Carpathian 01 - Dark Prince

his arm around her ribs, nearly cracking them.
    "Do not do such a stupid thing again," he reprimanded her, then turned his attention back to Mikhail.
    "You cannot come close enough to her to give blood. Drain it into a container."
    Mikhail shook his head slowly. He wants my blood for himself, love, to become more powerful, to aid the drug in confusing your mind. Already he could feel the effects of the drugs in her. She was struggling to stay with him. I cannot allow him my blood. The words echoed sadly.
    Raven reached for Gregori. You must come .
    The drug he has given you is an ancient one, Gregori explained, the words brushing softly in her mind, made from the pressed petals of a flower found only in the northern regions of our lands. It will disorient you, but that is all. The vampire will attempt to plant his own memories of you with him Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    and then will use pain to control your thoughts. He has established a blood bond, so he can monitor you. When you think of Mikhail, he can cause you pain. It is not the drug, it is the vampire. Censor your thoughts as much as possible to conserve your strength. When you reach for Mikhail as your mind and body must, Andre must not know. You focus better than any Carpathian I have known. He knows nothing of our bond. I can find you anywhere. The moment I am finished attending Jacques, I will go to Mikhail. You have my word Mikhail will survive. We will find you. Stay alive for the sake of all our people.
    The vampire and Mikhail stared across the room at one another. Power emanated from Mikhail's every pore. He looked coolly amused by the vampire's dilemma.
    A ripple of malevolence distorted the tense vibrations in the room, striking at Raven's temple. Mikhail!
    She screamed the warning in her mind as Slovensky shot him three times. In the small cell, the noise was a loud clap of thunder reverberating off the rock walls. The bullets drove Mikhail backward and he fell beside Father Hummer, his precious blood staining his white silk shirt a vivid crimson.
    "No!" Raven fought the vampire in earnest, fear lending her strength that the loss of her blood had taken.
    For a moment she wrenched herself nearly free but was jerked back, the vampire's hands around her throat, squeezing hard. Raven fought down panic. She didn't dare pass out. Gregori, Mikhail's down.
    They shot him.
    I feel it. All Carpathians feel it. Do not worry. He will not die. Gregori was clearly moving closer.
    They were very careful to inflict flesh wounds that bleed heavily, not mortal wounds such as they gave Jacques. He is conveying to me the extent of his injuries.
    The vampire dragged Raven with him to the door. "The others will come, but it will be too late. Do not think he will get out of this," he hissed in her ear. "Slovensky and the others will die for this deed, and with them all records of what occurred in this place. You will be mine, far away where they cannot find you."
    Raven kept her eyes and mind focused on Mikhail, broadcasting to Gregori everything she saw: Slovensky manacling Mikhail's wrists and ankles, chaining him to a wall, laughing, taunting, kicking at him.
    Mikhail remained silent, his dark eyes very black, glinting like ice.
    The vampire lifted her slender body, ran with blurring speed from the place of death and destruction, launched himself skyward, his talons gripping Raven as he sped into the night.
    Gregori merged his mind with Mikhail's easily. Over the centuries of battles, wars, and vampire hunters, they had exchanged blood many times to preserve one another's life. Mikhail was in pain, his blood loss great. The shooting had been a deliberate attempt to weaken his immense power. Slovensky was busy taunting Mikhail with graphic details of torture.
    Mikhail's black eyes smoldered an eerie red, a burning flame he turned on Slovensky as the man approached him. The power in those chilling eyes stopped Slovensky for a moment. "You'll learn to hate me, vampire," James Slovensky snarled. "And you'll learn to fear me. You'll learn who really holds the power."
    A slight, mocking smile touched Mikhail's mouth. "I do not hate you, mortal. And I could never fear you.
    You are but a pawn in a game of power. And you have been sacrificed." The voice was very low, a musical thread of sound that Slovensky found himself wanting to hear again.

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