«The song is sung by mothers before the child is out of the womb,» he explained. «While the mother is waiting until the night she can hold her child in her arms.»
Nicolas sang to her in a melodious voice, one that sent touches of heat streaking along with the comfort. Tumtesz o wake ku pitasz belso. Hiszasz sivadet. En olenam g?idnod. Sas csecsemom, kunasz. Rauho jo?e ted. Tumtesz o sivdobbanas ku olen lamt3ad belso. Gond-kumpadek ku kim te. Pesanak te, asti o juti, kidusz .
She interpreted the lullaby. «Feel the strength you hold inside. Trust your heart, I'll be your guide. Hush my baby, close your eyes. Peace will come to you. Feel the rhythm deep inside. Waves of love that cover you, protect, until the night you rise.» She looked at him. «What does that last line mean?»
«So many women were losing their babies,» Nicolas said. «Women tell them that love will protect them until they are ready to be born, to come into our night.»
«It's so beautiful.»
Everything about the night seemed beautiful now. Nicolas had spent hour after hour making love to her, seemingly insatiable. They had taken a short break to enter the warmth of the mineral pool, only to have him take her there as well. He knew every inch of her body and the hot look he gave her made her blush, as if, with just a small encouragement, he might take her right there at the entrance to the women's cave.
«I don't really feel like I belong here, Nicolas.» She twisted her fingers together. «I don't know anyone. Natalya isn't going to be here.»
It wasn't that she was terribly shy, but gathering with the Carpathian women at such an emotional time, when she already felt raw and emotional was a little daunting.
«Raven asked for all women to attend and she asks very little of our people.»
«I don't think she meant me. She doesn't even know me.»
«Everyone knows about you, Lara. This is a very small community and we share a common communication path. When she put out the call for all the women to join her, she definitely meant you as well. I would attend with you, but it is a woman's ceremony.»
«Natalya's a woman,» she said stubbornly, under her breath. «And she isn't coming.»
Nicolas framed her face with both hands. «I know I am asking a lot of you, Lara, but this is an ancient ceremony and one small detail may help you remember more of what you saw in the ice cave. Our children rarely survive the womb, let alone outside. They cannot go to ground as they should where the parents can protect them. Our women cannot even provide food for them. We need to know why these
things are happening and you might have valuable clues that will aid us. This could be the single most important time for our people.»
She moistened her lips with the tip of her tongue. «I can't make the memories come back. When I look too hard, everything is just a blank slate.»
«Protection for you,» Nicolas said. «But your aunts were not hiding these things from our people. If that were so, they would have erased your memories, not preserved them.»
«Nicolas?» A woman materialized quite close to them. «Is this Lara?» She smiled in welcome, her face unlined and serene, in spite of the strain she had to be under. Her hair was bright red and hung in one thick, elaborate braid down her back. «I'm Shea Dubrinsky, Lara, Jacques is my lifemate. We can't thank you enough for coming. Nicolas tells us that you may be able to give us a few more pieces to the puzzle to help us find our answers.»
Lara took a deep breath, glanced at Nicolas and then back to Shea. «I can't just conjure up the memories, but I catch a glimpse now and then. If it helps, I'm more than happy to tell you about them.»
«We do plan to enter the ice cave as early as tomorrow evening,» Nicolas added. «If you can give us that extra time, by aiding Raven and Savannah to hold on a little longer, there is the possibility of finding out more clues.»
Shea frowned. «I've been researching this problem for some time. We know at this point we're working against a combination of things, including toxicities in the soil. In order for the soil to rejuvenate and heal us, we absorb necessary minerals through our skin. Every area has different minerals and various levels of richness, but we're finding more and more toxins as well. Our species is tied to the earth and we can't survive without the soil. If Xavier introduced something, a compound, a parasite that over the centuries has slowly killed our species, if we find out what it is, I believe we have a chance to combat it.»
Shea was trained as a doctor and a researcher before Jacques claimed her.
«I have a memory of Xavier when I was about seven or eight, just a glimpse of a woman who must have just lost her baby. There was soil in the room with her. Xavier was very pleased that she lost the child.»
Small lines appeared along Shea's forehead as her brows drew together. «He has had several centuries to perfect his attacks.»
«Or introduce something that took place over time,» Nicolas suggested. «I have to take my leave.» He bowed low in a gesture of respect toward Shea. «We have a warriors' council this night.»
She made a face at him. «The all-important 'keep the women at home barefoot-and-pregnant,' council? Yes, I'd say you have decisions to make. Maybe I should stay home and forget all about my research, just leave it to Gregori and Gary. I do have a son to take care of.»
Lara frowned. «I don't understand.»
«Nicolas didn't tell you? The men are having a meeting tonight and discussing whether or not women should be allowed-allowed-to fight vampires, or whether we would do much better staying home having babies.»
