A terrible feeling of dread had been growing in Razvan. As they approached the mountain, it grew stronger. He knew they were closing in on Xavier, but worse, he knew who the hunter—or huntress—was.
Natalya and her lifemate are ahead of us
.
Ivory gasped.
Are you certain?
Absolutely
.
Razvan looked at Ivory and his midnight blue eyes had gone so dark the pupils had nearly disappeared. Small flames flickered deep in the depths and Ivory shivered a little in reaction, a chill sliding through her.
He cannot have my sister
. He bit out each word.
She leaned into him for just one brief moment, surrounding him with warmth.
No, he cannot
. She was fully committed to hunting Xavier down and ridding the world of his evil.
The wind began to pick up as they moved through the valley leading to the base of the outlying hills, just below the bursting peaks of bluish ice. No trees grew on the slopes of ice. Few ever tried to climb there, the sharp-rising ridges were too sheer and jagged. The winds increased as though in protest, and great spears of ice often came hurtling down upon hapless victims. It was a treacherous mountain and most shunned it.
As they neared the first of the hills, they felt the first impact of the safeguard. A low humming began, growing louder as they continued on their course. The pressure inside their heads grew, a painful burst that shook both of them. Ivory stopped and pressed her fingers to her throbbing temples, trying not to cry out.
Even an animal would feel that. No wonder there is no life close by
, she said.
Which explains the tracks we have seen, the drag marks and bloodstains in the snow
. Razvan placed his hand to her temple and flooded her with a healing warmth. At once the pressure lessened in her head. She glanced at him sharply. His face tightened only for a moment, and when she touched his mind, it took a moment before he allowed her in.
The bats have to go farther than they did in the other caves to find prey
, Razvan said before she could protest.
Ivory shuddered. She really detested fighting the bats. They had nasty little teeth and a liking for flesh. The blood trail led to a spot near the base of a small hill that rolled just in front of the sharper climbing flow of ice cliffs. She knew from experience that the ground near the spot where the bats had gone under would be a trap for some unsuspecting creature. If they ventured too near, the ground would give way.
Xavier has not had time to work out a better system, which means he is not in the best of shape
, he continued.
I escaped when they moved here. He kept me weak, as he did my aunts, because he feared my resistance, but that also weakened him. He had me drained and could not use me to feed. He made do with mage and animal blood
.
Ivory didn’t want to think too much about Razvan in Xavier’s hands. She sent up a prayer that his sister was not in the high mage’s fortress. Keeping her safe had been the only thing he had clung to, the reason he had survived. As long as Xavier lived, he was not going to allow Natalya into his hands. And now . . .
She clamped down hard on the thought.
I do not want to drop through the bat lair if we can help it
.
She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she hovered above the bloodstained snow. The carcass of the deer had obviously been dragged inside, but something else had gone in after it. Flakes of snow partially covered the stains, which meant something had disturbed the snow after the bats had returned to their lair with their prize.
It is an entrance
. Razvan was pragmatic.
We have dealt with them before
.
The ground beneath them rolled. The mountain shivered and a great chunk of ice calved off the sheer cliff towering above them, driving the snow and ice straight down on top of them with little warning. Without hesitation, both reached for the ringed canisters in their war belts and dissolved into vapor as they leapt into the ominous hole covered by a thin layer of bloodstained snow.
The foul stench assailed them first, even before the sounds of highly agitated bats registered. The smell of fetid, rotting flesh burned their noses and offended their stomachs so that they had to fight to keep their present form and not react. The high-pitched angry shrieks swelled in volume as they descended through the narrow tube, scraping like sharp fingernails on the walls of their minds, shredding their nerves to the screaming point.
Scorch marks blackened the stains on the walls although bats continued to pour out of the dark, sulfur-smelling holes in the tube, dropping down to join the fierce battle taking place on the floor of the cavern. Bits of rotting meat and splashes of blood and fur clung to the outer edges of each hole where the carnivorous bats dwelled.
