Dark Challenge

The police were everywhere. Desari carefully sat up, dizzy and sick. She felt strange, different, as if something inside her had changed for all time. There was an odd, yawning emptiness, a void that had to be filled. Her brother and bodyguard, Darius, had his arm around her. He examined every inch of her with his ice cold black eyes. There was blood staining her dress, and her insides ached.

"They shot me." She made it a statement.

"I do not know how I failed to detect the danger to you in time." Darius looked gray and drained. Desari stroked his strong jaw. "You need to feed, brother. You have given me too much blood."

Darius shook his head, then glanced surreptitiously toward the police. "I gave to Barack and Dayan. They were hit also. Six mortals, Desari, all wanted to kill you."

"Barack and Dayan? Are they all right?" she demanded quickly, worry in her soft, dark eyes. She looked around frantically for the other two members of the band. She had been raised with the two men and loved them nearly as much as her own brother.

He nodded. "I have sent them to ground. They will heal more quickly. I had little time for proper mending, but I did my best for them. The police were pouring into the bar. I made certain they could not see us. We have trouble though. It was not me who gave you blood. It was another. He was strong and powerful."

Alarmed, Desari stared up at her brother. "Someone else gave me blood? You are certain? There is no mistake?"

Darius shook his head. "I would not have reached you in time. You were already unconscious. You did not have time to shut down your heart and lungs as the others did, so you bled profusely. I examined you afterward, Desari. You would have died of your wounds. He saved your life."

She dragged up her knees and burrowed closer to him. "His blood is in me?" She sounded lost and forlorn, frightened.

Darius swore eloquently. For centuries he had looked after his family. Desari, Syndil, Barack, Dayan, and Savon. The only others similar to their kind they had ever encountered had been the undead, the evil ones. This creature had slipped past him as a strange, cold wind that had pushed its way through the bar. Darius had been uneasy, worried; he had felt the presence of another, yet he had not caught the stench of evil. The undead. Vampire. He should have acted, he had been sidetracked by the vicious mortals emerging from the crowd.

Why had Desari been suddenly targeted by these people? Had his family members somehow given themselves away? He knew that from time to time throughout history there had been eruptions of hysteria among humans, particularly in Europe, about vampires. And over the last seventy-five years a string of murders in Europe had been attributed to members of some secret society hunting down these alleged creatures of the night.

Darius had purposely kept his family from that continent, not wanting to expose them to either these dangerous humans or to what could be the tainted blood of vampires. There was plenty of room in the world without going near Europe. His memories of his original homeland were vague and terrible. Marauders driving stakes through women and children still living, hanging them in the sun to die a death of excruciating pain. Beheadings, burnings, torture, and mutilation. If any of his race had survived, they had long ago turned vampire. If any other children had escaped as they had, they were probably better left unfound.

"Darius?" Desari clutched at his shirt. "You did not answer me. Am I going to turn? Did he make me the undead?" Her beautiful voice quavered with fear.

He circled her with one strong arm to comfort her, his face a hard, implacable mask of resolve. "Nothing is going to harm you, Desari. I would not allow it."

"Can we remove his blood, replace it with yours?"

"I sent myself into your body. I could find no evidence of evil. I do not know what he is, but I was able to mark him as he marked me." He lifted the arm he had clamped to his side. His palm came away from his belly coated in blood.

Desari gasped and went to her knees. "Seal your own wounds now, Darius. You have already lost too much blood. You have to tend to yourself."

"I am tired, Desari," he acknowledged softly.

The confession startled her. Shocked her. Terrified her. She had never once, in all their centuries together, remembered her brother admitting such a thing. He had gone into battle countless times, had been savaged by wild animals, wounded by mortals, had hunted and killed the most dangerous of all, the vampire.

She slipped her arm around his broad back. "You need blood, Darius, right now. Where is Syndil?" Desari knew she was far too weak herself to help her brother. She looked around the scene of chaos and realized her brother was still shielding them from the sight of the mortal policemen. He must have been maintaining the illusion for some time. That in itself was very draining.

