Dark Song

19

Ferro didn’t know if he sang their song or if Elisabeta did when he first woke that next rising to find them blood. He only knew that much later, when she came to him in the sanctuary of their forest, she surrounded him with love. He felt so much emotion he was drowning, threatening to a centuries-old warrior who fought without a single sentiment for so long. It was beautiful. She made the colors of the forest, already so vibrant now that he could see them, even more vivid.

He had doubts for so long that she would never be able to live with him as he was, but the way she looked into his eyes, holding his body close, her hands pressing into his back, fingers digging into his shoulders and then down to his hips, told him she would stay for eternity. She made the earth move under them while the moon and stars seemed to spin overhead. Sounds of the ocean roared in his ears, a symphony of the greatest music the world could give them.

He threaded his fingers through hers, there in the forest, their favorite place of complete harmony, his body deep in hers, surrounded by fire, by her tight, silken sheath, knowing what he had been given and yet already her body was claiming his, driving out every sane thought until it was only the two of them going up in flames. Her breathy moans, the way she chanted his name, as if he were her only focus in the world. She made him feel that way.

He loved her with every stroke of his body. Every movement of his surging hips. Of his fingers clamping down so tightly on her hips, urging her to meet his thrusts. He had wanted to be her shelter, and yet she had become his. He found himself lost in her. The way she came so gently into his mind and memories, filling all those tears and cracks that had formed over the centuries from the battles and kills, the wounds he’d sustained. She managed, with her compassion and soothing nature, to find a way to repair every tattered rend in his heart, those terrible black holes that had stripped his humanity from him.

Ferro framed her beloved face with both hands and looked down into her eyes. “I love you, sívamet. You are hän ku vigyáz sívamet és sielamet, keeper of my heart and soul, and you have done so in ways I could never imagine. I am so in love with you, Elisabeta. I will make mistakes, and I will forget to tell you how truly beautiful you are, both inside and out, and if that happens, please remind me that there are very necessary things to say to you each rising.”

He bent his head and brushed kisses over each eye, her nose, the corners of her mouth and then her lips. He loved her mouth. The curve. The definition. The way she tasted when she parted her lips for him. The fire there. The love he found there. The true meaning of lifemate when she gave him everything that she was.

“We could just stay right here, piŋe sarnanak. You could practice your flying, although you have gotten quite good. So much so that I believe that last time you were showing off a bit.”

She laughed. He loved when she genuinely laughed. He knew that was so rare for her, and when he could actually give that to her, those moments of joy, he found those were the times he valued the most.

“I would like that, kont o sívanak, but somehow I do not think they will allow us the freedom to do so. No doubt one of the brethren will be calling you soon, wondering where we are. We have this battle plan, and you and I are an integral part of it.”

“The more I think about it, the less I like this idea,” Ferro said with a sigh, rubbing his face on the curves of her breast, leaving red marks from the short stubble he knew she liked when he was extremely attentive between her legs. “Why is it that no matter what I do, you always seem to be in some kind of danger?”

“Tariq put the call out for more Carpathians and I thought many came. Am I wrong?”

Elisabeta was always that voice of calm—of sweet reason when there was none—when it came to putting her in danger.

He growled at her to show his disapproval. She laughed again, not in the least impressed with his very lethal imitation of a wolf. He bent his head to her bare breast and nipped. She jumped and settled when he lapped soothingly at the little mark with the healing saliva of his tongue. Her fingers fisted in his hair.

“Josef will be in more danger than I will. I do not like that he will put himself in the open like that in order to draw the Malinov cousins in. I honestly do not think it will work. Sergey I can call in. He will not be able to refuse my call, but they will send servants to collect Josef. They will be counting on the diversion to search the place they believe the object they seek is.”

“Have you remembered where that is?” He stroked his hand down her body, a bit possessively, from her throat to her waist.

Ferro knew they were running out of time. He detested giving up their brief moments together. It was never enough. No matter if they spent a day, a week, a year alone, for him it wouldn’t be enough. He wanted more time to just take her in. Revel in her. Please her. Find ways to make her laugh and enjoy life. Show her the wonders of the world. Learn things together. Have firsts. Just be.

