Dark Challenge (40 page)

“Julian.” Dayan was studying the Carpathian with knowing eyes. “It takes a tremendous amount of energy to heal a wound such as this one. Go with Barack and feed heavily, that the two of you can provide for our family. I will guard those here. Do not fear the task is too great. I may choose to follow my brother, but I am capable of fighting should there be need.”

Julian waved a hand to close the ground over Darius, weaving intricate safeguards to ensure the leader’s rest wasn’t disturbed while he was gone. He nodded to Dayan, already rising to make his way from the mountain. If he didn’t hunt prey soon, he would be sending his lifemate out to do it for him.

Soft laughter immediately enveloped him.
I heard that thought.

I was certain you would, beautiful one. I will return immediately. Do not allow Syndil to disappear on us. Right now she is in more danger from herself than from any vampire.

Desari sighed softly, her breath whispering along the inside of his mind.
It is true, Julian. She feels as if she is responsible for placing all of us in danger. I am trying, but
…The thought trailed off, and Julian felt De-sari’s sorrow.

Piccola,
do not worry so. We will not allow anything to happen to your family.
A note of amusement crept in.
I cannot wait for your arrogant brother to rise. I will taunt him repeatedly over how I had to repair the damage to his family unit.

I am sure you will.

Julian burst into the dawn air, the light striking cruelly at his eyes. A part of him was locked to Darius. He had been inside the man, a part of him, just as Darius had done for him. They were linked strongly to one another. And Julian was not altogether certain he had as much faith and trust in the other males of the family as Darius seemed to show. Either of them could be close to turning, and masking it. Leaving Darius so vulnerable, lying as one dead, where a trusted friend could so easily slay him, kept Julian locked to his lifemate’s brother. Desari had given him what he had lost centuries earlier; she had given him a family. He would do all he could to protect it.

The wind brought the scent of prey to him, and he altered his course with ease. He streaked across the sky, uncaring whether or not Barack was following. He intended to make certain he was gone only a short time.

I thought you said Darius was still dangerous, even as he lies sleeping.

Julian sighed. He should have known Desari would
so easily read his thoughts, just as he could always touch hers.
It is so
, cara,
he is very dangerous. You can feel his power radiate from him. But I am not certain he would be expecting the attack to come from one of his own.

There is no one who could surprise Darius ever again. Except perhaps…

Julian could feel Desari pause and give consideration to her statement. Then the little minx had a flashing thought, hastily censored. She was up to something, no doubt about it. Julian didn’t mind—as long as her brother, not he, was the intended recipient of her scheming.

The call to awaken came not from within himself but from outside. At the command, his heart took one beat, and his lungs drew in air. There was pain with his first breath, and Darius quickly assessed the damage to his body without moving a muscle or flickering an eyelid, without allowing anything else to intrude while he took inventory. A thick wrist was pressed to his mouth, and he felt, more than heard, the soft command to replenish what he had lost. He knew immediately who was donating so generously to him. The blood was ancient and powerful, potent as it soaked into his starving cells, carrying with it the energy and strength of a true ancient. Darius slowly opened his eyes and stared up at the blond stranger who was his sister’s mate. Darius savored the effects of the fresh blood pouring into his body, strong, rich, ancient blood, and already he could feel the healing powers working within him. He studied Julian as he fed from the man’s wrist. Julian was powerful and
enormously strong, equally confident. It showed in the way he carried himself, in the straight stare of his strange amber eyes and the set of his shoulders. It showed in the fluid way he moved and the quick decisions he made without hesitation. His leadership qualities were evident when he carefully sidestepped possible challenges by the other males, never allowing his own ego to get in the way. Julian knew he was infinitely capable; he had nothing to prove to anyone, or to himself. Right now he was wearing that sardonic expression Darius was familiar with, as if he were laughing inwardly, amused at life and those around him. As if he had some secret knowledge, of which none of them were aware. Darius decided he probably did. Aside from the knowledge already imprinted on them before birth, Julian had the advantage of learning from ancients. He also knew things about their own kind that Darius’s family did not.