She clenched her teeth and dragged him to his feet. "We will call Syndil, Darius. She must be hiding deep within the ground not to have been aware of this disturbance. It is time she came back to the world of the living."

Darius shook his head, but he leaned his towering frame against Desari. "It is too soon for her. She is still traumatized."

Syndil, we are in much trouble. You must come for us. You must heed our call.

Desari sent for the woman she regarded as her closest friend and a sister. She felt sorrow for Syndil, outrage on her behalf, but they needed her now.

There had been six of them, children thrown together in a time of war and cruelty. Darius had been six years of age, Desari six months. Savon had been four. Dayan had been three, Barack two, and Syndil a year. They had grown up together, depending only on one another, looking to Darius for leadership, protection, and their very survival.

Their parents had been caught just before the sun was at its peak, weak and lethargic, paralyzed in the way of their race. The marauders had overrun the village and killed every adult, including the Carpathians attempting to aid them. Children had been herded like cattle into a shack and the building set on fire.

Darius had noticed a peasant woman escaping unseen by the attackers. Since the sun did not affect Carpathian children as severely as it did the adults, Darius had awaited his opportunity, hiding five younger children from the murderous insanity. He managed, through sheer force of his will, to cloak the presence of the human woman and the Carpathian children, even as he planted the compulsion in her to take them with her. Unaware of their race, she had led them down the mountains to the sea, where her lover had a boat. Despite their terror of the ocean, they had set out, more afraid of the cruelty and sheer numbers of the marauders than of sea serpents or sailing off the edge of the world.

Hidden in the boat, the children remained quiet. Afraid of the war, knowing of no safe shore, the man took the boat much farther than he ever had. High winds pushed it even farther out to sea. There a terrible storm buffeted the vessel until it broke up and went down, the mortals sinking beneath the rolling waves.

Darius had once again saved the children. Even at six he had been unusually strong, his father's blood pure and ancient. He took on the image of a powerful bird, a raptor, and, clutching the small ones in his talons, had flown to the nearest land mass.

Their lives had been extremely difficult in those early days, the coast of Africa still wild and merciless. Carpathian children needed blood but were unable to hunt. They also needed herbs and other nutrients. Even then most children did not survive their first year of life. It was a tribute to Darius's strength of will that all six children had survived. He learned to hunt with the leopard. He found the little ones shelter and soil and began to learn the healing arts. None of the lessons had been easy. He was sometimes wounded in his hunts. Many of his experiments failed or backfired. But he persevered, determined he would not allow any of them to die. He often poisoned himself trying new foods for the children, and he learned to force the poison from his own body.

Over the centuries they had stayed together, a family unit, Darius guiding them, always acquiring more knowledge, devising new ways to hide their differences from the humans they encountered, and even to invest money. He was powerful and determined. Desari was certain there was no other like him. His rule was unquestioned; his word was everything.

None of them had been prepared for the tragedy two months earlier. Desari could hardly bear to remember it. Savon had elected to lose his soul, giving himself over to the crouching beast, choosing to be completely dark. He had hidden the spreading evil stain even from those closest to him.

He had bided his time, awaited his opportunity, and then he had viciously attacked Syndil. Desari had never seen such a brutal assault on any woman. The men had always protected, treasured, and cherished the women. No one dreamed such a thing could happen. Syndil was sweet and trusting, but Savon had beaten her that day, mauled and raped her. He had nearly killed her, draining her of blood. Darius found them, directed by Syndil's frantic mental cries for help. So shocked that his closest friend had committed such a monstrous crime, he was nearly killed himself when Savon had attacked him.

Afterward, Syndil had been so hysterical, she allowed only Desari near her and only Desari to replace the blood she had lost. In turn Barack and Dayan had supplied Desari and Darius. It had been a tragic, horrible time, and Desari knew none of them had fully recovered yet.

Syndil now spent most of her time in the earth or shape-shifting into a leopard. She rarely spoke, never smiled, and did not allow discussion of the attack. Dayan had grown quieter, more protective. Barack was the most changed. He had always seemed a playboy, laughing his way through the centuries, but for a month he, too, had stayed in the earth, and lately he was moody and watchful, his dark eyes following Syndil wherever she went. Darius was different, too. His black eyes were bleak and cold. He watched over the two women even more closely. Desari noticed he had also distanced himself from the men.

