Dark Blood (Dark Series Book 26) Read online

  Tension coiled. A tiny shrew ran over his hand, stopped and started four times before disappearing into the small field of ferns. Rollo sighed, the sound muffled as if his mouth was covered by his arm.

  An owl dropped down fast, talons extended, making for the tiny shrew. The shrew made a high-pitched sound of distress. As the claws raked over it, the shrew dove into the crack between two small rocks. The owl missed its prey and with a small cry of disappointment, lifted itself back into the air with straining wings. The bird made for the tree several meters across from the ferns, flew toward a high branch and veered off sharply.

  Zev followed the owl’s line of sight. Sure enough, just as he expected, Ivaylo was lying up in the tree, covering his buddy.

  Do you see him?

  I was aware of him the moment the owl chose not to land. She was silent a moment, gave a soft sigh and then admitted the truth. I saw the owl dive for the shrew, but when it veered off, your conclusion was in your mind before I had the chance to actually get there myself. But I would have.

  If we’re going to make our way to Dimitri and Skyler to help them out, we can’t have these two alive and hunting behind us, you know that, don’t you?

  Hunting was not the same as killing. Branislava was no soldier.

  A wolf poked his head through the brush just a few meters from Rollo. Branislava inhaled sharply. This wasn’t one of Skyler and Dimitri’s pack, she could tell by the markings, but there were wolves local to the area and this one was too curious.

  Zev swore softly under his breath. He knew exactly what they were doing now. The Lycans were aware that Dimitri was fond of wolves. They knew his reputation. These two are lying in wait for the others to drive the wolves this way. In doing so, they plan on drawing out Dimitri and Skyler.

  A shot rang out. The wolf yipped and leapt into the air. Panting, eyes rolling in pain, it hit the ground hard. Several times it tried to rise, only to fall back again. When the wolf realized it was unable to walk, it tried to pull its body along the ground to the relative safety of the heavier brush.

  A cold anger formed into hard knots in his belly. That’s sacrilegious, Zev hissed. No Lycan deliberately wounds a wolf. They’re our brethren.

  These two don’t seem to mind in the least. Remember, they’re hunting Dimitri and Skyler, probably you and Fen as well. I think I can make my way to the wolf and try to stop the bleeding.

  Branislava sounded confident. He couldn’t fault her courage. She waited for him to decide. If she went to help the wolf, and that in itself was dangerous as the wolf was wild and now injured, he would have to take out Ivaylo in the tree to protect her. That would leave Rollo only a few meters from her, armed and eager to kill.

  I can do this, Zev. I want to do this, she insisted. Your great-grandmother hunted beside her lifemate and I intend to do the same. I have to start somewhere.

  He nodded his head slowly and signaled her to go. She didn’t make the mistake of using Carpathian skills to shift into something small in order to make her way across the ground to the brush where the wolf was hiding. She remembered the two Lycans would be able to feel that energy immediately. Instead, Branislava used her toes and elbows to push herself backward, deeper into cover, into a narrow rabbit’s trail.

  Not a single leaf, vine or branch moved as she made her way inch by inch through the tunnel toward the wolf. She was small, but he was shocked that she could use that passage without revealing herself to the enemy who was definitely poised and ready for anyone to show their face.

  Zev didn’t particularly give a damn whether or not Ivaylo saw him coming. The man had a rifle in his hands and Branislava was approaching a wounded wolf. She would come face-to-face with the animal any moment and all hell could break lose.

  Zev used his mixed blood speed, a blurring, impossible-to-see quickness, as he raced to the bottom of the tree and leapt high, his claws slashing the rifle out of the Lycan’s hands and tearing him out of the tree simultaneously.

  As they both fell toward the ground, Zev twisted in midair, using Ivaylo’s body as a shield to keep his buddy from shooting at him. He knew Rollo’s attention would be on the desperate fight between Zev and Ivaylo and not Branislava and the wolf. They hit the ground together, Zev landing on his feet in a crouch and Ivaylo on his back in the dirt.

