there was silence in the cave. destiny looked around her at the candles burning in every conceivable space. hundreds of them, tiny pinpoints of light releasing a soothing aroma of spice and the scents of healing. essential oils were warming in small, nearly flat receptacles heated by the flames. these candles were meticulously crafted by the carpathian people to be used in difficult healing sessions.

gregori looked even more impressive as he seated himself beside nicolae, his dark hair gleaming in the flickering light, his eyes liquid silver. nicolae lay in a shallow depression of earth beside gregori, his head in destiny's lap. she stroked strands of long, silky hair from his face with gentle fingers. his dark gaze was firmly locked on hers.

breathe, little one. you look so

frightened. you will give me no choice but to kiss that look from your face. gregori is a great man. he has not condemned us as you feared. rather, he and his lifemate have welcomed you, welcomed us and agreed to aid us with this healing. you must trust him.

destiny took a deep breath, took the healing scents deep into her lungs.

i trust only you, nicolae, no other. i almost wish they had condemned us. this woman is the prince's daughter, yet she welcomes me with open arms. she has no idea what lies hidden inside me. i feel guilty every time i look at her, as if i'm hiding some terrible secret.

what gregori knows, his lifemate knows. savannah is carpathian and typical of our people. none would condemn you. all will welcome you and would seek to aid you. do not fear belonging, destiny.

she tunneled her fingers in his hair, gripping with her fists as if she might hold him to her. her tongue moistened her suddenly dry lips and she lifted her chin, meeting the strange, glittering eyes of the healer. she met his merciless gaze without flinching, trying to convey with a look what she felt. she didn't dare say it aloud, not with nicolae so certain this man would aid them. she hoped the healer could read that she didn't fear death. she didn't fear anything this man could do to her. but if he harmed nicolae in any way, she would cut out his heart and incinerate it before welcoming her own death.

gregori's eyebrows lifted as if he were reading her mind and he glanced briefly at his lifemate.

i do not think my considerable charm has worked on her.

savannah looked at him lovingly, her fingers sliding through his hair. "i know you can do this, gregori." she spoke aloud to encourage destiny. gregori didn't need her encouragement.

you forgot to smile, she told him.

i have mentioned on more than one occasion that smiling is considered important in public relations. i fear i'll never manage to get that through your head.

if it were possible, his dark eyebrows rose higher, his silver eyes warming with love and suppressed laughter before he turned, completely sober, back to nicolae.

destiny watched the man as he simply shed his body and withdrew from them. he became light, energy in its purest, most selfless form. he entered nicolae's body and began waging the most difficult battle he had ever fought. the tainted blood separated from ancient blood, rushing away from him, straight toward nicolae's heart, as if attacking its host.

destiny, merged deeply with nicolae, watched in horror as the hideous brew raced for his heart.

sleep!

without preamble, using their strong blood bond, she shut down nicolae's heart and lungs instantly, trapping the blood in his veins, preventing the sludge from reaching its objective. she stayed hovering there, watching the nearly blinding light moving through nicolae's body, aware of the intense heat. there was no feeling of censure from the healer, nor did gregori hesitate or become distracted by her interference.

the blood congealed into a thick, pulsating mass. destiny could see pinpoints of hemorrhage and masses of lesions. internal organs were slightly misshapen, and colonies of toxins were scattered throughout nicolae's system. she realized the tainted blood was willing to fight for possession of the host body.

the healer was undaunted, moving unerringly toward the thick clots of infestation. to destiny's horror, something thin and black moved within the pulsating mass. tiny creatures, living parasites. she wanted to scream and scream. the need was so strong, she pressed her hand to her mouth to keep from diverting the healer from his task. those hideous creatures lived inside her, she knew, and she had infected nicolae. the idea was repulsive. disgusting. she had lived with the creatures for years, never fully realizing how abnormal they were until she saw them infesting nicolae's body.

nicolae stirred. his heart beat once, twice. the horrible wriggling creatures massed as if eagerly awaiting the movement of blood.