Syndil, come now!

This time she gave the order in a firm, decisive voice. Darius was far too heavy for Desari, in her weakened state, to move. What had happened to Syndil was not her trauma alone. They had all suffered, all had been changed forever by it. They needed her. Darius needed her.

Syndil materialized beside them, tall and beautiful with her enormous sad eyes. She paled visibly when she saw the bloodstains on Desari, when she noted Darius swaying unsteadily on his feet, his face gray. Quickly she caught him, taking most of his weight. "The others? Where are they?"

"Darius gave them his blood, blood he could not afford to give up," Desari explained. "We were attacked by mortals with guns. Dayan and Barack were both hit too."

"Barack?" Syndil's pale face whitened even more. "And Dayan? Do they both live? Where are they?"

"They are in the healing earth," Desari assured her.

"Who would want to shoot you? And what happened to Darius?" Syndil urged Darius forward toward the troupe's bus. Under cover of darkness they made their way inside where Darius had left the two leopards after they aided him.

The moment they had Darius on the couch, Desari ripped away his shirt to expose his wounds. Syndil pushed closer. Her gaze narrowed speculatively. "A leopard did that."

"Something did it," Darius corrected grimly. "But he was no true leopard. Nor was he mortal. Whoever he was, he gave Desari blood." He shook his head and looked up at his sister. "He was strong, Desari, stronger than anything I have ever come up against."

Syndil bent to him. "You need blood, Darius. You must take mine." She refused to let her fear of being close to a male, the strongest in her family, allow her to shirk her duty. She was already ashamed that she had removed herself so far from the others that she had been unable to detect the danger to them all.

Darius's eyes, so dark they were black, drifted over her face. He could see everything, see into her very soul, see her aversion to touching a man. He shook his head. "Thank you, little sister, but I would prefer that you give your blood to Desari."

"Darius!" Desari protested. "You need it desperately."

Ashamed, Syndil hung her head. "It is for me he does this," she confessed softly. "I cannot bear to be touched by a male, and he knows it."

"If it were not necessary to dilute the blood of the intruder in Desari's veins," Darius objected softly, his voice soothing, "I would gladly accept your offering. If it is distasteful to you to do such a thing for me, then the offer is all the more valuable, and I thank you."

Darius,Desari warned, careful to use their own private mental wave, Syndil is not strong enough to dilute the blood. This is a small thing to do for Syndil, Desari.

Darius closed his eyes again and sank into himself, sealing off the worst of the claw marks and beginning the ritual to heal each of the deep wounds from the inside out.

Syndil watched Darius's face, waiting until he was far from them in spirit, not heeding their conversation, before she spoke. "Is he lying to me?" she asked.

Desari stroked her brother's arm, choosing her words carefully, thoughtfully. "There was another besides the mortals. We do not know what he is. He saved my life, sealing off my wounds and giving me his blood. Darius attacked him; they fought. Apparently neither came out the victor."

Syndil studied Desari's face. "You are afraid. It is true then. You have this intruder's blood in you."

Desari nodded. "I feel different inside. He did something." She whispered the words aloud, for the first time admitting it to someone other than herself. "I am changed."

Syndil put an arm around Desari. "Sit beside Darius. You look as if you are going to fall on your face."

"I feel like it, too." Desari buried her face on Syndil's shoulder for a moment, hugging her tightly. "What would we do without him?"

"He will be fine," Syndil said softly. "Darius cannot be killed so easily."

"I know." Then Desari confessed her worst fear. "It is just that he has been so unhappy for so long. I am always afraid he will one day allow something or someone to destroy him so that he does not have to continue."

"We all have been unhappy," Syndil pointed out as she firmly pushed Desari to a sitting position. "How could what Savon did to me, to all of us, leave us unchanged? But Darius will not desert us. He would never do such a thing, not even in the guise of a carelessly received wound."

"Do you think he was careless then?" That frightened Desari even more. If Darius had been careless, it meant her fears were closer to the mark than ever.

