Christine Feehan - Dark Curse 19

He moved toward the surface with her, cradling her spirit, breathing warmth into her mind in an effort to reconnect with her. He needed her trust and he'd blown it in the worst possible way. He understood that now, understood what it was like to feel small and helpless-and without hope. He understood fully why she had chosen the only way out to her and that he was responsible for driving her to feel helpless all over again.

The moment fear swamped her, coming at her like a tidal wave, he knew she was trapped again in a significant moment of her life. She was aware the moment he stepped in front of her spirit again, surrounding her with his protection, allowing the waves of terror to engulf him.

Don't. Just go, get out while you can. We may never be able to leave this place.

I will not leave without you, Lara. It is my sin, my failing that sent you back here. I will not leave you here. If we stay, we stay together.

And he meant it. He embraced that child's body as she sat crosslegged on the floor, drawing a picture of a dragon on the ice wall. There was amazing detail for a child. Her little fingers grasped the small tine of a fork and carved scales with painstaking care over the dragon's body and long tail. She took her time, humming to herself, lost in her art.

A small whisper of sound alerted her. Lara tensed and slowly lowered her hand from the drawing, looking over her shoulder. Razvan's broad shoulders filled the doorway. His eyes were dark with sorrow, his face ravaged. One moment he looked a handsome man who had seen too much pain, the next his body hunched as if under a terrible burden. His face contorted and his eyes rolled back in his head as he fought some unseen foe.

«Lara, get out. Run, baby. Get out. He's in me, he's taken over my body and I can't throw him out. Go.»

Even as he warned her, his voice changed back and forth, going from concern to cackling. Although it appeared to be Razvan standing in the doorway, Lara smelled Xavier, the rotting corpse of a man who refused to die. Nicolas felt her stillness, the instant pounding of her heart, the terror seizing her mind. She stumbled back on all fours to crouch against the wall.

«What is this?» Xavier/Razvan asked, standing in front of her drawing.

Lara/Nicholas stayed silent, keeping her hands behind her back, fear stamped on her face. Nicolas pushed her behind him as Xavier whirled around and struck him, knocking him off his feet, sending him flying.

«Answer me.» Xavier/Razvan hissed with displeasure.

Lara/Nicolas picked himself up. «My best friend.»

Razvan's face contorted as though he was fighting again. His body shook and a bloodred tear trickled

down his face. For a moment he held out his hand, but abruptly, the fingers curled into two tight fists and he sneered. «Friend? You think those dragons are your friends? Why would such a powerful creature ever befriend the likes of you? You're worthless, totally worthless.»

He cackled, the wicked sound sending chills down Nicolas's spine, and the voice was all Xavier now in Razvan's body. Once again, Nicolas felt that hopeless vulnerability, knowing he couldn't stop this man. He was a six-year-old child, anemic, fragile, alone, with no hope of escaping. As he watched, the dragon on the wall began to pop out, first one clawed foot, stretching and reaching, the talons curling sharply. The head emerged, the eyes blinking for a moment before glowing red. The tail slashed and the dragon broke free, landing on the floor a few feet from Lara.

Nicolas pushed her farther behind him, corralling her spirit and shielding her as he felt her cringe in anticipation. This was going to be bad. He knew it wasn't just physical warfare, this was psychological, a deliberate attempt to defeat all hope, using a childhood make-believe friend that took the form of her comforting aunts against her. Possessing her father's body so that he did the ultimate damage to her, betraying all trust, ensuring she had nothing at all to hold on to. And he couldn't imagine what Razvan suffered, obviously some part of his mind aware of how his body was being used to torment his child.

The dragon swung its head back and forth, eyes spinning and then focusing on the child. It leapt on Lara/Nicholas, hissing and spitting. At the last moment Lara/Nicolas spun around and the claws ripped at his back, tearing deep gouges. He went to the floor, curling up in the fetal position as the dragon bit at his legs and slashed at him with its spiked tail.

Possessed as he was by Xavier, her father laughed and kicked at him, encouraging the dragon to spout flames until she screamed and Nicolas screamed with her.

Do not resist. Let him take what he wants from you. The feminine voices were in unison and Nicolas was instantly aware of Lara trying to kick out with her feet, not toward the dragon, but toward her father.

The dragon renewed its assault in a maddened frenzy of teeth and talons. Nicolas felt every shred in his skin, felt the rakes on his back as muscle tore beneath those sharp claws. The bites were painful, but shallow. The worst was the fire, spraying over his head, frying his sensitive skin, raising blisters instantly.

Suddenly impatient, Xavier/Razvan waved his hand and the dragon melted at his feet. He leaned down and jerked Lara/Nicolas to his feet, his teeth ripping open his wrist and sinking down to gulp greedily at the rich blood. Nicolas bit back a grunt of pain as his arm throbbed and burned. His stomach turned over and once again his vision blackened around the edges.

Lara suddenly resisted, swinging her arm in a tight arc and sinking the sharpened tine into Razvan's throat. Xavier screamed and threw her away from him, clamping his hand to his bleeding neck. Lara swept her tongue across her wrist and backed up slowly.

Nicolas wanted to hug her to him. In spite of the pain and the sheer hopelessness of her situation, Lara fought back, refusing to let a monster crush her spirit.

Xavier flew into a rage, spittle running down his face as he ripped her clothing away, his hands weaving a complicated pattern. Water poured down on her from the ceiling, she was lifted from her feet and flung back into the ice. The wall opened to receive her, molding around her back, buttocks and legs, freezing her skin to the ice itself.

Only then did Xavier grow quiet. He placed food and water a distance from her. «If you want to eat or

drink, you'll have to tear yourself from the wall. If you don't, I'll leave you there to rot and send my little friends in to eat your body.»

Nicolas watched him shuffle out, leaving the child in excruciating pain with blood running down her legs, with her back already painful. He wanted to weep, to smash something, to gather her close and hold her against his heart and protect her always. And more than anything, he wanted to kill Xavier.

Again time meant nothing to him. He drifted on a sea of pain until the voices came again. Soft. Insistent. Encouraging. Singing of hope. Whispering endearments. Voices he could latch on to, voices that saved him from complete despair.

He found himself ascending once again toward the surface with Lara's spirit. Her light was a little brighter, but she felt battered and bruised-as did he. He tried to hurry, anxious that she not relive another event. He'd had enough-seen enough-experienced enough. He never wanted to feel that helpless and vulnerable ever again. He shepherded her, surrounding her with warmth and reassurance, feeling her reluctance as they moved closer to breaking free.

Lara was more afraid of him than of her past. She'd already lived through her childhood and survived. He was the devil she didn't know and in their relationship, he had all the power.

I am all you think I am, but I can learn. I will learn. I have many sins, palafertiil, not the least is arrogance, but I am not above admitting my mistakes. Come with me. Come back to me and give me a second chance.