Safe. I’m following close,
he assured her.
Dimitri, something’s wrong. I feel it.
It’s just the distance between us. I’m a little weak.
He made the admission to her that he would never make to his brother. She was there with him, in his mind, she would know anyway. It was practically impossible to hide anything from one’s lifemate, and his lifemate was especially sensitive.
It’s not the distance. Something else. Something creeping up on you. It’s close. Dangerous.
He’d put himself on autopilot, basically allowing Zacarias and his brothers to direct his flight, shielding them from any eyes that might see them while he kept his strength for the long way home. He took a quick look around. Fen, in the form of a dragon with Zev on his back, flew just to his left.
The De La Cruz brothers, like him, had chosen the form of birds, moving powerfully through the night sky. They were all on alert, but no one seemed unduly on edge.
He believed her. He had found, over the years, it paid to believe Skyler. He was a Guardian, a mixed blood, and he had special gifts. It was more than time to begin using the special abilities being the
Hän ku pesäk kaikak
gave him. The danger was in the feeling of superiority that crept in. He was stronger. Faster. His brain could solve problems at a tremendous rate of speed. One had to temper gifts with the inevitable price one paid for them.
His eyesight was especially keen. He took a long, slow look around, at the ground below him, to his right, his left, behind him and up ahead. His hearing was acute. He listened for any sound that might be out of place, a single note that might warn him of danger. His sense of smell was extremely sensitive, the combined wolf and Carpathian coming together to give him tremendous advantages if he just used them.
There was something. The faintest of ripples washed over him, an uneasiness that set in and held on, yet he couldn’t identify the threat.
Fen. Reach out. There’s something here. Something coming after us. Or we’re heading toward it. Skyler feels it as well.
He knew his brother would take him seriously. They had battled together on and off for centuries. As much as Fen liked to pull rank as a big brother, he respected Dimitri’s abilities and would never ignore a warning.
I feel it. But what? So subtle. What could be that subtle that none of us were aware of it?
Fen asked.
The answer was clear to Dimitri—to both of them.
Sange rau
.
Whoever has orchestrated this war is using the Sange rau to assassinate those he wants out of his way.
There were Bardolf and Abel.
Fen named the two
Sange rau
they had defeated weeks earlier. The two had been sent to kill Mikhail Dubrinsky.
How could he control a mixed blood, a vampire at that. He has to be pretty powerful to do something like that.
If he was Carpathian before he was Sange rau
and we warn the others, he would hear,
Dimitri pointed out.
Neither Fen nor Dimitri had ever exchanged blood with Zacarias or his brothers. They would have to use the common path—which would allow a Carpathian-born mixed blood to hear.
Skyler, can Paul reach out to his uncles? If so, have him convey the news that we are being pursued by an assassin. We’re certain the assassin is Sange rau.
There was a brief silence, presumably while she conferred with Paul.
He has exchanged blood with Nicolas.
Tell them to keep moving as if nothing has changed, but one will have to take Zev from Fen. I’m going to start dropping back just a little at a time, giving the impression I’m hurt and the flight is beginning to tell on me,
Dimitri said.
You are hurt. Dimitri, you can’t fight this monster, not in your condition,
Skyler objected.
He laughed softly in his mind, reaching for her to surround her with love.
Csitri,
I’ve got no intention of fighting him. I’ll leave that to Fen. He needs to feel needed and I’d never take that away from him.
For a moment he thought Skyler wouldn’t catch on, but she did.
He’s listening, isn’t he? You’re provoking your brother again.
Of course I am.
Fen gave a little derisive snort.
He just can’t handle that I’m better in a fight.
Says you. As I recall, the last time, it was me saving your sorry butt,
Dimitri pointed out.
You have to take this threat seriously,
Skyler insisted, somewhere between laughter and exasperation.
No worries, sívamet. We’ve got this,
Dimitri said with confidence.
