Ivory. Razvan said her name gently.
«Tell me of the progress, of your find,» Mikhail said. «I want to take you to Raven and Savannah. Will you come with me now?»
Ivory looked to Razvan for the answer. It is up to you.
We came here to save the unborn children.
«I will return as quickly as possible,» Gregori said. «Let me help this boy.»
Mikhail nodded and then looked around the chamber. «We will need everyone to aid us in attempting to save our children. Those of you who do not care to keep your vow of allegiance, I free you from your blood-sworn vow. Go now and do not return.» He waited but no one moved. «I will call when we need to draw energy for the healing chant.» He gestured for Razvan and Ivory to follow him.
Ivory shot another look of contempt toward Natalya and her lifemate before walking beside Razvan, her head up as the prince led them through the crowded chamber. She disliked any public display of affection, but she deliberately tangled her fingers with Razvan's to show solidarity. The entire lot of the Carpathian people could walk into the sun, for all she cared. She didn't have a high opinion of them and so far, other than Gregori and maybe the prince, nothing had happened to change her mind.
Ivory. Razvan said her name again. Gently. A reprimand.
It is merely my opinion, lifemate.
He hid his smile from the others, but she caught the brief flash of male amusement.
CHAPTER 18
Savannah half sat in a bed of rich soil, her face swollen, her body bloated. Raven sat next to her daughter, holding her hand. She looked up and relief flooded her face when she saw Ivory. «Thank God you are here! Lara cannot come. Syndil, Skyler and Francesca have been doing their best without her, but Savannah's body is filled with toxins.» She pushed down the little sob in her voice. «Can you help us? I told Mikhail to find you. I just have this strong feeling that you can help us.»
Ivory forgot all about her anger at the Carpathian people and she crossed the chamber in a rush. Several of the women moved aside to make room for her.
«I am Francesca. We met when we were but girls. It was brief, you probably do not remember.» Francesca smiled at her. «You were in the middle of ten strong warriors and you were difficult not to notice.»
She drew Ivory away from the bed and the suffering woman, and lowered her voice. «I have done all I know how to do. Gregori, the greatest healer among us, will not be able to save this child. If you know anything I do not, please give us aid.»
«If I can counter the effect of the microbes on Savannah's body, can you stop her labor?»
Francesca shook her head. «She is too far along. But we will have a chance to save the babies. The microbes are in the twins as well as Savannah, and they work to kill the babies. One is very weak and the microbes are working against us, shutting down her ability to live.»
Ivory frowned. «I have never tested the reversal spell on Carpathians. Razvan was going to infect himself so I could try it, but we have not had time. I do not think it is a good idea on a woman already under duress. If I knew it worked . . .»
Razvan put a comforting hand on her shoulder, knowing Ivory was uneasy with the idea of trying an unproven experiment on a living person. «Do it now,» Razvan said. «We know where to find the microbes. I will just let them attack me.»
Ivory shook her head. «If Savannah is infected, doubtless they are well entrenched. I need someone who has had them for some time.»
The woman she recognized as Syndil stepped forward. Tall and elegant, she had that same serenity that Ivory had noted before. «I am not pregnant. I know I am infected. Try your experiment on me.»
«Syndil.» Raven's voice was gentle. «You have given us too much already. You are so tired and worn. I am the prince's lifemate and Savannah is my child. I should be the one to do this for her.»
Ivory's gaze dropped to Raven's swollen, very pregnant belly, and she shook her head. «No. Not you.» She stepped back away from the prince's lifemate. «I will not risk a child.»
«Please,» Savannah choked out. «Whatever you're going to do, do it now. The contractions are increasing. I am fighting to give Gregori and Shea time to prepare the incubation cubicle, but I don't know how much longer I can keep the babies from coming.»
Syndil flashed a calming smile, very reminiscent of Razvan. «Clearly it should be me.»
Ivory closed her eyes. Her scientific need to experiment dozens of time, dozens of ways under dozens of conditions battled with the desperate maternal need to save Savannah's unborn children. To risk precious lives . . . I cannot do this, Razvan. They cannot ask me to experiment on human life without other trials first.
Perhaps the rich soil will buy us the time that we need. Razvan slid his hand from her shoulder down her arm to tangle his fingers with hers.
Gregori came striding into the healing cave, going straight to his lifemate. He took her hand, brought it to his heart and stood quietly looking into her eyes, obviously encouraging her.
«Gregori,» Razvan said, «we brought you a gift of pure, untouched soil. We can bring it to the laboratory and have your people examine it to make certain it is fit for your lifemate. Perhaps the soil will buy you the time you need to prepare for the children.»
Gregori inclined his head, his attention remaining on holding his daughters to their mother while they struggled and clung to life. «You must hurry.»
The weariness in Gregori's voice shook Razvan. He knew how difficult it was to remove a fragment of evil, and Gregori was already stretched thin from trying to keep his children and lifemate alive.
