Christine Feehan: Dark Legend (Dark Series - Book 8)

Gabriel shook his head, exasperated with himself. Lucian

had

gone mad; he had chosen to lose his soul many centuries ago. If Gabriel was going to protect his family, he could no longer think of Lucian as being part of him.

Francesca was his heart and soul now. He couldn’t take the chance of Lucian harming her. Gabriel made his way back to Brice. He needed to take the man back to the house and put him under a strong safeguard to prevent the vampire from harming him further. Brice was so far gone, Gabriel wasn’t certain the doctor could be helped. Obviously the vampire had been working on Brice subtly for a long while.

The doctor was huddled in a ball on the ground, oblivious to his surroundings, deep within Gabriel’s spell. Gabriel knew no one but Lucian could break through the safeguard keeping Brice’s mind intact. It was a gamble bringing Brice into Francesca’s home. They would have to take him to the underground chamber so Skyler would not be frightened by the sight of the doctor. And if he couldn’t be healed, it would be up to Gabriel to show him mercy; it was not something he thought Francesca would thank him for.

Gabriel lifted the man as if he were no more than a child. Under the strong hypnotic trance Gabriel had put him in, Brice was completely trusting. He lay passive as Gabriel took to the air with him. The cloud cover was heavy enough to prevent prying eyes from seeing more than a blur moving fast through the night sky.

Francesca was waiting on the balcony for him, an anxious look on her usually serene face. Gabriel hadn’t attempted to keep the extent of the damage from her and she knew if she were to save Brice’s sanity, they would have to work fast. “Thank you for trying, Gabriel,” she whispered softly, her voice a velvet caress. Her eyes moved over him carefully, searching for any injury he might have sustained.

At once he felt that curious melting sensation he was becoming familiar with. She was worried about him, checking to be sure he was fine even when he was bringing her a human friend whose mind had been damaged by the undead. Francesca thought of him first, and her concern meant everything to him. “I have directed Santino and Drusilla away from the kitchen so that we can take him safely down to the chamber. Skyler is asleep in her room. See to it that she stays there.” His voice was a little bit gruff, made husky by emotion he couldn’t control. She was so beautiful standing there in the night, tall and slender with her long hair in a thick braid and love shining in her eyes.

Gabriel reached out to run his fingertip tenderly down her face. “I think there is a chance that he can be healed, Francesca, but it will be difficult. The poison is already well advanced in his system.”

“Can the vampire reach him in our home?” She was worried about young Skyler. The girl had suffered enough at the hands of a human monster; she didn’t need to witness what the undead was capable of doing.

“Unless the one using him is Lucian, there is no way he can penetrate the safeguards I have wrought. I do not believe this is Lucian’s work. But it must be an ancient to have deceived both of us as he did. He must have taken Brice’s blood some time ago. Brice is using drugs to counteract the pain in his head, but he does not understand what is happening to him. He thinks only what the vampire wishes him to think. He is a puppet now with none of his own thoughts. I warn you, Francesca, the damage is substantial. He may never be the same again.”

“I will try,” Francesca vowed as she followed him down the stairs through the kitchen and below the earth where the first chamber lay.

Gabriel placed Brice on the bed and turned to help his lifemate fill the room with the pungent odor of healing herbs. At once a frown replaced the slack expression on the doctor’s face and he moved restlessly. Gabriel took Francesca’s hand in his, brought her knuckles to the warmth of his mouth. “You know I must go back out and find this evil one. Without his death, Brice is lost no matter what we do. The vampire knows we have Brice and he is angrier than ever. We cannot keep the man a prisoner down here forever.”

Francesca turned her face away from Gabriel in an attempt to hide her expression from him. He was going back out to hunt. They both knew he had to do it, but she didn’t have to like the idea. Gabriel’s arm encircled her slender shoulders and pulled her into the shelter of his body. “I am not going to allow any vampire to defeat me, my love, when I have so much at stake. I will remove the threat to Brice’s sanity. Then we will see what can be done to heal him.”

Reluctantly he released her, his hands lingering for a moment in the wealth of her hair, crushing the thick braid in his fist. He knew she was afraid for him, but he was pleased that she refused to voice her fears, rather gave him a tentative smile to send him off.

“Do not attempt to heal this one until I return. His blood is tainted with the vampire’s blood. You cannot walk in his mind alone and unaided. Should I not return, you must get another healer to aid you before you make your attempt. Promise me, Francesca. It would be far too dangerous for you to go in without additional strength. Remember always, you carry our life within your body.”

She gave him a quick look of reprimand from under the long sweep of her lashes. “It is not necessary to remind me of either fact. I do not care to dwell on the possibility that you might not return. And I have never, for one moment, forgotten I carry our child. She is a miracle to me. I would never risk the baby, not even for Brice. You

will

return to me this night. I will expect you very soon without a mark on your body. Now go and do what you were born for.” She leaned into him, resting her body all too briefly against his, savoring the feel of him. Strong. Masculine. Powerful.

She had never expected to love him so much. And she had never expected to feel so loved. Gabriel wasn’t shy about showing her his emotions. He hungered for her with an intensity she had never dreamed of. Not simply her body, but her company, her heart and soul. He liked to be in her mind, sharing her laughter, the way she looked at life. The way she lived. He had such pride in her, such a deep belief in her.

“Gabriel.” She breathed his name, her body soft and pliant, molding itself to his. “Hurry back to me.” She had no thought of seduction—the last thing on her mind was making love—yet she felt a terrible need for him.

Gabriel filled her mind with love and warmth as he held her to him; then he was striding away, back through the tunnel to the upper stories. By the time he had reached the kitchen, he was invisible, moving fast, a cold blast of air.

This time Gabriel streamed under the door out into the garden, taking to the sky immediately. He had destroyed a minion of the vampire, had taken one of his puppets from him. The vampire would be in a rage and easy to locate. Already Gabriel could feel the disturbing vibrations in the air. They flowed through the sky, leading him like an arrow toward the vampire.

“You go to this one’s lair like an amateur. He has set a trap for you, hunter.”

Gabriel continued moving. Lucian sounded far too close for comfort. If he took a hand in the battle, there was no way to know which side he would come down on.

“Do you suggest another approach?”

Gabriel replied.

“Back off. You know better than to go into battle when the enemy is waiting for you. “

The voice was as soft and gentle as always, with no hint of a reprimand. Gabriel found himself smiling. Lucian’s presence was so familiar to him, so much a part of him.

“

I thank you for your advice, ancient one.”