your distress is calling to him. calm yourself. gregori connected through the mind merge destiny had with her lifemate.

he can do no other than come to you if you need him. you are carpathian, woman, not vampire. do not allow him to awaken.

the voice, more than anything else, calmed her. she forced air through her lungs, beat away despair and horror, soothing nicolae back to the carpathian sleep. her fingers bunched in his hair, her only lifeline to sanity. she couldn't think about what lived and squirmed inside her. what she had passed to nicolae. unclean. she was unclean.

focus! the voice was firm.

i need your help with this.

destiny would do anything to rid nicolae of the tainted blood. she pushed her revulsion and emotions as far from her as she could and concentrated on the bright light. gregori was moving steadily toward the series of thick clots. the ugly masses erupted with swarming tiny black wormlike parasites. several attacked, throwing their wriggling bodies at the light as if they might consume it. the hideous things hit an invisible barrier and were instantly destroyed.

pandemonium broke out. light exploded, a laser show of bright white, obliterating everything in its path. time passed as the healer meticulously began to hunt the parasites and destroy them, herding them inevitably toward the ancient blood lying dormant in the veins. as he chased them, gregori obliterated colony after colony.

destiny couldn't believe how long he worked, examining every inch of nicolae to ferret out the infestation. the healer had to examine every artery, every vein, networks of blood vessels.

it was then destiny became aware of the chanting of familiar words. savannah and vikirnoff lifted their voices in the age-old healing ritual. the light was fading, blurring around the edges and turning almost transparent.

gregori's spirit emerged from nicolae's body. the healer was swaying with weariness, so pale he was nearly gray. destiny bit her lower lip as she watched vikirnoff offer his wrist to the healer. she knew nicolae's brother was offering his life. he had no lifemate to anchor him to the world. giving gregori his blood would create a bond between them. gregori could easily track him should there be need. it was a selfless act, and one that unexpectedly rugged at her heartstrings.

she sat quietly, rocking back and forth, stroking nicolae's hair, not wanting to look at gregori or his lifemate. destiny hadn't known the ugly truth about her blood. nicolae had been infected only a couple of risings. she had been infected for long years. she had never realized that the parasites had been passed to her from the vampire who had taken her as a child. she hadn't known what was normal and what wasn't.

the healer was not finished with nicolae, and yet he was already swaying with weariness, his great strength drained. it seemed an impossibility that he could heal her after so many years of being infected.

gregori took a great deal of blood, leaving vikirnoff weak. destiny saw the ancient warrior stagger as he turned away.

"you must feed well. nicolae will need your blood," gregori instructed.

"i will go quickly, but perhaps you should wait for my return before going in again," vikirnoff suggested. "i do not want to leave you and the women vulnerable to an attack."

"i do not think i have time to wait if i am to do this thing. his brain and every organ must be cleansed." gregori sprinkled the rich carpathian soil over nicolae, opened his palms and placed some in his hands. "return as quickly as you can," he urged.

"is it possible to do this?" destiny asked. "did you know those things were there? have you ever encountered them before?" she didn't want it to be just her, that she was the only one tainted. "if nicolae's body is so infected, what must mine be like?"

gregori's peculiar eyes moved over her face, leaving behind a strange, warming calm. "no, i had no idea they were there. certainly alexandria had no such creatures in her blood when aidan performed the healing ritual. this is far different, but i have no idea why. i will heal nicolae, destiny, and i will heal you. the vampire will not claim a victory here." he spoke with complete confidence. destiny couldn't tell whether he believed his statement or not, but his words gave her a semblance of hope.

without further hesitation, gregori once more shed his physical body to become the healing light of his kind.

destiny was aware on one level of vikirnoff leaving the chamber, but she concentrated on watching gregori's meticulous assault on the vampire's blood. the organs were harboring a few tiny, immature parasites. they seemed capable of tremendous damage, tunneling into the organs, burning as they did so.