Xavier has been warned that his fortress is compromised
, Ivory said, irritation creeping into her voice.
Even weak, he is a formidable opponent. I had hoped to come on him unaware. I do not want him to escape us
.
He will not give up his fortress easily
, Razvan predicted.
He has fewer and fewer places to go. He has not had time to fully make this one secure. This is our best chance whether he knows we are coming or not
.
Ivory refrained from saying Xavier was expecting two hapless hunters who had inadvertently stumbled upon the bats and probably was joyfully preparing for feasting on Carpathian blood.
Hurry, Ivory, they attack Natalya
.
Xavier will order his guardians not to slay them—at least not to slay her. He will want her blood for himself, which gives them a slight advantage
, she reassured.
They were close to the bottom of the long tube and could see the bats now. Hundreds of them, with black furry bodies and razor-sharp teeth, claws tipping the toes of their feet and their wings spiked at the tips. Swords swept violently through the mass of bats, slicing heads and bodies, but the sheer numbers were overwhelming. Vikirnoff and Natalya stood back-to-back, faces grim, blood streaking every exposed bit of skin. Both Razvan and Ivory had felt the tear of teeth shredding flesh from their bones and, at the sight of the Carpathians, the haunting memories rose up to taunt them.
Coming in
, Ivory warned, using the more ancient common telepathic path that Vikirnoff would recognize.
What we are going to do is change the composition of air using our homemade grenades. The fire will burn hot, very intense, and you cannot draw this chemical into your lungs. You will want to panic and go toward the surface, but the fire will race upward
, she warned, giving them nearly the same instructions as she had given Razvan when she’d first used her chemical grenades with him.
Razvan reached for his sister, feeling her startle when he used their much older connection, one they had made as children.
Fight your way out of the center but stay away from the walls. When we materialize we will use the chemical, and then change back to vapor; do the same instantly, but remember, you will still feel the intense heat
.
I understand
, Natalya sent back.
Razvan tried not to see the mass of bats attacking her. She looked fierce, her grim face a mask of concentration, her hair striped with the colors of a tigress.
Razvan positioned his body face-to-face with Ivory’s. As soon as they materialized, he knew from previous experience, the bats would attack, ripping and tearing at their flesh.
Ready, kont o sívanak—heart of a warrior?
Let us get it done
, Ivory responded, as calm as always in battle. She could handle nearly any circumstance when it came to fighting without panic; yet when it came to emotion, she wasn’t so good at hiding her nerves and vulnerability.
One more thing, fél ku kuuluaak sívam belső—beloved, I love you more than life itself. Now
, Razvan added.
She wanted to hold him. Wanted to say it back to him. But he was already materializing and she had to match his rhythm. She burst onto the chamber floor, noting that Razvan’s body, while protecting the front of hers, was angled to shield his sister.
The moment they donned their flesh-and-blood bodies, the bats went into a feeding frenzy, the scent of prey driving them insane. They ripped and tore, hurling their bodies at the Carpathians. The wolves roared, heads emerging, paws digging, ready to leap.
Stay! Stay!
Ivory ordered frantically.
Raja and Blaez subsided, calling orders to the rest of the pack, although they snapped at the bats, grabbing heads and shaking, snapping necks even as the bats’ claws shredded skin. Razvan and Ivory pulled the pins simultaneously. They had only five seconds to get rid of the canisters.
Ivory lobbed her grenade directly into the center of the chamber amid the sea of fighting bats. Some pounced on the canister, trying to bite through it with sharp teeth.
Razvan pulled back his arm to throw, and at least a dozen bats, drawn by the scent of Dragonseeker blood, leapt on him, the weight of their bodies pulling his arm down as he went to throw the oval-shaped canister.
Vikirnoff leapt forward, swinging his sword, sweeping it across the lot of them, missing Razvan by a paper-thin margin. Razvan sucked in his breath as the bodies toppled from his arm, leaving behind torn flesh. More rushed to feed on the open wounds, but he had already let the canister go.
Now! Now!
Razvan warned his sister.