“I have no way of knowing where Tariq put his piece of the object. But I am trying to find the Malinov piece. I think I am getting closer. It is a lot of centuries and conversations to go through in order to find that one thing we are looking for. Ruslan was the one who referred to it once. I think he was the brother who thought he knew where his father had hidden it. He did not want to tell anyone else, so they would consider him too important to conspire against. In the beginning, when they first turned, they all had major issues with vanity and the need to be the one in charge. All of them were quite cruel and violent. They had to overcome those traits to get back to working smoothly with one another.”

Elisabeta gave a delicate little shudder and Ferro immediately wrapped his arms around her and sat up, pulling her with him so she was sitting in his lap. He wanted to assure her that she was safe, but it seemed each time he said that, she was attacked in some way. He drew in a deep breath.

“We are powerful together, you know that, right, Elisabeta?” He rubbed his chin over the top of her head, back and forth, allowing her hair to catch in the stubble along his jaw. “I have always been a force against the vampire. They fear my name. We are twice that force when we are together. You may be gentle and kind but you have learned to bend with the wind, not break. We are forged together in a way few will ever understand, certainly not our enemies.”

“I no longer fear Sergey,” she whispered, tilting her head back to rest it against his chest. “I have learned so much from you. I realized that all this time I gave him power over me. He kept me starved and afraid. He kept me from knowing even the smallest thing so that I would feel completely dependent on him. You opened my cage and set me free.”

Ferro tightened his arms around her. “You were so terrified of being out of that cage at times I felt as if I was torturing you.”

“This journey has been frightening,” she acknowledged. “But in a good way, Ferro. I found myself learning faster and faster, taking in everything you showed me. Lorraine and Julija showed me many things. Even Emeline shared with me. So many people were around me, willing to give me knowledge. I was afraid of them, and if I’m honest, still am, but I can feel myself getting stronger, growing in courage with each rising, thanks to you. You give me courage, Ferro. You make me believe in myself.”

“You are going to need all that courage today, minan piŋe sarnanak.” Ferro knew he was going to need it as well.

He stood up reluctantly, taking her with him, setting her on her feet. With a wave of his hand he clothed both of them, dressing her in the longer dress she preferred.

“I heard you extend an offer to Josef to help train him in the ways of a hunter, you and your brethren. That was very sweet of you, Ferro.” Elisabeta turned into him, sliding her slender arms up his chest and around his neck to link her fingers together there.

He winced a little at the word sweet. He had never been considered sweet in his life. The kid needed confidence that he would make a good hunter of the vampire. Ferro was certain Josef would have no problem. He paid attention to detail. He had the desire and drive. Body type didn’t matter as much as stamina did. At the end of the day, sometimes it came down to who was in the best shape.

Josef didn’t back down from a fight. Ferro had studied him. It didn’t matter who confronted him; if he believed in what he said, he argued his position passionately. All of the brethren had respect for the kid. Like Ferro, they wanted to train him so that he had the best of chances when he was old enough to hunt the vampire. There would come a time when he would lose his emotions and his ability to see in color, and all that he would have left to him was his honor. It was then that he had to believe in himself. The foundation they gave him was important. He couldn’t be adrift, thinking he was never good enough. He had to believe he was an honorable Carpathian male and an asset to his people as a hunter.

“All the brethren are going to work with him,” Ferro told her.

“Because you asked them to,” Elisabeta pointed out.

He wrapped his arm around her waist. “Sívamet, do me a favor and never use the word sweet in front of any of the others. I would never hear the end of it. Especially in front of Sandu. Or Lorraine.”

“Lorraine thinks you are sweet.”

“No, she doesn’t. She thinks I’m a caveman and I like that she thinks that. It makes for fun evenings when she visits with you. Julija, on the other hand, can think I am sweet. You can share that with her as often as possible, just not when the brethren are around. I have no wish to be turned into a toad, or suddenly have a tail or donkey ears, no matter how temporary. She’s mage and can be vengeful.”

Elisabeta’s joyous laughter spilled out, filling the air, lighting Ferro’s world. The forest took on a distinctly festive atmosphere, a phenomenon he found happened quite often whenever he was in Elisabeta’s presence.

“You deliberately keep the others from knowing you have a sense of humor.”

That was true. He wasn’t the kind of man who would ever be that comfortable being too close with his neighbors.

