Carpathian 02 - Dark Desire

air seemed heavily oppressed. Byron nodded tiredly and managed a wan smile that did not light his eyes. "I wish the best for you both, and I hope that you have many children. Try to make them female for my sake."
    "When will you return?" Jacques inquired.
    "When I am able." Byron's form began to waver, to fade, so that they could see through the transparent shape.
    Jacques' body crouched lower in readiness, a fluid movement that was barely discernible. Instinctively Shea moved back to give him more room. It seemed a good idea to err on the side of caution. Jacques had never once let down his guard, where Shea would have rushed to comfort Byron compassionately.
    She inhaled the night, suddenly depressed. On the wind came the oppressive hatred the forest seemed to reek of. She searched Jacques' impassive face. He didn't seem to notice, his attention on the mist streaming away from him. Did he feel it? If it wasn't Byron causing it, why hadn't Byron felt it? Her analytical mind examined the question. She had assumed Jacques couldn't feel the presence because his mind was so fragmented.
    "We will return using a different route, Shea. We cannot stay in the cabin." Jacques caught her hand in his and pulled her through the trees. "It is no longer safe."
    Shea had the vague impression of a twisted, malevolent smile. Silent laughter, grimly amused. She shook her head to rid herself of the image, afraid she was hallucinating. Jacques? Her voice trembled with uncertainty.
    His fingers tightened around hers. "There is no need to worry, we will find suitable shelter. I would never allow you to be harmed." He drew her hand to the warmth of his mouth with remarkable tenderness.
    "You feel the undead one. Is it Byron?"
    "I don't know if it's Byron. I just know it is something very evil. Let's leave this place, go to a city with bright lights and lots of people."
    He tucked her protectively beneath his shoulder and matched his gait to hers. Instinctively he knew they would be vulnerable in a city. They were Carpathian, not human. He took a deep breath, letting it out Generated by ABC Amber LIT Conv erter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
    slowly to give himself time to search for the right words. "If a vampire is marking us for his attentions, we will only be placing innocent humans in harm's way. They have very few defenses against the undead."
    "He is watching us, Jacques. I know you can't feel him, but he's out there."
    Jacques believed her. Once again he sought the pictures in her mind, heard the eerie sound of taunting laughter echoing in her head. He swore softly. "When Byron found you in the village, are you certain he did not take your blood?"
    "I would have told you. He bent his head toward mine, I could feel his breath on my neck, and his teeth touched my skin, but I jerked away from him. He barely pierced the skin." She reached up and covered the spot where the pinprick had been. "In any case, he apologized to you. Couldn't you see his sadness?
    It broke my heart."
    His arm tightened for a moment, and he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "You are so compassionate, love, and very trusting. A vampire can appear to be the epitome of beauty, of genuineness itself."
    She skipped a little to keep up with his ever-quickening pace. "I don't think so, Jacques. I recognized beauty in you when you appeared to be a monster. I knew there was something beyond what I could see. I think I would recognize evil just as well."
    "It was the call of our souls to one another that you recognized. We are lifemates, bound together even when apart."
    "Call it anything you like, but I think I would know if Byron were truly the vicious creature I feel watching us. It hates."
    "Only Gregori gave you blood. And I."
    "If I were you, I would not bring up the fact that you forced me to take that spell-casting healer's blood."
    She twisted away from him, annoyed all over again. "How could you betray me that way?"
    With great male superiority he glanced down at her face. "Your health comes before your pride." The truth was, he was ashamed he had forced such a choice on her, yet he was grateful it was over and she was not nearly as weak as she had been.
    "Says you. I hope he bled a long time before he closed that wound. And don't talk to me anymore, because you're being arrogant, and I can't stand you when you're arrogant." She stumbled, her legs already tired.
    "If you had done as I said, you would be at full strength, your body healed from its