  Zev used the enormous strength of his mixed blood to drive Ivaylo deep through several layers of vegetation and soil with one hand. The other held the silver dagger, a twister like a corkscrew in his fist. He slammed it deep through the chest, penetrating the heart and driving it all the way through, pinning Ivaylo to the ground itself. A shot rang out and then another. Rollo rapid fired, desperate to drive Zev away from his buddy. Bullets spit into the ground all around Zev. Bark splintered as the bullets tore into the tree trunk behind his head.

  Zev rolled away from Ivaylo’s body toward cover. He caught a glimpse of Branislava and his heart leapt into his throat. She rose up behind Rollo like a bird of legends—the fiery phoenix. Her hair, in that long braid, swept back from her face crackled with fiery sparks as bloodred as any sunset. Her eyes had gone from deep emerald to green with red-orange flames roaring in the very center.

  Rollo stood, the rifle to his shoulder, finger on the trigger, firing round after round. Behind him, Branislava’s diminutive figure took on a fiery glow, as if deep inside her was the fire dragon raging to emerge. She seemed to grow in stature, rising menacingly behind the Lycan. The moon caught the flash of silver in her hand.

  She didn’t plunge the stake into his body from the back as he expected her to do. She leapt into the air, right over the top of him, both legs kicking down hard on the gun, slamming it right out of his hands. As she dropped down, she plunged the dagger straight through his heart. Her feet hit the ground and he stood there a moment swaying, his eyes wide with shock, both hands coming up to cup the hilt of the stake, as if he might find the strength to pull it out.

  Branislava stepped back. Rollo toppled over at her feet, hands still clutching the silver blade through his heart. She raised her hand in the air and Zev tossed her his sword. She caught it in midair and came down in a slashing motion, using Carpathian strength to sever the head, all in one movement. Without stopping her swing, she continued to raise the sword and threw it back to him. Zev removed Ivaylo’s head as well.

  “I think that was showing off, mon chaton féroce.”

  She gave him an enigmatic smile. “Perhaps, but I got the job done. Will you let Dimitri and Skyler know while I try to save the wolf? I had to choose between the two of you, wolf or crazy lifemate, and since Mikhail and Gregori think you’re so important, I thought I’d better choose saving you.”

  He nodded, heat blossoming out of nowhere. With every step she took, even with her fluid glide over the vegetation, she crackled with fire. It was as if sparks leapt off her skin and hair into the air around her, although there was no real sound, only the illusion of flames burning from the inside out.

  Dimitri, two down here. Can you make a move toward us?

  We’re pinned down. They aren’t aware we’re here, but there are four of them and we’re caught in the middle. I can pick them off one by one, but I’m not certain I want to leave Skyler vulnerable.

  Zev could understand Dimitri’s dilemma. He didn’t like leaving Branislava, and she had the knowledge of hundreds of warriors over centuries. Skyler was nineteen and had been converted only recently.

  They’re using the local wolf pack to try to draw you out. We’ve got a wounded wolf here. Branka is attempting to save it.

  We’re keeping our wolves with us. I warned the local wolf pack to stay away, but eventually they’ll come back to investigate. This is their territory.

  Zev understood that as well. The Lycans would be patient. They had all night to hunt Skyler and Dimitri and the local wolf pack. They’d seek cover and just wait. Eventually the wolf pack would return. The wolves would scent rivals in their territory and want to drive them out. The moment they showe
d themselves, the Lycans would wound them, hoping to draw out Dimitri or his lifemate.

  I’m making my way to you. Don’t shoot me by mistake. I’ve noticed you can be a little bloodthirsty.

  I feel compelled to point out your humor is becoming less Lycan and more Carpathian by the moment.

  Zev found himself laughing. Life was good when you had family. He had forgotten these moments, small stolen moments together where one could find humor even in the midst of being hunted. He hadn’t had a family in a long time—unless one counted Daciana, Makoce and Lykaon, three members of his elite hunting pack. He had always counted on them to have his back—and they’d never failed him.

