Dark Blood (Dark Series Book 26) Read online

  Thunder roar bring forth chains of light,

  Cloud to ground let lightning strike.

  Arch to channel magnetic field,

  Current run so shadowed flesh does feel.

  Xaviero shrieked and bolted. Branislava swore using very unladylike words to express her disappointment. She’d been so close to trapping him. A few more seconds and she and Zev would have closed the portal, shutting a part of Xaviero inside the burn. She could have killed it, diminishing the High Mage’s power just a little.

  She couldn’t blame Gregori for retaliating, not when Xaviero was trying every way possible to kill the Lycan. She finished closing the portal, and both she and Zev sank down the moment they let loose of the lightning, their spirits in tatters. Both had been wounded by the ice spears and the teeth of the tiny white wormlike creatures Xaviero had sent to kill Damon.

  I can finish up here, Gregori assured. You both need to rest.

  Branislava knew it was the truth, but she wasn’t certain she could comply with her mind racing and fear making her teeth chatter. Exhaustion had set in, far beyond anything she’d ever known. She did feel triumphant. In the end, Xaviero hadn’t identified her. He had found Gregori. Who could possibly mistake the power of the Carpathian healer? But he hadn’t identified Tatijana or Branislava, and that was a victory in itself.

  Come on, mon chaton féroce, Zev said gently, his tone turning her inside out. It’s time to rest. You’ve done your part and there’s nothing more to do but relax, take a little sustenance and lay in my arms.

  It sounded good to her. Branislava slipped from Borya’s head and back into her own body. She slumped over, too tired to maneuver such an unwieldy heavy load with her spirit so tattered. Dimitri was there instantly, kneeling beside her, gathering her up and pressing his wrist to her mouth.

  “Little sister, take what is freely offered,” he said formally. “And be quick about it. You look so pale I think you’re translucent.”

  “It’s the red hair,” Fen commented, helping Zev. “It makes her look like a ghost when she’s not fed.”

  I’d retaliate with something brilliant but I’m just too tired, Branislava said truthfully.

  She wanted to close her eyes and just go to sleep, maybe sink her body deep beneath the earth right where she was.

  Tatijana emerged from the Lycan she just healed and smiled at her sister. “Fen is a terrible tease, isn’t he? I’ll kick him for you when I have the strength.”

  Thanks, Tatijana, Branislava said. You’re the best sister a girl could have.

  “I have strength,” Skyler volunteered. “I’ll do it for you.” She suited action to words, landing a fairly easy kick on Fen’s shin. “That’s from Bronnie.”

  “Nice, Skyler.” Fen scowled his most fierce scowl. “Dimitri, control your wild woman.”

  Dimitri shrugged. “You do find a way to rile them all up, don’t you?”

  Gregori emerged next and Ivory was immediately beside him, giving him necessary blood. They sat together in silence, the Lycans they’d saved still unaware and the one who lay dead a testament to Xaviero’s cruelty.

  Fen, Dimitri and Zev all swung around at the same time, facing outward, leaping to their feet. Zev could feel the disturbance coming at them. The energy was low, almost too low, but the intent was murderous.

  “What it is?” Gregori asked. He closed the wound on Ivory’s wrist at the last moment.

  “Xaviero has found another way to attack us. He’s sent another wave of his army racing toward us. This is a rogue pack and they’ll kill and devour every species,” Zev answered. “The Earth is telling me they’re only a few kilometers away from this clearing. Those outside the circle of protection will be killed. We have to get to them. Leave those healing here.”

  Zev glanced at Fen and Dimitri. “I’ll go at them from the front. They’ll come at me hard. You close in from either side. Daciana and Makoce know what to do. They’ll be in the thick of it. Gregori, can you mop up after the kill? It’s a difficult job to continually sever heads, but it has to be done.”

  “Are you okay to do this, Zev?” Fen asked. “You’re wounded, and so is Bronnie. Gregori’s exhausted.”

  Zev shrugged. “It has to be done.”

