Dark Curse (Dark 19)

Standing at the entrance of the laboratory, watching the light spray of icy water come down from the ceiling to feed the pools, Nicolas felt his gut tighten. If Lara was right, and Xavier was experimenting with

microbes, then it was the mage who had virtually brought the Carpathian people to near extinction and none of them had ever suspected the extent of his true treachery all those centuries ago. As if sensing his need, Lara slipped her hand into his. He closed his fingers tightly around hers and drew in a deep, shuddering breath.

"Without you, Lara, he might have succeeded."

Vikirnoff looked over their shoulders. "Is that spray natural?"

Steam curled over several of the pools, as if they were somehow warm and the icy spray created a foggy condensation. Droplets froze on the walls and congealed in the trail of blood.

"It appears so," Lara said, "but you can't trust anything in these chambers to be what it appears."

She held out her hands, palms out. The spray from the ceiling was so fine, it appeared more mist than anything else. "It's ice," she said, "tiny particles of ice."

"There has to be a purpose for it," Natalya added. She also put her palms out to test the "feel" of the spray. "Are you getting anything?"

Lara frowned. "Yes, I feel Xavier's hand in this. There appears to be subtle influence in the mist, but I can't tell what it is yet. Why can't you feel it?"

"I can in the outer chambers, but it was difficult," Natalya said. "But in this room, I wouldn't have even been able to tell you Xavier had been here." She looked around. "And I have to say, this is creepy, like in those spooky old movies where the mad scientist conjures up mutated zombies. These are all vats with extremely disgusting gunk bubbling in them."

Nicolas stepped into the room, waited until the mist touched his face and arms before signaling the others inside. "It's cold, but I expected that."

"The room isn't cold," Lara pointed out. "In fact, that pool over there is steaming. I'll bet it's fed by an underground volcano. Xavier's tapped into something hot."

"Wouldn't that kill anything he's trying to grow in here?" Natalya asked.

"Extremophiles are called just that because they live in extreme conditions." Lara looked around the room. "And it looks to me as if he's testing every condition. Hot. Cold. Acid. Blood. Salt. Minerals. You name it, he has it in here. This is his breeding program."

"Why all the frogs?" Vikirnoff asked.

Lara approached the little creatures, ignoring Nicolas's restraining hand. Again she placed her hand just inches from them. "They're male. All of them."

Nicolas's jaw tightened. "This is where it started then. He found a way for the microbe to force male offspring and suppress female."

Lara indicated the first pool. "See those stalks with that gelatinous mass, the tiny black specks wiggling inside? I'm betting those are all male. He's still working at perfecting his methods, I see."

Things can always be improved.The hated voice whispered in her ear and Lara spun around, eyes wide with terror, expecting to see the mage standing behind her with his smug expression and his hate-filled silvery eyes.

She drew in a deep breath and pressed a hand to her thudding heart. He had always said that when he injected something into Razvan's body. The memory poured into her mind, the image vivid and sharp. Razvan fighting, sweating blood, her mother crying while Razvan writhed and convulsed on the ice floor. Bile rose. She was going to be sick.

Nicolas pressed his hand against her stomach, his mind merging with hers.I am here. He cannot harm you, Lara. You are not the little helpless child anymore . He poured strength and love into her mind.

"I'm sorry. I can do this. We have to do this. I want to find my aunts." Lara lifted her chin and managed a faint smile. "Be careful in here. I don't trust anything." Her chest felt heavy and she pressed her hand against it hard as she took another nervous look around. He was there. Maybe not physically, but Xavier permeated the room. His evil nature seemed permanently pressed into the layers of ice.

She took another deep breath to steady herself and forced her body closer to the tanks. One was filled with fluid and when she sniffed it, she drew back horrified. "I think this is amniotic fluid. Where would he get that?" The one beside it was blood. The blood coming from above ran steadily into the pool. Dense clusters of organisms floated in both pools.

"Where's that blood coming from?"

Nicolas stepped closer and sniffed it. "That is from the deer the bats took down earlier, but look at the other trails, Lara. This one has two separate blood trails. They are older, but the blood is Carpathian."

Natalya waved them to the corner wall. "This is Razvan's blood. It's not as old as those trails and it also goes into that pool."

"How old do you think Razvan's blood trail is, Natalya?" Vikirnoff asked.

