Dark Song

by Christine Feehan

  Ferro, I did not have to put bars in front of my eyes.

  I noticed, Elisabeta. And now?

  Of course he would notice. Nothing about her seemed to escape her lifemate. My owl sees perfectly.

  Good. Let her follow me into the woods. Stay right with me, sívamet. You do not want to hit a branch and knock yourself out.

  She definitely didn’t want to do that and end the fun. She loved the woods. Flying was great excitement, but the forest called to her. The trees and brush, all the various animals, even the insects, made her feel as if she belonged with them.

  We are Carpathian, a part of the earth, Elisabeta. You bring peace to those around you. I have noticed that even the creatures are drawn to you, so it stands to reason that you would be drawn to them.

  She felt his amusement welling up.

  It seems I will always have rivals for your attention. Not only the ancients but the children and now the creatures of the woods. Perhaps even the insects.

  He took an extra turn around the clearing. She knew he did it on purpose so she was able to share his laughter with him. He didn’t want her distracted before she began learning to fly through the forest where the trees were close together and the branches could be high or low.

  The lessons continued for some time, landing on various sizes and shapes of branches, listening and identifying prey, and, finally, hunting and trying to actually capture their quarry. By the time Ferro called a halt it was close to dawn and she was ready to return to their home and the welcoming soil beneath it. She’d never been so exhausted but happy in her life.

  13

  I am by your side with every step you take;

  Fighting every demon, your love I won’t forsake.

  Ferro knew this rising was going to be a difficult one for his lady. Outside the compound, there were signs of their enemy everywhere. He glanced at Benedek, the ancient closest to him. His brethren had gone out in force, all seeking blood, as they did every rising. Benedek shook his head in response. There was no answer for this newest threat. They couldn’t fail to see the signs of Sergey’s anger and impatience at not being able to get his most prized possession back. This evening, there were three humans staked to the gates of Tariq’s compound.

  Fortunately, the children hadn’t seen the victims, barely alive, dripping blood, straight out of a horror film. Sergey sent a polite note addressed to Elisabeta, stating that at each rising she would have more to greet her at the gate. He would add to the number until the gates would groan under the weight of her refusal. The ancients had mercifully killed Sergey’s victims, as there was no way to save them.

  Tariq had the bodies gently taken down and had all evidence removed. He heaved a sigh as he turned to Ferro. “I do not envy you talking to Elisabeta. She is far too sensitive and this vampire knows it. These deaths will weigh heavy on her, as will his threat.”

  “Sergey knows it is not safe for him to come near this place and yet his stench is everywhere. He cannot resist her. This was done by his human servants so that we would see it upon rising. He hoped Elisabeta would be with me when I rose.” He crumpled the note in his fist. “He could not conceive of leaving her in the soil safe while he went about his business. I hunt for the two of us. When I return to her, I will awaken and feed her.”

  “Malinov has long ago forgotten what it was like to be Carpathian.”

  “Sun scorch him, Tariq. I must hunt him now. I had hoped for more time to allow her to get to know her birth brother. Her friends and you. There is this infection that no one knows the source of, yet I cannot have him threatening her with bodies hanging on your gate each rising.”

  “Gary says no one else can deal with the infection other than Elisabeta, and she cannot do so without you,” Tariq said.

  “I am aware of that.”

  “You are not the only one capable of hunting the vampire,” Benedek pointed out. “We are simply sitting around doing nothing, and time is weighing on us. Already, several of us have discussed picking up his trail or having your lifemate summon him out into the open.”

  Ferro’s first reaction to the suggestion was an instant and irrevocable no. He didn’t voice it, not when his brethren were ready to hunt the master vampire that it was his duty to dispatch. They wouldn’t see it that way. They were vampire hunters and had been so for centuries. Like him, they always would be.

  Sergey Malinov had wronged Elisabeta, Ferro’s lifemate. Hunting vampires was never personal. Emotions could never be brought into their battles. Fortunately, even for those who eventually found their lifemates, they had gone so long without emotion that when hunting the vampire, it was easy to slip back into hunting mode where emotions were completely suppressed. Ferro hoped, even with the things he knew Sergey had subjected Elisabeta to, he could still deliver justice in the way the Carpathian hunters were taught to do. Just his reaction to having his brethren hunt rather than him told him he wasn’t as in control as he should be.

  The ancients had gathered around Tariq and Ferro, right at the front gate of the compound, consulting together. Already the sound of children laughing could be heard. Genevieve’s soft voice replied to something Charlotte said, and the children laughed again. Charlotte was aware, through Tariq, of the carnage outside their gate, but she played her part, making her children and their nanny comfortable, acting as though this evening was like any other. The children could laugh and have fun before their studies began.

  “We will hunt together,” Ferro decided. “While Sergey’s trail is fresh. There are enough of us that one of us should be able to find his latest lair. If we do, we can send word to the others and go after him together. No doubt he will have surrounded himself with an army.” They could never forget that the moment Sergey’s life was threatened, the slivers of his brothers and Xavier would abandon him to seek other hosts. They would need preparation for that. It would not just be a simple matter of destroying the vampire, as much as Ferro wanted it to be. He would need a plan.