the healer dispatched them wherever he found them, cleansing the organs and carefully reshaping them. destiny watched with awe, respect for the man growing as he worked. she was aware of the difficulties, the amount of strength it took to be outside one's body. she began to understand that the form of energy he was utilizing to heal was nearly impossible to maintain for any length of time. she was witnessing a miracle.

she was so engrossed in what he was doing, she nearly failed to notice the sudden stirring of the remaining creatures in nicolae's blood. they leapt, almost with excitement, wriggling like frenzied maggots. a dark shadow slipped across her soul.

the vampires are here, in this place with us, she told gregori. she could not reach vikirnoff without nicolae. her lifemate lay as still as death, and even if she awakened him, he would be drained of all strength, helpless. gregori was in his brain, continuing his careful, meticulous healing.

i dare not stop; he would not survive.

i can hold them off. she spoke with complete confidence.

you keep my lifemate safe and i will keep yours safe.

it was a threat as well as a promise. if gregori pulled out before he finished, nicolae would die of a brain hemorrhage.

gregori's instincts were to save his lifemate from the vampires first, yet he would give destiny an opportunity to protect them all. he had been immersed in nicolae's mind, read his many battles, his brilliant strategies, and knew he had passed his skills on to destiny. gregori could just as easily read the battles destiny had fought. he was determined to give her the chance to save her lifemate by keeping his savannah safe. if savannah were in imminent danger, he could do no other than act in her behalf, but he was willing to allow destiny to do what she did best, destroy the vampire.

destiny understood that reasoning and accepted it, just as he accepted her own determination to save nicolae.

savannah was already moving to place her small body between the danger and her lifemate and his patient.

destiny leapt upon her, one arm circling her throat, claws emerging to press tightly into her delicate skin. "trust me." she mouthed the words against savannah's neck, praying the healer would realize she was buying them time. vikirnoff would be in the city now, taking much-needed blood. he would return with all haste.

"brethren!" a vampire called. "come to me in haste. i have the daughter of the prince as a gift to buy my way into the alliance. hurry before the other hunter returns and this one regains his strength. he is stuck in the body of the other. our blood is strong and holds him there."

savannah struggled, looking as helpless as she could. destiny dragged savannah's arm behind her back and placed a dagger in her palm, their bodies concealing the weapon between them.

the first intruder erupted from the ground, spewing dirt in a dark cloud as he rose. a second scaled the cavern wall, much like a human lizard, clinging to the rock above their heads. destiny watched them, her mind assimilating the threat, choosing quickly which of the two was the more experienced and more dangerous.

"take her," destiny invited, thrusting savannah toward the lesser vampire. "i'll kill the healer." she did a back-flip, raced up the wall toward the creature overhead, trusting savannah to make the kill.

savannah had never hunted the undead. gregori had been adamant that she not ever place her life in danger, but she had been in his head enough to know what to do. she acted at once, without hesitation, stumbling forward as if unable to control her momentum. the vampire's fetid breath scorched her face. she felt his hands on her shoulders, reaching to yank her to him. and she went, the dagger concealed along her wrist. at the last possible second she plunged the razor-sharp instrument deep into his chest, straight into his heart.

blackened blood poured over her hand, burning abominably. the vampire screamed, stumbling backward, his hands going to the dagger. savannah leapt away from him, careful to keep her body between her lifemate and the undead.

destiny reached the other vampire as he paused to witness the capture of such a prize as the prince's daughter. he saw her coming too late to move, or shape-shift, relying on attack instead. they came together in a furious assault, bodies slamming together.

they fell to the cavern floor, only inches from the wounded vampire, both scrambling to regain their footing. destiny threw herself into a scissors lock, weaving her legs through the vampire's and twisting as they both came down again, dropping him to the ground and pinning him there. she drove her fist deep, needing victory fast. she could see the wounded vampire pulling the knife from his chest. worse, she felt the presence of another one, the ancient one. pater had arrived.