She shook her head. "Not very old. A day or two. Just like in that chamber, his blood is congealed, frozen even, but it isn't old."

"Then he's been here recently, which means Xavier has been here. Right under our noses," Nicolas said. "He's been conducting experiments and sending his little microbe army after us this entire time. How could he hide from us?"

"He's had centuries to perfect his methods, and he appears to be sharing them with vampires," Vikirnoff pointed out.

There was a small silence while all around the ice seemed alive, creaking and groaning. Lara looked around her. "The deeper the ice cave, the more unstable the ice, unless guarded by magic. Ice caves never stay the same, not like this one. Water can pour in from a melt above, creating a very strong waterfall, and then a few days later, when it's cold again, that can be completely frozen. And it moves. The walls move on you. You measure them to make certain they aren't closing on you. This ice is very stable in spite of the fact that we are hundreds of feet down. The walls move when he wants them to move. He's been here."

Her lungs burned. She realized she was breathing shallowly. She detested this place and she wanted out.

"Lara," Nicolas said, "can these two other blood trails be your aunts? I do not recognize the scent, other than knowing it is Dragonseeker."

Natalya hurried over, pressing both hands to her chest tightly. "I did not know them. I thought them long dead."

Lara felt sluggish, reluctant to move. "If that's their blood, we should be able to track it back to them. He kept them weak and sick because he was afraid of them, but he wanted their blood and he drained it from them often."

Nicolas whipped his head around to look at her. "Lara! What is wrong with you?" He looked from her to the other two. "Something is wrong. None of us are breathing right."

Lara tried to clear her foggy brain. "A natural hazard. He would use the elements and it would be simple." She lifted her face to look at the ceiling and spray hit her. "Nicolas, we have to get out of here. Warm up your lungs. He's freezing our lungs using the ice crystals. The particles are so tiny and we inhale them."

Nicolas yanked her out of the laboratory and into the next chamber. It was free of the icy spray. Vikirnoff and Natalya followed them out. Nicolas turned to her, his hands pressing on either side of her body, spreading warmth through her lungs and chest. Pins and needles ran along her skin, but the terrible pressure was gone.

"We were lucky," she said. "Ice particles in the lungs can kill you very fast. And suffocation is a lousy way to go." She rubbed Nicolas's arm. "Can you track the blood trail of my aunts?"

"They are above us and toward our left. We go in that direction."

Nicolas took the lead, choosing a wider tunnel leading upward. The ice was banded tightly with white and blue thin stripes. Crackles and grumblings and the ever-present trickling of water were constant companions. The weight of ice and rock pressed down heavily on them. As they hurried, the floor became more and more uneven, as if the earth had pushed chunks of ice upward. They took to the air, skimming over the surface, following the twisting tunnel upward.

Several other galleries opened, but other than glancing inside, the four continued upward. They'd been inside Xavier's lair for sometime: They needed to find Tatijana and Branislava and get out. The shower of ice was constant, small pieces breaking off and raining down on them, so it was necessary to keep a shield above them. As the floor sloped up, icicles began to vibrate. Water dripped faster. One wall began to web into tiny cracks. Water trickled out.

"I detest this place," Vikirnoff said. "We should just get out of here."

Natalya scowled at him. "I'm not going to leave without finding my aunts' bodies. You saw the blood. What if they're still alive?"

Nicolas muttered something foul under his breath. "They are not alive. After all this time, it would be impossible. This is a fool's errand and you are going to get us killed."

Vikirnoff whirled around, baring his teeth. "This was not Natalya's idea.Your lifemate dragged us here."

Nicolas responded with aggression, his black eyes smoldering with red flames, with the need for action. "Do not use that tone when speaking of my lifemate."

Lara frowned as she stepped between the two men. With the ice spiders weaving luminescent threads to light the way, the silky strings cast shadows not only along the blue and white ice, but over both men's faces, and they seemed dark and sinister in the shimmering glow. Along the wall, the shadows seemed to move of their own accord, growing and extending, reshaping with each movement within the tunnel.

Lara lifted her hands palm out and sang to her spiders.Tiny spiders of crystalline ice, spinning threads to make us light, throw and cast your finespun threads, digging deeper into what we dread. Enter the ice, search it well, reveal to me what's hidden by spell .

