At once the mire erupted with hundreds of huge leeches, boiling out of the mud to swarm at Gabriel. Even as they did so, the air groaned with a sudden infestation of owls, a black cloud of bodies that dove, talons extended, straight for the hunter. The vampire turned to make his escape and ran straight into the Carpathian. The hunter seemed to shimmer out of the air itself, his face a mask of granite.
The vampire looked down and saw his chest, wide open, his withered heart pulsing in the fist of the hunter. The man never changed expression, yet he seemed to be fading in and out, almost an illusion. Only his fist was all too real. The vampire screamed his hatred and defiance, lunging forward in an attempt to recover his stolen heart. He fell facedown in the muck of his own making, the leeches finding him immediately. They covered his body, filling the empty hole in his chest.
Gabriel had been forced to dissolve when the vampire sent his servants to attack. He had risen high above the ground, into the clouds themselves. Now he directed the electrically charged air in a thin whip along the ground to sear the leeches and fry the raptors right out of the sky. They rained on the earth, their blackened bodies plopping into the bog. He could see the vampire lying in the muck along with his minions and wondered for a moment what trick the undead thought to play.
What good would it do to pretend death?
With his superior eyesight, Gabriel could see the vampire"s heart several feet from his body, lying atop a rock. Lucian. He had definitely joined the hunt, removing all other players from their battleground. Gabriel could see that the vampire was dragging himself forward, inching his way ever closer to the withered heart. At once Gabriel directed the whip of lightning, reducing the heart to a pile of ashes, ensuring the undead could never rise again. The vampire let out a hideous hiss, a last protest just as the lightning bolt took him, incinerating his body, removing all evidence of his existence. There was nothing left to do but clean up. Gabriel took care to eliminate all evidence of the vampire and his work from the area. The bog would be a trap for animals and humans alike, and Gabriel used precious energy to eradicate it. It took a long time to extract every evil thing from that place, replacing it with good.
Whatever game Lucian was playing, it would have to wait. Gabriel"s wounds were throbbing. He kept the pain at bay, but his energy was gone. He would not attempt to pursue Lucian this night.
He could only find it in himself to be grateful his twin had come down on his side in the battle.
When Gabriel turned toward his home, weariness immediately set in. He was tired and his wounds could no longer be ignored. He needed blood and Francesca"s healing presence. He was eternally grateful he had a home and a lifemate to go back to.
Chapter Seventeen
The moment he entered the house, Gabriel knew something was wrong. There was an oppressive feeling of danger. Some menace disturbed the usual tranquility. Automatically he touched Francesca and found her filled with fear. But the fear was for Gabriel and their unborn child, not for herself. Gabriel glided through the upper story, his feet barely touching the floor. There was blood oozing from the deep scratches on his arm, and the puncture wound in his side was throbbing with each movement. The pain in his ribs took his breath away. He was tired, his great strength drained.
Naturally Lucian would choose this time for their battle. He knew Lucian was in the house; there was no other explanation. Only Lucian was powerful enough to conceal his presence from the air itself. As Gabriel continued through the house, he shut off his emotions, his fear for Francesca and Skyler, his doubt in his ability to defeat his brother, the pain of his wounds, and his fatigue. He became the emotionless robot he would have to be to defeat the greatest, the most powerful vampire ever in existence.
The large living room was empty, but he caught a glimpse of Santino and Drusilla lying together on the floor of their bedroom. He didn"t bother to check if they were alive or dead; it wouldn"t make a difference at this point. He accepted that he could do nothing for them until he had taken care of his greatest task. Lucian must be defeated. Gabriel scanned the house for Skyler"s presence, and found her in her room seemingly fast asleep. He could sense Francesca"s hand in that; there was a very feminine feel to the power that clung to Skyler"s room. It was like Francesca to think of the girl even in her own moment of stark terror. If she could help Skyler sleep through this nightmare, then she would do so.
Gabriel scanned farther, checking the underground chamber where Brice slept fitfully. The vampire"s tainted blood was still in his system, poisoning him, making him restless despite the healing herbs and the deep sleep he had been placed in, but he was not in danger from Lucian.
Those safeguards were intact.
Gabriel continued moving through the house, making no attempt to hide his presence. Lucian was expecting him. He moved slowly into the drawing room. Francesca was seated in a high-backed armchair facing his twin. Lucian was in the shadows, his face hidden from Gabriel, but he stood tall, shoulders wide, his clothes, as always, immaculate.
"We have a visitor, Gabriel," Francesca announced, her voice matter-of-fact. "Skyler thought he was you when he came to the door."