"get out, savannah," destiny instructed harshly.

savannah leapt over the writhing vampire, trying to avoid the spewing blood, kicking him hard in the head so that he dropped backward like a stone. her tactic gave destiny the precious time she needed to extract the heart from the chest of the undead she had pinned. she threw the withered organ a distance from her and was already on the wounded one, straddling him, holding him down to take his heart.

savannah built the necessary energy to incinerate the first heart, successfully completing the kill. as she turned back, she saw a black shadow loom above destiny, one hand drawn back, the discarded and bloody dagger in his hand.

"look out!" she had been about to direct the orange ball of flame at the body of the vampire, but turned it toward the shadow instead.

destiny had managed to close her fingers around the heart of the wounded vampire, jerking hard as he thrashed and raked and battered her, fighting tooth and nail for his life. at savannah's warning, she flinched sideways, still drawing the heart toward her, recognizing the danger but needing to finish off the vampire before he could regenerate or get away.

pater plunged the dagger downward just as destiny shifted, and the ball of energy, flaming red and white-hot, seared his shoulder, ruining his aim. the blade missed her back completely, slicing through her arm up high so that the heart fell from her suddenly nerveless fingers. it rolled away from her almost to the feet of the ancient undead.

pater stared at the obscene organ; then his eyes went to destiny's pale face. he hissed, a deadly promise of retribution, and instantly was gone.

destiny clamped her hand over the gushing wound and looked at savannah. "destroy the heart and the vampire. i'm going after him. vikirnoff will be here any minute or pater probably wouldn't have left. be certain to cleanse your hands or you'll blister and burn. you don't want to take the chance of getting any of that blood into your system."

before savannah could reply, destiny had shifted shape, streaking through the network of caves to follow pater. she knew where he would go. she knew what he had in mind. nothing could stop her, not even the echo of nicolae's cry of protest in her mind. destiny had weaknesses the vampire could exploit, and every one of them was in the city. he would go after the people she had befriended.

she made no effort to hide her pursuit, hoping pater would double back on her and attempt an ambush. at least that would keep her friends safe. it was three in the morning and most people would be asleep in bed, thinking themselves safe.

destiny, return to me at once.

nicolae was extremely weak. gregori could not provide for him. destiny was uncertain whether gregori had managed to complete the healing ritual, in any case, she could not leave unsuspecting humans to a vampire.

nicolae knew it and sighed.

vikirnoff is replenishing us. you will have aid soon enough. do not be careless.

before she could answer, she heard the call. a summoning. the power in the voice was awesome. pater was an ancient, a powerful vampire, and his voice was thrown out over the neighborhood, calling sweetly to her friends. the compulsion in his voice slid down her spine like a shiver of fear.

destiny forced calm into her mind. where was the echo of his call, his scent? she scanned the skies for a blankness in an attempt to pinpoint his exact position. frustrated by his skill, by his ability to hide, she went first to mary ann's house. the door to mary ann's home was open and destiny could see her walking along the sidewalk dressed in her robe. as she passed the rectory, father mulligan emerged, dressed in sweats, without his glasses perched on his nose.

destiny swooped down on them, taking her human shape as she hit the sidewalk running. she caught each of them by an arm and dragged them to the church. it took strength when they both tried vainly to reach the golden voice calling to them. as she unlocked the doors, mary ann escaped and had to be retrieved. destiny thrust them both firmly into the safety of the church.

at once the sound of the vampire's melodic tones changed to a growling, spitting evil. father mulligan blinked and looked around him, astonished to find himself in the church. "i was having a dream."

mary ann sat in the nearest pew and glared at destiny. "not again. i'm in my bathrobe, for heaven's sake."

