Dark Challenge (16 page)

She went into the small cabin and wandered around, touching the things in the room. Works of art—unusual, old, and unique. Julian liked beautiful things. She picked up his silk shirt, brought it to her face, and inhaled his masculine scent.
Julian.

I am with you
, cara.
Do not fret
. It was amazing to her that the communication between them was so strong. Just a thought of him, the worry for him in her mind, and he was aware instantly.
I shall return to you soon. Go to ground now.

I will go to ground,
she assured him,
but I will not sleep until I know the two of you are safe
.

You will not monitor me while I destroy the undead. It would be upsetting—maybe even dangerous—for you. Please do as I say, Desari.
He used the word
please
as if he were asking her, but there was a subtle undertone of command.

Desari had never considered that. When Darius hunted, Syndil and she had always been secured in a safe place, contact with him restricted. They had never thought to defy Darius; in such matters, his word was law. Now all was changed. Somehow, some way, she was locked to Julian. The thought of him in danger was so terrible, she could barely breathe. How could she do as he asked and not touch him? Not reach through the gray-streaked dawn and see for herself he was untouched by the vampire’s vile perversion?

After all, Darius was the ultimate warrior, a stone-cold killing machine when the situation demanded it. Julian was a man with emotion, which could confer both weakness and strength.

Desari left the cabin. It was rare for her family to use a building to rest in; most of the time they sought deep earth. They had learned in early childhood it was the only real haven in a dangerous land. All of them felt uncomfortable, far more vulnerable than usual, if they slept above ground. In the hours of high sun, their great strength was totally drained. And if their bodies somehow came to be exposed to that intense light, they would burn. Early morning and late evening they could tolerate, although not always comfortably. Even dim sunlight affected their hypersensitive eyes, the burning pain driving through their heads like shards of glass.

Desari found an unobtrusive knoll covered in waves of green grass. She liked it immediately, feeling a sense of peace. With a wave of her hand she opened the earth and floated deep within its bed. Immediately she sent the coordinates to both her brother and Julian.

Close the earth and sleep
. She recognized Julian’s soft-spoken commands. He was like Darius in that he didn’t need to raise his voice to convey either menace or authority.

Not until you return.

I do not want to have to force your obedience.

As if that could happen. You seem to forget I am no fledgling but your equal. Do not waste your energy attempting the impossible. Destroy this vampire if you must, then return to me quickly. We will discuss your conceit on the next rising.

There came the soft echo of his laughter. Desari relaxed, certain Julian understood she would take no nonsense from him. When he struck, she was completely unprepared, the compulsion strong and total, the need to obey him paramount. Before she could prevent herself from doing so, she relinquished control to him. Immediately Julian sent her to sleep, the deep sleep of their
people, stopping her heart and lungs, covering her with the healing, soothing soil for protection and rejuvenation.

After his command to Desari, Julian turned his attention toward his goal. He would have to face Desari’s wrath on the next rising, but for now she was beyond the reach of any vampire. She was safe. No vampire could touch her using Julian as a route.

Feeling the dark presence of the undead nearby, Julian settled to earth, his vaporous form shimmering into solid bone and muscle. Darius materialized a heartbeat after him.

“You should have raised her to obey those who protect her,” Julian drawled in censure.

Darius’s black eyes, as cold as any grave, flicked over him once. “I have never had need to force Dara’s obedience.”

They moved together, a slow, cautions hunt along the cliffside, all senses alert. The vampire would guard his resting place aggressively. “That is why she came away with me then? Because you approved?” Julian was running his hand lightly along the rock’s surface.

Darius caught at him and jerked him back just as a boulder from above their heads dislodged itself and smashed into the very place Julian had been standing. “I knew she was in no danger. If you had wanted to harm her, you would have done so at the concert when the assassins struck,” Darius replied complacently. He was examining a section of sheer rock wall as he spoke, his attention caught by the layers of compressed agate and granite.

“Ah, yes, the famous concert where you were guarding her.”

