nd. the acid burned through his skin to his bones, but that pain was nothing compared to the agony of kirja's fingers literally ripping rafael's heart to pieces.

deep beneath the earth, colby felt the rending and tearing of rafael's heart. her eyes flew open, her heart shuddering in shared pain and slamming with relentless terror against her chest. the pain nearly shattered her. rafael!

the undead will not get your brother.

rafael's voice was ragged, frayed with pain. in that instant she saw him in the dark of the mine with the ghouls fighting to get to him, with his arm and hand burned raw from the vampire's blood. and she saw the vampire's fist buried deep in his chest. she felt the fingernails ripping and gouging at rafael's heart in an effort to kill him. for a moment time stopped. the world went utterly still. realization struck her in that blinding moment.

she loved him.

all this time when she thought she was fighting him, she'd been fighting herself as well. pitting her enormous will against her heart, the heart that had begun to love rafael when he had rushed into a burning building on her behalf.

rafael had freed her to be who and what she was born to be. she would finally be able to use her extraordinary gifts she had spent a lifetime hiding. she would be accepted for who she really was, not who she pretended to be. and in that moment of realization, colby knew she could bear anything, sacrifice anyone or anything else, but not rafael.

tell me what to do! she issued the order to nicolas. and it was an order. she began to claw her way through the earth to the surface. every ounce of iron will she possessed, the will that was her birthright, that had been honed in her sweat and tears, the unbending will that had refused to let her believe she could come to love rafael, that will she now focused on reaching him. she would save him. there was no other choice.

stay with him. do not allow him to separate himself from you. he will hold on with everything he is, not wanting to chance that you will die with him.

colby concentrated on holding rafael to her. she could see through his eyes and hear the wailing of the ghouls and the horrible cries of the vampire.

deep in the vampire's lair, vikirnoff continued his battle with the relentless ghouls, but he could sense how close rafael was to death.

"rafael," he commanded, "throw the heart to me now." he kept his voice calm in the midst of the chaos reigning. he knocked back another ghoul, but it rose to confront him again as the others closed in.

kirja's razor-sharp fingernails worked to drag rafael's heart from his body, a slow but extremely painful process. the strength was ebbing from the vampire, but it was draining almost as quickly from rafael. he could barely move, barely think, his body failing to obey the dictates of his brain as blood loss and lethargy from the rising sun sapped his remaining, rapidly dwindling strength.

he felt colby moving in him, searching for a way to aid him. he couldn't protect her from the pain in his body. he felt the blow of it, nearly driving her to unconsciousness, felt her regroup, accept the pain. then her strong will rose up, the unwavering determination of the dragonseeker blood.

you will not die! she made it a decree. an order. throw the heart to the hunter. take my strength and rid the world of that disgusting creature. now, rafael. i won't let you go.

using the burst of strength, he did as she commanded, tossing the vile organ through the air to vikirnoff. at once rafael's strength ran out and he began to topple. it was too late for him. his heart was shredded, his blood loss too great. but colby and paul would be safe and vikirnoff would get out of the mines alive. rafael closed his eyes and let go.

colby merged her mind with rafael's. she was strong. she'd always been strong, so much so that her powers couldn't be managed in her human state. she felt them now, running through her body, and she took a quick inventory of her abilities. everything was different now, with the special gifts of the carpathian blood running through her veins. she reached for the power, embraced it instead of shrinking in fear from it. she would save rafael, hold him to her with her last breath even though his life force was no more than a small, dim light flickering weakly, all but extinguished. she held him to her with all of her strength, preventing him from falling to the acid inferno of soil in the chamber, at the same time, keeping his spirit from fading away.

bring him to me. hurry. she sent the order to vikirnoff, on the mental path she found in rafael's mind. the soil is rich in minerals and it is our only chance.

vikirnoff incinerated the vampire's heart, stoically ignoring the acid burning his hand and arm as the blood ran down his skin. kirja screamed horribly, his body going limp, his fist falling from rafael's body with a horrible sucking sound. the carpathian's lifeblood splattered over him. he grimaced and licked at it in a last, vain attempt to heal himself.

vikirnoff directed a second white-hot ball of energy at the vampire.

blackened noxious smoke rose and kirja gave a final hideous, wailing shriek and his foul life at last found its end. vikirnoff caught rafael in strong arms before colby could let him fall to the poisonous ground and sustain further burns.

