Dark Fire (35 page)

Tempest drove through the murky water as it continued to rise. Twice she crossed a paved road and found another dirt track. Once she came very close to a huge truck parked across the road, one of its occupants smoking a cigarette. She nibbled at her lower lip worriedly but got past the truck without incident. She glanced back at Darius, noting his coloring. He was gray and drawn, lines etched deeply in his face. The strain of masking with illusion an object as large as the bus was enormous. In his weakened state, he was actually trembling.

Tempest hastily averted her eyes, her heart pounding as if it might explode in her chest at any moment. The idea of anything happening to Darius was terrifying. She drove as fast as she dared over the unfamiliar terrain, feeling her way carefully, focusing her mind on the dangers the volume of water presented. At times she chose a path so narrow that the tree branches scraped the sides of the trailer with a screeching metallic sound she thought might haunt her for all time.

As the bridge loomed up in front of them, Tempest wiped at her face, hoping to wipe away the veil that was making it so difficult to see. Between the rain and the fog, she felt as if she were driving blind. She felt the bridge sway beneath the bus, and instinctively she let up on the gas pedal, nearly panicking.

At once Darius was there, his bare foot covering hers, pressing the accelerator so that the bus fishtailed before the tires found traction. "Keep going, baby," he said softly.

He didn't give her a choice, his foot firmly over hers. Tempest held on grimly to the steering wheel, her heart in her throat. Water was pouring over the structure, pushing at the bus hard enough that she had to fight to keep them on the bridge. The water wanted to lift the trailer and carry it into the swollen stream. She allowed herself to breathe only when the vehicle cleared the bridge. Then she pushed at Darius's leg, making him let up on the gas. She was shaking so violently, her teeth were chattering.

"You are doing great, honey," Darius whispered, his hand stroking a caress down her bright hair. "We are almost out of this."

"Almost?" She turned her head to stare up at him. "There's more? I'm getting so tired, Darius." She felt silly telling him that when he was wounded and in more need of rest than she. "I think I've had enough adventure for one night."

He ruffled her hair, affection in his touch. For a man part beast and all predator, he found he had a side he had never expected. Tempest made him go soft inside. "Hang in there, honey. We face one more barrier, and then we will reach the open road."

She heard a muffled roar and realized a wall of water was building upstream, pushing everything in its path in front of it. Immediately she started the vehicle moving forward, inching their way through the the heavy vapor and rain. Without warning a truck loomed up only scant feet from them, directly in her path. A man was leaning against the hood, night goggles pressed to his eyes.

Lightning flashed, strike after strike, lighting the night as if it were day. The man dropped the goggles into the muck, his hands over his eyes as she swerved off the road, barely missing a huge tree. Clenching her teeth, she fought the heavy bus for control, bringing it back onto the road beyond the parked truck.

Darius slumped into the seat beside her, his face so gray and drawn that she nearly slammed on the brakes. "Go lie down, Darius," she ordered, frightened by his lack of color. "I'll get us to the resort where Desari is supposed to be. Konocti Harbor Inn and Spa. It's somewhere near Clearlake. I can find it." The route was well marked, an easy thing to follow, she hoped. She was bad at directions, but surely she could follow road signs.

Darius staggered to the back of the bus without argument and lay down on the couch, the injured leopard on the floor close by. "You know you will get us lost without guidance, little love."

Her heart turned over at the note of tenderness in his voice. She wanted him to sleep the rejuvenating sleep of his people, to heal himself in the earth so that he would be at full strength again. The pain from his wound was on him, hunger from blood loss beating at him, yet when she touched his mind, she found only thoughts for her, for her safety.

"You just think you're indispensable," she scolded him, deliberately sarcastic. "I'm perfectly capable of finding my way to the resort and the campsite where they plan to settle tonight. Now go to sleep, and I'll wake you if I need a wounded warrior."

"Do not ever attempt to leave me again, Tempest," he murmured so softly that she barely caught the words. There was an unguarded ache in his voice that brought a fresh flood of tears to her eyes.

