Dark Curse (Dark 19)

Lara and Nicolas rose early the next evening, bathed in the pool and made leisurely love. The naming ceremony was in a couple of hours and Lara was looking forward to it. She could feel the excitement building in the air all around her, even from within their cave. As she dressed she studied Nicolas. The wounds were gone, but she could see the raw edges not yet healed.

"When are you going to ground? You haven't been since we've been together."

"I will go when you are ready," he said.

She frowned. "That's not good enough, Nicolas. I can only check a few people a day for the microbe. I'm not through with all the women, let alone starting on the men. And if the microbe is in the ground, it will be an endless, vicious circle."

"You have to be converted, Lara."

"I will be, just not right now."

"Within the week. Check the women and you are done."

She didn't reply, knowing when he got that edge to his voice that he was worried about her. She knew what that felt like when she looked at him and saw his wounds that should have been healed. And she was very aware how often Nicolas suppressed his need to protect and keep her healthy. He knew the drain the journey was on her when she was hunting the microbe and she was having trouble keeping even broth down.

Nicolas suddenly looked alert, his fingers settling around her arm, pulling her behind him. "We have company. Let us meet them at the entrance to the cave, away from where your aunts rest."

To Lara's surprise, Shea and Jacques Dubrinsky stood waiting for an invitation to enter, Jacques holding their infant son in his arms. It was the first time Lara had ever gotten a good glimpse of the man who was lifemate to the Carpathian's researcher. He reminded her in some ways of her father, that ravaged look, with lines etched deep, eyes that had seen too much pain and suffering. She had heard the rumors of this man, of his splintered mind and how truly dangerous he was, but watching him hold his son so tenderly, it was difficult to believe.

"We've come asking more from your lifemate, Nicolas," Jacques said without preamble. "I understand

these journeys she makes are difficult, and I would not ask, but Shea thinks it is necessary." His gaze slid to his lifemate and the tenderness in his expression was touching.

"It isn't so bad now that I know what I'm doing," Lara said. "And I have Nicolas as well to anchor me." She cleared her throat, thinking to confess her problem with giving or taking blood, which made the journeying difficult. She could only take blood from Nicolas and she didn't want to take a journey without him close. Reliving her childhood repeatedly was taxing.

It is no one's business. Nicolas reached out and took her hand, bringing her palm to his chest.

Shea touched her son's foot and looked up at both of them, blinking back sudden emotion. "He isn't doing well. Our son. He's struggling and I've tried everything I know how to do, and he's still losing ground. Gregori and Francesca have both examined him repeatedly, but he has the same wasting disease the other children we've lost has had. I cannot feed him properly and the mixtures I've tried for him are not nourishing him."

"Shea, I'm so sorry," Lara said. "We had no idea. No one's said a word."

"We thought it best to keep it private," Jacques replied. "A few of our women are pregnant now and we do not want to chance causing them more stress."

"What can I do?" Lara asked.

"Journey and see if he is infected with the microbe."

Lara and Nicolas exchanged a long look of sudden comprehension. "You think I'll find one, don't you?"

Shea bit her lip, nodding as she did so. "I think a microbe finds the male first and when he has sex with his lifemate, the microbe travels to her, leaving him open territory. While he lies sleeping in the soil, another enters, through his skin most likely. The first microbe has found the female host and lies in weight for conception. If she becomes pregnant, the organism forces her to miscarry by continually attacking the baby, but if it isn't successful, I believe the microbe then travels into the baby, again leaving her without one. So the cycle starts all over again with the man once again infecting the woman. Once inside the baby, the microbe slowly kills it."

Lara closed her eyes briefly. Shea's theory sounded very sensible, especially since they had found Xavier's laboratory and his series of pools. Each was a different environment for the extremophile.

"Unfortunately, your theory matches evidence we found in the ice caves. These microorganisms are very difficult to kill as a rule, Shea. We re burning them one by one, but if everyone is continually infected each time we go to ground, it will be impossible to keep up."

Nicolas's hand curved around the nape of Lara's neck. "Especially when so far, Lara's the only one who can find them. And when I convert her, she may not be able to do so anymore. Natalya cannot."

Shea gasped. "You can't convert her, Nicolas." She shook her head. "I know how much you both must want to, but you can't. We can't take any chances. This is too important to all of us. Until I can find an antibody that will fight this thing in the ground, Lara is our only hope."