  Gregori nodded. “No problem. If Zev can do this, so can I. I’ve fought them enough times now that I know how they work. No need to worry, I’ve made my own silver sword according to your blueprint of specs.”

  Zev turned his head to frown at him. “Mine?” His eyes met Tatijana’s.

  She grinned at him and shrugged. “I can’t help it if you talk in your sleep. You passed out, remember?”

  Branislava pushed herself up to her feet. Her head felt as if it might explode, a testimony to the ice spears Xaviero had sent. “Nice to know I can get all kinds of information out of you,” she commented. It took a moment to get her legs back. She swayed a little, but then straightened her shoulders, shrugging off weakness.

  “You and Tatijana take to the sky,” Zev told her. “You’ll serve us better up there. Both of you know the distances wolves can jump, so take that into consideration when you fly low.”

  Branislava nodded. She circled his neck with one arm and kissed him lightly. “We’ll be careful. You come back to me.”

  He kissed her back, and then turned his attention to Skyler and Ivory. “You two both can use your connection with Mother Earth as well as your wolves. Pick off the strays and stragglers. Stay to the outside of the main pack coming at us. Remember to watch for traps. Your wolves will ferret them out better than you. Listen to the Earth, and don’t get killed.”

  Skyler and Ivory both nodded.

  “Gregori, open a path through the clearing. If we’re lucky, we can run some of the rogues right into this trap,” Zev said. “And if we’re very lucky, they will not be led by a Sange rau. If you run into one, or even think there’s one in the vicinity, call out to Fen, Dimitri or me. I’m not as adept at fighting them. I think Fen is the most advanced version of the Hän ku pesäk kaikak, so if it comes to that, we’ll all follow his lead.”

  Fen nodded. “Let’s get this done, before they find any of our people.”

  Gregori immediately lifted his hands, facing outside the protective, double-ringed sphere.

  I call to thee Air which propels and blows,

  I call to thee Fire which burns below.

  I call to thee Water, send forth your gales,

  I call to thee Earth that brings forth a mist that cloaks and veils.

  Cleanse and clear,

  Seal this pass.

  Closing all,

  After all here have passed.

  Zev left the protection of the sphere first, with Fen and Dimitri fanning out on either side of him. Each of them tested the air and the ground beneath their feet. Gregori had opened a wide enough path that the chaos from the lightning forks didn’t affect their ability to scan for information, but it did wreak havoc with the hair on their bodies. Dimitri sent Zev a small, quick grin and nodded toward Fen. He mouthed the word skunk.

  “I can see you,” Fen pointed out.

  Dimitri raised an eyebrow, trying for innocence. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, bro.”

  Behind them, Tatijana and Branislava followed closely. They needed to find a spot where they could shift and take to the air. Instead of looking for a large enough place to accommodate a dragon, they simply gave themselves running room and took to the sky as small birds, leaping high as they shifted.

  Ivory and Skyler came next, moving fast, jogging toward the forest where they could better hunt prey with their wolves. Razvan angled to meet them, running fast through the trees to intercept them in the forest itself. Clearly, Ivory had shared every detail of the events and danger with him.

  Gregori moved out of the circle last, walking with long, purposeful strides straight to the edge of the forest, where he turned, lifted his hands and sent his command once again to close the path behind him.

  Lightning str
uck the ground and raced back into the sky. The ground shifted and water bubbled up. Inside the circle of protection, the three Lycans remained asleep, and the fourth, Igor, rested in peace.

  Zev signaled to his elite hunters. They turned and melted into the forest, spreading out as they went. He could always count on them. Daciana with her steady hand and fast reactions. Makoce, handy with sword and short knife. Lykaon, who couldn’t be matched with his ability to throw any object with deadly accuracy. Arnau, who seemed to have eyes in the back of his head and a steadfast nature, loyal to a fault. That was his pack and he believed in each of their abilities.

  They knew one another very well, how they thought, where they would be in any given fight at any given time. They believed in one another and counted on each other. Now his pack was extended to Dimitri and Skyler and Fen and Tatijana. And his lifemate, Branislava. Somehow just knowing she was going to be in the sky in her fiery dragon form filled him with a kind of joy—or maybe the Lycan in him was so strong he just looked forward to battle.

