Christine Feehan - Dark Curse 19

Teeth bit down into her wrist. Her stomach lurched, but she held on, breathing through the need to be sick, grateful her aunt was too ill to notice. It took a moment to realize her aunt wasn't hurting her. The teeth didn't tear at her flesh, but rather pierced with two small holes. There wasn't the erotic feel that there was when Nicolas took her blood, but more of a giving, a sharing, an act of camaraderie, giving her a deeper connection.

Her aunt's body warmed faster with the influx of blood, but it wasn't enough for the shriveled cells and organs. As soon as Branislava swept her tongue over the pinpricks to close the wounds, Vikirnoff knelt beside her.

Branislava shook her head.You need your strength to get us out of here . Even that small effort exhausted her.

The continual sound of water became overly loud, drawing Lara's attention. She caught Natalya's wrist and gestured with her chin, not wanting to alarm her aunts. The water dripped onto the floor and ran along a crevice, forming a long, narrow tube. Within moments of hitting the icy floor, the water refroze, forming the long body of a snake. The moment one formed and slithered off, another took its place until a good portion of the floor was taken up by hissing snakes.

Tatijana swung her head toward them, although she was too weak to lift her neck to see.Don't let him take us. Kill us if you have to .

Lara tightened her arms around both of them. «He will never get near you again,» she assured fiercely.

«I'll deal with the snakes,» Natalya said. She raised her arms and gathered power to her. She was tired of Xavier's relentless pursuit and happy to find a target. «Those people onSnakes on a Plane should have tried this.»

That which does slither, bites and strikes, feel the wrath of fire-cold ice. I call thee fire, cold of flame, fit to my hand, strike this bane. As Natalya gathered the energy force, converting it into cold fusion fire, she directed it straight at the icy serpents.

The snakes shattered into a million pieces, the ice crystals melting. They were absorbed by the floor. Natalya looked grimly satisfied. «We've got to get out of here fast. I hear the water beating at the dam Nicolas built and if we're caught…»

«Nicolas will find us the way out.» Lara said it with absolute conviction because she believed in him. She lifted her head to try to look to see what was happening in the chamber leading to the escape corridor.

Nicolas stepped into the cavern, alert for whatever trouble Xavier had left as his last line of defense against losing his daughters. He had held Branislava and Tatijana prisoner for centuries, and he wouldn't let them go so easily. He could see shadowy figures moving in the darkness of the chamber, and there were more than he wanted to think about. Not shadow warriors. As much as they seemed insubstantial, they didn't appear to move with the same swirl of smoke and grace. No, these were different.

He felt the rush battle brought, the one feeling he was familiar with and embraced. He knew what heightened senses brought, and the power flowing through his body.Come to me , he sent into the darkened chamber.Come to me and die .

As he moved into the center of the chamber, the first attack came as a shadowy figure charged him. Nicolas leapt smoothly into the air, slashing as he did so, razor-sharp talons slicing across the throat of the aggressor. His claw went through the air, touching nothing solid at all. He landed in a crouch, recognizing his opponents. Not shadow warriors, men of honor whose souls were ripped from their resting place, but death slaves, mercenaries who willingly pledged their service after death in order to rape and pillage with the aid of the dark arts to protect them in life. They were already dead and they were nearly as bad as vampires.

Three rushed him and he whirled around and through them, drawing energy from all around him until he could fashion a sword of blazing light-light he knew they avoided. If the light remained too long, they would grow accustomed to it, even with their sensitive eyes, so he flashed it on and off. Colors pulsed through the light, giving off a strobe effect, but each time the light came near, the death slaves retreated.

Take them through now, Vikirnoff. Death slaves guard the way. Hurry.

Vikirnoff didn't wait. He sent Natalya ahead of him with Lara, and caught up with the other two women, trusting Natalya to get Lara through.Faster , he ordered.

Natalya muttered something that sounded like «chauvinist pig» in his mind, but it sounded more of a caress than an insult.

The death slaves let out an eerie cry and, sensing the women, charged in spite of the light. Nicolas closed in on them, clearing a path, sweeping his light sword through the ranks, driving them back. Two managed to slash at him, in spite of his speed, their numbers overwhelming. One opened a cut on his arm, another

on his side. He sealed off both wounds, weaving in and out of their ranks, his light sword hacking through them.

Like shadow warriors, the death slaves were already dead and therefore insubstantial, but light was a bitter enemy and enough of it could destroy them if he managed to strike them in the heart. In the dark, surrounded by enemies, it was nearly impossible to choose his target accurately at the blurring speed he needed to survive.

Natalya and Lara stopped to look back in spite of Vikirnoff's gruff command to keep moving. They could see Nicolas moving in and out of the death slaves with fluid grace and astonishing speed. He seemed a machine, flowing rather than stepping, never flinching even when the tip of a dagger or sword tore open his flesh.

Lara hesitated, but Natalya grabbed her arm.

«Look at him,» she whispered. «He was born for this.»

Carpathian males burst through the tube, catching at the women and passing them to the front out of harm's way, paying no attention to their resistance. Vikirnoff relaxed visibly, but he didn't relinquish his charges.

What do you need, Nicolas? Lucian asked.

Gregori, leading a large group, charged into the foray to take the pressure off of Nicolas.

The sun, Nicolas answered, taking his time, now that he had reinforcements, to plunge the sword of light into the nearest heart. The death slave exploded, burst into molecules and rained down onto the ice floor.

Again that eerie cry went up as one of their own was sent for good to the land of shadows.

I'll see what I can do, Lucian said.

Natalya peeked through the solid wall of tall, grim-faced Carpathians. Lara did the same. For the first time, Natalya saw the difference in the coordinated movements of the warriors. Without women to protect, they moved with double the speed, graceful and precise, utterly without fear, their attacks well orchestrated.

The first wave of Carpathian males charged the center of the mass of death slaves, Nicolas leaping over the first line of the enemy, forcing them to either come after him and turn their backs on the other Carpathians or fight the men coming at them. The death slaves had no choice but to defend themselves against the newcomers, giving Nicolas more time to fight the three facing him.

It was obvious the battle was well-coordinated on the part of the Carpathians. They each knew how the other worked, never once having to look to see if their backs were guarded. They flowed together, almost like a ballet, cutting through the ranks of Xavier's guardians.

The ice cave expanded and contracted as more death slaves poured into the battle from all directions. They must have been guarding other entrances and, with the disturbance, came running. They swarmed into the chamber, slicing at Carpathians with lethal swords, attacking with a fury born of desperation. Xavier punished any who failed him and even the dead were careful not to cross him.