dead. she wanted him fixed. when terry had ripped out the snake's head, blood had splashed all over the car. gerald must have had an open wound somewhere and parasites had entered. she hadn't thought to have the healer check him, she'd been so disoriented from that long-forgotten foul stench. the odor permeated gerald. the infection had spread rapidly or...

her stomach lurched. she moistened her lips. "gerald? where's terry?"

gerald lumbered toward her, his steps jerky and plodding. his head tilted to one side, a cunning, animalistic expression crossed his face. "worthless traitor," he hissed.

spittle sprayed into the hall and she couldn't help but follow the droplets with her gaze, fearing the tiny parasites would be strewn all over the floors and the entire inn would be infected. she had visions of zombies breaking through walls and eating people.

slavica caught her arm and tugged, slowly backing down the stairs. lara didn't want to be on the staircase, but she didn't have a lot of fighting room.

gerald wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air more. growls emerged from his throat, a rumbling challenge. the dragon mark burned hotter. she gripped the knife.

"gerald!" she said his name sharply, trying to find the man inside the beast.

he blinked rapidly, tilting his head to one side, his body tensing. she gripped the knife harder and set herself on the balls of her feet. she couldn't let him get downstairs where many of slavica's guests had gathered for dinner or drinks.

gerald suddenly moved, lightning fast, a blur of preternatural speed that scared the hell out of her. she leapt to the side, over the banister and onto the landing, barely escaping his slashing claws. slavica nearly fell backward down the stairs, stumbling and then recovering, back-pedaling as fast as she could to get out of reach.

screams broke out below them as guests looked up to see a wild-haired man covered in blood lunging at the two women. two of the men rushed up the stairs to try to help.

"stay back!" lara called out, terrified someone else would be infected. "gerald, who am i? try to remember who i am and who you are."

they'd been colleagues and friends for several years, had gone caving together in some of the most dangerous caves in the world, relying on one another and forming a family of sorts.

"gerald." maybe if she said his name enough times, it would jog his memory.

he has no memory. get out of there. the parasites have consumed his brain. i mean it, lara, get away from him.

nicolas strode up the stairs, waving a hand to calm the group below, blurring the scene so no one could quite see what happened. he had scanned gerald and terry the moment he set foot in the inn. terry was dead and gerald was the walking dead.

"don't kill him," lara pleaded. "there has to be a way to save him."

nicolas caught her around the waist and shoved her behind him. "he's already dead, lara, and he's programmed to find and kill you."

gerald sniffed the air again, looking confused with nicolas blocking access to lara.

"he's my friend. you can't know that."

"he's not your friend. go now. wait for me outside."

"but..." she couldn't just walk away and give up. "this is my fault. i should have checked on them."

hands dropped to her shoulders. startled, she swung around, the knife in her fist. gregori shook his hand and took the weapon. "let us handle this, little sister. the fault does not lie with you. i should have checked him."

lara backed down the stairs. the carpathian males had a difficult time detecting the parasites, but she should have scented the taint of xavier. sheshould have sensed it, but she'd been too busy feeling sorry for herself. she wiped at the tears streaming down her face. she hadn't achieved any of her goals since her arrival. she'd only managed to get her friends killed. she hadn't recovered the aunts. their bodies were still locked away in the labyrinth of horror where xavier had ruled.

she couldn't leave, couldn't look away. she owed it to gerald to be with him, to stay while they destroyed the mass of parasites eating him from the inside out. nicolas turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder at her. she saw his long hair swing out and then-nothing at all. they were gone.

she stood staring up the staircase, one hand pressed to her mouth, trying to push back the sobs welling up. she'd lost her friend. both of them. lara backed away from the stairs into the lobby. gregori and nicolas could deal with the memories of slavica's guests. she needed air fast. and she was going to the caves with or without nicolas. she was going to find the bodies of her aunts and bring them home.

the cold air hit her face and it was only then she realized she was outside with slavica standing beside her, a look of concern in her dark eyes.

"i'm sorry about your friend."

lara ducked her head. "none of us had any family, so we kind of hung together. and we shared a love of caving. i can't believe this happened."nicolas, is terry dead ?

i am sorry, fel ku kuuluaak sivam belso. gerald killed him. we have to insure that all the parasites are destroyed.

lightning arced across the sky, zigzagged and lit up the clouds in a fiery display before slamming down to earth. for a half-second the inn lit up and then everything went dark again. lara stood beside slavica with an occasional snowflake drifting past her.

"you aren't terrified by all this," she said to the innkeeper.

slavica shrugged. "life can be frightening if you dwell on things you can't control. i choose not to be afraid if i can help it. mikhail will see that my guests are safe, or at least as safe as we can keep them when the undead walks the night. most outsiders think it is superstition when we caution them, but locals know such things walk among us."

"i wish i'd been more careful. i should have been more careful."

she didn't realize she was weeping until nicolas turned her into his arms and pressed her face against his chest. she caught a glimpse of gregori before she closed her eyes and let herself cry for the loss of her two friends.

"the inn is no longer contaminated and there is no evidence of any problem, slavica," gregori said. "your guests will not remember anything took place."

slavica nodded and went back inside, leaving lara clinging to nicolas.

nicolas stroked his hand down her hair. "i'm sorry, lara. i should have checked your other friend."

gregori added his own apology.

lara lifted her head and looked up at nicolas. "i can find a new entrance to the caves. i want to go now-tonight. i need to go, nicolas."

he nodded. "then we will go tonight."

"you cannot," gregori protested. "you have a higher purpose."

she lifted her chin at him. "i came here for one purpose and that was to find my aunts, and i'm going to do it, with or without help. i've tried to help francesca learn how to recognize xavier's touch..."

"but she's unable to do so," gregori pointed out.

nicolas dropped his arm around lara's shoulders. "she needs to do this and she has more than done her duty to our people, gregori. in any case, what we find there may be invaluable. if lara can recognize the source, we can stop our women from miscarrying for good."

gregori sighed. "there is truth in that."

"she goes," nicolas stated.