"Take my blood, Desari. It is freely offered to you and Darius. I hope that it provides both of you with strength and peace," Syndil replied softly. She opened her wrist with one sharp nail and held it to Desari's mouth. "For Darius, if not for yourself."

Desari fed, then leaned down to her brother, whispering softly into his ear. "Take from me what is freely offered, brother, what you need. Take it for yourself and for all of us who depend so heavily on you. I offer up my life that you might live."

"Desari!" Syndil protested sharply. "Darius might not know what he does. You cannot say things like that."

"But it is true," Desari said softly, stroking back her brother's hair. "He is the greatest man I have ever known. I would do anything to save his life." She pressed her opened wrist to her brother's mouth. "What he has done for all of us, no other could have done. No other six-year-old could ever have saved us. It was a miracle, Syndil. He had no training, no one to guide him, yet he managed to keep us all alive. The life he gave us has been a good one. He deserves so much more than he has."

"You must take more of my blood, Desari," Syndil insisted softly. "You are so pale. Darius would be angry with you if he knew you did not feed properly. I insist, Desari. You must feed." To force the issue, Syndil reopened her own vein with her teeth and pushed her wrist to Desari's mouth. "Do as I say, little sister." She gave the order in her firmest voice.

It was so unlike Syndil, Desari was startled into obeying her. Syndil had a gentle, soft-spoken, and loving nature. She rarely did wild, unpredictable things the way Desari did. Desari was forever getting reprimanded by her brother, not that it did him much good. She always found something new and different to try. Always amazed at the beauty of the world around her, she found everything exciting, people intriguing. She was not content, as Syndil was, to do as the men instructed.

It wasn't as if she set out to defy Darius. She would never do that; no one would dare. She just ended up in trouble over lots of little things. For instance, Darius did not want Desari wandering off by herself, but she liked her privacy, and she enjoyed running in the forest, taking to the skies, swimming with fish. Life was bubbling over with so many opportunities for adventure, and Desari wanted to try everything. Darius, however, believed that vampires might be lurking anywhere, waiting to carry off the women, and he guarded them accordingly.

Desari closed the wound on Syndil's wrist, careful to leave no mark, then very gently pulled her own arm away from her brother, closing the laceration with the healing agent in her saliva. "Do you think he looks a little better, Syndil?" Darius was in the deep sleep of their people, his heart and lungs already shut down.

"His color is not so gray," Syndil agreed. "We must get him to ground, where he will have a chance to heal. Where did he send Barack and Dayan?"

"I do not know," Desari admitted. "I was unconscious."

"In any case, you need to go to ground to heal also. I will have to handle the inquiries with the police. I will tell them Darius spirited you and the band out of harm's way, that all of you were injured but the attack on your life did not succeed."

"They will want to know where we were treated," Desari objected. She was very tired, and the uneasiness in her was growing. She felt restless and unhappy, near tears, something unheard of for her.

"I can plant memories as well as any of you," Syndil said firmly. "I may prefer solitude, but I assure you, Desari, I am every bit as capable as you."

Desari stroked back her brother's long dark hair. The silken strands fell past his broad shoulders in a shiny fall reminiscent of her own. Darius always looked so harsh and implacable when he was awake, a hint of cruelty about his finely chiseled mouth. Yet all that was gone when he was asleep. He looked young and handsome, without the tremendous responsibilities he always shouldered when he was awake.

"I do not like sleeping so close to mortals, especially when we are hunted," Desari said softly. "It is not safe."

"I am certain Darius took Barack and Dayan into the woods and ensured their safety. We will do the same for Darius. Desari, he may be wounded and tired, but he is powerful beyond even our knowledge. He can hear and feel things even when he is sleeping the sleep of our people."

"What do you mean?"

Syndil pushed at the thick braid falling over her shoulder. "That night Savon attacked me, Darius was deep in the ground healing from a wound. The rest of you were far away, hunting, and I had stayed to watch over his resting place. Savon called to me to met him in a cave to see a rare plant he had found." She bowed her head. "I went. I should have stayed to watch over Darius, but I went at Savon's call. I screamed for all of you to aid me, but you were too far to make it back in time. But Darius heard. Even from deep within the earth. Even from the healing sleep of our people, he heard and knew every detail; I felt him lock on to me. Wounded, he rose and came to save me."

