There was the ring of truth in her voice, and yet, Dragomir had the feeling the girl was either very close or might have figured it out. Clearly there was a spell holding Elisabeta to the underground city, the part Vadim wanted vacated. Sergey couldn't leave his prisoner there, a prisoner his brother wasn't even aware of. That was an added complication for Dragomir. Even if he could kill all three vampires, he wouldn't be able to free Elisabeta unless this girl could actually remove the holding spell.
Without warning Sergey's hand lashed out again, sending Julija tumbling back against the stone table. "You will unlock this spell or die right now." There was no anger in his voice. He was a cold killer. This was the man Elisabeta feared. The one the vampires feared. He raked his talons down Julija's forearms, shoved his fist into the air, which lifted her body and slammed her down onto the top of the table like a human sacrifice.
Elisabeta kicked at her cage frantically, still not speaking, not making a sound. Part of the holding spell had to include being unable to speak. That made sense--Xavier would have needed to keep his victims silent if the Carpathians were close. But what else had Sergey given away? Julija had the chance to escape and she hadn't taken it. She'd stayed, risking her life on the gamble that she might be able to rescue Elisabeta. That said a lot about her character and courage. Dragomir couldn't allow Sergey to kill the mage, no matter the danger of any of the others escaping.
Sergey suddenly lifted his head and looked around the chamber, searching inch by inch. He looked up at Elisabeta, who kept her head down. He smiled at her. "You have earned another lesson, my dear. You know you deserve punishment for what you've done." He uttered the words very softly, his white teeth snapping together. Elisabeta shuddered and kept her eyes to the ground.
He whirled back to the mage lying on the stone table. He slammed one long talon--spiked like a thick ice pick--right through her throat. Leaving it there, pinning her to the rock with one long dagger, he waved his other hand toward Elisabeta.
To Dragomir's horror her body began to dissolve, to become part of the rock her cage rested on.
"Keep her alive or you die," Sergey said to his vampire servants. "If she lives, the rewards are vast," and then he was gone. That fast. So fast Dragomir couldn't see him move. He must have gone under the door of the chamber, or even through it, because he didn't open it. One moment he was there, and the next there was an empty space.
Blood bubbled from the horrendous hole in Julija's throat. She coughed and blood sprayed across the room. Eugen sprang toward her at the same time as Artur. They bumped into each other, but it was Eugen who covered the wound with his hand, applying such pressure that the girl couldn't breathe.
The Carpathian woman was still dissolving, her body melting until there was no way to see her, not even when directly looking at the place she'd been. The cage remained. The hook where her hands had been suspended above her head, but not the woman. The woman had been absorbed by the stone around her until there was nothing left of her.
In this chamber. Sergey fleeing, Dragomir warned the others.
All the vampires are exiting, Ferro reported. It happened so fast that half of them are already deserting the place.
Engage. These men are Sergey's soldiers, not Vadim's. What was he going to do about the mage's injuries? Elisabeta's imprisonment? Gary, I have great need of you. He had skills. So did Sandu, but Gary's skills were far superior. If he got there in time he might save Julija.
Sandu sauntered into the chamber, Andor behind him. Andor didn't waste time--he flew at Artur, his indigo eyes every bit as piercing as Sergey's talons had been. His inky black hair fell to his waist in a braid as thick as his arm. He blew past Eugen and slammed his fist into Artur's chest. Dragomir materialized behind Eugen and hit him with his fist. A short, powerful punch that crashed through bone, driving straight toward the withered heart.
Eugen twisted, screaming in fear and hatred. He thrashed, sending Julija tumbling from the table. Sandu caught her in a firm grip, his hand covering the gaping wound in her throat as he did so. He took her to the floor, on the opposite side of the table from either of the vampires and the hunters fighting them.
She started to struggle, and he simply waved his hand and her body stilled, but her eyes radiated pure fury. He kept his hand over the wound on her throat and slipped from his own body, right there with two vampires in the room, leaving behind a shell to become pure spirit. He moved through her body quickly, noting all the signs of torture. The woman had endured a lot over time. He saw scarring that indicated she could have been held as long as six months. Maybe even a year.