"Xavier corrupts the extremophiles. If someone collects them for you, perhaps you can use the original superpowered bugs to fight his corrupt ones," Lara offered. "I've collected them for research before and

scientists all over the world believe the extremophile can be used to cure many diseases. They actually will defend against other microbes, so maybe the answer is the simplest of all. Use the original."

Shea's expression brightened. "You saw evidence of mutation?"

Lara nodded. "I've seen normal extremophiles hundreds of times. Xavier definitely mutated these."

"If that's true," Shea said with confidence, "I believe we'll be able to find an antidote, or vaccine, or something to combat this. Finally. Hope. Real hope."

"But you are talking experiments to get it right," Nicolas said. "That takes time." He tugged Lara to him protectively. "She is caught between both worlds, Shea. She can barely manage to keep any food down. She cannot go to ground, but she cannot be in the light either. Is it right to ask my lifemate to live in a half-world?"

"No," Jacques answered for both of them-for the entire Carpathian people. "No, of course it isn't, but we have no choice. We have to ask you to save our children."

Lara looked at the baby in his arms, so innocent, already slipping away from them. He was pale and thin, listless, his eyes dull. Her gaze met Nicolas's. She tried not to let him see or feel her despair. She couldn't sacrifice this child or any other-and neither could he. Until they could find a way to counteract the microbes already living in the soil she couldn't be converted.

You can, Nicolas said firmly.We have no idea what could happen to you living a half-life. No one can ask this of you .

I love you, too. She smiled at him.And you know there is no choice. This child belongs to all of us .

Nicolas swore and looked away from her, once again feeling helpless. His centuries of existence had failed to prepare him for failure. He had driven her to the very end of her endurance. He had been unable to protect her when she'd relived her childhood. He'd failed to save her friends, and now he could not take her from the half-life. What kind of a lifemate was he? Protection had always-always-come first in his mind, but now he was an utter failure at the one thing that was the most important.

Lara wrapped her arms around him, right there, in front of Jacques and Shea, leaning into him and tilting her head. "You are the best lifemate. That's what you are, and right now, I need you to help me find whatever is trying to harm this child. We'll need Natalya to draw the microbe out once I lure it to the surface and you'll have to be ready to give me blood. And then-" She smiled at Shea. "-then we have a celebration to go to. Everyone is so excited about the naming ceremony."

Shea managed a weak smile. "Please find it, Lara. If you don't, I have no idea how to save our son."

"I'll find it," Lara said with more confidence than she felt.

A hush fell over the gathered crowd. Anticipation and excitement heightened awareness of details. The incense burning, the fragrance of sage and lavender blended with the aroma of candles. The chamber was warm, the direct opposite of the ice caves and Lara couldn't help but compare this child's welcome to the one given her. She wished her aunts could have been there to participate but after the healers had examined them, and given them more blood, both decreed it was too soon and the women needed far

more time to regain their health in the ground. She looked up at Nicolas and smiled.

Nicolas tightened his fingers around Lara's. Pride welled up in him in spite of the fact that a part of him wanted to throw his lifemate over his shoulder and take her back to South America where he could see to her health. If it wasn't for Lara, this child would never have a chance at life. She had taken the journey into the small body and discovered Shea's theory was right. The microbe had passed from mother to child and was slowly killing the baby.

The journey had been more difficult than he had expected. The baby was small and already weak and sick. Lara had to be careful and go in as an infant almost before she really got started. The microbe would have run from an adult. The continual reliving of her childhood was taking a toll on Lara, but when he tried to put his foot down and tell her enough was enough, she only smiled at him and pointed to the baby. With the microbe out of its body, it was already hungry and active, bouncing back fast.

He watched Jacques carry his son into the center of the chamber while the Carpathian greeting chant swelled in volume. Everyone present would pledge their love and support to the child, become family to him, vow to raise him should anything happen to his parents.

Jacques handed his son to his brother and the prince raised the child high into the air. A roar of approval went up. Shea slipped her hand into her lifemate's and looked over at them.

Thank you both. You enabled this to happen.

Nicolas felt his throat tighten. He brought Lara's hand to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the center of her palm.

"Who names this child?" Mikhail asked.

"His father," Jacques replied.

"His mother," Shea said.

"His people," the crowd of males and females, lifemated and single, added.

"You are called, Stefan Kane," Mikhail announced, "born in battle, crowned with love. Who will accept the offer of the Carpathian people to love and raise our son?"

"His parents, with gratitude." Jacques and Shea looked at one another with joy.

Nicolas felt the emotion spread through him. Joy. He knew the meaning of the word and it was Lara.