"Darius heard you while he slept?" Desari, like the others, had assumed Darius had risen while they hunted. By the time she and Dayan and Barack had returned, Darius had already destroyed Savon and was healing Syndil's terrible wounds even though he himself was weak from loss of blood.

Syndil nodded solemnly. "He came when I believed there was no hope for me." She bowed her head, her voice soft, filled with tears. "I feel so ashamed that I cannot control my sorrow and ease his pain. He feels guilty. He feels he failed me."

Desari lay her head protectively over her brother's chest. She knew Syndil was only half-correct. Darius believed he had failed Syndil, but he did not feel guilty. He did not feel at all. He hid his lack of emotion from all of them, but Desari was so close to him, she was well aware of it and had been for some time. It was only his intense loyalty and sense of duty that kept Darius fighting for them. It was not feeling.

She knew Darius feared for their safety should he ever turn as Savon had. She was certain, as was he, that neither Barack nor Dayan could defeat him in battle. She doubted even their combined strengths could do so. She believed Darius was invincible. He could not turn. To her, it was that simple. Whatever darkness in him that was growing, spreading, whatever the lack of feeling in him, he would never allow it to turn him. His will was far too strong. Darius had shown that from the very first. Nothing could sway him from his chosen path.

Unless, perhaps, he simply allowed himself to be honorably killed. That was Desari's prime concern, her deepest fear. She was frightened for all of them. Carpathian men had natures completely different from the women. They were dangerous, powerful predators, even when protective of women and mortals, they were dominating, arrogant, and thus truly perilous if they turned. It wasn't in Syndil's feminine nature to chafe under the males' constraints or to rebel against them. Desari alone did what she wanted and damned the consequences, which only served to make the men more dominating and protective. Yes, they would all be in grave danger if Darius were to die or turn vampire.

"You will have to drive the bus, Syndil," Desari instructed. "I will guard the rear to ensure we are not followed."

Syndil wished she could navigate the big vehicle and also cast an illusion over it to hide from the mortals, but it was impossible for her. She would have to leave it to Desari, even in her weakened state, to fashion as many blockades as possible to any that might follow them. They were evidently in danger from some murderous group of mortals.

"Go, Syndil," Desari said, making her way to the back of the bus.

Who was it that had saved her life, she wondered. Why had he done so? Darius said he could detect no evil, no tainted blood in her, and he should know. He had hunted and killed the undead often enough down through the centuries. He knew better than any of them the stench of tainted blood. He said it burned skin, raised blisters, and ate through flesh if left in contact too long. Darius had learned that bit of important information as he had everything else: the hard way.

Desari knelt on the bed at the back of the bus and stared out at the scene of dwindling chaos. Ambulances and police cars were pulling away, the crowd was beginning to disperse. She hadn't thought to ask Darius if any of their attackers had escaped. Knowing Darius, she doubted it, but he might have been so concerned with her, Barack, and Dayan that he had allowed some of those guilty to escape his particular brand of justice.

Syndil drove the bus with surprising expertise, and Desari kept her eyes glued behind them, watching for any lights trailing the vehicle. Suddenly her heart was in her throat, pounding in alarm. For some reason she didn't want to leave the bar. She felt she was leaving behind her destiny. She needed to be where he could find her.

He?

Desari gasped and sank back onto the bed.

"What is it?" Syndil demanded, looking into the rearview mirror. She could hear Desari's increased heartbeat, her sudden gasp of alarm. The blood was pumping through her veins far too fast. Syndil couldn't see anyone behind them. "What is it, Desari?" she repeated.

"I cannot leave this place," Desari said softly, sadly, sorrow in her heart. She pressed her hands to her pounding temples. "Let me out, Syndil. I must stay here."

"Breathe, Desari. Just breathe your way through it. Whatever happened to you, we can fix it," Syndil assured her, stomping harder on the gas pedal. She was not about to leave Desari anywhere in her condition.