  He made his way over to Branislava. She crouched in the brush, one hand in the soft fur, head down. He sighed and put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, cheri, there was really nothing to do.” Sorrow welled up. Though an animal, the wolf was brethren, and a wild, majestic creature that didn’t deserve to be caught up in the war taking place.

  She looked over her shoulder at him, tears turning her eyes to emerald. “I understand how Ivory could be tempted to save them when we shouldn’t.”

  “Turning a wolf to Carpathian could be creating a killing machine. Ivory had spent time with the pups prior to converting them,” he cautioned. “But the practice is dangerous.”

  Branislava nodded and allowed him to help her to her feet. “I’m well aware of that. Still, it was a struggle not to try. I recognized that he was far too gone, but the temptation was there.”

  “Are you saying we’ll probably end up with wolf tattoos?” he asked, slipping his arm around her and pulling her close to comfort her.

  “Yours will say ‘Wolfie.’” She leaned into him, allowing her body to shelter against his for just a moment while she steadied herself. “I’ll have all the wolves riding on my skin.”

  “Wolf-master,” he corrected solemnly. “I’ll be the master of the wolves and the wolf keeper.”

  That bought him a faint smile and a quick eye roll.

  She turned her attention to the two bodies. “We can’t incinerate them without the other Lycans knowing we’re in the forest as well.”

  “They aren’t going anywhere,” Zev decreed. “It isn’t as if they’re going to rise as zombies.”

  “It could happen,” Branislava said. “Tatijana told me all about the zombie apocalypse.”

  He laughed softly. “She’s been watching movies, hasn’t she?”

  Branislava had to admit the truth of that. Nodding, but she raised her eyebrow at him. “If Lycans and Carpathians are real, zombies could be as well.”

  He brushed a kiss along the top of her head. “Vampires make puppets. Fen refers to them as ghouls but we’ll call them zombies just for you.”

  “Let’s go hunt the assassins. They’ve got Dimitri and Skyler pinned down.”

  “Dimitri doesn’t strike me as the type of man to ever be pinned down,” Branislava replied with a little sniff of disdain. “By the time we get there, he’ll have taken care of business.”

  They hurried through the forest toward the coordinates Dimitri sent them. As they approached the area, they slowed. Zev was pleased that Branislava did so entirely on her own, not waiting to take her cue from him. More and more, he found he was comfortable with her hunting with him.

  He signaled her to go low. He went high, making his way into the canopy of the trees like a large lizard clinging to the bark. His body took on the coloration of everything around him so that he blended perfectly with his surroundings. Smelling blood, he wasn’t at all surprised to find the first body lying at the base of a wide tree trunk. The head sat on the chest and a silver stake stuck straight up through the chest. The arm of the dead Lycan was turned up, exposing the small intricate circle on the inner wrist. This man had been a member of the Sacred Circle, a religious-like sect many of the Lycans believed in.

  Nice work. Have you located his partner?

  Not yet. I’m working on that.

  I’ll move clockwise. Branka’s on the ground searching in the same direction, using a grid pattern.

  Skyler will take the opposite way to Bronnie, Dimitri said, reluctance in his voice.

  Zev!

  Branislava broke in, her voice wavering with distress, but she kept their path shrouded from the Lycans and he couldn’t help but be proud of her.

  The wolf pack is returning. The alpha almost stepped on me. I tried to send him away, but he smelled blood.

  Zev cursed under his breath. The last thing they needed was to mix in a healthy, territorial wolf pack that could be used against them.

  Do your best to warn them of the danger. That was all they could do. If the wolf pack didn’t listen, it was on their alpha, not Branislava, although he knew she would blame herself if something happened to the other wolves. He mentally braced himself for the event that she would want to save them and he would have to tell her to let them go.

  Zev moved to the next tree via the long, sweeping branches touching the tree he was in. He took a careful look around. His breath caught in his throat. His heart gave a wild leap of fear. Skyler was a good distance away, lying prone in the vegetation, a few bushes covering her, but she was exposed and a good sniper could easily kill her.

  Skyler, take cover, he warned abruptly, fear skittering down his spine, everything in him straining to protect her, but even his incredible speed, leaping from branch to branch was not going to get him there in time.

