Dark Challenge (Dark 5)

The disturbance that awakened Julian was not one of aggression but of something within the soil itself. He felt the earth move around him, felt the properties of the soil enrich even as he lay within it. Above him, he could hear the soft chant, feel the vibrations spreading out in a ripple effect, one that moved on and outward, one that reached deep within the earth to find Darius and the soil blanketing his body.

Syndil was already up and working her magic. The sun was beginning to make its way across the sky, slowly toward the sea. Julian rose slowly, making certain Desari was aware of his intentions and would rise with him. He did not want to startle or frighten Syndil, a male Carpathian appearing beside her just before sunset.

Syndil sank backward, allowing Julian room as he burst through the topsoil. She was relieved to see Desari right beside him.

"Syndil," Desari greeted, hugging the woman to her.

"You have risen early to ensure our brother is well cared for. I am grateful to you."

"I felt his pain within the earth," she replied softly. "It has used much of its energy to aid him. I thought if I provided for the earth, it would aid in healing him faster." She was very pale after lending her energy to such a task. She brushed a tired hand across her forehead, leaving a smear of dirt in its wake.

"You know the earth will heal him quickly with your aid." Desari touched her with a gentle hand. "Your gift is one none of us could do without."

"I must go now," Julian said. "I must find the vampire's resting place before he has a chance to rise. I am already late."

"Julian, no," Desari protested. As she turned to face him, she raised her arms in a kind of objection, creating a slight stirring of air.

The wind she brought forth blew softly, a whisper really, tugging at Julian's long blond hair. He caught up the strands and secured them at the nape of his neck. Very gently his palm cupped Desari's face. "I have to do this, cara. You know I do. I can do no other than to see to your safety and that of your brother and the other female." At her quick frown he hastily made the correction. "Syndil." He glanced at the other woman. "I cannot allow this monster to continue to terrorize either one of you."

And you know he is the one; his shadow is growing within me, a stain I must cleanse from my body.

"Why must you go now? Darius will be completely healed in another few risings. You are not at full strength. I know you must destroy him, but you can wait for a more opportune time," Desari protested. Her teeth worried her lower lip. She knew he was going to go despite anything she said, but she felt she had to try. She was in his mind, and it was written in stone that he would hunt the one that had threatened them all and so seriously injured Darius. The ancient vampire was Julian's mortal enemy; he had robbed him of his life and home, and now he threatened his newfound family.

A slow smile softened the hard edge of Julian's mouth. "You know very well I am at full strength, piccola, and that I can do no other than go. Do not give me a hard time over this."

Desari swept back her hair, her long lashes sweeping down to cover the expression in her eyes. "Then return quickly, lifemate. We have much to do in the next few risings. My concert schedule is already set, and we are expected. It would raise suspicion and cause unwanted attention if we did not show up when we are expected."

"I have little to say about your chosen profession, lifemate," he growled, catching her chin, forcing her to look up at him. His mouth found hers in a long, slow kiss filled with promise. "I will return quickly, cara mia. Have no fear."

She shrugged with pretended carelessness. "I have none. You will rid the world of this creature and allow us to continue with our schedule."

"Of course," Julian replied, as if he were going off to a banking job. He touched her chin with a gentle fingertip, the gesture so tender, Desari found herself blinking back tears as he moved away from her.

As Julian started out of the chamber, Barack materialized almost in front of him, blocking the way. "It is my right to do this thing. I will hunt."

Syndil, kneeling in the rich soil near Darius, swung around so fast she nearly fell over their leader's resting place. "What in the world are you saying? Have you completely lost your mind, Barack? What has gotten into you these last months? You have no business chasing monsters around." Her voice was the strongest Julian had ever heard it, a husky blend of sounds that made one think of bedrooms and satin sheets. That voice could easily stop a man in his tracks, and Barack was not immune to its magic.

The Carpathian male turned to look at her, his dark eyes cool and calm. "You will stay out of this business, Syndil, and behave as a woman should."

"I would think one kill on your hands would be enough," Syndil went on. "It is not your calling, or have you acquired a taste for such things?"

"The undead cannot be allowed to follow us or make another try for you or Desari," Barack replied without anger. "You will be protected."

