Dark Carousel (Dark 26)

Fridrick spun around, saw them and carefully looked for their escort. Charlotte shook her head. "I was able to rise before Tariq and made my way here. I knew where to come because two of your men were captured and they said you had taken Liv here. I'm asking you to allow me to trade places. Genevieve is willing as well."

"Genevieve" pressed trembling fingers to her mouth, but didn't say anything at all. She did shift just slightly, still a couple of steps behind Charlotte but also to her left. Charlotte was well aware Blaze was giving herself room to attack should she have to.

Fridrick continued to look around, scanning the area, looking for anything that would tell him the women were bait. "Why wouldn't I just take you without freeing that horrible little brat?"

"Because I'm willing to die and I have a knife in my hand. So does Genevieve. I can kill myself before you make it to me. You have to know Tariq converted me. I may be new at this, but I'm fast."

"You would kill your lifemate as well," he pointed out.

"She's a little girl."

"She's nothing." Contempt was written on Fridrick's face. "Food for the master's puppets. So many children--sometimes for fun we put them in the hold of the ship and let the puppets in with them. So amusing. I will allow you to watch the show, just for not coming to me the first time I told you to."

"We don't have much time," Charlotte said, her chin up. She couldn't think about children down in the hold of a ship screaming as the puppets were let loose on them. She just couldn't. Right now, it was all about Liv.

"Tariq will be coming after me any minute. I won't give up Amelia, and Emeline has a concussion. She can't be moved. So if you want to make the exchange, it's for Vi and me and you have to do it right now before the hunters come. They'll come in force, and once they do, you know Tariq will never negotiate. I'm his lifemate. He won't give me up."

She sounded convincing. Very convincing. Tariq was proud of her. She appeared as she had in the parking garage, a woman of courage who had no idea who she was squaring off with. She treated Fridrick as she might a human male threatening her. Blaze, in Genevieve's form, hovered behind her just as Vi had done in the garage.

Fridrick smirked at her and beckoned with one long-nailed finger. "If you want her, come to me then."

"I'm not moving until I see her," Charlotte said stubbornly. "Compulsion doesn't work on me and time is flying by."

Charlotte! What have you done? On cue, Tariq sounded the fearful and outraged lifemate, left behind because he couldn't stand the sun. Do not give yourself to the undead. I forbid this. He used the Carpathian common telepathic path. I am coming for you. Get away from him.

The corners of Fridrick's mouth widened, not so much into a smile, although it was certain he thought he was smiling, but more like an open gash where his mouth was, revealing his teeth. He wasn't bothering with his appearance and his teeth were not nearly as white as they had been in the parking garage.

"How sad for a once-great warrior that he cannot control his woman." Still smirking, Fridrick began to unweave the safeguards on the warehouse. His hands flashed with blurring speed as he removed them and flung open the door. He turned to wave Charlotte and Genevieve inside.

Tariq struck, materializing in front of Fridrick, his fist slamming into the vampire's chest, fingers grasping at the withered heart. Fridrick screamed, blood and spittle spewing from his mouth.

"Kill her. Kill her." The vampire shrieked the command even as he bent his head to tear at Tariq's flesh, trying to get to an artery before Tariq could extract his heart.

Val and Dragomir pushed past into the warehouse, Siv and Nicu flanking them. Puppets rushed them. Two of the giants turned toward the cage where Liv huddled, making herself as small as possible. Lesser vampires appeared, one after another, rushing into the warehouse at Fridrick's bidding. Blaze leapt into action, following the vampires, Maksim materializing at her side.

The scent of brimstone filled Charlotte's lungs. It was ghastly and stung her eyes.

Hyssop oil, Charlotte. I need it now--pour it over me. Quickly.

Charlotte's breath caught in her throat. I have no idea what that is. She didn't. Tariq was calm, but he clearly needed the oil and fast. Fridrick writhed and fought, punching and kicking and biting, trying to keep Tariq's hand from extracting his heart. Finally, in desperation, he caught Tariq's arm with both hands and exerted all his strength to keep the hunter from withdrawing his heart.