Gabriel nodded. He merged with Francesca to "see" her memories, not wanting to ask questions in front of Lucian. Skyler didn"t know she had allowed their enemy entrance into their home. Lucian, a powerful ancient, had easily changed his thought patterns and aura to those of his twin. He hadn"t revealed his true ident.i.ty to Skyler and neither had Francesca. Francesca had put her under compulsion to sleep in an attempt to save her from what was to come.
"Did he touch you, harm you in any way?"
"He asked me questions." There was a note in Francesca"s voice that Gabriel couldn"t define.
"Personal questions about myself. He did not come near me, but stayed in the shadows where I could not see him or touch him. He did not attempt to take my blood or the blood of any residing in this house."
"I trust your greetings are satisfactory and are over now," Lucian said in his beautiful voice. It seemed to send out a wave of purity and goodness.
"You are welcome in our home, brother," Francesca said suddenly, softly. "Please come in and sit with us for a visit. It has been long since you and your brother have had an occasion to visit in a tranquil setting." She gestured toward a chair, her movements graceful.
Francesca had a way about her-her voice, the way her body moved, her very presence-that soothed and made those near by feel at peace. She was wielding her magic now, her greatest gift, in an attempt to reach Lucian. She knew it was hopeless. Once a Carpathian male had chosen to give up his soul, he was lost for all time. There was no going back. Even Francesca, with her great healing powers, could not do the impossible. Gabriel ached to gather her in his arms and hold her to him, both as comfort for himself and for her.
"You wish us to be civil before our battle." Lucian looked around the room. "This does seem a place of peace rather than war." He lowered his voice so that it became a compulsion. "Come here to me then, sister, and share your strength with me."
Gabriel inserted his body between his twin and his lifemate immediately. He crouched low, his stance that of a fighter. Behind him, Francesca watched with sorrow-filled eyes as the tall, elegant man approached them. He came out of the shadows, looking what he was, a dark, dangerous predator. His black eyes glittered dangerously. They were graveyard eyes, eyes empty of all emotion. Eyes of death. He moved with an animal grace, a ripple of power.
"Stay back, Lucian," Gabriel warned softly. "You will not endanger my lifemate."
"It was you who brought her to danger, Gabriel," the voice said softly. "You should have done what you vowed so many centuries ago. Now you have brought more p.a.w.ns into our game. I did not have anything to do with that." The voice was sweetly reasonable. "I see you are injured. I trust that will not prevent you from doing your duty and destroying me."
"You were the one who destroyed the ancient undead."
"What do you mean? Lucian killed the vampire?" Francesca"s voice was in his head, her voice thoughtful.
Instead of answering her mind-to-mind, Gabriel chose to throw Lucian off guard with his answer.
"Lucian prevented the vampire from injuring me further and he used his voice to weaken him. I could not hear the murmuring, but I know he was there. He created a ma.s.sive storm and eventually it was Lucian who destroyed the undead while I took to the air above the battle scene."
Lucian shrugged his broad shoulders and turned his empty black eyes on his twin. "You made me a promise, Gabriel, and you will now carry it out." The voice was a whisper of velvet, a soft command.
Gabriel recognized the hidden compulsion even as he leaped forward to strike, closing the distance to Lucian so fast even Francesca could not see him moving. An eternity too late, with his lifemate"s cry of denial loud in his mind, he whipped his razor-sharp clawed hand at his twin brother"s throat, even as it registered that Lucian had opened his arms wide in acceptance of the kill. Lucian had given him a direct shot at his chest and jugular. No vampire would ever do such a thing. The undead fought with their dying breath to kill everyone and everything around them. To sacrifice one"s life was not the act of a vampire!
The knowledge came too late. Crimson droplets sprayed the room, arced over the heavy curtains.
Blood poured in a steady stream from the gaping wound. Gabriel tried to go back, to reach his brother, but Lucian"s power was far too great. Gabriel was unable to move, stopped in his tracks by Lucian"s will alone. His eyes widened in surprise. Lucian had so much power. Gabriel was an ancient, more powerful than most on earth. Until that moment he had thought himself Lucian"s equal.
Gabriel looked helplessly at Francesca. Her eyes were drowning in tears. "Help him. Save him for me. He will not allow me to aid him."
"He wants to end his life. I feel his resolve." Francesca moved, a slow subtle glide of grace and tranquility. "You must allow us to aid you," she said softly. Her voice was crystal clear, soothing.
She had a tremendous gift for healing; if anyone could prevent Lucian"s death, she could. "I know what you have done. You think to end your life now."
