Christine feehan - Dark Slayer 20

There was no way to go through centuries of torment without it taking a toll. Ivory had to pull out and take a breath. Gregori followed her closely.

«He gave up his body when he was less than twenty to save his sister. And he inadvertently traded a piece of his soul for his daughter's life.» Ivory lifted wet lashes to look at Gregori and then turned her head to her lifemate. «That is your greatest crime.»

«One of duty and love,» Gregori added. «You are no criminal, Razvan. You are a true Dragonseeker.» He sent a quick glance toward the prince. «No doubt I shall hear often how others recognized your true worth first.»

«No doubt,» Mikhail murmured.

«Can you remove Xavier's hold on my soul?» Razvan asked. «If he was to possess my body right now, he could see all of you, he could use me to strike at the prince, or at my own lifemate. I cannot take that kind of chance.»

«If Xavier found a way to mark an entrance to your body, then we can find a way to remove it,» Ivory said. «I have studied him carefully, and each time I run across a new work he has done, I have found the way to unravel it. I know this can be done.»

Gregori drew in his breath. Did you hear what she said, Mikhail?

I am not so old that I'm deaf.

Gregori kept his grin to himself. These two have far more information on our enemy than we have managed to gain in the time we have been trying.

We didn't exactly know Xavier was alive until recently.

«Ivory,» Sara said. «Do you know a way to stop the endless cycle of his microbes? He's mutated them in some way and grown them to penetrate the soil and find us. They cause miscarriages. Lara has been invaluable in trying to keep the women free, but she is only one person and cannot be turned fully until we find a permanent solution.»

«If Xavier has used his gifts for evil, I am certain I can undo whatever he has wrought. I have long studied his methods and successfully countered each of his spells.» Ivory spoke with confidence, not from bragging or ego, but obviously from experience. «I would have to study the microbes. Do you have samples?»

«We can get them,» Sara said.

«I can take them to my laboratory.» Ivory glanced up at the night sky. «We have a few hours left, but not enough, so I will return here tomorrow and you can bring them to me. I have spent most of my time beneath the earth and I am extremely light sensitive.»

We have a few things in common. Razvan's flick of his dark eyes showed camaraderie. He had spent most of the last few centuries beneath the earth as well, in the ice caves, and he was equally as sensitive.

Again there was that flood of warmth he associated with her. Comforting. Easing the aching loneliness that was such a part of him.

«You are welcome to come to my home. My lifemate is with child and staying close. She would very much like to meet you,» Mikhail offered. «And my brother's lifemate, Shea, and Gary have been working nonstop on trying to find a solution. Perhaps if you spoke with them it might eliminate several steps for your work.»

Ivory shrugged. «I thank you for the invitation, but until we know whether we can prevent Xavier from knowing our moves, it would be best to stay as far from you as possible.»

«I agree,» Gregori said before Mikhail could answer. He sent the prince a smoldering glare. «You and Raven must be protected at all times.»

Mikhail flashed Razvan a small grin. «Do you see what it is like to live with him? Nag, nag, nag. And he is my daughter's lifemate as well.»

«In this instance, I have to agree with him,» Razvan said. «If Xavier had an entrance through me to strike at you, he would be unable to resist. The thought of torturing me mentally amuses him. He is particularly fond of using me to harm my sister. If he could use me to harm the prince of the Carpathian people, and make certain I knew it, he would be elated.»

Ivory felt the wrenching pain in Razvan, although his voice was steady and his expression gave nothing away. Sorrow weighed heavily on him. With his emotions so new and raw, difficult to control, his love for Natalya, his determination to keep her safe at all costs, had infuriated Xavier, and now Razvan could remember and feel every betrayal as if it were the cut of a knife.

«If we can find his portal, Dragonseeker,» Gregori said, «we might be able to close it.» Once more he looked to Ivory. «Let's get it done.»

Ivory stroked her fingertips over his jaw, her touch lingering on his skin for just a moment. Abruptly, she shed her body and followed Gregori, pure light and energy, seeking darkness that had to be hiding somewhere inside her lifemate. While she didn't want to admire anything about Gregori, she couldn't help herself. He sorted through memories fast, processing each horrible event quickly and discarding it, looking for that moment Razvan had traded his body for his sister's life.

They reached that memory, so long ago, centuries, a young boy offering himself to a madman, to a killer, to keep his sister from harm. Ivory had to fight to stay in the form of energy. It was so difficult exploring those old memories, that boy beaten down but valiant, trying to shield those he loved, seeing too much evil every day. She examined everything from all angles of that memory, looking for something that had allowed Xavier to take possession.

Not here. Gregori moved forward in time quickly, sorting through data fast, looking for something that Xavier had done, some trigger word, something that might indicate he had possessed Razvan's body at will.

Wait! Ivory had been paying more attention to Razvan's memories of himself. The way he looked at what was happening around him. He was Dragonseeker, turned fully by his aunts in their effort to give him the necessary strength to escape. He had the mind of a true Dragonseeker. He had resolved to travel the world in spirit, rather than allow Xavier to continue to «use» him. He wasn't aware, but the use of his body at that time was an illusion Xavier created to make Razvan believe the mage was all-powerful.

Realizing he had little hope of escape, kept starving and weak, Razvan used his waning strength to shed his body, leaving it vulnerable to Xavier's attack. Ivory saw the exact instant Xavier entered into that shell and left pieces of himself behind. Now they knew the time and the how, but they still had to find the small pieces of Xavier and find a way to extract them.

Ivory began to chant softly in the Carpathian language, sending the words vibrating through both Razvan and Gregori.

I call to me all that is good to aid me in my desperate plight.

Sky send to me the purest light.

I plead for the song that I may sing to reveal that which is evil buried within.

Light of sky, burning bright, find that which is dark and make it light.

Evil one, I call forth the blight you left behind.

Light burst through Ivory and she directed it into Razvan's body, allowing it to seek out the darkness left behind. The light swam into his bloodstream, rushed through his mind and heart, and sought to go deeper into the very essence of his soul until Razvan's being was entirely illuminated. In his mind there was a dark scar, a very small ridge that Ivory recognized. There was one in his heart, one pumping through his bloodstream and the last in his soul. Four. Heart, mind, body and soul. No wonder Xavier managed to possess Razvan's body at will. Even with that, Razvan had fought back for centuries.

Razvan appeared splintered, as if he'd been broken apart and put back together wrong. Ivory's breath rushed out in a long, slow hiss. She had been in pieces, her body filtering through the soil, struggling to pull itself together, so fractured she couldn't even knit her skin and bones back together evenly. This was worse than mere flesh. This was the very essence of who Razvan was. As each point of darkness was revealed, Ivory attached a thread of white light, anchoring it so that all of the pieces could be kept connected.