Desari?

The faint stirring in her mind was Darius. She recognized his touch, the natural arrogance in his voice.

Do you have need of me? I cannot go away from him. The creature who gave me blood has tied us together in some way. Darius, I am so frightened. Syndil has given you good advice. Remain calm and think. Breathe. You are powerful, maybe every bit as much as this creature who is attempting to ensnare you. Use that power now. If you fear leaving him do not. He will come for you again. And this time I will be waiting. There is a terrible emptiness in me. I cannot bear to go away from him. He is calling to me. You hear him?

Darius's voice in her mind was stronger, his interest caught despite his need to rest and heal.

You hear his voice?

Desari shook her head, forgetting for a moment that her brother couldn't see her. Her arms were across her stomach, and she was rocking herself back and forth for comfort. Her battered body was not nearly as painful as her aching soul.

No, it is not like that. Only a terrible wrenching, a feeling of being ripped apart. He is so strong, Darius. He will never let me go. Never. I will rid you of this creature, Desari.

Again she shook her head.

I do not think you can, Darius. I will not fail you.

Desari pressed the back of her hand to her trembling mouth. "You cannot," she whispered softly aloud. "If you kill him, he will take me with him when he goes."

Syndil gasped, her acute hearing picking up the thread of sound and sorrow from Desari. She had known Darius was communicating privately with his sister even in his deep sleep; Darius was strong even in the worst times. "Tell him, Desari. Tell Darius if you really believe that. You know no one can defeat Darius. It is impossible. He must know if what you say is true."

"He cannot help me this time. No one can," Desari said.

Syndil called to Darius inside her own mind, something she had not done since the violent attack on her.

Desari believes that if you kill this creature, he will take her with him from this world. And I believe that if she thinks he can do such a thing, she is in danger.

There was a short silence, then Darius sighed softly.

Do not worry, little sister. I will think on what you have said and not move too quickly. Perhaps we need to learn more of this creature.

Huddling on the bed, Desari cut herself off from the others. With each mile that took her farther from the bar, the oppressive dread seemed to increase. She could feel perspiration beading on her forehead. Her breath came in short, uncomfortable gasps. She had to find him.

She had to be close to him. He had somehow stolen the other half of her soul.

Desari bit down hard on her lower lip, welcoming the stinging pain that helped her to center herself. She closed her eyes and sought inside her own body. She could not find the stench of evil. She found her heart whole and strong. She found her soul complete. But she was no longer simply Desari. A stranger dwelled within her. A stranger who was somehow very familiar, more familiar than even her family.

After the first shock, she studied the evidence of his work. He was strong and powerful. Self-confident. Even arrogant. Very, very knowledgeable. And he meant to have her. She could feel his deep resolve. No one would stand in his way. Nothing would stop him. He would never give her up. And deep within him dwelled... a dark shadow.

Desari swallowed the fear choking her. Why was she so afraid of this unknown man? She was not without her own power. No one could force her to do what she did not want to do. Nor would Darius ever allow it. And she had Barack and Dayan to support her as well. Even Syndil would fight for her if the need arose. Why was she so afraid?

Because there was an excitement in her that she didn't want to admit even to herself. She was intrigued by the stranger, drawn to him. Her body wanted his, and she had never even laid eyes on him. How could he have wrought such a thing? Was he so powerful?

She didn't want Darius to harm him. The thought came unbidden and was, she felt, on the verge of disloyalty. She should not even think such things. Desari rubbed her forehead with the heels of her hands. Whoever he was, he would come for her, and she had to decide what to do. She could never leave her family.

Especially not now, when Darius was having such a hard time with his own darkness. "Oh, God," she murmured aloud. "What am I thinking?"

You are in pain?

Desari's head snapped up, and she looked around the bus cautiously. The voice was clear, arrogant, a velvet purr. Not Darius. Her throat closed convulsively, making it nearly impossible to breathe. She felt a strength, a male's touch, his heart beating steadily, his lungs working easily, in and out, regulating her breathing as if they were one being. His voice was beautiful, and reached something deep in her soul. Yet he was using a mental path unfamiliar to her. The experience unnerved her.