Lucian"s white teeth gleamed. "Gabriel has you to keep him safe. That has been my duty and privilege for many centuries, but it is ended. I go now to rest."
Blood was soaking his clothes, running down his arm. He made no attempt to stop it. He simply stood there, tall and straight. There was no hint of accusation in his eyes or voice or in his expression.
Gabriel stood very still, his eyes alive with pain and sorrow for his twin. "You did this for me. For four hundred years you have deceived me. You prevented me from making the kills, gave me no chance to turn. Why? Why would you risk your soul this way?"
Small white lines of strain were beginning to appear around Lucian"s mouth. "I knew you had a lifemate. Someone who would know told me many years ago. I asked him and knew he would not tell an untruth. You did not lose your feelings and emotions early, as I did. It took centuries. I was a mere fledging when I ceased to feel. But you merged your mind with mine and I was able to share your joy in life and see through your eyes. You made me remember what I could never have for myself." Lucian suddenly staggered, his great power draining away with his life.
Gabriel had been waiting for the moment when Lucian would weaken and the hold on him would loosen. He took advantage, powering through the barrier, leaping to his brother"s side, sweeping his tongue across the gaping wound to close it. Francesca was at Lucian"s other side, her small hand on his arm, gentle and soothing. She slipped her hand into Lucian"s to connect them. "You think there is no more purpose to your existence."
Lucian closed his eyes tiredly. "I have hunted and killed for two thousand years, sister. My soul has so many pieces missing, it is like a sieve. If I do not go now, I may not go later and my beloved brother would be forced to hunt and destroy a true vampire. It would be no easy task. He must remain safe. Already I could not walk quietly into the dawn. I relied on his aid. I have done my duty on this earth. Allow me to rest."
"There is another," Francesca whispered softly. "She is not like us. She is mortal. At this moment she is very young and in terrible pain. I can only say to you, if you do not stay she will live a life of such agony and despair as we cannot imagine. You must live for her. You must endure for her."
"You are telling me I have a lifemate."
"And that her need of you is great."
"Skyler is not my lifemate. I merged with her repeatedly to spare her suffering when she was alone and the terrible nightmares invaded. But she is not my lifemate." Even as he made the denial, Lucian was not resisting as Gabriel"s lifemate began to work on the savage wound.
"Nevertheless, I am not telling an untruth to hold you to this earth. I cannot tell you where she is or how I know, but she exists in this time period. I feel her sometimes and I know, now, she belongs with you. Allow me to heal you, my brother," she insisted softly, "if not for your sake or ours, for your lifemate, who has great need of you."
Gabriel filled the room with healing herbs and began the ancient healing chant. He cut his wrist and pressed the wound to his twin"s mouth. "I offer my life freely for yours. Take what you need to heal. We will put you deep within the soil and guard you until you are at full strength."
Lucian was reluctant to take Gabriel"s blood when his twin was already so depleted from his wounds. Gabriel pressed his wrist tight to his brother"s mouth, ensuring that he fed. He was determined to save Lucian"s life. He could not believe what his twin had suffered for him. He should have known, should have realized everything Lucian had done was for his protection. Lucian had always taken on the most ancient and skilled of their enemies, always inserted his body between Gabriel"s and death.
"Do not feel such guilt." Francesca"s voice was gentle in his mind. "It was always his choice. He made each choice with full knowledge of the consequences. You would never have agreed. Do not lessen his sacrifice to ease your guilt."
Francesca smiled up at Lucian as she applied precious soil from her homeland that she kept for dire emergencies. She had it stored with the numerous herbs she grew for just such an event. "You aided Skyler on more than one occasion. I thank you for that. And you brought to justice the men involved in harming her so that Gabriel would not have to do so. I could not understand, at first, why my lifemate had such trouble with the idea of destroying a creature he believed to be a vampire, but I understand now. A part of him knew you had not turned. Not his conscious mind, but his soul."
Gabriel helped to lower Lucian to the safety of the couch. Even as he aided his twin, he could feel his own great strength draining. They were in desperate need of blood. He glanced at the serenity of Francesca"s face and at once felt better. She always knew what was needed and he could trust her completely with his life and with that of his brother.
"I need to heal your wound, Lucian," she informed Gabriel"s twin gently.
Lucian closed the laceration in his brother"s wrist and looked into Francesca"s eyes. "I am no gentle man. I have killed so long, I know of no other existence. Tying any woman to me, Carpathian or mortal, is sentencing her to live with a monster."
