Dark Legacy (Dark 27)

The others had all turned to go separate ways, but at Dragomir's question, they all turned back to listen.

"I have an idea or two," Gary said. "None are good."

"Let's hear them," Tariq said.

Gary shrugged. It was more of a shoulder roll. His shoulders were wide; his muscles, once sleek and strong, were now more defined, rippling loosely beneath the material of his clothing. "Xavier, the high mage, could take splinters of himself and place those splinters in very unlucky people. The splinter was actually a true part of him so he could take over the body and see and hear what was happening around his chosen vessel. Xavier is dead, but two of his splinters remain behind and the common consensus is that those splinters reside in Sergey, Vadim's brother, and in Vadim himself."

Tariq's breath left him in a long, slow hiss. Dragomir froze in place. Sandu leaned his palm against the wall, allowing it to take his weight.

"What are you saying, Gary?" Ferro was the one who asked. Ferro was quiet and rarely spoke, so the sound of his voice was disconcerting, adding to the building tension between the ancients. "You believe that Vadim knows how to splinter himself and would introduce slivers into others? He could have spies everywhere."

"There is danger in splintering," Gary cautioned. "It diminishes the man performing the magic. It leaves him weaker, his power less. He must bring the splinters back to him. That's imperative. If we were to find those splinters, remove and destroy them, he would never get his full capacity for magic back. That's what happened to Xavier."

There was a small silence.

"Having said that," Gary continued, "being in possession of Xavier's splinters gives Vadim access to the knowledge Xavier had."

Tariq glared at him. "You didn't think to tell us this before?"

"Before what?" Gary asked, his tone mild, but there was a curious menace to it. Those silver eyes slashed at Tariq. "I haven't exactly been idle since I arrived."

Tariq gave a small, courtly bow. "Forgive me, Gary, I am so worried about Amelia and knowing this hasn't helped."

"At the moment, Amelia is a valuable asset to him. He can hear and see everything she does. He can attack his enemies using her. He doesn't have to worry about the safeguards because Amelia is already in the compound. She brought him in with her. He most likely hadn't even considered putting a child in her. He knew from experience that she was too young and fragile. He needed her to have those memories so the one of him entering her body and leaving a small but extremely valuable piece of himself behind wouldn't be noticed."

"We all saw the 'rape' in her mind," Tariq said. "Not the fact that he entered her body in the way a healer might. What happens if Amelia is killed? If she dies?" His voice was low. Anguished.

For the first time, Dragomir put himself in Tariq's shoes. If that were his daughter, how would he feel? What would he do? Knowing a piece, even just a splinter of such evil was in his daughter would be horrifying. The parasites did Vadim's bidding, tormenting Emeline and the baby, but they hadn't been so evil that they could take over the bodies. The splinter of Vadim was powerful. Evil. A part of him. That part allowed him to take total control of the vessel.

Dragomir found his compassion for Amelia was growing. She wouldn't be able to fight Vadim's influence. She might fight off the parasites that tormented her, refusing to give in to the pain or their sway, but what human could defeat the power of a master vampire?

"If Amelia dies, does the splinter die with her?" Tariq persisted.

Gary shook his head. "The splinter would look for a host. It would abandon the dying body and find another. That's what Xavier's splinters did. They also try to get back to the original brain they were taken from. So each hop from host to host would take them closer to their ultimate goal."

"With the splinter gone, will Amelia return to her true self?" Dragomir asked.

Gary frowned and rubbed at his temple with his thumb. "She should. But she's very young. These attacks on her will stay with her. I'm inclined to think she will need counseling."

"If I was to turn her," Tariq persisted, "would the splinter abandon her then?"

Gary shook his head. "You are not thinking logically, Tariq. This is your daughter. You're too close to the situation. Vadim is vampire. Originally, he was Carpathian. The death of the human body in order for the Carpathian body to be reborn would not kill it. If anything, the splinter might grow more powerful. Vadim would have access to everything she learned of us. Of the healing grounds, of resting places, of every weakness this compound has--and there are many."