Dark streaks appeared along the ice wall and crisscrossed the tunnel itself. She drew in her breath. "He's controlling emotions. It's Xavier. Don't speak. Don't think. Keep your mind blank while I find a way to counter this."

Again she lifted her hands and wove a counterspell.That which has been cast to control and be hidden, can be undone by the song of a maiden .

Within the icy walls, a face and form of a young girl began to take shape, and then a perfectly formed ice sculpture of a young girl emerged. She appeared to be reaching down into the ice. As she bent over, she began to sing and the notes appeared like a cold wind, blowing across the walls and up across the tube itself, coating the dark streaks with ropes of ice so that each streak froze solid. Her notes pitched higher and higher until the frequency shattered the ice ropes and they fell, harmless to the floor. The maiden climbed back into the ice and disappeared.

Nicolas grinned at Vikirnoff. "That's my woman."

Natalya smiled at her, pride on her face. "You really know your stuff."

"The aunts taught me everything. It's all them." Technically, they were her great-aunts and Natalya's aunts, but Lara would never think of them any other way. "I have to find them."

"We will,sivamet , we all want to find them and bring them home," Nicolas assured.

Still the shadows on the walls continued to grow and lengthen. The male Carpathians put the women between them, deadly snarls on their faces. The danger in the tunnel was palpable. The shadows swirled on the blue-white walls, pushing through the layers of ice so that smoke drifted out.

Natalya gasped. She gripped Lara's wrist. "I know what this is."

Both looked at one another, horror on their faces. "Shadow warriors," they whispered together.

Nicolas drew in his breath and looked up and down the long tunnel. They were in the middle of the tube and all along the walls, in front and behind them, smoke began to push through the cracks in the ice. "Not even the most seasoned hunter can hope to escape the shadow guardians," he said. "We have to get to the next chamber before they emerge from the wall. If we are caught in between them, we die here."

"Movement attracts them," Natalya pointed out.

"I would have to say they already know we are here," Nicolas replied.

"If we can get to a safer place and give Natalya some time," Vikirnoff said, "then she can perhaps deal with them, but it takes time."

"I could because I had mage blood running in me, I think," Natalya said. "I'm not as certain I could control them now."

"I have mage blood," Lara said.

"Talk later! Run now!" Nicolas caught Lara's wrist and, without waiting for an argument, put on a burst of preternatural speed.

Vikirnoff and Natalya stayed right on their heels, all four blurred they moved so fast, but the action caused a reaction from the whirling shadows. The dark smoke poured even faster from the ice wall and began to form into life-sized apparitions of swirling smoke, shadow and substance.

They barely made it to the entrance to the next chamber before the shadow warriors were after them, gliding silently through the twisting ice tube, swords raised high. The smoke swirled and shifted, often revealing an armor-clad warrior, face obscured completely, but sword gleaming and polished.

Nicolas kept moving to the opposite side of the chamber, heading for the left entrance, but several warriors spread out quickly through the room, cutting off that escape route. The only choice they had was a narrow right passage, still leading up, but away from the direction they wanted to go.

Shadow warriors were made of whatever elements were available, molecules and water. Once the most skilled and honored fighters of their time, their spirits were ripped from them and forced into service by the dark mage. They were already dead, insubstantial and nearly impossible to defeat in battle.

The warriors fanned out and the Carpathians retreated farther into the narrow corridor of ice. The men kept the women firmly behind them, walking backward, facing the enemy.

"They'll have to face us one at a time," Nicolas said with some satisfaction.

Natalya tried to stem the flow of shadows into the room. She halted and raised her arms.

Hear me now, dark ones, torn from your resting place. I call on earth, wind, fire, water and spirit.

The warriors should have put down their swords and waited for commands, but instead, they rushed toward the two women, the smoke going from gray to black.

"That's not working so well without the mage blood," Natalya said. "Run!"

The Carpathians whirled and ran again, using their blurring speed. Lara had a difficult time keeping up, although Nicolas was pulling her along and her feet didn't really touch the ground. She kept forgetting to regulate her body temperature and it was so cold, she ached and shivered continually. Her legs and arms felt stiff and her chest hurt from the cold. As they continued up the narrow corridor, the air changed, warming a bit, which gave her some relief, but she worried with the temperature a few degrees warmer, the ice might melt.

Lara glanced over her shoulder and saw that the warriors had finally come to a halt. Perhaps the holding spell Natalya had cast had finally taken, or they were guardians of a specific area and could not go any

farther.