  Tariq turned to Gary. “Did you have time to examine those of us who were exposed to the infection earlier?” He turned to the others to explain. “We are keeping a log of everyone who had the burns. What they did prior to receiving them, and what they did after. Eventually, we should find a connection.”

  “I examined you, Tariq, and there is evidence, as I told you, of light scorching. Josef has much heavier burns and is showing signs of becoming belligerent again. Traian and Joie are watching over him and he’s aware that the burns are back. He’s doing his best to keep his temper under control until Elisabeta rises and can free him of the scoring. Sandu and Dragomir show no signs of any burns.”

  “Have you any idea why you are unable to heal these burns when our healers have always been able to learn to heal anything very quickly?” Tariq asked.

  Gary shook his head. “The infection is spread differently than an actual disease. I do not yet know what it is.”

  Tariq sighed. “What of the children?”

  Gary answered him. “Lourdes and Bella are both without burns. None at all. Liv has light scorching, much like you, Tariq. The scorching is heavier in Danny and Amelia but not nearly as bad as in Josef. Charlotte is aware of this and has conveyed the danger to Genevieve. Maksim and Tomas are watching over the children. Neither shows signs of scorching, yet Lojos did this morning, and that is new. He had no such injury before when I checked him.”

  “So it is spreading,” Tariq said. “Are there any others?”

  “I didn’t have time to check beyond those,” Gary admitted. “The three victims were found at the gate and I came here to see if I could help them. They were beyond all aid. I agree with Ferro, we should hunt Sergey while his trail is fresh. He expects us, and will have planned an ambush, but all of us here should be far too savvy to fall for his tricks. He has forgotten what it is like to go up against very experienced hunters.”

 
“I don’t like leaving the compound with too few to protect the women and children,” Tariq admitted. “His calling card could very well be to lure us away so he can attack.”

  Ferro considered Tariq’s concern. There was merit to it. More than merit. It would be just like Sergey to think to pull the ancients out of the compound in order to get to Elisabeta. She was the vampire’s ultimate goal.

  “Let me speak with Elisabeta.” He didn’t want her to ever think he would betray her in any way, but this threat to her and those around her had to be stopped.

  Taking a deep breath, he summoned his woman. I have need to consult with you, minan hän sívamak. She would be forever and always his beloved. Wake for me. Hear my song to you. A song of hope, of love, Elisabeta. I have great need of you.

  I hear you, kont o sívanak. You have only to ask and I will do my best to aid you.

  She came into his mind slowly, a gentle presence, filling every lonely crack and space, those terrible scars left from too many battles, the killing of old childhood friends. Hunting took a toll on one’s soul, and Elisabeta’s nature was the opposite of his, gentle and compassionate. She filled him with those tender, caring traits, bathed him with them, soaked him in them until he felt as if her gentle soul mended the terrible tears in his own blackened soul.

  She called him “strong heart.” He felt she had the strongest heart, the most caring, and he hoped it was true. She would need it for this rising. He detested this and suddenly found he was reluctant to continue.

  What has happened?

  He had no intention of telling her until he was with her and could hold her in his arms.

  If Sergey made his presence known, left his stench all around the outside of the compound where we could find it, even though he deliberately masks it as he leaves, do you believe he has some treachery planned, such as drawing the ancients away from the compound in order to attack it? Would this be his strategy? You know him better than any other. He wants you back. Would he make a mistake like this?

  As always, Elisabeta took her time, thinking his question through thoroughly before she answered. She looked at everything he showed her from every angle. He was careful not to give her any information on what Sergey had been doing at the compound, or what he had left, but she knew the vampire too well.

  He would not have just come here and sniffed around leaving tracks. What has he done?

  I prefer to talk to you about that later. One has no bearing on the other. We need to know whether to go after him immediately, before his trail fades and he has more time to prepare for an ambush, or set up our own ambush here. He poured authority into his voice and mind to keep her from questioning him further.

  He is planning on attacking the compound. I wish to rise, Ferro.

  I will call to you as soon as I have hunted for blood for the two of us. He broke their connection and turned to the others.

  “No doubt, it is his plan to attack this compound,” Ferro announced to the others. “Elisabeta was absolutely certain, and she knows him better than any other. I need blood to get to full strength, as do all the rest of the brethren. We must make it look as if we are falling for Sergey’s plan.”

  “My security force is human,” Tariq said. “We have used them before to feed. Some are aware of who we are and volunteer. They serve us as the families in South America have served the De La Cruz family for hundreds of years. They will provide what we need. I ask that you treat them with respect and care as I consider them family and they are under my protection.”

  “What of Elisabeta?” Gary asked. “Will she be able to aid us with the spreading infection?”

  Ferro’s eyes met his, two slashes of silver watching the other man carefully. Ferro had to tell his lifemate what Sergey had left behind at the gate and the threats he’d made—threats that she would know were all too real. Ferro had chosen to look into her memories and he knew that on many occasions the vampire had killed others in front of her to get her to give up her lifemate’s soul. She was an empath and Sergey knew that would hurt her far more than physical torture ever could, although he had resorted to that as well at times.