"Many?" Tariq's eyebrow went up. "We have thought of nearly every contingency. Every way they could attack us."

"You are under attack," Gary insisted. "Your own daughter is being used against you. The biggest weakness the compound has is you. Your heart. You take in these abandoned people and collect them like others collect wine. You have a security force made up of human Special Forces soldiers. Every one of them has seen too much combat and is ready to implode. You have an elderly couple, the Waltons, wandering around holding hands as if they're in a musical. You have four street kids, all traumatized by what they've been through. You have a woman, unmarried, no lifemate, but by any standards beautiful, watching those children, and she doesn't have a clue they can put her to sleep at will. You have a three-year-old child, the niece of your lifemate, whose father was murdered by a vampire and who has been uprooted several times avoiding them. Carpathians do not live this way."

Dragomir had to agree, but he also disagreed. "That's all true, but he's created a safe zone here, one where Carpathians and humans can live together without fear."

Gary shrugged. "I didn't say I thought it was too risky, only that it is a flawed system. There are weaknesses and they have to be addressed if all of you want to be safe."

Dragomir noticed the healer had said "all of you." He hadn't included himself as if it didn't matter one way or another that he was safe. It hadn't to Dragomir before he'd found Emeline. He knew it still didn't to Sandu, Andor or Ferro. He looked around at the other ancients. So many without lifemates. The burden of an entire species fell squarely on the shoulders of a very few couples.

"Emeline wishes to remain here. She wants to have a home here near her friends," Dragomir said. "She will go with me if I choose to leave, but she would much rather be here. I would like to buy property bordering this one and add to the compound. I would also like to go through the entire compound with you, Gary and Tariq, to see if some of these weaknesses can be addressed."

Tariq inclined his head. "I'm grateful you wish to stay. Blaze would have a difficult time without Emeline. Already, Maksim has said, she's been very sad that their relationship has deteriorated. I'm aware it was necessary, or at least Emeline thought it was, but it is difficult for a Carpathian male to see his lifemate unhappy."

Dragomir was instantly aware Tariq was warning him. It was imperative he keep Emeline from Amelia, but Emeline wouldn't be happy about it. "I understand, or I'm beginning to. Still, I can do no other than what my nature dictates to me. Emeline must be out of the line of fire. Healer"--his thoughtful gaze rested on the man--"is it possible that if we try together, we could rid this child of the splinter?"

"We have no idea of the location. He would know before we did that we were close. If he thought we were there to extract the splinter, he would attack and kill her."

"We do have a location. The splinter must be in her brain. It is directing her actions."

Gary frowned in contemplation. "I still don't see how we could sneak up on it."

"Divert his attention," Sandu said. "Go in to heal her and check it out."

"I will think on this," Gary said. "In the meantime, before the night fades, I need to hunt."

Dragomir agreed. "I need more blood as well. The night is fading and the healing soil will be welcome."

"I will plant the story with Amelia," Tariq said. "Give me the location of the lair."

It was Ferro who supplied it, pushing the

information into Tariq's mind. "We will hunt near there and take him down when the sun is rising."

Tariq shook his head. "That's cutting it too close. Do you have a death wish? You'll fry in the sun."

Sandu shrugged. "I've fried before. We all have. As old as we are, with not so much as a whisper to tempt us, it is the sun we defy. Our defiance comes at a high price."

"Yet you still take the chance."

"We are hunters first," Andor pointed out. "Hunters hunt. There is little left for us. Hunting is something we can do."

Tariq nodded. "Go, then. It will be natural for me to visit all the children before we go to bed. I'll have Charlotte with me and just out of Amelia's room, where she can hear. I'll let slip the plan to attack the lair at first rising."

"You will need someone at least a little resistant to Vadim's compulsions watching her. Otherwise the children aren't safe. Vadim might use the opportunity to force her to kill one of them," Dragomir said. "I know that's not something you want to think about, but it is a very real possibility and one I think Vadim would choose. He would want the girl to know what she was doing, but be unable to stop herself."