"They aren't following us," she announced.

The others stopped to look back. The warriors had halted at the entrance to the tube and stood, smoke whirling around them, swords raised.

"Keep moving," Nicolas said, his hand on the small of Lara's back. "Who is to say they will not attack again? Let's keep going, but look for a corridor leading to our left and we can take that and get back on track to find your aunts."

Lara checked the ice surrounding them. Even a few degrees difference in temperature could trigger large chunks of ice to come flying out of or off of the wall. This tube was narrower than most and lined heavily with rows of dagger-sharp icicles. On either side of them, above and below, were two solid rows of icy stilettos in strange colors of faded brown, very unusual for an ice cave. The floor was covered in round ice pods, also very unusual. The slightly raised bumps were everywhere, as if some strange form of bacteria grew along the floor of the tunnel.

As they continued, it grew darker and she realized the ice spiders were not emerging from the walls to light the way with their luminescent silk. The floor curved upward and with each step there were more of the pods and the temperature increased.

"Stop." Lara took a careful look around.

She had good night vision, but the Carpathians could see in the dark without any light and it looked as if a few more steps would take them over the slight rise and into pitch blackness. Before she went blind and had to rely on the others, she wanted to check out the stability of the ice. She noted two particularly sharpened, curved icicles-one on either side of them near the opening-were dripping. Each drop was yellowish in color and formed a small pool before running along the base of the icicles on the floor. The liquid fed the small ice pods, slowly staining them a pale amber. As the pods went amber, she detected movement, tiny microbes wriggling inside the pods.

She swore under her breath. "This isn't good."

Nicolas had continued forward a few steps in order to put the light far enough behind him for his night vision to kick in. At the top of the slope he peered down into the darkened tunnel.

"The sounds are different," Natalya said. "I don't like this."

Vikirnoff moved up beside Nicolas, surveying the only way open to them. "What do you think?" Both scanned all around them continuously.

"Something is down there waiting for us," Nicolas said. "It is unfamiliar to me, but I feel movement. I think the shadow warriors herded us into this tube for a reason and the reason is crouched in the dark, ready to attack."

Vikirnoff glanced over his shoulder. The shadow warriors had not melted away. They were holding their position and waiting for something.

Lara crouched down beside the pods, studying them carefully and then, careful not to step on them, examined the double rows of brownish icicles. She passed her palm over the formations without touching

them. "These icicles are swarming with bacteria, but that's not why they're such an odd color." She leaned closer and sniffed delicately. "This is diluted blood. At least I think it is."

"Whatever is moving down there is coming this way," Nicolas warned.

For the first time since entering the cave, he felt truly trapped. Whatever was creeping toward them out of the dark, sounded, to his ears, as if it was not alone. His vision cleared as the thing got closer and at first he thought it was several large snakes, thick like anacondas. The heads were large and each opened its mouth wide, forked tongue testing the air, sniffing for prey. The snake heads looked suspiciously like the ones taken from Terry's leg.

"How many?" Vikirnoff asked. "I'm counting six visually, but hearing more behind them."

"It's only one," Nicolas corrected. "One with tentacles. I think it's planning on dragging us into its mouth."

"We are already in its mouth," Lara said.

There was a small silence while they all looked around the tube. The double rows of bloodstained icicles were teeth. The two curved teeth held venom. The mouth was a breeding ground for bacteria, all kinds of strains, many fatal. The bumps along the tongue were the nesting pods. And the tentacles reaching for them would pull them back where they could be digested.

"Vikirnoff and I will hold the tentacles back, but we have to get out of here. Find a way through the shadow warriors, Lara. You're mage."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever happened to your women-not-fighting campaign?"

"No, we just have to fight a legion of shadow warriors," Natalya said sarcastically. "No biggie."

"You've done it before," Vikirnoff pointed out. "I think you can handle it."

"Are you certain you don't want to impregnate me and send me home while you play Superman? Because I'm all for it," Natalya said.

"The snake heads have stopped sniffing and they're coming for us," Nicolas said. "You might want to get on those shadow warriors right now."

"As my absolute hero inThe Abyss would say, 'Keep your pantyhose on.' " Natalya sniffed indignantly. "Come on, Lara, let's show them how to fight a shadow warrior."