"Perhaps a monster such as yourself is needed to protect her from the monsters who would destroy one such as she. Your first duty is to your lifemate, Lucian. You can do no other than find her and remove her from danger."
"The darkness is already in me; the shadows are permanent now."
"Have faith in your lifemate," Gabriel counseled, "as I have in mine. You were strong enough to sacrifice your life for mine. You are strong enough to live while you hunt for this woman of yours."
Francesca signaled to Gabriel and closed her eyes, shutting herself off from their conversation and all that was around them. She separated herself from her body and went seeking outside of herself into the body so mortally injured. She made the repairs with all the skill of a superior surgeon. All the while Gabriel chanted the healing words and the scent of the herbs filled the air.
Francesca removed herself from Lucian"s body and immediately entered Gabriel"s. She was not about to allow her lifemate to suffer needlessly. She meticulously attended every wound, every laceration, pushing out the poisonous cells the vampire had injected through his minions and repairing all damage from the inside out. It took time to repair his ribs, his lungs, the battle scars so deeply entrenched in his body. She was swaying with weariness when she emerged.
At once Gabriel put his arm around her. "Rest, honey, I will go out to hunt this night to replace the blood we need."
Francesca gave him one swift look of censure with her enormous black eyes. "I do not think so, Gabriel. You will stay right in this room. I am the healer and you will follow my instructions in this matter. You and Lucian will stay here where you both are perfectly safe in your weakened condition and I will return soon with the blood you need so desperately."
She rose with a little swish of her hips, a very feminine gesture of impatience with the male of the species. She looked quite haughty. Gabriel didn"t dare look at Lucian to see his expression. He watched her leave, his features carefully expressionless. It was only when he was certain she had left the house that he turned his head to meet his twin"s black gaze."Do not say it," Gabriel said with quiet menace.
"I said nothing," Lucian pointed out.
"You raised your eyebrow in that obnoxious way you have," Gabriel replied. "You are already in enough trouble with me without adding a sneer to your sins."
"She is not like the women I seem to remember from our youth."
"You did not know any women in our youth," Gabriel told him. "Francesca is a law unto herself.
She had hidden from the Prince of our people for as these long centuries."
"She hid from me," Lucian admitted. He slid farther down into the cushions of the couch, his large frame drained of its life-giving fluid. "I sensed her close on more than one occasion and often led you here in the hopes of discovering her, but she was always out of reach."
Gabriel was inordinately proud of Francesca for that.
When Lucian hunted the undead, none was successful in hiding from him, yet Francesca had done just that over several centuries. Lucian shook his head tiredly. "If she had not been so successful, we would have found her long ago and you would have been safe."
"And then you would have chosen to end your life and your lifemate would be without the one she needs so desperately," Gabriel pointed out rather smugly, Lucian"s empty black eyes gleamed for a moment, moving over his twin in a kind of warning.
Gabriel grinned at him like a little boy. "You hate it when I am right."
"She is with child," Lucian said suddenly, his eyes closing. His long lashes softened the lines of strain in his face. "She cannot enter the doctor"s body without endangering both of them, even with your aid. You know it is so."
"Yes, I know," Gabriel admitted. "There was no reason to tell her when I did not know if I would return to her. She gave me her word she would call Gregori in to aid her if I had failed to come back to her. Gregori would never have allowed Francesca to place herself or the child in jeopardy."
There was a small silence. Lucian had slowed his heart and lungs because his body was crying out for blood. Gabriel sighed. "You should not have done it, Lucian. You are correct, I was close to turning. I believe I felt Francesca"s decision to withdraw from this world. She was able to find a way to live partially as a human. Her intention was to grow old and die in this time period. She had been experimenting, seeking ways to become more human for several centuries."
"She is an extraordinary woman. I was astonished by her strength and ingenuity." Lucian"s voice was very low, a mere thread of sound. "You are the only reason I continued my existence, Gabriel. If not for you, I would have chosen to end my time in this world and go on to the next a long time ago. I did not believe there was ever hope for me. I lost my ability to see in color, to feel emotion almost immediately. I did not last the two hundred years our males usually have as fledglings. For years I used your emotions, but then you, too, lost them, and there was only one way for both of us to survive. I had to convince you I was a danger to the world or we both were lost. If you did not believe I was too dangerous to allow others to hunt me, you might have turned. And if that had happened, I knew I would not be able to destroy you."
Gabriel smiled. "You could have destroyed me. You are far more powerful than even I imagined."
"I would not have destroyed you, Gabriel. You are the one who sought to keep our vow. I would never have allowed anyone to kill you."
