Christine Feehan - Dark Demon 16

«I shared my misgivings with you. I haven't shared that with anyone else.» Natalya sighed. «In all honesty, Vikirnoff, I don't know what to think anymore. I feel like someone has been running around messing with my head and now you're there, too. Why can't I block you out if I'm so powerful and strong? Why am I so vulnerable to invasion?»

There was real fear in her voice and he didn't blame her. She was powerful and she should have been totally protected, but something had left her mind open to attack. In spite of the fact that he was angry with her, his heart went out to her. «Have vampires ever been able to draw you to them?»

She shook her head. «No.» She frowned. «Wait. I've noticed I've had a much more difficult time with their voices, hearing their real voice and seeing past the illusion they wear recently.»

«About the same time the compulsion to find the caves began?»

She looked confused. «I don't know. My head is beginning to ache again and I'm freezing.» She rubbed her arms in an effort to get warm. «You don't even appear cold.»

«I am sorry. I should have been paying attention to your comfort.» Before she could protest, he gathered her into his arms, equipment and all, and breathed on her. At once warmth stole through her body, surrounded her like a great cocoon so that the shivering stopped and her teeth ceased chattering.

«Much better, thank you,» she said and circled his neck as he stepped off the cavern floor into the dark abyss below them.

Vikirnoff was acutely aware of her soft body pressed tightly against his, and her misery over their conversation. She was very distressed over her lack of memory and she'd been holding her fears in for years, unable to discuss them with anyone. He brushed a kiss on top of her head in a gesture meant to reassure her.

Vikirnoff settled them onto the floor of the chamber. They had descended close to two hundred feet. The sound of the dripping water was even louder, a pulsing heartbeat that felt more ominous than right. His gaze slid alertly around the ice-cold chamber, probing every possible place of concealment. He kept a cloak of heat around Natalya to help regulate her body temperature. «I do not like the feel of this place.»

«Me, neither, but it's beautiful, isn't it?» Natalya said. She dug a glow stick from her pack and held it up. «I swear there are veins of gold in here.» She turned in a circle holding the stick high to help illuminate the large gallery. «I've never seen such beautiful ice formations. All of these openings lead to halls and more galleries. This is amazing. Like a great crystal palace.»

Vikirnoff went still. He had heard those words long ago to describe the great cave of the dark mage. A great crystal palace with a burning flame in the center of one room, a palace of gemstones and gold. He stared at the ice formation rising up in the center of the room. Depending on the angle, the formation appeared polished diamond bright, or looked exactly like a brilliant red-orange flame. When Natalya played the light over it, scattered gems seem to glow from the very center of it.

«Natalya.» There was warning in his voice. He waited until she looked at him. «I think this is the cave of the dark mage. The one used for study and experiments. I think this is his place of power.» There would be guards. Powerful, deadly guards. He listened to the sound of the water again, the relentless pulse taking on new meaning.

She bit her lip hard. It wasn't hard to believe that he was right, and that meant the caves would be strewn with what would amount to landmines. «Even in death, Xavier would never leave his cave unguarded. It would hold too many of his secrets. So what you're saying is, we've stumbled into the lion's den.»

«That would be about it.» He moved to cover her, keeping his body between hers and the walls of the cavern. «If he is alive and he was the one to tamper with your memories, why would he lure you here? What would be his purpose?»

«That is the burning question, isn't it? The vampires want me, you want me, maybe my dead-or-alive grandfather wants me. I'm just a popular woman.» She shrugged and sent him a faint grin, using humor to keep her courage up.

His heart reacted, shifting and melting in his chest. He frowned. It was uncomfortable being so susceptible to her. He could not remember a time in his life when sentiment or emotion swayed his judgment. Right now, his every instinct screamed they were in danger and he needed to scoop her up and run for the surface. He could read fear in the depths of her eyes, but she had steel in her and she wasn't about to leave until she had a few answers.

He forced down his natural protective inclination and tried to find a way to aid her, one that might get them out of the trap as soon as possible. And he was very certain the cave was a giant trap. «What can you do aside from the obvious charms and skills you have, that might make you so valuable to the vampires? Or to your grandfather?»

«I have no idea. I'm good with spells. I can find things. I honestly don't know, Vik.» She sent him a quick look from under long lashes.

«Vik?» He winced visibly and his eyebrow shot up. «You are not going to call me Vik. I am considering using one of the words you have stricken from my vocabulary.»

Her eyes sparkled at him. She turned her body in the direction she could feel the strongest tug. «We have to go that way.» She indicated a hallway that was little more than a tunnel.

He groaned. «How did I know you were going to choose that one?»

She reached for his hand with obvious reluctance, but needing the contact. «I feel the subtle vibration of power. Do you feel it?» Her voice trembled.

«Yes,» he answered tersely. «Let us get this done.» He squeezed her fingers in reassurance. «Be careful, Natalya. I will follow you.» He didn't want to tell her he was certain there were a couple of vampires stalking them. The undead were still a distance away, but he feared she was somehow imprinted with something that drew vampires to her. «Have you been here before?»

«No, never.» She frowned, searching her memories. «It's so frustrating to remember bits and pieces. I've studied thousands of spells. I've read ancient text, and can remember all of

it, but I can't remember where I studied. In my dreams, Razvan would protect me from the teacher. He would be punished when I refused to go work. In my dreams I remember what my grandfather looked like, but I couldn't describe him to you now. How do I know what is real or not?»

Frustrated, Natalya turned back to the tunnel to keep him from seeing her expression. What did she know about her childhood? What if everything was a lie? Memories removed and others planted. The idea of it sickened her. «Great.» She couldn't help feeling humiliated and ashamed that Vikirnoff had seen the inside of her mind and the trauma of a blank void. «I'm a freakin' robot.»

«With a beautiful backside,» he pointed out when she dropped to her hands and knees, head disappearing into the ice hall.

She wiggled her bottom suggestively and grinned back at him, grateful to him for giving her something to laugh about.

His heart nearly stopped beating and the air left his lungs in a burning rush. She could have lit up the entire cavern with her high wattage smile. Thunder roared in his ears. Deep inside, his demon struggled for release and unexpectedly, desire shot through his body. Not the intense lust he experienced earlier, but something bright and passionate and deep that came, not from his groin, but from his heart.

«You don't have to come with me,» Natalya said, forcing the words out as she looked back at him. He had gone so still, his expression carved in stone. How could he want to be mixed up with whatever was happening? The fact was, she was terrified of the cave. Something she couldn't even remember from her childhood warned her she was in danger and the increasing volume of the dripping water was nearly driving her out of her mind. Every instinct told her to run, but her body and brain refused to obey the command.