Dark Lycan (Dark 24)

Tatijana woke before Fen. She lay curled in his arms, her head on his shoulder, just as she had when they'd finally closed the earth over them. They'd made love two more times, and she knew part of that terrible hunger in her was sheer fear. The Sange rau terrified her. There would be no stopping Fen, or Dimitri for that matter. Both had sworn loyalty to the prince and the Carpathian people. They would defend Mikhail Dubrinsky with their lives.

She waved her hand to open the earth. It was dark in the forest, although still rather early in the evening. Tree branches swayed and danced to the wind. The rain had stopped, but gray clouds spun in the sky. A storm was coming. A big one. She pressed a hand to her wildly beating heart. She would not lose her lifemate to this monster. Strangely, last evening, when she thought it was possible Abel had turned because he'd lost his lifemate, she'd felt compassion for him. That was gone this rising. She only cared that Fen came home safe to her.

She took a deep breath of the fresh air. The rain always left behind a fresh, clean scent. Now, it was mixed with the soothing aroma of forest-trees and rich soil. She arranged her surprise for him, the candles set in a protection circle around soft blankets right out under the canopy so they could look up and see the night arriving through the beauty of the trees. Fen hadn't seen much beauty these past centuries and she was determined to make up for lost time. She'd awakened early just for that purpose.

When she was ready, Tatijana floated him out of their sleeping quarters and over to the blanket, ensuring his body was clean and free of all rejuvenating soil. She knew he was aware, but he didn't stop her or try to take over. That made her love him all the more. Fen always provided what she needed most. Right now, she needed to feel his strength and know they were both alive and well.

She crawled over the top of him, kissing her way up his thigh, his groin, the erection that was already becoming heavy and thick, his belly and chest with all that beautiful muscle definition. She traced the muscles with her tongue, exploring him, imprinting him into her bones, in her mind so there wasn't a single inch of him she didn't know.

His hands tangled in her hair as she took her time with her exploration. He turned his body over and let her do the same to the back of him and then each side. He never said a word, but she felt completely surrounded by his love. She'd never felt so close to anyone in her life. She knew he was telling her silently that he belonged to her. Whatever she needed, whatever she hungered for, he provided.

When she turned him back over and took his face between her hands, her body stretched out over his, so that every inch of her was pressed into him, she kissed him long and hard. Taking her time. Telling him she loved him with her mouth, with her hands.

When she lifted her head, Fen smiled at her. He traced her mouth with the pad of his fingers. "My turn," he said abruptly and catching her in his arms, rolled her beneath him.

She couldn't help the little thrill that burst through her. He was so strong, his body fit and hard, yet he never hurt her. Fen repeated her actions, exploring every inch of her, but she was certain he was far more thorough than she had been, he had her squirming and mewling like a kitten, her hips bucking at times when he used his tongue and teeth on her most sensitive nerve endings. He paid no attention, but took his time, making certain he didn't miss a single spot.

He pulled her to her hands and knees, wrapping his arm around her waist and jerking her body back into him as he knelt up behind her. His hands massaged her buttocks, his finger slipping into her to make certain she was ready for him.

The position allowed him to go even deeper, to take her harder and faster. He started slow and gentle, giving her body time to get used to his invasion as he almost always did. Her sheath always seemed reluctant at first, so tight she strangled his cock, but then opening for him like a sensitive flower to allow his deeper penetration.

He seemed to know without words what she needed and he pounded into her, showing no mercy, taking her up fast and hard and then stopping just before her release. Over and over he built the tension, stretching them both out on a torturous rack of pleasure until she was nearly sobbing. Still he was relentless. Merciless.

Fen waited for her pleas. The chanting of his name. The music that always accompanied their lovemaking. He didn't stop until he heard it, surging deep, his cock swelling gloriously, while her feminine sheath gripped and milked him. He heard his own hoarse cry blending with hers as jet after jet of hot seed filled her. The ripples went from her core to her breasts and down her thighs, the aftershocks nearly as strong as the orgasm itself and he felt them all, merged deep as he was in her mind.

Fen leaned over her, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling her back. "There is no better way to wake up, my lady, than with you like this."