"You would have, Lucian," Gabriel said softly, knowing it was true in his heart. "You never have stepped aside from our chosen path and you never have gone back on your word of honor. You would have kept our vow."
"Your belief in me is greater than my own." Lucian lifted his head tiredly. "She returns to you, brother. She will attempt to replenish me as she believes I am in the most need. Take the blood and then give it to me. I have discovered you have a few flaws, and jealousy is one of your worst."
Francesca found the brothers stretched out on the couches in her drawing room, a small smile on Gabriel"s mouth, Lucian devoid of all expression. She started toward Lucian, but her lifemate stopped her. "Come to me, my love. I will feed and then care for my brother. We will have to utilize the soil beneath the chamber where the doctor rests."
If Francesca wanted to argue with him, Gabriel couldn"t find it in her mind. She went to his side instantly, leaning her body into his, her hands moving over him as if to a.s.sure herself he was in one piece. She was careful to stay clear of his wounds, although she pa.s.sed her palm over the mult.i.tude of deep scratches and bite marks, leaving behind a soothing balm. Whether it was in his mind or real, Gabriel didn"t know and didn"t care. She made him feel alive and whole. She made his world right again.
He gathered her close, inhaled her fragrance. He could hear the blood flowing in her veins, beckoning to him. Her scent mixed with the heady temptation, and the untamed beast in him rose quickly, his need and that of his brother great. Gabriel bent his dark head to her slender neck, tasted her satin skin, the warmth of her pulse. His mouth drifted down the warm column to the hollow of her shoulder, his teeth grazing her skin gently.
Francesca felt the shiver run along her spine. Gabriel had a way of doing that to her no matter what the circ.u.mstances. His arms tightened around her as he fitted her body more closely into his.
Despite the measure of his need, he knew they weren"t alone in the darkened room and he wouldn"t take sustenance from his lifemate in front of his brother. It was far too intimate a ritual for that. He moved her backward into the privacy of the heavy draperies. His mouth wandered lower, traveling over her shoulder toward the creamy swell of her breast, pushing the thin material of her shirt out of the way as he did so.
Instantly Francesca felt alive again. She had been holding her breath the entire time he was gone, her heart pounding with fear, but now it was pounding with excitement. There had been something wrong all along with the picture of Lucian as a vampire. He had intervened too often to protect Gabriel and those Gabriel loved. He had come to Skyler to soothe her, rather than hara.s.s and frighten her. She was ashamed of herself for not putting the pieces of the puzzle together much quicker.
Her head went back, her slender arms cradling Gabriel"s head to her as the white-hot whip of lightning danced through her bloodstream. His teeth had pierced deep and he was feeding. A kind of drowsy contentment took the place of her leaping pulse. It was edged with s.e.xual excitement; she couldn"t have Gabriel touch her like this and not want him, need him, even crave his body in hers.
Gabriel dragged her closer, his hands moving over her, pushing her shirt farther from her shoulders to feel the heat of her skin. She was soft and warm, a haven in his world of dark, dangerous battles. He closed the tiny pinp.r.i.c.ks with a sweep of his tongue and allowed his mouth the pleasure of tasting her skin for just one moment. He found the slope of her breast, the deep valley, drifted upward along her collarbone to her soft, vulnerable throat.
Beneath his palm her heart was beating with the same rhythm as his heart. Her mind was filled with desire for him, her body with liquid heat. "I am home." He whispered the words against the corner of her mouth. "Really home."
Francesca smiled as he kissed her face, her small dimple, her chin. "Of course you are, my love.
Now kiss me and give your brother what he needs so that later you can give me the things I need."
Her voice was no more than a warm breath in his ear, but Gabriel"s entire body tightened at her words. His mouth settled over hers, rocking the earth beneath their feet, whirling them together into another world, a time and place where they were alone with the heat of their bodies and pleasure uppermost in their minds.
Lucian coughed discreetly. "I am trying not to share your mind, Gabriel, but you are close and your combined emotions fill this small room. I have been long without feelings and the temptation is strong."
Gabriel pulled away from Francesca instantly, his black eyes glittering, but she was laughing, her face washed with color like a teenager. "We were being thoughtless." She pointed it out gently even as she adjusted her clothing and moved around him.
Gabriel loved the way she moved. Silent, very feminine, a symphony of motions that could rob him of breath. In his mind he heard a soft sigh, his twin"s reminder to get on with the job. Francesca was bending over Lucian, touching the wound on his throat and neck, her fingertips gentle, her manner tranquil. Gabriel knew she was providing another healing session. She could not touch someone who was hurt or in need and not provide solace of some kind.