Elisabeta rubbed her face against his chest like a little cat. “You persist in thinking that once I come into my own power, growing as modern as Lorraine or Julija, that I would not choose you because you are a dominant, overbearing tyrant. That is completely absurd. First, you are not any of those things. And second, I am your lifemate. As you need to please me, I need to please you. That is the way lifemates work. And you lived with the brethren for centuries. All of you follow one another. You are a family. You fight for one another. You are already setting up homes here in this compound together, so that negates what you were just thinking about yourself.”

Ferro closed his eyes and held her to him, savoring her. Her scent. The feel of her feminine form up against his. “We are going to do this together. If nothing else, minan piŋe sarnanak, we will end Sergey’s reign of terror once and for all.”

She tilted her head. He saw trepidation, but there was also belief in him. In her. In them together. She nodded her head slowly. “We will, Ferro. And we will keep Josef safe as well.”

He took his time kissing her because he found he needed to. There was so much courage in Elisabeta. So much steel. She had thought herself small and insignificant, and all along she held so much power in her slender, womanly body and that quick, intelligent mind. He was fiercely proud that the universe had partnered him with such an unbelievable treasure.

Music blared, the lights spinning dark purple and blue as Josef sauntered into the underground nightclub, his gaze arrogantly scanning the crowd. Women turned to look as he passed them. Like all Carpathians, there was a magnetism to him that was blatant in the fluid way he moved. He was dressed in black leather pants, a black shirt with cord laces going up the front. He appeared confident, sexy, charming and very modern as he walked briskly through the first bar straight toward the second one.

Behind him, two couples had also entered, talking together, their faces obscured by their costumes, the men taller, holding hands with their partners as they cut through the crowd going toward the second bar. Barack and Syndil, two members of the Dark Troubadour band, legends in the Carpathian community, were dressed in black, taking in everything and conveying the information to the other Carpathians as they followed Josef. Dayan, another band member, and Corrine, his lifemate, also followed, dressed in black, their makeup impeccable, impossible to be recognized as Carpathian as they moved through the crowd, picking up the strains of thoughts as well as conversations.

The underground club was designed to appeal to the goth crowd. It was very popular with both the goth and goth-vampire cultures. The full basement beneath the large nightclub had been renovated into three bars, each looking like a series of caves, one leading into the next. All had wellmarked exits, but the interiors were dark and lit mostly with wall sconces that looked like old-fashioned candles so that flames flickered on the walls of the caves.

Each bar was quite large and shaped like a cave, the sides appearing as if carved from the inside of the bowels of a mountain. The walls seemed so real, glittering with rock that had strains of minerals and even gems running through them. In a few places water appeared to leak in steady trickles that created dark curved streaks playing through the “dirt” of the walls. Rocks jutted out here and there, giving more dimension and realism to the feeling of a cavern.

Colors pulsed through the bars, dark purple and blue, a bruising heartbeat that vibrated the floor and walls and bodies of those inside, connecting them together. It became a singular experience to attend the club, one to be repeated, almost an addiction, a need to return again and again to find others accepting of differences so many felt.

The feel in the club was quite different than Ferro expected. It wasn’t the men drooling over the women, looking for a quick lay. It wasn’t even a bunch of depressed crazies coming together to hang out, staring into their glasses of alcohol. These were people of all ages, dancing to different types of music, dressing the way they wanted, accepting one another the way they were no matter age, gender or preference for partners.

Ferro was with a contingent of Carpathian hunters scattered around the underground club, unseen, a part of the walls, impossible to detect by the human psychic males that had been placed in the nightclub systematically over the last few years. Tariq had been shocked that so many had been. Seventeen of his servers had been identified by Josef as actually working for the enemy.

Tariq had looked at the work schedule and discovered that all were working this rising, that they had traded shifts with others to be certain to be on, which only proved Josef was correct. One other had also traded shifts, making him appear suspicious, so they added his name to the roster, bringing the number to eighteen.

They couldn’t have any of the human psychics working close together and take a chance that their combined gifts would give away the fact that many of the Carpathians were in the club. Fortunately, the building was four stories high with a club on each floor. Each floor had a different type of dance music playing, creating a different atmosphere. The center of each floor was open so one could look down and see onto the dance floors of the clubs below it—all but the underground cave, which was kept extremely private.

The underground club added an additional working environment that had to be covered. Not only was the nightclub enormously popular, crowded and always busy, but Tariq employed quite a number of workers for each separate club. Tariq simply shifted the workers around.