Tatijana didn't say anything at all, but he felt her heavy sorrow pressing down on him.

Very gently, reluctantly, he withdrew, pulling her back onto his lap. She wouldn't look at him and he had to grip her chin and turn her face up to his. There were tears on her face. "I will not die. I know you're afraid, but I will not die."

"I have a terrible feeling of dread." She traced her finger over the faint image of the dragon over her ovary. "Sometimes, I know something bad is going to happen before it does. I don't know what, but when I woke, I could barely breathe."

"I will not die," he reiterated. "I have battled the vampire for centuries and I have sustained many mortal wounds. It could very well happen again in this fight with Abel, but I survived without my lifemate. How much easier will it be for me this time? You are Dragonseeker. Mother Earth has accepted me as her son. We have Gregori close, a great healer, and young Skyler, who we both know is exceptional. I do not fear this. I don't want you to be afraid either."

Fen brushed at the tears on her face, and then leaned down to take one into his mouth, tasting her fear.

Tatijana knelt up in front of him, taking his face between both hands. "You are everything to me, and know this, wolf man. Should you go into the next life, I will follow. Look for me only minutes behind. I will not give you up."

"There will be no need. Unless you see my body and know I am dead, do not even consider such a thing," he cautioned. "I've come back from wounds worse than Dimitri's. The wolf in me is strong and regenerates fast."

Tatijana sat back on her heels. "Like the Sange rau. Abel can regenerate very fast, can't he? Like everything else it speeds up with the length of time you've been a mixed blood."

Fen wasn't surprised that she was aware Abel would be a far cry from Bardolf. "True. But silver will still kill him. I just have to figure out where he set up his lair."

"I woke you early so you would have time to prepare," Tatijana admitted. "And feed from a Carpathian ancient, one with pure line. I will give you my blood, but seek out Jacques Dubrinsky. You need to be as strong as possible."

She stood up, clothing herself as she did so, but she left the candles burning. "This is a circle of protection. I was careful setting it up and as long as you're in it, no harm can come to you. More, if you and Dimitri use this circle to figure out what Abel might do and where he might be, no other can accidentally overhear words, thoughts or telepathy."

As frightened as she was for him, she had still taken the time to give him such a gift. He stood up as well, clothing himself, his hair tied back with a cord, his boots and long coat ready for war. He called his weapons to him, a multitude of silver stakes slipping into the loops made for them, as well as a long sword. He didn't bother with gloves as he had no intention of running into any member of the pack. Instead, he coated his hands and arms with sealant as Dimitri had.

My brother-kin. Let us come together with a battle plan. Fen wasted no time at all waking his brother.

Tatijana stepped close to him and offered him her neck, sweeping back the long length of hair. Her arms went around his head, bringing it down to the warmth of her neck and throat where he nuzzled her.

"Take what you need, Fenris Dalka, and come home to your lifemate."

"I will take that as a command, my lady," he said.

She smelled so good. He'd just had her, but that woodsy scent, fresh honey and rain aroused him all over again. He folded her into his arms and took her offering without hesitation. He was already addicted to her taste, and Dragonseeker blood would be invaluable in his pursuit of the enemy. For a moment, he lost himself in the sensual, intimate act of taking his lifemate's blood, but still, he was aware the moment Dimitri approached.

He closed the small wound on her neck and held her a moment longer. Tatijana smiled up at him, waved at Dimitri and shifted, using a small wolf to move through the forest to the edge of the village where she would find sustenance.

Fen wrapped her up in warmth, pouring his love of her into her mind for a moment, before he had to turn his attention to business.

"She made us a protection circle," Dimitri said as he stepped inside. He was dressed very similar to Fen, his weapons concealed but easily accessed.

"She's worried and wanted us to be as safe as possible. We're going to have to remember at all times we have more than one enemy. Should the pack become aware of what we are, they will turn on us," Fen cautioned.

Dimitri nodded. "I had hoped to avoid them."

"We know Mikhail is the target. I'm almost certain Abel has come here on a mission to assassinate the prince. It can't be personal, Mikhail is far too young and I doubt Abel ever crossed paths with him. He would gain nothing from destroying an entire species."