Lara reluctantly followed her aunt back toward the double rows of teeth. "Be careful, don't step on the pods. I think this is parasite breeding ground, not the microbes. I'm fairly certain that laboratory was for the extremophiles. He collects them from the ice and tests them in the first few pools, mutates them and sends them into the blood and amniotic fluids so they learn to survive in those conditions. And then he lets the glacier take them down to the soil where the Carpathians rest. This thing, whatever it is, breeds his parasites. Look at them wiggling inside the pods." She was very suspicious that the yellow-colored venom feeding the pods was the same liquid injected into Razvan.

"Oh dear," Natalya quipped. "I do believe we re inside mommy dearest."

The tiny maggots became excited, even agitated when they stepped close to the pods.

Behind them, the first attack came. Nicolas and Vikirnoff fashioned swords of ice, spreading out to give themselves room to maneuver, hovering inches from the floor in order to keep from stepping on the pods littered all over what had to be the creatures tongue. The huge heads bobbed and ducked, slashing from side to side. The attack was well-coordinated, the heads moving in a mesmerizing pattern, like a cobra hypnotizing its prey.

Both women steadied themselves and picked their way through the maze of bumps to stand just in back of the bacteria-encrusted teeth. There were flashes of light, swearing, a spatter of blood along the walls that sent the parasitic worms into a frenzy. The floor swayed and bucked beneath their feet. More venom dripped from the fangs and ran down along the floor.

"Remind me to call down the lightning to make certain we're clean before we go back to the village," Natalya said.

Lara was grateful Natalya thought they'd actually get out of the ice cave alive.

"Look out, Vikirnoff," Nicolas shouted. He'd severed a head and blood filled with parasites spewed across the walls and floors. "Do not let them touch you. Lara, Natalya, keep out of their way."

Lara sent a scowl over her shoulder. "Were concentrating here. Do you think this is easy?"

"We can't kill them, they're already dead," Natalya said, thinking aloud. "We can't freeze them, they came out of the ice."

"We should be able to get their attention and wrestle the command away from Xavier. His way is always simplicity. He rips their soul from them and takes command, much like he did to my father," Lara mused. "So there's no loyalty there. They're enslaved against their will."

"Lara!" Nicolas called. "It's grown another head. What are you doing up there?"

"Playing dolls," Lara called back, a bite of irritation in her voice. "This isn't easy, Nicolas. I need to concentrate."

"You can do it," Natalya encouraged. "You have a feel for him and I've noticed the ice responds to you."

Lara hadn't considered that. She was at home in ice caves. They felt natural to her and the mage spells flooded her mind, faster and faster the more she used them. The aunts had prepared her for any trouble, it seemed, and more than ever she was determined to bring their bodies home. In life, maybe they'd been prisoners, but not in death.

"Keep the venom and parasites off of me, Natalya," she said.

"You got it."

Lara took a breath and let it out, lifting her hands and weaving a pattern in the air directed at the shadow warriors.

Ancient warriors of the past, who stood with honor and favored tasks. Now controlled by the dark and unseen, I call to you-listen to me. Bound by darkness that has no honor, I call to your spirit-fight once again as warriors. I send to you strands of strength, allowing you the ability to

think. I ask a boon and release your souls, stand as one that has been froze.

The shadow warriors froze, dropping their swords, points toward the icy floor. Through the swirling smoke, Lara caught glimpses of the red pits for eyes set into black masks where their faces should have been. Facing the mirror of ice, the warriors remained frozen, staring sightlessly into that which reflected their empty souls. It saddened her that these men, who had lived their entire lives with honor, could be commanded by one so evil as Xavier.

Lara lifted her hands once more and began to weave a pattern, this one even more intricate and detailed than the one before. This time when she chanted, her voice rang with respect.

Those who have suffered evil wrongs, who have fought in battles standing strong, look into the ice and see, that which may be reclaimed by thee.

Holding her breath, she waited as each warrior began to move, awakening as if from a long sleep. They stretched their arms toward the mirror of ice.

Lara continued to chant softly.Warriors of strength, time and valor, take back that which is yours and ascend with honor .

The ice began to form and give birth to floating lights, each a different color and shape. As the lights descended, the warriors stepped into them, glowing for a moment. Then each, bowing low toward Lara, simply vanished.

