Carpathian 01 - Dark Prince

took a long shower, allowing the hot water to beat on her body, hoping it would drive out her terrible need for Mikhail. She braided her damp, blue-black hair into a long, thick tail and lay down on her bed without a stitch on. The cool air fanned her skin, hot from the shower, traveled over her, soothing her. Raven closed her eyes.
    She became aware of the sound of pottery chinking together as the tables were set. Without conscious thought she latched onto that. It seemed a good way to keep misery and grief at bay, to explore this new capability. Raven found that with a little concentration she could turn the volume down low, even off, or she could hear insects beating their wings in the pantry. There was the sound of mice scurrying around in the walls, a few in the attic.
    The cook and the maid argued briefly over the maid's duties. Mrs. Galvenstein hummed off key in the kitchen as she worked. Whispers drew Raven's attention, the whispers of conspirators.

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    "There is no way Mikhail Dubrinsky or Raven Whitney are undead," Margaret Summers was saying hotly. "He may know these people, but he isn't a vampire."
    "We have to go now." That was Hans. "We won't get another chance like this again. We can't wait for the others. I have no intention of waiting until dark."
    "It's already too late." Jacob's voice was whiny. "Only a couple of hours until the sun goes down. It will take an hour just to get there."
    "Not if we hurry. It's trapped in the ground," Hans insisted. "By tomorrow it will be gone."
    "I still think we should wait for Eugene and the others," Jacob complained. "They have experience."
    "We can't wait," Harry Summers decided. "Hans is right. The vampires know we're after them and are probably moving their coffins every day. We can't miss this opportunity. Gather the tools quickly."
    "I still think that Dubrinsky guy is one of them. Raven is completely under his spell. Shelly told me they were engaged," Jacob protested.
    "I am certain of it, as was my father before me. I am convinced he was a young man when my father was born," Hans said grimly.
    "I tell you, it is not so." Margaret was adamant.
    "It is strange, the effect he has on women, and the lengths they go to protect him," Hans said suspiciously, effectively silencing the older woman.
    Raven could hear the sounds as the assassins gathered their deadly equipment. Had Hans and Jacob convinced Harry Summers to kill Mikhail? Or another of Mikhail's people? She rolled off the bed and dragged on clean, faded jeans. As she dressed in thick socks and hiking boots, she sent a call to Mikhail.
    Again she found a black void.
    Muttering a few choice swear words, Raven jerked a soft powder-blue chambray shirt over her head.
    She didn't know the local police or where to find them. And who would believe there were vampire hunters anyway? It was ludicrous. Father Hummer? He certainly couldn't chase around the mountains at his age.
    "I'll put this stuff in the car," Jacob was saying.
    "No! It will be faster on foot. We can cut through the forest. Put it in the knapsacks," Hans insisted.
    "Hurry, hurry, we don't have much time. We must go before they waken and are at full strength."
    Raven looked around the room hastily for a weapon. Nothing. When she helped the FBI with a case, the agents accompanying her carried firearms. She took a deep calming breath, kept tuned to the group as they left the inn.
    There were four of them for sure: Margaret, Harry, Jacob, and Hans. She should have suspected Jacob.
    The night she had attempted to eat dinner with them she had been so sick; she should have realized it was her body's natural reaction to the demented minds of killers. But she had put it down to an overload of emotion from everything that had happened to her.

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    Yet Jacob had touched her. He couldn't have taken part in Noelle's murder or Raven would have known. Harry and Margaret might have convinced him there were vampires around; they were fanatical, dangerous people. Raven knew Shelly wasn't involved. She was sitting on her bed, writing her papers for school. There might be a chance to appeal to Jacob, make him realize just how insane a vampire hunt was.
    Catching up the dark glasses, Raven slipped out of her room and moved noiselessly down the hall. It was necessary to guard her thoughts and emotions with Margaret