Dark Legacy (Dark 27)

The voice that spoke in his mind was the most beautiful one Dragomir had ever heard. Just the sound of it could stop a war, stop a kill, perhaps even make a vampire forget he'd chosen to lose his soul, if only for a few moments. Elisabeta was a powerful treasure. No wonder Sergey had kept her to himself. She would be able to persuade every vampire to join his cause. He could use her voice as leverage, as a gift to his most trusted, giving them a few minutes in her company to feel again. To think again without a chaotic brain. She would become a drug they would all be addicted to.

Dragomir glanced at Gary and knew he felt it, too. Knew the man was aware of just how important she was to Sergey and his plans. If he lost his drug, just what would he be willing to do to get her back? Anything for a voice like that. Anything for a gift like that. Anything to keep his army in line. They would want her back as well--every single one of them that had ever known the blessing of her voice.

Julija continued moving her feet in the complicated dance pattern while her hands waved gracefully in the air, completely separate from what her feet and legs were doing. All the while she moved her lips, the dark, ugly words at odds with the beauty and elegance of her body's movements. Dragomir shuddered as the vile spell was uttered softly in his mind. He had closed himself off completely to Emeline and was glad that he had. She didn't need this ugliness in her mind on top of what Vadim had put there.

Julija unraveled the majority of the spell before she faltered, glancing toward Gary. At once, the vision of Xavier, the high mage, was in their minds, the movements and words fed by some unseen ancestor's memories that were now a part of Gary's remembrances. Julija slowed, but she kept moving, her eyes closed now as she turned inward to feel, see, hear and mimic the dark magic spell in reverse in order to free Elisabeta.

Each placement of hand and foot was deliberate and slow so as not to make a mistake. The weight of the spell pressed down on her. It didn't matter that she erased it line by line, that she was undoing something dark and sinister, that slime coated her mind, their minds. Dragomir felt it, so how could she not? His respect for the mage grew. She didn't falter. Not once. No matter how bad it got, and all of them knew the exact moment the spell had been sealed in innocent blood.

Elisabeta cried out and pressed her hand to her mouth, the first sign of real spontaneous movement on her part. Julija's face went pale, so pale she looked nearly translucent and her shoulders pressed down as if she could barely carry the weight of that sin. Tremors racked her body, but her hands never faltered and her legs held her up. Her mind and Dragomir's were melded firmly, two people determined to take Elisabeta from the prison she'd been in for so long. She'd been a young woman, barely twenty summers when she disappeared.

Sergey had shaped her life. Shaped who she was. Dragomir realized she would be very fragile and would have to be handled with care. Her lifemate could be long gone from the world, and she would live a lonely existence, revered by the Carpathian people, but perhaps in her own kind of hell.

He shook his head. He couldn't think about that. Emeline hadn't given up under the worst of circumstances. The fact that Elisabeta had fought her captor to save Julija, knowing he would punish her, told Dragomir the woman was resilient. Women had shown themselves to be unbelievably strong.

You've got this, Gary whispered when Julija slowed even more, her body trembling to the point of shaking.

Dragomir moved up behind her, placing both hands on her waist to keep her from falling. He had to concentrate and follow those intricate steps so that she could move freely. Even with his help, she was exhausted. Without his blood, she never would have made it through to that last move. When the thread unknotted and she erased it, she would have collapsed if he hadn't been waiting for it. He caught her in his arms and took her to the stone table.

"You need blood," he said, making it a command. All the while he watched Elisabeta. They all did. Waiting.

Elisabeta remained on her knees in the cage, eyes cast down for the longest time. Gary stepped close to the metal bars and held out his hand. "You may leave the cage now, Elisabeta."

Her eyelashes fluttered. She took a deep breath and reached slowly for his outstretched hand. Her entire body was racked with tremors. Gary closed his fingers around her hand and slowly began to exert pressure, a silent demand that she obey him. She stretched out her legs as if afraid that at any moment Gary would reprimand her. When he kept up the pressure on her hand, she let him pull her to the front of the cage until her legs hung outside of it.

She gasped and almost retracted her legs, but Gary shook his head. "That's good. See, you can leave the cage. I want you to leave it."

She swallowed visibly. Her breathing was rapid. Panicked. How long has he kept her in that confined space? Dragomir demanded.

Julija shook her head. I don't know. A long time. She's terrified out in the open.

Dragomir assessed the situation. Elisabeta wasn't a modern woman. She would expect a Carpathian male to take charge in a situation she was unfamiliar with and afraid in. He did so immediately, not only to spare her, but because the shadow in him had been growing.

Elisabeta, I am going to carry you to the safety of the healing grounds. If the night sky is too open and scary for you, close your eyes and put your head on my chest so you can't see. Trust me to keep you safe. My lifemate will be in my mind to hold you as well. Do you understand me?

He reached for Emeline. I have need of you. We have found a woman who has been held captive for hundreds of years. She's terrified. I need you to help me steady her while I take her to the compound.

Of course, Dragomir. Whatever you need. She gave him her response immediately, before he showed her the terrible conditions Elisabeta had been living in. At once he felt her--his other half. The best part of him. She was there, soft and soothing, reaching for Elisabeta to hold her fragile mind in hers while he physically took charge.

He put his arms around Elisabeta and indicated for Gary to lift Julija into his. Before the mage could protest, he pulled Elisabeta all the way out of the cage and then they were moving fast, going through the thin crack, Gary transforming Julija and Dragomir d

oing the same for Elisabeta so they could fit.

The moment Dragomir had lifted her wholly out of the cage, Elisabeta tensed as if she might fight him, but instead, she buried her face against his chest. He knew she was crying, but she forced herself to remain still, her body shuddering uncontrollably.

We've got you, Emeline crooned softly. Dragomir is strong. He won't drop you.

Too open. Too open, Elisabeta chanted, her voice a sob of pure fear.

Her breathing was so rapid, her heartbeat so wild, Dragomir feared they might lose her before they had a chance to put her in the healing soil. She was so used to obedience that she didn't fight, when every cell and instinct urged her to do so. Emeline did her best to surround her mind with hope and peace.

Dragomir shifted his arms, putting one over her head to cage her in. Is that better? Feel the night breeze. Think of the things you saw as a child that you loved so much.

It's too much for her, Emeline said. She's going to have to start small. I'm with you, Elisabeta. I'm Emeline. Vadim took me prisoner for a short time.

Elisabeta stilled. I know you. You saved the children. I saw you. I couldn't warn you that Vadim had planned a trap for you. Sergey took my voice.

Dragomir was grateful to Emeline as she kept Elisabeta's mind off the flight and on her story. Emeline told her all about the children and what they were doing. He made it to the compound while Emeline was telling her about how the children had tried to fly their dragons when they shouldn't have. Somehow, in the retelling, Dragomir found a little humor in the story.

Tariq had the soil open, and Dragomir took Elisabeta deep in the earth, where the dirt richest in minerals and healing properties had been selected for her. Gary placed Julija gently on the surface and floated down to crouch close to Elisabeta's head. "I am going to attempt to heal you before you are placed in the ground. Lie quietly and allow me to do this."

Elisabeta nodded, but she didn't look at him or Dragomir. Her eyes were on Julija's. Julija smiled at her. We did it. I told you we would find a way.

You're going to leave me.

Not for long. When you wake, I will return. That's a promise.