Part 10 (1/2)
Fortunately they didn't move fast, and that gave her time to consider her next move. The one on the ground suddenly let out a shriek as if he finally felt the flames consuming his body. He stared at her through the orange and red tower of conflagration. She froze. The eyes were black holes, no intelligence. Vacant. Gone. Not even red. Suddenly they were alive again, menacing, staring at her with malevolence. There was intelligence there and promise of retribution.
She blinked and the fire consumed the puppet, engulfing him completely so that there was nothing left but black ash. Still, she s.h.i.+vered and deep inside, for the first time, she felt absolute terror. The other puppet was close. His smell sent her stomach churning, and the heat told her the fire was building.
”Step back,” a voice said, and she whirled to face a tall man with long, streaming black hair and a grim, weathered face. He looked just like Tomas, only maybe a little scarier, although Tomas had the same look to him that warned others not to cross him.
She did what he said instantly. He moved fast, so fast she couldn't really see the blur. He was like Maksim, one moment there, the next he tossed a blackened heart of the dying puppet to the ground. Lightning forked in the sky. Thunder rolled.
”I have to learn to do that,” she murmured aloud as she hurried around the big man to the two Carpathians lying on the ground. Crouching, she ran her hand over Maksim's face, trailing her fingers down to his pulse.
”It kills them faster,” he explained.
Maksim's pulse was slow. So slow she almost missed it, but she was patient. He'd trusted her to keep them safe and that meant the world to her. Lightning sizzled and slashed across the sky, jumped down in a long ropy whip and hit, first the heart with deadly accuracy, and then the remaining puppet. To her astonishment, the lightning whip hit dead center in the middle of the pile of black ashes from the other puppet. The ashes went gray and scattered with the wind.
”They both have some kind of poison in their system,” Blaze explained as the other Carpathian came up beside her and crouched low. He put a hand on his brother's leg, but remained silent, his eyes on her face, as if expecting something from her. She did her best. ”I don't know what to do. Tomas shut down his heart immediately. He took the worst of the hit, but the spear or arrow went through him and hit Maksim in the calf. Maksim took out the vampire waiting here for us, and then he had to shut down his heart as well to slow the spread of the poison.”
”I am Mataias.” He motioned her to move out of the way. ”Stay back. I need to a.n.a.lyze the poison and remove it from their bodies. In some cases, the poison used is a parasite that can jump from one body to another.”
Blaze nodded and gave him room, but she remained close enough to help Maksim if needed. She touched his mind. He was there. Alive, but far from her. She swallowed hard. It had taken all of the ten minutes to keep the puppets from the two Carpathians. She wasn't certain if the poison had continued to spread through Maksim's body while he lay motionless, covering the other hunter, still protective even in his hibernation.
A second hunter strode toward them. The first glanced up, blinking as if coming back from being asleep or a long way off. ”Tariq,” he greeted. ”You take my brother. I am already working on Maksim.”
He hadn't touched Maksim. Blaze nearly protested, but then she realized Mataias was no longer there beside her. His body was. But he wasn't. She held herself very still listening. Feeling. Waiting. Then he was there. Inside Maksim's body. She was connected to Maksim and she felt Mataias's presence. He was pure light. A white-hot light, all spirit. No ego. No sense of self. Only healing energy.
She didn't move. Didn't startle. But she watched and she followed the light through Maksim's body. It didn't seem possible, but she knew she was there with the hunter as he pushed the poison ruthlessly toward Maksim's pores, forcing it out of his bloodstream. Out of every organ and muscle. He was meticulous, slow, taking time to check and double-check that not one single drop of the dark, thin streaks of sludge remained hidden.
She was shocked. Moved. She felt as though she witnessed a miracle. More than the ability to do such a thing, it was the sheer selflessness of the act. Mataias wasn't there at all. He gave himself to his fellow Carpathian, turning himself into a tool to heal, without thought for himself. It was so beautiful, Blaze found tears in her eyes.
”I think we got it all,” Mataias said softly.
She blinked and found herself staring into his dark eyes. Mataias was back in his body. Maksim was already stirring beside them.
”I don't think there was a 'we' doing that, but thank you. That was amazing. I wish I could do that.”
”You will be able to,” Mataias a.s.sured. ”He needs blood.” He brought his wrist to his mouth.
”I have to give it to him,” she said softly. ”I know I have to.”
He hesitated. ”He needs strength and Carpathian blood . . .”