«Can you hold off the birth three or four hours to give Ivory the chance to test whether or not she can neutralize the mutated microbes within Syndil?»
«She is advancing fast. I will try.» Gregori sounded doubtful.
«What of the boy, Travis?» Razvan had great sympathy for the child. Travis obviously loved Falcon and tried to look and act like him. He followed the Carpathian everywhere. He would be ashamed at having attacked Mikhail, even though he wasn't to blame.
Just as you were not, Ivory pointed out, her fingers tightening around his.
«Travis will be fine,» Gregori said. «I removed the fragment and destroyed it. There are two left. We checked everyone who was there. I know you are clean of the mage's taint, but are you certain one did not enter Ivory?»
«Ivory is clean of his evil as well.»
«Then two more fragments are making their way back to Xavier. They will need hosts.» Gregori sighed. «That was my mistake. I wasn't fast enough to incinerate them.»
«I doubt you could have done much in the midst of an all-out battle,» Razvan said. «I am glad the boy is all right.»
«He loves Mikhail as well as Falcon.» Gregori stopped abruptly and shook his head. They both knew the psychological damage the child would have from the incident.
Razvan took a breath and his gaze met Ivory's across the room, knowing she was thinking exactly what he was-Xavier had to be destroyed. He started to clap Gregori on the shoulder in sympathy, but let his hand fall to his side. He'd never had friends, and was unsure the protocol one used.
Ivory looked around the healing chamber. «I need a different place. Somewhere quiet. Healer, you must have a laboratory.»
«Shea does,» Syndil answered. «A very good one. I can take you there.»
«Hurry,» Gregori urged. «Francesca and I will do what we can.»
Savannah let out a muffled sob and shook her head. «The little one, Gregori. She is so weak. I am losing her.»
Ivory had taken a step away to follow Syndil but she turned back toward the birthing bed to see Gregori crouch down beside his lifemate. The frightening Carpathian who always looked invincible and all-powerful seemed so weary and more vulnerable than she thought possible. She hesitated and then went back to him. «Do you talk to her?»
«Yes, but she is not listening.» There was a wealth of sorrow in Gregori's voice.
Ivory looked around her at
the quietly sobbing women. Even Raven could not hold back her tears. Ivory bit down on her lip and closed her eyes. At once the anguish emanating from the women assailed her.
Gregori, feel the energy in this room. If she is highly sensitive, she will feel what I do-what you do. They believe-you believe-all of you believe she is already lost. Let me talk to her through you, through our connection. I have some experience with the will to live. Meanwhile, change the atmosphere in here. Anyone who cannot remain positive must remove their presence from this chamber.
Gregori looked at her and then to Francesca. He was too close to the sorrow, and Savannah's anguish consumed him. Francesca nodded her head.
Thank you. Gregori said. Please do speak to her.
The singing changed to the Carpathian lullaby, a soft musical melody, voices raised in song to soothe the babies as labor continued.
Little one. Your trial is great. You must rise above it and cling to life. Endure. I have fought to stay upon this earth, and though it is difficult, I know it is worth it. You are destined for greatness. Let me tell you a story of a great man, a healer among his people, a warrior unsurpassed and his princess. A beautiful woman with long, flowing hair and violet eyes. They love one another very much, but there is a terrible mage, a great wizard, who wishes to keep them apart.
The infants stopped slipping from the safety of Savannah's womb; instead, they pulled back to listen to the rise and fall of her voice, mesmerized by the story she began. Your father will continue the story and tell you of the two little girls, mere babies, but strong beyond belief, who rose up to defeat the evil mage.
She couldn't bring herself to put her hand on Gregori's shoulder to comfort him, so she gave him a quick, encouraging smile. «I told myself many such stories to hold despair at bay. Make them the heroines of the tale, and make the story long and involved and exciting so they listen and concentrate on that. I will work as quickly as I can.»
Ivory waited for Gregori to pick up the story where she had left off. The voices around him fell into a soft accompaniment, lending excitement to the tale the healer wove for his daughters. Savannah added her own voice when she could to bring the tale to life.
Ivory and Razvan followed Syndil out of the caves and together they hurried to the building chiseled into the cliffs. Inside the large main room, Shea, a Carpathian woman with bright red hair, and the human, Gary, who Ivory had already met, worked together with a seamless efficiency that suggested they had worked side by side for a long time and were used to a certain rhythm.
Another woman, who Syndil introduced as Gabrielle, was in a smaller room peering into a microscope. Ivory immediately recognized the silken pouches containing the soil samples she'd brought along with the open book of her records.
Shea whirled around. «I can't believe you have done this,» she greeted. «How did you discover this? These life-forms are foreign to me. I've never seen them before. What are they? Where did they come from?»
Gabrielle looked up. «They seem to be abnormally high in iron.» She stood up and crossed the room, a graceful woman. «I have studied all kinds of organisms and this is new to me as well.»