"But you believe someone else has something to gain?" Dimitri asked. "You've mentioned this before, but whom?"

"I don't have that answer, and at this point, we have to deal with one thing at a time. Try to remember Abel as a young man. He was closer to my age than yours, but he would have been around. Anything might help."

Dimitri frowned, trying to call up old, faded memories. He shrugged. "The only thing I remember of him, other than that he was a good man who answered questions when I asked him about various weapons, was the one time he took me out to the lake to show me how to fight in the water."

Fen swung around. "The lake. He was obsessed with that lake. When anyone needed him in the old days, they would find him there. That's where he is, Dimitri. He's found a lair somewhere near the lake."

"There's a small island in the lake; it's actually close to the shore and he might be able to use it," Dimitri suggested. "It would be unusual for a vampire to do something like that. Wouldn't he have to have a retreat, an exit? There's not much on that tiny island, some trees and a few rocks."

"I say we check it out," Fen said. "He would have safeguards. No Carpathian will go to ground without safeguards and he was a Carpathian for centuries. He'll fall back on what he knows best."

"Let's do this," Dimitri said.

The moment both stepped from the circle, it disappeared as though it had never been. Before either could move, an owl settled into the tree above them. They spread out, moving quickly so that the owl was in the middle. Jacques Dubrinsky shifted, leaping to the ground to land closer to Fen.

"Tatijana sent me to you. She said you were going to hunt the Sange rau and you would need blood. She sent your message, that the prince needed to be guarded and we've got him protected. Have you sent word to the Lycans?" As he spoke he used his teeth on his own wrist and extended his arm toward Fen. "I offer freely," he added, using the ritual between battle mates.

Fen took the proffered wrist, ingesting a small amount, making certain there would be enough to sustain his brother and yet not taking so much Jacques would grow weak.

While Dimitri fed, Fen answered. "No. The Lycans would handicap us at this point. They would do better guarding the prince with you. If Abel gets through us, I doubt he'll stop trying to go after Mikhail. Better to have all of you there. We'll have to fight as Guardians, not Lycan or Carpathian, and we can't worry whether or not we're observed."

Jacques nodded. "That makes perfect sense."

Dimitri politely closed the laceration on Jacques's wrist. "Good luck this day."

"Good hunting," Jacques replied. He gripped Dimitri's forearms hard and did the same with Fen before shifting and taking to the air.

They waited until Jacques was out of sight and then both brothers shifted to owls and took to the sky in the opposite direction, heading for the lake. The forest was thick, the canopy hiding the ground below, but twice, Fen sensed wolves below him. Not animals, but small groups of werewolves making their way toward Mikhail's home.

We could be wrong, Dimitri ventured. He could be making an all-out assault on the prince's home.

He has to believe the prince would never be left in his home. We already found out the safeguards wouldn't hold up against Abel, Fen said with confidence. He knows the prince isn't there. He wants everyone to think that's what he's doing.

I hope you're right, Dimitri said. I've got this feeling . . .

One person with a feeling was bad, two was far worse. Fen believed in instincts. His gut told him Abel had made his lair somewhere near the lake. He would be sending what was left of his army as a diversion, but he would have another plan altogether.

Tatijana had a feeling as well. We'll have to be doubly careful. Abel knows that realistically, we're the only ones standing between him and Mikhail, Fen said. His plans include us. He'll want to wipe us out first.

He plays chess or at least he's studied it. Take the King's Queen, his best defense. In this case, we're his Queens, Dimitri speculated. He's left with Bishops, Rooks and Knights.

Fen, in the body of the large owl, flew out of the forest into open air, flying over the meadows and farms. He saw the marsh below and in the distance, the glacier mountain where Bardolf had established a lair. Dimitri, from Bardolf's position, could see both Mikhail's home and the lake.

You have to be right. Bardolf was his lookout. He used him for information. Bardolf would have told him if anyone was poking around the lake, Dimitri agreed.

Reeds choked the shoreline of the lake on the west side. The island looked deserted and had little to offer in the way of shelter, but Fen knew better than to take chances. There was a mud bank to the left of the reeds with a suspicious looking slide on it, as if a heavy body had been dragged from the tall grasses growing on shore, down the embankment and shoved into the lake.

