Part 5 (2/2)
He shook his head. ”You will be left weak and dizzy with no one to protect you.”
She ignored the hand cupping her breast, ma.s.saging her flesh with gentle fingers. She caught his face and forced him to look at her. ”Do as I tell you and take my blood. You can't die, and you will if you don't have blood. I need you to help me get Jasmine back. I want you to live for me. Forget everything else, Riordan.”
”I cannot protect you while I lie beneath the earth these long hours.”
”I can protect myself. Please take my blood, Riordan.” She was beginning to feel desperate.
There was a faint stirring in her mind. Another voice swirled there for a time, whispering with the same accent, far away and distant as if it was difficult to find the exact path. And then it was suddenly clear. I am Zacarias. He will never willingly put you in more danger by weakening you. I will aid you, but you must remember, should anything happen to you while he rests beneath the earth, he will rise vampire and I will be forced to destroy him. You must stay alive.
”Somebody ought to lay out the rules ahead of time,” Juliette muttered under her breath, but gave the mental nod to Riordan's brother. She couldn't bear the idea of losing Riordan, and she could clearly see he was going to be stubborn and combative if she persisted without help.
She knew the exact moment Zacarias struck, taking hold of Riordan and forcing him to bite deep into Juliette's wrist. Even though he was under strong compulsion, she felt Riordan striving to protect her, swirling his tongue over her skin to lessen the pain. A surge of anger went through him briefly at what Juliette and Zacarias were doing, but his temper died a quick death. Juliette went her own way when she felt justified. If Riordan wanted to spend a lifetime with her, he had better get used to who she was.
Riordan pulled away from Zacarias's control the moment the blood gave him enough strength. He took only enough from Juliette to aid his healing before closing the wound with his tongue. He brushed his thumb over the pinp.r.i.c.ks. ”I want to spend several lifetimes with you, and I know exactly who you are, Juliette.” He loved every inch of her, loved looking at her with her bare feminine curves, but time was slipping away and he was far weaker than he should be.
He fas.h.i.+oned jeans and a blouse for her, a soft lightweight material that wouldn't cling so much in the high humidity. ”You must protect your eyes as best you can. I made the s.h.i.+rt long-sleeved to protect your skin. Try to stay under cover as much as possible. I know you will continue to track Jasmine, but do not put yourself in danger until I can aid you. It will not help your sister to have you killed or captured.”
She pulled on the clothes, a little shaky from the blood loss and the terrible fear that welled up each time she looked at the shocking hole in his chest. ”I'll be careful.” She ran her fingers through his hair. ”Do what you have to do. I'll see you as soon as the sun sets.”
Riordan glanced around him, his fingers suddenly shackling her wrist, halting all movement. Uneasiness was beginning to creep into his mind. Scanning didn't connect with enemies, human or otherwise in the area. It would be impossible for a vampire to stand the rising of the sun. Although most Carpathians could take the early morning hours, Riordan was severely injured and the light was already affecting his body. He rolled over to stare up into the canopy, unable to shake the sudden alarm coursing through his body. The leaves rustled and swayed with the mild wind. Every kind of plant climbed the trunks of the trees and twisted around branches, creating a jungle of foliage. The wind touched the leaves, the smallest of brushes, but it was enough to reveal turquoise eyes, gleaming like rare gems, glittering down at them.
The jaguar sprang, its stocky, compact body hurtling through the air, claws extended, eyes focused on its prey. Riordan shoved Juliette hard enough to send her sprawling and dissolved into mist, so that the cat hit the ground where he had been. The cat whirled, using its flexible spine, swiping with large claws at empty s.p.a.ce.
”Solange! No!” Juliette rushed to grab the cat, running her hands through the soft fur, looking for damage. There were several lacerations, a series of ragged, gaping wounds where a cat had obviously raked her side. ”You're hurt, these are deep.” She turned to look for Riordan, felt his fingertips brush her cheek.
She meant to kill me, Juliette. I feel it in her mind. I must go to ground. She is enraged over the taking of her cousin. You stay safe and do your best to settle her down.
She heard the regret in his voice, the weariness and pain. ”Go, Riordan. I'll see you at sunset.”