Sandu bypassed all of it, even the fresh lacerations and tears, to get to the puncture wound on the girl's throat. He had to stop the bleeding. That had to be done or they couldn't leave with her. He closed the wound from the inside out. There was damage to her larynx. The two-inch tube was shredded. If she was going to speak again, he had to at least address that.
It took longer than Sandu expected, and by the time he'd managed to get some of the tubing to stick together in the beginnings of a repair, someone or something hit his body, knocking it sideways, and his spirit abruptly was pulled from the girl back to his own shell. A boot stomped down close to his thigh and even closer to the girl.
He threw himself over her, covering her smaller form easily. The boot narrowly missed his back as the vampire stumbled backward, trying to escape Dragomir.
Dragomir kicked Eugen in the head, driving him farther away from Sandu and Julija. He spared them one glance to ensure they both were alive as he leapt over them, following Eugen. Eugen tried hard to take another form, but Dragomir was on him, preventing the change. He pinned him against the wall and slammed his fist deep, searching for the elusive heart.
Eugen roared and somersaulted, taking Dragomir with him as he rolled across the dirt floor, acid blood pouring over Dragomir and soaking into the ground. He landed on top of the Carpathian so they stared into each other's eyes. Dragomir never wavered, his fingers still digging relentlessly for the heart.
Behind Eugen, Andor loomed above them both, his indigo eyes fierce, his features brutally savage. He slammed his fist through the hole in Eugen's back that Dragomir had originally made. The vampire screamed, throwing his head back in an effort to strike the Carpathian attacking from behind. On the ground, he had no leverage, so he slammed his head forward into Dragomir, hitting him in the skull, trying to crash through it, to shatter the bone. When that didn't stop the hunter, he bit down with all his might, letting the rich ancient blood pour into him.
The moment he tasted that blood, his world went white. Narrowed. He felt nothing but craving. A dark, terrible craving that took hold and refused to release him. He thought of nothing else but getting more. The hole opening inside of him was enormous, yawning open so that the blood could fill it. Rich. Satisfying. The only taste that would ever do.
He was aware of Dragomir extracting his heart, but Andor bunched Eugen's hair in his fist and yanked his head back so hard it cracked bones in his neck. That didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was getting to the blood. He could see it, just out of his reach. Dark rubies. Gems of the purest blood he'd ever tasted. He had to have more.
Lightning arced around the room, jumped to the heart on the floor, incinerating it, turning it to ashes. The white-hot energy bathed away the blood on both Carpathians and then the floor. Sandu had kept his arms and body over the mage but now he slowly released her.
"I stopped the bleeding, but she can't talk yet," he announced, lifting her easily to carry her to the stone table out of the way.
Andor finished the job by incinerating the bodies of the two vampires.
"Gary is on his way," Dragomir said. "Her name is Julija and she's mage, a direct descendant of Xavier or one of his brothers. Sergey is also holding a Carpathian woman named Elisabeta."
Andor's eyes went wide. "There was a young girl, Elisabeta. Traian Trigovise's sister. I would go to her home and somehow she coul
d make me feel lighter, as if I had emotions again. The longer I stayed in her company, the longer the effect lasted. She has been gone for centuries. She disappeared one day and no one knew what happened to her. No one could trace her. I know Traian looked for centuries. She was quite a bit younger than him, younger by at least five hundred years. Maybe more."
"It could be the same woman," Dragomir conceded. "She kept Sergey from losing his temper." Ferro, Benedik, where are you?
Sweeping the underground city. The vampires left quickly. We've systematically gone through every room here, and they are all gone.
Sergey had clearly sacrificed two to save his army. The vampire had to have felt their presence. Julija had been deliberately injured, the extent bad enough that the master vampire knew they would have to heal her or she would die.