“Do not try my patience too far, Savage. You are responsible for what happened at that concert. Had I not
been distracted by the power you exuded, the assassins would not have made it inside. You opened the door for them.” Darius stepped back and surveyed the cliffside. “This rock pattern looks strange, does it not?”

Julian studied the multilayered face of the cliff. “His safeguards perhaps. They are unfamiliar to me. Have you seen patterns like these before? I thought I had learned most of the ancient works.”

Darius glanced at him. “You are fortunate that you had the advantage of being taught such things. Most of what I learned came from singeing my fingers when I made a wrong move. This is a relatively new theme, developed in the New World sometime in the last century. I believe it started in South America, where a group of vampires had quite a stronghold. They copied the pattern from native art. This seems to be some derivation of that.” He paused. “In South America I saw evidence of others as well, perhaps like you. But I could not be certain they were not the undead; and with the women, I did not want to chance it, so I moved my family quickly from that place.”

Julian glanced at him, then examined the rock face carefully, filing away for future reference the possibility that other Carpathians might exist in South America. He would relay the information to Gregori. The Prince would want to know, and what Gregori knew, Prince Mikhail knew. “Interesting. The pattern doesn’t work on the reverse theory. It weaves back and forth.”

“Exactly. When you unravel it, you not only have to reverse the pattern but also move up and down and back and forth. It is intricate, very complex to unravel. I am unsure if we have enough time to do it. The sun is climbing. Already I am feeling the effects,” Darius admitted.

Julian studied his companion, his golden eyes seeing more than Darius might like. Most Carpathians could
stand the early morning rays. Two things, however, made them hypersensitive. Feeding on blood from a kill, and moving closer to the time of turning. Darius had to be close. Very close. It was in the emotionless pits of his eyes, the total disregard for his own life. Darius didn’t only fight with complete confidence in his abilities; he fought like a male uncaring of the outcome.

“Go back to my sister, Savage. Guard her well. I will do what I can here, as I am more familiar with this safeguard than you. If something should happen to me, perhaps you will take my place and provide leadership for the others of my family,” Darius said casually, although the latter suggestion must have galled him at least a little. Still, his sense of duty made him want someone of power, even Julian, to protect his family should he seek his honorable death.

Julian shook his head. “I am strictly a loner. I do not have leadership qualities.” He would not make it easy for Darius to leave his sister and break her heart.

“Desari feared that if something was to happen to you, it would also happen to her. Is that true?” Darius asked the question almost absently, as if he were not really paying attention.

Julian nodded. “It is so. I have bound her to me. If I were to die, she could very well choose the dawn rather than live on without me. You would have to send her to ground for a long while to safeguard her.”

“It is far too risky. I am unwilling to chance Desari’s life or the state of her mind. You are quite capable of leading should you choose. Perhaps you do not wish it, but if there is need, I am certain you would do no other than to step forward,” Darius replied.

Julian had the feeling Darius was testing him again in some way. It didn’t matter. Julian had lived long with
the darkness crouching in him. He had cut himself off from his people, his own twin, even his Prince. He was used to being an outcast, used to being alone and distrusted. “Oh, no, Darius, you will not do this thing. De-sari has feared that you intend to permit yourself to be mortally injured. This I cannot allow. Desari is not ready to leave her family, nor would the others accept me. We will both return to your sister now and take care of the vampire at sundown.”

Darius went perfectly still. All at once he seemed every inch the predator he truly was. “I offered leadership over the family, Savage, not over me. I go my own way.”

“As do I. I meant no disrespect to you; indeed, Darius, I wish to learn of your history. I believe you are the brother of Gregori, our healer. He is a great man, not unlike yourself.” Julian grinned suddenly. “Gregori and I do not always get along either.”

Darius blinked, the only evidence of movement. “I cannot imagine why,” he muttered ruefully.

“I grow on you,” Julian assured.

“I do not think you should count too greatly on it,” Darius replied.

“The sun is rising, my friend. Let us go.”

“It will not be so easy living within my rule,” Darius cautioned softly.

