Christine feehan - Dark Slayer 20

His white teeth flashed. «I am simply paying close attention to the expert so that I might learn.»

«You are deliberately distracting me and I-« She broke off, her eyes widening.

The smile faded from Razvan's face as he followed her gaze to an overhead tree limb. It looked fine to an untrained eye. The snow clung to the needles and weighed down the branches. He caught the flash of alarm in her mind.

«What is it?»

«Up there. High in the very top branches.» Her voice was very low, barely a thread of sound. «The snow is disturbed.»

It took a moment to see what she was talking about. In four small places, as if a bird had landed lightly on the thin branch, the snow had flaked off, revealing a smudge of bark.

«The bats?»

«No, they scratch lines in the snow but the bark does not show through. Hunters followed the bats.» A note of fear crept into her voice. «They do not know who dwells in this place and what they face. We weakened Xavier with our ritual. We turned his hatred back on himself. If he manages to find a hunter . . .» She trailed off.

His stomach lurched at the idea of Xavier getting his hands on Carpathian hunters. Not only would the hunter suffer, but Xavier would be extremely powerful with a Carpathian's blood.

«Are you certain?»

In answer, Ivory shifted, streamed as vapor up to the treetop. She hovered in the air while she examined the branch and dropped back to earth beside him, careful not to disturb the snow. «Definitely Carpathian. There is no scent. Nothing else, just those two small telltale marks.»

Razvan rubbed his hand over his jaw. «We have to follow them all the way in, Ivory, if they followed the bats. You know we will have no choice. We will not be able to leave them to Xavier. If we are very lucky, they will be very strong, experienced hunters.»

«Xavier will not be alone,» Ivory added.

«No, he will not. And he has many abominations to guard him, not the least of which is the undead,» Razvan said.

She reached out to him, her fingers connecting with his. «We go then.»

«All the way,» Razvan agreed.

Ivory and Razvan moved with stealth, careful of disturbing even a single snowflake as they approached the outer rolling hills leading to the mountain where Xavier had begun to build his latest fortress. He needed the deep ice caves and network of caverns beneath the earth where he could conduct his evil experiments and wreak havoc on the Carpathian people. He had chosen an optimal location near the edge of the glacier, so he could use nature to carry his mutated extremophiles into the waterways leading throughout the mountainous range where the Carpathians dwelled.

If the hunters came this way, at least they left no other sign, Ivory said, using their telepathic connection, unwilling to risk sound carrying in the night.

A terrible feeling of dread had been growing in Razvan. As they approached the mountain, it grew stronger. He knew they were closing in on Xavier, but worse, he knew who the hunter-or huntress-was.

Natalya and her lifemate are ahead of us.

Ivory gasped. Are you certain?

Absolutely.

Razvan looked at Ivory and his midnight blue eyes had gone so dark the pupils had nearly disappeared. Small flames flickered deep in the depths and Ivory shivered a little in reaction, a chill sliding through her.

He cannot have my sister. He bit out each word.

She leaned into him for just one brief moment, surrounding him with warmth. No, he cannot. She was fully committed to hunting Xavier down and ridding the world of his evil.

The wind began to pick up as they moved through the valley leading to the base of the outlying hills, just below the bursting peaks of bluish ice. No trees grew on the slopes of ice. Few ever tried to climb there, the sharp-rising ridges were too sheer and jagged. The winds increased as though in protest, and great spears of ice often came hurtling down upon hapless victims. It was a treacherous mountain and most shunned it.

As they neared the first of the hills, they felt the first impact of the safeguard. A low humming began, growing louder as they continued on their course. The pressure inside their heads grew, a painful burst that shook both of them. Ivory stopped and pressed her fingers to her throbbing temples, trying not to cry out.

Even an animal would feel that. No wonder there is no life close by, she said.

Which explains the tracks we have seen, the drag marks and bloodstains in the snow. Razvan placed his hand to her temple and flooded her with a healing warmth. At once the pressure lessened in her head. She glanced at him sharply. His face tightened only for a moment, and when she touched his mind, it took a moment before he allowed her in.

The bats have to go farther than they did in the other caves to find prey, Razvan said before she could protest.

Ivory shuddered. She really detested fighting the bats. They had nasty little teeth and a liking for flesh. The blood trail led to a spot near the base of a small hill that rolled just in front of the sharper climbing flow of ice cliffs. She knew from experience that the ground near the spot where the bats had gone under would be a trap for some unsuspecting creature. If they ventured too near, the ground would give way.

Xavier has not had time to work out a better system, which means he is not in the best of shape, he continued. I escaped when they moved here. He kept me weak, as he did my aunts, because he feared my resistance, but that also weakened him. He had me drained and could not use me to feed. He made do with mage and animal blood.

Ivory didn't want to think too much about Razvan in Xavier's hands. She sent up a prayer that his sister was not in the high mage's fortress. Keeping her safe had been the only thing he had clung to, the reason he had survived. As long as Xavier lived, he was not going to allow Natalya into his hands. And now . . .

She clamped down hard on the thought. I do not want to drop through the bat lair if we can help it.

She had a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she hovered above the bloodstained snow. The carcass of the deer had obviously been dragged inside, but something else had gone in after it. Flakes of snow partially covered the stains, which meant something had disturbed the snow after the bats had returned to their lair with their prize.

It is an entrance. Razvan was pragmatic. We have dealt with them before.

The ground beneath them rolled. The mountain shivered and a great chunk of ice calved off the sheer cliff towering above them, driving the snow and ice straight down on top of them with little warning. Without hesitation, both reached for the ringed canisters in their war belts and dissolved into vapor as they leapt into the ominous hole covered by a thin layer of bloodstained snow.

The foul stench assailed them first, even before the sounds of highly agitated bats registered. The smell of fetid, rotting flesh burned their noses and offended their stomachs so that they had to fight to keep their present form and not react. The high-pitched angry shrieks swelled in volume as they descended through the narrow tube, scraping like sharp fingernails on the walls of their minds, shredding their nerves to the screaming point.

Scorch marks blackened the stains on the walls although bats continued to pour out of the dark, sulfur-smelling holes in the tube, dropping down to join the fierce battle taking place on the floor of the cavern. Bits of rotting meat and splashes of blood and fur clung to the outer edges of each hole where the carnivorous bats dwelled.

Xavier has been warned that his fortress is compromised, Ivory said, irritation creeping into her voice. Even weak, he is a formidable opponent. I had hoped to come on him unaware. I do not want him to escape us.