Dark Tarot (Dark Carpathians)

“He already has given so much of himself when he prefers to be alone,” Sandu said, uncomfortable with the idea.

“Perhaps it is not best for him to be alone all the time,” Riley said. “He is so dark that when he comes near, I have a difficult time being close to him. Dax has to stay in my mind.”

Is that the same with you, Adalasia? Sandu was alarmed. If Luiz was that close to becoming the undead and he was tied to Adalasia through their blood bond, he could easily find and kill her once he turned.

She gave a slight shake of her head. There is a difference. I would have a difficult time explaining it to Riley, but you are an ancient. The De La Cruz line holds a troubling dark shadow. They are aware of it and fight to hold honor more than others from the time they are very young. Some have the shadowing more than others. I could see it in the various warriors in Luiz. The more we were together, the more I saw the shadowing. It isn’t the undead. It isn’t a demon. It is more cunning. An animal, a predator, but still darkness that can overtake them.

“I will think on what you have said, Danutdaxton. Thank you both for your hospitality,” Sandu said formally.

Adalasia put out the call to Luiz De La Cruz two risings later, when the guardians, Sandu and she were a great distance from Danutdaxton’s territory. Sandu didn’t want Dax to feel as if he might have to help defend them should anything go wrong. They were on the very edge of the rain forest, the Amazon River flowing fast in a wide, powerful stream on one side, with the large kapok trees rising on the other.

They had gone to ground in the rich soil, closer to one another than normal, but they had no real place to hide from enemies. This was not an area any of them were familiar with, so they were extremely wary. They rose the moment the sun set and hunted for blood. It was only luck that led them to some fishermen still dragging their catch into their boats before returning home for the evening.

Sandu thought it wise to stay on the edge of the forest, where they could utilize the animals and alarm systems and yet be close to the river, where there was a ready source of blood if any of them were wounded. The guardians patrolled the immediate area and then expanded their search for any hidden threats to Adalasia while Sandu and Adalasia sealed the air, earth and water against any spies Nera might send.

“Why are the guardians so nervous?” Adalasia asked.

“There were signs of the undead passing through this way not too long ago,” Sandu answered. “And Luiz De La Cruz makes even ancients nervous.”

Adalasia tapped her fingers against her thigh as she walked along the very narrow animal trail winding in and out of the trees. Luiz made her nervous, but now she felt guilty for feeling that way. He had healed Sandu when he didn’t have to. He’d given him blood over and over. He’d gone into the shadow realm with her to guide her, and when she asked him to trust her and not be seen, he had done so without ego, staying in her mind as a shadow rather than walking beside her in the open. That had allowed them to carry out their plan and use his strength to pull Sandu out of the realm and back into the land of the living.

She had been in Luiz’s mind more than the ancients had. He hadn’t given them access, although he had taken their blood when he had been healing Sandu. Adalasia thought about how many times Luiz had gone selflessly into Sandu’s torn and pain-wracked body. How many times he had fearlessly gone after the bacteria and parasites that were doing their best to destroy Sandu and certainly would have tried to kill Luiz, as well.

Luiz might have the De La Cruz shadowing in him very strongly, but he was an honorable Carpathian, and he was equally tough and disciplined. Whatever he had shown to the De La Cruz family that had prompted them to save his life in the first place and then after watching him to make certain they hadn’t made a mistake, taking him to the sacred cave of warriors to actually become a De La Cruz, had to have been all about honor, duty and loyalty. That’s what the De La Cruz code seemed to be, as far as Adalasia could tell.

“You are walking in circles, Sivamet,” Sandu pointed out, amusement in his voice.

“I’m thinking,” she said. She lifted her lashes to look at him. He was floating in the air in front of her, backpedaling. Showing off, as far as she was concerned, and smirking a little.