Very carefully Darius closed the wound, even in his weakness ensuring he left no telltale mark. He made no attempt to move. His heart was not yet completely healed. He knew what it had cost Julian in time and energy to repair such a near-mortal injury, and he had no intention of tearing the knitting gash before complete healing could take place.

“I am not yet healed, Julian,” he said in his mild, expressionless tone.

Julian’s mouth curved into a smirk. “No? Do you think you should heal so quickly, then? I put you in the ground only one scant hour ago. I awakened you merely to supply you with blood. Even you require more than one hour. And no, I have not yet tracked the vampire to his lair, but I will on the next rising. Be assured of that.”

Darius’s black eyes fastened on Julian’s gold ones. “I have no doubt that you will find the one you seek. I know the kind of man you are.” He was already tired,
and his voice was fading, his thick lashes drifting down to cover the relentless, merciless, obsidian eyes. Even with the blood of such a powerful man, his body was so torn, the wound so savage, he was exhausted with just a small amount of effort.

“You did not want to stay any longer in this world.” Julian crouched down beside the leader so that he no longer towered above him. “It was in your mind to seek eternal rest. You cannot hide that from me any more than I could hide what I am from you. What made you stay when you felt yourself so close to turning? I can feel your fight, every waking moment; your life is endless darkness. What made you stay when you wanted, needed eternal rest?”

“You did.” The reply was simple, brief, yet Julian could read the truth in those two words. “I read some of your memories. I knew of your intention to seek eternal rest before you discovered what you call your life-mate, my sister. I do not know much more, only that she made it worth every moment of your struggle with the darkness devouring us. You have roamed the world and were certain you would never feel again, but you do feel. You laugh. There is a real joy in you that you cannot hide. I had no idea there was hope. I thought that for our males, once we lived a certain length of time, there would be only two choices. Eternal rest or the loss of our souls. Now that I have found this information, I can do no other than try to lead the way for Dayan and Barack. I will hold out as long as I am able to, until I know the crouching beast is close to overcoming my strength, and then I will seek eternal rest. If I can once again feel before I cross over, then it will be worth all the long, dark days.” Darius’s voice was very soft, a mere thread of sound, as if he could not find the strength to speak more strongly. “I would like to feel the love I
have for my sister and my family, not simply remember that there once was such a feeling.”

It made no difference to Julian that Darius’s voice was fading. Like all Carpathians, he had incredible hearing and could turn the volume up at will.

“In any case,” Darius continued, his long lashes hiding the dark depths of his eyes, “I will wait until there is no hope at all for me, so that Dayan will realize he must also have hope until there is proof otherwise. He grows weary of this earth and has spoken often of resting. And he will not follow you so easily.”

“My charming personality, no doubt,” Julian agreed.

“Dayan is a quiet soul. Not dark of nature like me or Savon. Dayan has always chosen the right paths instinctively. Yet as the darkness grows within him, the heaviness in his heart expands. Hidden within him is an explosive predator, all the more dangerous because he is so opposite to the man. Dayan struggles to understand that side of his nature while we simply accept it.” He was deliberately imparting knowledge of his family to his sister’s lifemate.

Darius’s voice was so low now, Julian was unsure whether he was really speaking aloud or mind to mind. “You grow weak, Darius. Sleep. We can talk of such things when you are healed.” Deliberately, Julian allowed his voice to drop an octave, to take on the low, hypnotic tone of his kind. Soothing, peaceful, healing. An underlying command, very subtle but nevertheless powerful.

Darius smiled, a mere flash of strong white teeth. He heard that “push” in Julian’s voice and recognized it for what it was. Even in his weakened state, he would ordinarily have resisted such a mind touch, but Julian was going to do as he wished anyway. He would hunt the undead without Darius, and argument with him would
be futile. And tiring. Darius planned to sleep for a long while. “I go under, golden one, but do not think you managed to make me overlook the fact that I must thank you for my continued existence.”

