Dark Descent (Dark Series - Book 11) Page 11

  Joie’s heart was pounding so hard she was afraid it would burst through her chest.

  It might not have been such a good idea to tell him I thought he was nasty.

  The entire inn shook, the walls swaying as if from the shock of an earthquake. The door to the verandah sagged, splintered again as something struck it with tremendous force. Whispers filled the room, soft, insidious whispers made with sweet voices.

  Gabrielle cried out and put her hands over her ears. She took several steps toward the door, nodding her head, her lips beginning to move. Gary leapt to her side, dragged her back, his hand over her mouth. He put his lips against her ear. “They’re trying to command you to invite them in. You must not listen to them.”

  The door burst in the middle. A black swarm of insects flew into the room with the rain and wind. The dense cloud of stinging bugs attacked exposed flesh, biting viciously. Gary threw a blanket over Gabrielle’s head, wrapping her face and arms to protect her from the worst of the bites. Jubal cursed and beat at his face and neck in a frantic attempt to keep the insects off him.

  Joie stood stoically facing the monster outside her door. His smile was a terrible parody, as was his bow. He looked smug as he watched the black horde of insects biting the occupants of the room. Joie knew she was staring at something far more foul than the creature she had knifed in the cave. He beckoned to her with his clawlike fingers, and she felt a tremendous pull. It was only the vicious bites of the insects that kept her from stepping out of the room and onto the verandah. She had no doubt that he would kill her. That he would kill all of them. She struggled to keep her mind her own, rather than allow his soft voice to intrude and command.

  “Tell me why you do his bidding.” The only weapon she had was to flatter the vampire’s ego. Stall him in the hope that Traian would come before Valenteen could entice her out to him. “It’s clear you’re much more powerful. Why would you serve such a creature?” She forced interest and admiration into her voice. “I find it hard to believe that a man like you needs someone like him.”

  Valenteen’s lip curled, exposing blackened gums. “I allow him to think he commands me. It suits me to fall in with his plans. We both seek the same thing. If he finds it, I will take it from him.”

  Joie was being compelled forward, one slow step at a time. She struggled to stay grounded, flinging her hand out to Jubal. Her brother’s fingers tightened over hers instantly, gripping her without hesitation. “Of course you’ll take it. He’s a fool to think he can treat you with so little respect. I’ve been all over the world and have never encountered a man as powerful as you.” She tried to interject a flirty note in her voice, but her acting skills didn’t stretch that far. “You should lead them all. Everyone would benefit from your knowledge.”

  In spite of Jubal’s restraining hand, she was jerked another step forward. Joie felt like a puppet on a string. She couldn’t stop her body from going toward the beckoning hand, even with Jubal trying to hold her back.

  Valenteen nodded his head. “It is true that I have much experience in leading. Perhaps killing you is not the best answer. Perhaps bringing you to my side would serve us both better.”

  Jubal let go of her hand and caught her around the waist, lifting her away from the threshold. At once the vampire closed his hand, staring at Jubal’s throat. Joie’s brother went down hard, choking, coughing, fighting for air. The insects instantly swarmed over him, clogging his throat, attacking his exposed face. Gary made a grab for Joie, but she shook her head and deliberately stepped onto the verandah.

  “Help Jubal,” she ordered. She kept her gaze on the vampire, trying to appear fascinated. Traian was close. He was with her, moving in her mind, giving her strength. The vampire believed he was still compelling her to do his bidding, but with Traian’s aid, she moved on her own. She didn’t look behind her to see if Gary was able to fight off the insects. Intuitively she knew it was better for all of them to keep the vampire’s attention centered on her.

  Her stomach lurched at the prospect of being close to such an evil creature. She could see him clearly now, without the illusion the undead often used on their victims. Flesh hung from his bones. Tufts of hair clung to his scalp. His long, thick fingernails were in the shape of hooked claws, sharp and twisted and black. His eyes were red and streaked with yellow. There was a malevolence clinging to him that sickened her and fouled the air around him.

