Dedari felt the earth tremble, and knew the struggle the undead was having with Prest, Amia, and Zande. He knew the precise moment the monster allowed Amia to slip through his fingers. Dedari felt the hesitation in power, the shift. As the ghouls launched their combined attack, the vampire burst through the earth's soil in an all-out assault against Jacob.Dedari waited until the last possible moment, holding himself still, arms outstretched, a seeming sacrifice to the evil one. His face was turned up to the heavens, the darkened clouds and arcing lighting, the wind whipping his jet-black hair around him. He slowly lowered his head so that his merciless eyes encompassed the rushing ghouls. Fiery flames seemed to dance in the depths of his gaze. He looked invincible, a phantom of the night, the prince of darkness, yet his outstretched hands were turned palms up toward the heavens in supplication.The very heavens seemed to answer his silent prayer, opening the gates so that a flood
Jacob was winging his way through the air fast, hard on the tail feathers of Dedari. The rain had slowed to a steady drizzle, but the air felt heavy and thick. Jacob shook his head at the foolishness of what they were doing. Dedari believed in the straightforward approach. At the same time, he was a lethal adversary, one fully committed to destroying an enemy even if it meant his own life. Jacob understood, but through long experience he had learned to pick his battles. Dedari had to attack anything threatening those under his protection, but some part of him was urging him to fight to the death, wanting to take the vampire with him to eternal rest.The idea of losing Dedari left Zande raw with fear. And Jacob found he could not bear Zande’s fear. He felt the presence of evil, the thick air surrounding them making it difficult to think. It was a common trick used by the undead to buy time. Jacob simply directed his body on his instincts, trusting himself and his own strength and
I owe you a tremendous debt.Jacob murmured softly in his mind even as he began the difficult work of healing Dedari from the inside out. Dedari had managed to shut down his systems immediately, his spirit merged with Zande that he might aid them if necessary. Jacob could read the intentions of the leader as surely as if they were his own. Dedari would not leave his family unprotected until he was certain Jacob could take his place.And then Jacob was nothing but light and energy, pure white heat to be used for healing. He closed the terrible wounds in the artery that were draining the precious fluid of life from Dedari. The heart required tremendous concentration. The gash was deep, and Jacob could make no mistakes. He became aware, after a time, that the sound of chanting was surrounding them. The words were ancient and soothing to him, filling him with a quiet confidence for the work he had to do. This was the most extensive repair on anyone he had attempted, and the familiar w
Jacob didn't blame Prest.Prest felt fiercely protective of Amia and was still in a dangerously combative state. Once the demon within was aroused, it was difficult to overcome the savage, predatory instincts of their kind.Zande’s answer was so perfect, it was all Jacob could do not to clasp her to him. She didn't so much as glance at Jacob or in any way act as though they had communicated. "Amia." She whispered the woman's name softly, lovingly, so that the leopard shimmered between human form and animal. "Do not leave me as yet. I am in sore need of your comfort." Zande projected just the right note of weariness into her voice, and even Jacob was a believer.How could she not be tired after her tremendous ordeal? Of course she was. He could feel it in her now as her body swayed slightly against his. Her large eyes touched Prest’s stone-hard features.I know she wishes to flee, Prest, but if you would, please step aside and allow her to come to me. I have a great need to be with m
The call to awaken came not from within himself but from outside. At the command, his heart took one beat, and his lungs drew in air. There was pain with his first breath, and Dedari quickly assessed the damage to his body without moving a muscle or flickering an eyelid, without allowing anything else to intrude while he took inventory. A thick wrist was pressed to his mouth, and he felt, more than heard, the soft command to replenish what he had lost. He knew immediately who was donating so generously to him. The blood was ancient and powerful, potent as it soaked into his starving cells, carrying with it the energy and strength of a true ancient. Dedari slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the blond stranger who was his sister's mate. Dedari savored the effects of the fresh blood pouring into his body, strong, rich, ancient blood, and already he could feel the healing powers working within him. He studied Jacob as he fed from the man's wrist. Jacob was powerful and enormous
Dedari’s voice was so low now, Jacob was unsure whether he was really speaking aloud or mind to mind. "You grow weak, Dedari. Sleep. We can talk of such things when you are healed." Deliberately, Jacob allowed his voice to drop an octave, to take on the low, hypnotic tone of his kind. Soothing, peaceful, healing. An underlying command, very subtle but nevertheless powerful.Dedari smiled, a mere flash of strong white teeth. He heard that "push" in Jacob’s voice and recognized it for what it was. Even in his weakened state, he would ordinarily have resisted such a mind touch, but Jacob was going to do as he wished anyway. He would hunt the undead without Dedari, and argument with him would be futile. And tiring. Dedari planned to sleep for a long while. "I go under, golden one, but do not think you managed to make me overlook the fact that I must thank you for my continued existence.""Or curse me." Jacob stepped away from the black, rich soil, then watched as the breath ceased and