The lake seemed placid enough except the few ripples the wind caused. The water was murky, but tinged with blue. It was fed by the glacier and very cold, if Fen remembered correctly.

The island first? Fen suggested. Watch my back. Let's see what he's got.

The owl circled the island and then dropped down fast, talons extended, in hunting mode, as if it had spotted a mouse and was homing in for the kill. Several meters from the largest rock, the bird hit an invisible force field and bounced backward. Squawking, feathers floating toward the ground, it flapped its wings hard to get airborne again.

He's down there all right, Fen said. And that hurt. He used silver against us. He's managed to make it so thin it's impossible to see.

We did that at the farm and again at Mikhail's, Dimitri reminded. He stole the idea from us. So where on that tiny island is he? Where could his lair be?

Fen studied the island from every angle. That might be part of his escape route somehow, although I can't figure out how.

Or it's simply a trap or diversion, Dimitri suggested.

Dimitri, what if he's in the water. Underneath the water. Is that possible? He was so obsessed with the lake and learning to fight beneath the water. Most of the others ignored him, thinking he was a little strange. After all, what vampire would choose the water as a battleground? Fen asked, as he looked at the large beaver lodge built close into the reeds.

Dimitri studied the lake. A beautiful trap. That would appeal to a vampire. He could kill anyone fishing, or bringing their animals close, he would have a wealth of victims to choose from. They would simply disappear beneath the water and no one would ever find them.

Fen indicated the slide. A body could have been dragged along there, but why? He wouldn't need to do that.

Unless they were alive and he wanted the adrenaline rush when he killed them. He might deliberately torture his victims just for fun, Dimitri added. Certainly that's a favorite pastime of vampires.

Alright, we'll have to check it out, Fen said. The minute I hit that silver, if he was close by, he probably knew that was no owl. He's smart. Forget pretense. Let's just straight up hunt.

The brothers dropped through the air fast, shifting just before they touched the grass-lined shore. The moment their boots stepped onto a clump of greenery, both felt the ground shift beneath them. Their boots sank just an inch, but it was enough to give the lurking mutated leeches the chance they needed to swarm up their boots to their legs, biting and sucking in a feeding frenzy.

Dimitri swore under his breath in ancient Carpathian. "I really detest these things. Did he have to put giant teeth in them?"

Both men leapt back away from the edge of the lake and the leeches swarming to the top of the muddy holes their boots had made in the grass. They began to peel the creatures off of them, killing them and throwing their bodies into the swarm.

"I wouldn't worry too much about the giant teeth," Fen said, "but more about what they're injecting into our bodies." He felt the difference in his bloodstream almost with the first bite. "Can you track the virus? The poison? It's already in your bloodstream. It can't get to your heart." He was already circling the foreign strands he could feel with white energy to keep them from taking over his cells.

Dimitri nodded. "I wouldn't have if you hadn't caught it. It's subtle. I've contained it. It tried to spread very fast."

"He was banking on us not catching on," Fen said. "Can you feel that tiny trace of silver inside the strand? He sent in a silver needle to pierce the heart. Talk about subtle."

"Would it work?" Dimitri asked.

Fen shrugged. "I don't know, but we'd be in agony and probably wish we were dead."

"We knew he'd have traps."

This time when they approached the water's edge, they did so without actually allowing their feet to touch any part of the shore. Fen gave a small sigh. "I've got an idea that might work. Let me try this."

Tatijana, I have need.

I am here.

Visualize your dragon for me. It must be exact.

She didn't question him, but immediately did as he asked. Fen sent her a telepathic salute and turned to his brother. "There's nothing else for it, Dimitri, watch my back."

He didn't hesitate, rather simply floated over the top of the water a distance from shore, turned upside down and dropped his head and shoulders beneath the surface of the water, shifting as he did so. He used the head of Tatijana's water dragon. It would have the best vision beneath the water.