  Instead of trying to stop herself from moving toward him, Joie had to force her shaking legs to take a step. Impatience crossed his face. “Joining with a man so powerful and knowing he’s certain to rule those around him sounds like a good idea. I’ve always admired strength.”

  Inches from his outstretched hand, Joie purposely tripped on a piece of the splintered door and stumbled. She protected herself with a palm to the ground, her body slightly turned, giving her precious seconds to slide her other hand along her leg to secure the knife strapped to her calf, the blade hidden flat against her wrist.

  Valenteen leaned over her, spittle drooling from his mouth as he caught her by her hair and wrenched her to her feet. He dragged her against his body, jerking her head back to expose her throat, and sank his teeth deep, gulping as he drank.

  Joie registered the fiery pain of an acid burn as he tore a gaping wound in her throat. Her vision blurred, and the ground lurched as her legs went rubbery. She could hear the sound of his heart, although she couldn’t feel it beating. She made no sound of protest, made no struggle, giving herself up willingly. Some of the tension slipped from the undead’s body. With every ounce of strength she possessed, everything she was, Joie plunged the knife deep into his chest, driving straight for his heart.

  Lifting his head, Valenteen screamed horribly, the sound shattering glass from windows. Gripping her hair, he dragged her backward as his body fought to stay up in spite of the knife in his heart. With his other hand he grabbed her chin with every intention of breaking her neck.

  Blood gushed from the wound in her throat so that his hand slipped off. Joie clamped both hands on the back of the fist clutching her hair to hold his hand to her head. Dropping low, she spun around and stood up fast, snapping bones in his hand. He howled as he let her go, raking at her with poison-tipped talons.

  Traian emerged from the darkness, his eyes flaming red, dragging the vampire off of her, wrenching his head around hard. The knife handle dropped uselessly to the floor of the verandah, the blade completely eaten away by acid in the blood of the undead. Traian’s fist shot out, plunging deep, following the trail of the knife. Valenteen matched the move, driving his good hand into the wall of Traian’s chest, through the muscle and tissue, seeking his heart. Traian got there first.

  Staring into the vampire’s eyes, he ripped the shriveled, blackened organ out and tossed it aside. Lightning forked in the sky, spun until it was a bright white sphere that engulfed the vampire. Valenteen disappeared into ash and cinder, then was gone completely. The heart was incinerated next. Traian bathed his hands and arms in the energy, removing the acid burning his flesh so he could tend to Joie.

  She sat on the ground, watching him with a kind of awe. She couldn’t talk because of the wound in her throat. She simply sat there, her hands pressed to the gaping tear to try to stem the flow of blood. Gabrielle screamed and ran to her side. “Help me, Jubal, help me lay her down. I need towels, anything at all. Joie, don’t you die on us! Damn it, Jubal, she’s lost so much blood. Help me.”

  Gary took her arm and stepped back, taking Gabrielle with him. “Only Traian can help her now.” Jubal looked at the Carpathian. “Do it. Whatever you have to do. Just don’t let her die.”

  Traian looked at their faces, swollen and red from the bites of the insects. He reached down and gathered Joie into his arms, cradling her against his chest. Joie settled against him, her eyelashes slowly drifting down.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Traian,” Gary said calmly. “You’re in almost as bad shape as she is. You need blood fast. Use Jub
al while I get the soil to pack the wounds. I’ll give you more blood as soon as I return.”

  “She does not want me to use her family,” Traian said. He had automatically slowed Joie’s heartbeat to lessen the blood loss. He buried his face in her throat, closing the terrible wound as best he could with healing saliva.

  “Who gives a damn what she wants?” Jubal snapped. “She only objected because she thought you were a vampire. If you need our blood to save her, take it. It obviously hasn’t done anything to harm her or Gary. Gabrielle, help Gary with whatever he needs.”

  “The garden has rich soil,” Traian instructed. He stood for one moment, the lines on his face deep, his chest ripped open, weariness and fear mixed with a turbulent rage in his eyes. Then he leapt to the second-story balcony above them and hurried along the banisters until he found Joie’s room.