  Zev knew the way rogue packs operated. They should have gone for the outlying farms, killing livestock and overrunning the houses to kill as many people as they could. This pack was very focused, driving through the forest toward a single destination. The council members had been secreted to a protected cave while the Lycan guards they trusted were helping to guard the circle as Branislava and the others had attempted to remove the shadow.

  No other Lycans had been told where the council members had been taken. The other Lycans had been deliberately kept away from the council. Since only three of those wearing the tattoo of the Sacred Circle were mage-shadowed, Zev was certain there were others opposing the current council members and their decisions. Xaviero had managed to turn many of those within the organization against the ruling body for the Lycans.

  Still, if none of them had followed the Carpathians secreting the council members away, how could the rogue pack make a dead set right for their cave? He signaled Daciana, signing to her, making her aware of the rogue pack’s target, knowing she would spread the word to the others in his pack.

  He led Fen and Dimitri through the forest up into the higher mountains, outdistancing the elite Lycan hunters, knowing they had to get in place to protect the cave from the marauding wolves. They didn’t hide the fact that they were Hän ku pesäk kaikak. There was no need anymore. If the council of Lycans didn’t accept mixed bloods, there would be a rift between Carpathian and Lycan. If they did, Lycans would turn against Lycans, driven by someone in power within the Sacred Circle—someone who joined with a High Mage believing he would rule the Lycan world without interference from the council.

  He sold his soul to the devil, he told Branislava.

  Who is it? Who has betrayed the Lycans and aligned with Xaviero of his own free will? There were no more mage-shadows. If any council member was marked, we would have seen it. Branislava paused. It is one of the council members, isn’t it? It has to be.

  I believe it is. I think he has a way of communicating with Xaviero and he’s given out their hidden location. Are you in the sky? Can you see the rogues?

  Branislava was already in dragon form. The moment she had taken on the appearance of her fire dragon she felt confident and comfortable. She soared through the sky, the great wings flapping, lifting her up high into the dark, spinning clouds. Tatijana was at her side, a beautiful blue, her scales taking on a metallic shade each time lightning forked in the clouds, lighting the sky even a little bit.

  They’re directly below me, spread out in the way they hunt. I’ve counted twenty-seven of them. It’s a fairly good-sized pack, although nowhere near the one that first came after Mikhail.

  You’re staying high?

  I’m too far for them to notice. So is Tatijana, but if they get too close to the cave, we’ll drive them back with dragon fire.

  Of course she would. Fear or no fear, it didn’t matter, Branislava and her sister would get the job done. He paused just long enough to place his hand on the ground. Ivory, Razvan and Skyler had come up behind the pack and were already at work, hunting strays. He felt their footsteps along with those of real wolves. Blood seeped into the ground from two different spots, so at least two of the rogues were down.

  He was up and running in one smooth move, catching Fen and Dimitri. We’re ahead of them. Tatijana and Branislava are in the sky. My Lycan hunters are fanning out to come up on either side of the pack. Ivory, Razvan and Skyler are in the rear, separating and killing strays.

  Bronnie, Tatijana, can either of you see anyone actually directing the pack? Fen asked.

  I’ll circle around and see if I can spot anyone, Branislava said.

  Zev’s heart jerked hard in his chest. Dread filled him. No, no, don’t do that, he ordered sharply. Which direction were you planning on turning?

  To my left.

  She didn’t argue with him and his heart returned to a normal beat. She trusted him, had complete faith in his leadership and that spared him a whole lot of heartache.

  Fen, I think we’ve got a Sange rau hidden in the rocks close to the cave. The rogue pack is the distraction and the killer will use the fighting to enter the cave and kill the council members. He had committed the terrain to memory, just as he always did if the council were anywhere they might be in danger and the task to guard them was given to him.

