He rubbed his palm up and down her narrow rib cage, savoring the feel of her soft skin, the movement more absent-minded than voluntary. «I do not understand how these things got into the women. Are there more than one?»
She frowned. «It doesn't appear so, at least not in Raven or Savannah. Extremophiles can be very aggressive about defending their territory and basically that's what these mutated microbes are.»
«So once they're gone, everything is back to normal? It seems too fast.»
«I think it is too fast. How did the organism get there in the first place? Whatever the source is, we
haven't found it. I overheard Shea talking to Francesca right before we left. She thought there was a good possibility it was transferred from male to female and that they live in the soil first.»
«She is wrong about the males,» Nicolas said, his hand stilling on her breast. «And they better not think you are taking journeys through every male.»
Her body felt so warm beside his, fit so perfectly and when she laughed, that soft melodic sound, teasing at his senses, he felt absolutely content-right-complete. He had always known he was highly intelligent, that he'd been gifted to be fast with natural hunting instincts, but finding her had made him a better person.
«What about you? If you are infected, then I would become infected as well.»
He swore beneath his breath, a time-honoredo kod belso –darkness take it! The husky male timbre combined with the words made her smile, and she leaned upward to kiss his jaw.
He cupped her breast, his thumb sliding over her nipple. «I did not even consider that.»
«I think all Carpathians have to consider it.»
There was a small silence. «Would you check?»
She frowned and rolled over, pressing her soft breasts into his chest so that his body reacted with a shudder of awareness. «If a single microbe first enters the male body and then is passed to the female, it would leave the male's body open as a host for a second microbe. As long as one resides in the woman, the second would stay in the male. But if Raven or Savannah, who are now without a microbe, have sex with their partners, and Mikhail and Gregori are infected, then they would be reinfected. This could be a very vicious circle, Nicolas.» Especially if she was the only person able to detect the extremophile.
Nicolas sat up, pulling her with him. Her face was pale, dark circles under her eyes. She wasn't eating anymore, not even broth. And he read her mind. What if she couldn't detect the microbes once she was fully Carpathian? Natalya couldn't seem to do it on her own and she had been part mage. That would leave the entire weight of a dying species falling directly on Lara's shoulders.
«I don't understand how this happened, Nicolas. I just got up one evening and decided The Carpathian Mountains was the next area I was going to search for the ice cave, mostly because of the gaps in the memories of those I spoke with about the ice caves. Now I've got you and all this responsibility I never dreamed of. But I'm afraid for us. I'm afraid to look inside of me and see a microbe. I'm afraid to look inside of you.» She framed his face with her hands, coming up on her knees beside him. «I want children and I don't want them to suffer like that, or to ever believe they weren't wanted.»
He leaned forward and took her mouth, his kiss gentle, pouring as much reassurance into it as he could. «They will know they are wanted,fel ku kuuluaak sivam belso .»
She loved the way he whispered «beloved.» The Carpathian phrase had music to it, a tenderness that shook her each time he said it to her. It was always more than just the word, but the true meaning behind that word as well. His overwhelming emotion for her. And she believed him.
Because he made her believe a man like him could love her and accept her, even damaged from the trauma of her childhood, she found the strength to hunt for the microbe, to see for herself if either was infected-and only she was. The one inside of her was newly there, and hadn't had time to establish
itself. Her body was still treating it as an intruder. So that meant either the men weren't infected, and Shea's theory was incorrect, or that because she had only recently gotten together with Nicolas, he had passed her the microbe and had not yet been exposed to reinfection.
«You didn't sleep in the soil, Nicolas, You stayed on the bed with me.»
«We need to go talk to Francesca and Gregori about this,» Nicolas said.
She would never feel comfortable around Gregori with his strange-colored eyes, but she nodded. She had to journey into the other pregnant women this evening and hopefully Francesca would be able to follow the faint trail of the killer to aid in removing the microbes from all the other women. And she wanted the one in her out-this rising.
* * *
Lara felt drained when she came out of the healing cave with Nicolas at her side. She had aided two other pregnant women and also led the microbe within her to the surface for Natalya to destroy. They had experimented, taking both Natalya and Francesca along, but Francesca, try as she might, could not detect that faint, tainted path, and something in Natalya served as a warning to the extremophile and it successfully hid its presence from them, ruling out the possibility of Natalya tracking them.
A microbe was found in Mikhail and one in Gregori. Shea was excited that she might actually be on the right track at last to solving the problem of miscarriage. She, Gregori and a man Lara had never met named Gary, retreated together to try to explore ideas on how to combat the microbe.
Nicolas walked through the village with her. She wanted to visit Gerald and check on Terry while he and Vikirnoff finally searched for another entrance to the ice cave.
«I will not be gone long,» he assured.
«And you won't go in without me,» she added, giving him a quick, warning look.