In her life, no one had ever wanted her. No one had ever needed her. Certainly no one had ever been so loving and caring toward her. For all his overbearing, dominating ways, she couldn't ever say he didn't put her first. She couldn't say her heart wasn't totally captivated. He had woven a spell around her so strong, she didn't think the tie could ever be broken.

As she drove down the highway, the rain began to lessen to a drizzle. She made every attempt to keep her mind from what had happened. The idea of all those men throwing their lives away, attacking people they really knew nothing about, was devastating to her. She had no idea just how many adversaries there had been, but she knew the cats had managed to kill two humans apiece. She had caught the images in their minds. Darius had killed the others, but she had no idea how many, and she didn't want to know. It was better not to know, not to allow herself to think too much about insanity of what was happening in her life.

Carpathians. Vampires. Vampire-hunters. It was all too bizarre.

Chapter Fifteen

Tempest drove the bus onto the shoulder of the road, parked, and rested her head against the steering wheel. She felt as if she had been driving forever, but it was the road conditions and driving rain that finally defeated her waning strength, not the hour of night. Exhausted, she struggled to keep her eyes open. In any case, she had stayed on the main highway until there was a confusing fork in the road. She had gone right around the bend, hoping she wasn't supposed to take the road branching to the left. She nibbed her eyes, feeling faint.

Her heart nearly stopped when a cloud of vapor streamed in through the window she had cracked open, hoping the cold air would revive her. Julian Savage shimmered into a solid state beside her, then went at once to Darius, concern etched on his handsome face. Tempest laid her head back against the seat, too tired to question him.

"How long has he been like this?" Julian demanded.

"He was shot," Tempest said without opening her eyes. "I told him to sleep, that I would find the rest of you."

Julian bent close to Darius, tore at his own wrist with his teeth, and pressed the wound firmly over Darius's mouth. "Take what is freely offered that you might live both for your lifemate and yourself." He was unexpectedly gentle, his voice a blend of concern and hypnotic compulsion.

Darius moved then, for the first time in hours, his hand rising weakly to grip Julian's wrist and hold it to his mouth. Julian began the ritual healing chant, and from several miles away, the rest of the Carpathians, linked as they were with their unique telepathy, joined in. All of them felt Darius's weakness and pain. All of them knew he would not go to ground as he needed.

Tempest pushed herself from the driver's seat and staggered down the trailer until she could drop to her knees beside Darius. "Is he going to be okay, Julian?"

"He is weak. He went into battle already drained of his strength. He used mental energy to focus the storm and hide the bus." Julian looked worried, his eyes filled with concern. "He must go to ground and heal. He needs to sleep the sleep of our people."

Darius roused himself, the blood of the ancients flowing strong in his veins. "She was lost again, was she not?"

"I wasn't lost," Tempest protested, her voice drowsy. "I was simply looking for a good place to rest."

Julian shrugged. "She took a wrong turn a few miles ago. I will drive both of you to the others. You must sleep, Darius."

"I must protect Tempest." It was an implacable statement, an order given by a being used to being obeyed.

Tempest leaned her head against his leg. "You're about as much protection as a wet noodle right now, Darius. I'm protecting
you."
She would have glared at him, but she didn't have the energy to lift her head. "Get it? I'm taking the responsibility for a change."

Julian shook his head at them. "You are both a sorry sight. I have no choice but to offer my protection. I will drive. You two rest."

"Good idea," Darius and Tempest said simultaneously.

Darius reached down until he found Tempest's hand and laced his fingers through hers, connecting them together. They were content to be silent for a long while, the swaying of the bus curiously comforting. Then Darius's thumb began to move, a feather-light touch brushing gently back and forth across her knuckles. "I need to feel your body beside mine," he murmured beneath his breath.

Tempest heard the urgency of his need in his voice. He never tried to hide it from her, never worried that he sounded vulnerable. She was exhausted, so much so that it was an effort to lift herself to the other side of the low couch. Sliding beside him, she fit her body to his. Darius instantly turned to wrap his arms around her. She felt as though she was home, safe and protected, where she belonged. She closed her eyes and slept, not realizing Darius had given her a slight mental push to help her drift off peacefully.