"stay here. don't you dare leave this church," destiny ordered. she didn't stop to explain, closing the double doors behind her.

destiny ran down the block to turn on the street where the tavern was located. the priest and mary ann had both been heading in that direction. to her horror, she saw tim and martin shuffling down the back fire escape toward the street. she hurried toward them, racing up the street in the direction of the home of inez and velda. they weren't out yet, but she was certain they would be on the street momentarily.

tim dropped from the ladder to the sidewalk, nearly in front of her. without looking at her, or looking back at martin, he began to walk down the block. martin dropped to the sidewalk and hurried after his departing friend.

spinning black clouds gathered swiftly overhead. veins of lightning arced from cloud to cloud. warily, destiny glanced toward the sky. the wind rushed along the street, knocking tim and martin to the ground, releasing them from their enthrallment. the full force hit destiny like a punch, lifting her off her feet, sending her flying backward to land a distance from the two human men.

pay attention to the battle. you cannot help them if you are dead! nicolae's voice was calm, but she knew him all too well now. he was on the move and he was angry. the storm generating over her head held a particular controlled fury she recognized.

destiny rolled, dissolved to vapor, felt the brush of claws against her wounded shoulder. droplets of red scattered across the ground, giving away her position in the gathering fog. she shifted course on the run, drawing the vampire away from the humans, taking several leaps to add distance before landing in a crouch, preparing herself for the attack she knew was coming.

the vampire rose up in front of her, a hideous sight with jagged teeth and flaming eyes. his breath was putrid, reeking of rot and decay. she had only time for one heartbeat of recognition. this was not pater. once again the wily ancient had sent in a lesser vampire to occupy her while he wreaked his vengeance.

she heard tim scream in fear, as if at a distance, the thick fog muffling the sound. martin was eerily silent. she had no time to get to them. she felt the impact as the vampire struck, tearing through muscle and tissue. she was staring straight into those blood-red eyes. her fist had driven deep. they stared at one another. she watched his face contort, felt the power moving through her, and knew nicolae was using her to destroy her enemy. the vampire began to gasp for air. the claw tearing through her body weakened, fell away from her.

destiny staggered, forced strength into her arm where it was buried deep in the chest of the vampire. she dragged the heart from the body and managed to toss it a distance from her. stumbling, she pushed her rubbery legs into action, searching for the two men.

a hand came out of the fog, gripped the front of her shirt and carelessly threw her through the air. she didn't see the vampire, only his hand coming out of the vapor with blurring speed. she hit the wall of velda and inez's house, slid down to the sidewalk, the air slamming out of her lungs. he was alarmingly strong.

now would be a good time for you to rescue me. destiny couldn't get her legs under her. she could only remain slumped against the wall.

he came out of the fog. pater. his face was a mask of hatred. of cold rage. focus on him. nicolae was even closer than before.

destiny couldn't keep her gaze steady on the vampire. his image continually blurred, so that it was impossible for nicolae to lock onto him through her.

move, destiny. get away from him. there was an edge to nicolae's voice.

she couldn't move. she could only watch the creature grow in power and stature as he advanced on her. his body was fuzzy, replicating itself over and over as he loomed over her. he was hissing his hatred, a cross between the growl of a predator and the cold, reptilian hiss of a snake. destiny felt the force of his hatred hit her hard before he reached her.

"you ruined everything, and in the end you will die as you should have long ago when you betrayed your blood," he snarled as he reached for her. one hand was extended, going for her throat, the nails long and razor-sharp.

destiny simply watched the claw as it stretched out abnormally and waited for him to crush her. before pater reached her, a body inserted itself between the vampire and his prey. the woman was small with pink-tipped hair and matching tennis shoes. she looked frail but she stood her ground resolutely. "you will not touch her."

destiny's heart nearly stopped. she couldn't watch this courageous woman, well into her seventies, die to give her a few more precious minutes of life. "velda," she whispered softly in protest.

velda faced the vampire unflinchingly. "you will not touch her," she said again. she managed to look and sound dignified and regal, even authoritative, dressed in baggy sweatpants and a sweatshirt with glittery hearts strewn across it, matching her neon pink tennis shoes.

destiny blinked back tears of admiration and struggled to get to her feet, desperate to save velda from her courageous folly.

to destiny's astonishment, pater froze, clearly shocked, stiffening, every muscle tense. his face paled visibly, and for one moment, emotion stirred on the frightful mask of his face. something crept into his expression - guilt, regret, sorrow. destiny couldn't identify it.

wind rushed through the street. lightning flashed across the sky. thunder crashed overhead, booming so loud it shook the houses. the lightning illuminated the face of the vampire, once handsome and sensual, now ravaged by evil. a gaunt parody of a man with blood-stained teeth and a withered, blackened heart. his expression changed from one of fleeting sorrow to cunning craftiness.

pater let out his breath in a long, slow hiss of fury. "do not try to trick me, old woman. leave this place or i will kill you."