At the bottom of the steps leading to the inn, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close. «No, I told you I wouldn't. You look pale, though. If you can manage to get some broth down, do so. If not, Lara, we cannot wait much longer to convert you.»
She moistened her lips. «I have avoidance issues, I think. When I don't want to think about something, I just put it out of my mind and pretend it will go away. I like being mage. I rely on being mage.»
«Mage blood aids in casting and learning, but Carpathian blood does as well. Our two species were intertwined for centuries, Lara. Xavier came up with the safeguards, but in the end Carpathians improved on them. Mages had longevity, so did lycanthrope, but even mortal wounds could sometimes be healed by Carpathians, leading others to believe our species is immortal. But we can be killed.»
She tilted her head, facing her worst fear. «And that's what all the experiments on Razvan are about, aren't they? It's the reason Xavier has kept him alive. He's trying to find a way to kill Carpathians.»
Nicolas held her close to him. «I am afraid of that, yes.»
«Then if there is a chance he's alive, Nicolas, we have to find the evidence in the ice caves. I owe him that.»
He tipped her face up and kissed her gently. «I will only be gone a couple of hours. Stay in the inn with the innkeeper and wait for me.»
Lara nodded and with reluctance, left his side, stepping onto the first stair. Standing there in the dark, she watched him go-a tall, handsome man striding down the walkway, long coat swirling around his legs, his silky hair flying behind him-and her heart hammered out a rhythm of love.
He shimmered, his formidable physique nearly transparent and then he was gone, swallowed up by the darkness. She stood there listening to the night, hearing so many things she hadn't heard before. She saw differently, and the night took on a special beauty. She enjoyed just standing there, drinking it in, the solitude, the peace, with the murmur of life going on behind the scenes.
A few minutes later, Lara pushed open the door to the inn and slipped inside. It was warm and cozy, the open beams giving the inn a sense of space, the fireplace giving the room a homey feel. Slavica, the innkeeper, greeted her with a smile.
«I was hoping to see you. Ho
w are you?»
Lara was aware that few villagers were aware of the Carpathian people. Of course there were rumors, old legends whispered around a fire at night, but few modern people believed the old tales. She had heard that Mikhail Dubrinsky and the innkeeper's family went back years, but she didn't want to make the mistake of drawing too much attention to herself. She smiled and nodded. «I wanted to check on my friends. Have they been down at all?»
Slavica shook her head. «I called them to see if they wanted me to bring them food, but they refused, so I've left them alone.»
«Neither, of them has been down to eat? Not even Gerald?» Lara frowned. Both men normally had hearty appetites. «Did Gregori check on them?»
«Early last night, your friend Nicolas came and then much later Gregori stopped by. He knocked, but they were already asleep. He told me he'd be back some time this evening.»
«Did you ask them if they wanted food tonight?»
«Each meal we've asked and they've declined.»
Lara was very uneasy with Slavica's answer. Terry might not feel like having food, but Gerald should be starving. «I'm going to check on them.» She crossed to the stairs and began to climb, Slavica keeping pace.
«Would you like me to go with you?»
Lara bit down on her bottom lip. Her apprehension grew.Nicolas? I'm here at the inn, but when I asked Slavica about Terry and Gerald she said . . . What could she say? They'd refused a couple of meals. It was very possible Gerald would turn down one meal, but three? More than three?
Wait for me. I am not far from you and I will come back.
She felt silly standing at the top of the stairs facing the hall with the innkeeper looking at her as if she
wasn't quite bright.
«What's wrong?» Slavica asked.
«Nothing. I think I forgot my key.» Color rose as she told the ridiculous lie. She rubbed her palm over her left side, down low. The spot burned a little.
«Won't they let you in if you knock?» Slavica asked, moving briskly down the hall toward the door.
Lara dragged her feet. «Maybe I'll wait for Nicolas. He was going to stop by and Terry and Gerald will want to see him.»
Slavica started to turn back toward her, but stopped abruptly, wrinkling her nose. «What is that terrible smell?»
A cold finger of fear raced down Lara's spine. «Slavica, come away from there,» she said softly. Her side burned hotter, that small telltale dragon that warned her when the taint of evil was close. She held out her hand, lowering her voice even more. «Hurry. Right now.»
Slavica reacted to the urgency in her voice, not stopping to ask questions, but hurrying back toward Lara. Lara caught her arm and yanked, an instinctive, primal gesture, nearly throwing the innkeeper onto the top of the stairs. It saved Slavica's life.
The door splintered outward, shooting spears of sharpened wood into the hall where Slavica had been standing. Gerald emerged, his face twisted into a grotesque mask. Blood tracked like tears from his eyes and trickled from his nose and mouth. He tore at his chest with his fingernails, gouging trails of flesh in madness.
Horrified, Lara stepped in front of Slavica. «Get downstairs. Don't let your other guests up here. He's infected.»