«I believe it would be a good idea to leave now,» Nicolas said, and cupped Lara's face in his hands,
bending to kiss her right in front of Shea.
Lara blushed, but she kissed him back, her eyes shining. Before she could protest or ask questions, he began to shift. He wasn't going to debate with Shea Dubrinsky over whether or not women should be out fighting vampires. It was going to be a heated enough discussion between the men. It was not a decision any of them would take lightly, but something had to be done to save their species. He sent Lara a wave of warmth and disappeared into the night.
Lara stared after him, not quite believing that he'd abandoned her to a group of strangers. Besides, she frowned after him, he'd taken the coward's way out and left before she could voice an opinion on the issue of men allowing or not allowing anything a woman did.
Of course I will listen to your opinion.
The intimacy of his voice made her blush all over again.Don't leave me too long .
I will return as quickly as possible.
She could hear the reassurance in his voice and it made her smile as she looked down the tunnel leading to the deeper chamber inside the cavern. «Are there many women here?»
«At the moment, we have about a dozen so we're more than glad that you have joined us. There aren't that many of us here in the mountains. We've had to send delegates to the warriors' council to speak for us as well as report back to us. Unfortunately, the men may have a legitimate argument and if so, we'd all like to hear it so we can have a chance to agree or disagree for ourselves.»
It was obvious to Lara, Shea was trying to keep an open mind, but the subject irritated her. According to Nicolas, she was a modern woman who had gone through medical school, had a reputation as a valued researcher and felt the men were moving the women backward instead of forward, but she was trying to be fair and wait to hear all the facts. Lara liked her.
Shea waved her hand toward the interior. «Let me introduce you to the others.»
Lara followed her down the narrow, winding tunnel that led deeper beneath the mountain. Like the caverns Nicolas occupied, this one was warm rather than part of the network of ice caves beneath the glacier and as they descended into the depths, the warmth increased. Sconces lit the way, small flickering subdued lights that glowed rather than danced. The muted lights played across the crystal growths in tunnel walls. Varied with color and shape, the lights created a dizzying display, making the wall almost surreal. In the dre
amlike state, she felt almost as if she was walking backward through time to the warmth and safety of the womb.
As she entered the main chamber where the women were gathering, the illusion became even stronger. Two women, Raven and Savannah, lay in the center where black soil, rich in minerals, covered their bodies. Around them, in a loose semi-circle, women had gathered to sing the Carpathian lullaby softly, swaying back and forth as if rocking a baby.
Two other women, one tall and elegant and one thin, young and very fragile-looking, stood on the outer edges of the soil, hands lifted, both singing a soft, melodious rhythm as they moved their feet in an intricate pattern.
«Syndil and Skyler,» Shea whispered. «They rejuvenate the earth itself. They're calling on the minerals
and healing properties to come forth to aid us in saving our children. Both have been invaluable in restoring toxin-free soil to us. Skyler is working as Syndil's apprentice and already, she's very good.»
It was a beautiful sight, the two women performing an ancient ritual of cleansing the earth, and calling on Mother Nature to help save their children. Lara listened to the introductions, but all the while she was watching the ceremony, her heart swelled, and her mind followed every graceful sway of hands and feet. She knew the ceremony, in some part of her mind. The phrases were familiar to her, the rhythm and patterns, as if long before she was born she had been given the tools to cleanse the earth.
Her feet ached to join the two women, her hands fluttered, rising to trace a flowing arc in the air. She felt the pulse of the earth beneath her. Her heart began to change rhythm to match the song and the beat. Oh yes, the words were there, ancient and beautiful and filled with the power of women.
Oh, Mother Nature, we are your beloved daughters. Lara dipped low, bowing out of respect, her feet turning of their own accord to pick up the graceful spin Syndil and Skyler completed on two of the four corners surrounding Raven and Savannah. Instinctively, Lara took the third corner.We dance to heal the earth. We sing to heal the earth. We join with you now. Our hearts and minds and spirits become one .
The music was already there in her soul. But they needed a fourth. The other women danced and sang, their voices growing in strength, but they needed one more voice. They weren't strong enough. Lara looked to Syndil, a faint frown on her face. They needed to adjust their footing. «Do you feel it?»
A hush fell over the women. The warm cave pulsed with the suspension of power. Lara should have felt embarrassed to have all eyes on her. She had never done this before. She wasn't certain she was right, but something felt-off. She looked to Syndil. Power emanated from the woman, vibrated in the air around her. Her aura even pulsated.
Syndil frowned. «The dance is off balance, but there is little we can do about that.» She glanced at Skyler. «What do you think?»
«It's working, but it's not exact.» The teenager shrugged. «We can only do the best we can do. We need four and we have only the three of us.»
Syndil nodded. «I adjust the dance and notes of the song by the amount of toxins I feel through the soles of my feet. With this soil we have to be especially careful because we're preparing it for the babies.»