The ground shook. Inside the warehouse Charlotte could hear screams and curses, the sound of agony and victory, but outside the air was heavy with the scent of burning asphalt and all insects had gone quiet.

Suddenly a pot of oil was at her feet and she looked around to see Dragomir striding toward her, a bow and arrow in his hands. He looked grim, even for him. He tossed her a bow and arrow as well. "Pour the oil over your man and dip your arrows in the pot. If you have to, cover yourself in oil. They'll be fast. Faster than you can imagine, but you're Carpathian. That makes you fast."

She'd never shot a bow and arrow in her life, but something horrible was coming and she needed to keep Tariq safe. Even as she flung the pot of oil over him, Fridrick's brother Georg leapt from the roof onto Tariq's back. Dragomir was on him in seconds, moving so fast he was a mere blur. Instinctively she flung oil over Dragomir and turned to face whatever was coming at them.

What is it? She had to know.

Hellhounds are coming.

Hellhounds? She didn't know what they were, either, not really, but it didn't sound good. Her stomach dropped as the ground shook as if an earthquake were trying to shake the asphalt apart.

You can do this, Charlotte, Tariq said, as calm as ever, as if he weren't fighting for his life. The pot will always be full of the oil. You'll need it. Aim ahead of them and let them run into the arrow. Go for their eyes; that's the kill shot. A throat shot will slow them down.

Dragomir added his advice. Don't look directly into their eyes. Don't allow their blood or saliva to touch you. If you have no choice, make certain it touches only where the oil covers you.

The ancient had Georg on the ground and was trying to extract the vampire's heart. She could see that both vampires had slammed their fists into the chests of the hunters and it was a fight to see who could take the heart first. The sight sickened her. Although she couldn't feel Tariq's pain, she knew he felt it, because he was blocking her.

Charlotte's heart stuttered as the first of the hounds came into view, pounding toward her on gigantic clawed feet. Teeth filled his open mouth and saliva hung in poisonous strings. Eyes glowed a terrible, hideous red, looking only at Tariq. Behind it, four more of the beasts broke cover and pounded toward them. One had three heads.

She stepped toward the leader and raised her bow. Her hand shook. The knowledge of how to use it was in her head, pushed there by the two ancient hunters. Taking a breath, she let the arrow fly. It missed the hound's eye and lodged in the massive neck.

Instantly she let a second arrow go, not looking at the other hounds or how close they were to her. The hound was nearly on Tariq when it suddenly screamed, slid to a halt and staggered. Her arrow had hit true. The beast shook itself and slowly turned its head toward her. Time slowed down. She could hear her heart thundering in her ears, roaring so loud it drowned out every other noise. As the hound changed direction, leaping toward her, she let the third arrow fly.

The hound pulled back his lips to reveal massive, dripping, razor-sharp teeth. She could see its canines were like those of a saber-toothed tiger of old. The beast took a shuddering step toward her and then collapsed.

Charlotte knew time had slowed down for her, but while she'd been concentrating on the leader, the other four hellhounds had almost reached them. She began shooting arrows as fast as she was able. Another hound skidded to a halt, shuddered and went down. That was two out of five.

One got past her and leapt at Dragomir, trying for his back. While the hound was in the air, she flung the entire bucket of hyssop oil

over the beast. At once his fur began to smoke and fall to the ground. Giant blisters appeared all over the hound's back and sides. It dropped away from Dragomir and turned toward her. Charlotte shot it through one eye; the arrow quivered, not penetrating deep enough for the kill shot, but then she had to turn toward the one coming at her.

She managed to get off one shot before the hellhound leapt, taking her down to the ground. The hound's breath was horrible. She dodged the stream of venomous saliva and plunged the arrow deep into the beast's eye, using every bit of strength she could muster. Rolling, she got to her feet and ran toward the oil bucket, wanting to douse herself. Before she could get there, the last hound, this one three-headed, leapt at Tariq, red eyes glowing with evil intent. Clearly directed by Fridrick, it sprang on Tariq's back, tearing at his flesh with the hideous teeth of one head while the other two heads reached around to sink teeth into his arms.