He was deranged. The madness in his eyes told her that. He looked around him with a blank stare until he spotted them-spotted her. At first she thought he recognized her, but then he sniffed the air like a dog.
She reached to her belt to find the comforting hilt of her knife with trembling fingers. «Go, Slavica. I don't know if I can stop him.»
Gerald growled and hissed, his eyes glowing red-hot. He turned toward her, stumbled and raked his fingers along the wall, gouging huge chunks of wood from the polished surface. Her heart jumped.
Nicolas. Now would be a great time for you to show up. You know all that crap about women fighting vampires? I'm on your side.
This was her friend. She didn't want him dead. She wanted him fixed. When Terry had ripped out the snake's head, blood had splashed all over the car. Gerald must have had an open wound somewhere and parasites had entered. She hadn't thought to have the healer check him, she'd been so disoriented from that long-forgotten foul stench. The odor permeated Gerald. The infection had spread rapidly or…
Her stomach lurched. She moistened her lips. «Gerald? Where's Terry?»
Gerald lumbered toward her, his steps jerky and plodding. His head tilted to one side, a cunning, animalistic expression crossed his face. «Worthless traitor,» he hissed.
Spittle sprayed into the hall and she couldn't help but follow the droplets with her gaze, fearing the tiny parasites would be strewn all over the floors and the entire inn would be infected. She had visions of zombies breaking through walls and eating people.
Slavica caught her arm and tugged, slowly backing down the stairs. Lara didn't want to be on the staircase, but she didn't have a lot of fighting room.
Gerald wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air more. Growls emerged from his throat, a rumbling challenge. The dragon mark burned hotter. She gripped the knife.
«Gerald!» She said his name sharply, trying to find the man inside the beast.
He blinked rapidly, tilting his head to one side, his body tensing. She gripped the knife harder and set herself on the balls of her feet. She couldn't let him get downstairs where many of Slavica's guests had gathered for dinner or drinks.
Gerald suddenly moved, lightning fast, a blur of preternatural speed that scared the hell out of her. She leapt to the side, over the banister and onto the landing, barely escaping his slashing claws. Slavica nearly fell backward down the stairs, stumbling and then recovering, back-pedaling as fast as she could to get out of reach.
Screams broke out below them as guests looked up to see a wild-haired man covered in blood lunging at the two women. Two of the men rushed up the stairs to try to help.
«Stay back!» Lara called out, terrified someone else would be infected. «Gerald, who am I? Try to remember who I am and who you are.»
They'd been colleagues and friends for several years, had gone caving together in some of the most dangerous caves in the world, relying on one another and forming a family of sorts.
«Gerald.» Maybe if she said his name enough times, it would jog his memory.
He has no memory. Get out of there. The parasites have consumed his brain. I mean it, Lara, get away from him.
Nicolas strode up the stairs, waving a hand to calm the group below, blurring the scene so no one could quite see what happened. He had scanned Gerald and Terry the moment he set foot in the inn. Terry was dead and Gerald was the walking dead.
«Don't kill him,» Lara pleaded. «There has to be a way to save him.»
Nicolas caught her around the waist and shoved her behind him. «He's already dead, Lara, and he's programmed to find and kill you.»
Gerald sniffed the air again, looking confused with Nicolas blocking access to Lara.
«He's my friend. You can't know that.»
«He's not your friend. Go now. Wait for me outside.»
«But…» She couldn't just walk away and give up. «This is my fault. I should have checked on them.»
Hands dropped to her shoulders. Startled, she swung around, the knife in her fist. Gregori shook his hand and took the weapon. «Let us handle this, little sister. The fault does not lie with you. I should have checked him.»
Lara backed down the stairs. The Carpathian males had a difficult time detecting the parasites, but she should have scented the taint of Xavier. Sheshould have sensed it, but she'd been too busy feeling sorry for herself. She wiped at the tears streaming down her face. She hadn't achieved any of her goals since her arrival. She'd only managed to get her friends killed. She hadn't recovered the aunts. Their bodies were still locked away in the labyrinth of horror where Xavier had ruled.
She couldn't leave, couldn't look away. She owed it to Gerald to be with him, to stay while they destroyed the mass of parasites eating him from the inside out. Nico
las turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder at her. She saw his long hair swing out and then-nothing at all. They were gone.
She stood staring up the staircase, one hand pressed to her mouth, trying to push back the sobs welling up. She'd lost her friend. Both of them. Lara backed away from the stairs into the lobby. Gregori and Nicolas could deal with the memories of Slavica's guests. She needed air fast. And she was going to the caves with or without Nicolas. She was going to find the bodies of her aunts and bring them home.
The cold air hit her face and it was only then she realized she was outside with Slavica standing beside her, a look of concern in her dark eyes.
«I'm sorry about your friend.»
Lara ducked her head. «None of us had any family, so we kind of hung together. And we shared a love of caving. I can't believe this happened."Nicolas, is Terry dead ?
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