”I feel that I have to. Strongly.”
He held her gaze for a moment and then he nodded. Her palm was still dripping blood and she opened it and placed it over Maksim's mouth, allowing the ruby drops to drip inside. His lips moved against her skin and unexpectedly, little b.u.t.terflies took off, wings fluttering against the inside wall, traveling down to her s.e.x. She felt him there. In her pulse. In the hot blood suddenly surging through her veins.
Maksim stirred in her mind. Filling her with his warmth. He took the aching hurt of her father's death that she hadn't been able to face and allowed her to grieve when she hadn't. She felt his arms circle her body, and then one hand slid under her wrist, holding it gently to his mouth. The tears streamed down her face. He gave her his love, surrounding her with it, a wall to keep her safe and protected.
He was so gentle with her, yet he could erupt into violence so quickly. Mostly she loved that he gave her license to be who she was, who she needed to be.
Mine, he whispered into her mind. My lifemate. A warrior woman. You kept them off of us.
You believed in me. That meant the world. Not just trusting her with his life, but with the life of his friend. He had put himself to sleep, trusting she would keep both Carpathians safe.
I see you, Blaze, the core of steel running through you. You are already Carpathian. You just have not crossed to us fully. Giving me this blood will complete the third exchange.
She didn't know if he was warning her or praising her, but she took it as praise. She had known all along she needed to be the one to give him her blood-that to be reborn as a Carpathian, wholly into his world, she would have to take this last step. She wanted this. Only Emeline held her to the human world. She loved Emmy. She would always love Emmy, but she could better protect her from her enemies as a Carpathian.
Maksim drank deeply and then slid his tongue across the wound, closing it. He sat up and took her into his arms.
”She held them off,” Mataias said. ”Using her own blood to draw them away from you. No doubt she would have tried to cut out their hearts next.”
She knew that was high praise from a hunter because she knew Maksim was startled by the compliment to her-startled and proud.
”I knew she would do it,” Maksim said. ”I have to get her to safety before the conversion starts.”
”I will take Tomas as soon as Tariq is finished healing him,” Mataias said. ”Lojos reported he has healed the other woman. She is safe for the moment.”
”It will take some time for that wound to heal in Tomas,” Maksim observed.
Mataias nodded. ”We will watch over him.”
There was something in the way Mataias made the statement that set off a series of chills throughout Blaze's body.
TWELVE.
MAKSIM LIFTED BLAZE in his arms and carried her to the large, sprawling two-story house set back on the property. The house was old, very old, but it had been carefully reconstructed, preserving the glory of the time while modernizing the windows, plumbing and wiring. The wood had been restored to a golden hue on the floors, and the walls were a light mauve. High ceilings, crystal chandeliers and ornate wainscoting added to the beauty of the old mansion.
”Is this your home?” Blaze looked around with awe. The floor had beautiful patterns of the night sky all in inlaid wood. ”I've never seen anything like this.”
”I came here some centuries ago and found this spot. Later, I came back and purchased the land, had the house built, and from any of the windows, depending on where the moon is, you can see it and the stars. Upstairs there are moon windows in the ceiling. The open sky is always close.”
Blaze paced across the floor. There wasn't a single creak. The house had a feel to it, one of peace and security. Home. She liked that. Still, she pressed a hand to her stomach. She felt hot, her temperature rising. ”What can I expect, Maksim?”
His gaze met hers without flinching. ”I have never actually witnessed a conversion, Blaze, but I have heard they can be brutal.”
Her eyebrows shot up. ”Brutal?” She repeated the word and waited for his slow nod. She was very aware he was watching her closely. Expectantly. She took a deep breath. ”I suppose it's too late to back out? 'Brutal' doesn't sound good.”
”Back out?”
She nodded. ”Seeing as how there wasn't full disclosure,” she added. ”Had you used the term brutal, I might have rethought my decision.” She was teasing, but then again she wasn't. She didn't like that word and all it implied. Brutal. What did that even mean?
He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his side. Tight. That felt nice. Safe. Protected. But the heat moving through her body wasn't the usual heat she felt for him. She swallowed down fear and tilted her head to look up at him.
”Even if you haven't seen someone go through a conversion, can you at least tell me what to expect? I do better if I know what to do and what is going to happen ahead of time.” She kept her eyes glued to his.
Maksim didn't look away from her, but there was wariness in his gaze-in his mind. She clung to his strength.