"this place is my home and you no longer belong here. go and leave this girl." velda sounded very firm and continued to look unflinchingly into his flaming gaze. his hypnotic voice clearly didn't work on her. the compulsion buried in his command failed to get results.

pater stepped close to the old woman and bent his head toward her neck, his incisors prominently displayed. instead of recoiling as expected, velda moved to meet the tall, thin vampire as if to embrace him. she laid one withered hand on his chest, so that he paused, his mouth against her skin. "i waited for you. there was no other in my life. there could be no other. i will grieve for you and hope that god has mercy on your soul." she whipped up her other hand, concealed in the folds of her too large sweat pants, and attempted to drive the stake she held through pater's chest.

he threw back his head and howled, his hand clamping around velda's fragile wrist like a vise. destiny used every ounce of remaining strength, drew on nicolae for aid and leapt to her feet, shoving velda's arm hard, driving the stake deep into pater's heart. destiny dragged the other woman backward, away from the flailing vampire. pater screamed curses, spewing vile threats at the two women.

velda's small body was shaking. she pressed her hand to her mouth, took a step toward the vampire, her hand out, obviously wanting to comfort him. "i'm sorry, i'm so sorry. you gave me no other choice."

"the only way to aid him is by giving him death," destiny said, trying to comfort velda even as she protectively thrust the older woman behind her.

pater whirled away from them, only to find gregori standing behind him. he turned back to the women to find nicolae blocking his way. vikirnoff was to his right.

destiny slipped her arm around velda. "we have to go, right now." she staggered as she tried to urge velda back into the comparative safety of her home. "you don't want to see this."

velda steadied destiny, turned for one last look. pater's gaze locked with hers. velda's lips trembled. destiny tugged at her, regaining the older woman's attention. "please, velda, let them do their job."

velda burst into tears, a low cry of pain as she firmly closed the door, blocking out the wind and fog and death. "i felt him close by. he was meant for me. he was, destiny. all these years i've been alone, waiting for him to come. and he is evil."

destiny sank into a chair, her legs no longer able to hold herself up. "i'm sorry, velda, so sorry. he wasn't always evil. there was a time in his life when he was a great man. i'm certain of it."

velda hung her head. "why didn't he find me?"

"i don't know. i have no answer for you."

"i could see the evil in him, as if he had rotted from the inside out. he embraced evil. rejoiced in it. i looked for his heart and it was black. i looked for his soul and it was gone." velda pressed a trembling hand to her mouth. "all these years alone, and it was for him. one moment i saw it in his eyes, an awareness of what could have been, and he rejected it. i saw him reject it."

"i'm so sorry, velda." destiny didn't know how to comfort her. "but thank you for having the courage to save my life."

"i would have saved him had he let me." velda covered her face with her hands and sobbed as if her heart were broken.

"it was too late," destiny said softly. "he gave in a long time ago."

inez came out of the bedroom, frowning as she pulled at the cotton balls stuffed in her ears. "whatever is going on? velda. dearest sister. you cannot cry like this. you'll make yourself ill." she slipped her arm around velda's shoulders and turned her attention to destiny. "you need an ambulance. you're soaked in blood."

nicolae came through the door without knocking. destiny's hungry gaze went to his face. nicolae. her sanity. her white knight. sorrow for velda rose up to overwhelm her.

we cannot leave her this way.

i will help her. your strength is gone, and you're severely injured.

she looked down at the blood soaking her shirt. revulsion made her shudder. she was rotting from the inside out, just as velda had -->>

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