For one moment Syndil's beautiful eyes came alive with a flash of brilliance quite close to anger. "You are taking far too much on yourself, Barack. You have no claim to make on my behavior. Our leader can chastise me if he so desires - not that it would do any good if I did not choose to follow him. I tire of these tantrums. Whatever I did to cause Savon to turn on me, I have paid for, many times over. You can quit punishing me for my sins. I refuse to tolerate it any longer."

"Is that what you think, Syndil? That I blame you for Savon's behavior?" Barack rubbed his forehead thoughtfully. "What am I saying? Of course you think that. I have been in your mind and have read the guilt you feel. But do not reflect such thoughts back

on me, Syndil. I live to protect you, that is all. And I will do so despite your harsh judgments of my capabilities. It is my duty and my right."

Syndil stood up, her slender figure fragile and beautiful. Her chin was up, her eyes alive with pain and pride. "You wish me to be responsible for another death? I will not have such a thing happen to you. I will leave, Barack, and when you come home there will be emptiness in my place."

A slow smile curved Barack's mouth. He crossed the distance between them, ignoring Desari and Julian as if they weren't witnessing the strange conversation. His hand caught Syndil's chin and held her so that she was forced to meet his steady gaze. "Do you not hear your own words, Syndil?" His thumb rubbed gently, almost tenderly over her skin. "You said when I return. You know I will defeat this enemy, just as I defeated the other. Do not fear for my life. I am not nearly so careless as I pretend to be."

Her large eyes shimmered with tears. "Everything is so out of kilter, Barack. I cannot find myself. I cannot imagine existing if something were to happen to you." She swallowed, then jerked her head away to shake it as if denying her own words. "Any of you. We have lived so long together, and now it is all coming apart."

Desari slipped an arm around Syndil. Barack's teeth flashed again. "It is merely changing, Syndil, not coming apart. We will weather this crisis as we have so many others."

"We must go," Julian said. "The undead will rise any moment now, and he knows we will be hunting him." He turned abruptly and took the passage leading to the chimney entrance, certain Barack would be with him. Barack was correct - he had the right to hunt this demon threatening his family - but Julian was a solitary hunter. He had no real idea of Barack's abilities and felt responsible for the man's safety. Silently he cursed the Carpathian male's sense of duty when it came to their women. Even as he did, however, he knew he was counting on Dayan to guard the women and Darius. Should Dayan fail, he was counting on Darius to protect them all, even wounded as he was.

Barack was silent, allowing the blond stranger to take the lead. Obviously an experienced hunter, the man was accepted and even respected by Darius. Julian was blasting upward through the narrow chimney toward the sky. Once out into the open, he shape-shifted, winging his way toward the south and the thick forest. Barack followed, a silent shadow, willing to do whatever it took to rid their family of this evil entity that threatened Syndil and Desari.

Julian blocked out all unnecessary intrusions and concentrated on the incoming data his senses were recording at a rapid rate. Immediately he turned slightly southeast and streaked toward the blankness in the air. The vampire was rising and radiating the stench of his presence, covering his tracks with a blocking spell. The very absence of data gave him away. Rising was always the most vulnerable, disoriented moment for any Carpathian or vampire, that one wrenching instant they came out of the solace of the earth.

Julian struck, even from the distance they were, hoping for a lucky hit, sending a bolt of light and white-hot energy slicing through the sky over the region of blankness. The sound was tremendous, a loud crack that shook the trees beneath them as the bolt traveled faster than sound. He was rewarded with a hate-filled cry of pain. The sword of light had tagged their enemy but had not disabled him.

At once Julian plummeted toward the ground, zigzagging, spiraling, moving so quickly it was impossible to see him. Barack broke away, realizing Julian was expecting retaliation. He followed suit, splitting off, taking a completely different route to make it more difficult for the vampire to score. At once the sky was lit with jagged bolts of lightning. Like arrows they fell in all directions, leaping from cloud mass to cloud mass and arcing to ward the ground itself. Sparks rained on the earth, and the sky lit up, raining fireworks.

Within the display of white light, colors suddenly began to shimmer, blues and oranges and reds, tongues of flames like heat-seeking missiles. The colors raced back toward the oncoming vampire, swarming, gathering in number and strength. They raced through the sky, turning this way and that, obviously following an invisible trail. Again Julian was rewarded with a scream of rage. At once the ground shook, and trees were blackened as the monster retaliated.