It took a moment to adjust and then he turned his head, rotating around so that he could see as much as possible. Near the island, over by where the reeds were the thickest, was a strange underwater lodge built of tree branches and downed tree trunks-a beaver lodge-yet he doubted there were beavers in the lake. They'd been reintroduced to some parts of Romania, but this wasn't one of them. The structure was huge, and part of it was above water, hidden by the reeds. If it was built like a beaver's lodge, it would have multiple entrances and exits.

Fen, get out of there now! Dimitri warned.

Fen backed straight out of the water, shooting into the air, using his mixed blood speed. The jaws driving at him from below missed him by a scant quarter of an inch. He felt the hot breath on his face and smelled decaying, rotten meat. The monstrous crocodile dropped soundlessly into the lake but not before Fen saw those eyes, ringed in red but with solid black pupils staring at him malevolently.

I think it's safe to say there have never been crocodiles in this lake, Fen said.

He definitely wanted you for dinner.

How did you spot him? I was looking under the water and didn't see him, Fen asked.

He was just under the surface, swimming out from the direction of the island. I could see the ripples in the water and then spotted his eyes.

Fen returned to shore, avoiding getting near the water's edge. "That was a rush. It was definitely Abel. He simply took the form of a crocodile. He's got some kind of den beneath the water and it's tied to that island. It's also partially in the reeds."

"He's going to have the advantage in the water, Fen. He deliberately showed himself to lure you in."

Fen sighed. "I figured that much, but it has to be done."

Dimitri shrugged. "Then let's do it."

Both men once more took to the air, the only safe place they had left to them. Fen looked down at the mass of logs, muds and sticks below him, studying the structure from every angle. There was a definite link to the island, but he still couldn't figure how Abel could use the island for an escape. A good part of the structure had been constructed in the reeds, so that the giant green stalks hid a portion of the lodge.

Fen glanced up at the clouds overhead. Most had turned from gray to black. They spun and churned as the storm moved closer, the wind driving them overhead. He lifted one hand, directing the energy to gather into a great fireball. Lightning edged the clouds. Thunder rumbled. The fireball streaked down to smash in the middle of the lodge, blowing it apart. Logs exploded outward, twigs and mud scattering across the lake, into the reeds and even edging the island.

Below the waterline a room was exposed. Two bodies floated to the surface, bobbing in the aftermath of the explosion. Abel had made kills and anchored his victims in his lodge to keep his lair from being exposed. Neither hunter moved, both inspecting the damage below, looking for signs of Abel.

Movement near the edge of the reeds sent Fen plunging deep, rocketing through the water toward that telltale flash. Straight toward him, out of the reeds, hurtled a goliath tigerfish, one of the most feared freshwater fishes found in the world-but not in a lake in Romania. With thirty-two teeth as long as those of a great white, the monster opened its jaws wide and powered through the water straight at Fen.

Lightning fast, it streaked toward Fen, the olive-colored back barely visible. All Fen could see was the dagger-sharp teeth coming at him. The aggressive, powerful goliath was known to attack and kill crocodiles. With barely any lips and teeth set into the jaw, the fish was deadlier than the smaller piranha and once its teeth clamped down on its prey, the cut was so clean it was almost surgical.

Fen, using his Guardian speed, managed to just slip sideways out of its way. The huge body drove passed him by a few feet before the enormous fish could stop its charge. Fen dove below it, coming up under its softer silver belly, reaching around it to take a good grip.

His upper arm and shoulder, chest and side, every part of his body coming in contact with the fish, instantly burned like fire, the pain excruciating. He tried to pull away, but that soft underside was not the tigerfish's own belly, but a solid sheet of thin silver. Already the metal burned into his skin, so that he was attached and unable to break loose.

The fish tried turning its head to snap at him with dagger teeth, but Fen stayed well under the body, fighting off the pain. He tried to push pain aside as Carpathians did when wounded severely, but the silver seemed to be melting, finding his pores and working its way into his body. The more he fought, the worse the pain and the deeper the silver went. Abel had come up with another form of Moarta de argint-literally-death by silver.

Fen forced himself to remain absolutely still, while the tigerfish whirled in circles snapping at him. Suddenly it streaked straight through the water as if it was as anxious to dislodge Fen and get away.