Woman is approaching me, Josef announced. Definitely human. Her mind is protected. She has to be Sergey’s.

Ferro and each of the other Carpathians reached out very gently in an attempt to try to scan the redheaded woman walking boldly up to Josef. She was short, with large brown eyes and a generous mouth.

She looks a little bit like Skyler did when she was younger, Josef said. He nearly groaned. I think of Skyler as a little sister. How am I supposed to flirt with this girl?

It’s called acting, Dayan said. We all know you’re good at that. Anytime you’re around the prince you put on a good show.

Ferro would have given anything to ask questions about the kinds of things the kid did when he was around Mikhail. Any of the Carpathians could have broken through the shield erected in the woman’s mind, but Sergey would have known and immediately been alerted.

Elisabeta, can you tell if Sergey was the one to place the barrier in the girl’s brain, and if so, can you push past it without his knowledge? Ferro asked.

Elisabeta was hidden, Julija and Lorraine close to her, along with Blaze, Maksim’s lifemate. Ferro had an aversion to the women being anywhere near action that could be as intense as this battle might prove to be, but they needed Elisabeta close and they wanted to keep the humans safe. Cornel and Dorin intended to start a bloodbath right there at the nightclub for a diversion no matter what. To save lives, they had to take the risk.

Yes, her name is Linda. She was protected by him, but it was easy enough to move past it. Her orders are very simple. She is to get him to take her to the third bar and go to a specific table in the far back near the exit. They are waiting to take him there. Linda will distract him while they come up on him.

Does she know about the plans for the vampires to hunt in this bar or the ones upstairs?

No. She has no idea. They did not warn her to leave.

Of course they hadn’t. Ferro wasn’t surprised. Once she did her job, she would be of no more use to them. More than likely they would throw her in the van, or whatever means they used to transport Josef, and take her as well for her blood. They wanted to feast this rising. The vampires were looking forward to it.

I can call Sergey to me, Elisabeta offered.

Not yet. I have to know where Cornel and Dorin are. Where their servants are. The hunters have to stop them, Elisabeta. Then we will go after Sergey. He is the least of our worries for now. We protect Josef and the humans.

She was silent a moment. This is not the best place for me to be, Ferro. If I were higher up and not so closed in, I could give exact locations for you, just as I did when I could tell you where Sergey was. You want me safe. I understand that, she added before he could protest. But you also need all these people safe. That is our true purpose as Carpathians. You just stated what we were to do. Let me move locations. You, Sandu and Gary can escort Lorraine and the others with me. Every Carpathian warrior can stand by if need be, but I am telling you I will be far more valuable to you if I am where I can be useful.

Ferro tasted fear in his mouth. He had known all along it would come to this. When he had first woken, that moment even as his heart had taken its first beat, he had known Elisabeta would be in terrible danger. There was Josef, his arm slung around Linda’s neck, sauntering slowly through the third bar toward that back table where he knew a trap waited for him. An ambush.

Josef. A kid with more courage than he should have. Elisabeta. His woman, terrifying him with her bravery, knowing she was facing the Malinov brother who dared to deceive her centuries earlier, kidnapping and keeping her in a cage, mentally and physically torturing her. Ferro had to have that same courage. If they could do this, then he could as well.

Josef, delay reaching that table until I let you know it is safe to do so.

Josef whispered in Linda’s ear. She shook her head, but he just laughed and turned them, heading toward the actual bar where people were lined up to get drinks. Ferro waited until Josef was at the bar, engaging with others around him. Dayan and Corinne had come up behind him. Barack and Syndil had hemmed Linda in on the other side, making it just a little difficult for them to move. Syndil immediately began talking with Linda. Her voice was very mesmerizing, enthralling Linda so that she barely realized minutes were slipping away as Josef waited patiently for his turn instead of calling for a drink as he could have.

Ferro immediately hurried to the second cave and the middle of the wall where the women waited unseen and impossible to detect, protected by not only the Carpathian warriors but Julija’s mage magic. Julija alone would have been a force to be reckoned with, but the combination with the Carpathian ancients should have put Ferro’s mind at ease. It should have, but Elisabeta was his world, so it didn’t.

“Where do you need to be?” He knew exactly what she was going to say before she even said it.