The moment the last of the shadow warriors disappeared, Lara called to Nicolas. "The way is clear. We have to get out of here. Don't step on the pods."

Vikirnoff and Nicolas joined their lifemates, hurdling over the snapping teeth to get out of the mother parasite.

"That was well done, Lara," Nicolas said, sending a small salute after the warriors. "You honored them and rightly so."

"What are we going to do with that?" Vikirnoff asked, as the hideous creature snapped her jaws at them. She couldn't move, frozen as she was, her body part of the ice cave.

"Destroy it, Lara," Nicolas said. "I cannot call down the lightning here, but you can destroy that breeding machine. It sits there waiting for victims to feed to its young. You command all the elements."

"So do you." She tipped her head back and studied his face. He wanted this for her-to feel powerful and in control. He wanted her to know she could kill the monster that preyed on his people. She nodded. "I wish we'd had time to think of a way to destroy his laboratory."

Nicolas's smile held no humor, he simply bared his teeth in a wolfish way. "I'm giving it some thought. It is necessary to see where he is slipping the infected microbes into the soil."

"He has to be using the glacier to deliver them to either the soil or the water," Lara said. "My guess would be the soil because the villagers don't seem to be infected."

"We will find it now that we know what we are looking for," Nicolas said with confidence. "But in the meantime, destroy that creature."

Lara looked back at the ice monster with its bloodstained teeth and dripping venom. Xavier had created the perfect mother for his parasites.

Lara needed fire, and air to feed the fire. She lifted her arms and faced the monster, while the others stood back, knowing Nicolas had given her a perfect opportunity to thwart Xavier. Destroying his parasite factory would set him back a great deal.

"This is for Razvan and Gerald and Terry," she whispered softly and held up her arms, hands sketching a pattern in the air.

I call on the power of the west, air hears my call I draw on the power of the east, fire come to me.

A rushing of wind could be heard as small, flickering particles began to gather, swirling round and round, creating a wind tunnel. The faster it turned, the higher the flames leaped, gathering more and more particles until it became one large tube of fire. Lara gave a flick of her hand and shot the fire funnel straight and hard at the monster breeding the horrific parasitic worms, enveloping it entirely.

That which is mother and bound by deed, let fire consume the parasites that feed.

The great jaws gaped open in a silent scream and the fire hissed and fought against the ice, blazing white-hot, incinerating and melting the creature fast.

Nicolas blew Lara a kiss. "That ismy woman," he said. "Let's get out of here."

They used their blurring speed to move through the passageways. Xavier's ice caves were well aware of their presence and were beginning to fight back in earnest. The sun would be rising soon and they had to leave. They needed to find the bodies of the aunts and get out before they were trapped by their own weaknesses.

They used blurring speed, not touching the ground, moving fast through the twisting, sometimes very narrow tunnels, always going to the left and up.

Lara's heart began to pound.This is it. This is the chamber where I last saw them and they helped me to escape .

Immediately, Nicolas halted. Natalya and Vikirnoff stopped as well, looking around.

Lara recognized the cathedral ceilings and the two rows of tall, intricate crystal-and-ice-carved pillars running the length of the room. Globes of various colors sat in niches built into the columns. Life-sized ice sculptures of various mythical creatures were scattered around the room, looking like fierce guards. The sculptures had frightened her as a child, especially when she'd seen them come alive at Xavier's whim and stalk her across the floor. Set inside chiseled archways were bloodred pyramids that gave off an unholy glow.

"Don't look into the globes, especially the cloudy ones. They come alive and can trap you." Lara reached for Nicolas's hand, needing the contact.

"Natalya and I have been here before. I pushed the ice through the opening to close it in order to prevent the prince from coming down here to aid us," Vikirnoff said. "Xavier had set a trap for Mikhail using vampires to help him. We were forced to close the opening to protect him, and Natalya and I

barely made it out alive."

"We went through the floor," Natalya said. "He has trapdoors built in to escape."

Beneath the ice floor was a starburst, squares and pyramid pattern that ran through the floor. In the center of each shape were hieroglyphics, each symbol carved deep into the various shapes.

"And I saw the dragons encased in ice," Natalya said. "The ice around them was several feet thick. They looked like water paintings. At first we didn't realize there were two of them."

Lara nodded to her right. "There's an alcove just through there." Now she could barely breathe. Would the bodies still be there? And if so, where had the blood come from? They couldn't still be alive, could they?