Dimitri saw the fish rocketing through the deep lake with his brother attached somehow to the underbelly. The goliath swam directly toward the reeds and the lodge that was partially dismantled. He spotted a single flash of movement and instantly dove deep, intercepting the second tigerfish head-on, his body between his brother and the new threat. He drove his silver sword through the massive, open jaws.

Dimitri, the underbelly is pure silver, don't touch it, Fen warned. Take off its head, but keep a distance.

The werewolves are attacking, Tatijana reported. They're coming at us in great numbers, maybe forty strong. Three hunters and Zev have spotted Abel. He's commanding them himself.

Fen removed his sword with his free hand. If it was possible beneath the water while one was being rocketed across a lake, he felt as if he might be sweating. Between the pain that seemed to grow worse with every passing second and the thought of what was to come, he had to keep up a shield to prevent Tatijana from knowing just how bad it really was. She would come to him no matter the danger.

Abel has sent a clone. Gregori will know what to do.

You're certain? He appears real enough.

It was all Fen could do not to snap at her. He snapped his teeth together instead and forced calm. Abel is here. He broke the contact abruptly. He couldn't be in two places at one time, not when Abel was doing his best to kill the two biggest threats to him.

Without waiting he took the sword and sliced upward in one motion, removing his own skin from elbow to shoulder that had adhered to the tigerfish. He forced himself not to feel the pain, but managed a second slicing motion, stripping the skin from his waist, up his rib cage to just below his arm. Blood poured into the water. The tigerfish went crazy and began snapping at itself, the teeth missing him by inches. It took every ounce of discipline he possessed to make the last cut to free himself from the monster before slicing the head off the goliath.

Something's happening above us, Dimitri said as he withdrew the sword from the tigerfish's mouth, spinning to the side of the large fish and slicing down to cut the head off. Near the shore, there's a disturbance.

Go. I've got this.

Fen stopped the flow of blood and dove deeper, ignoring the small bits of silver still burning through his body. He found an entrance to the underwater rooms in Abel's lodge. To enter the lair of a vampire was a very risky thing. There was water in the first room. Part of the wall had been blown away. The Sange rau had stored his food there and the bodies had risen to the surface.

Fen swam through it to the entrance to the second room. Immediately he felt the resistance blocking him. He waved his hand and at once the safeguards symbols and code flowed in front of his vision, a little blurry at times and very fast. He unraveled them just as fast, but was far more careful going into the second chamber.

Abel slept here. It was dark and dank and snug, warm even, all the comforts of a cave. Fen looked around carefully. There was no one there, but he hadn't expected Abel to make it easy for him. This was a cat and mouse game. He was the mouse, the bait to bring Abel out. He made his way slowly across the room. He hadn't gone more than three steps when his warning radar shrieked at him. Screamed. Flashed. He wasn't alone in the close confines of that room.

Abel dropped down on him from above, driving him to the floor of the lodge. The curved claws dug deep, tearing at him. The moment his body hit the floor, the walls of the room came alive, bats, clearly carnivorous, abandoning their resting place to join their master.

Feast. Feast my brothers, Abel commanded.

The bats dropped to the floor, coming from all directions, leaping on Fen and biting deep.

Dimitri surfaced, going straight out of the water, to see two of the elite hunters, Convel and Gunnolf, tangled up in the reeds. Clearly Zev had sent them scouting and the dead bodies in the lake had attracted them to the shore. They both had fallen into one of Abel's traps. Thick vines burst from the reeds, wrapping the two Lycans up tightly in the stranglehold of an anaconda.

Cursing under his breath, Dimitri rocketed across the sky, dropping down behind the first Lycan, making certain not to touch any of the reeds. "Stop struggling. You're only making it worse," he advised.

Both Lycans, elite hunters, stopped moving instantly, although it had to have been difficult to obey when the vines continued to wrap them tighter, squeezing until their very bones were in danger of snapping.

Dimitri tried his sword, but the moment he touched the vines, others sprang up around him to try to cage him in. He could hear a quiet hum, the faintest of sounds, and knew the reeds and vines communicated with one another.