She couldn't see more than one of its eyes. She ran at it, shooting the arrow into the one eye she could get to, close range, scoring true, but the hideous creature didn't even flinch. She had to get it off of Tariq.

Charlotte envisioned a sword--a long, lethal sword with the sharpest blade imaginable. The hilt fit into her hand as if made for her. She gripped it with two hands and ran to Tariq's aid. He was utterly calm, intent and focused on extracting Fridrick's heart. He didn't try to escape the savage teeth of the hound, or let on that the poison dripping in long threads from the three mouths burned through his skin straight to his bones.

She sliced through the massive neck of the head that was attacking the arm Tariq was slowly pulling from Fridrick's body. The head dropped to the ground, those vicious eyes suddenly focused on her. Taking a deep breath, she sheathed the sword and let loose two arrows, right into the eyes that stared at her from the ground.

Lightning forked through the sky and laced the clouds above. Fridrick shrieked as Tariq pulled the heart from his body and tossed it beside the severed head of the beast. The hellhound went into a frenzy, ripping at Tariq to try to kill him. Dragomir tossed Georg's withered, blackened heart down beside that of his brother. Even as Fridrick's heart rocked, and then slid toward Fridrick as the vampire slumped to the ground, lightning struck fast, incinerating both hearts and the head of the hound.

The second head of the beast chewing on Tariq's arm lifted to let out a howl. The third head didn't seem to notice, teeth still tearing into Tariq's back. Because Tariq was covered in hyssop oil, the fur on the hellhound began to smolder and slough off. Blisters covered the thick, bumpy skin. Tariq reached back with his bare hands and caught the beast's massive head and, spinning hard, broke its neck. Startled, the creature fell back to the ground. One head cocked awkwardly to one side, the other head down low, eyes focused on its intended victim. The hound scrambled to its feet and began to stalk Tariq.

Movement caught Charlotte's eye and she spun around to find a hound stalking her. One arrow protruded from one eye. It had its head cocked to one side and it stared at her malevolently. She hadn't killed this one, only made it very, very angry.

Charlotte backed up, tripped and went down hard on her bottom. She slashed at the monstrous hound with the sword, drawn a bit awkwardly from the scabbard. The blade sliced through the massive throat and black blood poured onto the ground. At once the asphalt smoked and hissed.

Everything happened so fast she didn't have time to be afraid. She had to keep moving or the thing was going to kill her. She couldn't get up. Her feet slid in the oil that was splashed on the ground and she couldn't get a good purchase on the asphalt. Then Dragomir was there, shooting the beast in the eye with an arrow and slamming a bolt of lightning into the carcass before it even hit the ground.

He yanked her to her feet and both turned to find Tariq, torn, bloody and triumphant, the three-headed hellhound at his feet.

Val fought his way through the wall of puppets. Fridrick would sacrifice them to stop the hunters from getting to Liv before the hybrid could kill her. He kept his gaze glued to the cage, where the child lay curled in a tight ball, in the fetal position, her hands clamped over her ears and her eyes shut tight. There was blood on her clothes, up high by her shoulder. Some in her hair. A steady stream of tears tracked down her face, but she wept silently.

He slammed his fist through a puppet and shoved him off, uncaring that the blood was vampire enough that it burned like acid. A hybrid tried to stop him, to delay him, by swiping at him with a machete. Still not taking his gaze from Liv, Val hurtled the huge wall of muscle and flesh out of his way. Already the hybrid closest to the cage had yanked at the lock, breaking it and flinging it aside. The giant of a man reached in with his huge hands, caught hold of Liv and dragged her out of the cage.

Liv didn't struggle. She squeezed her eyes closed tighter and lay limp while the hybrid shook her like a rag doll. He wrapped one hand around her throat, and then Val was on him, seizing his head between his hands and wrenching hard. There was an audible crack and he caught Liv before she fell to the floor.

"Keep your eyes closed, csecsemo," he ordered. "Pesad te engemal." He switched to English. "You are safe with me, kislany." He crushed her body to his chest and began to make his way through the heavy fighting toward the door. One big hand kept her face firmly pressed to his chest while he raced through the warehouse toward the door Tariq and Dragomir had cleared. Around him the battle raged with the ferocious fury of the Carpathian ancients.