Zande felt the intense heat, not from the earth but from deep within her own body, from Jacob’s fingers radiating just under her bare breast, along her side, lingering, caressing, bringing her body to life.Jacob stopped abruptly, his palm cupping the back of her neck, bringing her to a halt as his mouth fastened on hers. Molten heat raged between them. The taste of them, the moist heat of their mouths mingled. His fingers twined themselves in the thick ebony hair she had so carelessly secured, holding her to him so that he could explore her mouth with languid, lazy seduction and fierce, burning hunger. It was like creating a firestorm. The more they shared, the hotter the flames.Jacob pulled away first, trailing kisses down her throat to the valley between her breasts. "There is something so beautiful about you, Zande," he whispered against her. "Something I could never resist even if I wanted to." His hand slipped across her stomach to her jeans. "Sometimes I think if I do not
Jacob was silent for a moment. "I, too, want to see her. She will give me a better explanation."Than the old woman. He added, shielding his mind from Zande.He wondered where the old woman could be, and if/when she would show herself to him. He needed to ask her some questions. He believed she would be their best shot in locating Olivera."Then we will go." Zande pretended there was no vampire waiting to destroy her family. "Tell me what the people are like in the Mountains."Jacob thought about that for a moment. A slow smile softened the faintly harsh edge to his mouth. "You always come up with great questions, piccola. To be honest, I never thought much about what they are like. Mostly they are hardworking people. They pull together in times of crisis. The Prince and his healer are very much like Dedari. Leaders, hunters, protectors, healers. It will be an experience meeting your older brother, for you and Dedari." His smile deepened, reaching his glittering eyes. "Raven is th
When they clambered to the surface of the ground, away from the lab, the girls breathed in relief, freed from the nightmares they had been subjected to for years. It was then that Olivera took a blood bag from the polythene in her arms, feeling better in the night hair, and took a sip, wary of how the blood would taste. She had heard Jacob talking about the heady feeling, worse if it came from an ancient. But it still hadn’t prepared her for the kick of pleasure. She found herself moaning as she greedily drank the blood, until she drained the bag. When she was done, she looked at the others. They were staring at her with unexplainable emotions on their faces. At least it wasn’t disgust. Olivera thought with a shrug, before handing the bag over to Miriam. When her friend hesitated in collecting it, she piqued an eyebrow. “You want to do the dismantling of the structure, without alerting the soldiers?” Miriam huffed, and took the bag. As much as she had great magic, she didn’t want
The first thing Olivera saw when she stepped into the hole where the passageway stopped was the largeness of the space, which could contain more than five thousand people. Then she saw the tubes, the boiling liquids and the lab rats. A modern lab.‘Where are you?’ She asked the girl, needing to get out of here; it was making her nauseous. Ten more minutes here, and she might be vomiting all over the place. And there was the fact that she didn’t know when the soldiers would be waking up. ‘At the far end of the cave…’Olivera nodded as if the girl was speaking to her physically. And gesturing with her head, for Miriam to follow her, she sauntered toward the end of the hall, making sure not to look at the tubes housing different organs and parts of an organism. What the hell! She screamed mentally when she saw a full brain at a table which looked like a butchering table. “Oh, my god…what are they doing here?” She heard Miriam ask beside her and sighed. Whose brain was that? A human
Miriam’s heart pounded erratically as she followed Olivera, who seemed very confident on what she was doing, and on where she was going. Three times she thought of grabbing Olivera and walking away from the region, but she also knew it would have been a futile attempt. Her friend’s mind was already made up. She watched as the latter walked past the last barrack, and stopped by a pole, the only pole in the backyard. Behind it were the gates towering them. They have come to a dead end. “Olivera, there is nothing here? Are you sure this girl is real?” Olivera gave Miriam no answer, instead she concentrated on looking around her, waiting for the signal. When she got nothing, she traced the vibration residue, touching the girl’s mind. A jerk in her mind path told her that the girl was surprised she had breached her mind guards. But should she be surprised? Or was something else at play here? ‘Where next should I go?’ She continued, because she knew she was at the right place, that t