“Or curse me.” Julian stepped away from the black, rich soil, then watched as the breath ceased and the heart quit beating in Darius’s chest. He waved a hand so the soil would fill in around and over the body, providing the healing balm to mend the terrible wounds. His hands wove the patterns of strong safeguards to ensure Darius would not be disturbed. He stood for a long moment, savoring the unexpected warmth that came with belonging to something. Once he hunted and destroyed his ancient enemy and knew all was safe, he would seek out his own twin brother. He ached to see Aidan again, to meet his lifemate and to present Desari to him. Though he dreaded having to admit the truth, that he had been marked by a vampire as a boy, he now longed for what interaction with others could bring into one’s life. He wanted to be part of a family once again.

“You are already part of a family,” Desari reminded him, her body brushing his, her arms circling his waist from behind. She had materialized out of nowhere, her presence filling the healing chamber.

She was there. Completing him. His air. His heart. The part of his soul that really lived and loved and mattered. Without conscious thought he sent up a quick prayer of thanks that he had been granted such a priceless treasure when he felt so undeserving of her.

Julian loved the way she smelled. He inhaled, and her scent washed over him, clean and sexy. “This mess? With all these males?” Julian allowed a low, rumbling growl to escape. “This is no family. This is a man’s nightmare.”

Desari deliberately moved against him, her body soft
and pliant with invitation. “Is that what you think?”

“What I think is”—Julian circled her slender throat with his large hand in mock threat—“you are deliberately tempting me when I have important, pressing business to attend to.”

Her slender arms instantly circled his neck so that she could press her body against his hard frame. “I am a superstar, lifemate, yet you wish to leave me alone at every opportunity. There are men everywhere who would be happy to take your place by my side.”

He bent his head, his teeth scraping a provocative rhythm over her pulse. Desari went liquid, boneless, her stomach clenching in anticipation. “No, they would not be happy to take my place at your side,
cara mia,
because I would promptly end their lives in a most unhappy way.”

“You are such a caveman, Julian. You look tall and elegant and princely, yet you have not matured beyond the cave.” Desari allowed her tongue a brief inspection of the taste of his skin. She closed her eyes to savor the moment.

“I have no intention of rising above caveman mentality,” he growled in her ear, his breath teasing tendrils of hair and sending little flames dancing through her bloodstream. “There are so many benefits for the caveman.”

“You like playing the part of the dominant male, no doubt,” she whispered, her voice so husky with need that his body tightened in urgent, painful response. Her mouth moved over his throat, her hands seeking skin beneath his shirt. “I have a need of you, lifemate, and you are deliberately ignoring your sworn duties to me.”

“Little minx.” Julian curved his arm around Desari’s shoulders and began walking from the chamber into the maze of tunnels carved from molten lava. They were numerous and deep, leading throughout the large mountain,
deep within the earth. It was hot and humid, steaming, so that the heat soaked through their clothing as they walked together. Little beads of sweat formed and ran over their skin, following intriguing paths.

Desari’s white silk blouse clung to her so that her breasts were dark, enticing shadows, her nipples even darker. Her long hair became damp and heavy as they descended deeper within the earth, and she stopped to twist it and knot it at the back of her neck.

Julian smiled faintly. “How do women do that?” His eyes were on her body, the way her breasts lifted in innocent seduction when she raised her arms to attend to her hair.

Desari turned her head to look at him. “Do what?”

“That thing with your hair.” Julian leaned down to taste a small bead of sweat running down the back of her neck. He felt her shiver, felt the answering shiver deep within his own body. His hand slid under the edge of her silken blouse to find hot satin skin, his long fingers caressing each rib. “How do women tie up their hair without looking at it?” His voice was raw and edgy, reflecting the way his body was reacting to hers.

“Why does it feel like forever since you touched me like this?” she whispered. “It is hot, Julian.”

“It is getting that way,” he agreed. A thought took his shirt from his body so that his bare skin gleamed like bronze. In the blackness of the tunnels, to them it was as if it were daylight. The walls gleamed with yellow sulfur, and all around them was the beauty of nature, shimmering and glittering beneath the earth, ever moving, ever changing, the minerals that enriched the soil and made it fertile and healing, the very things that built the land masses themselves. Because their body temperature could regulate itself, enabling them to be inside the
earth, a part of its wonders, they saw it all happening where most humans never could.