Tempest jerked awake just under an hour later as Julian parked the trailer at the chosen site and opened the door for the others. Desari rushed in, a soft cry of alarm escaping as she saw her brother and Tempest. Her hand went to her throat. "Julian?" Her ethereal voice wavered for a moment as she sought reassurance from her lifemate.

"He needs more blood and the earth to heal him," Julian supplied.

Darius pushed himself into a sitting position, his black eyes moving over his family crowding around him. "Do not look so worried. It is not as if I have never been injured before. It is nothing." He turned to look down at Tempest.

She simply didn't have the energy to move. She lay, her body like lead, just staring lovingly up at his face. His hand stroked her cheek, then settled around her neck. Darius was looking at her as if she were his entire world.

Desari stroked back Tempest's hair. "You were wonderful, Rusti, so brave. I can feel your body's terrible weariness."

Tempest managed a wan smile. "Don't tell me Darius was broadcasting a blow-by-blow report while it was all happening."

"Of course. We needed to know in case something went wrong and we had to return to give aid," Desari explained. 'To help with the illusion, we created in the minds of those who saw us traveling on the highway the memory of the trailer traveling with us. If the authorities question anyone, they will state that all vehicles were traveling together last night, long before the horrible battle where we had camped."

"A regular sports commentator, aren't you, Darius?" Tempest asked, annoyed that he had expended even more energy than she had first thought. No wonder he was looking gray and gaunt. "Take him wherever he's supposed to go and put him to sleep and leave me to rest."

Darius's hand tightened around the nape of her neck. "We will not be separated. You must eat something before you sleep, Tempest. You have not taken any sustenance for twenty-four hours."

Her eyebrows shot up. "Oh, I get it. You don't have to take proper care of yourself, but I do. It isn't going to happen that way, Darius. You can growl at me all you want, but if you're insisting on forcing this relationship on me, you can darn well see to it that you take care of yourself so there's no possibility of your leaving me alone."

Darius felt the curious melting in the region of his heart that she always caused. Tempest was trying hard to lecture him, to be tough, but her voice wavered, her fear for his well-being clearly evident to him. He leaned over to brush a soft kiss across her mouth. "You will do as I say, honey, as you are meant to do."

Tempest's eyes flashed fire. "That's it. One of you go get me a club. A big one. He clearly needs to be hit over the head to bring him back to his senses. He must have lost them somewhere in the forest. You idiot, I'm not your child to be dictated to. I'm a grown woman perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Now just this one time in your life, do what you're supposed to do and go to ground or whatever you call it."

Julian made the mistake of allowing a laugh to escape, then hastily tried to cover it with a cough. Darius glared up at him, noticed the others grinning openly at him. "I am certain you all have things to do," he instructed pointedly.

"Not really," Barack answered.

Dayan shook his head. "Much more entertaining here, Darius. You know, I'm still trying to get this relationship thing down, so is necessary to observe one up close."

Syndil took the more innocent approach. "Naturally our concern is for you and Rusti, Darius. Nothing is more important than aiding you."

Julian smirked at him. "This is enlightening. I am new to your particular ways, Darius, and do not mind learning how to handle the women properly when they refuse to be obedient."

Desari's eyebrows rose. "I'll show you obedient," she threatened.

Darius groaned. "All of you, go away."

"You go away, too," Tempest directed, fitting her body more closely into the pillows. "I need to sleep."

He could hear the utter weariness in her voice. "It is unsafe, baby.
We
cannot stay here. We are hunted, and none of us can remain above ground in our weakest hours. There are caves close by. You will be comfortable there, I promise."

Her lashes fluttered for a moment, her heartbeat audible to them all. "It's the bat thing again, isn't it?" She forced humor into her voice. "I think I'm going to have to go into therapy if we keep doing the bat thing. Closed-in places don't agree with me."