  A shot rang out and her body jerked. A small red geyser went up in the middle of the back of her head.

  6

  Zev expected to feel her death, just as all Carpathians had the first time she had been killed by the Lycans, but there was nothing at all, only emptiness.

  Another shot rang out and then a third, both bullets going into the body on the ground. Clearly she was already dead, but the sniper wanted to make certain. Even as Zev watched in a kind of horror, Skyler’s body jerked, the arms stretching out stiffly, the feet drumming the ground. She rose with multiple twitches and lurches, coming upright eventually, her raised arms stiffly out in front of her.

  Her body turned as if it were a compass pointing the way to her killer. She lurched forward. Blood ran down her face through the exit wound in her right cheek. More blood stained the front of her vest. Each step she took was laborious, her body shaking with spasms and twitches. Her eyes went wide and round.

  Zev’s churning gut settled and he passed a hand down his face, scrubbing away the fear of losing Skyler to replace that intense emotion with sheer laughter. Skyler watched movies with Tatijana, didn’t she?

  It was nearly impossible to tear his gaze away from the spectacle of horror as Skyler continued her arduous journey through the forest toward the tree where the sniper had lain in wait for her. Another bullet hit her in her left eye. Her head jerked backward and stayed in the position for a few seconds while her feet stumbled back rapidly in an effort to regain her balance.

  The brush to Skyler’s left parted, and Branislava emerged, her face slack, mouth drooping, arms raised in front of her. She had the same jerky steps as Skyler had, as she reeled forward. Part of her arm fell to the ground and some of the flesh on her face sloughed off. She didn’t look right or left but wobbled in the direction Skyler had been pointing out.

  Skyler righted herself, although her head tilted at an alarming angle as she began her slow, stumbling progress toward the Lycan’s chosen tree. Zev could see him now, raising his head in alarm, putting his eye to his scope, only to raise his head again as if uncertain whether or not he should make a run for it.

  The sniper settled behind his rifle and squeezed the trigger, this time aiming for Branislava. Looking at her as her flesh began dropping off, Zev couldn’t blame the Lycan. The bullet hit her chest, slamming her backward as if she was a paper doll. She stumbled as black blood welled around the entry point right over her heart, but she recovered, swaying and twitching before beginning her forward progress once more.

>   As they began to converge onto the tree, another bush opened and out stumbled a third zombie. Tatijana looked worse than Branislava, with her hair falling out, leaving a trail of clumps of red behind her. One foot appeared gone so that she tottered unevenly but steadily toward the tree.

  The Lycan chose to retreat, gathering up his weapon hastily. He stood, reluctant to take his gaze off the improbable but very real vision of three dead women coming for him. He turned to make his leap from the tree.

  The real Branislava slammed the silver stake home, driving it hard through his chest with her Carpathian strength. Tatijana wielded the silver sword, slicing cleanly through the sniper’s neck, severing his head so that it fell almost at the three zombies’ feet. Immediately the apparitions were gone, mere illusions Skyler had created to keep the sniper’s attention away from the two women who stalked him.

  Zev shook his head. Nice job, Skyler. A little theatrical, but it worked.

  My tribute to Josef and a little payback in his name to these murderers. There was no remorse in her voice. Josef was her best friend and the Lycans had shot him. Skyler was known to hold a grudge and take revenge. Josef would like my style. This time her tone was a little smug.

  Dimitri, there’s no keeping these Dragonseeker women under control, and yours could be the ringleader, Zev informed him.

  Four dead assassins and at least two more to go. The one Branislava and Tatijana had killed hadn’t been a partner to the Lycan Dimitri had killed. He hadn’t been in a position to cover the Lycan in the tree. Dimitri was working his way toward that man’s partner.

  Zev needed to concentrate on the sniper high up in the trees, with his bird’s-eye view. He was certain he knew where to look for the dead assassin’s partner. There was usually a pattern to the way the Lycans hunted, even from the safety of distance.

  Skyler is a little wild, Dimitri admitted, laughter in his voice. Who knew?