“The rooftop.”

Out in the open. Exposed. Of course it would have to be the rooftop. He looked in despair, first at Lorraine and then to Andor, Lorraine’s lifemate. Andor knew. Isai, Julija’s lifemate, understood the danger as well. The rooftop was where the vampires could strike easily with just about any weapon. The two ancients had joined him to escort the women to their new location and then weave safeguards around them.

“Is there a second choice?” Isai asked.

Elisabeta looked at Ferro. For the first time, he silently willed her not to answer. If she couldn’t do it on her own, as she normally couldn’t, then maybe he would have every reason to justify keeping her safe—but he knew better. He knew he wouldn’t.

For finding the army of vampires and directing our hunters to them, it has to be the roof. There are so many of them, and so many different directions you need me to find them in. From there, I can find the master vampires as well. Elisabeta gave her answer to Ferro alone. There are safer places, but those places will limit me. I do not wish you to be so uneasy, beloved. I will do whatever is your preference.

Her courage astounded him, as did her audacity. Sun scorch the woman; she was manipulating him and it was working. He couldn’t very well be a coward when she was a shining example of female daring.

“I will take Elisabeta to the roof. Lorraine and Julija do not need to be with her there. In fact, they might be of more use in the club.”

Lorraine rolled her eyes. “You are not in the least good at telling lies, Ferro.”

“I said might,” he pointed out.

He took his lifemate in his arms. She could fly. She might even want to fly, but he needed to hold her as he took her out of the cavern and into the night air. His brethren could deal with their lifemates, decide one way or the other what they were going to do, but right now, he was going to let himself just feel the soothing comfort of his woman’s gift.

Elisabeta surrounded him with her serenity, heightening the night’s deceptive illusion of peace with her familiar and haunting fragrance, the one that now stayed with him even when he was away from her. Above them the moon had begun to slip into its next phase. Clouds drifted lazily across the deep midnight-blue-colored sky so that a slightly wider sliver of a silver curve peered down at them. A sea of stars, each trying to outshine the next, surrounded the moon as the gray clouds floated almost languidly. The clouds were deceptive; already the predicted storm was moving toward them.

Her breath caught in her throat and she pressed her face into his shoulder. The vampire servants are spread out, Ferro, moving through the city, all heading this way.

Numbers? At once he was all business, a full Carpathian hunter, setting his lifemate on the rooftop, his two brethren joining him with their women.

They began to weave their safeguards over the top of the building, an intricate web with Julija adding in her strand of magic and binding it tight every few strands over and over as they shared information with the others as quickly as possible. They couldn’t leave Josef waiting too long or Sergey would become suspicious.

Each of the master vampires has ten servant vampires. That is all they can seem to sustain at any one time without things beginning to go very wrong. There are seven master vampires somewhere close, so you are looking at seventy of them coming to you. Do not forget those unfortunate newly made vampires. They will be the most aggressive, the bloodiest and the first they will send in.

Where are the ones looking to acquire Josef? Are they servants? Do you know who they are? Ferro asked.

He was already on the move, taking one side of the building while Isai, Andor and Julija each took a different side, all four continuing to weave the safeguards as they hurried to the underground cavern. Once there, Julija broke off and returned to the rooftop, slipping through the magic loop she’d left for herself and then pulling it tight behind her to enclose herself inside.

Edward Varga waits at the exit with two of Cornel’s highest-ranking servants. Varga knows if he shirks his duty in any way, he will be punished in a hideous way. Cornel has stressed to all of them that Josef cannot be harmed. He is to be alive and in good condition.

Ferro was grateful that Cornel had no idea that Elisabeta could tap into Sergey’s mind. Everything was shared with Sergey. Leaving him alive was difficult but necessary. Elisabeta could feel where the others were, but she would know exactly what was being said or what orders had been given as long as Sergey lived.

Josef, let her take you to the table. Move slowly. Stop and start. Keep talking to others around you. We are going to move on their army as they head toward the nightclub and begin to take them out one by one, coming up on the ones in the rear, Tariq ordered. Dragomir, you take your men and start the hunt to the west.

Fane and Aleksi, two brethren from the monastery, had answered the call, bringing their lifemates as well. Both ancients were hunting with Dragomir. They were fast and deadly, and few could best them in any battle. They needed that kind of firepower this rising.