Lesser vampires snapped and postured at the Carpathian hunters, but they were out of their element and they knew it. Val didn't bother to look at them as he took the child out of that hellhole and into the night. Whips of lightning rent the air and struck the asphalt again and again as Dragomir and Tariq cleaned the parking lot of hellhounds, vampires and tainted, venomous blood.

Charlotte stood off to one side, a bow slung over her shoulder and a sword in her hand. She looked a little worse for wear, hyssop oil all over her. She glanced up as Val strode out of the warehouse with Liv in his arms. Her face lit up, relief softening her features.

"Val, you have her."

Tariq swung Charlotte into his arms as he and Dragomir closed ranks behind Val. They took to the sky, leaving the mop-up to the other hunters. Liv was in need of care immediately.

I didn't get a chance to see her, Charlotte lamented. She's hiding her face against Val. I don't know if they hurt her physically. They certainly had harmed her emotionally. Liv was at her limit. She'd looked so small and fragile next to the hunter with his roped muscles, scars and monastery tattoos. Still, he'd looked gentle as he held the child, as gentle as a man such as Val could look.

Val says a few scrapes, but mostly they frightened her.

Tariq could hear Val whispering reassurances to Liv in their language. He wouldn't be at all surprised if Liv understood him. She seemed able to assimilate languages fast, another gift. She didn't answer him, remaining so silent that it worried him.

Val didn't slow down even in the compound. He took Liv through the main house to the basement, where the mineral-rich soil was spread out and very deep. Tariq paused long enough to put Charlotte on her feet and make certain to bring the panic rooms of the other children, the Waltons and Genevieve back to the surface. If they woke from their slumber he didn't want them frightened. Charlotte followed Val down to the basement and through the labyrinth to their resting place.

Tariq, his intention is to feed her. I don't know how to stop him. There was panic in Charlotte's voice. He's having her take enough blood for an exchange.

Tariq was already on his way down and he put on a burst of speed. He entered the ring of decking overlooking the sleeping grounds. Below him, Val held Liv close to his chest, cradling her in his arms. She looked tiny and broken. Already he had opened a laceration over his heavy muscles and pressed her mouth to the drops of blood there. "Drink, csecsemo. Take what I offer."

"What are you doing?" Tariq demanded. "We have to make certain no harm will come to her before we convert her."

"I keep my word, Tariq," Val said without looking up. He pushed back the tangled silk of Liv's hair. "She said she would live if I promised to convert her. I am keeping that promise. This is her second true exchange. When they get back to the compound, my brothers will gather and one of us will bring her fully into our world. You are her father and it is your call whether you do so or I do, but it will be done." It was a decree, nothing less.

Tariq swore in their language. He didn't like to be pushed into converting a child without a healer there. He knew it would take a while before one of the Daratrazanoffs arrived, so he believed he had plenty of time. The thought of harming the children kept him from bringing them fully into his world, although he knew he would have to do it. He might be her father, but a lifemate took precedence over that. It was Val's decision, not his, and they both knew it.

"Val, she's ten years old."

"She's a hundred," Val said. "I cannot feel unless it is caring for her, not yet, but it is there, just within my grasp. I knew the first time I made the exchange with her in the tunnels, but I was so far gone that I did not acknowledge it even to myself. It is rare for a Carpathian to know before his lifemate is mature."

He stroked her hair with gentle fingers as he fed her. Liv took his blood just as she had when they had been locked together in a cage.

"You realize what a complication this is." Tariq had enough complications. "Liv is a child. I'm her father, and protector."

"Now she has two protectors," Val said. Very gently he inserted his fingers between Liv's mouth and his chest. "Enough, csecsemo. I must take your blood. Do you understand what that means?"

Tariq frowned down at the hunter holding the child. For the longest time she didn't move, and he found himself holding his breath. When he tried to touch her mind, Liv had shut down. She wasn't thinking beyond being converted. It was the only thing she thought about. Her entire being focused on that alone. He saw her head move, the slightest of nods and then entirely voluntarily, she turned her neck to allow Val to take her blood.