plain sight, no more than a heap of refuse to the vampire. Touching Andre, she could read his mind easily. He was the most depraved being she had ever encountered.

The drug would confuse her enough that he could make her believe she belonged to him. Mikhail would be kept alive, living in pain and torment, too weak to attack his captors. Slovensky enjoyed inflicting pain. His brother was eager to dissect a vampire, experiment on one. The vampire was certain the Slovensky brothers would die at the hands of the avenging Carpathians. She read it all, the betrayal and the hideousness of the undead's plans.

Mikhail! Do not come to this place!
She resisted the compulsion to drink the tainted blood, struggling feebly in the vampire's foul hold.
I will not allow you to fall into their hands. I will choose death.

"Drink!" The vampire was becoming alarmed. Her heart was stuttering with effort. There was a smear of crimson across her forehead, indicating agony.

"Never," she said between clenched teeth.

"She dies, Mikhail. Is this what you want for her? She dies in my arms, with me, and I have won anyway." Andre shook her in his fury. "He will commit suicide the moment you relinquish life. Are you so stupid that you do not realize that? He will die."

Her blue-violet eyes searched the gaunt face. "He will destroy you first." She said it with complete conviction.

My love.
Mikhail's voice was black velvet, soothing in her pain-filled mind.
You must allow me to decide this matter. You give me no choice but to force your compliance. This should be our decision together, but you cannot see beyond the threat to me. He cannot defeat me. Believe that; hold on to that. He cannot separate us. We live in each other. He does not understand our bond. Together we are too strong for him. I will allow him to capture me. I allow it; that is all.

The vampire knew the moment Mikhail's will dominated. Raven allowed the glass to be brought to her lips. Even under compulsion, her body tried to reject the nourishment. The vampire could feel her stomach heave and fight. Her bond with Mikhail allowed her lifemate to calm her enough to accept what the vampire offered.

Her heart and lungs responded almost immediately to the liquid. Her breathing became less labored; her body grew warm. The moment Mikhail relinquished her will, Raven attempted to squirm away from the vampire. He tightened his arms around her, deliberately rubbing his face against hers. His laughter was cruel, gloating even. "You thought him strong, did you not? But, you see, he jumps to do my bidding."