Far away, both Carpathians heard the faint, feminine cry of pain. Barack swore.

He attacks her.

He used the mental path familiar to his family, hoping Julian was aware of it.

He is trying to draw her out. Can he do such a thing?

Barack considered that. He had been in Syndil's mind. She was of the earth, as they all were, yet her gift was an affinity the rest of them could never experience. She would feel the earth crying out, the death of the living plants as they withered in pain.

I am afraid it will be so. She will feel the earth's pain as we cannot. And she can do no other than attempt to heal it. Go then, stop her. I have instructed Desari to hold her there until you get there, and she has bound Syndil with her voice, but she says the pain in Syndil is torture to see. Go quickly, Barack, and know that I will destroy this monster while you keep her safe. Whatever promises you must make to her will be kept.

Barack believed him. There was something of Darius in Julian Savage. A quiet confidence that clung to him like a second skin. A second attack on the foliage below and Syndil's soft cry spurred him back toward the mountain.

Julian shut off his connection to Desari and the others.

This vampire was his ancient enemy, very dangerous and highly skilled. The vampire had found a young boy so many centuries ago, lured him into a world of knowledge and excitement, then betrayed him and marked him with the darkness of the undead. He had tormented Julian, whispered taunts and threats, forced him to endure the screams of his victims, to feel their terror before he killed them. And he had shamed Julian. Taunted him with the knowledge that he would forever be alone, tainted. Shadowed. The monster was finally before him, and they would face one another across the battlefield alone, as it was always meant to be.

Julian dissolved into a fine mist and spread out across the sky, moving in a semicircle toward the vampire's position. Three bolts of lightning slammed to the west of him, and he realized Barack was deliberately exposing his presence as he raced toward the mountain, hoping to give Julian more time to get in a position to attack. Julian immediately took advantage of the vampire's momentary distraction, streaking through the sky even as he built up fog on the forest floor so that it drifted in wide bands and began to rise in banks of mist.

The vampire was directing his attacks from a cliff above the forest floor. Julian could see him now and vaguely recognized the remnants of the once handsome Carpathian male. Now the face was sunken and gray, wisps of hair clinging to the scalp in tufts, the body old and gnarled. The vampire had not had time to feed.

As Julian materialized behind him, the vampire whirled around with a low cry. Julian smiled politely. "It has been long, Bernado. Much too long. I was but a boy, and you were telling me you were off to the libraries of Paris, in search of historical documents that might give our people a clue as to what really happened between Gabriel and Lucian. Did you ever find such a thing?" His voice was a soft blend of purity and confidence.

Bernado, monster of his dreams, his life. This cunning, crafty ancient who liked to consider himself a great scholar.

Bernado blinked, taken aback by the casual conversation. It was totally unexpected. He had not had a conversation with anyone in over two hundred years. "That is so. I was looking. I remember now." His voice was gravelly but thoughtful, as if he had to reach back to find the moment in time. "I found two entries that might have alluded to them. One was in a personal journal, that of a count. He wrote that he saw two demons fighting near the cemetery right there in Paris. That the fight went on for some time, a vicious battle but almost choreographed, as if each combatant knew what the other would do before he had done so. He claimed the two continually changed from one being into another. He wrote that both fighters appeared to have suffered terrible wounds, yet there was no trace of either fighter and no blood on the ground when he was able to get close enough to examine the cemetery. He told no one of his sighting for fear of being ridiculed."

"It does seem possible, then, that you uncovered something our people have searched centuries for." There was praise in Julian's soft voice. "And the other entry? Where did you find that?" It had been the excitement and lure of this mystery that had first ensnared Julian's interest in Bernado's studies all those years ago.

"It was a mere line or two in a record kept by a supervisor of the cemetery workers. A personal record, no more. It alluded to one of his workers, who he suspected had drunk far too much wine one night. It was the same date as that of the count's memory. The supervisor wrote that one of his men told of a fight among wolves and demons that ended in mortal wounds. He would no longer go into the cemetery and work, as he was certain the demons had risen from the graves."

Julian nodded. "You were once a man I thought had greatness in you. I looked up to you. To your learnedness. But you betrayed that trust."

The vampire blinked at him, uncertain about his mild tone. "You wanted knowledge. I gave it to you."