"The healer is on his way. We can't leave here without figuring out how to save Elisabeta." Dragomir stalked over to the cage and walked around it, studying it from every angle, trying to see what wasn't there. "He made her part of the stone. The rock. I was looking right at her and she disappeared into the walls." He glanced back at the mage. Her eyes were open and she regarded him with suspicion, but there was also a faint trace of hope on her face.
"Can you bring her back? Do you know the spell?"
She visibly took a breath, flinched and started to grab at her throat. Sandu caught her hand and shook his head. "Wait for the healer. You don't want to have permanent damage."
Her gaze shifted to him. She studied him for a long time and then she looked back to Dragomir and nodded.
Relief flooded through him. "Did you work out the spell to reverse whatever is keeping her here?"
He could tell by her face she wanted to protect Elisabeta from all of them. She didn't trust them, and he didn't blame her. She didn't know them. She might think they were part of Sergey's plot to get the information out of her.
Her gaze went to the terrible wound that had coated his neck and shoulder with blood. She frowned and looked back at Sandu.
"She wants me to heal you," Sandu said. "I'm not the healer. I'm a peje hunter."
"Stop complaining. You didn't have to stick your arm in acid up to your elbow," Dragomir said.
Where are you? he asked Petru and Isia. We need to regroup.
We need to wipe this pipeline out for good. Vadim is using the sea to escape. He's created his own city down here complete with a fresh smorgasbord, Petru answered. We need to call everyone in and destroy this. Now. Tonight.
Come back to the underground city. I'm calling the third team back as well. We'll include Tariq and come up with a plan. In the meantime, I've got two women here that need healing. One needs to go directly into the healing grounds. I think we have solved the mystery of the disappearance of Elisabeta Trigovise.
There was silence. Elisabeta had been legendary in the Carpathian world because she could restore emotions to those warriors at the very end of their ability to continue. She hadn't exactly restored them, so much as lightened their burdens for the time in her presence. She'd smiled and the world had seemed filled with joy.
Dragomir hadn't seen her smile, but he felt her peace. That enduring serenity. There was calm in her that spread through the room the moment it was needed. She was clearly conserving strength, and she needed blood. Her hunger had beat at him, but so gently he barely registered it until she was gone, made to be part of the walls of the chamber.
Elisabeta? The name was whispered for all the brotherhood to hear. That magical girl. All of them who had ever crossed paths with her would never forget her. She'd been considered an angel, her gift nothing short of miraculous. The child had grown into a beautiful young woman, still as angelic and as selflessly giving as she'd been as a child.
More than one warrior had crossed oceans to get back to her, to just be in her presence. If they had found Elisabeta, they had found a treasure unsurpassed.
Did Vadim have her? Benedik made the demand.
I do not believe Vadim knew of her existence. Sergey had her. He has had her for some time and has hidden her from his brother. He is much more dangerous than we ever gave him credit for. In fact, I believe he is our true enemy. Vadim thinks he is in charge, but Sergey has quietly built an army, and he's learned much from the splinter of the high mage.
I thought Vadim has a splinter of the high mage as well, Ferro said.
Just because he has it, doesn't mean he uses it, Dragomir pointed out.
Power burst into the small confines of the chamber. Gary Daratrazanoff strode in, his long hair flowing behind him. The muscles beneath his thin shirt rippled in an impressive display of sheer strength. His gaze fell first on the mage, jumped to the injuries on Dragomir and then slowly slid over the wall where the empty cage sat.
"I feel her presence," he said softly. "She is very powerful and a boon to any man such as I. Before we try to bring her back, I will do what I can for the mage and you, Dragomir. I grow weary of you and your injuries."
Sandu nudged him. "I told you to learn to be a little faster."
Dragomir sent a very rude gesture Sandu's way.
19
Dragomir held council in the much larger chamber while Gary worked on healing the young female mage. Tariq had joined them, and all agreed the city inside the pipeline had to be destroyed. The humans Vadim had taken there for sustenance were mostly vegetables, incapable of recovery. He left them just enough sanity to feel fear. The undead needed the rush of their victims' fear. It was the drug every vampire craved.