Julian’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? As I answer only to my Prince, I think I shall find it an interesting experience.”

Darius began to dissolve into a fine mist. It was easier to travel without a body in the light of the sun. Even so, the brain insisted that the eyes were swelling, turning red, streaming in the terrible light.

The wind blew through the thick stand of trees, and the branches swayed, danced, and bent low to sweep the ground. The leaves rustled with a rush of sound, a glittering display of nature’s music. Below the earth the notes resounded, luring the two slumbering hunters back into the world. The two hearts began to beat simultaneously. The sun was slowly sinking below the line of the mountain.

There was a muffled blast as dirt spewed high into the air, first one geyser, then, several feet away, a second one. When the dust and soil settled, two elegantly clad men stood facing one another. One was a golden menace, the other dark and dangerous. White teeth gleamed as they silently acknowledged each other.

“My sister?” Darius got down to his chief concern.

“She will sleep until this distasteful task is completed,” Julian answered, his glittering eyes finding the exact spot where Desari lay beneath the earth.

“You are certain of this?” Darius arched an expressive eyebrow skeptically.

Julian’s golden eyes iced over, cold and harsh. “I can handle my own lifemate—make no mistake about that.”

If Darius had been able to feel amusement, he was certain this would be the moment. Dara was an ancient, a direct descendant of the original Dark One. She might be a female, one of tremendous compassion and goodness, but she was far more powerful than Julian was giving her credit for.

“Have you known many of the females of our race?” Darius asked with deceptive mildness.

“No. Very few remain. They are guarded at all times, as they should be. It is almost unheard of for a woman to be unattached after her eighteenth year.”

Darius swung around to stare at Julian. “This is the truth? Eighteen is not yet a fledgling—in truth, yet a child. How can this be?”

Julian shrugged his broad shoulders. “With so few women, so few children born to our kind and surviving, with little hope and so many males on the verge of turning, it is the only safe thing to do. Any unclaimed woman is too unsettling.”

“But the woman could not possibly hope to contend with a powerful male at such a young age. She would barely have had the time to learn the most simple of our gifts. How could she develop her own talents and skills?” Darius sounded a bit disgusted with the males of his own race.

Julian’s golden eyes glittered for a moment. “If you found one who gave you back colors and emotions, who brought your dead soul to life and showered it with light, would you be able to walk away from her because she was yet a fledgling? Perhaps her skills are not developed, but her body is that of a woman, and any male under
the circumstances would be more than happy to spend centuries aiding her in the learning.” His body was beginning to shimmer, to dissolve into tiny droplets of moisture. “What are you waiting for, old man? If you did not get enough sleep, I assure you, I can handle this task on my own.”

“Old man?” Darius echoed. He made his own transformation with astonishing speed. The sun, although it was sinking, was still bright enough to hurt his sensitive eyes. He had noticed that Julian blinked and squinted a bit, but his eyes weren’t streaming in reaction as Darius’s were. “I have to ensure you do not meet with any more near misses.”

A layer of fog streaked across the sky, racing the sun toward the cliffs. Julian’s iridescent colors intermingled with Darius’s, and the cliff soon loomed before them, an intimidating sheer rock wall. Julian solidified, arms folded across his chest, watching with interest as Darius began to weave a strange pattern along the layers of granite. Darius moved unhurriedly, as if he had all the time in the world, as if he were unconcerned with the sun sinking or the vampire awakening.

The vampire was locked deep within the cliff wall, but he was very much aware of the two hunters prowling so close, aware of the exact position of the sun and of how much time he had before he could arise. His lips were drawn back in a snarl of hatred, his jagged teeth stained dark from killing while taking blood. His skin was waxen, ashy, drawn, stretched tightly against his skull. His arms were crossed over his chest, his long yellow fingernails like spikes. His venomous hiss was a vow of vengeance and loathing. He could only wait, locked within the prison of the stone and his terrible weakness, while outside the creatures hunting him scratched and sniffed at the entrance to his lair.