Dark Challenge (Dark Series - book 5)

by Christine Feehan

  Beneath her caressing fingers, his body thickened and hardened in response, his gut clenched hotly, and the breath seemed to slam out of him. “You are deliberately testing my resolve,

  piccola,

  and I am failing the test miserably.”

  “That is exactly what I wanted to hear,” she answered complacently, her mind already occupied with much more interesting matters.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The bus limped along, the engine sputtering and coughing, growing louder and louder with each passing mile, leaving thin trails of dark smoke. Even the air inside the vehicle seemed thick, making it difficult to breathe. The two leopards growled uneasily from time to time, the tips of their tails twitching in protest.

  The entire experience was making Julian wary. He was restless in such proximity to so many of his kind. The leopards had to be watched and controlled. They had quick, unreliable tempers and even among the Carpathians they were quite capable of doing great damage if riled within such close confines. In any case, Julian felt a disturbance in the balance of power around him and knew the other males were also aware of it. The crowded dimensions of the bus gave him the feeling of being trapped, although he could easily dissolve into molecules and flow through the open windows if he so desired. The edginess of the males was communicating itself to the animals, making it all the more difficult to control their wild natures. Darius was wasting precious energy keeping the cats in check. Julian shook his head at the insanity of the way this family unit lived.

  Desari drummed her fingers impatiently on the back of her seat, wanting to kick her brother. The entire mood inside the bus was one of intense frustration. Darius had insisted they travel together, leaving the other vehicles in a campground. It was uncomfortable to say the least. She wanted to be alone with Julian, and she knew he was unused to being so confined with others. He would be hating this.

  Darius glanced at his sister just once, his black eyes empty. “I do not have to explain myself,” he reminded her quietly. He didn’t bother to point out the disturbance in the air. One of their kind was near, but one who had long ago chosen to trade honor, his very soul, for a few moments of high during a kill. Darius knew the enemy was far too close to avoid a confrontation, and the women were the target. All of them knew it. Desari also needed more time to be alone with Julian. The couple needed space to get to know one another. Darius watched Julian closely. He respected his sister’s lifemate, his casual strength, the way he chose to keep Desari happy at the cost of his own comfort.

  The troupe had taken so long trying to patch up their faltering vehicles again that they had little time to make their way to Konocti for their next concert appearance. Darius liked to get to concert sites a day ahead of time to scout around and be certain the security was to his liking. That balance of power was now gone, and the air was groaning with the presence of evil. All of them could smell the stench of a recent fire, the smoke and odor trapped in place by the absence of a breeze. This time, at least, they would be in familiar territory.

  Konocti was Desari’s favorite place to perform. It was a smaller and more personal space than the huge stadiums she was usually booked to sing in. Desari liked the area, too, formed by volcanoes with hidden steaming pools and glittering diamonds scattered here and there. They had long ago established several bolt holes for each of them and could even have a semblance of privacy from one another.

  “Stop the bus, Dayan!” It was Syndil who called out suddenly, urgency in her voice. “Take that little road off to the side instead.”

  “We do not have all night,” Barack growled without looking up. “We are supposed to talk with the head of security, and, as usual, we are already late. Dayan, keep driving.”

  Syndil’s slender frame began to shimmer. Desari gasped at the action. Syndil rarely defied the males, yet she was dissolving into mist, determined to seep through the open window into the darkened sky.

  Barack reached out casually, a deceptively lazy-looking action when his hand had really blurred with speed. He caught Syndil’s long hair before she could disappear completely. “I do not think so, Syndil. You have not scanned or you would feel the dark empty spaces that can only mean one thing. There is danger very close to us.”

  A small sound escaped Syndil’s throat as she reappeared in her solid form. “Do you not hear the cry of the earth to me? I can do no other than answer,” she replied softly. “Dark spaces mean nothing to me. Danger means nothing when the earth calls to me. Those things are for you and the other males to attend to.”