Go away.

She tried the path he was using.

She heard soft laughter, taunting male amusement.

I do not think so, piccola.

Answer me. Are you in pain?

Desari glanced around guiltily. Syndil was busy maneuvering the large motor home down a winding ribbon of highway leading deep into a wooded area. Desari felt as if she were talking to the devil himself, allowing him access to her family and their whereabouts through her. But she couldn't stop herself from feeling the sweeping excitement.

Of course I am in pain. I was shot. Who are you? You know who I am.

She shook her head, her long mass of blue-black hair flying in all directions, catching Syndil's attention. "Are you all right, Desari?" Syndil asked, a worried catch in her voice.

"Yes, do not worry," Desari managed to respond.

She felt his touch, his palm brushing her cheek.

You fear me. I fear no one.

There was that laughter again. Male amusement that made her want to strangle him.

What is the Dark One to you?

he asked. There was no amusement in the question. It was an imperious command to answer him. He even pushed at her with a compulsion.

Furious, Desari cut off the contact. He thought her a mere mortal he could so easily command? How dare he? She was of ancient and powerful Carpathian blood. She deserved respect. No one, not even her brother, the leader of their family, would treat her with such disdain. Taking a deep breath, Desari calmed herself. Two could play at his game. She could track him as well. His blood was in her veins. If he could find her and try to "push" her, she could do the same. Desari went very quiet, allowing her mind to become a tranquil pool. She took her time searching each path until she found the one that would lead her to the stranger.

Who are you?

She pushed him, gave a good, hard compulsion.

There was a silence. Then his infuriating laughter.

So, you are like your guard. Carpathian, not mortal after all. We have much to find out about one another. You are Carpathian, yet different. You did not take my blood. How is it you can track me?

In spite of herself, Desari was impressed. She knew Darius could do such a thing, but Barack and Dayan could not. Nor could she. Yet. But she was always learning things from her brother.

Know this, cara, you belong to me. Only if I wish it, she corrected him, angry all over again. His arrogance was astounding to her.

The bus shuddered to a stop, and Syndil turned in her seat. "This is a good place for us to hide, Desari. Can you help me get Darius to earth?"

Color swept up Desari's neck and into her face, and she avoided Syndil's gaze. She did not want anyone to know what she was doing. "Yes. I am feeling much stronger now, thanks to you, Syndil," she answered.

What a little liar you are, the taunting male voice informed her.

Stay away from me. You want me.

His voice was a drawling caress.

You wish.

Desari forced herself to her feet and staggered down the aisle to her brother's side.

Desari and Syndil focused their attention on Darius and lifted him between them, using only the power of their minds. The cats pushed close, trying to see for themselves that Darius was fine. Without warning, Desari's strength increased. Startled, she looked at Syndil. But she knew it was the stranger lending her his power.

Go away. Just go away.

Desari stumbled on the bottom step but recovered. Darius's body didn't so much as waver.

"You are practically carrying him by yourself," Syndil said admiringly.

I injured him.

The words were said with a deep satisfaction, but the stranger continued to provide Desari with the necessary strength to keep from dropping Darius to the ground.

She refused to acknowledge his statement. Angry with herself for her disloyalty, for even wanting to converse with the stranger, Desari waved a hand to open the ground for her brother's body. She knew the stranger was dwelling in her, but she was fully aware of her own power. He could not read what she did not want him to know as long as she remained on the alert for his invasion.

Darius floated into the earth. Healing soil poured over his body. Sasha, the female leopard, lay on top of the spot. Desari opened the earth beside her brother and entered, grateful for the soothing tranquility nature offered as it healed her body and mind.

"Sleep well, little sister," Syndil whispered. "Do not fear. I will take care of all the details and loose ends before I seek rest this night. Heal, Desari, and be safe."

"Watch yourself, Syndil. There may be other assassins," Desari cautioned. She closed her eyes and let the earth surround her.

The last thing she felt as she shut down her body was a male hand brushing her face in a slow, heart-melting caress. The last thing she heard before her heart ceased to beat was his voice.

I will come to you, piccola.

I will always be near should you have need of me.