"Do you want me to look for you?" Nicolas asked.

She shook her head. This was her quest-her promise. She would do this herself. She squeezed his hand and let go, straightening her spine and forcing her body to put one foot in front of the other. Vikirnoff, Natalya and Nicolas fanned out to protect her, watching the room closely for an attack-certain one was imminent.

Lara crossed over the ice squares, ignoring the horrific memories pouring into her mind. Deliberately she reached for the good-and there had been good-all because of two women. She'd never seen them in their human form, only the dragons, but their voices had kept her sane, made her feel loved, taught her everything she knew and then some. These women had been her only real family and she desperately wanted to bring them home. Xavier couldn't have them any longer.

Please. Please. Her throat felt swollen. Her heart hammered loudly. Her chest was tight and her eyes burned.Please . It was a litany. She wasn't certain she could face not ever knowing. They had done so much for her, kept her sane, given her values, taught her right from wrong, given her a chance at life, sending her out into the world with as much knowledge as they could give her. They had loved her, and because of them, she knew what love was.

I am with you, Nicolas assured.

She realized he was merged with her, his strength and love flowing into her, bolstering her. Lara clung to him for a moment and then rounded the corner to enter the alcove. Her breath exploded out of her lungs and silent tears tracked down her face. She could see Aunt Bronnie, one beautiful emerald eye staring at her through the thick wall of ice. Scales covered the serpentine neck and ran up the wedge-shaped head. One claw was outstretched, had obviously been digging at the ice before she froze. Behind her, shielded as usual by Branislava, was Tatijana, her body almost impossible to see.

They're still here, Nicolas. If I can get their bodies out of the ice, can you float them? They're enormously large and impossible to carry.

Whatever you need.

He wouldn't tell her the cost to his strength while he was keeping her warm and scanning constantly for the enemy. He never would and she knew that. She also knew it was getting closer to dawn. They had to get out.

Lara stood back away from the wall and lifted her hands. This would be the most important spell she would ever cast. She had to command her spiders to bore through the ice, to cut huge chunks away to release the dragons, but she also needed to stabilize the ice so it wouldn't collapse in on them.

The ice constantly groaned, reminding her just how unstable it really was. First, she needed to know if the walls were moving, because she was fairly certain they were. She took a breath. She needed a web stretched taut from wall to wall to warn her if the passage was narrowing.

Tiny spiders of crystalline ice, weave your web, make it tight, cast your silk from wall to wall, making sure no ice shall fall. Spin your patterns, weave them tight, watch your lines command the ice.

The spiders raced out of the ice, spread across the thick walls and began to weave and spin their luminescent threads until the shiny, glowing web was stretched in an intricate pattern from wall to wall. Satisfied, Lara wove a pattern with her hands, graceful and loving movements, tracing each weave carefully, her voice thick with emotion as she commanded the spiders to begin boring holes into the ice all around the dragons, like a giant cutout.

Spiders, spiders, form a line, use your skills, cut-bore-and bind.

The spiders swarmed over the wall encasing the dragons. It took some time to bore several feet inward and around such a large area.

"Hurry, Lara. The globes in here are changing colors, swirling with what looks like blood through each orb," Natalya called. "We have to get out of here."

Lara refused to hurry her next spell. This mattered too much. She wouldn't chance losing the aunts when she was so close. She added a holding spell for the ice, knowing it wouldn't last too long against the tremendous pressure of the glacier and Xavier's wrath that she could already feel in the ice itself.

I call thee water in frozen form, hold your place though cracked and worn. Tiny particles of water, ice meld and mold, fit and splice.

The ominous creaking and rumbling faded to whispers, but the sound of water continued to surround them. This was it then. She took another breath and with all the hope and love and knowledge she had, she wove her next spell to open the ice block the spiders had cut for her.

Thrice around this ice do bounds evil sink into the ground. Little spiders of crystalline ice, hold your webs, keep them tight. Cast them round, protect and be, so I may reach those who sleep.

The spiders wove their silken fire strands through each bore hold and pulled the threads tight, sawing back and forth until chunks of ice broke free. They continued to work until they exposed the dragons, and then they carved holes around the bodies until the dragons slipped free.

The dragon carcasses slid out of their ice prison, still frozen, hitting the floor with a cracking sound.