  Barack looped a fistful of her silky hair around his wrist. “I know only that you are placing yourself at risk, and I am uncertain whether my heart can stand such a thing twice in two risings.”

  “In my head I hear the cries of the wounded land, the burned trees. I cannot continue without aiding that which is dying. I must go,” Syndil said. “It is who I am, Barack.” It mattered little to her what the others said at these times. She could do no other than heal the earth when it was crying out in pain to her.

  Dayan sighed softly, a little helplessly, and, with obvious reluctance, complied with her demand, slowly turning onto the dusty road leading into the mountains. It appeared to be an old logging road. Barack sat quietly, no longer protesting, but he didn’t let loose Syndil’s flowing hair, ensuring that she did not run straight into trouble. The bus rounded a curve, and Desari stared in horror at the sight.

  The entire west side of the mountain was a blackened ruin. Dayan slowly eased the bus to the side of the road and came to a complete stop. He had no choice in the matter. Syndil had risen, ignoring Barack’s restraining hand. The male Carpathian sighed and rose with her, reluctantly allowing her hair to slide from around his wrist. Desari watched as Syndil pushed open the door to the bus. Her face reflected the same deep grief Desari had witnessed each time Syndil found the earth damaged in some way.

  Julian stood, a frown on his face. He didn’t like the blank spaces in the area around them. He glanced from male to male, outraged that they would chance one of their precious women out in the open when she was so clearly threatened. Desari touched him lightly, a warning to be still. He glanced from her small restraining hand on his arm toward Darius. As always, the man’s expression was impossible to read. Darius was seeking outside of himself, obviously searching for anything that might threaten his family. It was out there. He felt it. All the males felt it, yet none of them seemed to want to stop Syndil.

  Barack took the initiative, as he always did lately when anything involved Syndil. He shrugged his shoulders with his easy, fluid grace and sauntered with seeming carelessness after her. She was already moving through the twisted, charred acreage, her hands weaving a strange but fascinating pattern in the stillness of the air. She glanced over her shoulder at Barack, a slight frown on her face.

  “Do you hear it, Barack? The ground is screaming in pain. This fire was set deliberately by something evil.” Syndil’s voice was soft and gentle, a mere whisper, yet all of them, with their acute hearing, could clearly understand her.

  “Evil as in...” Barack prompted her.

  “Not a fire-lover. Neither is it a human.” She had already turned her attention back to the blackened trees and soil, dismissing the source as unimportant to her. If the men wanted to deal with such a terrible being, that was their right and privilege. She was of the earth, was part of it, as surely as it was a part of her. She loved the soil, the trees and mountains. All of nature sang to her, wrapped her in loving arms. It was as necessary to her as breathing. Nothing could have stopped her from going forward to help her beloved earth.

  Julian watched as she bent down and touched the charred soil with caressing fingers. He swore the dirt moved around and over her hand, wanting the contact with her. He found himself holding his breath, shocked at what he was witnessing. Where Desari’s gift was her voice, Syndil’s was evidently much different. She held a deep affinity to the earth itself, could cure what was diseased or damaged. He
moved to the door of the bus and watched in awe as her hands buried themselves deep in the blackened soil, weaving the same beautiful and intricate pattern beneath the dirt so that above ground ripples began to shape themselves in an ever-widening spiral.

  Julian stepped from the bus and moved to one side, careful to stay out of Syndil’s way. Desari laced her fingers tightly with her lifemate’s. Darius and Dayan were deploying as they always did, guarding the perimeter of the area, their attention on the skies above them and the trees around them. Something was out there, something that had set a trap, something evil that had known Syndil would be unable to resist the screaming of the earth.