Maksim, you take your men and hunt to the east. Get in behind them. Elisabeta has established a grid for us. Take the last man on the grid and move up. The clouds are thickening slowly so they seem natural. I don’t want Cornel to worry too early and make a run for it.

Andre, a Carpathian male who had come and gone from the monastery bringing the brethren news and blood, joining them when he needed to be away from hunting and killing, was a brilliant addition to the hunt. He was the equivalent of an entire wolf pack. He’d brought his lifemate with him, the granddaughter of Fane’s lifemate. Both fierce women were in the compound, helping to protect the children there if need be. He was very close to the triplets.

Julian Savage, one of the legendary Carpathian twins, lifemate to Desari, singer of the Dark Troubadour band, was known for centuries for his skills in battle against vampires. Just his name alone would send vampires scuttling out of a region if they knew he had entered it. Both men had joined with Maksim to clear out as many of the servants of the master vampires as possible.

Valentin, your men must hunt to the south. All of you will have at least seven to try to destroy before they reach the nightclub. That does not give you a lot of time, Tariq added.

Darius Daratrazanoff was a force to be reckoned with, like all those in his lineage. He was by turns a healer or a master hunter. He had been cut off from all Carpathians as a very young child with the responsibility of several young children, and he had risen to the occasion, keeping them safe and raising them as best he could, without the knowledge of their culture. He had finally met his lifemate. Tempest was at the compound with their twins, Aniko and Andor, under heavy safeguards while the Carpathians hoped to strike a huge blow at the vampires.

Afanasiv Balan spent more than a century in the monastery with the others before he had to leave, unable to keep from battle hunting after so long doing so. He wore the vows carved into his skin as they all did and came back often to ensure he stayed strong for a lifemate he had yet to meet. He was a fierce hunter, very skilled and fast.

Petru, take your men to the north. All of you be aware of the five newly made vampires that will be turning up somewhere. If Cornel or Sergey is so lax as to allow them to come through the city, they will be unable to resist preying on anyone, man, woman or child, they come across. The servants each of the master vampires has will be anywhere from close-to-master-vampire status to centuries-old vampire, so battle experienced. They would not have one serve them with less skill.

Ferro knew Petru had wanted to remain with those at the nightclub, not head a team of warriors going after lesser vampires. Still, there were at least ten for each team to kill, and they had only spared three men to hunt them down. Lojos, the last of the triplets, and Nicu Dalca, another ancient who wore the vows of the brethren on his back, had preferred to stay and protect the nightclub and the number of people inside it. Nicu was deceptively slender but all muscle, and moved like lightning in a fight. The teams were formidable, there was no doubt about that.

Ferro couldn’t monitor them. That wasn’t his job. Ensuring Josef’s safety was. He watched the woman carefully. She was all over Josef, touching him, laughing, whispering into his ear. Trying to sit in his lap. Kissing him repeatedly. Ferro narrowed his eyes. He had excellent vision, but the table was low and he wasn’t at the right angle to see when she kept squirming around.

Linda is up to something, Josef. Be very careful. Watch her hands. Can any of you see what she is up to? Elisabeta? Can you delve a little further into her mind without Sergey becoming aware of your presence?

Ferro didn’t like to take his lifemate’s attention away from aiding those in the streets. An army of vampires moving through a city where there were innocent humans, blood running in their veins, hearts beating a terrible temptation continuously. Still, unease was growing in him. He suddenly had the desire to come out of the wall, straight at Linda, and tear her away from Josef.

Is it possible that Josef is a distraction? That Cornel knows about your connection with Sergey and has prepared for it?

As always Elisabeta took her time deliberating before answering him. Any other time he wouldn’t mind, but right at that moment, when the redheaded Linda was clearly using her every move to seduce Josef, squirming on his lap, kissing him passionately, running her hands through his hair, down his back, and all over his body, his alarms were screaming at him.

Barack, Syndil, can you stop by Josef and Linda’s table with a drink for them and interrupt? Or at least see what she’s up to? I do not have a good angle from here. The waiter closest to that table is one of those working for Sergey. He is watching the couple very closely. In fact, he’s paying more attention to them than he is to his customers.

We can deal with him, Dayan offered.