  “I do not know, healer.” Deliberately, Ferro chose not to call the ancient by his name. He refused to allow anyone—not even Gary, who shared ties to his soul and therefore knew the agony Elisabeta had suffered—to push him into forcing his woman to help when she would be devastated.

  “We cannot allow this infection to spread further or get out of hand, no matter what else is happening,” Gary insisted, his voice mild but his eyes deepening to a liquid silver that contained a hint of a threat.

  Ferro felt the threat in his mind. Something more was going on than he knew. He saw Sandu, Andor and Dragomir all spin around and then move in close. They felt that same vague threat to Elisabeta as he did, but were as uncertain as he was as to why there would be one coming from the healer. Gary would be a difficult threat to vanquish, but fighting all four ancients would make it impossibile to win, and Tariq’s second-in-command had to know that.

  Ferro frowned and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “We know this burn is spreading, Gary. Sandu and Dragomir were both infected. I need to be inspected. No one has scanned me, or you, for that matter.”

  Tariq took his cue instantly. “We should go back inside, feed, and scan while we do so, all those who haven’t been looked at. Then the ancients can lay down false trails as if they are searching for Sergey once we have a plan.” He was already moving, as if expecting everyone to do as he said. He was their leader. Gary his second-in-command.

  Gary took a deep breath, clearly fighting for control, and then he fell into step with Tariq. The four brethren tied to him created a loose semicircle close enough to contain him. He politely pretended not to notice. The other ancients created a second circle, a little wider, flaring out around them.

  Once inside, the safeguards were woven even stronger. “How does Sergey expect to get past the safeguards?” Tariq asked. “Even if all warriors were gone from the compound, he could not find a way to break that weave. Julija, a powerful mage, has added her elements in. The ancients from the monastery who stopped using Xavier’s spells long ago and came up with their own unique spells intertwined with each other’s strands. The safeguards are woven above, below and on all sides of the compound.”

  He had called the trusted members of his security force to the secluded area. Matt Bennet, Tariq’s head of security, immediately told the others that only those comfortable with giving blood needed to do so, but there was an immediate threat to the compound and the warriors needed to be at full strength.

  Ferro was a little surprised at the human response. The De La Cruzes were a legendary family of Carpathian vampire hunters, and he had been skeptical of their choice to interact with humans. It forced the brothers to protect their servants and made them more vulnerable to their enemies, and yet, in the end, the loyalty of the humans had proven undeniable. They had fought with the De La Cruz brothers against the vampires, knowing some of them would die. The De Le Cruz family had placed shields in their human brains, which over the centuries the families had begun to be born with. The De La Cruz brothers had further strengthened those.

  Every man immediately consented to giving his blood freely to the Carpathians. Ferro noticed that Tariq stayed close to Gary, watching him as he fed, ensuring that the healer was careful with the security team.

  You believe I have been infected. Gary spoke directly to Ferro, allowing Sandu, Andor and Dragomir to hear him as well.

  Yes. You are . . . not yourself.

  Gary sighed as he carefully and respectfully closed the small holes on the wrist of the volunteer, healing the wounds as if they had never been. I feared that might happen eventually. I know you do not want to tell Elisabeta that Sergey has threatened her with the murder of more humans, and then on the heels of that, ask her to work on those of us infected, but if s
he does not and these burns worsen, the results could be disastrous. There is a chance that ancients would turn on ancients. The compound would be destroyed from within.

  Ferro went very still. All of those connected through Andor’s soul did, too. Ferro let his breath out as he carefully closed the wounds on one wrist and took another. He had to have enough blood for his lifemate as well. Repeat what you just said, Gary. I think you found the motive behind this infection.

  Sandu, Dragomir and Andor clearly agreed with Ferro. Gary waited for Tariq to give orders to Matt and then hurried him across the compound, back toward the main gate where they knew Sergey’s spies would be wondering what they were up to.

  “We believe that this infection is to turn us against one another. It attacks the judgment center in the brain. It doesn’t matter if you have a lifemate, if you’re male or female or a child,” Gary explained as the hunters gathered in a tight circle around him.

  Andor nodded. “Once the scorching is bad enough, the victim reacts with violence. The person he’s angry with has no choice but to protect himself. This infection has the potential to destroy lifemates and turn our ancients into vampires right here in the compound.”

  Without looking at Ferro, Gary continued. “We are very lucky we have Elisabeta here. Without her, this would most likely have worked. There is no one else capable of stopping it. We still have not tracked down the source. We know some of us are infected to varying degrees. We also know Sergey has set a trap, hoping to lead the warriors away from the compound, which means he believes he has a way in. We have to figure out how he believes he can bring down the safeguards.”

  “We don’t have much time to figure this out,” Tariq said. “If we wait too long to go after him, Sergey will know we’re onto him.”

  Ferro wanted to curse at Gary for forcing him into the position of bringing Elisabeta to the surface immediately. He dissolved into mist and streamed away from the others, back toward his house, where his lifemate waited for him. He had looked forward to every rising with her. Now, he dreaded calling her to him.