He
was
confident. He’d survived the Lycans’ worst torture and he had his lifemate. It didn’t matter that his body was torn and exhausted, his mind was stronger than ever. His senses were rapidly developing.
You and I both know, the Sange rau
will be difficult to kill,
Fen cautioned on their private path of communication.
I know you’re trying to keep Skyler from worrying, but don’t get overconfident.
In all the centuries we’ve been traveling, different continents even, how many times have either of us ever run across the Sange rau?
Dimitri asked his brother.
I’ve seen four, counting Abel and Bardolf.
I’ve only come across Abel and Bardolf, and they were specifically sent to kill Mikhail,
Dimitri said, waiting to let the implication sink in.
Dimitri knew the precise moment Paul conveyed the warning to Nicolas and Nicolas sent it to Zacarias. There was no change in them, but he
felt
the difference. He hoped their pursuer didn’t as well. He faltered just a little, looked as if he tried to recover and slipped back, away from his protectors. Nicolas and Rafael in bird form flew past him, hesitated a moment and then continued on as if he’d told them to keep going.
Fen got the meaning fast.
Someone is creating them, using mixed blood to enhance them and using them as assassins. They aren’t necessarily vampire.
And they’re probably newly made. Abel and Bardolf were most likely their most experienced and oldest. They would never send an amateur after the prince in our territory. Whoever is behind this is creating his own army of mixed bloods.
Dimitri allowed the body of his bird to dip a little, seeking a lower altitude, his wings beating double the time the others did, but not actually getting anywhere. The wind shifted just a little, blowing into him, making him falter more. He tried to redouble his efforts—the others seemed to be moving away from him faster—but he was too worn-out.
The large bird of prey—a bald eagle—seemed to come out of nowhere, dropping fast, talons extended, its beak a strange color. Dimitri shifted from an owl’s body to that of the larger eagle, so fast it was impossible to detect the change until the other was nearly on top of him. Dimitri had just enough time to realize the talons and beak were silver weapons, designed to shred, stab and kill fast. He met the bird’s talons with his own, locking them together so that they tumbled from the sky, end over end. Neither could shift, and the ground seemed to be rising fast to meet them.
The assassin tore at Dimitri’s body, stabbing repeatedly in the chest, seeking the heart. He never heard or saw the attack from behind, Fen streaking through the sky, going for the kill. The
Sange rau
didn’t even feel the stake going through his body to penetrate his heart. When Fen removed the head and the bird landed dead on the ground, Dimitri called down the lightning to burn it.
He sank into the soft soil, sitting abruptly, pushing both hands through his hair. There was blood on his chest, seeping from a dozen slashes and stabs.
“You know, Fen, I think I’ll take that ride now,” he said when Fen strode up to him.
16
O
n his last return home, Dimitri had taken up residence in the old family dwelling, deep in the forest where the wolves gave him warning if visitors came too close. He’d done a few modern repairs on it, but he wasn’t in residence often. The outside stone was covered in moss, and trees and brush had grown so close they nearly covered the house. Thick vines wove around the stone columns that formed the verandah. The vines were so thick they’d nearly formed an impenetrable wall, yet there was an archway at the stairs as if it had been designed that way.
Beneath the stone building, deep underground, Dimitri and Skyler lay entwined together, their bodies slowly healing. Dimitri woke each rising and hunted, sustaining the two of them and then going back to ground to allow Mother Earth to rejuvenate them both.
He woke and lay listening to the beat of the earth’s heart. Over time the rhythm had become reassuring, a constant, steady drumbeat he could always count on. It didn’t matter where in the world he was, if he lay in the ground, it was there.
He opened the soil above their heads, staring at the underside of the house his parents had constructed so many centuries earlier. He had played in the room above them. He remembered the sound of his mother’s laughter and the murmur of his father’s voice. He realized he wanted to stay, to make this their home. It was deep enough in the forest to keep their wolf pack safe and yet still close enough to the other Carpathians that Skyler could have company whenever she wanted.