The task was distasteful, but they had no choice. They spent some time working out the details and then Dragomir returned to the smaller chamber where Gary had worked on the mage and the ancients had supplied him with blood.
"I was able to repair the damage, but she shouldn't speak for a couple of weeks. If she does, she will cause permanent damage to her vocal cords." Gary directed his attention to Julija. "I cannot emphasize that enough. You can write down what you need to say, or better yet, someone should take your blood and exchange with yours so you can speak telepathically."
Julija shook her head adamantly. She glared at the healer.
He shrugged. "It is your choice. If you wish to help Elisabeta, that is the only way. I may have some input, but without your guidance of where to look for answers, I can be of no real help here and should go with the others to take down Vadim's city."
Frustration had Julija's brows drawing together. She drew a question mark in the air and pointed to him.
"Dragomir told me you didn't see the entire holding spell that is locking Elisabeta here to this underground city. I have the ability to access very ancient memories. It is possible one of my ancestors saw something or heard something that will help you."
She pointed to Gary and tilted her neck slightly, although her hands were trembling. She locked them together tightly in her lap.
Gary shook his head. "I will not connect you to me. Dragomir has a lifemate. It is safe for him to connect himself to you, but if I ever turned, you would be in danger. It is impossible for him to turn as long as Emeline lives."
Julija sat for what seemed an eternity. Dragomir was aware of time slipping by. The others had already left to attack the city under the sea, and he was a warrior and should be joining them. Tariq had returned to the compound to ready the healing grounds for Elisabeta if they were successful. If they weren't, Gary was prepared to stay in the underground city to guard her, finding a place to sleep and then working out a plan with the Carpathian woman. She had to have seen the spell. Even if it was complicated, between Gary, Dragomir and Julija, they had a chance of figuring it out.
"We can't be here too long. Sergey is not going to give up his prize so easily," Dragomir told the reluctant girl. "He will launch an assault the moment he hears of the attack on Vadim's sea city. Most of our hunters have gone there, leaving us vulnerable as well as the compound."
Julija's mouth firmed. She pointed to her neck. Dragomir didn't give her time to change h
er mind. He was careful, respectful and distanced her from what was happening without taking her mind. Even distancing her was difficult. She had a very strong shield. Her consent allowed him to do so. He pointed to his wrist after carefully closing the pinpricks. She took a deep breath, nodded and cleared her throat as if she might speak.
"Don't," Gary said. "You will ruin everything. Do you want him to distance you more?"
She nodded.
"You have to allow him into your mind. Make a conscious choice. He is being careful with you, not taking what you are not willing to give. We both realize you are doing this to help your friend, not to aid you in healing, although, I assure you, his blood will do both."
Julija looked to Dragomir and nodded. He pushed further into her mind and when she opened for him, he took away her ability to register what was happening until it was done. Dragomir closed the laceration he'd torn in his wrist and looked at her.
Are you all right? He included Gary in their conversation. Not dizzy, or light-headed?
Julija shook her head and touched her throat. Still hurts.
"I'm sorry," Gary said aloud. "The damage was very severe."
She nodded. Thanks for fixing me up. She slipped off the stone table and walked over to the cage. I have to reverse the spell Sergey used. It was one Xavier used to hide Rhiannon. It prevented her from making a sound so that he could hide her in plain sight of a Carpathian. That would maximize her torment, being so close to those who could rescue her, yet being completely hidden from them.
How do you know this? Dragomir had touched her memories, but he hadn't had time to examine them thoroughly. He tried not to allow suspicion to spill over into his mind where she would read it.
Sergey often told the story to Elisabeta. He wanted her to see how much better he was treating her. He didn't let Vadim or his other brothers see her. Not ever. He was careful. She told me about Rhiannon and how Xavier had children by her and then killed her. She said Sergey never tried to force her to have his child.