the moment the vampire was fully destroyed, the ghouls dropped to the ground, lifeless without their master to give them orders. the soulless shadows ceased their continuous wails and the bones dropped back to the ground.

there was an eerie silence followed by an ominous rumble that grew louder as the maze of mine tunnels began to shake. cradling rafael in his burned arm, vikirnoff streaked through the tunnels, away from the lair of the vampire. dirt and rock poured down and smoke spewed through the shafts. walls closed in behind them as he winged his way to the surface with the wounded hunter. i am on the way with him. the sun is climbing rapidly. he is mortally injured. in truth, i do not see how you can save him.

colby burst from the ground, the sun nearly blinding her. it didn't even slow her down. she cast around for the richest soil. what do i need, nicolas? tell me what to do to save him.

he told her, naming several plants, sending her images of what they looked like, and directing her where to find them. ignoring the terrible burning inside her body, her streaming eyes and sensitive skin, colby raced to locate the plants hidden in the dense forest. the trees helped to shade her from the sun's burning rays and vikirnoff supplied cloud cover as he traveled toward her. as nicolas guided her hands, instructing her in what she must do to save rafael, another voice joined his, and then another and another. she couldn't get all of their names, but healers gathered from around the world to talk her through the process of saving rafael.

if something should go wrong, nicolas, you watch over paul and ginny. colby was fully aware she was risking her life. she would be giving everything she was to rafael, and should she fail, it would mean both of their lives.

there cannot be failure. nicolas decreed it.

and then vikirnoff was there, rafael's torn, mangled body in his arms. colby closed her eyes for one brief moment as tears welled up and horror clutched at her throat. she had been prepared for his terrible injuries, but not for the sight of her proud, invincible rafael ravaged so utterly. her heart and soul screamed a protest.

she reached for her powerful will, grasped her strength with every fiber of her being, and shook off the despair and pain and terror. there was no time for emotion, no time for hesitation or fear. she listened to the soft voices giving her instructions and she felt her power moving through her. kneeling beside rafael's torn body in the mineral-rich soil where vikirnoff had opened the earth for her, she set to work. it was easy enough to work on several levels, using her telekinesis to mix the plants and soil while she shed her body, her sense of self, and became the healing ball of energy needed to enter rafael's body.

all the while she held him to her, bound by her determination, refusing to allow him to escape into another world. his heart was all but destroyed, savaged by the vampire's talons, lacerated and shredded. she hesitated in dismay.

it can be done. the assurance came from one of the healers, a male named gregori. i will be with you every step of the way.

i am here as well. a feminine voice, shea, a healer.

a third voice, very distant and ultra feminine, added her support. i am francesca. you are of the dragonseeker clan. few have the gifts you have. it can be done.

she heard nicolas and his brothers urging her onward. voices swelled in volume in her mind, chanting an ancient healing ritual. with determination, colby bent to the task. it was no longer impossible-it was simply a matter of will, and she had that in abundance. slowly, meticulously, she repaired rafael's shredded heart. her physical strength waned several times, but rafael's brothers fed her every bit of energy they possessed. she even felt paul's touch through nicolas.

she was as ruthless in her demands on rafael, forcing him to endure the pain as she repaired his heart then set to work on his other numerous grave injuries. she shared her mind with the healers, following the instructions they whispered in her mind as she closed every wound, removed every drop of poison. she would not relinquish rafael to kirja's power. the sun continued to climb in the sky and the effects were devastating on the carpathians, but she was relentless, driving herself and the others beyond their endurance.

vikirnoff, following the dictates of the healers, lay down beside his fellow hunter in the rich soil. he gave rafael as much blood as he could spare, and helped colby to pack the terrible wounds with the mixture of plants, mineral-rich dirt, and saliva. colby was swaying with weariness, covered in blisters from the sun, and sagging to the ground when she was finally finished.

i have never remained this long awake. vikirnoff looked at her with surprise. you held us all together, refusing to allow even our strongest to give in to the lethargy of our kind. rest now. if you can hold us, you will not allow him to die.

"damn right i won't," colby murmured and slumped over rafael.

vikirnoff had just enough energy left to close the soothing soil over all three of them before they succumbed to sleep.