All four Carpathians dissolved into vapor. The chamber rocked with the explosion, the air raining bodies of bats and chunks of rock, ice and rotted carcasses, both human and animal. The flash of light was so bright it pierced their eyes despite them being in a different form. The intense heat ate through their natural shields as the composition of air changed to gas. Fire raged up through the chimney, burning through the holes and cracks in the rock, voracious for the air outside.
The ice melted, turning to boiling, hissing steam as the fire raged with orange-red rolling flames, flashing through the bats’ burrows and roaring out and through every crack. The external pressure was so extreme, the molecules of their bodies threatened to collapse inward, imploding like the bodies of the bats. All around them, the mutated creatures erupted into hot flames, exploding as if a bomb had touched them, or simply coming apart.
The noise rushed over them, the thundering violence of a volcano erupting as the fire created its own wind so that it howled through the chamber, looking for hapless victims. The inferno was a fiery hell from which there seemed no escape. Vikirnoff and Natalya stayed only because Razvan and Ivory did, resisting the urge to try to rise to the surface and outrun the conflagration. The rock walls of the chimney blazed an ominous red, but the flames died out, leaving a hideous, blackened flood behind.
Burned carcasses and debris floated in the water pouring down from the melted ice and snow. Ivory led the way out through the chimney and away from the foul stench, taking care to avoid the glowing walls. They turned a corner and the tunnel widened into a large chamber. Ivory held up her hand, halting. The others crowded around her.
“What in the world made you decide to go down the bats’ hole?” she asked. She didn’t need to look after Razvan’s sister, especially if the woman and her lifemate were foolish enough to go chasing Xavier’s guardians into their burrows.
Razvan put a restraining hand on Ivory’s shoulder, recognizing the cool contempt in her voice. She was standing up for him against the two people who she felt should have believed in him.
Some of their wounds were not made by the carnivores
.
Ivory took a breath and instantly regretted it as she drew the stench of burnt flesh into her lungs. Now that she took a good look at the two, she recognized the wounds on Vikirnoff. “The undead.” She answered her own question. “You followed a vampire.”
Vikirnoff nodded. “A master vampire. He dropped into the hole. We knew what we faced, but believed we had a good chance to get through the bats, given they had a fresh kill. They rarely get too far from it without feeding first.”
She was grateful he knew that much about the bats. “Xavier has taken up residence here. It is not a place you want to be.”
“Did you come here looking for us?” Natalya asked, gripping her sword tighter and looking around the ice cave. “I should have known the moment I came in that Xavier would be drawn to this place.”
“You were occupied elsewhere,” Razvan pointed out. “You can get out through the tube. That entrance should be clear now.”
Vikirnoff and Natalya exchanged a long look. Vikirnoff cleared his throat. He refused to look away from Razvan. “I will be the first to admit I was wrong about you, Razvan. Natalya suffered greatly when she believed you had turned vampire and had allied yourself with Xavier. We both realize Xavier possessed your body and wanted the world to brand you traitor.”
“I do not blame you for protecting Natalya,” Razvan said and shot Ivory a quelling look when she stirred.
It was the first time he had ever indicated that he might be displeased with her, and it was shocking to Ivory how much it hurt. She moved away from them only to have Razvan catch her arm, circling her wrist with his fingers like a bracelet.
“It is best to leave this place quickly,” he continued. “The bats are his guardians and he will know intruders have arrived. If the vampire has come to aid him, this is no place to be.”
“Yet you are here,” Vikirnoff said smoothly. “You weakened Xavier, didn’t you? Last eve, when you turned his spell back on him. That is why you’re here today. You’re hunting Xavier.”
“And we have no time to waste,” Razvan said.
“I agree,” Vikirnoff returned. “Lead the way.”
Ivory wasn’t about to stand around arguing. She knew Razvan wanted Natalya as far from Xavier as possible, but they had this one opportunity and she was going to take it. Vikirnoff and Natalya could do as they wished. For that matter, so could Razvan. He could stay and protect his sister, too.