Corrine suddenly appeared directly in the waiter’s path while his head was turned toward Josef and Linda’s table. The waiter ran right into her, the collision much harder than expected, throwing her to the floor and sending him sailing over the top of her. He somersaulted, smashing both legs into the edge of the wall. He screamed, as did Corrine. Heads turned toward them. Josef stood, nearly dumping Linda off his lap, hurrying across the short distance to crouch down beside Corrine and run his hands lightly over her legs and arms looking for injuries. Linda tapped her foot, one hand on her hip, looking annoyed. The waiter continued to scream, writhing in pain.

Both legs broken. They’ll have to delay whatever plan they have for a few minutes while he’s taken out of here, Dayan said, satisfaction in his voice. That should give our teams in the city time to do some thorough hunting.

Linda is very frustrated. She wants to go home. Her head is hurting but she cannot leave without accomplishing her task. She does not even remember why it is so important, only that she must get Josef to be so enamored with her that she can inject him with a syringe filled with a chemical the vampire gave her. The vampire was an Astor, not Addler but a different Astor, so it has to be the cousin that came and went upon occasion. He was younger. He did not like to be around the Malinov brothers and refused to give them the kind of allegiance they desired.

I need his name, Elisabeta. He tried not to push her, but Carpathians such as Tariq, Gary and the triplets, the ones who spent time in the Carpathian Mountains or around humans, might recall the names better than any of the ancients who had been locked away in the monastery.

Again, there was that slight retreat.

Minan piŋe sarnanak, I thank you for the information and the infinite patience you have with all the demands we keep putting on you. I know you must be tired.

She was aiding the four teams in the city, helping them hunt, showing them where the enemy was as best she could, giving them locations on a grid while they were moving.

Cornel cannot know what I can or cannot do, Ferro. He is not aware of me even when I touch on him. I can always tell when someone is becoming aware of my presence. There is a slight change in their energy. It is much like an automatic reflex. We can control our heartbeats, our breathing, but even with all those things, those gifts, there is always that one moment when a change takes place in the body. When we become aware.

Ferro could tell she was choosing her words carefully.

I am not talking about the outside tells that I read, although they give people away easily as well, but these are very subtle in the mind. You are extremely good at reading them, you just do not always recognize that you are reading something you do not like. When you called to me with your song that first rising, drawing me from the earth, you already knew something was wrong. You already felt it and you were wary. You are tied to Gary and you read his unease over me. Instinctively, you moved to protect me without fully knowing what caused you to begin to separate yourself from those who lived here in the compound.

How could he know that you can do the things that you do when you were not fully aware of your gifts?

I knew I could read others, Ferro, I just never shared those things. Gary is an ancient from a powerful bloodline. His ancestors poured themselves into him, all of them. They reside in him, both a blessing and a curse. By tying his soul to yours, when you recognized me as your lifemate, little by little he began to recognize traits in me.

Before you even came to the surface as my lifemate.

Ferro didn’t know why, but it bothered him that Gary would recognize her brilliance and perhaps want to crush it before she could even find her power. Or before Ferro had the chance to recognize she was truly in danger from someone he considered a friend and ally. Did that make him the worst lifemate ever born?

Hän sívamak. She whispered “beloved” in his mind, surrounding him with her loving serenity that only Elisabeta could provide. His woman. She made him feel as if he was her only focus when she was providing information through Lorraine and Julija to Tariq so his teams could wipe out the servants of the master vampires.

Ferro, his name is Robi Astor. He is a second- or third-generation cousin. There was triumph in her mind in the remembering. Excitement and confidence. I did not see him often. He did not like being around any of the Malinovs. He did consult with Cornel because Addler would report to Sergey or Cornel would. He was intelligent, and much less flamboyant than the other Astors. I thought he was very smart to keep his distance from the Malinovs. They would have considered him a rival. Anyone with a true brain was considered an opponent and either had to be shown to be less than them in a very decisive way or killed.

Ferro was so proud of her sharing her thoughts with him. She pulled up memories from so long ago, analyzed them and gave him the results. She’d come such a long way in only a few risings, already believing in herself. It was there all along, she just needed an environment to thrive. He was going to ensure that was never taken from her. Never.

Too many of the servants are beginning to disappear, Ferro, and the master vampires are noticing. Cornel is becoming concerned. They are discussing launching their attack on the nightclub right now. Elisabeta went from triumph to fear in moments.