Clothes floated to earth as he streaked away. The jeans were for someone with longer legs and a smaller waist. The s.h.i.+rt would cover Solange's well-endowed body. It had been easy enough to catch her exact proportions from Juliette's memories.
”He's gone, Solange. Tell me what happened.”
Solange s.h.i.+fted to her natural form, remaining crouched on the ground, facing Juliette. ”They already had her before I reached the house. I couldn't stop them, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.” She shook back her heavy fall of dark hair. ”One stayed behind to try to give the others a head start. Once he realized I was female, and capable of s.h.i.+fting fast, with a more pure bloodline, I had a very real advantage.
He didn't want to hurt me.” Blood was dripping from the wounds in her side. ”He did this before he realized what I was. I'm afraid it puts Jasmine in more trouble. They'll guard her much more carefully.”
Juliette hugged Solange. ”We'll find her and take her back.”
”Who was that man?”
”Not one of them. He is Carpathian. Riordan. You heard Mom talk about them before.” She couldn't help the defensive note in her voice.
”He's still a man, and they can't be trusted, Juliette. What does he want us for?
Isn't the Carpathian race in the same trouble as the jaguar race?” Solange took the clothes from Juliette's hands and knotted them together before tying them around her neck. ”They need babies to keep their race alive.”
”They at least respect women and want them to be happy, Solange. All men are not responsible for what a few have done. And there is some suspicion that the jaguar males have come into contact with a master vampire. I saw one, and if that is so, I felt how evil he was. The males may very well have been influenced by him.”
”It matters little to me why they do what they do. They cannot have Jasmine,”
Solange said. ”Get rid of the clothes and let's get out of here.” She studied Juliette as her cousin stripped. ”You're very pale.” There was suspicion in her voice.
”I don't want to argue with you, Solange. Let's find Jasmine before we do anything else.”
”We don't argue,” Solange objected. ”At least we didn't before you took up with a man.” She studied her cousin's pale body. ”A man who takes blood from others.”
Juliette ignored the implication. ”Is the jaguar still on your trail?”
”I doubled back and led him near the laboratory just to see if he would ask for a.s.sistance. A bunch of men are sifting through what's left of the building. It completely collapsed. Did the Carpathian have something to do with that?”
Juliette nodded. ”I found him there, chained in a cell, and got him free. He was in bad shape. They'd tortured him.”
Solange swore. ”I suppose that makes me like him more. At least he knows a little bit of what our women go through.”
Chapter 9
”THE sun is burning my eyes,” Juliette said, pressing her fingertips to her face.
”No matter what I do they weep. My skin feels like it's blistering.”
”It is. s.h.i.+ft, Juliette, hurry before you're a ma.s.s of blisters. We'll talk about this later.” Solange looked at her closely. ”You can tell me what that man has done after we get Jasmine back.”
”Tell me whether or not the jaguar male went near the humans,” Juliette encouraged as she tied her own clothes in knots and looped them around her neck.
”He did. He spoke briefly with them, although he didn't reveal his body to them. He was able to half s.h.i.+ft. Half of his body human and the other half jaguar. I can't do that. None of us can.”
”You come from the purest bloodline we know of,” Juliette pointed out. ”Mom referred to you as a princess once.”
Solange made a face. ”Somehow I don't consider myself very lucky. I wouldn't want to be the princess of the jaguar people.” She glanced around her.
”Are you ready? We have to get out of here. Those men have had Jasmine far too long.” She was already s.h.i.+fting, fur bursting through her skin, rippling over her face while her muzzle elongated to accommodate teeth.
Juliette closed her burning eyes and reached for Riordan. Tell me you are safe.
I am deep in the arms of the earth. Let me help you s.h.i.+ft. He sensed how tired she was, how weak. He stifled the need to keep her with him. Greater than his own need, there was hers. She had to find her sister, and he understood that. He didn't like it, but he understood it.
Juliette called up her large cat, concentrating on the s.h.i.+fting of muscle and bone. She felt Riordan moving within her, lending her power and strength when he didn't have it to give. A part of her wanted to weep when she felt his pain. She feared the coming separation from him, but she had to find Jasmine.
The change took her rapidly. Juliette touched muzzles with Solange and they turned together and raced off into the darkened interior. Using the jaguar's highly acute sense of smell they found Jasmine's trail immediately and hurried after her.
<script>