Christine Feehan - Dark Celebration 17

Lucian rubbed his chin. «I think we should commemorate this event with pictures. It would serve us well in the coming years if we had such a thing documented.»

Mikhail leaned forward slightly, his small smile softening the hard lines in his face. «Surely you are not considering-blackmail.»

«Well, yes, as a matter of fact. We could hold this over his head for centuries.»

«Poor Gregori. It isn't fair to conspire against him this way,» Jaxon objected. She frowned. «Although come to think about it, maybe he does deserve it for being such a male chauvinist.»

Mikhail's eyebrow shot up. «And Lucian isn't?»

Her mischievous smile lit up her eyes again. «He tries desperately, but fortunately he has me to straighten him out.»

«Lucky me,» Lucian said dryly.

She sent her foot swinging against his leg a second time. «You are lucky. I keep telling you, but you keep forgetting.»

Lucian laughed softly. Mikhail had never pictured the warrior laughing and relaxed, and for some reason the sound lifted the burden on his shoulders just a little more. Good things were happening with their species. Maybe it wasn't happening as fast as Mikhail liked, but change was taking place.

«I wanted to ask you about something I barely recall centuries ago. I was just a boy and remember very little.»

«I cannot promise to remember, but I will try.»

«In the old days, there was a woman who lived in the village. I do not even remember her lifemate or if she had one. I was too young to really care about such things. She healed the earth. Do you remember her?»

Lucian frowned. «I did not stay in the villages much, even when you were a boy, Mikhail. To remember one person-a woman…» He shook his head. «The villagers, especially the women, avoided Gabriel and me, often fleeing when we were sighted.»

«Try, Lucian,» Mikhail urged. «She would not have fled in fear from you. She was powerful in her own right. She would walk and flowers and grass would grow beneath her feet. It could be very important to us.»

Lucian nodded slowly, his frown deepening as he tried to pull up the ancient memory. The village busy with people living life-a life he never thought he could ever have. Families. Laughter. He had avoided it all as much as possible.

Jaxon's hand slid into his hair, teased the strands of hair along the back of his neck, sending a shiver of awareness down his spine, spreading warmth through his body and into his heart.

He forced his mind back to the old days, searching through bittersweet memories until he found the village where Dubrinsky had lived. Children ran together in small groups. So many nameless faces he had tried not to notice turning away from him. A serene face smiling at him, nodding, acknowledging him even as the children trailed after her. Life sprang up from nothing beneath her feet, green stalks, bright colored flowers, a rich tapestry forming on the ground while the little ones stared in awe.

«She came from a rare and much respected lineage. There were few with her talent. She was beautiful, her hair long and dark, and she always stood tall and straight and looked men in the eye.»

Jaxon smacked him on the back of the head. «I doubt he needs those precise details,» she said. «And just why would she need to be looking you in the eye?»

Mikhail tried to hide his shock. Every Carpathian alive was in awe of this man, but his lifemate treated him-exactly in the way Raven treated the prince of the Carpathian people. He swallowed his smile and glanced away as Lucian reached up to circle her waist and drag her from the arm of the chair onto his lap. She struggled for a minute and then subsided, allowing him to hold her.

«I remember watching her walk into a barren field. Within minutes foliage sprang up everywhere around her.»

«Did she attend births? Or treat the soil before a child was to be born-or even conceived?» It was a long shot, but Mikhail was ready to grasp at the smallest of chances.

Lucian's dark eyebrows shot up. «What are you thinking, Mikhail?»

«Shea said something about the soil being riddled with toxins earlier this evening. As I was flying over the battleground scarred and poisoned by the undead, I noticed one section had been healed. The soil was the darkest, richest soil I have seen in centuries. And then

Raven mentioned that she and several other women got together last night in mineral pools and the soil and water were different. This evening she is able to conceive. I have heard whispers that other women have experienced the same.»

Both men looked at Jaxon. She held up both hands, palms out, shaking her head adamantly. «Not me. Don't even think about it either. I'm just getting used to this lifemate thing. And in case you think I can heal the earth, think again. I've killed every potted plant I've ever tried to grow both before and after the conversion. I'm not your earth healer.»

«Have you heard anything about this, Jaxon?» Lucian asked. His fingers curled around the nape of her neck in a slow massage. «Have any of the women mentioned it to you?»

«No, but I can ask Francesca. She seems to always be in the know about everything. I don't know how she does it all with a baby and a teenager.»

Mikhail scrubbed a hand over his face suddenly looking tired. «It was a long shot anyway. I cannot remember who the woman was or her lineage, nor do I remember if she aided with birthing.»

«I will ask my brother and the other ancients if they remember more of this woman, but truly, Mikhail, if there is such a woman in our midst, we have only to ask her to step forward.»

«The answer cannot be so simple.»

«Maybe it is one piece of a puzzle we must work out-a very important piece.»

«If we find this woman and she is as important as I hope she is, this celebration will be the best thing we have ever done.»

«You are worried. The attack on Skyler and Alexandria?»

Of course Gabriel would have kept Lucian informed. Mikhail nodded. «I have been uneasy for a couple of evenings now. It has definitely put me on edge.»

«We went out there and looked around,» Jaxon said. «Someone had come from the direction of the inn on a sled and was in a snow blind-a very clever one, manmade-about half a mile from where Skyler and Alexandria were hurt. The feeling of power lingered, but it didn't feel Carpathian.» Jaxon bit at her lower lip, puzzling it out. «I've been really trying to get a feel for the different energy fields. That's all Carpathian magic really is, a manipulation of energy, and this felt off to me.»

A small smile lit Lucian's eyes briefly at the flare of surprise on Mikhail's face. «Did I mention Jaxon is a great cop? She tracks nearly as well as I do now.»

«You said something felt 'off to you,» Mikhail prodded. «Off like vampire?»

«There was an evil taint to it,» Jaxon admitted. «Lucian felt it through me, but couldn't on his own, and that really bothered me. If they've found a way to block their identities from the hunters, all of you could be in real trouble.»

«They have been doing that for some time,» Lucian reminded her, his hand sliding down her thigh in a small gesture of assurance.

«Not like this, Lucian,» she objected. «You felt the difference. It wasn't completely vampire-but still stank of evil.» There was worry in her tone.

«It has occurred to me that if our enemies strike against the women and children,» Mikhail confided, «then they would have the best chance for eradicating our species altogether. I do not know how much you know about the group of humans dedicated to wiping out our species. We always refer to them as the society. The vampires have tricked them, infiltrated their ranks and used them as puppets. The dark mage Xavier may be alive as well as his grandson. If that is so, Razvan is the first Dragonseeker to ever turn, and he is something we have never faced. His sister, Natalya, tells me he is a brilliant strategist when it comes to planning a war. No doubt he's already come to the same conclusions I have regarding the best way to strike the most devastating blow to our race.»