“How are we getting past that?” Olivera asked Miriam as they came to stand before a huge gate that towered many feet over them. She could now see why Miriam had wanted the journey to be done in the privacy of the night. As much as she could see—as they had zapped to this point—this area wasn’t open to the city dwellers, only to the special few. She looked around her again. Barracks with soldiers sleeping within. None was even standing guard at the gates. She didn’t believe such a thing would exist at this time. City gates. Where did it lead? She piqued an eyebrow when Miriam smirked. What was the latter thinking? “As if you don’t already know…which other way, if not by mist…there is no way I am climbing that. I don’t think I am ready to fly with you above it…” Miriam spoke, covering the distance between them, and wrapping her arms around Olivera, her mouth fixed in a pout. Olivera shook her head, yet unable to stop the smile that cascaded her lips. It seemed that her friend was g
A knock woke Olivera up from her deep slumber. After bathing and eating off the snacks she had bought earlier in the day, from the shops in the new city, she had fallen like a log of wood to the bed, and hadn’t even stirred after that. Still groggy from the smooth sleep, she let her hand search for her phone which was the only thing that had gone to bed with her, should Miriam call for her. She peered at the screen. It was one in the morning. It was time then. She yawned like a hyena, causing Miriam to chuckle from behind the door. The chuckle dissipated the remaining fog fostering around her head. Taking a deep breath in, she stood up from the bed, flung a sheet around her naked body, and walked to the door. When she opened it, she saw that Miriam was alone, and carrying a tray of steaming food. “You are a lifesaver.” She muttered, opening the door wider for her friend to come in; the rumbling sounds that emitted from her stomach in agreement with her. Miriam chuckled again, an
“Where are we heading next?” Olivera asked Miriam immediately they stepped out of the borders of the town, into a city sprawling with people. After they had left the males who had tried to detain them because of her eating habits, they had walked to the largest building in the town, because if Clooney was a big name, it was probably because the man was rich. They hadn’t been right in their deduction, but they had at least gotten away from the unsettling males. Olivera had taken her friend behind the building, and had quickly switched to her mist form, turning Miriam into the same, and together they had zapped the remainder of the city without stopping, till they were out of it, till they were in a new one which looked more modernized than the previous. She looked at Miriam, who was staring at the city with artificial skylights, and wondered if her friend had ever been here before. “I never get over the culture shock, you know, seeing the drabness of the town we just left. The cont
What now? Olivera thought, looking at the six males that couldn’t be a year older than twenty five years old. What were they doing in front of her? “State your names, and what you are doing in this town…” The male, slightly in front of the others, spoke with a steel voice, causing Olivera and Miriam to exchange furtive glances. What was going on?There was a minute hesitation before Olivera spoke. “I am Darcy. My friend is Lilian. Who are you?” She patted herself mentally for names well cooked and delivered. Darcy and Lilian? How had she come up with those seemingly true names? She watched the male that had just spoken, looked to his comrades behind him, and judged that he was the leader of this small group. Were they the police? She looked at them again. They didn’t look like the police. Vigilantes? Maybe. But why were there vigilantes in the town? She kept a seal on her thoughts when the male returned her attention to her. “My name is Luke, and these are my associates. Our job is
“We will kill him right?” Miriam asked, as they stepped out of the camp, and turned around to look at it again, reliving what they had seen in there. “We need to. He is evil. Why will a sane man work with a vampire? Is he crazy?” Olivera just couldn’t understand the foolishness, no matter how much she tried. Why would one make a deal with an almost eternal wickedness? Had he no fear for his life, for his family? “I think he is crazy. Evil-y crazy. But that’s by the way. What are we going to do now?” Olivera looked around the camp, and spat in disgust. “We will burn it down. We will burn it until it’s nothing but dust. We will eradicate this curse from the face of the earth.” Miriam couldn’t agree less, but then she remembered that the ancients might have use for the materials in there. Olivera, having sensed the latter’s thoughts, shook her head. “They won’t be needing it. I’ve already transferred the necessary details to Raul, and Jacob. They can take it up from there. The mater
“Do you think anyone is in there?” Olivera asked Miriam, immediately she shifted to human self. Miriam looked at her clothed self and smiled. “Seems you have gotten the best hang of shifting, and still keeping your clothes on.” Olivera shrugged her shoulders. “There was no other choice. I can’t keep going up and down with my clothes in my hands or mouth. Since I’m part ancient, I have to improvise.” She took in a deep breath, inhaling the air tainted with magic and something else. “This place is tainted with magic. You smell it?” She shook off the imaginary dirt on her clothes, just in case, whilst waiting for Miriam’s reply. When she looked up, her friend was smiling. “What’s tickling your fancy? I don’t think my question has that much prowess…” Miriam cackled. “I never thought riding on a wolf would be so exhilarating. If I had known, I would have befriended a werewolf, and snagged rides every week at least. It’s quite freeing and therapeutic.” Olivera nodded. It was just as