  Jubal took the stairs, streaking through the halls to burst into his sister’s room. Flinging the door closed, he approached the bed where she lay. Joie was pale, almost gray, her breathing so shallow it nearly didn’t exist. “Can you save her? Tell me the truth, Traian. Is it possible?”

  A fist seemed to be wrapped around his heart. Traian raised midnight-black eyes, as cold as ice, to Jubal. “I will allow no other outcome.”

  “Gary said you needed blood.” Jubal sat down beside his sister and took her hand. “Joie means the world to us. I can see she means the world to you too. I’m not going to pretend to understand your relationship; I’ll just be grateful for it.”

  Traian murmured softly, sparing Jubal the initial fright as he opened a vein in his wrist and fed.

  Forgive me, Joie. I know you did not want this.

  Strength flowed into his depleted body.

  If I am to save us, this is our only choice. Both of us are wounded. If I can get enough blood, we will survive.

  There was a faint stirring in his mind. A touch, no more, like the light caress of fingers on his face. Traian carefully closed the pinpricks on Jubal’s wrist and gathered Joie to him before he awakened her brother from his enthrallment. Jubal slipped from the bed to sit on the floor. “I take it you have my blood.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Traian replied formally. “You have all been more than lucky. Any vampire is difficult to defeat, but master vampires have lived for century upon century, growing in strength and power. They use others as minions and puppets and keep themselves from dangerous battles. They sacrifice lesser pawns and slide away when hunters are in the area. They only fight when they are assured of victory.”

  Jubal watched every movement as Traian laid his hands on Joie’s terrible wounds. He seemed to be gone from his own body, staring emptily in space. Jubal could see the lines deepen in his face, his color paling visibly as if his strength were slowly being drawn from him.

  Gary and Gabrielle burst into the room. Gary set a bowl of rich, dark soil on the floor beside the bed, and Gabrielle dumped various herbs into a second bowl. Gary handed candles to Jubal. “Spread these around the room and light them. We don’t want any artificial lights on, just the candles. Gabrielle, mix the herbs together in the bowl. We want the scents to blend.” He put his hand on Traian’s shoulder. “Joie was a surprise to Valenteen. She was wonderful, unbelievable. She didn’t even hesitate. It never occurred to a vampire that a woman would stand between others and danger. And he certainly never thought she would be willing to plunge a knife into his heart.”

  “She used my memories,” Traian explained as he mixed healing saliva into the soil and packed the wounds in Joie’s throat. “She flattered him and stalled him, hoping I would get there in time. And when I didn’t, she did what she always does, she courageously put herself in harm’s way in order to get close enough to make certain she destroyed him.”

  Gary took handfuls of the mixture and packed it into Traian’s chest. “Even with all I know, the draw to go to him was so powerful, I doubt that we would have survived.”

  “He was a master vampire and he ran with another much more powerful master.” Traian lifted his head to look at Gary. “I never saw the other one clearly. He took my blood in the cave, yet I did not remember him.

  I

  cannot go near our prince. You will have to relay to him all information. Until the vampire is found, and I very much doubt that he will remain in this country now, I will stay away from Mikhail. We cannot take a chance with his life.”

  “He won’t see it the same way,” Gary pointed out.

  “You know I am right. He should not chance his life by entering into battles in the way that he does. His purpose is to serve and lead our people, not hunt the vampire. We have many hunters and only one leader. His brother is strong and powerful, but he has been damaged by the torture he endured. He cannot lead. If the vampire or humans managed to kill Mikhail, I fear our race would be mortally wounded.” Traian didn’t look up at Gary to see if he agreed or not. He gathered Joie into his arms.

  You must accept my blood, Joie. This will convert you to my race, and it is not a pleasant experience to go through.

  Again he felt her touch, gentle, tender, on his face, yet she lay motionless in his arms. A faint smile appeared in his mind as if she found his warning amusing. He turned his body slightly, not wanting to drain his strength further by masking their presence from the others. The soothing aroma from the herbs and candles mixed with the sounds of chanting in his mind as other voices far away joined in the age-old healing chant. He took the smallest amount of blood possible from her and quickly opened his own vein. She accepted his blood just the way she did everything else where he was concerned, with complete faith. It humbled him that she did so.

