Gabrielle frowned. «Why would you have to separate? We all live different lives but we see each other all the time.»
Natalya fought for the memories. More and more she was having flashbacks and piecing together bits of information. «It wasn't safe. We went opposite ways. He didn't know we could communicate in dreams.»
«Your brother? I'm confused,» Jubal said.
Natalya shook her head, frowning. «Not my brother. A man. I think he may have been my grandfather. In any case, Razvan and I were apart out of necessity. He was different toward the end. He wanted children. It was a big deal to him, more than having a wife. He was with a woman in California and later I found out there was a child; of course she's grown now. He also had a woman in Texas and one in France.» Before either of them could comment, she looked up. «Not at the same time, he was a wanderer and he never could stay in one place with one person. I have no idea if he had any more children. He never told me, but he wanted a child so much, it wouldn't surprise me. He was killed before he ever saw his child in California. She didn't even know who he was.»
«I'm sorry, Natalya, that must have been terrible for you to lose him. I wonder why he wanted children if he couldn't stay in one place. That would have been hard on children to have their father leave them all the time,» Gabrielle said.
«Are your parents still alive?» Natalya asked.
«Oh, yeah,» Jubal said with a grin. «Very much alive and I imagine they are grilling Joie and Traian about why they didn't wait to be married with the parents in attendance. Mom will be really upset, won't she, Gabrielle?»
«That's a nice way of putting it. Traian's in for a little surprise. I wish I was home this time, just to be a fly on the wall.»
Natalya liked the way they teased one another. It was obvious they were very close and it made her long for a family again. Even though she felt close to Razvan, she had been unable to spend time with him. Their hugs were in their dreams, rather than in flesh and blood real time. They had spent their very long lives in fear of the dark shadow stalking them. Razvan had deliberately taken the brunt of it in order to free Natalya, but she had been alone.
«You look so sad,» Gabrielle said.
«I miss my brother.» Natalya rubbed her chin on her knees. «And that lunkhead Vik.» She was used to being without Razvan, but Vikirnoff had wound his way into her heart and she seemed stuck with him.
Gabrielle exchanged another amused look with her brother. They had spent time with the Carpathian males and the idea of one being labeled a lunkhead or even using a nickname such as «Vik» was humorous to them. «You're really angry with him, aren't you?» Gabrielle asked. «Joie talks like that when she wants to throttle Traian.»
«If he's anything like Vikirnoff, he probably deserves throttling. And Vik's so serious all the time. And all about the orders. He can't just say something in a pleasant voice, he has to give me the big order. He's really a throwback to the dark ages. You know what I'm talking about, the big caveman pounding his chest.»
«He didn't like you fighting vampires, did he?» Jubal guessed.
Natalya rolled her eyes. «That's putting it mildly, but at least I know when to run and fight another day. He just wants to take on the world.»
A slow grin spread over Jubal's face. «This is good. Too bad Gary isn't here to witness this one. He loves watching the interplay between the Carpathian male and their women.»
«Where is he?» Natalya asked. She wanted to weep. To claw at the walls and floor. She was not going to fall apart in front of strangers.
«Gary's in the States at the moment, but he's returning soon,» Gabrielle said.
Natalya was beginning to feel desperate. She had to work at staying focused on the conversation. «Does he fight vampires, too?»
«In his way, but not physically,» Jubal said. «The society»-he frowned-«you have heard of them, haven't you? Humans dedicated to destroying all vampires, but they don't seem to be able to discern the difference between a vampire and a Carpathian. Anyway, the society hates Gary. He's on their hit list.»
«Do you fight vampires?» Natalya asked curiously.
Jubal spread his hands out in front of him. «I'm not the best at fighting vampires, but I'm learning. I didn't know they existed until a short time ago.»
«Do you use a flame thrower?» Natalya asked. «Do you have one? If I could get my hands on carburetor cleaner, I bet that would work better than hairspray.»
«You're obsessed with flamethrowers.»
«Do you have to kill a vamp a hundred times before he stays dead?» She flexed her aching fingers again. Her muscles were beginning to contract painfully.
Jubal noticed Natalya's eyes changing color, going from a beautiful sea-green to a strange cloudy opaque. Her tawny hair darkened to a deep black with strange bands beginning to appear through it. He nudged Gabrielle with his foot. She nodded. She'd already seen the signs of agitation and felt the growing danger in the room.
«Since most of the locals use horse carts I think the chances of you finding a good supply of carburetor cleaner is practically nil,» Jubal said.
«That's such a bummer,» Natalya said with a small sigh. «But I did call Slavica earlier and asked her if she'd find me several cans of aerosol hairspray, so I should have a good supply.»
«Has Vikirnoff seen your invention?» Jubal asked.
Natalya sent him a look promising retribution. «Make fun all you want, but if you're in a battle with the undead and they get up thirty-seven times after you've put them down, a can of hairspray and a lighter are going to be looking really good to you.»