«Which is why I was concerned with just dumping them in the soil,» Ivory explained. «They will spread, and I believe they will eventually destroy all the mutated microbes, but I have not had enough time to determine what else could happen. I do not know the effect on humans or any other species. Plants. Insects. I have no idea.»
«They don't touch the normal microbes,» Shea said. «You're right, we have to be cautious, but I think you may have found our answer. We need you to work with us.»
Ivory forced herself not to back away from the group. She was unused to being the center of attention and certainly was never in such close proximity to people crowding her.
Razvan. She reached to him for reassurance. The moment she did, she was annoyed with herself. She had become dependent on him.
His soft laughter eased the knots in her stomach. He was there instantly, flooding her mind with warmth. As you should be dependent on me. There is still a part of you that would like to run from me.
That is not true. Well, it might be true, but she wasn't admitting it to herself. She was braver than that.
His voice softened. Went tender. I am always with you, Ivory. In your heart and mind. We share the same soul. Always, o jela sielamak-light of my soul.
Ivory forced a smile as she looked at the research team gathered around her. «I will help as soon as I have tried these reversing spells. Before I try this on Syndil, I want to try it on mutated microbes in the soil. If I can come up with a spell to reverse what Xavier has wrought, then I can teach it to all of you. Any Carpathian should be able to use it. It will be a temporary solution until the new organisms do their job and cleanse the soil. And until we can go to the source of the microbes and destroy it for all time.
«The spell will not reverse the mutation,» Ivory warned. «It is only designed to reverse Xavier's dark command. We cannot really tell if it will work until we use it on someone the microbe is already attacking. I need to make certain this will not harm the living, especially a child. I am a little reluctant to try it on Syndil even now.»
A sudden hush fell over the room. Ivory's skin prickled. The hair on the back of her neck and on her arms stood up. Her breath caught as an unfathomable anguish gripped her by the throat. Around the room, she saw the others freeze in their tracks, their eyes widened in horror. Syndil gasped and began to weep. Shea's face lost all color. The test tubes in Gary's hands began to shake while the glass slide in Gabrielle's numb hand fell and shattered on the floor.
For a moment time seemed suspended. Except, Ivory knew it couldn't be true, because she could feel the rapid thud of her heart, pounding inside her chest like a drum. If time had stopped, so, too, would her heart-wouldn't it? Dazed, uncomprehending, yet fighting an inexplicable urge to weep, Ivory reached blindly out to Razvan and felt the solid connection as his fingers closed around hers.
A broken, anguished cry shattered the stillness. Help me! All healers to the cavern! We are losing them.
Gregori, the impervious. Gregori, the all-powerful. Ivory trembled to hear him so desperate, so frantic, and it was clear the others were equally as shaken. Gabrielle and Shea dropped their materials and bolted for the door.
Syndil started to follow, but Ivory grabbed her arm. «What is it? What's happening?» She knew. She didn't want to know. The outpour ing of grief gripped her heart, shredding it, and she knew she was feeling Gregori's emotions.
Tears had filled Syndil's eyes and begun to spill down her cheeks. «We're losing the babies. They cannot stop the birth.»
«God help them.» Ivory covered her mouth with one hand. Her knees were weak and rubbery and she leaned back into Razvan, gripping his arm to keep steady. They had come too late. Far too late. No matter what they learned now, they had not saved the fragile babies.
Vapor shimmered in the room and then Mikhail was there, his powerful presence filling the small space. «We have great need of you now, Ivory. They are slipping away. You are the last hope for my granddaughters.»
«But I have never even tried it on soil, let alone a child,» she protested, her stomach knotting. Razvan. She breathed his name as her talisman.
You will do this.
She shook her head. «Not on an infant. An untried spell. I will have to summon the dark magic in order to reverse what Xavier has wrought. Anything could go wrong.»
Mikhail's face hardened. «It has already gone wrong. You must.»
She forced down the lump threatening to block her throat, grateful for Razvan's supporting arm. «Mikhail . . .» She broke off, swallowing hard. «There's no guarantee this will work-or even that I will not harm them more. Xavier is a powerful adversary. So much could go wrong.»
«You must do this if we have even a small chance of saving them.» Mikhail was implacable. «Everyone believes you are our best hope. Gregori asks this of you.»
Gr
egori. The man who had fearlessly gone after the four shadow fragments Xavier had placed in Razvan to allow his possession. Gregori hadn't flinched. But infants . . . Ivory shook her head, swallowed hard and sighed.
You will do this, Razvan repeated with complete confidence.
«So be it,» she whispered, hoping Razvan's calm would rub off on her.
«Make whatever preparations you must, but hurry,» Mikhail urged. Then he was gone.
«Razvan,» Ivory said, her voice hoarse with grief and worry. «You know how evil Xavier's spells are. I cannot go into a sacred birthing chamber and call forth the darkness. Anything can happen.» Even as she protested, she used magic for cleansing, rather than her ritual bath, as time was of the essence.
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