  Part of Julian could not turn over guardianship of Desari to the other males even for a moment. So he remained at her side and simply watched Syndil, fascinated by the ever-widening circle of richness, spreading, growing. The color of the ground itself was slowly beginning to change to a rich, fertile, deeper black unlike the charred dullness that had been there before. He became aware that Syndil was chanting in the ancient tongue. It was melodious and beautiful, the words an ode to the soil, the essence of the earth. He understood the ancient language, thought he had heard every poem, every lyric, every healing art there was. Yet this chant was completely new to him. Julian easily interpreted the words, found them to be mysteriously soothing, yet joyful. The words spoke of rebirth, of green growth, and glittering, silvery rain. Of tall trees and lush vegetation. He found himself smiling for no reason. Syndil had never looked more beautiful. She shone. Rays of light surrounded her for all to see.

  Desari slipped her arm around his waist. “Is she not as I said? Magnificent. Syndil can heal the worst scars on this earth. Anything will grow for her. I am so proud of her abilities when I see her like this. Anything of nature responds to her. Yet it can be so hard on her; part of her takes on the pain of the destroyed forests, the soil.”

  “Our women are truly miracles,” Julian said softly, more to himself than to her. None of his people had known of this. Not a single Carpathian male alive had known a woman old enough to have gifts such as Desari and Syndil displayed. Their remaining women were miraculous in the light and compassion they brought to the darkness of the man, but they were far too young, mere fledglings, to have developed their own powers.

  He glanced down at Desari. She was looking up at him with unmistakable love shining in her eyes. His heart seemed to stop. His breath caught in his lungs. She was beautiful beyond anything he had ever witnessed in his centuries of living. When she looked at him like that, he felt something close to terror, something he had never experienced before. He had faced experienced vampires numerous times, had fought in wars, had suffered grave wounds that he had somehow survived, yet he had never felt fear or actual terror. Now it never seemed to leave him.

  Last dawn it had been so; this rising it was even more so. There was a price to be paid for happiness: the terror of losing it. “Women should be locked up and kept far out of sight,” he growled, half meaning it.

  Desari rubbed his arm in a soothing gesture. “I have survived many centuries, Julian, and I intend to survive many more. I cannot think why I would be in more danger now that you have joined with my brother in the guardianship of Syndil and me. I will be even more protected than before.”

  He stiffened, his face suddenly expressionless but his eyes filled with pain. He

  had

  endangered her; he was marked, and they both knew it. “It does not change the fact that I would prefer you to be perfectly safe at all times,” Julian said gruffly. He was shifting position subtly, automatically, without thought, his body crowding Desari’s, shielding her. His eyes turned skyward.

  Darius.

  He sent the call on the mental path he was becoming familiar with.

  I am aware of it.

  Darius’s answer was calm and unruffled, as if they had all the time in the world and would not be under attack at any moment.

  Take Desari and get her to safety. I will return as soon as I know she is far from harm. You will stay with her and protect her should I fail. Dayan and Barack will perform the same duty for Syndil.

  Julian took Desari’s arm. “Come on,

  cara,

  we must leave now.”

  Desari glanced from his harshly etched features to her brother’s expressionless face. “The undead is coming,” she said.

  Julian nodded. He was watching Barack, now moving into position to protect Syndil. Dayan moved to flank her. It shocked him that they didn’t just scoop her up and carry her off. Syndil seemed oblivious, her concentration total.

  “They should get her out of here,” he said aloud, his disapproval apparent in his voice. He found, as important as it was to him to guard his lifemate, he was torn, for the first time part of a family, unwilling to leave off protecting the others.

  “She is no longer within her body, Julian,” Desari said softly. “She is soaring free, moving through the earth to heal that which has been destroyed. Where there are blackened ruins she will coax small buds to life. They will grow lush and tall and spread quickly throughout this area. Trees will sprout and be strong. Wild creatures will aid in the recovery, flocking to this place the moment it will support life. The men cannot disturb her while she is out of her body.”