He leaned over her. He loved watching her as she slept. Skyler always looked peaceful now—so different from the nights he’d entered her room and found her tossing and turning caught in the throes of a hideous nightmare. Gently he brushed back silken strands of hair that had come loose from the braid he’d woven for her just the last rising.
Her lashes were long and feathery, dark, yet tipped with gold. He traced her high cheekbones with the pad of his finger, absorbing the satin-smooth skin. It had always annoyed her that she couldn’t tan. Josef and Paul teased her mercilessly, throwing their hands over their eyes to accuse her of blinding them with her white stomach or legs depending on what she was wearing. If she was out in the sun at all, she burned a bright red, and then they called her “lobster girl.”
Dimitri found himself smiling at the memory of the antics of her friends. “You make my life beautiful and full,” he murmured aloud to her.
Wake, csitri. We have much to do. It’s time to start our life.
She stirred at his call, rolled in his arms and lifted her lashes. The impact of her eyes meeting his was physical, a low, wicked punch that drove the air from his lungs. She had her relaxed, happy color, the true dove gray that he loved beyond any other color.
“Good evening,
sívamet
. Are you feeling stronger?”
Skyler nodded and touched his face. “Much. I wouldn’t mind exploring our home a little bit. I haven’t really seen much of anything since we’ve been healing.”
“I want you to hunt for food with me.” It was the first time he’d asked her. He didn’t push for an answer, knowing this would be one of the hardest concepts for her to accept.
Dimitri didn’t mind supplying blood to her, but in the event they were ever in trouble, she needed to know how to hunt and that she could do it by herself. It was a natural part of being Carpathian. Skyler craved blood, but the thought of taking it from an unknowing source bothered her on a strictly human level.
There was a small silence. Skyler’s hand had dropped to his chest and she smoothed over the chain burns there—absently—like she did each rising. “Okay.”
His heart jumped. One little word. She accepted their way of life and trusted him to teach her the things necessary to survive. He knew this was a huge milestone for her.
“Afterward, I need to see Francesca.”
He wanted her to himself. They’d spent several risings in the ground healing. Yes, he’d gotten to hold her, and even exchange blood with her, but the entire rest of the time, they’d both been beneath, sleeping the rejuvenating sleep of the Carpathians.
The time spent in the ground had been necessary—both of them were in bad shape when they’d arrived in the Carpathian Mountains. Skyler had barely enough time to hug her adopted mother before she collapsed. Unfortunately, that essential time spent in the soil meant they weren’t able to really start their life together.
He held her while they slept, entwined together, skin to skin. He gave her blood and certainly there was intimacy in both, but he felt almost as if he was losing ground with her, that she’d taken a step back from him. She said little, and she seemed to prefer to spend the time in the ground, rather than face their life together.
“You’ve got that frown on your face again,” Skyler said, and reached up to rub his lips as if she could remove it. “What’s wrong? Don’t you want me to go with you?”
His hands shaped her tucked-in waist as he helped her into a sitting position. “Of course I want you to go with me. We both needed healing, but at some point we’ve got to rebuild our strength. I want to show you so many things.”
“And I want to learn. Specifically, shapeshifting,” Skyler said. “And flying. And running with the wolves.”
He couldn’t help laughing. “In other words, everything.”
She nodded, coming up on her knees to inspect the burns around his throat and forehead. His heart jumped. She had not leaned into him physically or touched his scars intimately since they’d arrived in the Carpathian Mountains. She’d definitely worked at healing them, but she had used more of a professional touch. The brushes of her fingers were far too intimate to him to ever be considered professional and both his body and heart responded to those caresses.
She murmured the words she chanted each time she carefully traced each chain loop surrounding his body.
I call to you, Mother, bring forth your might,
As I seal these paths that would bring pain and blight.
I call to aloe, so green and cool,