He groaned. «Unfortunately, that might be true. I don't want to have anything to do with those creatures. In fact, I don't even want to know about them.»
Natalya smiled wearily. «Neither do I.»
«Natalya,» Gabrielle said. «You keep rubbing your ankle. Are you hurt? I could take a look at it for you. I've actually gone through med school so I might be able to help if you're injured.»
Natalya glanced down at her ankle. She hadn't even realized she was rubbing it. She pulled her leg closer to her. «Unfortunately we couldn't heal it all the way. I don't know how dangerous it would be for you to touch it.»
«I've dealt with hot viruses, Natalya,» Gabrielle assured. «Why are you worried about it being dangerous to me?» She sank down onto the floor beside Natalya, gingerly pushing aside a gun and a very sharp knife. «Let me see.»
«This is really an entry wound. I was punctured first, all the way to the bone, and then this happened. Vikirnoff said parasites were able to enter my system through this.» Natalya pulled up the cotton pants and showed Gabrielle and Jubal what was left of the handprint branding her leg. «He went in and removed what he could. He said there were microorganisms and he thought he was able to get rid of them, but he couldn't remove this. It aches.»
Gabrielle studied the handprint carefully. «It looks like…»
«Skin,» Natalya said. «Cloned skin. It appears to be about approximately one one-hundredth of an inch thick and it has attached itself to the host skin, in this case, my ankle and calf, in the manner of a skin graft.»
«It normally takes five days for grafting to complete,» Gabrielle pointed out.
«That's what is so extraordinary. My blood vessels grew very fast from the underlying host skin tissue to the handprint, bonding the two layers together.» She looked at Gabrielle. «That's why Vikirnoff couldn't remove it, because it has become my skin, breathing, perspiring, performing all the functions of skin; it's part of me.»
«Why wouldn't your body reject it?» Gabrielle was moving closer, bending her head to examine the area.
«You already suspect.»
«Your bone marrow was taken when your ankle was punctured. Your own stem cells were used; that's how it was done, wasn't it?» Gabrielle asked. «All potential immune system rejection is eliminated because any material cloned from the host will be host's exact genetic match.»
Jubal held up his hand
. «Wait a minute. What are you saying? Someone attacked her and scooped up her stem cells to clone her skin? I thought you could only use embryonic stem cells for that kind of thing.»
«No.» Gabrielle shook her head, but she was watching Natalya closely. «The latest research tells us adult stem cells work just as well and, of course, one of the most successful sources of stem cells is bone marrow.»
«This is just bizarre. Why would anyone want to do that to you? Just to mark you? I can't buy that when the technology has to be very sophisticated,» Jubal argued.
«It's my technology.» Natalya's voice was very low.
«What?» Jubal demanded.
«It was my idea, my experiment. I was given challenges all the time, things to accomplish through a blend of science and other skills I have. I had to find a way to inject
microorganisms into a host without detection of the parasites and without rejection at the site.» She stared down at her hands. «I did this. The vampires can mark people, track them through the parasites.»
«How are the microorganisms injected into the body?» Jubal asked.
«Through the hand, although I didn't do anything so dramatic as branding a hand onto anything. It works on the same principle as a mosquito bite.» Natalya rested her head against the wall and wiped at the small beads of sweat dotting her forehead. She had known the moment Vikirnoff explained to her what was going on in her leg. Her own research had been used against her. «The parasites are injected into the host. The thing is this. I wasn't simply experimenting with putting parasites undetected into a body, I was using those parasites as weapons. I was able to bind highly dangerous chemicals to the parasite. I was able to bind several different things to the parasite and get it into a host undetected.»
Jubal looked at Gabrielle. «Is this possible?»
Gabrielle nodded. «Yes, of course it is. The research into stem cell and grafting and even binding chemicals onto microorganisms is very advanced. Yes, it can be done.»
«How would the vampires get ahold of my research?» Natalya asked the question out loud. She had no idea why she hadn't confessed to Vikirnoff when she told two perfect strangers, but somehow it had been much easier.
There was a small silence. Gabrielle sighed softly. «Where did you do your research, Natalya, and why haven't I heard of you? This is a field I'm very interested in and I keep up with all the latest.»
Natalya hesitated. Her body was rocking back and forth without her knowledge again and when she became aware of it she wrapped her arms around her knees tightly in an effort to regain control.
«I don't remember a lot of things about my past. There are gaps, but I love knowledge and when told to do challenges, I couldn't resist.» Especially if it meant Razvan wouldn't be harmed. How could she explain her life?
It didn't make sense to her, and with the gaps in her memory she couldn't figure it all out.
«Who knew about your research?»
«I don't know.»
There was another silence. Natalya read the suspicion in their eyes and couldn't blame them. «Obviously someone who betrayed me to the vampires. Which means someone I know is in league with them.» Her grandfather. It had to be Xavier. She couldn't remember him ordering the experiments, but from her dreams she knew Razvan protected her and she tried to protect him. Even after accessing the crystal globe, she couldn't remember what
Xavier looked like. And that was truly frightening.