Julian could feel the power building in him, around him, in the very air itself. Century after century, each dark, barren rising, the aching need for his twin, the lost fledgling years. It was rising in him, the bleakness, the emptiness, the dark stain of humiliation and isolation. All he'd had left was his honor. His Prince and the healer had known and had recognized his need to be of value to his people, but this monster before him had altered the course of his life for all time.

"You gave me a living death, Bernado." Julian moved then, with blurring speed, whipping toward the ancient monster as the creature suddenly surged forward. His fist was outstretched and plunged deep into the chest cavity, using the vampire's forward motion to aid his attack. "I studied your methods, every kill." He whispered the words, his golden eyes gleaming savagely. "You taught me the importance of knowledge, of knowing your enemy, recognizing him, and I learned well." He wrenched the pulsating heart out of the chest and leapt away with the withered, blackened organ in his hand. It sickened him. There was no triumph as he thought there would be.

The vampire screamed in rage, a high, unearthly sound that hurt the ears and sent wildlife scurrying for cover. "You learned well the kill because I live in you," he hissed, poisonous saliva spewing from his mouth. "You are no different than me. You wanted to be like me, but you did not have the guts to embrace the life."

Bernado staggered toward him, his rotten teeth jagged and stained from thousands of kills, his body beginning to collapse in on itself. Julian stepped back farther, full) aware the aberration was still dangerous as long as the heart was in proximity to the body. He flung it away and directed a blade of light to incinerate it. At once the body began to flop around, spewing tainted blood that crept toward him relentlessly. Julian calmly sent the energy toward the body and then the blood, removing all evidence of Bernado's existence. At last he used the white-hot heat to sear away the taint from his hands. From his soul.

It was over. At long last. It was over. He had never felt such sorrow, an oppressive, nearly numbing force weighing him down. He found himself down on one knee, his body shaking, his chest burning. This thing had nearly destroyed his life, had taken so much from him. The vampire had made him believe it was invincible and Julian had spent centuries, centuries acquiring knowledge for this one moment in time. It was over in seconds. Only seconds. When the vampire had cost him so much.

Bernado was right. He had turned Julian into the very thing he despised. A killer without equal. The shadow had grown and spread, consuming him. Julian's face was wet with tears as he looked up at the night sky. He was a monster without equal.

A hunter without equal. Come to me, Julian.

Desari's soft voice washed over him like a cool, fresh breeze.

I do not think I can face the crowd there, beloved one.

He answered her honestly. He was used to a solitary existence, and at this moment, when the weight of his life's sorrows hung on him, when he realized the numbers of his people he had slain, when the cost of losing his twin for all those long centuries burdened his soul and shattered his heart, when he felt like a boy, shamed and damned by his own reckless youth, he wanted to be away from others.

Would it help if I came to you, my love?

There was the merest hesitation, as if she was afraid he didn't want her near.

Despite the stony ache in his heart, he found himself nearly smiling. How could he not want her at his side? His heart. His soul. The blood running in his veins. His other half.

It would help a great deal.

He turned his head to watch her approach. Even in flight, her movements were wholly feminine. Whether on the wing, racing on four legs through the forest, or walking within her own body, she was the most beautiful woman he could imagine. He stood up as she landed lightly on the cliff beside him. She took his breath away. His tears away. She took the dark shadow and dispersed it for all time into the night.

Desari stood with the night sky at her back, her long hair cascading around her. Her smile held so much love for him, he could only stand spellbound, enthralled for all eternity by this one woman who completed him. She had given him his life. She had given him a family. She was his home.

Julian held out his hand for her. Desari's mouth curved invitingly. She placed her hand in his, her fingers entwining with his so that they were woven together as they were meant to be. She moved right into his arms, sheltered against his heart. She turned her mouth up to his, tasting his tears, his boyhood, the terrible burden he had borne for so long. She kissed him, her body molding to his, and in his mind her beautiful voice rose in song just for him.

The notes skipped from his mind to the sky, silver and gold notes of joy and happiness, of courage and admiration. She sang of love between two people, sacred and beautiful. She sang of peace and happiness. His hands moved over him possessively, lovingly, checking his body for wounds. Her warrior was home.

Whatever lay ahead for them, whether human assassins or vampires, it didn't matter. They were together one and the same, and they were far too strong to allow anything to take what they had away from them.