  When the rogue pack breaks into the clearing, I’ll run with them. Branka and Tatijana can drive them back with dragon fire and I’ll make for the cave entrance. I can protect the council members in that narrow opening. Dimitri and you have the most experience with a Sange rau and if you both go after him, you’ll have a better chance of destroying him.

  Fen gave him a small salute and the brothers veered off to circle around, shifting into vapor to streak through the air. Fen spotted the killer crouched in the rocks, blending into the formations, although not very well, indicating, as with the others he’d run into, that this one wasn’t very old. Xaviero didn’t seem to understand that it was a slow process, the mixed blood mutating them into stronger, more intelligent beings over years, not weeks. He signaled his brother to come up in front of the creature carefully. They both held their positions, waiting for rogues to make their appearance.

  Zev waited for one of the rogues to rush past him, noting his colors and the way he looked. He immediately used his Carpathian gifts to give the illusion of looking the same as he fell into step. I’m fond of my hair, Branka. Don’t singe it just for fun.

  Be more worried about Tatijana.

  In spite of the teasing note, he heard her worry and knew neither took the skirmish lightly. As the pack members burst from the forest and rushed the cave, he was swept along. At the last moment, as the dragons dove from the sky, he shifted, going invisible to leap out in front of the pack with his mixed blood speed. The moment he was inside the relative safety of the cave, the dragons let loose, breathing fire down like rain.

  The flames poured down steady and strong, roaring over the half wolf, half human creatures bent on killing the council of Lycans, setting many of them on fire. The dragons used their wings to build a wind tunnel, fanning the flames so that they jumped from one rogue to the next. At least twelve went down in a fiery conflagration. The others halted abruptly, even retreating back into the forest. Two bolder ones swept through the clearing right through the flames, running for the cave.

  In the forest, his elite hunters took on the remaining rogues. Skyler, Razvan and Ivory aided them, finding and destroying any who tried to get past them. Gregori used his silver sword, mopping up as fast as possible. Eventually, Zev’s pack aided the Carpathian, making certain every rogue had been staked and their head severed.

  Zev waited in silence as the two bold rogues entered the cave and began to make their way down the narrow passage, seeking targets. The first one ran right into him, never seeing the silver stake aimed directly at his heart. The wolf’s eyes widened. His muzzle yawned wide, but no sound emerged. Behind him, t
he second wolf ran into him and cursed, shoving at his partner to move him along.

  Zev stepped back, allowing the first wolf to fall to the ground, clutching at his chest and the protruding silver stake. The second rogue stared in disbelief, scowling, uncomprehending of what he was actually seeing. He actually bent down to look at his fallen companion. When he looked back up, Zev stepped into him, slamming the silver stake home.

  The stake went through the first layer of skin and muscle and hit something hard, stopping abruptly, the silver snapping off in Zev’s hand. Shocked, he leapt back just as a full set of teeth rushed toward his head.

  13

  Zev, some of the rogues have a protection against the silver stakes, Razvan cautioned, his voice grim. We get them down, but the stakes shatter and don’t go beyond about an inch and half into their bodies.

  It isn’t all of them, Ivory continued. Maybe a third of them, at least it’s about one out of three that we’ve found when we kill them.

  Fen and Dimitri heard the warning as well. Razvan had used the more common Carpathian path of communication. They watched the Sange rau closely to see if he picked up the warning, but he remained quite still, hiding in the rocks, believing his camouflage would protect him from sight.

  This one was not Carpathian first, Dimitri pointed out. He was Lycan and created in a lab rather than naturally. Do you think he volunteered for the assignment, or Xaviero chose him, using a mage-shadow to force him into compliance?

  Fen shook his head, shrugging broad shoulders. You can’t ask yourself those questions, Dimitri. This man is dangerous to us and everyone else, no matter the start he had. He’ll kill you the moment he sees you.

  He hasn’t made a move toward the cave, Dimitri said, puzzled. He should have rushed in there as soon as the first wave of rogues attacked.

  You’ve got a point, Fen said, and turned his attention from the Sange rau hidden so cleverly as a decoy. Stay down, he must have a friend.