Lara nodded, still frowning. She raised her hand to feel the power pulsating through the room. «Some of the weaves are off a bit. We need a fourth weaver.»
«There is no one. The others can contribute to the power, but they can't produce the healing song of the earth.»
«There is no other from your lineage?» she asked Syndil.
Syndil shook her head. «Not that I know of. We suspect Skyler is of the Dragonseeker line, but we don't know. She heard the earth screaming, so if she isn't, she, like me, is empathic toward the earth.»
«She has Dragonseeker eyes,» Lara agreed.
Skyler's eyes were too old in her young face. And Lara could see traces of Razvan there. This then, was
probably one of the children Xavier had forced Razvan's body to produce in order to feed off of her blood. Somehow, the girl had ended up with the Carpathian race. The thought was unsettling and for a moment she wanted the comfort of Nicolas's arms. Without thinking, she reached for him. At once he was there.
You have need of me?
She felt foolish. She wasn't about to lose a child, yet she was shivering because a teenage girl had the eyes of her father.No. No. Everything is fine .
You have only to touch my mind with yours, Lara. I am with you.
His reassurance made her feel safe and comforted and for the first time in her life she felt as if she belonged.
I'm fine. This time she said it with conviction. She spoke directly to Raven, meeting her troubled gaze squarely. «We need Natalya.»
The women all looked at one another. «Natalya is a warrior. She says she cannot feel the earth,» Shea said. «She doesn't have the sensitivity for it.»
Lara's eyebrow shot up. «Really? Is that what she said?»
Shea and Raven exchanged a long look and then Raven frowned. «Mikhail told me she could not heal the earth in the way her family could. Is that not true?»
Lara pursed her lips. «Natalya pulses with power. I would be shocked if she could not.»
«Call her in,» Raven said.
«She's at the warriors' council, speaking for us,» Shea reminded.
«Call her back,» Raven said again, and this time it was a command. «If there is hope to save these children, then this is far more important than the discussion going on with the men. In the end, Mikhail will come to a decision on whether women will fight with their men or not and we will all abide by it.»
No one was going to point out that the reason they needed Natalya at the meeting was to make certain their voices were heard. Raven rarely-if ever-pulled rank as Mikhail's wife, but there was no doubt she wanted Natalyasummoned .
Raven's face was streaked with tears, and her anguish weighed heavily on the women. Raven had survived one loss, and now another child was slipping away. Beside her, Savannah was pale and drawn, closing her eyes, concentrating on holding her babies to her.
Both women could communicate with their unborn children, which made the loss all the more difficult to face. The babies were real, with personalities already developing.
«Call her now, Shea,» Raven insisted.
Shea reached out to Razvan's twin.
«Why is Shea reluctant to call her back,» Lara whispered to Syndil.
«Natalya is different,» Syndil answered. «She's the oldest surviving female Dragonseeker and as such, her blood is extremely powerful. Beyond that, she is a force to contend with in every other way and she walks her own path. I think having to hide from Xavier, she became a loner over the years. She's always pleasant and respectful, but she has a tendency to keep to herself. One rarely sees her without Vikirnoff.»
Lara wasn't surprised that Natalya was a loner. Natalya exuded the air of a very confident woman, but she was Razvan's sister and the granddaughter of one of the most evil men ever born. She'd most likely spent her earlier years looking over her shoulder and afraid to trust anyone at all. Lara wasn't certain she could overcome her own traumatic childhood in order to commit fully to Nicolas. She could certainly understand her aunt's reticence.
Natalya strode in with her easy, casual grace, her blue-green eyes wide with questions. «Raven? You have need of me?»
Raven nodded. «Lara and Syndil feel you are the only one to aid us in this and I am-we are– desperateto save our children.»
Natalya glanced around the cave and then to Lara. «I don't have any experience in healing rituals, but if you tell me what to do, I'll do my best.»
Raven let out her breath. «Thank you, Natalya.»
Savannah's long lashes lifted. Her eyes were swimming with tears. «My daughters thank you as well. They're trying to hold on, but my body is rejecting them.» She wrapped both arms around her middle and rocked gently. «I tell them I want them to stay with me, but they feel my body attacking them.»
Raven nodded. «I can't bear to l
ose another child.»
The naked sorrow in her voice tore at Lara's heart. A tall, elegant woman with waist-length thick black hair immediately knelt between the two pregnant women, laying a hand on either of them.
«Francesca,» Natalya supplied. «Lifemate to Gabriel, healer, and adopted mother to Skyler. She's an amazing woman. Now tell me what you want me to do.»
Lara was happy to have her there. She didn't know any of the women, and looking at Skyler was like looking at herself as a young girl. A little lost. Very much alone. Traumatized. The teenager made her feel exposed. Natalya was clearly a puzzle to the women, although it was obvious they admired her.
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