She rubbed her hands up and down her arms in an effort to warm up. «Are you cold? Is it cold in here?» She was shaking she was so cold. The tiger was rising in an effort to protect her, to keep her from being so agitated, and it was looking for a target.
Natalya dug her fingers into the floor of the bedroom, nails gouging the wood before she could stop herself. She wanted to weep again, to claw at something until the wild grief in her was gone forever. It was sharp and terrible and took over when she least expected it. Even the tigress was weeping, deep inside, a stark loneliness that seemed to eat her from the inside out. The wood came off the floor in long narrow strips. She looked down at the slender splinters with horror.
«Maybe you should go. I'm not certain it's safe anymore. I seem to be having a very difficult time.» She swallowed the lump in her throat that was threatening to choke her. «This lifemate business is very uncomfortable.»
Jubal nodded. «So I've heard. He's really asleep, healing in the ground. He isn't dead, you know.»
«Intellectually I know he's not dead. And right now, I don't even like him all that much, but my mind needs to touch his for reassurance. He said some words, like a binding spell and I could feel the difference immediately. Even if you don't believe in that sort of thing, which I do, the binding works. I'm working on a way to reverse it.»
Gabrielle's eyebrow shot up. «You think there's a way to reverse it? I thought lifemates wanted to be together. You don't want to be with Vikirnoff?»
Natalya opened her mouth to emphatically deny it. Of course she didn't want to be with him and he certainly didn't want to be with her. It was a chemistry thing. Lust maybe. She loved kissing him. But to spend her life with him? For eternity? Did she want that? With a man who wanted June Cleaver?
She was so distracted by her fears for Vikirnoff, she nearly missed the footsteps stopping outside her door. Natalya held up her hand for silence and inched her gun closer to her. Jubal took the knife.
The knock on the door was tentative. «Natalya. It's Slavica with your nightly chocolate.»
Not cans of hairspray. Chocolate. Natalya didn't order chocolate on a nightly basis. She signaled Gabrielle to go into the bathroom and Jubal to stand to the left of the door. She took the right, gun rock-steady and every trace of agitation gone.
Chapter 12
«Please come in, Slavica,» Natalya called out. «Can you get the door?»
«Yes, I have my key.» Which was unusual. Slavica would never enter a guest's room uninvited. She would knock and expect the guest to open the door.
Natalya inhaled. Brent Barstow. She'd known all along he was something other than a guest. He was too observant and he'd visited her room once, which meant he was either a very creepy pervert, or he was up to no good.
The key turned in the lock and Slavica pushed the door open. Heavy drapes covered the windows and doors, and night was falling. Natalya knew it would take a moment or two for eyes to adjust from the brightly lit hall to the dark of her room. Slavica stepped into the room carrying a tray with a steaming mug on it. Her eyes were red-rimmed and there was a faint bruise on her cheek. Anger flashed through Natalya and she pushed down the tigress before it could rise and wreak vengeance.
Directly behind Slavica, Brent Barstow followed her, matching pace for pace, the muzzle of his gun pressed tightly against her neck. Natalya swung the door closed and pressed the muzzle of her gun against his neck. «Here's the thing, my man, I've had a really bad day. You don't even want to know about my day. And I think I'm PMSing on top of everything else. That's just wrong, you know? I'm betting that you care more about your own life than I do about a total stranger's life. What do you think?»
«You're not going to pull that trigger,» Brent said.
«Actually, I want to pull the trigger. You threatened the innkeeper; it's not like I'm going to get in a lot of trouble. Take a look around my room, darlin'. Do I look like a sane chick to you?» She jammed the muzzle harder into his neck. «Cuz, I'm not. Quite sane that is. I like blowing things up.»
«I've got her family downstairs and if anything happens to me, they're all dead.»
«All the more reason to cap your ass and go take care of the problem downstairs.»
Brent lowered his gun and Jubal pulled Slavica to safety behind him.
«They hit Mirko several times in the head. They wouldn't let me take care of him. And they have Angelina.» Slavica set the tray down and pressed trembling fingers against her mouth. «There are three of them downstairs.»
Natalya slammed the barrel of
her gun against the back of Brent's head, staggering him. «That's for being such a jackass. You kidnapped a little girl? I swear if there are any stray vamps hanging around, I'm going to offer them you for dinner.»
«Don't kill him, Natalya,» Jubal said. «We need to know what he's doing here.»
Gabrielle poked her head out of the bathroom. «I remember him from when we stayed here before, Jubal. He was hanging around in the bar. He had a peculiar look on his face when he saw us come in and I noticed him because of it.»
«So you are in league with vampires,» Brent said, his features twisted with fanatical hatred.
«Sorry pal, you got that wrong. I kill vamps, I don't run with them. They're freaky little devils and damned hard to kill. You have to have the right technique…»
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