  When she had taken enough for an exchange, Traian laid her gently on the comforter. “Perhaps you all should leave the room. She would not want you to see her this way.”

  “You need blood and care yourself,” Gary pointed out. “You’re weaker than you think, Traian. Take my blood and let me help the two of you through this. I know what to expect. Gabrielle and Jubal can wait in their rooms.”

  “We’ll stay,” Jubal said decisively. “She’s our sister.”

  Gabrielle watched Traian feeding from Gary. It should have repulsed her, but instead she was fascinated. It seemed such a noble moment to her, one being reaching out to aid another. Gary seemed completely unafraid and matter-of- fact about giving blood, as if it were an everyday occasion. “If it’s messy, Traian, Joie would want me here to see to her needs. She’s very meticulous about certain things.” Gabrielle lifted her chin, prepared to fight for her right to stay.

  “Your wound is deep, Traian. You need to go to ground. Even with my blood, you don’t have strength enough to heal that gash. He nearly tore out your heart,” Gary said. But he was watching Joie. The first ripple of pain crossed her face and sent a shudder through her body.

  Traian felt the pain take her, a fire burning with the force of a torch in the center of her body, blossoming outward like an explosion. He merged with her, trying to take the brunt of the pain, determined to make her initiation into his world as easy as possible. Traian was amazed at Joie’s siblings, certain they would be horrified and afraid as the convulsions started, when Joie was violently sick and it was impossible to control the waves of unrelenting pain. They worked together as a team, seeming to understand that he couldn’t talk or direct them. His full attention was on blocking as much pain as possible and helping Joie through the conversion.

  Gary kept the room clean and smelling of the soothing aromas from the herbs and candles. All of them picked up the words to the ancient healing chant. Gabrielle wiped beads of blood from Traian’s brow. He managed a faint smile, but his complete attention was clearly on his lifemate.

  The moment he was able, Traian sent Joie into a deep sleep. Exhausted, he looked up at them. “I have to take her away for a few days. We will be unable to get in touch with you, but she is alive and she will heal quickly.” He avoided all references to the ground. Joie’s family had been through enough without k
nowing the specifics of where he would take her.

  Gabrielle leaned over and brushed a kiss on the top of Traian’s head. “You take care of her. We’re depending on you. I’m not sorry she found you, not after watching the way you’ve cared for her.”

  Traian could see she was blinking back tears. “Thank you, Gabrielle. As soon as possible, I’ll bring her to you.”

  “I’ll stay here with them,” Gary offered.

  Traian shook his head. “Warn Mikhail. I don’t want to send the information to him on the chance that the one who took my blood could find a way to use me to harm him. Let him know there is something in that cave of value to the vampires and that there are numerous traps. He’ll understand when you tell him it is a cave the wizards used.”

  Gary nodded. “Jubal and Gabrielle may come with me, if they choose.”

  Traian rose, Joie in his arms. “Go then, go tonight. The rules that have always applied to vampires seem to be changing rapidly. You will be safer under Mikhail’s protection.” He slipped out onto the balcony, into the night where he belonged. Where he was comfortable. The wind blew into his face, ruffled his hair, brought him messages from creatures around him.

  He took to the skies, the sleeping Joie in his arms, and headed for a small cave he remembered from his younger days, a cave of healing with hot springs and glacier-water pools. Far below his homeland stretched out before him, a place he had not seen in many years. The sight brought back memories of his parents and his childhood friends. He was home and he held his lifemate in his arms.

  She will never be safe. You will always be linked to me. I spared your life, but I can take it whenever I choose. And I will take hers.

  Traian did not hesitate. He sent a clap of deafening thunder back along the mental path the vampire had initiated, a bolt of lightning streaking through the sky like a spear homing in on prey. Just as quickly, he moved his own position, fully prepared for a war in the sky.