  Julian let his breath out slowly in a long hiss of irritation. His first thought was to get Desari to safety as Darius had commanded, but it went against his every instinct to leave Syndil so exposed. “This was a trap, Desari, purposely set to ensnare her. A lure meant only to draw her in. He is trying to use her skills against her.”

  “How do you know this?”

  “I have seen similar traps, ones designed to snare a particular individual. He will try to take her without her body so that we must give it up to him to prevent her death. We cannot leave her.” Julian sent the warning to her brother on their private path.

  Darius, this trap is for Syndil alone. I have seen such things before. There can be no other explanation. I have tried to pull Syndil back to us, but she is too far spread across this land. He is drawing her away from us more quickly than I would have thought possible.

  There was no fear in his voice or mind, no expression whatsoever. “Julian,” Darius continued aloud, “I have never encountered such a trap, but Syndil is slipping away from us far too fast.”

  “Barack,” Julian snapped immediately, “you and Desari are closest to her heart. Desari can use her voice to hold Syndil to us; you must go after her and find her. She will most likely be difficult, disoriented, still half in the earth and half hypnotized by the trap that has been set. Darius, Dayan, and I will go after the undead. He is very skilled. Be very careful, this one is strong. He will not be an easy adversary.”

  Barack glanced at Darius for confirmation. The leader simply nodded his head. Unfamiliar with the technique the vampire was using, he was not above using whatever expertise was offered.

  “You are certain you can track Syndil while you are out of your body?” Julian asked Barack, his voice deliberately without inflection. He had no intention of offending Barack, but he didn’t know any of them well enough to know their abilities. Darius was the only male of the group Julian had absolute faith in. The leader was capable of defeating any opponent, and certainly he could track a member of his family unit out of his own body.

  “I can find Syndil anywhere in this world, at any time,” Barack responded, his voice low and confident. “And I can protect her.”

  Julian nodded. “Good.” He turned back to Dayan and Darius, trusting that Barack could do as he claimed. “A vampire this cunning has been around a long time. He would not be making his move against four male Carpathians unless he believed he had a very good chance of defeating us. He must realize Darius has tremendous experience. He has studied this unit for some time, but he might not know about me yet. This trap took long-term planning, so it is safe to assume he has spent time setting it up. He has probably been counting on the fact that Syndil has been abse
nt from the band these last couple of months and the link between all of you has weakened. It is why he chose her as his target and why he earlier sent the lesser of the undead to do his bidding, the one Barack, not an experienced hunter, so easily defeated.”

  “How is it you think that he has studied us without our knowledge?” Darius inquired, his voice devoid of inflection.

  “I cannot answer that,” Julian replied. “I can only surmise that we are dealing with a powerful being, patient as most of his kind are not. He will try to concentrate on destroying you, Darius, as he knows you are the most lethal to him. He will count on you sending Dayan away with Desari. He will strike at you the moment he thinks he has Syndil sufficiently enthralled in his web.”

  “Then it would be rude to disappoint this one,” Darius answered softly, his black eyes empty, ice cold.

  Julian nodded his agreement. “Dayan, I must ask of you that you stay with Desari and see that she comes to no harm should I be mistaken.”

  “Perhaps I could draw him out with my voice,” Desari offered, suddenly anxious, not wanting to be separated from Julian.

  You will not attempt to draw out the vampire. Dayan will keep you close. Stay linked with me unless I break off suddenly, and do not merge again unless you are in danger. Please do as I ask. Without your cooperation, I will be unable to help Darius.

  Desari bit her lower lip. Dayan was moving to her side, his face grim and harsh. “I will concentrate on holding Syndil to us,” she agreed as Dayan gently but firmly took her arm. “I will not fail her.”

  “It will be a struggle; do not think it will not be. The ancient undead will not give up his plan easily. It will take the combined strength of both you and Barack. Call her to you now, and hold her to you. Draw her back if you can do so. Darius and I will hunt this monster down.”

  Dayan can hunt with him.

  She couldn’t help herself.