Although he didn't move, Gunnolf began to make a sound of distress. Dimitri had run out of time. Using the strength and speed of the Guardian, he caught at the vines with his bare hands and yanked them away from the hunter, crushing the wood in his bare hands. The vines disintegrated into sawdust from the sheer strength he used. He pulled the hunter free and took him to a safer spot away from the reeds before going back for Convel.

The reeds had come alive, swaying and stretching, trying to find a target. Again, he dropped down fast from above, coming in behind Convel, grasping the thick vines, crushing them in his hands and snatching their prey from them to rise just as quickly into the air. It was his speed that saved them both. The vines shot up from all directions, but he had Convel safe and away. He set him down beside Gunnolf.

"Thanks," Gunnolf said, holding out his hand. "You saved our lives."

Dimitri was impatient to get back to Fen, but he gripped Gunnolf's extended hand. Gunnolf slapped loops of silver around his wrist, a long chain like a leash attached. From behind him, loops of silver chain were flung over his head to drop around his body. The chain was pulled tight and agony shot through him. Before he could call out to Fen, something hard struck his head and everything went black.

"Let's see what's inside a hunter, my pets," Abel said. Smiling, exposing his brown-stained teeth, he reached down in slow motion and deliberately ripped open Fen's belly. The vampire/wolf took his time, wanting Fen to feel the pain as he eviscerated him. The bats uncovered the raw flesh where his missing skin should have been and tore into him.

"Eating people alive is what they do best and I so enjoy watching," Abel taunted. "You weren't quite as good as you thought, now were you?"

Fen felt a burst of pain that was not his own. That agony galvanized him into action as nothing else could. He was Carpathian before all else and he could shut off the pain from battle wounds. He'd done so for centuries. The silver was a different matter, but he could endure until something could be done.

"What happened to her, Abel?" Fen asked, forcing himself to lie quietly beneath the assault on his body. He stayed absolutely relaxed so Abel unintentionally relaxed as well. "Your lifemate? What happened to her?"

Abel went still. For one moment the malevolent lines disappeared from his face and he looked like the hunter Fen had known so long ago. The change in the Sange rau was fleeting, but it gave Fen that split second that he needed.

He slammed his empty fist into Abel's chest wall with the incredible strength of a Guardian. He drove straight through with astonishing speed, his fist wrapping around the heart and extracting it before Abel even realized Fen had attacked him. As he extracted the heart, Fen rolled right over some of the bats, uncaring that they still bit at his flesh. All that mattered was destroying Abel.

A roar thundered through the lodge, shaking apart the structure that was left above them so that logs and debris rolled into the lake. Holes sprang in the walls. Fen palmed a silver stake with one hand, the heart in the other. Abel went insane, thrashing and screaming, his terrible claws reaching into Fen's belly, pulling and tearing through everything he could grasp. His face contorted at the same time and he bit down on Fen's shoulder and neck, tearing out chunks of flesh and wolfing them down whole.

"Get it, take it from him, my pets," Abel screamed. "My heart!"

Fen didn't dare drop the heart on the floor. Already Abel's bats had begun biting at his clenched fist to try to retrieve what the Sange rau had lost. He palmed a silver stake with his other hand, opened his fist and slammed the dagger home, driving it all the way through the heart, his own hand and into the floor.

Abel's wail rose to a screech. He slapped both hands over the hole in his chest, shock and horror on his face.

"Go to her, Abel. Seek her forgiveness," Fen said. With his other hand, he used a downward motion, slicing through Abel's neck with the silver knife he carried. He was forced to use the strength of the Guardian to remove the head.

There was so much blood. His. Abel's. He was tired. So very tired. He expected the bats to leap upon him and tear him to shreds, but as Abel toppled to the floor, more water poured into the lodge, faster now, rising quickly and the bats retreated. With his last effort, he looked up at the sky through the holes in the roof. Lightning continued to edge the clouds. He called it down, directing it over Abel's body and head, watching it burn in spite of the rising water. It seemed to take a long time and a tremendous amount of effort to finish burning the body, but finally, there was nothing left but ashes.

Fen looked around him, a little astonished that it was over. The water was more red than brown. He closed his eyes. Tatijana, my lady. I may not be able to keep my promise to you, but know that I love you with all my heart.