Carpathian 02 - Dark Desire

was get decent accommodations."
    "Stop whining," Slovensky snapped. "The last thing we want to do is advertise our presence here. They control the locals, bind them to them in some way so that the villagers are loyal to them."
    Jeff turned away from them, staring out at the darkening land. Slovensky was a total whacko. Wallace he had met in college. Don had been everything Jeff was not. Cocky, self-assured, handsome, and tough.
    Wallace had cornered one of Jeff's constant tormentors, held him, and encouraged Jeff to beat the kid to death. The sense of power was incredible, and the two of them became inseparable. Don was sadistic, violent. He'd enjoyed watching snuff films, shared the experience with Jeff, and eventually became obsessed with the idea of making them. Jeff filmed Don's private performances, each of which became a classroom for torture. At first they'd used prostitutes, but twice they were able to lure a student to their warehouse. Afterward, Don was always mellow for several weeks, a month or two even, if the sessions had been to his liking. Jeff knew that the need to kill was riding Don hard now, and anyone close to him had better keep a low profile.
    When the older man went outside to relieve himself, Jeff went to stand beside Don. "You ever think what it would be like, the power we'd have if we forced one of them to make us like them?" He whispered it softly to be sure Slovensky could not possibly overhear what he would consider sacrilege.
    "We'd be immortal, Don. We could have anything we ever wanted. Any woman we wanted. We could do anything."
    Wallace was silent for a few minutes. "We'd need to find out more about them. Most of what I know, the old man and his freaky friends told me, and it's probably all bullshit."
    "You sure?"
    "Superstitious crap. All the people around here are superstitious. They believe these vampires can direct your mind, even shape-change. If they had all these great powers, Jeff, why didn't they use them when we were having-fun with them?"
    Jeff shrugged, disappointed. "Maybe you're right. But they just hang on to life so long…" He trailed off.
    "Hate keeps them alive." Don laughed in anticipation. "They're almost as much fun as women." He looked thoughtful. "But there's the Vulture."
    The sun gave up its feeble fight, the storm and the late hour completely obliterating its paltry light. The sky darkened still further, and the clouds grew heavier. The wind began to strengthen, driving the rain so that it pelted the ground hard enough to bruise leaves and vegetation. A low moan rose, echoed through grotesquely swaying branches.
    The wind raced northward, howled down a canyon, rushed through the darkened forest, and climbed higher into the steep mountains to find a cabin dark and silent. Inside, away from the sheets of silvery rain and the monstrous wind, two bodies lay motionless, entwined on the bed. Shea was curled up, small and Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    slight, her wine-red hair spilled across the pillow like blood. Jacques' much larger frame was curved protectively around her. Jacques' arm was firmly locked around her waist, holding her to him. His heart began a rhythm, a strong, steady sound in the silence. He drew air into his lungs to inflate them, to resume their normal function.
    Jacques waited for the familiar rush of agony his awakening had triggered these last seven years. It would surge through him with the first circle of life, blood heating every cell and nerve ending. The rush didn't come. Instead he was sore, his muscles ached, but he felt strong and alive again. The healer's blood was incredible, his internal healing beyond Jacques' wildest expectations. Gregori. The dark one.
    The words came floating out of nowhere, one of those elusive fragments he could never seem to hold on to. Jacques tried to do so, wanting the information, knowing it was important, yet pain exploded in his head.
    It didn't matter. He calmly allowed the fragment to drift away and slowly released his hold on Shea.
    Before giving her the command to wake, he scanned their surroundings to locate possible danger. There were others of his kind close by. It put him on edge. It was imperative for a Carpathian male to find a female, his true lifemate. If he did not succeed in binding Shea to him, every male in the vicinity would be pressing his suit, hoping against hope his chemistry would match hers. As with all the knowledge that came